OPENING NIGHT
Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012
7:00 PM
Main Auditorium

Losing Our Sons 

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69 minutes, 2012 United States
Americans for Peace and Tolerance

A searing true story from America’s heartland, Losing Our Sons tells of two American families whose lives intersected through a shattering act of violence. Melvin Bledsoe, a small business owner in Memphis, watched with pride as his son Carlos went to Tennessee State University in Nashville to better his life through education. Daris Long, an ex-Marine, felt honored that his son, Andy, chose to follow in his footsteps by joining the military. But when Carlos Bledsoe murdered Andy Long in Little Rock, Arkansas, both fathers are forced to confront a new kind of American nightmare. As Melvin traced the trail that led Carlos from Nashville to Yemen and then to Little Rock, Daris confronted an American government that seems to be in denial about what happened to his son. This powerful documentary provides a moment of clarity for people who care about their families and their country’s future.

“Heartbreaking and infuriating … an anguished wake-up call.”
    Jeff Jacoby, Columnist, Boston Globe

“Riveting, powerful, educational and a must see for every American”
    Brigitte Gabriel, Founder President of ACT! For America

Speaker: Marc Lebuis, proprietor of Le Point De Bascule Canada blog, on the Muslim Brotherhood in Canada.

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Saturday, November 3, 2012
Room 156
12:00 PM

Free China 
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53 minutes, 2012 United States
NTD Television

From the award-winning director of “Tibet: Beyond Fear”, Free China: The Courage to Believe examines the widespread human rights violations in China through the remarkable and uplifting stories of Jennifer Zeng, a mother and former Communist Party member and Dr. Charles Lee, a Chinese American businessman, who along with hundreds of thousands of peaceful citizens are imprisoned and tortured for their spiritual beliefs.

Winner Free Speech International Film Festival 2012
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Saturday, November 3, 2012
Main Auditorium
12:30 PM

The Way Back 
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133 Minutes, 2010, United States
Exclusive Productions

Starring Ed Harris, Colin Farrell, Jim Sturgess, and Saoirse Ronan and directed by Peter Weir, this epic and moving film based on real events tells the story of a group of Polish, American, and Russian political prisoners who escaped from a brutal Soviet gulag in 1941 and walked 4000 miles from Siberia to India and freedom. An extraordinary paean to liberty, The Way Back's courageous protagonists repeatedly affirm their willingness to die in freedom rather than live out their lives in the slavery of Soviet communism. The film's concluding montage depicting the events of the Cold War is a long overdue acknowledgment from Hollywood of how the fall of European communism freed millions of Poles, Czechs, Russians, and Eastern Europeans.

"Epic, bold filmmaking at its very best"
    A.O. Scott, New York Times


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Saturday, November 3, 2012
Room C
1:30 PM

The Red Chapel 
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88 minutes, 2009 Denmark
Danmarks Radio

In one of the bravest films in recent memory, director Mads Brügger and Danish-Korean comedians Simon Jul Jørgensen and Jacob Nossell risk their lives traveling to North Korea to tweak/punk that nation's tyrannical communist regime. Ostensibly visiting North Korea for the purpose of putting on a Danish socialist comedy show as an ‘inter-cultural exchange,’ the filmmakers' true purpose is to document the censorship and inhumanity of the North Korean government. Referring to the communist dictatorship as “the most heartless and brutal totalitarian state ever created,” Brügger and his comedians repeatedly make fools of the authorities in this blackly satirical, poignant and insightful documentary. All the more relevant after the demise of Kim Jong Il, The Red Chapel follows on the heels of North Korea-themed films like Kimjongilia, Yodok Stories, and The Juche Idea in illustrating how the cinema can advocate for freedom by exposing tyranny.

"Shocking, funny and wildly outrageous."
     Los Angeles Times
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Saturday, November 3, 2012
Room 156
1:15 PM

Freedom's Fury  
Watch the Trailer


90 Minutes, 2007, UK/Hungary, GrAINeY Pictures

Freedom's Fury is the critically acclaimed feature documentary about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and the "Bloodiest Game in Olympic History." In this powerful film, the story is finally told about the fateful moment of 1956 when Hungary explodes in a people's power revolt and climaxes with the infamous water polo showdown between Hungary and the Soviet Union at the Melbourne Olympics. Now known as the "Blood in the Water Match" the documentary follows the heart-wrenching journey of the Hungarian Olympic water polo team and its young star, Eervin Zador, who find themselves the unwitting focal point of the most politicized sports match every played.

"This film should be required viewing. Truly enthralling."
     Elle Magazine



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Saturday, November 3, 2012
Main Auditorium
3:00 PM

Dracula's Shadow
The Real Story Behind The Romanian Revolution 
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90 Minutes, 2011, Hungary/Germany
EurOnAir Productions

With exclusive access, and for the first time ever, the secret mission that sparked the Romanian Revolution in December of 1989 against dictator Nicolae Ceausescu is revealed. This documentary is the chilling Cold War account about what actually started the bloody uprising on December 15, 1989, when supporters of the Protestant Minister László Tokés in Timisoara rallied around his church to protect him from eviction by the military and by the Romanian Secret Police, the Securitate.

Winner at the Hungarian Film Week.

Speaker: Arpad Szoczi, author of "Timisoara - The Real Story Behind the Romanian Revolution".
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Saturday, November 3, 2012
Room 156
3:00 PM

Atlas Shrugged, Part One  

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97 minutes, Strike Productions, 2011

Ayn Rand's timeless novel of rational self-interest comes to life for a new millennium.". The year is 2016, and America is on the verge of economic disaster. The greatest citizens are being targeted, and dark forces are working to bring about America’s final days. Our only hope for salvation lies with Dagny Taggart and Henry Rearden, rugged individualists whose bold ideas may have the power to spark a revolution and reclaim to the American Dream.


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Saturday, November 3, 2012
Room C
3:30 PM

Book Launch by Pierre Desrochers 

The Locavore's Dilemma: In Praise of the 10,000- mile diet A new generation of food activists has come to believe that “sustainable farming” and “eating local” are the way to solve a host of perceived problems with our modern food supply system. By combining healthy eating and a high standard of environmental stewardship, these locavores think, we can also deliver important economic benefits and increase food security within local economies. But after a thorough review of the evidence, economic geographer Pierre Desrochers and policy analyst Hiroko Shimizu have concluded these claims are mistaken. In The Locavore’s Dilemma, they explain the history, science, and economics of food supply to reveal what locavores miss or misunderstand: the real environmental impacts of agricultural production; the drudgery of subsistence farming; and the essential role large-scale, industrial producers play in making food more available, varied, affordable, and nutritionally rich than ever before in history. At best, they show, locavorism is a well-meaning marketing fad among the world’s most privileged consumers. At worst, it constitutes a dangerous distraction from solving serious global food issues.


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Saturday, November 3, 2012
Room 156
5:00 PM

Support? System Down 
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76 minutes, 2009 United States
Aginelo Productions

This American film looks at the everyday issues of stress, family, struggle and suffering that families experience when they are put through the detrimental maneuvers of the family court system. This shocking documentary shows how fathers are forced to pay exorbitant amounts of money for child support and how many fathers lose access to their children.


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Saturday, November 3, 2012
Main Auditorium
5:30 PM

Hitler, Stalin and I  

56 Minutes, 2001, Czech Republic, Czech TV

The life of Heda Margolius Kovály was so fraught with bad luck that it seems scripted. Born in Prague into a Jewish family, she married lawyer Rudolph Margolius, but both were soon deported to the Lódz ghetto and then to Auschwitz, where they were separated. They miraculously survived, only to fall into the hands of Stalinism. Treštíková illustrates Heda’s painful account with rare archives, giving heft to the old woman’s words. Behind the individual story looms 20th-century European history and its totalitarian regimes.

1st prize in the category of document-independent program - Czech Film and Television Academy in 2002


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Saturday, November 3, 2012
Room C
6:00 PM

Education Under Fire 

30 minutes, 2012 United States
Single Arrow Productions

Education Under Fire is produced by Single Arrow Productions and co-sponsored by Amnesty International. The 30-minute documentary profiles the growth, struggle, and inspiring spirit of the Baha´i Institute for Higher Education. Baha´is in Iran have been subjected to systematic persecution, including arrests, torture, and execution simply for refusing to recant their beliefs. They are also prohibited from going to college (and blocked from many professions). In 1987, the semi-underground Baha´i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) was formed to give young Baha´is their only chance for a university-level education. Despite repeated raids and arrests, volunteer teachers and administrators created an independent, decentralized university system that has lifted the lives of thousands of Baha´i students across Iran. In May, 2011, an organized assault was launched by the Iranian government in an attempt to shut down the BIHE. Over 30 homes were raided and over a dozen BIHE professors and administrators were detained. Several are still in prison for doing nothing more than trying to teach. The film connects a diverse audience to a grave human rights issue, a powerful story of resilience against oppression, and the need to respect human rights everywhere.


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Sunday, November 4, 2012
Room 156
11:30 AM

Putin's Kiss 
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85 Minutes, 2012, Denmark/Russia, Kino Lorber

Putin's Kiss portrays contemporary life in Russia through the coming-of-age story of Masha, a middle-class Russian girl and a member of Nashi, a nominally "anti-fascist" movement whose members are expected to pledge their unswerving support to Vladimir Putin and all his policies. Extremely ambitious, the young Masha quickly rises to the top of Nashi, and is rewarded for her loyalty with an apartment, a car and frequent television appearances as a Nashi spokesperson, while attending Moscow State University. She begins to question her involvement with Nashi when she learns that a radical faction within the organization is supposedly responsible for attacks against political dissidents, and she finds herself faced with a very real dilemma when she befriends a group of journalists critical of Putin's government, one of whom is Oleg Kashin. When Oleg becomes the victim of a violent attack and barely makes it out of the hospital alive, Masha realizes that she must take a stand.

"A riveting story about contemporary Russia's dark side."
     Variety
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Sunday, November 4, 2012
Main Auditorium
12:00 PM

Winston Churchill: Walking with Destiny 
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101 minutes, 2010, United States, Moriah Films

Walking With Destiny highlights Churchill's years in the political wilderness, his early opposition to Adolf Hitler and Nazism, and his support for Jews under threat by the Nazi regime. As historian John Lukacs explains, Churchill may not have won the War in 1940, but without him, the War most certainly would have been lost. Sir Martin Gilbert, historical consultant for the film and Churchill's official biographer, adds that had Churchill's warnings about Nazi Germany's racial policies towards Jews been heeded in the early 1930's, the Holocaust may never have occurred. The film examines why Winston Churchill's legacy continues to be relevant in the 21st Century and explores why his leadership remains inspirational to current day political leaders and diplomats.

"... armed with inspiration...handsomely produced"
     - New York Times

"...a wholly upbeat portrait of a popular, undaunted leader”
     - Los Angeles Times


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Sunday, November 4, 2012
Room C
12:15 PM

21 Brothers 
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95 minutes, 2012, Canada, 21 Brothers Productions

This film tells the story of Canada’s 21st battalion as they prepare for the Battle of Flers-Courcelette on 15th September, 1916. This World War I drama has been inspired by actual events and takes place in real time. 21 Brothers follows Sgt. Reid as he gets his platoon ready in the final 90 minutes before all “hit the bags”. Not only must he prep the platoon but he is forced to deal with all the difficulties of daily life in trench on the Western Front. 21 Brothers is the longest film shot in a single take. Shot in April 2011 on location in Kingston, Ontario.


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Sunday, November 4, 2012
Room 156
1:15 PM

Age of Delirium 
108 minutes, 2011, United States

This is the story of the fall of the Soviet Union as lived and experienced by the Soviet people. The film shows what it meant to construct an entire state on the basis of a false idea and how truthful information led to the Soviet Union's rapid and unstoppable collapse. Age of Delirium tells the story of Alexander Shatravka, who crossed the Soviet - Finnish border only to be handed back by the Finns and tortured in a mental hospital; of Nina Smirnova, a crippled girl who prayed for relief at a religious shrine and began to be persecuted by the communist authorities after she was miraculously cured; and of the young men of the city of Shadrinsk who believed in the Soviet ideology only to learn the reality of the Soviet system while fighting in Afghanistan. Other characters include Ludvikas Simutis, who fought for the independence of Lithuania after the murder of his father, Olexandra Ovdjuk, an elderly survivor of the horrific Ukrainian famine, and many others. In the end, the film illuminates the workings of an ideological society, the very type of society that would be most likely to use weapons of mass destruction. It shows how such a society creates its own fictitious 'reality' and it gives insight into the state of Russian today where the neo-Soviet leaders have again plunged the country into a moral abyss.

"Spellbinding. . . . Gives one a visceral feel for what it was like to be trapped by the communist system."
    -Jack Matlock, Washington Post
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Sunday November 4, 2012
Main Auditorium
2:00 PM

Book Launch with Bruce Bawer 
Watch the Trailer
The Victims' Revolution: The Rise of Identity Studies and the Closing of the Liberal Mind

An eye-opening critique of the identity-based revolution that has transformed American campuses and its effect on politics and society today.

The 1960s and ’70s were a time of dramatic upheaval in American universities as a new generation of scholar-activists rejected traditional humanism in favor of a radical ideology that denied esthetic merit and objective truth. In The Victims’ Revolution, critic and scholar Bruce Bawer provides the first true history of this radical movement and a sweeping assessment of its intellectual and cultural fruits.

Once, Bawer argues, the purpose of higher education had been to introduce students to the legacy of Western civilization—“the best that has been thought and said.” The new generation of radical educators sought instead to unmask the West as the perpetrator of global injustice. Age-old values of goodness, truth, and beauty were disparaged as mere weapons in an ongoing struggle of the powerful against the powerless. Shifting the focus of the humanities to the purported victims of Western colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism, the new politicized approach to the humanities gave rise to a series of identity-based programs, including Women’s Studies, Black Studies, Queer Studies, and Chicano Studies. As a result, the serious and objective study of human civilization and culture was replaced by “theoretical” approaches emphasizing group identity, victimhood, and lockstep “progressive” politics.

What have the advocates of this new anti-Western ideology accomplished?

Twenty-five years ago, Allan Bloom warned against the corruption of the humanities in The Closing of the American Mind. Bawer’s book presents compelling evidence that Bloom and other conservative critics were right to be alarmed. The Victims’ Revolution describes how the new identity-based disciplines came into being, examines their major proponents and texts, and trenchantly critiques their underlying premises. Bawer concludes that the influence of these programs has impoverished our thought, confused our politics, and filled the minds of their impressionable students with politically correct mush. Bawer’s book is must-reading for all those concerned not only about the declining quality of American higher education, but also about the fate of our society at large.

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Sunday, November 4, 2012
Room C
2:00 PM

Windfall 
Watch the Trailer
81 minutes, 2010, United States, Cat Hollow Films

Wind power: it's green; it's good; it reduces our dependency on foreign oil. That's what the people of Meredith in upstate New York first thought when a wind developer looked to supplement this farm town's failing economy with a farm of their own - that of 40 industrial wind turbines. Attracted at first to the financial incentives, residents grow increasingly alarmed as they discover side effects they never dreamed of, as well as the potential for disturbing financial scams. With wind development growing rapidly at 39% annually in the U.S., Windfall is an eye-opener for anyone concerned about the future of renewable energy.

"Windfall" is thoroughly engaging, educational and entertaining..."
     Wall Street Journal, Feb. 3, 2012

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Sunday, November 4, 2012
Room 156
3:15 PM

Their Eyes Were Dry 
Watch the Trailer
82 minutes, 2012, United States/Israel, Peripheral Vision Productions

The riveting and heart-wrenching account of the 1974 Ma’alot Massacre, in which disguised terrorists took more than 100 students hostage in an Israeli school building. All the teachers escaped, leaving the helpless children to face the terrorists on their own. Their Eyes Were Dry documents the birth of terrorism against children and more importantly celebrates the courage and heroism of children around the world.

"Powerful....tells the story as no one has told it before."
     Jerusalem Post

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Sunday, November 4, 2012
Room C
3:45 PM

Testing Milton Friedman Equality of Opportunity 
Watch the Trailer
57 Minutes, 2012, United States, Free to Choose Network

Equality of Opportunity -- four panelists explore Friedman’s ideas and the possible implications of equality of opportunity and equality of outcome. The panelists include:

Walter Williams -- author, syndicated columnist, and the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University
Shikha Dalmia -- Senior Policy Analyst at Reason Foundation
Matthew Yglesias -- political blogger
John Bouman -- President and Advocacy Director of the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law.

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Sunday, November 4, 2012
Main Auditorium
4:00 PM

Occupy Unmasked 
Watch the Trailer
79 minutes, 2012, United States, Citizens United

While the Liberal establishment and mainstream media portray the Occupy Wall Street movement as organic and nonviolent, Occupy Unmasked reveals the sinister, organized, and highly orchestrated nature of its leaders and their number one goal: Not just to change government, but to destroy it. Occupy Unmasked delves deep beneath the surface of the Occupy movement to show its dark anarchist roots. Behind the largely naïve students and legitimately concerned citizens looking for answers stand those who advocate the use of violence, black bloc operations, and intimidation as protest tactics - the same tactics they used during the anti-war protests of the 1960's, anti-nuclear weapons protests of the 80's, WTO protests of the 90's, and the IMF protests of recent years.


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Sunday, November 4, 2012
Room C
5:00 PM

I Sleep in Hitler's Room: An American Jew Visits Germany 

Tuvia Tenenbom will be at our Festival to talk about his book, "I Sleep In Hitler's Room." Tenenbom, a son of a Holocaust survivor, travels throughout Germany talking to a wide range of people, and finds that their crushing awareness of their dark history coexists with virulent anti-semitism and a stubborn obsession with Israel.

"a stunner!"
     WABC

"An alarming account of anti-Semitism in Germany."
    Haaretz

"Tuvia Tenenbom comes off as a Jewish Hunter S Thompson, describing cringing encounters in Germany that strip away the veneer of sanity from his subjects . . . Every encounter with an interview subject is an experimental drama, redolent sometimes of Pinter or Beckett, more often of Brecht or the Marx Brothers . . . To understand Germans, one has to learn their language and live with them - or read Tenenbom's book."
    Asia Times

"Hugely entertaining -- terribly funny, sarcastic, powerful . . . A tremendous book." National Review

"It's a book in a category all its own--deeply sobering, depressing even, in its observations of the darker side of Germany, yet at the same time so chatty and engaging and laugh-out-loud funny that it's hard to put down. Tenenbom is an acute observer of his fellowman, but also a born entertainer, a comedian, who approaches his interview subjects--of whom there are dozens, ranging from leading political and cultural figures to folks he runs into on the street--as a combination inquisitor and tummler . . . A stunning account . . . Tenenbom is brilliant." -
    PJ Media

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Sunday, November 4, 2012
Room 156
5:00 PM

Book Launch by Pierre Desrochers 

The False Crises of Rachel Carson: Silent Spring at 50 Widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement when published 50 years ago, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring had a profound impact on our society. As an iconic work, the book has often been shielded from critical inquiry, but this landmark anniversary provides an excellent opportunity to reassess its legacy and influence. In Silent Spring at 50: The False Crises of Rachel Carson a team of national experts explores the book's historical context, the science it was built on, and the policy consequences of its core ideas. The conclusion makes it abundantly clear that the legacy of Silent Spring is highly problematic. While the book provided some clear benefits, a number of Carson's major arguments rested on what can only be described as deliberate ignorance. Despite her reputation as a careful writer widely praised for building her arguments on science and facts, Carson's best-seller contained significant errors and sins of omission. Much of what was presented as certainty then was slanted, and today we know much of it is simply wrong.


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