SHORTS BLOCK 14: Documentary Showcase, Volume One
17 min -- “The Game Changer” by Indrani Kopal: Every Sunday afternoon for the last seven years, Susan Slotnick has driven an hour up the mountains to the Woodbourne Correctional Facility, a medium security prison for men, to teach modern dance. The lives of men whom she touched have never been the same since. This is her story.
31 min -- “Some Na Ceremonies” by Tami Blumenfield: Representations of Na people (aka Moso) usually center on their matrilineal kinship system, overlooking religion, a central aspect of their lives. The film directors captured important ceremonies ranging from a film festival, to a pig-sacrifice, to a three-day funerary ceremony. The events are rivetingly elaborate and spiritually meaningful. By avoiding interpretation or voice-over narration, the film emphasizes the partiality of any representational attempt.
12 min -- "Methel Island" by Meg Smaker: A peacock, a musical number on meth, and a trash full of condoms - Welcome to Methel Island. This island in the delta 45 minutes east of San Francisco is infested with crystal meth. In the film we explore this lost island and its inhabitants.
13 min -- “Paper Wrap Fire” by Raymond Yeung: A Chinese teenager is left alone in a Community Center where he encounters a handsome man which leads to a discovery that shatters his innocence.
09 min -- “The Invisible Hobby” by Wesley Skotko: The film follows enthusiastic participants of Airsoft, a game of technique and imagination where players participate in tactical training usually reserved for the military and police. Events can simulate military training, recreate famous battles from history, or derive from pure imagination such as a zombie apocalypse.
