Arivaca, Arizona can be found approximately 1-hour 15-minutes south and slightly west of Tucson, nestled in the mountains near the international border.
Although located in the middle of nowhere, actually Arivaca is at the center of everything that will matter in the 21st Century. From immigration, drug and environmental issues, to solar power, natural building and organic farming, Arivaca is a culturally-diverse independent-minded community with one eye that looks toward the future and the other eye that looks toward the past. A past steeped in the history of the American southwest and Mexico.
This one-day event held at the Arivaca Community Center from 12-noon until 9pm, is free and open to the public. For intermission, a pot luck dinner is held from 5:15 - 6:45pm, and is a great opportunity for socializing and relaxing in preparation for the evening shorts which start at 7pm.
Arivaca resident Bart Santello, organizer of the Arivaca Independent Filmmaker's Exhibition over the past five years, will host this year's film event in cooperation with the Arizona International Film Festival. For more information, contact Bart at arivaca@filmfestivalarizona.com
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
Above: NokotaHeart Movie Poster
Leo Kuntz, Vietnam vet turned horse rancher, feels the quiet storm of change. He has fought to preserve the legendary lineage of Sitting Bull’s Nokota horses for decades. It has impacted his life, his loves, the very beating heart and soul of him.
But the 21st Century is upon us now. America’s frontier is vanishing hard and fast. So too are the old ways, horse people and horse cultures.
In the face of such stark transition Leo Kuntz may be the last of his kind. His fight to save the equine legacy of the Greatest American Indian of them all is running out of time. This may be the last American Western.
Awards
~ WINNER ‘BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY’ 2010 WHITE SANDS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, NEW MEXICO, USA.
~ OFFICIAL SELECTION 2010 CAMBRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL, UK.
AMELIA ISLAND FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2011
Directed By Sean Garland
Produced By Sean Garland Lawrence Fee
Website http://www.longislandbridiepictures.com
NokotaHeart Trailer - Afternoon Feature (4pm)
“Wonderfully conceived and realized; Sean’s gifts are equal to his subject. I look forward to seeing more.” -CastleMC, YouTube
“The film’s intro has beautiful tranquil lyrical imagery but above all, I’m looking forward to to see the story unfold to get in depth with your subject when it’s screened in full feature length. Imagery has close resemblance of Days of Heaven!” - Brian G, YouTube
“I met this wonderful person on a trip my FFA advisor took us on last June. I have to say that i had a wonderful time andi am truley inspired by all the hard work everybody at the Nokota Horse Conservancy has done.” Stephanie, YouTube
CELESTIAL AVENUE c 2009 AquaFruzzl Films EVENING SHORT 7PM
SYNOPSIS
Kath has been looking for love in all the wrong places. Then, she finds herself in Chinatown. In the middle of a less than successful blind date, she overhears the soulful Cantonese singing of kitchen-hand, Ah Gong. Kath is intrigued. But is there more to Ah Gong than meets the eye?
CELESTIAL AVENUE is an offbeat tale – part karaoke video, part cross-cultural comedy – about love, personal reinvention and startled pigeon.
Celestial Avenue marks our second collaborative effort with writer & director team Colin and Cameron Cairnes, ( who have been working with us on THE LAST ANDY) and our fourth collaboration with DOP John Brawley. Celestial Avenue was funded by Screen Australia and stars Catherine Moore, Angus Sampson and Jason Gaan.
The film was shot on the SI 2k digital camera over six days in March 2009
Click above for the Celestial Avenue Trailer Evening Short - 7pm
“I saw this at the Sydney Film Festival, Absolutley Awesome film” -fp470, YouTube
“BEST FLIM EVER” - JezaFenton, YouTube
Celestial Avenue plays Opening night at the Arizona Film Fest!
15.04.2010
As part of the Opening Night Celebrations at Arizona Film Fest, Celestial Avenue is one of the featured shorts.
Also, here’s a nice little review:
Ah Gong is a hardworking kitchen hand in Chinatown with the singing voice of a Cantonese angel. The twist: He’s also a white dude. When the loveless Kath overhears him singing his sad and beautiful song in the alley, she abandons her smarmy blind date to pursue this Caucasian/Cantonese mystery. What results is a laugh-out-loud short that rivals Quentin Tarantino in cross-cultural visual experimentation. Part kabuki performance, part karaoke music video and part kung-fu flick, “Celestial Avenue” is a visually stunning tribute to Chinese storytelling — and damned if it isn’t a cute love story to boot.
– Brandon Specktor
Website AFTERNOON FEATURE - SCREENS AT 1PM
THE LINGUISTS (60 MIN)
Scientists estimate that of 7,000 languages in the world, half will be gone by the end of this century. On average, one language disappears every two weeks.
The Linguists follows David Harrison and Gregory Anderson, scientists racing to document languages on the verge of extinction. David and Greg’s ‘round-the-world journey takes them deep into the heart of the cultures, knowledge, and communities at risk when a language dies.
In Siberia, David and Greg seek to record the Chulym language, which hasn’t been heard by outsiders for more than thirty years. The linguists encounter remnants of the racist Soviet regime that may have silenced Chulym for good.
In India, tribal children attend boarding schools, where they learn Hindi and English, a trade, and the pointlessness of their native tongues. Similar boarding schools for tribal children existed in the US through most of the twentieth century. David and Greg travel to the children’s villages, where economic unrest has stirred a violent Maoist insurgency. The linguists witness the fear and poverty that have driven youth from their native communities.
In Bolivia, the Kallawaya language has survived for centuries with fewer than one hundred speakers. David and Greg trek high into the Andes to unlock its secret.
The Linguists is produced and directed by Seth Kramer, Daniel A. Miller, and Jeremy Newberger of Ironbound Films.
THE LINGUISTS - Afternoon Feature 1pm
CLICK VIDEO ABOVE FOR PREVIEW TRAILER OF FILM
Reviews:
“The Linguists should really be called Dave and Greg’s Excellent Adventure. It’s a hoot. Ethnographers David Harrison and Greg Anderson mix passion with undergraduate humor in their serious work traveling the globe to record near-extinct languages before they’re gone.” - Sam Allis, The Boston Globe
“Who knew that linguists could make for such a hot adventure movie?”
- Ruth Walker, The Christian Science Monitor
“David Harrison and Gregory Anderson make an engaging globe-trotting duo … “
- Justin Chang, Variety
“Funny, enlightening and ultimately uplifting …” - Aaron Barnhart, The Kansas City Star
Lychee Thieves - Trailer Evening Short 7pm
Filmmaker: Kathleen Kwai Ching Man
From the Lychee Thieves Website
In Hawai’i, the highly prized lychee tree blooms only once a year. Paranoid Arnie and Ethel vow to protect their fruit from lychee thieves…at any cost!
Arnie and Ethel’s feelings of suspicion are stirred when a Hawaiian stranger named Keoki (Pomaika’i Brown, 50 First Dates) offers to harvest their lychee. When Arnie’s selfish impulses drive him to hire professional pickers for the task instead, Keoki realizes that their lives are being dictated by fear, and attempts to set things right.
Lychee Thieves explores the humorous, and sometimes contentious, interactions among the culturally and ethnically diverse people of Hawai’i, prompting one critic to describe it as “the most accurate depiction of life in Hawai’i yet committed to film.” Inventive dream sequences take us from the mystical valleys of Hawai’i to ancient China, where a smitten Emperor will stop at nothing to feed his lady’s lust for lychee.
Written and directed by award-winning local filmmaker Kathleen Kwai Ching Man, Lychee Thieves features hi-definition cinematography by Independent Spirit Award Nominee, Anne Misawa (Treeless Mountain) and a haunting original score by German composer Emanuel Heinstein. The soundtrack also includes Hawaiian favorites by acclaimed musical artists Makana, Hapa, and Raiatea Helm. Showcasing a vibrant local cast, with a seasoned crew helmed by producer Angela Laprete, Lychee Thieves delights and inspires audiences around the globe.
Immersion Evening Short, 7pm
Moises, a ten-year-old immigrant who speaks no English, struggles to fit in at his new school in the U.S.
Written and Directed by Richard Levien
Produced by Richard Levien, Kit Fox, Zareen Poonen Levien
Website and Resources: www.immersionfilm.com
“One of the best structured short fiction films I’ve seen. Where the life of a little boy becomes the metaphor for the politics of language in the United States…Bravo” - Bart Santello, Organizer - Arivaca Film Exhibition
El Andalon - Afternoon Short 12pm
“I just came from San Cristobal and three girlfriends and I went to the museum and Sergio kindly told us about all the beautiful clothing they weave. Afterwards he showed us a presentation on the area and told us about his work in SanCristobal and nearby towns with burn victims and those who have diabetes - a foot problems. He is for real - I hope that those that see this video can visit him, donate to his cause - see his website” -mercyrockypoint, YouTube
“I saw him when I was in Chiapas and I saw a lot of pictures of his patients. He has a big heart. The guy is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. He spoke in french with us and also in spanish. He was talking about the traditional clothes of Chiapas.” oukht3, YouTube
