From:TheBahamasWeekly.com

Bahamas International Film Festival
Official Film Selections for the Bahamas International Film Festival 2012
Nov 28, 2012 - 12:56:08 AM

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Nassau, Bahamas - This year, the Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) will showcase 78 films from 26 different countries, including 45 features and 33 short films of which several are international premieres and all are Bahamian premieres. The four competition categories at BIFF are Spirit of Freedom: Narrative & Documentary; New Visions; and Short Film. Special sections include Caribbean Spotlight and Self Discovery as well as a World Cinema showcase.


BIFF 2012 begins Thursday, December 6th in Nassau and runs through Sunday, December 9th.

Actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier, daughter of legendary Oscar winning actor American/Bahamian actor Sidney Poitier will be honored with BIFF’s signature Shining Star Tribute.

Additional announcements pertaining to the Festival will be made in the coming weeks.

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Shining Star Honouree, Sydney Tamaii Poitier



Film Festival Guests of BIFF 2012 Announced

Nine Bahamian Films Entered in BIFF Caribbean Spotlight

BIFF Announces Special Events for 9th Season: Dec 6-9

The Coldwell Banker/Lightbourn Realty BIFF Festival Lounge

Find us on FACEBOOK


Here is our OFFICIAL 2012 FILM SELECTION:

25 Years Of Jr. Junkanoo - Youth Film Workshop (short) before Closing Night Film THE SAPPHIRES

This year BIFF, Esso Bahamas Limited and BTC are pleased to provide the Youth of our nation with the opportunity to learn how to make a film in a day. 15 students from 4 schools: C.C. Sweeting, Woodcock Primary, A.F. Adderley Jr. HIgh School, C.R. Walker, participated in making a film in a day. The making of this year’s film is “25 Years Of Junior Junkanoo.”  This exciting project will educate students on the art of film-making and give them an opportunity to tell the world the story of Junior Junkanoo.  The Premiere will be unveiled before the BIFF Closing Night Film, December 9 at 6:30pm. Bahamas / 2012, 28 mins

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A Man With A Voice

A Man with a Voice:  Chronicles the Bahamian legend, Norman Soloman. Norman Soloman, a journalist, politician, an activist and a business man.  This film sheds light on his journey while also illuminating the changing political landscape of of our pre-independent Bahamas to recent. Bahamas / 2012, 59 mins

Maria Govan - Attending
Friday, December 7 / 11:00am
Saturday, December 8 / 3:00pm

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A.L.F.

What happened, that 24th of December? This is what officer Chartier wants ton find out. To understand, he will have to go back 48 hours earlier : Franck's Christmas eve. Franck : insignificant drama-teacher, Franck belongs to a nameless and leaderless commando : the Animal Liberation Front.

Jerome Lescure
France / 2011, 96 mins
Friday, December 7 / 4:20pm

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Alekesam

Hugh Masekela - musician, activist and father was exiled from his family and native South Africa for over 30 years as a direct result of Apartheid. Undaunted, he would find musical success in America with the 1968 number one hit, Grazin' In The Grass, and in 1971 he would father a son, Selema Mabena Masekela.

Jason Berg
USA / 2012, 30 mins
Saturday, December 8 / 1:00pm

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Amos

Set in the concrete jungles of South Central Los Angeles, Amos follows the story of a young 17 year old kid trying to live up to the expectations of his gangster community. After a robbery goes horribly wrong Amos is chased by rival gang members, seeking refuge on a well-to-do college campus.

Taylor Maxwell
USA / 2012, 29 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 11:00am
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Apartment In Athens, Appartamento ad Atene

Athens, 1943. An apartment is requisitioned to provide accommodation for a German officer. In the apartment live the Helianos, a middle-aged couple who used to be well-off. He is an intellectual, moderate and patient. She is an anxious, sickly housewife. They have a ten-year-old son who is filled with melodramatic revenge fantasies and a twelve-year old daughter. With the arrival of Captain Kalter everything is wiped out. The methodical, ascetic, cruel Karter is a military god who inflicts terror.

Ruggero Dipaola
Italy / 2011, 95 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 11:00am

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APOCRYPHAL (Apocrifo)

A story where the restive city of Mexico is offered as background characters to draw psychological and human postures typical of a big city. A story where morality, religion and reason are manipulated for selfish personal gain by individuals who change their destiny with crafty opportunism.

Ernesto Fundora
Mexico / 2011, 17 mins
Friday, December 7 / 3:00pm

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Arise

Arise captures the portraits and stories of extraordinary women around the world who are coming together to heal the injustices against the earth. The film weaves together poetry, music, art and stunning scenery to create a hopeful and collective story that inspires us to work for the earth. Our film shows how women are becoming self-sustainable, feeding their children, re-building their communities and bringing about environmental stability.

Lori Joyce and Candice Orlando - Attending
USA / 2011, 117 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 11:00am
Saturday, December 8 / 6:30pm

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Art Machine

At age six, child prodigy painter Declan Truss was propelled into the art world as a rare marvel, but by seventeen, the tightrope of notoriety is catching up with him. Declan seeks inspiration as the immense pressures of an impending coming-of-age exhibition loom.

Doug Karr - Attending
USA / 2012, 89 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 1:30pm
Sunday, December 9 / 5:00pm

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Atlantis

When NASA announced the closing of its shuttle program on July 8th, 2011, with the final launch of the space shuttle Atlantis, it triggered an outpouring of public interest not seen since the days of the Apollo moon missions. Millions of people from all over the world converged on Florida’s Space Coast in the rainy days leading up to the final launch, including Ben Goddard (Jason Ritter) and Allison Talbot (Kate french). Two spectators who meet and cross paths on the day before the launch in the town that lives in the shadow of the space shuttle. Starring Jason Ritter, Kate French, the residents of Titusville and the crew of STS-135, Atlantis was filmed in co-operation with NASA.

Matthew Ornstein
USA / 2012, 19 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 12:00pm

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Baseball In The TIme Of Cholera

As the cholera epidemic rages in Haiti, the UN denies responsibility for introducing the disease despite mounting evidence. This is the story of Joseph, a young baseball player, and a Haitian lawyer fighting for compensation for the victims. As the epidemic spreads, the two stories intersect in the struggle for survival and justice.

David Drag & Bryn Mooser
Haiti, USA / 2012, 27 mins
Saturday, December 8 / 1:00pm

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Beached

Nyoike ('Nyo'), in an attempt to get back into the rhythm of his life, returns to his bar after spreading the ashes of his wife, Hope, on the Georgetown seawall. Still reeling from the loss he is not in a hospitable mood when his longtime friend and photographer, Fargus, shows up uninvited.
Fargus fails to engage Nyo and leaves a picture he had taken of Nyo and Hope on the counter. Nyo's wedding ring, and now this picture, are all that he has left of his wife.

Kojo McPherson
Guyana / 2012, 16 mins
Friday, December 7 / 1:00pm

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Between Friends

Giselle a recent college graduate and her younger sister Mia, are at the nexus of events that will affect their lives and the lives of their friends forever.  Malik has been in love with Giselle for years, she knows this and leads him to the brink at times, but holds back using the excuse of her boyfriend abroad.   Malik's best friend, Kimani is the resident 'playa' constantly on the prowl, has one woman who is the apple of his eye but he can't contain her. Giselle's closest friends are Mariah, serious and Law School bound and Stacy the only one in a stable relationship with David. Mia loves life, she has what she considers a dream relationship with a much older man Dennis, whom she believes is not married. She often places herself at the centre of attention with her friends, Marissa and Josanne with tales of her sexual encounters with Dennis. This often disgusts Josanne, but Marissa is always prods her on for the explicit details.

M. Omari Jackson - Attending
Trinidad & Tobago / 2012, 96 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 2:00pm
Saturday, December 8 / 12:45pm

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Between Us

In this darkly comedic drama, two couples reunite over the course of two incendiary evenings where anything can happen.  Grace and Carlo are a newly married New York couple who visit their old friends Sharyl and Joel in their huge Midwestern home. But despite their wealth, the hosts are in a violently destructive marriage. Two years later, the couples reunite in New York, but now the tables are turned as the young couple struggles with their marriage, parenthood and financial woes, only to discover that their old friends are even more successful and much happier than they were before.

Dan Mirvish - Attending
USA / 2012, 90 mins
Friday, December 7 / 6:10pm
Sunday, December 9 / 1:00pm

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Beware Of Mr. Baker

Ginger Baker is known for playing in Cream and Blind Faith, but the world's greatest drummer didn’t hit his stride until 1972, when he arrived in Nigeria and discovered Fela Kuti's Afrobeat. After leaving Nigeria, Ginger returned to his pattern of drug-induced self-destruction, eventually settling in South Africa, where the 73-year-old lives with his young bride and 39 polo ponies. This documentary includes interviews with Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Carlos Santana and more. Beware of Mr. Baker! With every smash of the drum is a man smashing through life, and smashing the filmmaker’s nose on the last day of filming.

Jay Bulger
USA / 2012, 92 mins
Saturday, December 8 / 1:00pm

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Bittersweet Monday

When longtime best friends, Jeremy and Monica say their goodbyes before Jeremy's big move, they find themselves holding onto more than just their friendship. Separately in committed marriages, the two experience an overwhelming emotional shift, exacerbated by the circumstances that bring them together and alone again.

Jamie Lee
USA / 2012, 88 mins
Friday, December 7 / 2:30pm

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Black Irish

Black Irish is the story of a young man who can't afford to take care of his family. In order to get a much needed promotion he must hide his true identity.

Anika Poiter - Attending
USA / 2012, 15 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 2:00pm
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Breakfast With Curtis

When Syd, an eccentric bookseller with delusions of grandeur fueled by red wine, recruits his teenage neighbor Curtis as a creative collaborator, the longstanding chill between Curtis’s family and Syd’s bohemian housemates begins to thaw, unleashing repressed secrets, healing old wounds, and sparking new connections.

Laura Colella - Attending
USA / 2012, 90 mins
Saturday, December 8 / 11:00am

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Breathe

William Trubridge attempts to break his own free diving record by going 300 feet into Dean's Blue Hole with just two bare feet and one breath of air.

Martin Khodabakhshian
Long Island, Bahamas /USA / 2012, 51 mins
Friday, December 7 / 12:15pm
Sunday, December 9 / 5:00pm

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Brigidy Bram

Born June 25, 1936 in Nassau, Kendal Hanna is a painter and a sculptor known as one of the Bahamas' first abstract expressionists.  Early in Hanna's life he began experimenting with abstractions through a process which he describes as his "subconscious mind expressing itself on the canvas."  During his twenties, Hanna was diagnosed with schizophrenia and prescribed an electric shock therapy course of four treatments per week for an unknown period of time. Upon his release two years later, Hanna used art to recover his motor capabilities and mental acuity.  Now 75, Hanna has become one of the Bahamas' most celebrated artists, prolifically releasing work described as "carefully considered and contemplated, provocative and masterful." In BRIGIDY BRAM, Hanna reveals his inner and outer realities through his artworks, memories and one-of-a-kind sense of humor. The National Art Gallery of the Bahamas celebrated Kendal Hanna with a retrospective exhibition of his art on his 75th birthday. Board chair D. Gail Saunders wrote in the foreword to the catalog: "Kendal's life was a struggle, but in spite of the numerous difficulties and hurdles, he persisted with his art and endured.  His art, which is usually described as abstract, is not understood by everyone.  But many have come to love his work and have grown to recognize and connect with the passion he expresses in his paintings and sculpture.....A modest giant, Kendal Hanna today is counted among the leading Bahamian artists of our time."

Toby Lunn & Laura Gamse - Attending
Bahamas / 2012, 35 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 11:00am
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Burning Hearts

Beyond B-grade, beyond post-post-modern melodrama, 'Burning Hearts' unfolds in its own world – one foot in the economic sigh that is Japan today and the other in the glory days of the 1980's bubble. Get ready for full-frontal angst and unbelievable action straight out of the Super Nintendo's 'Final Fight'. Love it or hate it, you've never seen a short like 'Burning Hearts'.

James McFay
Japan / 2011, 16 mins
Friday, December 7 / 3:00pm

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Busted On Brigham Lane

The film centers around young, African American female Momo. While taking the subway home from picking up her niece, she encounters a group of men singing for spare change. When one of the members of the group passes her, hat in hand, she spots her name tattooed across his arm. Looking into his eyes, she instantly recognizes him as her estranged biological father.

Talibah Newman
USA / 2012, 20 mins
Friday, December 7 / 1:00pm

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Cadaver

A cadaver wakes up to say a last goodbye to his wife but discovers a truth in death he didn't know in life.  Starring Christopher Lloyd, Tavi Gevinson and Kathy Bates.  Featuring the music of Neil Young.

Jonah Ansel
USA / 2012, 7 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 11:00am

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Can't Stand Losing You

Based on the memoir by Andy Summers, Can’t Stand Losing You follows an extraordinary musical journey, from Summers’ early days on the English music scene to his chance encounter with drummer Stewart Copeland and bassist Sting, to the trio’s charttopping international success as The Police. The film includes exclusive interviews with the band members during The Police’s worldwide reunion tour, along with extensive concert footage proving they’re as vital as ever.

Andy Grieve - Attending
USA / 2011, 83 mins
Friday, December 7 / 9:15pm

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Chance

After Receiving an esteemed Photography scholarship to the university of his dream Darnell Smith’s life is turned upside down when his mother’s ongoing illness suddenly becomes severe. With no one to provide for his family, Darnell takes measures into his own hands.

Evan Kaufmann - Attending
USA / 2011, 85 mins
Friday, December 7 / 11:00am
Sunday, December 9 / 1:00pm

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City Monkey

The winds of parkour has blown to China, and has made its way on to the big screen.  The players jump up and down the buildings, into house and over the rooftops, releasing the youthful explosive energy and achieving pride via its dangerous moves.  A young man has landed himself in conflict with his mother when he wants to give up school to pursue parkour as a career; the age-old question of career versus hobby takes on a new twist, with performances by China’s top parkour group.

Patrick Kong
China / 2011, 90 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 1:00pm

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Cresendo

In 18th century Holy Roman Empire, a series of events will turn an ordinary day in to an extraordinary experience for a woman whose life will never be the same.

Alonso Alvarez Barreda
Germany / 2011, 15 mins
Friday, December 7 / 1:00pm

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Dead Dad

When their dad dies unexpectedly, estranged siblings Russell, Jane and their adopted brother, Alex, come home to tend to his remains. Though a stubborn and proud bunch, they are able to agree on one thing: nobody wants to keep the ashes. With little guidance and mounds of resentment among them, the three must work together to achieve a proper goodbye. The man who split them apart brings them closer together as the siblings learn what it means to be a family without their dad.

Ken J. Adachi - Attending
USA / 2012, 83 mins
Saturday, December 8 / 7:00pm
Sunday, December 9 / 2:45pm

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Dead Man's Burden

Western Feature:

The year is 1870, and a fragmented America still strains to pick up the pieces from a savage Civil War. Martha (exciting newcomer Clare Bowen) and her husband Heck (David Call, TINY FURNITURE) are living on a homestead Martha’s father purchased on the rural New Mexico frontier and struggle to make ends meet.

Jared Moshe
USA / 2011, 93 mins
Saturday, December 8 / 5:00pm

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Delivery

He has a partner, Andre. One of Franck's jobs is to smuggle clandestine people to New York. Franck is going though midlife crises of a crime officer. He wants to change his lifestyle. His next job will get him into a complicated situation where he will have to smuggle a person from the border and take him to New York. The problem is that he is not given the address where he has to take the stranger. Franck is stuck with this package until his partner Andre calls him to tell him where he has to go.

Fabien Mariano Ortiz
France / 2012, 11 mins
Friday, December 7 / 3:00pm

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Docket # 32357

In an eerily quiet courtroom hallway, Lois anxiously awaits the announcement of docket number 32357. Valerie, a successful retail buyer, rushes to take a seat along the bench we find Lois sitting on. The ominous voice that bellows from the speaker inspires a conversation between Lois and Valerie. As the two women grow more comfortable they realize their meeting is anything, but by chance. What the two women discover will change their lives moving forward. Docket 32357 examines the need to overcome loneliness even from the most unexpected of places and how we feel once that opportunity is squandered.

Randy Wilkins
USA / 2011, 14 mins
Saturday, December 8 / 1:00pm

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Dolphin Boy

After being brutally tortured by his classmates, Morad - a teenaged boy from an Arab village in the North of Israel - is suffering from a severe post-traumatic shock, disconnecting himself from the world around him.

Dani Menkin - Attending
Israel / 2011, 90 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 3:00pm
Sunday, December 9 / 11:00am

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Favorite Waltz (Valse Favorite)

What is the best way to be dump by an emotional boyfriend ?

Deborah Helpert
France / 2012, 14 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 3:00pm

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Fight Scene

Professional stuntman Jim Ford (Knight and Day, The Surrogates, The Bounty Hunter) helms this perilous martial arts style short film about a man whose car breaks down in a bad part of town. When he decides to walk home, he encounters some astute street thugs who get in his way.

Jim Ford
USA / 2012, 4 mins
Friday, December 7 / 3:00pm

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Go Lala Go

Lala Du, a woman in her late twenties who finally manages to land a job as a lowly secretary in the sales department of a prestigious international firm. Hard working, dedicated, and overflowing with ideas and energy, she quickly catches the eye of her superiors, in particular that of sales director David Wang. Lala’s efforts pay off as she rises quickly up the corporate ladder, and even manages to win the notoriously tough and grumpy man’s heart in the process. Unfortunately, there are still a number of obstacles in her way, both on the job and off, as David Wang’s ex, Mei-Gui Rose, who just happens to be another company director, looks to make trouble for her new love rival.

Jinglei Xu
China / 2011, 100 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 11:00am

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Grassroots

Laugh. Cry. Vote for the Little Guy. There’s no family dog strapped to the roof of his car, but political candidate Grant Cogswell has his own set of image problems, starting with the fact that he likes to dress up as a polar bear and he’s currently an unemployed music critic. In Stephen Gyllenhaal’s bittersweet, uplifting comedy GRASSROOTS – based on the true story of the 2001 Seattle City Council election – Cogswell becomes a mono-maniacal man of the people, rallying an unlikely posse of misfits, slackers, and square pegs to his seemingly hopeless David-and-Goliath battle against a firmly entrenched incumbent.

Stephen Gyllenhaal
USA / 2012, 97 mins
Friday, December 7 / 8:00pm

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Greedy Lying Bastards

What happens when one industry has too much power? Politicians become pawns. Laws are created and prevented. Regulations are bypassed. Information is controlled. Dissent is stifled. Our climate changes. And people die. 'Greedy Lying Bastards' presents a searing indictment of the influence, deceit and corruption that defines the fossil fuel industry. From the Gulf Coast to the tiny nation of Tuvalu, from Nigeria and Uganda to Peru and Alaska, filmmaker and political activist Craig Rosebraugh documents the impact of an industry that has continually put profits before people, waged a campaign of lies designed to thwart measures on climate change, used its clout to minimize infringing regulations and undermined the political process in the U.S. and abroad.

Craig Rosebraugh
Belgium, Denmark, Germany Peru, Switzerland USA, Uganda, UK / 2012, 90 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 5:00pm

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Habibi

"Habibi," a story of forbidden love, is a fiction feature set in Gaza. Two students in the West Bank are forced to return home to Gaza, where their love defies tradition. To reach his lover, Qays grafittis poetry across town.

Susan Youssef - Attending
Gaza / 2011, 92 mins
Friday, December 7 / 7:45pm

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Haiti Untold

HAITI UNTOLD chronicles the personal journey of a few famous and not-so-famous individuals who have put their heads and hearts to the task of effecting radical change in Haiti, following the devastating earthquake of 2010.

Dan Shannon, Isabelle Depelteau - Attending
Haiti, Canada / 2012, 90 mins
Friday, December 7 / 5:30pm

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Homebody

Nell’s feet hang over her tiny bed, she can’t squeeze through her little front door, her miniature meals leave her hungry, and the tiny debt collector won’t go away. This is a film about being trapped in your life and what it takes to break out.

Kate Marks
USA / 2011, 12 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 3:00pm

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Hourglass

In small residential town by the Trondheim's fjord Anna and Anton are starting to enter into adolescence. They live in a place where nature is as spectacular as it is isolating. A microcosmos that forced them to build a strong bond during their childhood and that, now, are trying to find out what will it evolve into. They deal with boredom in different ways. Anton is eager to explore the world beyond the buble-like universe he lives in. Anna spends most of her time with Bamse, her big fluffy dog. One day, Bamse finds a mysterious wooden box on the beach.

Pedro Collantes
Spain, Norway / 2012, 16 mins
Friday, December 7 / 1:00pm
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I Am Not A Rock Star

Shot over eight years, MAKING MARIKA is the coming-of-age journey of fiery, Juilliard-trained pianist Marika Bournaki, who will stop at nothing to become a world-class concert pianist. Marika's parents never realized their youthful dreams in music and ballet, but saw her raw talent age age 5. Her father-turned-manager, Pierre, then risked everything -- including his career, family and marriage -- to make Marika into a star.

Bobbi Jo Krals-Hart
Canada / 2012, 85 mins
Friday, December 7 / 11:00am
Saturday, December 8 / 3:00pm

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Inocente

INOCENTE is a personal and vibrant coming of age story about a young artist's determination never to surrender to the bleakness of her surroundings.  At 15, Inocente refuses to let her dream of becoming an artist be caged by being an undocumented immigrant forced to live homeless for the last nine years.  Color is her personal revolution and its sweep on her canvases creates a world that looks nothing like her own dark past. INOCENTE is both a timeless story about the transformative power of art and a timely snapshot of the new face of homelessness in America: children.  The challenges are staggering, but the hope in her story proves that her circumstances do not define her, her dreams do.

Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine
USA / 2012, 40 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 11:30am
Sunday, December 9 / 3:00pm

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Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy

Lloyd, the anti-hero, the fallen hero and main protagonist, is out of control with drugs and left unchecked, he must fulfill his “karmic” debt with Solo.  Lloyd represents a young man with a, “Peter Pan” complex, who refuses to grow and face his harsh reality.  Lloyd wants to change, but first must deal with Solo and wake up in the, “Hell”, he has created. He falls in love with Heather, who changes his life and causes him to come to terms with reality.

Rob Heydon
Canada / 2011, 65 mins
Friday, December 7 / 9:30pm

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Jackson: Native Son

JACKSON BURNSIDE, NATIVE SON, chronicles the diverse life and times of this deeply respected Bahamian cultural icon. He loved his Bahamas with a burning passion, devoting his life to exposing the rich design, architecture & heritage of his native land. After his education abroad, and becoming an assistant to Louis I. Kahn, he returned to the Bahamas where he further developed his talents as a painter, architect, philosopher, mentor & Junkanoo.

Karen Arthur & Thomas Neuwirth - Attending
Bahamas, USA / 2012, 70 mins
Friday, December 7 / 7:30pm
Saturday, December 8 / 4:15pm

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Jocelyn Y El Coyote

Once upon a time there was a girl that lives happily with her grandmother in El Salvador.One day she wokes up and find out that her grandmother had die, suddenly she was helpless, without parents, without home, without economic means.She yearns for a better life, so when she heard the fabulous stories of the coyote, that promised her new horizons at "El Norte" (USA), she decided to take the risk to search a promising future. Jocelyn and the Coyote is a journey of the evolution of a girl that, in the way, transforms into an adult woman.

Pilar Colome, Jose Lovo, Maria Cilleros - Attending
El Salvador / 2012, 7 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 11:00am

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Le Nid

Today is a big day, he has an appointment with a professor of medicine specializing in hair loss. This meeting will change the course of his life.

Aurelien Drach
France / 2012, 8 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 3:00pm

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Legacy

Claire, a young woman living under the oppressive authority of her stern older sister, struggles for independence. When her brother's ghost pays her a chilling visit in the middle of the night, Claire considers what it may take to finally live on her own terms.

Maya Anand - Attending
USA / 2012, 17 mins
Saturday, December 8 / 1:00pm

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Maybe Tomorrow

Three men. One night. A crime that would sever their friendships but connect them to each other for life. After spending the last fifteen years trying to deny it, they will finally be forced to revisit the one night that changed their lives. Facing a lengthy prison sentence, RUSS MAHLER, a career criminal armed with a destructive secret, blackmails the only man that can get him off the hook, Manhattan District Attorney GRAHAM SEIFERT, whose Chief of Staff EVAN MIDLAND is called upon to facilitate a resolution.

Michael Wolfe - Attending
USA / 2011, 93 mins
Friday, December 7 / 3:00pm

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Meherjaan

In 1971, during Bangladesh’s war of independence, Meher falls in love with a soldier from the enemy side. When her love is In 1971, during Bangladesh’s war of independence, Meher falls in love with a soldier from the enemy side. When her love is discovered, she is shamed and silenced by her family and society.

Rubaiyat Hossain
Bangladesh / 2011, 120 mins
Saturday, December 8 / 11:00am

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Mission Of Mermaids

Mission of Mermaids is about the current state of the ocean. Ms. Rockefeller takes a radically personal approach in the film, based on her deep love and concern for the seas. She invokes a mythical and spiritual connection, using the metaphor of the mermaid, as well as describing dire facts: ocean acidification, over-fishing, and pollution. This personal approach offers a powerful way to open a dialogue about changing the human relationship to the sea, knitting our past reverence for the natural world with our understanding of the urgent need to change course. Also present in the film are many ocean stewards, artists and activists who advocate change and educate the public on making choices in their daily lives to improve the health of the ocean.

Susan Rockefeller
USA / 2012, 15 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 3:00pm
Sunday, December 9 / 11:00am

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Mr. Sophistication

MR. SOPHISTICATION is the story of Ron Waters, a controversial comedian in the vein of Richard Pryor or Lenny Bruce, who is having a second chance at fame and love.

Danny Green - Attending
USA / 2012, 97 mins
Saturday, December 8 / 4:15pm

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Mulberry Child

After living in American for many years, Jian Ping finally finds the courage to write 'Mulberry Child', a book about her traumatic childhood during Mao's Cultural Revolution in China. A time when millions had their lives destroyed and their reputations ruined. Jian's father, Hou Kai, a high ranking government official, was one of those people. Sadly, Jian's American raised daughter Lisa has little interest in her Chinese roots or her mother's memoirs. But during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Lisa travels with her mother to China to visit her dying grandfather ,Hou Kai. It is on that journey that LIsa finally reads' Mulberry Child' and finds that her mother's past haunts her own future.

Susan Morgan Cooper - Attending
China, USA / 2012, 85 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 12:00pm
Sunday, December 9 / 3:00pm

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My Brother Jack

As young boys; Found object sculptor JACK and his brother VINCENT witnessed the brutal murder of their parents. Twenty years later, the man convicted of the crime is released from prison and is found stabbed to death shortly after his release.  Who killed the killer? All signs point to Vincent who battles the demons of mental illness and sleep paralysis – a condition that blurs the line between the real and unreal. To protect his brother, Jack is forced to confront his own demons and uncover the painful truth of what really happened on the night of his parents murder.

Stephen Dest - Attending
USA / 2012, 87 mins
Saturday, December 8 / 2:45pm

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Oyster Rockefeller

Gibbon, raised by his overprotective mother and aunt, has never been outside. After discovering a take-out menu in the foyer, he begins to wonder what it means to become a man and see the world. On the anniversary of his grandfather's death, Lucy, an unexpected visitor arrives. Gibbon falls instantly in love at this first sign of the outside world.

Charles Rogers
USA / 2012, 12 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 3:00pm

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Pearl

PEARL, based on the poem of the same name by former US Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser, tells the story of a mid-western poet (Dan Butler) bringing news of his mother's passing to her cousin and childhood playmate, Pearl (Frances Sternhagen). When Pearl confides some unsettling news of her own, the visit turns in unexpected direction. PEARL is a tender story of people struggling to navigate life's transitions.

Dan Butler
USA / 2012, 17 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 2:00pm

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Playing Through

Best friends Paulie and Harry are enjoying a leisurely round of golf on the local links.  Their slow pace of play, however, frustrates the group behind them.  When a ball is hit at Paulie from behind, a breach of etiquette quickly escalates into a dangerous conflict.  Trapped in a sand bunker, the two close friends confront their adversary as well as long-standing issues with their own relationship.

Paul Wagner
USA / 2012, 12 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 3:00pm

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Private Sun

Mariam is instructed by her doctor to sunbathe in order to reverse the vitamin D deficiency that is causing her a bone illness. But with nosy neighbors, an overbearing sister-in-law and Israeli surveillance planes, private moments under the sun are precious and rare.

Rami Alayan
Palestine / 2012, 25 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 2:00pm

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Quartet - Opening Night Film

Cecily, Reggie and Wilfred are in a home for retired opera singers. Every year, on October 10, there is a concert to celebrate Verdi's birthday and they take part. Jean, who used to be married to Reggie, arrives at the home and disrupts their equilibrium. She still acts like a diva, but she refuses to sing. Still, the show must go on... and it does.

Dustin Hoffman
UK /USA / 2012, 100 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 6:30pm

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Raise Your Hands

On Nelson Mandela's birthday, photographer Scott McDermott captured famous faces – e.g. Clint Eastwood, Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman - raising hands to pledge to improve their planet. In Kelly's film, writer Elliot Kotek ponders the experiences behind these simple gestures - war, peace, violence, freedom, fame, disease - and considers the impact of these hands on our environment.

Elliot V. Kotek
US/Ireland / 2011, 8 mins
Friday, December 7 / 8:00pm

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Red Amber Green

"Red, Amber, Green" depicts the lives of three Jamaican teenage boys struggling to make ends meet on the difficult streets of Kingston, Jamaica. Making a living primarily as vehicle window washers and street vending when cars stop for traffic lights, they hustle to take advantage of every opportunity, including entertainment. These friends, by virtue of the 'yielding forces' of traffic lights to provide their 'bread and butter', have incorporated these colors into their lives as a quick reminder of how to deal with their daily struggles, including learning and growing from each other, and even finding a way to help those less fortunate.

Chritopher Byfield
Jamaica / 2012, 18 mins
Friday, December 7 / 3:00pm

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RedLegs

Spread over a single weekend in present-day Cincinnati, this debut feature from Brandon Harris, unabashedly influenced by John Cassavetes’s “Husbands,” dives into shared grief with candor and a refreshing curiosity. Reuniting three childhood friends for the funeral of a fourth, the film is a riveting portrait of young men in shock and in mourning as the tragedy stirs feelings that have long lain dormant. As the men distract themselves with batting cages and pool tables, women and cocaine, the actors never flinch from dialogue so raw and close-ups so clinging that they have nowhere to hide." - Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times.

Brandon Harris - Attending
USA / 2012, 67 mins
Saturday, December 8 / 9:00pm
Sunday, December 9 / 4:00pm

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Reign Of Assassins

In 428AD, Bodhi, a Southern India prince became a Buddhist monk and set off for China, earning a hallowed reputation as a mystical martial artist. Following his death, his remains mysteriously disappeared. Hundreds of years later, Zhang, a high-ranking court official, is assassinated by Drizzle. Zhang's son Jingxiu, whilst mourning his father's death, is assailed by a group assassins.

John Woo
China / 2011, 117 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 5:00pm

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Rising From Ashes

Rising from Ashes” is a feature length documentary about two worlds colliding when cycling legend Jock Boyer moves to Rwanda, Africa to help a group of struggling genocide survivors pursue their dream of a national team. As they set out against impossible odds both Jock and the team find new purpose as they rise from the ashes of their past.

T.C. Johnstone - Attending
Rwanda, South Africa, United Kingdom / 2012, 80 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 3:15pm
Friday, December 7 / 3:30pm

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Rules Of The Game

For the last 900 years, every Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday the residents of the quiet English town of Ashbourne have come out to play a crazy game of football. The goals are three miles apart and streets, rivers, tunnels, fields and 5000 people lie between them. If you are born north of the river you are an Up'ard and south a Down'ard, and on these two days the town is split by fierce but friendly rivalry, where families are divided and friends become foe. The only thing that matters is getting the ball to the goal.

Joanne Postlewaite
UK / 2012, 47 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 4:00pm

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Scenen (Act 1 Scene 1)

A director and playwright spends a summer out in the country with his girlfriend and his brother. He tries to write a play for them to star in, but he becomes more and more jealous, and all he can think about is his girlfriend and his brother together. When they try to rehearse what he has written his demons finally take over.

Hans Montelius - Attending
Sweden / 2012, 12 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 11:00am

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She

SHE examines the lives of several female impersonators living in the CaribbeanDuring the annual Ms. Drag Bahamas beauty contest,Kevin Taylor and Kareem Mortimer speak to several drag performers and transgendered.

Kareem Mortimer - Attending
Bahamas / 2012, 8 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 11:00am

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Solace

Sole is a compulsive binge eater who looks through her window at Jasmine her perfect and pretty neighbor. Sole is compelled to try to make friends but Jasmine is completely resistant.

Tchaiko Omawale
USA / 2012, 13 mins
Saturday, December 8 / 1:00pm

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Strings

Sarah and Riley have been best friends ever since he was four and she was six years old. For just over a decade they lived in a globe of bliss. Unfortunately, for a year their world of ecstasy has been rotating like a counter-clockwise timepiece. Nonetheless, the duo endeavors to flee from sadistic forces that reside outside of a once deserted room of a previously eminent building. In the contrary, Riley is unable to escape, for in the time of darkness shrieking sound of ill-fated sous continuously penetrate the walls of the room as well as the dreams of his precious slumber. When awaken by the howling of his parents, Riley seeks consolation from Sarah who is capable of enduring the eerie weeping of her late grandmother.

Will Robinson
Bahamas / 2012, 1 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 3:15pm
Friday, December 7 / 3:30pm
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Superclasico

Christian is a Copenhagen wine seller on the brink of bankruptcy. Equally unsuccessful in just about every other aspect of life, it has been 17months since his wife Anna left him. Anna works as a soccer agent in Buenos Aires and now lives a life of luxury with Argentina's top player Juan Diaz. Then one day Christian and their 16-year-old son Oscar get on a plane to Buenos Aires. Christian arrives under the pretense of wanting to sign the divorce papers, but in truth, he wants to try to win Anna back.

Ole Christian Madsen
Denmark / 2011, 99 mins
Friday, December 7 / 4:30pm

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The Destiny Of Lesser Animals

Nearly a decade after deportation from the United States, Inspector Boniface Koomsin (Yao B. Nunoo) makes the last payment on a “perfect” counterfeit passport, only to have it stolen. Desperate to recover it, Boniface enlists the resources of the police on the pretense of a stolen pistol, and follows a tip to the capital city of Accra and the counterfeiter who crafted the fake document.  In Accra, Chief Inspector Oscar Darko (Fred Amugi), who is investigating an armed robbery, intercepts Boniface. Both believe their cases are connected. Together, they follow a lead to casino hostess Serwah Bimpong (Abena Takyi), who refuses to cooperate.

Deron Albright - Attending
Ghana / 2012, 89 mins
Saturday, December 8 / 5:00pm

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The Iran Job

THE IRAN JOB follows American basketball player Kevin Sheppard as he accepts a job to play in one of the world’s most feared countries: Iran. With tensions running high between Iran and the West, Kevin tries to separate sports from politics only to find that politics is impossible to escape in Iran.

Till Schauder - Attending
USA, Iran, Germany / 2012, 80 mins
Friday, December 7 / 6:00pm

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The Phantom Father (Tatal Fantoma)

The stranger than paradise” Robert Traum meets in front of „Cinema Paradiso” with Sami-the projectionist after an adventurous, mysterious and funny journey, to finally find love. Unique, yet symbolic, this is the story of an American professor who is compelled to turn his back on a successful career and get on the road that takes him through danger, the unknown and the surreal, back to the roots to reclaim his identity. The quest takes the hero, masterfully portrayed by Peter Greenaway and Francis Ford Coppola actor Marcel Iures, back to the Old World that rewards our traveler with a double love story. On the one hand he finds romantic love, on the other the passion for old cinema, nomad, popular, naïve and generous.

Lucian Georgescu
Romania / 2011, 90 mins
Friday, December 7 / 1:00pm

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The Sapphires - Closing Night Film

1968 was the year that changed the world. And for four young Aboriginal sisters from a remote mission this is the year that would change their lives forever. Around the globe, there was protest and revolution in the streets. Indigenous Australians finally secured the right to vote. There were drugs and the shock of a brutal assassination. And there was Vietnam. The sisters, Cynthia, Gail, Julie and Kay are discovered by Dave, a talent scout with a kind heart, very little rhythm but a great knowledge of soul music. Billed as Australia's answer to 'The Supremes', Dave secures the sisters their first true gig, and fly's them to Vietnam to sing for the American troops. Based on a true story, THE SAPPHIRES is a triumphant celebration of youthful emotion, family and music.

Wayne Blair
Australia / 2012, 103 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 6:30pm

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The Story Of Luke

Luke, 25, is autistic and has lived a sheltered life with his grandparents. But his world is turned upside down when his grandmother dies and he is forced to live with his dysfunctional relatives who have no patience for him or his senile grandfather, who they quickly force into a nursing home. Luke is left with his grandfather’s final semi-coherent words: “Get a job. Find a girl. Live your own life. Be a man!” For the first time in his life, Luke has a mission. He is about to embark on a quest.

Alonso Mayo
Canada / 2012, 90 mins
Friday, December 7 / 12:30pm
Saturday, December 8 / 11:00am

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The Taiwan Oyster

The gruesome death of Jed, a new American arrival in Taiwan, shakes the Ex-pat community. Floundering kindergarten teachers and fledgling mag editors “Country” Simon (24) and Darin “the Barbarian” (28) decide to give the corpse a proper burial.

Mark Jarrett - Attending
USA, Taiwan / 2012, 95 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 4:00pm
Friday, December 7 / 10:00pm

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This Ain't California

This Ain't California is a celebration of the lust for life, a contemporary documentary trip into the world of roller boarding in the German Democratic Republic. A coming-of-age tale of three teenagers and their passionate love for a sport on the crumbling tarmac of the streets in the German Democratic Republic, which was considered very ill-fitting. The punk fairy tale is a story of the subversive powers of fun in that part of Germany, which had lost touch with its citizens.The film follows its three heroes from their childhood in the seventies through their teenage rebellion in the eighties, ending in the last summer of their life in the German Democratic Republic in 1989, when their life changed forever. And follows them to 2011.

Marten Persiel
Germany / , 90 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 1:15pm
Saturday, December 8 / 11:00am

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Thugs, The Musical

'Thugs, The Musical' is a faux documentary about Michael Gardner, a mediocre, slightly delusional, 'non-urban' black actor in Hollywood. After years of auditioning but not being considered 'black enough' to be cast in any of the stereotypical roles that his fellow black actors have been getting (the Gangsta, the fast-talking Sidekick, the doomed Black Guy at the party in the horror movie), Michael decides to write, direct and star in his own theater production - an epically bad play called 'Thugs, The Musical!' - to show Hollywood (and the world) that he, too, can 'act black.'

Liam Sullivan
USA / 2012, 25 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 3:00pm

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To Music

A middle-aged man named Antwan struggles with depression. He used to be a famous lute player, and his wife a world-renowned ballerina. Now he lives in a small French village in Provence. Him and his wife have a past that is full of music, dance and art, but it is hidden deep under the surface of their current lives. Villagers, including the town Priest, try and get him involved with life again, but have failed time and time over. It is only when an old friend and musician appears in the village, that something changes in Antwan.

Sophie Kohn and Feike Santbergen- Attending
Netherlands / USA / 2012, 17 mins
Friday, December 7 / 1:00pm

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Travis Porter: Red Rock

When their luxurious tour bus breaks down, budding hip-hop group Travis Porter becomes stranded in the remote town of Red Rock. After the bus driver witnesses a horrific crime, the group discovers the town's deadly secrets & they must escape by any means necessary.

Ryan Lightbourn - Attending
Bahamas, USA / 2012, 20 mins
Friday, December 7 / 9:15pm

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TU & EU

Does love conquer all? Through one brief phone conversation, Tu & Eu follows several star-crossed lovers around the world whose differences have put their long time love affair at a critical impasse.

Edward Shieh
Portugal / 2011, 15 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 2:00pm

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Uprising

Produced by an Academy Award-winning team including the Executive Producer of Taxi to the Dark Side and the Editor of Inside Job, UPRISING tells the inside story of the Egyptian revolution from the perspective of its principal leaders and organizers, including four Nobel Peace Prize nominees. Their success in forcing the downfall of a brutal dictatorship has changed the face of the Middle East and provided hope for millions of oppressed people across the world. Above all, it is a story of profound hope, of courage rewarded, of a people who beat back a police state and threw off the shackles of decades of degradation and oppression.

Fredrik Stanton - Attending
Egypt, USA / 2012, 84 mins
Saturday, December 8 / 3:00pm

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VIctor

A feature docu film of a person who for 10 years nail himself in the cross every holy week, but for faith or just for show?

Jarell M. Serencio
Philippines / 2012, 15 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 11:00am

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Without A Net

Djeferson, Bárbara, Rayana and Platini live in a drug controlled slum of Rio de Janeiro. Their families are struggling, their homes are physically unstable, and everyone they know has dropped out of school. When a big-top circus tent suddenly appears in a nearby parking lot, they decide to take a chance. They learn trapeze, acrobatics, juggling and contortion, then audition for the end-of-year show, rehearse and prepare for the curtains to part on opening night. Along the way, WITHOUT A NET explores the connections between risk, desire, poverty and circus and celebrates the perseverance and resilience of youth in the face of tremendous odds.

Kelly J Richardson
Brazil / 2012, 60 mins
Thursday, December 6 / 11:30am
Sunday, December 9 / 3:00pm

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Womanish Ways, Freedom & Democracy

Five Bahamian women – Mary Ingraham, Georgiana Symonette, Mabel Walker, Eugenia Lockhart and Dr. Doris Johnson – led the Women’s Suffrage Movement in The Bahamas. The journey to female enfranchisement spanned more than a decade, and took place alongside the dramatic backdrop of the Burma Road Riots in 1942, the General Strike in 1958, the Labour Movement of the 1950s and the quest for Majority Rule. Bahamian women voted for the first time on November 26th 1962.

Marion Bethel, Maria Govan - Attending
Bahamas / 2012, 80 mins
Friday, December 7 / 1:30pm
Saturday, December 8 / 1:15pm

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一夜情 One Night Stand

Expectations and reality clash in this compelling and eerie drama that follows the ups and downs of a casual one night stand. Liu and Yan go out one evening in search of a physical release. Like most college students, Liu is eager and open to meeting girls and hitting on them at the local bar. But he gets much more than he bargained for when he uses a popular pickup method to attract the attention of the older, mysterious Yan. What first starts as a flirtatious game of cat and mouse quickly escalates into a real one night stand.

Michael Thai
China / 2012, 16 mins
Sunday, December 9 / 2:00pm

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About the Bahamas International Film Festival
The Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) is a nonprofit organization committed to providing the local community and international festival-goers with a diverse presentation of films from the Bahamas and around the world. In addition to showcasing films that might not otherwise be released theatrically, BIFF provides unique cultural experiences, educational programs, and forums for exploring the past, present and future of cinema. www.bintlfilmfest.com


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Save The Date: December 6 - 9
Best Of Fest Eleuthera: December 10 -14


BIFF 2012 Sponsors:

Atlantis, RBC Royal Bank, Esso, BTC powered by Lime, Coldwell Banker / Lightbourne Realty, Carrousel Yacht Enterprises, Ministry Of Tourism, Bahamas Ferries, Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board, Bahamas Air, Majestic Tours, Bahamas Tourism Channel, Bahamas Airport Advertising Ltd., Bahamas Sol, Dermalogica Bahamas & Caribbean, Bahama Hand Print, Kings Realty, Orico, SandyToes, Bahama Divers, The Sign Post, IDYA Studio, Coles Of Nassau, Breezes Resort & Spa, Lilo Studios, Paintball Arena, Best Buy Furniture, Master Technicians, Self Drive Boat Adventures, Sheraton, Breezes, Coral Sands Resort in Harbour Island, Pineapple Fields Hotel in Governor's Harbour, Moet & Chandon, Caribbean Bottling Company, Sir Speedy, Heineken, Jolly Roger, The Bahamas Weekly, Alumaworx, Jim Whitehead Nassau Florist, Sherman Williams and many more. Among the Friends of the Festival are: Dr. & Mrs. Vanderpool, Mr. & Mrs Gregory Cleare, Mr. Raymond Winder, Mr. & Mrs. Paul King, Mr. James Lyle, Mrs. Meta Gail Charles and Dr. Lorne Charles, The Nassau Guardian, Tribune.



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