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DocuWeek

The International Documentary Association will hold its 10th Annual DocuWeek™ Theatrical Documentary Showcase from the 18th – 24th August 2006.

IDA’d mission is to promote nonfiction film and video around the world by supporting and recognizing the efforts of documentary film and video makers, increasing public appreciation and demand for the documentary, and providing a forum for documentary makers, their supporters and suppliers.
 
DocuWeek™ is sponsored by Langley Productions, Kodak, Jaman, DeWitt Stern Group, Chubb Group, ArcLight Hollywood and the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Documentaries that will be featured throughout the week include the following:

Toots
Toots is a provocative, loving and unmistakably authentic portrait of legendary Manhattan saloonkeeper Toots Shor, a self-made, unapologetic and quintessentially American man. This film, directed by Shor's granddaughter, Kristi Jacobson, reveals as much about New York's golden era as it does about the man and his enduring legacy.

Black Gold
As westerners revel in designer lattes, impoverished Ethiopian coffee-growers suffer the bitter taste of injustice. In this eye-opening exposé of the multi-billion-dollar coffee industry by Nick Francis and Marc Francis, Black Gold traces one man's fight for fair trade.

Abduction The Megumi Yokota
Oscar-winning director Jane Campion executive-produced this chilling true story of a 13-year-old Japanese girl who was abducted by North Korean spies in 1977. The film follows her parents' moving 30-year battle to bring her home. Told in bold, signature true-crime style, using exclusive footage and exceptional access, the filmmakers, Chris Sheridan and Patty Kim, weave an extraordinary story of espionage and love.

Half-life: A Journey to Chernobyl
Based on Mario Petrucci's award-winning, book-length poem for Chernobyl, Heavy Water, this film by David Bickerstaff and Phil Grabsky tells the story of the people who dealt with the world's worst nuclear disaster at ground level: the fire fighters, the soldiers, the 'liquidators,' and their families.

The Blood of Yingzhou District
Ruby Yang’s The Blood of Yingzhou District documents a year in the life of children in the remote villages of Anhui Province, China, who have lost their parents to AIDS. Traditional obligations to family and village collide with terror of the disease.

A Son's Sacrifice
A Son's Sacrifice by Yoni Brook follows the journey of Imran, a young American Muslim who confronts his roots at his father's slaughterhouse in New York City. On the holiest day of the year, Imran must lead his community in a sacrifice that forces him to define himself as a Muslim and a son.

Jesus Camp
A growing number of Evangelical Christians believe there is a revival underway whereby young Christians must take up the leadership of the religious right. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s Jesus Camp follows Levi, Rachael, Tory and a number of other young children to Pastor Becky Fisher's 'Kids on Fire' summer camp in Devil's Lake, North Dakota, where kids as young as six years old are taught to become dedicated Christian soliders in 'God's Army.' The film is a first-ever look into an intense training ground that recruits born-again Christian children to become an active part of America's political future.
 
Deliver us from Evil
Deliver Us From Evil, directed by Amy Berg, is the story of Oliver O'Grady, the most notorious paedophile priest in the modern history of the Catholic Church, and an investigation into how he was allowed to forge a trail of destruction across northern California under the knowing eye of the church hierarchy for over 20 years.

The Ground Truth
Hailed by Sundance filmgoers as 'powerful' and 'quietly unflinching,' Patricia Foulkrod's searing documentary feature includes exclusive footage that will stun audiences. The filmmaker's subjects are patriotic young Americans, articulating stories that must be heard.

This Film is Not Yet Rated
This Film Is Not Yet Rated, from Oscar-nominated director Kirby Dick, is an unprecedented investigation into the secret MPAA film ratings system and its profound impact on American culture.

Phoenix Dance
It seems impossible, but after losing a leg to cancer, accomplished dancer Homer Avila returns to the stage without crutches, performing with Andrea Flores a duet choreographed by Alonzo King. In Karina Epperlein’s documentary, we witness determination, skill and courage as Homer collaborates in his now 'imperfect' body' and his 'one-leggedness' turns into transcendent beauty.

Purvis of the Overtown
After a stint in Raiford State Prison for a breaking and entering charge, Purvis Young seemed destined to fail. Yet while in prison, Purvis taught himself to paint, and he became a highly acclaimed contemporary artist, now recognized nationally as an icon of African-American culture and history. Filmmakers David Raccuglia and Shaun Conrad follow Purvis’ story, revealing that he paints simply because that's what he needs to do.

Iraq in Fragments
James Longley’s Iraq in Fragments illuminates post-war Iraq in three acts, building a vivid picture of a country pulled in different directions by religion and ethnicity. Filmed in vérité style, with no scripted narrative, the film powerfully explores the lives of ordinary Iraqis: people whose thoughts, beliefs, aspirations and concerns are at once personal and illustrative of larger issues in Iraq today.

The Trails of Darryl Hunt
North Carolina, 1984. A brutal murder leaves a white woman dead, and a young black man accused. Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg’s exclusive portrait of a harrowing wrongful conviction offers a provocative and haunting examination of a community and a criminal justice system subject to racial bias and tainted by fear.

An Unreasonable Man
Over the past 40 years and without ever holding public office, Ralph Nader built a legislative record that is the rival of any contemporary president. With the help of exciting graphics, rare archival footage and over 40 on-camera interviews conducted over a two-year period, An Unreasonable Man by Henriette Mantel and Stephen Skrovan traces the life and career of Ralph Nader, one of the most important and controversial political figures of the past half-century.

So Much So Fast
Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan’s So Much So Fast unfolds like a nonfiction novel. Stephen Heywood finds out he has the paralysing neurological disorder ALS. His brother Jamie becomes obsessed with finding a cure. The woman who's falling in love with Stephen has a decision to make. So Much So Fast is a black-humoured cliff-hanger of romance, guerrilla science and the redefinition of time.

Price: $11 (General admission); $9 (IDA and ArcLight® Members, students and Seniors); $110 (Showcase Pass); $50 (Day Pass). Tickets go on sale starting 28th July and are only available at the ArcLight box-office and www.Arclightcinemas.com

Date: 18th – 24th August

Venue: ArcLight Hollywood, 6360 Sunset Boulevard Hollywood, California (Sunset & Vine)
Link: http://www.documentary.org/

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