77 minutes, 2006 miniDV, Cambodia/USA By Skye Fitzgerald Montana Premiere Asia Docs Series

Bombhunters explores the long-term consequences of war and genocide in Cambodia that persist in the form of landmines, unexploded ordnance (UXO), and other munitions. It also examines the social, cultural, and historical contexts of rural villagers who seek out and dismantle UXO to both protect their families from harm and earn enough money to survive. Through the use of lipstick cameras and extensive fieldwork and interviews, Bombhunters profiles the experiences of these brave workers as they risk their lives to feed their families.  

www.bombhunters.com

The Cats of Mirikitani
74 minutes, 2006 DV, USA By Linda Hattendorf 2007 Best Documentary Feature Montana Premiere Documentary Feature Competition Asia Docs Series

"Make art not war" is Jimmy Mirikitani's motto. This 80 year old Japanese American artist was born in California and grew up in Hiroshima, but by 2001 he is living on the streets of New York City, angrily drawing pictures of WWII internment camps and atomic bombs. When a filmmaker stops to ask about his art, a friendship begins that will change both their lives after 9/11. An intimate exploration of the lingering trauma of war and discrimination -- and the healing power of art.

www.thecatsofmirikitani.com

Chairman George
72 minutes, 2005 miniDV, Canada/China By Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin Northwest Premiere Asia Docs Series

George is a Greek-Canadian who lives with his mother in Ottawa. He has a PhD in mathematics and has worked at Statistics Canada for over 20 years. But, every few months, George takes an extended leave from Stats Can. He straps on his guitar and heads to China where he re-invents himself as an international troubadour and musical star. Chairman George profiles George Sapounidis, an average bureaucrat who refuses to live anything but an extraordinary life. The film follows George throughout China and on his quest to play at the closing ceremonies of the Athens Olympic Games.

www.documentarychallenge.org

China Blue
88 minutes, 2006 DVCAM, China By Micha X. Peled Montana Premiere Documentary Feature Competition Asia Docs Series

China Blue is a powerful and poignant journey into the harsh world of sweatshop workers. Shot clandestinely, this is a deep-access account of what both China and the international retailers don't want us to see: how the clothes we buy are actually made.

www.bullfrogfilms.com

Daughters of Wisdom
70 minutes, 2007 miniDV, Tibet/USA By Bari Pearlman Sneak Preview Asia Docs Series

Daughters of Wisdom is an intimate portrait of the nuns of Kala Rongo Monastery, situated in the remote Nangchen region of Northeastern Tibet. Since the 8th century, monasteries have been the spiritual and cultural centers for areas like Nangchen and monastic life has mostly been available only to men. Since 1990, however, the Kala Rongo Monastery has been granting women new choices and changing attitudes that no longer serve the greater good of the community. Daughters of Wisdom is the story of this exceptional community that could not have existed twenty years ago yet thrives today.

www.daughtersofwisdom.com

Distorted Propaganda
67 minutes, 2006 miniDV, China/USA By Jeff Lodas World Premiere Documentary Feature Competition

Through the window of Chinese propaganda in Tibet, Distorted Propanda looks at topics such as education, entertainment, urban development, religion, political anniversary celebration, and Tibet's peaceful liberation. Delving directly into the propaganda world, the film both illuminates and raises questions about these topics through interviews with Tibetans for whom propaganda existed as an integral part of daily life.

www.distortedpropaganda.com

Kobe
45 minutes, 2006 Super 16mm, Japan/Germany by Rainer Komers North American Premeire Documentary Short Competition Asia Docs Series

Kobe is a composition of images and sound. With neither narration nor interviews, the film explores the daily tasks and pleasures at a Japanese seaport: a fish auction at the wholesale market, Karaoke singers in a private music saloon, the men of Kobe Rescue on their training ground. Kobe is a poetic, observational documentary that offers insight into the human condition and tracks the turning point of postwar Japanese society.

r.komers@t-online.de

Old Shadows, Old Mountains
6 minutes, 2006 DVCAM, China By Jonna Vasquez Arong Northwest Premiere Asia Docs Series MiniDocs Competition

While more youth are increasingly moving to Beijing to pursue their dreams, what do the older folks dream about in a small village tucked away in the mountains 60 miles away? In a village where the average age is in the mid-50s, the folks who fought to survive in the revolution are now struggling to maintain dying customs, including their own version of traditional opera. Made in just five days as part of the International Documentary Challenge.

www.documentarychallenge.org
www.joannarong.com

26 minutes, 2006 miniDV, Singapore By Joycelyn Khoo and Hwei Shan Lo North American Premiere Documentary Short Competition Asia Docs Series

In today's fast-paced urban societies, people are constantly on the lookout for quicker and better ways to squeeze as much as possible out of every second. Singapore Standard Time takes a quirky look at the ways in which speed has taken root in Singaporean culture. Driven by an ethos of efficiency and instant gratification, we have taken speed to unique heights, from setting the world record for the fastest text message to the patented 20-minute facelift. Despite these convenient advantages, could this culture of speed be a sign of something more?

http://sgstandardtime.atspace.com/

70 minutes, 2006 miniDV, China/USA By Les Blank and Gina Leibrecht Special Work-in-Progress Screening Asia Docs Series

The Tea Film follows world-renowned American tea importer David Lee Hoffman to some of the most remote regions of China in search of the world's finest teas. Not since Robert Fortune clandestinely made his way through the tea growing districts in China in order to steal plants for the British Empire has a westerner attempted to gain access to the hidden world of tea. As the Chinese open their doors to the global marketplace, Hoffman reminds them of this cultural gem that links them to the distant past and introduces the west to the artistry and exquisite taste of fine, handmade tea.

www.lesblank.com

25 minutes, 2005 miniDV, Russia/Mongolia/China By Claudia Ruiz and Gijs Verkoulen North American Premiere Documentary Short Competition Asia Docs Series

A beautiful no-dialogue documentary from the perspective of a passenger aboard the Trans-Siberian Express railroad, Trans is a visual poem that presents a new view on a classic journey on the longest railway on the planet.

"The colour pallet, the rhythm and the balance between audio and visuals are witness of a great sense of feeling for the possibilities of the medium and a great poetic judgement." - Conservator Saskia Asser, House Marseille; Museum of Photography Amsterdam

www.cruiz.nl

Wasted Orient
90 minutes, 2006 DVCAM, China/USA By Kevin Fritz Northwest Premiere Documentary Feature Competition Asia Docs Series

Forget everything you think you know about China in the twenty-first century. In Wasted Orient, a Beijing rock band embarks on its first nationwide tour as the artists wrestle with life in a transitional society. The film serves viewers a hearty helping of Chinese subculture's social reality, one that is best consumed with a few beers.

"In recent years, the Western press has devoted much time to covering the nouveaux riches springing up in modern China. Wasted Orient debunks the perception that most of the country is looking toward a hopeful and prosperous future."
- The Patriot News

www.wastedorient.com

Yellow Ox Mountain
25 minutes, 2006 miniDV, China/USA By Miao Wang Northwest Premiere Documentary Short Competition Asia Docs Series

China is a country where dissenting voices have been systematically purged and propaganda efficiently woven into every aspect of life. This inescapably politically and culturally turbulent atmosphere stipulated a contemporary Chinese artists’ diaspora to New York City. Yellow Ox Mountain reflects on the artistic and personal transformations of two such Chinese artists, Zhang Hongtu and Zhang Jian-Jun. Their lives and work span from the post-Cultural Revolution political environment of China to today’s thriving Chinese contemporary art community of New York.

www.threewatersproductions.com