Media that Matters International Travelling Film Festival June 7, 2005

Contact: Vince 0438 800 244 or Melanie 0403 051 606
[email protected]
www.sydneysocialforum.org Valhalla Cinema, Glebe
Corporate Accountability, Culture-jamming, Sustainable Agriculture, Civil Liberties... these topics and more are tackled in these high-impact shorts which will inspire you to take action. Presented by the Sydney Social Forum and Media Rights (New York). $10/$15

Presented by the
SYDNEY SOCIAL FORUM (www.sydneysocialforum.org) and
MEDIA RIGHTS, New York (www.mediathatmattersfest.org)

Keep watching for the Sydney Social Forum - 3 days of discussion, debate, skill-sharing & activism.
27-29 August 2005.

Films that will be screening Tuesday 7 June:

I Promise Africa 2:40 min. Public Service Announcement
When Jerry Henry set off to Kenya to make a documentary about orphans he didn't realize that he would be preserving on tape the voices of a generation that would soon be silenced.

iThemba 5:19 min. Documentary Short
Through the mesmerizing melding of their voices, the Sinikithemba Choir turns stage into soapbox, singing and speaking for the 5 million HIV+ South Africans in desperate need of medication and support.

Seeds of Hope: South Africa 6:12 min. International Documentary
Solutions to poverty and malnutrition require resourcefulness and dedication. A group of women in a South African township learn how to sustain themselves and their children.

The Meatrix 3:47 min. Flash Animation
Will Leo the pig take the blue pill and remain in a fantasyland where quaint family farms produce food for our tables or will he take the red pill and get a cruel welcome to the real world?

Laugh at the Fat Kid 7:57 min. Narrative Short
Whimsical and visually creative, "Laugh at the Fat Kid" intimately portrays a young boy caught in a cycle of ridicule and overeating, forcing the viewer to ask "What's wrong with this picture?"

Lean on Me 1:46 min. Youth Digital Story
When the mayor's office says "no," a group of kids find their own way to make their dream for a safe place to play basketball a reality.

Books Not Bars 3:44 min. Campaign Portrait
A growing number of youth are questioning the way their state governments spend money. The teens of the Books Not Bars movement demand that education, not incarceration, be the priority, now and in the future.

The Children of Birmingham 6:17 min. Animation
Through stirring narration and beautiful illustrations, Baltimore middleschool students tell the story of their 1960s counterparts who fought for their civil rights.

Day of Remembrance 8:00 min. Political Documentary
The legislators behind the Patriot Act claim to have made America safer, but in the process they have destroyed the lives of thousands of innocent Arab and Muslim Americans. Day of Remembrance calls attention to this tragic phenomenon and is a reminder that American history has a tendency to repeat itself.

Dedicated to My Family 3.51 min. Personal Documentary
Nicole dreams about a perfect family. Living in a teen shelter, she has learned that family is where the heart is.

Struggling to Survive 7:37 min. Youth Documentary
Having a job doesn't mean you make enough to get by. Teenagers in eastern Kentucky turn their cameras on the living wage crisis in their community.

The Sixth Section 8:10 min. Social Documentary
Sometimes the "American Dream" is realized on foreign soil. During the cold winters of upstate New York, a group of immigrants work together to give a baseball field, an ambulance and whatever else they can manage to their hometown of Boqueron, Mexico.

Novela, Novela 7:20 min. International Documentary
Every afternoon, millions of Nicaraguans gather around their TV sets to watch their favorite imported novela (soap opera). What would happen if a group of activists produced a homegrown novela about real issues like safe sex and domestic abuse?

Bush for Peace 1:56 min. Satirical Short
It's Dubya as you've never heard him before in a re-mix of U.S. foreign policy created from the Commander-in-Chief's "Moment of Truth" speech. Bush for Peace is at once a fantasy, a satire, and an earnest plea to stop the violence.

Spring in Awe 4 min. Experimental Short
The overpowering displays of Times Square put a spell on the world in a disturbing lullaby of global capitalism.

POPaganda: The Art & Subversion of Ron English 8:24 min. Portrait
A modern-day Robin Hood of Madison Avenue, artist and satirist Ron English reclaims corporate billboards with uncanny canvases that force the man on the street to look twice? or maybe three times.