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World Premiere of “When Do We Eat?” opens the fest
U.S. Premiere of “Checking Out” to close

Over 150 films headline fest with 11 World Premieres

Over a 150 diverse films will screen at the Palm Beach International Film Festival event, including features, documentaries and shorts. The eight-day Fest will introduce 11 world premieres, 6 U.S. premieres and 43 Florida premieres, including 30 international films.

“This is an exciting year for us--we have reached the milestone of our 10th anniversary! To celebrate a Festival that continues to grow each year, we have assembled an ambitious program and look forward to an electrifying Gala event.” said PBIFF Executive Director, Hal Axler. “We have always had a great response from filmmakers and this year is no different. We look forward to welcoming the filmmakers, their outstanding films and all of the film fans, local and otherwise, to Palm Beach.”

Opening Night kicks off with the world premiere comedy When Do We Eat?, the story of the “world's fastest Seder” gone horribly awry. Directed by Salvador Litvak, Michael Lerner portrays an old school dad who's as tough on his sons as his father (Jack Klugman) is on him. On this night, however, one of the boys (Ben Feldman) slips dad a dose of Ecstasy in order to give him a new perspective. The film also stars Lesley Ann Warren, Shiri Appleby and Adam Lamberg, who are all expected to attend. Following the screening at Muvico Parisian 20 at CityPlace will be a party at the West Palm Beach hotspot, Resort.

Closing out the 10th Anniversary is the Third PBIFF Annual Competition Awards Ceremony & Closing Night Film Checking Out, directed by Jeff Hare. The film tells the story of an old Shakespearean actor who invites his three children to his suicide party. They quickly arrive and for the first time, work together to prove to their father why life is worth living. Starring Peter Falk, David Paymer, Judge Reinhold, Laura San Giacomo, Jeffrey Sams, Dan Byrd. Director Jeff Hare and Judge Reinhold will be present.

Additional closing night activities include the Awards Ceremony recognizing the Best Film, Best Director, Best Performance by an Actor/Actress and Audience Favorite in categories of Features, Documentaries and Shorts. Following the ceremony and film is the “Wrap Party” at Canteen at One Clematis Street.

Special events include:

- PBIFF will present the Student Showcase of Films, Tuesday, April 19, honoring the student filmmakers and celebrating the artistic successes they have achieved in this field. The PBIFF is pleased to spotlight the talent of our youth and considers this investment in future filmmakers to be one of the most important features of the PBIFF.

Highlighting this year’s festival is the 10th Anniversary Birthday Bash on Sunday April 17th at 6 PM at the Mizner Park Amphitheatre in Boca Raton. The bash will begin with a “Tribute to the Movies” concert by the Flamingo Freedom Band, followed the birthday cake for all! The main event will be a special presentation of a true classic, Mel Brooks' masterpiece horror comic spoof “Young Frankenstein” featuring an appearance by the monster himself, “Everybody Loves Raymond’s” Peter Boyle.

Just a few of the actors scheduled to appear to promote their films include Judge Reinhold starring in Checking Out, Peter Boyle starring in Young Frankenstein, Patricia Heaton who produced The Bituminous Coal Queens of Pennsylvania, Al Sapienza (The Sopranos) starring in Back In The Day and The Dance, Leila Arcieri starring in A Perfect Fit and Clint Howard and Linda Blair starring in Hitter’s Anonymous, filmed on location in Palm Beach County, to name just a few. Additional celebrities and gala honorees will be announced soon.

The 10th annual Palm Beach International Film Festival will be held April 14-21 at various venues throughout Palm Beach County. PBIFF is a not for profit 501(3)(c) charity dedicated to improving educational programs in Palm Beach County high schools, community colleges and universities. Proceeds raised each year go to Palm Beach County schools to provide new technologies for optimal learning in the forms of grants and scholarships. For more information, visit www.pbifilmfest.org or call 561.362.0003.
10TH PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FILM LINE-UP


FEATURE & DOCUMENTARY PREMIERE FILMS

World Premiere Features

90 MILES TO FREEDOM, USA, World Premiere - This powerful documentary reveals the essence of the strong Cuban spirit that has endured decades of exile. Directed by Jose Garofalo and hosted by Steven Bauer.

AMONG BROTHERS, USA, World Premiere - Based on actual events: Jennifer Morgan, a senior at Francis Marion University in Florence, SC was found dead in her burned down apartment...the police informed the Morgan family that it appeared to be an accident. Two days later, the autopsy revealed it was no accident. Written and directed by John Schwert.

BACK IN THE DAY, USA, World Premiere – Sometimes it’s hard to tell your friends from your enemies. Directed by James Hunter, film stars Ja Rule, Ving Rhames, Giancarlo Esposito, Tatanya Ali, Pam Grier, Debi Morgan.

CHAMPIONS ON WHEELS, USA, World Premiere - Is there life after disability? Wheelchair tennis players squeeze joy from every moment as they go for gold in Athens. This documentary reveals their courage, determination, powerful athleticism, zest for life, and burning desire to be seen as normal. Directed by Grace Shafir.

DEAR JULIET, Australia, World Premiere - From the USA to Uzbekistan, from Australia to Italy, an exquisitely poetic collection of letters from around the globe written simply to 'Dear Juliet'. Directed by Wendy Dent, who has premieres her last two films at Palm Beach.

HITTER ANONYMOUS, USA, World Premiere - To an assasin there's only one thing more deadly than a berretta, glock, or semi automatic, and that's a conscience. Professional killer, Theodore Swan, lost the stomach for his chosen profession. To help him change his lifestyle, Theodore joins a Hit Man support group, Hitters Anonymous where he commiserates with a motley group of other assassian, all trying to quit the business. Directed by Monte A. Young, starring Steven Bauer, Linda Blair, Clint Howard.

I WILL AVENGE YOU IAGO!, USA, World Premiere - Great actors live their on and off stage dramas and farces. A sexy con-woman plays a mistress for a jealous wife...an opera villain gives the performance of his life for a psychotic audience member...A temperamental theatre director leads his leading actress to a suicide. Directed by Zhenya Kiperman, film stars Giancarlo Esposito, Larry Pine.

NIGHT OF THE DOG, USA, World Premiere - Night of the Dog is an all-encompassing, sometimes romantic comedy that shleps its victims through the whipping grounds of romance, the shackles of love, and the excitement of lust. Six men set out for an epic night with the boys and end up getting dragged over the broken glass of their pending relationships. Maybe they should have just stayed home. Directed by Peter Atencio.

SEX AND SUSHI, USA, World Premiere - A romantic comedy about monogamy. Directed by Robert Lawton.

THE WHITE HORSE IS DEAD, USA, World Premiere - In a bizarre form of self help, a 17 year old girl puts leeches on her body, letting them suck her blood to ease the pain of her life, while her sexually charged Russian mother insights her to use her beauty to achieve the America dream. With the arrival of a handsome gardener, a potent male energy is released into the already tense female household, creating a strange triangle of sex, jealousy, and horrific manipulation. Directed by Pete Red Sky.

WHEN DO WE EAT, USA, World Premiere - OPENING NIGHT - Story of the world's fastest Seder gone horribly awry. It's about an old school dad (Michael Lerner) who's as tough on his sons as his father (Jack Klugman) is on him. On this night, however, one of the boys (Ben Feldman) slips Dad a dose of LSD in order to give him a new perspective. Directed by Salvador Litvak, film stars Lesley Ann Warren, Jack Klugman and Michael Lerner.




U.S. Premieres

CHANGING TIMES(Les Temps qui changent) – USA, US Premiere Traveling from France to Tangiers, a man looks to reunite with his former love, though their romance ended some 30 years earlier. Directed by André Téchiné Starring Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu

DOO WOP, France, US Premiere - Ziggy is living the wild life in Paris. He is a music producer, has a cool vintage car and is very much the ladies man. Unfortunately, there are also some loan sharks after him. This cool and trendy film explores the dynamic Paris nightlife, with its music bars, after-hour clubs and young people searching for identity in chic surroundings. Directed by David Lanzmann.

HOMECOMING, Phillippines, US Premiere - Her journey begins when she returns. Directed by Gil Portes, who won our first film competition.

HUMAN TOUCH, Australia, US Premiere - From veteran director Paul Cox comes a lushly imagined and decidedly adult consideration of monogamous relationships. A young woman soloist in a local choir attracts the attention of an older millionaire, who promises to fund the choir's trip to China in exchange for time spent with her. What develops is a sensual awakening and a crossing of emotional barriers and taboos that Cox masterfully orchestrates with an opulent visual texture that lends great beauty to this contemplation on the subjects of fidelity, trust and spiritual awakening.

RANCID, Sweden, US Premiere - In this atmospheric thriller, writer John Hayson attends a high school reunion where he meets shadows from the past. Soon he finds himself in a nightmarish brew of deception, passion and murder. This exciting thriller takes place during one long night on the mean streets of New York City. With its powerful visual style, kinetic pacing and not-sure-what-comes-next script, the film is an impressive debut by Swedish director Jack Ersgard.

THE COLT, USA, US Premiere - During the heat of battle in the midst of the Civil War, a beguilingly innocent colt is born to Union Jim Rabb's beloved mare. Refusing the orders to shoot it, lest it prove a hindrance, Rabb keeps the colt as a consolation in these desperate times - a symbol of hope that leads the men of the first cavalry on a journey of self-discovery and newfound brotherhood. Directed by Yelena Lanskaya.


Florida Premieres

A ‘SPECIALLY WONDERFUL AFFAIR, USA - An uplifting, bitter-sweet meditation on life and death as it deals with the realities of aging and the joys of staying young at heart. The film features seniors at the Jewish Home for the Aged writing and singing original songs during the time that the tragedy of 9/11 struck our country. Directed by Nathan Friedkin.

A PERFECT FIT, USA - An unstable man, tormented by nightmares, seeks help from a shrink but is pushed over the edge into increasingly dangerous, psychotic territory by a relationship he is unable to control. Directed by Ron Brown and starring Adrien Grenier, Leila Arcieri and Polly Draper.

BREAK A LEG, USA - Max Matteo is a talented actor who can't catch a break. Despite his obvious talent, Max is always second choice to a producer's nephew or more marketable 'name'. But, where talent can't beat the system, ambition can. Directed by Monika Mitchell, starring John Cassini, Jennifer Beals and Molly Parker.

CALL WAITING, USA - Call Waiting, is a one woman, tour de force, breakthrough film that tells the story of two women who never meet but who impact each other profoundly. Directed by Jodi Binstock, and stars Caroline Aaron.

CANTA (THE BRIEFCASE), USA - Set in the gritty, yet enchanting streets of Istanbul, Çanta is the story of three strangers who each unknowingly possess the object of the other's desire -thus sending them on a collision course full of surreal twists and turns and life altering results. Directed by Emre Sahin.

CHECKING OUT, USA, CLOSING NIGHT - An old Shakespearean actor invites his 3 children to his suicide party. They quickly arrive and for the first time, work together to prove to their father why life is worth living. Directed by Jeff Hare, stars Peter Falk, Judge Reinhold, David Paymer and Laura San Giacomo.

COLORBLIND, USA - Scattered to the winds by the 1967 Detroit riots, an unusual group of almost all-white, 1960s, grade school classmates reunite at age 46, and discover how each of their lives had been profoundly impacted by their beloved African American teacher, Mr. Bell. Directed by Pamela Peak.

DISI DUBOKO, Serbia - During Sasha's fiancé car accident recovery, his sister Lana arrives. A passionate romance develops between Sasha and Lana, entering a world of what is in Serbian society considered forbidden, unacceptable relationship. Sasha discovers dark secrets of the rotten marriage of her parents, while her father, a Serbian judge, is desperately trying to avoid the inevitable, but his actions lead to tragedy. Directed by Dragan Marinkovic.

DUCK, USA - In 2009, when Los Angeles' last city park is closed to the public, a dispossessed man -- and the duck who follows him as a mother -- quest west, on foot, in search of fresh water and meaning, in the desert that is L.A. Directed by Nic Bettauer, starring Phillip Baker Hall, Amy Hill, Bill Cobbs and French Stewart.

FREAKS LIKE ME, USA - A thousand years ago, Barcelona was an open society where people of all faiths peacefully congregated. Five hundred years ago, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled all Jews and started the Spanish Inquisition. This past summer, seven thousand people came to Barcelona for the Parliament of World Religions to see what has changed. Directed by David Holbrooke and Sarah Holbrooke.

FRIDAY NIGHTS IN AMERICA, USA - A film story of the phenomenon of high school football in our nation. The film exposes the Friday night event's ability to galvanize communities, often blurring the lines between color, wealth, age, and gender. It also reveals our addiction to glory. Directed by Stu Ross.

GOING THROUGH SPLAT: THE LIFE AND WORK OF STEWART STERN, USA - This feature length documentary film looks at the life and career of Stewart Stern – the man and the writer – who exposed his soul through words on a page in a futile effort to find inner peace and to make sense of the world in which we live. And it explores the reasons why, at the peak of his success, he chose to turn his back on Hollywood and settle down in Seattle where he spends his days with he wife Marilee, his writing students, and – as he likes to say – “Shoveling shit at the zoo!” Directed by Jon Ward, doc features Paul Newman, Dennis Hopper, Sally Field and Joanne Woodward.

HAUNTED BOAT, USA - Haunted Boat is a mystical, mind-twisting psychological horror film about six teenagers going on a boat trip and getting lost in parallel dimensions where they have to face their greatest fears. Directed by Olga Levens

I'M STILL HERE: REAL DIARIES OF YOUNG PEOPLE WHO LIVED DURING THE HOLOCAUST, USA – Directed by Laura Lazin, through an emotional montage of archival footage, personal photos and text from the diaries themselves, documentary celebrates a group of brave young writers who refused to quietly disappear. The film is scored by Moby, and the diaries are read by some of today's most talented young actors such as Elijah Wood, Ryan Gosling, Brittany Murphy, Amber Tamblyn, and Kate and Oliver Hudson among others. Original footage was shot in Vilnius, Lithuania, site of the original Jewish ghetto.

IN THE ROUGH, USA - In The Rough is a wry prehistoric fable on the pursuit of marital bliss. Directed by Paul Taylor.

KEEPER OF THE KOHN, USA - Many challenges are ahead for Peter Kohn, a beloved collegiate lacrosse field manager who is believed to be autistic. As the team seeks a national championship, Peter must choose between his allegiance to the student athletes and his devotion to a cancer-stricken friend, all while reacting emotionally to his upcoming retirement. Directed by David Gaynes.

LEMONADE STORIES, USA - Lemonade Stories, a film which features Richard Branson (Virgin); Russell Simmons (Def Jam) along with his brothers Danny and Joey Simmons (aka Run of Run DMC); Art Blank *founder of Home Depot and NFL owner of the Atlanta Falcons); Tom Scott (founder of Nantucket Nectars) along with his wife Emily Woods (co-founder of JCrew); among others, chronicles the impact mothers have had on sparking the entrepreneurial spirit of their sons and daughters. Directed by Mary Mazzio.

LITHIUM SPRINGS, USA - An offbeat adventurer's quest for the Fountain of Youth and treasure buried by Ponce de Leon centuries ago. Directed by Carter Lloyd.

LIVICATED, USA – “Livicated” explores revolution through music from the eyes of its premiere archivist - Beat magazine founder and NPR DeeJay Roger Steffens. His Reggae archives are the largest in the world, and recently bought to become the First National Museum of Caribbean Music in Jamaica. With rare and unreleased interviews from Ben Harper; Little Richard; Santana; Jimmy Cliff; Mob Marley Peter Tosh; Fela Kuti, we examine Roger's museum of a mindset, reminded of the power of music through the stories of the poets and musicians that suffered for their art, an art which demanded social change. 'Livicated' dispels the myths and misconceptions about reggae music and the Rastas who create it; shedding a first light on this invisible culture within our own.

MANNEQUIN IMMIGRANTS, USA - An unauthorized history of the Mannequin Immigrant experience in 20th Century America. From their arrival at Ellis Island to their celebrated March on Washington, this is the definitive fake history of Mannequin Immigrants. Directed by David Nickoll.

MARDIS GRAS, USA/China - Follows the production, consumption, and disposal of Mardi Gras beads froma factory in China to new Orleans during Carnival, Baghdad during the war, New York City inside art galleries. Directed by David Redman.

MASS OF ANGELS, USA - Celia is a young woman who is being treated for bizarre dreams which are becoming progressively worse. The dreams are centered around a little girl who returns from the grave with an assortment of strange characters, all of whom seem to need Celia for some dire purpose. Her ultimate cure leaves Celia with a truth she is unprepared to face. Directed by Jim Riffel.

MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS, UK - With a nod towards Bridgit Jones' Diary, this sparkling film combines comedy and drama as it dives into the flawed lives of Londoners who are connected by family, friends and the same psychiatrist. What all the women have in common are troubled relationships with their mothers, hysterically revealed at a penultimate dinner party where the daughters and their monster mothers meet. Sharp writing and a talented ensemble cast makes this knowing comedy from real life husband-and-wife directing and writing team Davis and Conoly a total delight.

NOVEM, USA - Nine college students spend a week camping out and recording music at a remote studio location in May 1973. They each write a composition and collaborate on each others songs during six days and nights of friendship, music and fun. By the end of the week, they have produced nine introspective songs that preserve their mood, hopes and fears for generations. On the way back to campus, they are involved in a van accident. All nine singer/songwriters are killed. The music they recorded disappears and remains silent for over thirty years until it is accidentally purchased by a college student at a garage sale. NOVEM's music and story spread quickly over the internet to college campuses across the country. Directed by Brad Kimmel.

OTET AND I (FATHER AND SON), Russia - In this beautifully told tale, Russian master director Alexander Sukorov tells the story of a father andson who live together on the top floor of a rooftop apartment in an unnamed city by the sea. They have lived alone for years in their own private, enclosed world, filled with memories and daily rituals. As the son matures and is ready to leave the nest, the father finds that he cannot easily separate from the son, whose love to his father is equally deep and devoted. Both father and son find themselves tested by their profound dilemma in this unusual, homoerotic tale.

OUT OF THE SHADOW, USA - This very personal documentary chronicles the filmmaker's mother, Millie, who has schizoprenia, as she suffers through the chaos of our mental health system as well as that of her own mind. While tracing the particular damage wrought on a family by this profoundly disturbing mental illness, the film addresses our universal need to make sense of the past and find the way to forgiveness. Directed by Susan Smiley.

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK: THE ADAPTATION, USA - This shot-for-shot remake by 3 pre-teen boys started shooting in 1982 and wrapped 7 years later. Complete with rolling boulder, live snakes, a submarine, a heart-thudding truck chase scene and everywhere flames. This labor of obsessive love got them noticed by Stephen Speilberg and Paramount, now in pre-production on a movie about their childhood adventures remaking Raiders. Directed by Eric Zala.

RX, USA - With a cast of gifted young actors, Vromen delves into the darker side of the party to reveal that life can change indefinitely when decisions are made with love and friendship on the line. Directed by Ariel Vromen, starring Eric Balfour, Colin Hanks, Danny Pino.

TELL THEM WHO YOU ARE, USA - The son of Oscar winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler explores his troubled relationship with his father, an iconoclastic pioneer whose professional accomplishments are undermined by his shortcomings as a husband and father. Featuring clips from Wexler's films (Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, The Thomas Crown Affair, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Bound For Glory and Coming Home). Directed by Mark Wexler, with appearances by Jane Fonda, Billy Crystal and Julia Roberts.

THE ALMOST GUYS, USA - A down-on-his-lick repo man reposesses a car only to find a famous baseball pitcher bound an gagged in the trunk. With the World Series three days away, they learn the pitcher staged his kidnapping to pay a gambling debts. On the run from double-crossing kidnappers-for-hire, the repo man and his elderly partner, and the repo man's young son make a deal with the pitcher to ransom the team and split the money. If only they were good at it. Directed by Eric Fleming, starring Robert Culp, Eric Fleming, James Edson.

THE AMAZING FLOYDINI, USA - The Amazing Floydini is the quirky Story of a lonely magician turned pickpocket who discovers life is the greatest trick of all. Directed by Brent Sterling Nemetz, stars Gilbert Godfried, Gabriel Barre, Andrea Barnes.

THE ARYAN COUPLE, USA - A WWII Drama about a German/Jewish industrialist who, in order to ensure his family's safe passage out of Germany, is forced to hand over his business to the Nazis. Directed by John Daly, starring Martin Landau.

THE CIVILIZATION OF MAXWELL BRIGHT, USA - MAX BRIGHT's relationships with women are explosive and cruel, so he resolves to find his fantasy woman: demure, submissive, and obedient, and he buys a Chinese mail-order bride. When MAI LING arrives, she attempts to awaken the peaceful 'Buddha' in Max as he introduces her to American luxury, carnality, and freedom. Max¿s world spirals out of control when he is diagnosed with terminal cancer and Mai Ling becomes his foundation as his health deteriorates and she leads him in exploring the spiritual aspects of his life. Directed by David Beaird, starring Patrick Warburton Eric Roberts, Jennifer Tilly, Carol Kane.

THE DRUGGING OF OUR CHILDREN, USA - Documentary follows the stories of families whose lives have been dramatically altered by the serious problems and side effects resulting form common prescription drugs given to children and teenagers. This is the first comprehensive look at the dangers of medicating our children with psychiatric drugs without regard to social causes of depression and ADD/ADHD in children. Expert testimony includes input from doctors, teachers, psychologists who call into question current practices. Directed by Gary Null.

THE FUTURE OF FOOD, USA - There's a revolution going on in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of America. THE FUTURE OF FOOD offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled grocery store shelves for the past decade. Directed by Deborah Koon Garcia.

THE GIRL FROM MONDAY, USA - A girl drops into the ocean from outer space. A being from a distant constellation called Monday, she assumes the human form of a beautiful young woman in order to look for her friend who arrived years before and whom she suspects is in trouble; caught perhaps in the body he has assumed. On the star where she comes from, people have no bodies. Directed by Hal Hartley, starring Bill Sage, Tatiana Abraces and Edie Falco.

THE GREAT WATER, Macedonia - An ailing communist reflects on his childhood in Stalinist Yugoslavia. Directed by Ivo Trajkov.

THE LATIN LEGENDS OF COMEDY, USA - A documentary/concert film that captures the struggles and successes of the first Latino comedians who, over twenty years ago, broke into and became pioneers of New York's standup comedy scene. The comics, dear friends from the beginning of their careers, give stellar performances showing why they are the top Latino funnymen in the country. Directed by Ray Ellin.

THE NICKEL CHILDREN, USA - Two young prostitutes, friends surviving the grim and gritty street, have their dreams for a far better life cut short by reality. Directed by Glenn Klinker, starring Tom Sizemore and Jeremy Sisto.

THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN, USA - The epic tale of a maverick Midwestern farmer. Castigated as a pariah in his community, Farmer John bravely transforms his farm amidst a failing economy, vicious rumors, and arson. He succeeds in creating a bastion of free expression and a revolutionary form of agriculture in rural America. Directed by Taggart Siegel.

THE SALON, USA - An irreverent, sassy and heart-warming film for the entire family, 'The Salon' stars Vivica A. Fox as the inheritor of a neighborhood beauty salon. Directed by Mark Brown, starring Vivica Fox, Brooke Burns, Terrance Howard.

WILBY WONDERFUL, Canada - Bittersweet comedy about the difference a day makes. Over the course of twenty-four hours, the residents of the tiny island town of Wilby try to maintain business as usual in the face of very unusual business. Directed by Daniel Macivor, starring Paul Gross and Sandra Oh.

X,Y, USA - The lives of a young woman and her boyfriend spiral out of control after she loses her memory and becomes inexplicably convinced that she is a man. Directed by Vladimir Vitkin, starring Jamie Harrold, Melissa Murphy, Thomas Byrd.


Non-Premiere Films

39 POUNDS OF LOVE, Israel - This is the story of Ami, a man who while unable to move any part of his body, still manages to move each and everyone of us, as he teaches us a part of life's intimate dance. Directed by Dani Menkin.

DEEP BLUE, UK/Germany – Discover the marvels of ocean depths and shallows with Deep Blue, the latest from the producers of the award-winning BBC series The Blue Planet. In the tradition of Winged Migration and Microcosms, the scintillating film, shot over three years and 30,000 miles captures a never-before-seen, mysterious world that delights the senses. Directed by Alastair Fothergill and Andy Byatt.

EVERYONE, Canada - Ryan and Grant are getting married. Guess who's coming? Everyone is the answer, in this feature film debut from Bill Marchant, a black comedy about marriage, martinis and mortality.

FORBIDDEN WARRIOR, USA - This action/adventure fantasy film, based on a female Asian mythical hero, follows the story of beautiful young Seki, who discovers that she is the only living person with the power to control the Gaia Za, an all powerful book of spells - and she must learn how to use her gifts in order to save the world from bloodthirsty rivals who would steal it. Directed by Jimmy Nickerson.

IN THE PIT, USA – 'In the Pit' brings you the story of Skeet, the weathered owner of Native Village, a tourist attraction in Hollywood, Florida, and Jimmy, his 18-year-old protege who wants nothing more than to follow in Skeet's footsteps and work with animals for the rest of his life. For the past five years, Skeet has taken Jimmy under his wing, teaching him the art of alligator wrestling, snake charming and the responsibility of running a small zoo. But after twenty years at Native Village, Skeet is slowing down and admits quaint, family owned attractions like Native Village are becoming part of Florida's past. Despite his mentor's warnings, Jimmy wants to forgo college and pursue his dream of opening up his own version of Native Village. Jimmy's youthful optimism contrasts sharply with Skeet's weary wisdom but both men share a deep respect for nature and each other. 'In the Pit' shows you their relationship as Jimmy grapples with more than just gators - but what to do with his future. Directed by Sean Lewis.

KING OF THE CORNER, USA - A sly, dead-panned social comedy about the dangers of navigating life without a compass, King of the Corner, paints a portrait of Leo, his family, and his world. Directed by Peter Riegert, who also stars along with Isabella Rosselini and Eli Wallach.

PEACABLE KINGDOM, USA - Imagine awakening one day to realize that the work you were trained to do since birth went against the deepest part of your being. In Peaceable Kingdom, former farmers and farm animal rescuers share the life-changing experiences that led them to question some of our society's most fundamental assumptions about animals. Described by Dr. Jane Goodall as “a masterpiece,” Peaceable Kingdom is an inspiring story of personal redemption, compassion, healing and hope. Directed by Jenny Stein.

THE BITUMINOUS COAL QUEENS OF PENNSYLVANIA, USA - The soul of a coal-mining community is reflected in the odyssey of Hollywood actress Sarah Rush, who returns to her roots in rural Pennsylvania and to the 50th anniversary celebration of the Bituminous Coal Queen Pageant. In this homage to small-town America, the miners and the moms, the bank tellers and the beauty queens remind us of the strength of a shared sacrifice and a collective spirit. Directed by David Hunt, featuring Patricia Heaton.

THUNDERSTRUCK, USA - After a near death experience five AC/DC fans make a pact that when any of them die, the others must bury him next to the grave of the legendary Bon Scott. Twelve years later, four of them learn that they must fulfill that promise in testament to friendship and the power of rock. Directed by Darren Ashton.

WELCOME TO SEPTEMBER, USA - A young man's obsession for a woman in a painting turns his world upside down forcing him to choose between fantasy, reality obsession and love. Directed by Phillip Scarpaci.

WHY SHAKESPEARE?, USA - An Inspirational Documentary showing how live theatre is decisive in changing people's lives. This documentary shows the importance of theatre and Skakespeare through interviews with kids who live in communities affluent with gangs and testimonials from many successful actors such as Tom Hanks, William Shatner, Martin Sheen, Michael York, Bill Pullman, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Christina Applegate among others. Directed by Larry Bridges.


FEATURETTES

AIMÉE PRICE, USA, World Premiere - When Aimée Price, a beautiful yet unhappy young woman, encounters a mysterious antiquarian, her life changes forever. He promises her a lifetime of happiness in exchange for one year of her youth. But 30 years later Aimée learns that a single year can be a lifetime. Directed by Julien Roussel and stars Anastasia Drake, John Savage and Austin Peck.

AN EASY GRAND, USA, World Premiere - Gabe, the new guy in the office, grudgingly accepts one thousand dollars to work overnight on short notice...but what he doesn't know could kill him. Directed by Ethan Shaftel and