The mission of NEFVF is:
· To promote & exhibit high quality independent films throughout New England to a diverse audience,
· To foster & build the regional film community by celebrating independent film & video,
· To create networking opportunities for independent filmmakers,
· and to provide national visibility for regional independent filmmakers.
Thursday, October 6th, 2005
7pm
Living with Slim: Kids Talk About HIV/AIDS
by Sam Kauffmann
RT 28:30 min
Medfield, MA
In many African countries, HIV/AIDS is called 'slim.' In this documentary seven African children talk about what it's like to be HIV positive.
Buffalo Soldiers
by Peter Scheehle, Allan Shinohara, Nozomi Ito, & Aoife Nugent
RT 50 min
World Premier
Buffalo Soldiers is the lyrical story of a community of Jamaican migrant farmers working the tobacco harvest in rural Massachusetts. Subtle and touching, the film rises above the political to focus on the often-overlooked human face of migrant work.
Friday, October 7th, 2005
7pm - 9pm
Nuestras Voces: Being Latina at MIT
by Margarita Ribas Groeger and Adriana Gutierrez-Gonzalez
RT 36:15 min
World Premier
This documentary portrays the experiences of Latina students at MIT and their reflections on those experiences.
Cuba Mia: Portrait of an All Woman Orchestra
by Cecilia Domeyko
RT 56 min
NE Regional Premier
The story of 'Camerata Romeu,' an all female orchestra in Cuba whose music is a unique mixture of classical form and Afro-Latin beat. Narrated by the women themselves, it delves into the musicians' daily lives and the universal language of artistic dedication and personal sacrifice.
9pm
Touching History
by Federico Muchnik
RT 30 min
Arlington, MA
World Premier
"Touching History" recounts the contentious relationship between The Cambridge Savings Bank and the historic Tasty Diner during the redevelopment of Harvard Square.
Walking the Line
by Jeremy Levine
RT 57:30 min
Beverly, MA
Ithaca College
NE Regional Premier
"Walking the Line" offers a harrowing view of the chaos along the U.S./Mexico border through private citizens who are taking the law into their own hands. Following a growing movement of anti-immigrant vigilantes, some clad in fatigues and armed with semi-automatic weapons, the documentary provides a scathing critique of our failed border policy.
11pm - 1pm
Clean
Stephen Dypiangco
RT 4:10 min
Brooklyn, NY
New England Premier
A park maintenance woman struggles with a moral dilemma after discovering a wallet full of money.
Thug
By Geva Patz
RT 2 min
A woman runs for her life from a menacing pursuer. What will happen if no one helps her?
Edge of Darkness-Dark Warrior
by Jason Yee
RT 81 min
Boston, MA
First Time Director
NE Regional Premier
After four years, Derek Wu (Jason Yee) is released from prison. Hunting for a regular job, he tries to redeem his life by living clean. Then, Derek's old gang buddies turn up murdered and the police make him the prime suspect. In this homage to the legendary Bruce Lee and films of the 70’s, martial arts champion Jason Yee serves up Kung-fu action with attitude.
Saturday, October 8th, 2005
12:30 - 1:45pm
Chaos & Order: Making American Theatre
by Tim Jackson
RT 66 min
Brookline, MA
Narrated by two-time Tony Award winner Cheryl Jones, "Chaos & Order: Making American Theatre" examines the role of theatre in our world, our country, our lives. The documentary shows how one theatre company---The American Repertory theatre---fights to keep theatre compelling, passionate, and alive.
2pm - 3pm
Music Beneath the Equinox
by William McKenna
RT 52:58 min
Washington, D.C.
World Premier
"Music Beneath the Equinox" is a profile of the Manchester Music Festival in Manchester, VT. It documents the journey of young artists from around the world preparing for their lives as professional musicians. Segments also include live performances.
3:30pm
A Time to Reflect: the History of Whalom Park
by Aaron Cadieux
RT 35 min
Fitchburg State College
Boston Premier
This documentary provides an in-depth look into a disappearing piece of Americana, the classic amusement park. Student director Cadieux tells the story of the rise and fall of Whalom and covers over 100 years of the park's history.
Our Lady's
by Elizabeth O'Brien Gardner
RT 25:01 min
Boston, MA
UC Berkeley
"Our Lady's" is the story of how the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis spurred on Boston suburban Priest and his parish to stand up to the church hierarchy and demand their voices be heard.
A Change of Character
by Neal Goodman
RT 31:20 min
Truett Allen's personality changed drastically after a series of strokes resulted in damage to the frontal lobes of his brain. This captivating video features neurologist Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg, author of The Executive Brain and best selling author Dr. Oliver Sacks, Awakenings.
From Drunk to Trunk
by Aaron Cadieux
RT 20 min
Fitchburg State College
World Premier
A group of Fitchburg State College students tell the true story of Mike Fletcher's drunken adventure.
6pm
Life After Leukemia
Benjamin Oliver
RT 8 min
Brighton, MA
A former child actor's struggles in the world again after being written off a popular television show.
Fences & Fingernails
by Garth Donovan
RT: 85 min
Needham, MA
World Premier
Born into a family of ice hockey players, Samantha searches for an identity of her own in a suburban world where nothing is too wrong or just right.
8pm
Winter Sea
by Erika Tasini
RT 25 min
Los Angeles, CA
New England Premier
A secretive young woman's intimate relationship with her brother is threatened when an unexpected guest shows up for dinner at their eccentric mother's house.
You Are Alone
by Gorman Bechard
RT 84 min
Hamden, CT
Boston Premier
A dark sexually-charged exploration of just how far a jaded middle-aged man and a depressed 18-year-old girl will go to escape loneliness.
10:15pm
Means to an End
by Paul Solet and Jake Hamilton
RT 13:30 min
Newton, MA
New England Premier
Two horror-crazed special effects artists, blacklisted for their unorthodox techniques, cast themselves and an unwitting distribution executive in a film with truly lasting special effects.
America: A Broken Record
by Elisa C. Thomas
RT 28 min
Emerson College
NE Regional Premier
This documentary provides a critical look at the effects of media consolidation on commercial radio, music, and ultimately American culture.
King of Punk
by Kenneth van Schooten
RT 74 min
Boston, MA
"King of Punk" gives an interesting perspective between the old and new generation Punk Artists. It shows the differences and similarities between the two groups in a humorous and entertaining manner.
Sunday, October 9th, 2005
12pm
The Crocodile River One Man's Journey, Part 3
by Robert Perkins
RT 56 min
"The Crocodile River" explores how crossing international boarders and emotional boundaries enables two people of vastly different cultures, one American and the other African, to find common ground.
1:30pm
Troubled Water
by Kevin King
RT 50 min
North Falmouth, MA
First Time Director
Boston Premier
"Troubled Water" reveals the exposure of thousands of Massachusetts Residents to a Hazardous chemical in the public water supply and asks the questions: who knows, who cares?
The Gay Marriage Thing
by Stephanie Higgins
RT 47 min
Belmont, MA
First Time Director
Boston Premier
"The Gay Marriage Thing" presents the politics, the piety, and the people embroiled in and affected by the debate over same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. Amidst the chaos of legislators, church leaders, and protestors, one couple's quiet story puts a human face on the social struggle of our time.
3:30pm
Australian Atomic Confessions
Gregory Young
RT 48 min
New South Wales, Australia
United States Premier
After more than fifty years of silence, eyewitness accounts from nomadic aboriginal survivors and military servicemen expose England's top secret atomic bomb tests in Australia.
Still We Ride
by Andrew Lynn, Elizabeth Press, Chris Ryan
RT 37:20 min
Brooklyn, NY
"Still We Ride" is an action-packed glimpse into a shocking showdown between the monthly Critical Mass bike ride and police in NYC. The directors have combined the contributions of more than 20 independent videographers to create a tightly edited and dramatic documentary.
5:30pm - 8:00pm
Aerosol
by Wojciech Wawrzyniak
RT 10 min
Sydney, Australia
When an ant appears on the assembly line, a worker's life changes forever.
Streets of Wonderland
by Carey Lewis
RT 123 min
Ontario, Canada
First Time Feature Director
New England Premier
These are two types of lives that are led in Niagara Falls: the ones you hear about, and the ones you don't. This film tells the tale of the lives led in the shadows, just outside the frame of the postcards.
8:15pm
Indebted
Jose Rosete
RT 15 min
Chandler, AZ
World Premiere
A man fed up with life's struggles comes home from work and realizes he wants to end it all. What will he do?
Awake
by Chris Bentley
RT 71 min
Medford, MA
First Time Feature Director
World Premier
A former teenage chess champion, now a manager for a hi-tech company, finds himself in places he never expected after his wife leaves him.
10pm -12pm
Roger
Ramon Hamilton
RT 15 min
Brighton, MA
World Premier
A man wakes up to find that the world he knew is no longer the same.
The Man Who Couldn't...
by Brandon Wilson
RT 95 min
Los Angeles, CA
First Time Feature Director
NE Regional Premier
A second-coming-of-age story about a struggling filmmaker/cinephile who falls for a web cam mistress and faces the challenges of having a relationship in front of the all-seeing eye of the World Wide Web.
Monday, October 10th, 2005
1 - 3pm
The Empty Building
RT 40 min
Giovanni Sanseviero
Long Island, NY
Massachusetts Premier
First time director Sanseviero creates a stylish, lyrical and evocative tale that probes a central question: where can someone go to relive a traumatic event in order to progress in life? Sanseviero's answer is an empty building where people confront their memories in search of meaning.
Vacationland
RT 28 min
Lance Edmands
Brooklyn, NY
First time director Edmands provides a poetic look at two young brothers as they bike across the desolate back roads of Maine in search of their older brother who has been estranged from the family.
Slow Time
Eric Harper
RT 23 min
Youngstown, OH
World Premier
Two men cross paths at an abandoned gas station on a road to nowhere.
3-4pm
Case Tape 347
Efram Potelle
RT 4 min
Los Angeles, CA
New England Premier
This home video was found in Red Rock State Park. The hikers in video have been missing for months.
Fable
Daniel Sousa
RT 7 min
Providence, RI
A cyclical fairy tale in which a man and a woman, cursed to be apart forever, realize that they can break the curse by transforming themselves into animals.
Imagination's Blue
by Doug Williams
RT 6 min
Stonington, CT
High school filmmaker Williams explores the imagination of a young girl who is trying to understand a mysterious man who stands on a street corner every day.
Hotel Room
by Melissa Bruno
RT 8:13 min
Somerville, MA
New England Premier
A young woman waits for a mysterious man in a hotel room.
The Bowlers
by Kevin McCarthy
RT 8:06 min
Allston, MA
Boston University
Relax and sit courtside and take in the subtle sounds and rhythms of Bocce as Boston's North End regulars play morning, noon, and night.
Shadow of Liberty
by Geoff Adams
RT 13:08 min
Newton, MA
An authentic Colonial Reenactivist crashes the Boston Tea Party. What would you throw in Boston Harbor today?
4:30pm
Forget Me Not
by Danielle O'Keefe
RT 5:38 min
Harvard Animation
Painting Day
Daesup Chang
RT 2:15 min
Glendale, CA
New England Premier
Painting a bull riding machine has never been more exciting.
Safety
by David Baeumler
RT 9:11 min
Cambridge, MA
Baeumler contemplates the myth of America's safety.
I Cannot Understand You
by David Baeumler
RT 5:44 min
Cambridge, MA
A philosophical tape recorder serves a guide to a world of fireworks, flowers and thrill rides.
Depository Vacation
Dave Schlafman
RT 3 min
Swampscott, MA
Through simple drawings, animations, and journal entries, Schlafman creates a childlike world while exploring the source of new ideas.
The Adventures of Poyi and Ubo in Bubble Trouble
by Arnaldo LaBoy
RT 4 min
Monroe, LA
New England Premier
Ubo the slug suffers an early morning case of mistaken identity.
Blues & Green
by Evelyn Brito
RT 6:01 min
Roxbury, MA
Student-Emerson College
World Premier
Student director Brito provides a touching look at a woman who struggles to deal with the oppression that has driven her to prostitution.
Love is Blind
Peter Pizzi
RT 9 min
East Boston, MA
New England Premier
South Baghdad
William Ross
RT 3:24 min
Seattle, WA
New England Premier
The true story of Ali, a 12-year boy, who becomes collateral damage when the U.S. invaded Iraq.
The Red Giant Dance
Benjamin Chou
RT 2:13 min
Waltham, MA
MassArt Student animator Benjamin Chou's dance-inspired interpretation of the spacial process of a star becoming a Red Giant Star.
Disposition
Peter Bertoli
RT 3:30 min
Oyster Bay, NY
New England Premier
High School Freshman Peter Bertoli explores a series of fractured images that resemble a waking dream.
Precious Moments With Mother Mary
Daniel Palmieri
RT 2:48 min
Philadelphia, PA
World Premier
Animator Palmieri's first of many true-life stories of his New York mother. In this episode, Mother Mary faces her youngest son's question: Did you guys have crack back in your day?
With No Regrets
by Sam Ray
RT 2 min
Harvard Animation
The TinMan
by Karen Mae Black
RT 6:10 min
Cambridge, MA
World Premier
The Tinman is a favorite with the neighborhood ladies, but he's got his eye on the Butcher's daughter, Maria.
Minor Architecture
by Terah Maher
RT 2:41 min
Harvard Animation
Tall Grown Grass
by Scott Duquete
RT 3:06 min
Harvard Animation
Wish you were Here
by Molly Wilson
RT 1:46 min
Harvard Animation
Listen
by Aldo Tambellini and Anthony Tenczar
RT 17 min
Concord, NH, Cambridge, MA
New England Regional Premier
Listen confronts today's world situation through spoken word, written text and manipulated mass media imagery.
Never Live above a Psychic
by Steve Gentile
RT 8:20 min
A man battles his disruptive downstairs neighbors: A family of telekinetic psychics.
6:30pm
Awards Announcements