Posted by Jean Jessup on Tuesday, March 27, 2012,
In :
Drama
 GUN HILL ROAD by Rashad
Ernesto Green
This skillfully produced and emotionally rich film set in the Bronx
was shot in 15 days for $200,000. It looks like much more time and
money was put into it. The film tells the story of a father who,
after three years in prison, comes home to discover his 16-year-old
son is trans-gender. The father has to deal with his issues about
being sexually molested in prison which are reflected back to him by
his son. I real... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jean Jessup on Saturday, April 23, 2011,
In :
Shorts
 ON LOCATION at
ARIVACA
I wasn't able to attend the Arivaca portion of the fest this year,
but I was able to find some trailers for the shorts program. Links
to reviews of the films I have seen are below. I wasn't able to attend the Arivaca portion of
the fest this year, but I was able to find some trailers for the shorts
program. Links to reviews of the fil... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jean Jessup on Saturday, April 23, 2011,
In :
Documentaries
 abUSed - The
Postville Raid by Luis Argueta, USA
This was an engrossing documentary about the largest, most expensive
immigration raid in U.S. history, which took place in Postville,
Iowa at Agriproscessors, a Kosher slaughter house and meat packing
plant. I was especially interested because I read the book, Postville:
A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America and I have lived in
southeastern Iowa off and on for 20 years.
The film consisted of ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jean Jessup on Wednesday, April 20, 2011,
In :
Comedy
 PANCHO GOES TO COLLEGE
by Ruben Reyes, Tucson
This Tucson-produced comedy feature tells the story of a young man
named, Pancho, who comes from California to attend college in
Tucson. He encounters lots of wild local characters - not to
mention his rowdy, colorful roommates. His roomates challenge his
focus on his studies and also his cultural identity. Pancho
perseveres, juggling his studies with work and parties. He holds
fast to his philosophy of let... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jean Jessup on Saturday, April 16, 2011,
In :
Documentaries
  EL
ANDALON,
(The Healer) by Consuelo Alba, USA
A heartwarming and fascinating documentary about Don Sergio Castro,
a humanitarian that has been volunteering to help the indigenous
communities of Chiapas for 46 years. He started in 1970 as an
agronomist, facilitating various agricultural projects and in the
process got deeply involved in each community. He learned and
became fluent in their seven different languages. There are 4.5
million people ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jean Jessup on Saturday, April 16, 2011,
In :
Drama
  This stop-motion animated short faithfully retells O'Henry's story
of the Gift of the Magi. This classic story is about a very poor
couple. The wife has beautiful long hair and the husband has a gold
watch. The husband sells his gold watch for a beautiful accessory
for her hair and she sells her hair for a nice chain for his watch.
I loved the detail on the animated set pieces. But I found the
animation at times choppy or non-existent and at other times very
... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jean Jessup on Friday, April 15, 2011,
In :
Documentaries
 RUN TO THE EAST by Henry Lu,
USA
This documentary follows three Native American high school students
who are cross-country runners. We see them successfully focus on
their training in spite of the numerous obstacles they face in their
culture. Such obstacles include, meth abuse and alcoholism, lack of
transportation, lack of money, lack of emotional support, and lack
of opportunity on the reservation. Their goal is to get running
scholarships in order t... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jean Jessup on Friday, April 15, 2011,
In :
Shorts
INDIE FAMILY FILMS - 4/9/11 Families with their kids
were in attendance. Mia Schnaible gave a great intro appropriate
for kids. She included that it was OK for family members to read
subtitles to kids who can't read yet. It made for a nice relaxed,
organic viewing experience.
Homeless Conductor by Yen-Ting Chaing, Taiwan
This skillfully animated 3-D short is about a homeless girl who
envisions an orchestra made out of inanimate objects playing a
... Continue reading ...
Posted by Jean Jessup on Friday, April 15, 2011,
In :
Documentaries
 HAPPY - A documentary by
Roko Belic
I wasn't interested in seeing a smiley-face film. But since I was
trying to review every film I can in the festival, I had to see it.
When I arrived, the theater was almost packed. The director made a
short presentation before the film and a Q&A. The film was
quite profound and well-researched. I learned a lot. Scientists,
psychologists, statisticians, to name a few were interviewed about
happiness. The place wher... Continue reading ...
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