89 Millimeters	Montana Premier
80 minutes, 2005 DVCAM, Germany/Belarus By Sebastian Heinzel

German filmmaker Sebastian Heinzel sets out on a journey to Belarus, a young nation that is torn between stagnation, protest and emigration. He meets a political refugee, members of the Resistance, a house painter, a Go-Go-dancer, a journalist without any prospects and a soldier devoted to his country. The film is a portrait of a generation trying to find its own way after the breakdown of the Soviet Union. On the border of the new European Union, some say Belarus is the last European dictatorship.

Kloos & Co. Medien GmbH
Jablonskistrabe 32
10405 Berlin, Germany
+49 30 4737 2980
www.89mm-derfilm.de
stefan.kloos@kloosundco.de

83 minutes, 2004 DV, Iraq By Stephen Marshall

In late 2003, two filmmakers from the Sundance award-winning Guerrilla News Network spent three weeks on the frontlines of the simmering guerrilla war in Iraq, gathering intelligence, dodging bullets, and capturing the untold stories of what has become the world's most covered, and misunderstood, conflict. BattleGround is an emotionally intense journey that will challenge the orthodoxies of Left and Right, and highlight the humanity of all sides of the conflict. BattleGround is a critical film for anyone who wants to understand the powerful forces that are sucking America deeper and deeper into a Middle Eastern quagmire. Is Iraq our generation's "Bright Shining Lie," or is it the frontline in a global battle for national survival? Or is to some combination of both ?

Silver Hugo Award, 2004 Chicago International Film Festival

Stephen Marshall/GNN
247 East 28th Street, 17D
New York, NY 10016
212-679-3324
www.gnn.tv
stephen@gnn.tv

99 minutes, 2005 16mm, USA By Margaret Brown

As a musician, Townes Van Zandt was legendary -- perhaps one of the greatest who ever lived, inspiring artists from Bob Dylan to Norah Jones to Steve Earle. As a man, a husband, and a father his life was as tragic and as beautiful as the songs he wrote. Townes was an enigma to his family, pinned between a deep longing for home and the nomadic lifestyle that was necessary for his livelihood. Director Margaret Brown's Be Here To Love Me is an artful, expertly directed portrait of both of these sides of Van Zandt and ultimately serves as an insightful look at the sacrifices, challenges, and consequences faced in pursuit of a dream. Haunting and lyrical, Be Here To Love Me combines emotional interviews with friends and family with never seen footage of Townes Van Zandt; from rare performance and interview footage to intimate portraits shot in Van Zandt's own home. It also includes appearances by many famous musicians including Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Kris Kristofferson, Steve Earle, and Emmylou Harris.

Erin Owens
Palm Pictures
(212)320-3684
erin.owens@palmpictures.com

84 minutes, 2005 HDCAM, Canada By Larry Weinstein

BEETHOVEN'S HAIR traces the unlikely journey of a lock of hair cut from Beethoven's corpse and unravels the mystery of his tortured life and death. The story unfolds tracing the past generations of owners, culminating in the futuristic science that reveals Beethoven's "medical secret".   Set to a lush score of some of Beethoven's most glorious music, the film explores the world of forensic testing in sharp relief against the romance of 19th century Vienna and the horrors of 20th century Nazi Germany. Along the way, this film sheds new light upon the cause of Beethoven's various maladies, including his deafness, as well as accounting for his volatile personality and perhaps even the nature of his great art.

Rhombus Media Inc.
99 Spadina Ave. Suite 600
Toronto, Canada M5V 3P8
(416) 971-7856
www.rhombusmedia.com
rhombus@rhombusmedia.com

Bob Smith, U.S.A.
85 minutes, 2005 miniDV, USA By Neil Abramson

A hilarious new documentary that provides a view into American culture through the eyes of seven men named Bob Smith. The filmmakers traveled across the United States documenting the lives of the Bob Smith's. Despite their common names, the men vary greatly in profession, age and religion - from septic tank repairman to yoga instructor; from twenty eight to eighty-eight years old; from Evangelical Christian to Evangelical Atheist. As each man's story unfolds in their own words, intimate portraits are drawn; creating a poetic, non-judgmental and highly entertaining document of American life.

Neil Abramson
2814 Haddington Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90064
310-710-1998
www.bobsmithmovie.com
abramson.n@comcast.net

69 minutes, 2005 Betacam, Argentina/Italy By Tiziano Gamboni & Gianluigi Quarti

Cesarino Fava was born in 1920, in Malé, a small village of Trentino, Italy. The tenth of eleven children, he objected to Fascism and militarism by culture and character. He emigrated to Argentina in where he handled dozens of different jobs, but above all was able to pursue his great love of mountaineering. He founded the Alpine Club of Argentina and went off to explore the remotest summits in the Andes. During a fateful ascent on the Aconcagua, Cesarino was trapped for several days and nights on a mountain wall in a violent blizzard while trying to save the life of a North American climber. A severe case of frostbite resulted in both of his feet being partly amputated. This misfortune did not deter him from continuing to pursue his climbing. Today, at the age of 81, he is still able to climb. After a seven year absence, Cesarino returned to Buenos Aires and Patagonia: this film relates his emotions, his memories and enthusiasm and, more important, brings to light his incredible and infectious vitality.

Televisione Svizzera - TSI
Federico Jolli
Dip. Cultura E Fiction     
6903 Lugano
Switzerland
+41 91 03 53 25
www.rtsi.ch/prog/TSI1/
federico.jolli@rtsi.ch

Disarm	Montana Premier
67 minutes, 2005 miniDV Afghanistan/Iraq/ Bosnia/Herzegovina By Mary Wareham & Brian Liu

Despite a global ban, millions of antipersonnel mines continue to claim victims daily in more than eighty countries. Disarm features harrowing footage smuggled out of isolated nation of Burma, scenes from war-ravaged Colombia and Iraq, never-before-seen helmet camera footage shot by Afghan and Bosnian deminers, unprecedented access into warehouses stockpiling millions of Soviet-made mines, and insightful comments by outspoken Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams. Looking beyond landmines, Disarm offers a contemporary, intelligent and critical investigation into how weapons systems, war, and the way it is waged are being redefined in the twenty-first century with devastating consequences.

"A certain style is typically expected of a documentary like this: authoritative narration, a clear objective, and a firm point of view. Disarm has none of that. Scored by members of Fugazi, with help from Múm, Thievery Corporation, and the Flaming Lips, the film has a slow-burning aesthetic that is more art-rock than National Geographic... the images have the complex power of the best
photojournalism, ambiguous and multi-layered in a way that forces theaudience to interpret on its own." - Swindle Magazine

Mary Wareham
Next Step Productions
2407 15th Street, NW #411
Washington, DC 20009
(202)612-4356
www.nspfilms.org
mary@nspfilms.org

Fatboy: The Movie Northwest Premier
67 minutes, 2005 16mm, USA By Michael Landsberg

Are Americans getting fatter while the weight loss industry grows at the same rate? In Fatboy: The Movie we are taken on the weight loss journey of Miles Forman, a Florida native who decides to pursue a healthier lifestyle after 25 years of being overweight. On Forman's road to fitness and well being his dysfunctional upbringing is unveiled-a world of solitude, numbed by TV and video games, and comforted with food. Fatboy examines America's poor eating habits coupled with their love of "quick-fix" fad diets, while they ironically retain the title of "The Worlds Largest Nation."

Magnolia Martin
Milos Productions
687 6th Ave, Apt. 2
Brooklyn, NY 11215
(347)223-4958
www.fatboythemovie.com
magnolia@fatboythemovie.com

80 minutes, 2005 DV/16mm, Brazil By Jeff Zimbalist

Favela Rising documents a man and a movement, a city divided and a favela (Brazilian squatter settlement) united. Anderson Sa is a former drug-trafficker who, haunted by the murders of his family and many of his friends, turns revolutionary in Rio de Janeiro's most feared slum. Through hip-hop music, the rhythms of the street, and Afro-Brazilian dance he rallies his community to war against the violent oppression enforced by teenage drug armies and sustained by corrupt police.   At the dawn of liberation, just as collective mobility is overcoming all odds and Anderson's grassroots AfroReggae movement is at the height of its success, a tragic accident threatens to silence the movement forever.

Best Feature 2005 - International Documentary Association's Outstanding Documentary Achievement Award

Favela Rising LLC
115 W. 29th St. 10th Fl
New York, NY 10001
www.favelarising.com
favela.rising@gmail.com

96 minutes, 2005 miniDV, USA By Joe Cultrera

How does a film about Catholic clergy abuse not descend into depression?   It helps when the victim doesn't act like one - but uses his own intellect and humor to fight back. Unlike any other look at this topic - Hand of God is a provocative tale of one survivor and his family.   Beyond the headlines, statistics and ecclesiastical spin, filmmaker Joe Cultrera grounds the story of his brother Paul - an abuse survivor - in the details of their Sicilian-American Catholic upbringing.   From indoctrination to abuse; silence to dialogue; resignation to action, the film follows one person's internal and external journey from potential priest to scathing critic.   The paint is peeled off generations of blind faith as a family tries to regain its spiritual footing, and a survivor comes to incendiary conclusions about Corporate Catholicism.   This is a visually compelling and poetic portrait of family, community and the triumph of individual spirits.

Zingerplatz Pictures
200 Park Ave South
Suite 1612
N.Y., NY 10003
(212)529-3841
www.zingerplatz.com
info@zingerplatz.com

80 minutes, 2005 Super 16mm, USA By Rick Minnich

Hillbillies haven't died off; they've simply become neo-hillbillies. Three families of musicians in the Ozark Mountains of Southwestern Missouri give new meaning to the word "hillbilly." Float down the backwaters, soak up some old time religion, savor a washboard duel, and bask in the neon lights of the pseudo-hillbilly showtown Branson. Lean back and merge into hillbilliness .

Hoferichter & Jacobs GmbH
Alte Schönhauser Str. 9
10119 Berlin, Germany
+49-30-3087-4560
www.hoferichterjacobs.de
info@hoferichterjacobs.de

McLibel	Northwest Premier
83 minutes, 2004 DVCAM/Beta SP, UK By Franny Armstrong

McLibel is the story of two ordinary people who humiliated McDonald's in the biggest corporate PR disaster in history. McDonald's loved using the UK libel laws to suppress criticism. Major media organizations like the BBC and The Guardian crumbled and apologized. But then they sued gardener Helen Steel and postman Dave Morris. In the longest trial in English legal history, the "McLibel Two" represented themselves against McDonald's £10 million legal team. Seven years later, in February 2005, the marathon legal battle finally concluded at the European Court of Human Rights. And the result took everyone by surprise - especially the British Government. McLibel is not just about hamburgers. It is about the importance of freedom of speech now that multinational corporations are more powerful than countries. Filmed over ten years by no-budget Director Franny Armstrong, McLibel is the David and Goliath story of two people who refused to say sorry. And in doing so, changed the world.

British Independent Film Awards - Nomination for Best British Documentary

Lizzie Gillett
BCM Spanner Films
London
WC1N 3XX
+44 207 681 0394
www.spannerfilms.net
lizzie@spannerfilms.net

65 minutes, 2005 DVCAM, Hungary By Zsuzsanna Varga

Koszeg is a picturesque small town surrounded by mountains on the Austrian border of Hungary. A 150 year-old synagogue stands in the heart of the city - abandoned, overgrown with weeds, the gates locked. 60 years have passed since any Jews have lived here. What did the bystanders see and what do they believe they saw in their small community during the last days of WWII? The film raises difficult questions regarding the actions of average non-Jewish Hungarians while their Jewish neighbours were sent to their death. The people of Koszeg - along with the entire Hungarian society - have never really faced the past, never taken responsibility, never asked the questions: How did we let it happen? What could have been done?

Zsuzsanna Varga
Zsurlo Film Kft.
Szél u. 17.
1035 Budapest
Hungary
+36 30 3825388
www.zsurlofilm.com
info@zsurlofilm.com

Sentenced Home	North American Premier
76 minutes, 2005 DVCAM, USA/Cambodia By David Grabias & Nicole Newnham

Raised as Americans in inner-city Seattle, three Cambodian refugees each made a rash decision as a teenager-committing a crime that irrevocably shaped their destiny. Now as adults 20 years later, they find themselves caught between a tragic past and an uncertain future by a system that doesn't offer any second chances. Filmed over the course of three years, Sentenced Home puts a human face on U.S. deportation policy, following the heart-breaking sagas of these three Cambodian-Americans full-circle. The film reflects with them about their birth in the Killing Fields, their youth on America's mean streets, and their struggles in courtrooms and prisons, and follows them through their unwilling return to Cambodia decades later. Told in first-person narration, through the voices of the three deportees, their families and their friends, Sentenced Home interweaves their dramatic cinema-verité stories and raises timely questions about immigration, civil rights, and cultural identity that have no easy answer.

Sentenced Home Productions
4302 1/2 Melrose Ave., Suite B
Los Angeles, CA   90029
323-661-4700
sentencedhome@sbcglobal.net

66 minutes, 2005 miniDV, USA By Arthur Crenshaw

The Sandman's Garden examines the life and art of Lonnie Holley, a self-taught African-American artist based in Birmingham, Alabama. The film follows Holley as he builds a sculptural environment out of discarded materials and found objects in the Birmingham Museum of Art's sculpture garden. His art is by turns profound, playful, and deeply moving. As the garden grows piece by piece, Holley is revealed as a man who has overcome a tortured past. Growing up poor and black in the 20th century American South, Holley worked to overcome prejudice and deprivation by using art to explore his life and ideas. The camera captures the artist's process and reflections as he gathers materials, creates pieces, interacts with others, and relives the joys and sorrows that forged his unique and genuine artwork.

Arthur Crenshaw
Furnace Films
4306 Overlook Road
Birmingham, AL 35222
(205)533-3348
arthurcrenshaw@aol.com

Village Life	North American Premier
61 minutes, 2005 DVCAM, England By Nick O'Dwyer & Rachel Bliss

Botton Village - tucked away high on England's north Yorkshire moors - is part soap opera; part Village of the Damned. It's a bold social experiment where 136 special needs 'villagers' with learning difficulties live in a commune with 100 'co-workers'. Partly because of its isolation, Botton is a place of high emotion where outbursts of bizarre behavior are part of the routine and are benignly tolerated. Landmark Films was given remarkably free access to Botton and Village Life - filmed over a cold winter - is a truly extraordinary mix of conflict, emotion and weirdness. The film tracks a group of villagers through emotionally difficult events in their lives. It's an unusually 'pure' documentary and unfolds in a series of observed scenes, allowing special needs people to speak for themselves, unmediated by experts or educational therapists. The result is a film which is raw, direct, honest and provocative.

"A powerful documentary...it was uplifting, humbling, thought-provoking but never merely strange..." - Daily Telegraph

Landmark Films
11 Evelyn Court
267b Cowley Road
Oxford, England OX4 1GY.
+44 (0)1865 297220
www.landmarkfilms.com
information@landmarkfilms.com

Waiting to Inhale	Northwest Premier
77 minutes, 2005 DVCAM, USA By Jed Riffe

Waiting to Inhale takes the viewer from underground pot clubs to the U.S. Supreme Court, from Israeli science labs to government approved marijuana gardens outside London. It features leading experts and researchers from all over the world on both sides of the controversy over the therapeutic potential of marijuana. In the U.S., ten states have passed laws with medical marijuana provisions. Yet use, cultivation and possession - for any reason - remain illegal under federal law. In the film we see the ensuing battles while exploring deeper issues of medical ideologies. Waiting to Inhale is not a propaganda film for either side of this international conflict, instead focusing on passionate individuals enmeshed in a struggle whose stakes are nothing short of life and death.

Jed Riffe
Beyond the Dream, LLC
2600 Tenth Street Suite 437
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510)845-2044
www.beyondthedream.org
ishifilm@aol.com

Weekend Warriors	World Premier
93 minutes, 2005 miniDV, Germany By Alexa Oona Schulz

American Football is not only played in the US but also in Germany. Four young amateur football players from Berlin are the main focus of the film. For them this all-American sport is more than just a hobby and more than just a game. Football gives them guidance in life and a boost to their masculine ego. Weekend Warriors portraits Herbie - the mama's boy, Tilo - the show-off, Johnny - the young and confused, and Thomas - the thinker, during one football season with the "Berlin Adler". The film explores in a humorous way how personal goals, moral values and rituals from the football fields are applied to real life and vice versa.

Blue Moon Film
Schustehrusstr. 45
10585 Berlin
+49(0)171 17 200 74
www.weekendwarriorsfilm.com
www.blue-moon-film.com