UTOPIAN VISIONS FEATURE AWARD WINNER - Signs of the Time
WINNERS OF BEST SHORT, BEST YOUTH FILM - TO BE ANNOUNCED AT THE AWARDS CEREMONY
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American Colonies: Collapse of the Bee We may not realize how important a player bees are to our environment and economy until the mysterious problem of Colony Collapse Disorder started to decimate the numbers of honeybees. This films looks at the world of bees from the perspective of scientists, beekeepers, and other experts and how we can bring them back for the sake of our food supply and global economy. Screening is free, but a vegan buffet dinner may be purchased beginning at 6:30 pm. Presented in partnership with Reel & Meal at the New Deal. Monday, October 19 at 7 pm at the New Deal Café |
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Autism: Made in the USA (100 minutes) What is autism and why is it on the rise? What environmental or genetic factors could be contributing to the epidemic increase in childhood autism and how are both orthodox and non-traditional therapies being explored? Sunday, October 25 at 12 noon at the P&G Theatre |
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Basket Bronx (14 minutes) Alex dreams of following in his idols' footsteps by becoming a basketball star. Will a new friend help him reach that goal? Sunday, October 25 at 12 noon at |
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Black Soldiers in Blue (30 minutes) The hardships, heroism, and enormous contribution made by African-American soldiers to the Union victory in the Civil War. Screening with Inside Buffalo Saturday, October 24 at 12 noon at |
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Life can often be boring. But do we ever stop to consider why we fight against boredom? This documentary looks at boredom from the perspective of a Wall street stockbroker who makes millions a year, a desert nomad who does nothing all day, the last living female spy from World War II, a painter who has been painting Time for the last 42 years, and a 16 year old girl who shot eleven people at a school because “I don’t like Mondays.” Narrated (in naturally boring drawl) by actor John Malkovich. Sunday, October 25 at 4:00 pm Greenbelt Arts Center |
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Dandelion Will Make You Wise (5 minutes) An animated take on how life never truly ends, as seen from the perspective of plants who experience perpetual rebirth from season to season. Saturday, October 24 at 2 pm at |
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Docs In Progress Work-in-Progress Community Screening - FREE SCREENING Ever wished you could help a filmmaker make a film? Now you can without having to have any technical expertise beyond your critical thinking skills. This special program will feature Adrian Muys' unfinished 67-minute documentary, Hands of Harvest about the interdependence between Maryland crab fishermen and Mexican immigrant workers on the Eastern Shore. Following the screening, staff from Docs In Progress will moderate a workshop-style session in which the audience can provide constructive feedback to the filmmaker. This program is presented in partnership with Docs In Progress and is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. Saturday, October 24 at 6 pm at |
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Doggie Drill Team (16 minutes) By Kristin Holodak It's morning and the marchers have begun to assemble. Groomed and practiced and ready for action, they greet each other with a wave and smile, and - for the more intimate of the group - a sniff of the behind. Sunday, October 25 at 12 noon at |
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Euforia (100 minutes) A washed up rock star has all but given up on life until he meets a mysterious woman who asks him to take her to her ancestral home of Guanajuato, Mexico. This road trip becomes a journey full of lessons and revelations. In Spanish with English subtitles. Mature themes. Saturday, October 24 at 8 pm at |
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The Fugue (75 minutes) A struggling artist desperately tries to recover from a childhood trauma, but her life is turned upside down when she is haunted by the vision of a long dead childhood friend. Is the sprit a hallucination or a foreshadowing of something worse to come? Saturday, October 24 at 8 pm at |
GAVA/GATE Animation Showcase A showcase of recent works by students in Greenbelt's own animation program, sponsored by GATE and GAVA. Showing at the Greenbelt Library on Monday, October 19 at 4 pm & again at 6 pm. |
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Green Towns USA: A New Deal (57 minutes) Planned and built near major cities in the 1930s as alternatives to inner city slums, Greenbelt, Maryland, Greenhills, Ohio, and Greendale, Wisconsin were Depression-era experiments in federally-directed suburban planning. But when the federal government withdrew its support, each of these towns had to make it on its own. A look at how these three green towns have taken different paths with varying success as they dealt and continue to deal with issues of urban sprawl, ecological awareness, governmental leadership, and community identity. Screening with Whitehall. Sunday, October 25 at 2 pm at the P&G Theatre |
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Incubator (51 minutes) - LOCAL FILMMAKER Two aliens from the future are sent back to the past to save Earth from carbon burning by destroying all the planet's technology. Saturday, October 24 at 10 pm at |
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Inside Buffalo (59 minutes) Nicknamed the Buffalo Soldiers, the 92nd Division was an all African-American combat unit which fought in Italy during World War II. These men fought two wars at the same time, one against the Nazis, the other against the racial discrimination which forced their unit to be segregated from white American soldiers. Includes an interview with Vernon Baker, the last living African-American WWII soldier awarded the Medal of Honor. Screening with Black Soldiers in Blue. Saturday, October 24 at 12 noon at |
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Jeannot le Fou (75 minutes) If Jeannot Caron has his way, Saint-Hyacinthe on the banks of a river will be the site of the first ever "Hospital of Love," a place where anyone in need can sign themselves in to receive "care, shelter and hugs." The local authorities are less than thrilled and have dug in their heels to block this stubborn visionary, who has given up everything to make his messianic dream come true. Screening with No Good Reason Saturday, October 24 at 6 pm at |
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Jessie Brown Show 5 (5 minutes) The latest installment of the animated series brings a popstar to Jessie's talkshow. Saturday, October 24 at 10 pm at the Greenbelt Arts Center as part of Shorts Program 2: Late Nite Shorts |
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Kevin's Friend (13 minutes) Kevin is a quiet 7-year old who walks home every day by cutting through the park. One day he meets a girl at the park and they soon become friends. But something is different about her. Saturday, October 24 at 10 pm at the Greenbelt Arts Center as part of Shorts Program 2: Late Nite Shorts |
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Li Tong (75 minutes) When eight-year-old Li Tong wakes to the cartoon sounds of her new alarm clock, she believes it will be a day like any other. With her father away on business and her mother working the nightshift at the hospital, she gets herself ready in her own special way and hurries out to catch the city bus. Little does she know that she is starting a journey that will take her far beyond the gates of school through the old and new streets of a changing Beijing. Presented in partnership with HandReach. Saturday, October 24 at 8 pm at |
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Luck of the DRAW (16 minutes) In the midst of the Vietnam War, you are 18 years old and tonight your fate will be decided by the one lottery you don't want to win. Saturday, October 24 at 10 pm at the Greenbelt Arts Center as part of Shorts Program 2: Late Nite Shorts |
Marathon Beirut, In 2006, after years marred by war, Beirut was set to host its own marathon. But what happens when violent political turmoil threatens the race? Sunday, October 25 at 2 pm at the Greenbelt Arts Center |
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Meet the Filmmakers A panel discussion on the state of independent filmmaking today with some of the filmmakers attending the festival. The panel will take place on Saturday, October 24 at 4 pm The reception is co-sponsored by the Utopia Film Festival and HandReach, |
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Mugs (5 minutes) A new way to look at celebrity mug shots. Saturday, October 24 at 10 pm at the Greenbelt Arts Center as part of Shorts Program 2: Late Nite Shorts |
My Mother's Journey (54 minutes) The story of an African-American woman who moved from the South to the North and became an unlikely community activist during the civil rights era. Thursday, October 22 at 7 pm at |
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My Sixteenth Summer (74 minutes) When his two best friends start dating, Samir withdraws from his teenage world and befriends a couple of 20-somethings. But is the other side of 20 all it's cracked up to be? And if not, will Samir find his way back to 16? Saturday, October 24 at 4 pm at |
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No Good Reason (12 minutes) Natalie Merchant (formerly of 10,000 Maniacs) has less than three days to arrange and record a song written and performed by musicians who have experienced homelessness. Screening with Jeannot le Fou Saturday, October 24 at 6 pm at |
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Of Course to America! (76 minutes) Ketevan has dreamt all her life of visiting the USA. When the 50-year-old Georgian woman is refused a visa, she decides to take matters into her own hands and enter the USA via Mexico by wading through the Rio Grande and the sewers of El Paso. Will her enchantment hold? Sunday, October 25 at 2 pm at |
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One of the Miracles: The Inge Meyring Smith Story(97 minutes) - FREE SCREENING A life that Hitler sought to destroy became the light of learning for thousands of children as Inge Meyring Smith and her family recount her journey from German Holocaust survivor to American civil rights activist and early-education pioneer. Tuesday, October 20 at 7 pm at |
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The Order (11 minutes) One man finds a way to get the country out of a economic depression by harnessing the power behind people's desire for conflict. In the process, he unveils a hidden force that controls us all. Saturday, October 24 at 10 pm at the Greenbelt Arts Center as part of Shorts Program 2: Late Nite Shorts |
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Out in the Silence (57 minutes) A controversial announcement of a same-sex marriage in Joe Wilson's hometown of Oil City, Pennsylvania leads him back to his town to see whether gays and lesbians can find acceptance in small town America. Saturday, October 24 at 2 pm at the Old P&G Theatre |
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Peace It Together (60 minutes) In the summer of 2008, thirty Palestinian, Israeli, and Canadian teenagers gathered in Vancouver, Canada to learn the art and craft of filmmaking. In the process, they broke down barriers and created eight short films about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This program features those eight films. Presented in partnership with the Sunday, October 25 at 12 noon at |
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Prayers for Peace (8 minutes) Pastels on a slate chalkboard underscore life's impermanence as the artist confronts the memory of his younger brother killed in Iraq. Saturday, October 24 at 2 pm at |
Present! (30 minutes) Drama teacher Koli Tengella challenged his students at Collington Square Elementary/Middle School to make a film that portrayed students at the Baltimore city charter school participating in an academic contest they didn't think they could win. The film explores, often with humor, the social stigmas students face in school. Sunday, October 25 at 12 noon at |
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The Silent Conversation (6 minutes) Saturday, October 24 at 2 pm at |
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Shorts Program 2 Mugs (5 minutes) Saturday, October 24 at 10 pm |
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Shorts Program 3 - FREE SCREENING Tooth Fairy (5 minutes) Sunday, October 25 at 12 noon at |
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Signs of the Time (60 minutes) Imagine watching one of baseball's earliest games without the benefit of hand signals for strike, safe, out, or foul. No announcer to interpret the game. The only signal was the umpire's voice, drowned out by the screams of thousands of excited fans. The arm signals that have become such a colorful part of the game were not yet invented. Who was responsible for these signs becoming a big innovation in the game. Was it big-league baseball's most revered umpire or its most celebrated deaf player? This documentary, narrated by Richard Dreyfuss, unravels the mystery. Captioned in English. Friday, October 23 at 7 pm at the Greenbelt Arts Center (invited guests only) Saturday, October 24 at 12 noon at the Old P&G Theatre |
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The Silent Conversation (6 minutes) "Tango" may evoke images of drama, flare and roaring passion, but, at its heart, this Argentine dance form is a melding of movement, music and energy. Saturday, October 24 at 2 pm at |
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The Snallygaster Tale (18 minutes) During the Great Depression, a young boy befriends a white hen on his father's chicken farm, only to discover that his affection for the animal may be at odds with his own survival. Saturday, October 24 at 2 pm at |
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The Spam Job (13 minutes) Four friends. Three suspects. One can of meat. The unbelievably true story of a prank that started at Montana State University, traveled the world, and ended almost a decade later. Saturday, October 24 at 2 pm at |
Starship Farragut: For Want of a Nail (86 minutes) - LOCAL FILMMAKERS An hommage to the original Star Trek TV series, this original story follows the crew of the Starship Farragut as they encounter a race of scholars and historians and America's past. Saturday, October 24 at 6 pm at |
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Tooth Fairy (5 minutes) In the heart of suburbia, a little boy sets a trap for the Tooth Fairy and discovers that even innocence has a dark side. Sunday, October 25 at 12 noon at |
Tree of Knowledge (14 minutes) An outdoor winter display on the lawn of a courthouse in Philadelphia draws discussion and debate over the right to express secularism. Saturday, October 24 at 2 pm at |
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Un Café pour l'Amérique (20 minutes) A shy man in his 60s faces the prospect of retirement without family or friends. Saturday, October 24 at 10 pm at the Greenbelt Arts Center as part of Shorts Program 2: Late Night Shorts |
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Urban/Rural Landscapes (90 minutes) A collection of experimental films curated by Chris Lynn, which works include:
the Greenbelt Municipal Center |
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Waiting for Hockney (88 minutes) To draw the impossible: that is what Baltimore-based artist Billy Pappas set out to do in the early 1990s as he embarked on a single work, a portrait of Marilyn Monroe. After eight and a half years of full-time work to complete the portrait, Billy's family and friends feared for his sanity. But his obsessive pursuit of excellence was matched only by his obsessive pursuit of an audience with artist David Hockney once his opus was complete. Saturday, October 24 at 2 pm at |
| view the trailer | Whitehall (9 minutes) A slice-of-life look at the residents of the oldest co-op in Texas. It explores the members individually and their interactions with each other. "Whitehall" demonstrates how an alternative lifestyle can create a feeling of unity and family between strangers living in the heart of a city.Showing with Greentowns USA: A New Deal Sunday, October 25 at 2 pm at |
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Winger (10 minutes) Size doesn't matter in the world of rocks. Saturday, October 24 at 2 pm at |
