5:30 -7:30 pm, 0pening Reception - Roof Top of Mansion House, Vineyard Haven
Rooftop cocktails at the historic Mansion House in Vineyard Haven. Toast the sunset rooftop with gorgeous 360-degree marina views and live acoustic music from Phil DaRosa. Hors d'oeuvres catered by Zephyrus and local restaurants. Champagne and wines provided by Boisset America and IDOL vodka. Pellegrino Waters also available. Premiere screening at the Capawok Theater to follow.

8:00 pm THE OWL AND THE SPARROW
Post-screening Q&A with Director Stephane Gauger (filmmaker bio)
Drama, Vietnam/USA, 97 mins.



While the film's central narrative mirrors that of many a Hollywood love story - a young child strives to forge a romantic relationship between two lonely adults - the characters and their circumstances add up to much more: a thoughtful portrait of contemporary Vietnam. Thuy, a young orphan who lives with her demanding uncle, runs away from her rural home for the streets of Saigon, where she meets Lan, a flight attendant in a doomed affair with a married man, and Hai, a zoo employee who - after being jilted by his fiancee - has little contact with anyone except for his beloved elephants. When she's not hitting the streets trying to persuade tourists to buy roses, Thuy evades officers who round up derelict children for the local orphanages and balances her time between her two new friends. Constantly scolded for "asking too many questions," Thuy learns of Lan's and Hai's personal lives and sets out to unite them, despite their class differences. Gauger's film, full of rich, compelling, compassionate characters, does not shy away from romance; it's most remarkable, however, for its peek at the children who populate Saigon's streets. Though supposedly alone, they form a network that thrives on mutual support and respect.

Watch the trailer

Friday, September 14th

INTERVIEWS WITH THE FILMMAKERS SPONSORED BY PLUM TV
8am - 10am at Black Dog Beach set, Vineyard Haven Harbor

SCREENINGS: Capawock Theatre, Main Street

2:00 p.m. "INTO THE WILD"
Director: Sean Penn
Drama, USA, 140 min.



Written for the screen and directed by Sean Penn from Jon Krakauer's acclaimed bestseller, the film tells the story of 22 year-old Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), a fresh college grad with a promising future ahead who walked out of his privileged life and into the wild in search of adventure. What happened to him on the way transformed this young wanderer into an enduring symbol for countless people. Was McCandless a heroic adventurer or a naive idealist, a rebellious 1990's Thoreau or another lost American son, a fearless risk-taker or a tragic figure who wrestled with the precious balance between man and nature? INTO THE WILD is as much about the insatiable yearning for family, home and connection as it is the search for truth and happiness. The film also stars Academy Award winners Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt, Tony and Emmy Award winner Hal Holbrook and Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener.

Watch the Trailer


4:30 p.m. "Mon Meilleur Ami", (a.k.a. My Best Friend)
Director: Patrice Leconte
Comedy, France, 94 mins., Not-Rated



They say a man's character is measured by the friends he keeps. In this delightful comedy, a particularly dislikeable, middle aged Parisian antiques dealer, with a seemingly enviable life style, is challenged by a colleague to produce one, true, best friend.

It takes a lifetime to learn the true meaning of friendship - Francoise has 10 days. If he fails to come up with his best friend - and he begins by hunting down an old school mate, whom it turns out, hated him all along - he will lose an expensive Greek Vase in the course of a bet.

Written by Patrice Leconte; "Mon Meilleur Ami", is a charming, introspective story about relationships - those human encounters which are most valued in life. As Francoise struggles to find anyone he can call "a friend", he enlists the help a taxi driver, and the encounter proves to be truly enlightening

7:00 p.m. "Direktoren for det hele" (a.k.a. The Boss of It All)
Introduced by MV humorist Marty Nadler
Director: Lars Von Trier
Comedy, Denmark, 99 mins., Not-Rated

THE BOSS OF IT ALL is set in Denmark, and revolves around Ravn (Peter Gantzler), the unassertive founder of a popular technology company. Ravn has invented a fictional, svengali-like boss ("Svend") of the company, whom he claims is pulling the strings from America. In fact, Svend is a front that the lily-livered Ravn uses whenever he has to make an unpopular decision. But when Ravn decides to sell the company, he has to corral an unemployed actor, Kristoffer (Jens Albinus), into playing Svend, thus introducing him to a group of co-workers who all have wildly different expectations of what this shadowy figure will be like.

Von Trier shoots in a "mockumentary" style, which is sure to draw comparisons to both the British and U.S. versions of THE OFFICE, but THE BOSS OF IT ALL is really a work that inhabits its own peculiar universe, standing as a fine testament to a director who is not afraid to confound, surprise, and even alienate his own audience.

9:00 p.m. Ten Canoes
Director: Rolf De Heer
Comedy/Drama, Australia, 90 mins.



Never underestimating the power of a well spun yarn, this gentle tale of long, long ago, is an aboriginal tribal story of forbidden love, kidnapping, revenge sorcery and general mishap and mayhem.

By Director Rolf De Heer (The Tracker) and winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize in 2006, it doesn't take itself too seriously, as you will tell from the narration.

"Walkabout's David Gulpili begins: "Once upon a time, in a land far, far away....Nah, ha, ha, I'm only joking. It's not that kind of story".

He goes on to tell the tale of his ancestor - played in the movie by the actor's son, Jaime Gulpili. Opening with sweeping overhead vistas of the Arnhem Land wetlands typical of Ian Jones's superb cinematography, "Ten Canoes" develops as a nesting set of stories. Our narrator takes us back to a time before the arrival of Europeans, when a group of men are setting off to prepare bark canoes for a traditional goose-egg hunting expedition.

"Ten Canoes" is at once a wry fable about jealousy and desire, a fascinating ethnographic document and a highly enjoyable nudge-in-the-ribs shaggy dog story. ---Time Out London

SCREENINGS: Katharine Cornell Theatre, Spring Street

7:00 p.m. Crossing the Bridge - introduced by singer/songwriter Kate Taylor
Director: Fatih Akin
Documentary, Turkey, 90 mins.



Infused with cultural and political concerns, this film weaves together a rich tapestry of musical styles that celebrate the diversity that makes up contemporary Turkish life. A European musician and composer sets out to capture the musical diversity of Istanbul. A lover of experimenting with sound, Alexander Hacke (of the German avant-garde band Einsturzende Neubauten) roams the streets of Istanbul with his mobile recording studio and "magic mike" to assemble an inspired portrait of Turkish music. His voyage leads to the discovery of a broad spectrum ranging from modern electronic, rock and hip-hop to classical "Arabesque". As he wanders through this seductive world, Alex collects impressions and tracks by artists such as neo-psychedelic band Baba Zula, fusion DJs Orient Expressions, rock groups Duman and Replikas, maverick rocker Erkin Koray, Ceza (Turkey's answer to Public Enemy), breakdance performers Istanbul Style Breakers, digital dervish Mercan Dede, renowned clarinetist Selim Sesler, Canadian folk singer Brenna MacCrimmon, street performers Siyasiyabend, Kurdish singer Aynur, the "Elvis of Arabesque" Orhan Gencebay, and legendary divas Muzeyyen Senar and Sezen Aksu.

9:00 p.m. International Shorts
A compilation of world class shorts from the 2007 Berlin Film Festival:

DeCroche (aka Pick Up)
Written and directed by Manuel Schapira
France



You are walking down the street when, suddenly, the public phone rings in a booth next to the bus stop. The young woman on the other end of the line draws you into a conversation about love, life and the whole damn thing. A mini comedy shot through with finely spun humor about a woman with the power to drive men crazy, even though - or maybe because - her voice is all they know of her.

The Girl Who Swallowed Bees
Written and Directed by Paul McDermott
Australia



"I'm searching in vain for the reason, that I am so sad and distressed ..." Ah, the sweet melancholia of youth. A young teenage girl feels so distraught that she even swallows bees in an attempt to end her life. But instead, from this moment on she sees her life in a lustrous, honey-golden light...

MEI
Written and directed by Arvin Chen
USA/Taiwan



Mei works on her father's food stall and has but one dream - to immigrate to America! But she is the only one with sufficient English to serve all the tourists. The boy that is hopelessly in love with her could take her place, but by doing so he risks losing her - perhaps forever

SCREENINGS: Vineyard Playhouse, Church Street

2:00 p.m. "Hula garu" (a.k.a. Hula Girls)
Director: Sang-il Lee
Comedy/Drama, Japan, 108 mins.



Hula Girls a drama from the Japanese-born, ethnically Korean director Lee Sang-il, aims to be "The Full Monty" in grass skirts. It's set in Iwaki, Japan, in 1965.

With the local coal industry in decline, the town elders hope to exploit international fascination with Polynesian culture by building a Hawaiian-theme resort as bait for Japanese tourists and promoting it by training local girls as hula dancers and sending them on a bus tour across Japan. Their teacher is Madoka Hirayama (Yasuko Matsuyuki, whose damaged pixie charm recalls the young Shirley MacLaine), a hard-drinking, smart-mouthed Tokyo dancer whose very presence causes local parents to grouse that their daughters are being corrupted. In due course, the spunky teacher whips her crew of social misfits into professional artists and freethinking women.

Hula Girls was Japan's 2006 Academy Awards film entry.

4:00 p.m. Vitus - An Excellent Film for Families!
Director Fredi M. Murer
Family Drama, Suisse, 123 mins.



Genius weighs heavily on a child prodigy, whose dream is to be like other boys, in this charming Swiss import.

Born of the makers own childhood fantasy to be a genius, "Vitus" is a gifted 12-year-old pianist who pushes against the ambitions of his over protective parents to find solace and refuge in the home of his eccentric grandfather, played by Bruno Ganz.

The film is also a vehicle for the brilliantly talented star and true - life child prodigy Teo Gheorghiu. Filmmaker Fredi M.Mure's portfolio extends back to the late 1960's making him one of Switzerland's most renowned directors.

"Vitus" was Switzerland's official 2006 Academy Awards entry for Best Foreign Language Film.

7:00 p.m. Amu
Writer/Director: Shonali Bose
Drama, India/USA, 102 mins.



In Shonali Bose's debut feature, "Amu", a young Indian American woman travels to Delhi to get in touch with her roots and ends up stumbling upon a terrible secret from her country's past.

Kaju Roy (Konkona Sensharma) is spending a post-collegiate year with her protective, middle-class family in Delhi when an impromptu visit to the city's slums sparks her interest in a 2-decade-old massacre - the 1984 Delhi riots during which about 5,000 Sikhs were killed by order of the government after the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The systematic suppression of the massacre and the sense of deja vu she feels in the slums combine for Kaju into a single mystery she becomes intent on solving.

9:00 p.m. 12:08 East of Bucharest
Director: Corneliu Porumboiu
Comedy, Romania, 89 mins.



The 12:08 in the title refers to the time that the announcement of Ceausescu's deposition was made on Romanian national television on 22 December 1989, and hence the moment that revolution freed Romania from dictatorship and communist rule. Sixteen years later, in an unnamed small town 'somewhere east of Bucharest', Jderescu, a producer at the impoverished local television channel, is desperately looking for a programe idea to commemorate the event.

The guests he recruits recount on air their memories of that day when they stormed the town hall, calling "down with Ceausescu", only to be countered by phone-in viewers, who claim they may In fact have been boozing in a bar rather than rebelling in the streets.

What follows, in this Cannes Camera d'Or-winning gem, is an absurdly comic farce in the best Eastern European tradition.

Evening Event: Friday Night Party at Che Lounge
9:00-midnight at Bohemian Cafe at Che's Lounge, Main Street, Vineyard Haven
Duck into our Parisian hideaway to the sounds of Balkin & Buddha Bar Beats by DJ Di. Sweet bites and killer coffee by Scottish Bake House. Wine bar & Zentini cocktails provided by Boisset America.
Pellegrino Waters also available.

Saturday, September 15th

Morning Event: Daily Dose Coffee Chat (10AM) at Belushi-Pisano Gallery, 18 State Road (on the corner of State & Main), Vineyard Haven - All Access Passholders Only

Afternoon Events:

1:30-5:00 pm Ballyhoo "Music on Main", live Bluegrass music at the Bowl and Board, Main Street, Vineyard Haven

Main Street Art Gallery Stroll - 5:00 -7:00 p.m.
Take a break from film and enjoy the fine art scene of downtown Vineyard Haven - several galleries will be offering refreshments.

SCREENINGS: Capawock Theatre, Main Street

2:00 p.m. Opal Dreams - GREAT FOR FAMILIES
Introduced by Geraldine Brooks, Australian Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist
Director: Peter Cattaneo
Family Drama, Australia, 86 mins.



Set against the backdrop of the Australian outback, "Opal Dream" is a film for all the family.

Eight-year-old Kellyanne is a colorful child whose devotion to two imaginary friends; Pobby and Dingan, resonates throughout her small opal mining town.

Devastated by the sudden disappearance of her two invisible but constant companions, Kellyanne falls dangerously ill.

Her family and community come together in search for the child's missing friends. They embark on a journey of discovery and the final realization that you don't always have to see to believe.

Based on the novella by Ben Rice and directed by Peter Cattaneo, (The Full Monty), "Opal Dream" is a rare gem of a family film.

4:00 p.m. An Arctic Tale - GREAT FOR FAMILIES
Post-screening Q&A with National Geographic Film Executive Katie Evans
Narrator: Queen Latifah
Documentary, Arctic, 96 mins.



"Arctic Tale", a call-to-arms follower in the footsteps of "March of the Penguins" and "An Inconvenient Truth."

"Arctic Tale" seems to reveal infinite shades of ice-blue; its icebergs sparkle like diamonds. Twin baby bears somersault down a frozen hill, their cream-colored coats merging happily with the grainy white. The underwater footage of bears and walruses swimming may well take your breath away, and the sight of a bear stranded on a floating iceberg has a genuine poignancy.

The truth is the survival of these animals is severely threatened by the deleterious impact of global warming. The message is brought home in couched and fluffy terms, with narration by Queen Latifah. The film tracks the coming-of-age journey of a polar-bear cub Nanu and a walrus pup, Seela.

7:00 p.m. Deep Water
Post-screening Q&A with Director Louise Osmond (filmmaker bio)
Documentary, British, 93 min.



DEEP WATER plots the course of the true and tragic story of an electronics inventor and amateur sailor who set out to circumnavigate the globe to prove the readiness of his invention; a revolutionary on-board computer.

In the glare of the World's media Donald Crowhurst made an ill prepared attempt to compete in the first Sunday Times Golden Globe Solo, non-stop, round-the-world boat race, back in the 1960s.

Bravely embarking on the most daring, nautical race in history, it wasn't long before adventurer Crowhurst was hailed as the darling of the British tabloids. Daily dispatches of Crowhurst's progress and position gripped the imagination of the world at sea. It seemed that this extraordinary man could indeed cross the finish line and sail into port to a heroÕs welcome. That was until the final staggering installment.

From the makers of "Touching the Void", this moving portrayal with archival footage brought home the awarded Best Documentary at the Rome International Film Festival, in 2006.

9:00 pm "Manda Bala", (a.k.a. Send A Bullet)
Post screening Q & A with Producer Jared Goldman (filmmaker bio)
Documentary, Brazil, 85 mins. (Not Rated - warning some violent scenes)



Five years in the making this award-winning documentary takes the lid of class warfare and uncovers the true depth of the corruption and economic disparity that has marred the face of Brazil.

We are given, at first, pieces of the puzzle: a frog farm, enmeshed in scandal; a traumatized kidnap victim; an American learning the art of bullet-proofing cars; a plastic surgeon specializing in replacing ears. Soon, Jason Kohn has spun these incongruous pieces into a socio-political-economic mystery, a whodunit that asks how Sao Paolo, Brazil, became a world capital of violence and corruption. Kohn's film has a playful tone and a patient camera that's reminiscent of early Errol Morris films (indeed, he's a Morris protege). But Manda Bala (which translates as "send a bullet") takes on dead-serious issues: class warfare, demagoguery, and the brutality that some humans wreak on others. It's hard to remember a documentary that's simultaneously as funny and horrifying as Manda Bala, an invaluable addition to South America's rich cinematic history.

Manda Bala (Send a Bullet) won the Sundance Festival's Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary and Best Cinematography.

SCREENINGS: Katharine Cornell Theatre, Spring Street

2:00 p.m. Think Globally, Shot Locally Forum
Shorts and "works-in-progress" presented by Island filmmakers
Facilitated by Liz Witham and Ken Wentworth

Shorts and "works in progress" to celebrate locally established or budding island visual artists, The MV International Film Festival and Martha's Vineyard. On-Line (MVOL.com) invite Island filmmakers to shoot a short film on the festival theme "Other Places". The contest winner will receive prizes, which will include filmmaking software. In addition, local feature filmmakers are invited to show clips of their works in progress

Len & Georgia Morris will screen a segment from Galen Films' new documentary on child poverty, with other Island filmmamakers Pam Benjamin, Marcia Rock, Richard Sandler, Jonathan Skurnik,Nora Laudani,Alan Brigish,Bob Kimberely,Christy Park,Moe Banville, and others presenting their work.


5:30 - 6:30 p.m. "A Home for Us All", the documentary
Produced & Directed by: Liz Witham & Ken Wentworth
Presented by Film Truth Productions in partnership with Island Affordable Housing Fund



The dream of home ownership can be very foggy on Martha's Vineyard. In the past decade, the cost of living is ever increasing and the real estate values have skyrocketed, making home-ownership out of reach for many year-round residents. These economic pressures are slowly forcing the exodus of a generation, tearing at the social and cultural fabric that make Martha's Vineyard's community so unique.
In this landmark documentary, Islanders open their doors and share their thoughts and aspirations for the future of the community they call home.

Proceeded by a Q & A with the filmmakers, participants in the film and housing experts. A reception at Che's Lounge (Main Street Vineyard Haven) to follow.

7:00 p.m. East of Havana
Post screening Q&A with Directors Jauretsi Saizarbitoria & Emilia Menocal (filmmaker bio)
Documentary, Cuba, 82 mins.



East of Havana is a fly-on-the-wall documentary about a cartel of up-and-coming hip-hop artists trying to use their music to fight the oppressive regime in modern Cuba.

Directed by first time documentary film makers, Cuban-American Jauretsi Saizarbitoria and Emilia Menocal, from New York, and co-produced by their friend, actress and activist Charlize Theron, it begins by introducing a trio of talented rappers - Soandry, a passionate free-thinker whose big brother fled Cuba for the U.S. during the Mass Exodus of 1994; Magyori, a strong-willed housekeeper who spends most of her time trying to avoid arrest, and Mikki Flow, a charismatic, sociable musician living with his grandfather.

During the filming, the makers faced difficulties on both sides of the cultural divide.

The U.S. government allows Americans to travel to Cuba only under limited circumstances ("America has a beautiful love affair with Cuba," Charlize Theron said sarcastically). Once in Cuba, the filmmakers had to dodge Cuban authorities to get the footage they wanted. The Cuban government doesn't approve of some of the messages of the Cuban hip-hop outfits.

9:00 p.m. Offside
Director: Jafar Panahi
Comedy/Drama, Iran, 93 Min.



Forbidden release in its own country, "Offside" is a return to the issues of rights for women in the Director's native Iran.

Jafar Panahi, of "The Circle Of Crimson and Gold", tackles the fact that women are still refused entry into football matches, and handles a potentially serious subject with gentle humor and lightness of touch.

Winner of the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival, the story was inspired by actual events, when his own daughter was refused entry into a football stadium.

Iran successfully qualifying for the 2006 World Cup highlighted the issue for Panahi; whose film follows a day in the life of a group of girls repeatedly denied access on the grounds of sexual in-equality.

In Documentary style, the story is told with touching realism. "The story is good-natured, but Panahi's message is serious: That ludicrous rules turn Iranian women into third class citizens" - New York Post.

Panahi's cinema is urban, contemporary and rich in humanitarianism.

SCREENINGS: Vineyard Playhouse, Church Street

2:00 p.m. Cinema16: European Short Program
Compilation of countries & themes, 60-75 mins.

CINEMA16 celebrates the best classic, cult and award-winning shorts by some of today's most notable filmmakers, as well as award-winning films from rising stars.

Selected films are:

Man Without a Head: Juan Solanas' Cannes Jury Prize winner

Rabbit: Critically acclaimed and BAFTA nominated animated film by Run Wrake

Je t'aime John Wayne: European Short Film winner and BAFTA nominated film by Toby MacDonald

WASP: Oscar and BAFTA winner by Andrea Arnold World of

Glory: Recognized as one of the world's most important short films by RoyAndersson

Fierrot Le Pou: Cannes Award Winner and festival favorite by Matthieu Kassovitz


4:00 p.m. Bill Plympton Animation Workshop with Bill Plympton (filmmaker bio)
FREE BILL PLYMPTON drawing to each attendee!



Not to be missed! Join the Bill Plympton Animation Workshop and meet the internationally celebrated animator whose oblique, off-center sense of the ridiculous in everyday life is brought to hysterical extremes in his many feature and short animated films.

Plympton will present his "Traveling Program" - new and old shorts and a teaser from his new feature Idiots and Angels, "Your Face" "25 Ways to Quit Smoking" "Guard Dog" "Guide Dog" "The Fan and the Flower" "Shut-Eye Hotel" "Idiots and Angels" (excerpt) "Don't Download This Song" "Heard 'em Say"

Click Here for more about Bill

7:00 p.m. Grbavica, (a.k.a. Land of My Dreams)
Director: Jasmila Zbanic
Drama, Bosnia, 107 mins

.

An emotionally blunt and gripping drama, Grbavica deftly explores the emotional toll that all wars take upon those who survive them.

Feisty tomboy Sara begins to put soccer aside as she develops a close friendship with classmate Samir. The two sensitive young teenagers feel a strong bond because both lost their fathers in the war. But Samir is surprised to hear Sara doesn't know the details of her father's noble death. Sara's father becomes an issue when she requires the certificate proving he died a shaheed, a holy war martyr, so that she can receive a discount for an upcoming school trip. Esma claims acquiring the certificate is difficult since his body has yet to be found. Meanwhile, Esma searches desperately to borrow money to pay for Sara's trip.

Confused Sara becomes violently upset when some classmates tease her for not being on the list of martyrs' children. Realizing her mother has paid full price for the school trip, Sara aggressively demands the truth. Esma breaks down and brutally explains how the girl was conceived through rape in a POW camp. As painful as their confrontation is, it is Esma's first real step toward overcoming her deep trauma. Despite Sara's hurt, there is still an opening for a renewed relationship between mother and daughter.

9:00 p.m. Paprika
Introduction by Island cartoonist Paul Karasik and author of "I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets: The Comics of Fletcher Hanks".
Anime Fantasy, Japan, 90 mins.



This award winning animation explores futuristic dream interpretation. "Paprika" is a dream warrior. A scientist who enters peoples dream worlds to explore unconscious thoughts in a revolutionary new psychotherapy treatment.

Before this "dream detective" device can be officially approved, the prototype is stolen. In the wrong hands the device could be devastating - allowing the user to completely annihilate a dreamer's personality while they sleep.

Renowned scientists Dr Atsuko Chiba enters the dream world under her exotic alter-ego code name, "Paprika", in an attempt to discover who is behind the plot to undermine the new invention.

Based on a character from a novel by a great master of science fiction literature, Yasutaka Tsutsui, "Paprika" was first serialized in the Japanese woman's magazine Marie Claire in 1991.


Evening Event: 9:00-midnight The Oyster Bar, Oaks Bluff (Circuit Ave)
Dance to the rhythms of high-life, juju, rumba, samba, salsa, and reggae blended with authentic Senegalese ethnic rhythms.
Music extravaganza led by the irresistible energy of master West African rhythm guitarist and drummer Mamadou Diop - MV International Film Fest and PLUM presents MAMADOU a world-class music and cultural experience. Snacks provided by The Oyster Bar, a tasting of mixed drinks and wines of the world provided by Boisset America, IDOL vodka. Pellegrino Waters also available.



Sunday, September 16th

Morning Event: Daily Dose Coffee Chat (10AM) at Beetlebung Coffee, 32 Beach Road, Vineyard Haven - All Access Passholders only



SCREENINGS: Capawock Theatre, Main Street

12:00 p.m. Paris jeTaime
Romance, France, 120 Mins.



In a successful collaboration of celebrated filmmakers, this film reveals the many facets of life in one of Europe's best loved city's; Paris.

In bite-sized vignettes, life in the multi-regional European capitol is explored through tales of love, desire, betrayal and serendipitous encounters - which not only provide a travelogue of sites and scenes way off the tourist routes but also take you on a tour of the human condition.

A rich and seasoned transatlantic cast, including Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Elijah Wood, Nick Nolte, Bob Hoskins, Juliette Binoche and Miranda Richardson, shine in these bitter sweet narratives, that are jewels in the crown of the industr's cinematic elite.

Including shorts by the Coen Brothers, Wes Craven, Walter Salles and Gus Van Sant, it is truly a stunning achievement.

"Paris Je taime" premiered in Cannes last year and was screened at international festivals in Toronto, Moscow and Copenhagen

2:30 p.m. Son of Rambow: A Home Movie
Director: Garth Jennings
Comedy, British, 95 mins.



A nostalgic trip back to the 1980s, Son of Rambow is an inventive valentine to an era where, for the first time in history, young minds had access to technology that allowed them to create their own stories while paying homage to their larger-than-life heroes from the movies that inspired them.

Will, who isn't allowed to watch TV or go to the movies, expresses himself through his drawings and illustrations until he finds himself caught up in the extraordinary world of Lee Carter, the school terror and crafter of bizarre home movies. Carter exposes Will to a pirated copy of the first Rambo film, First Blood, which blows his mind wide open. Against his family's orders, his imaginative little brain begins to flower in the world of filmmaking. Will and Lee become popular at school through their films, but when a French exchange student, Didier Revol, arrives on the scene, their unique friendship and precious film are pushed to the breaking point.

Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith, a.k.a. Hammer & Tongs, the creative visionaries behind The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, utilize a vast array of visual techniques to perfectly capture the moment in time when anything was possible and dreams could be recreated with a home video camera, a few props, and a ton of imagination

4:30 p.m. War Dance - Introduced by Wendy Taucher, Artistic Director of The Yard
Post screening Q&A with Producer Susan MacLaury
Directors: Sean Fine and Andrea Nix
Documentary, Uganda, 105 mins.



Using performance art to lift themselves above the violence and grief played out each day in their war torn country, Ugandan children learn to express their pain, fear, happiness and everyday triumphs with music and dance, in this compelling story of hope.

Stomping out the rhythm of their ancestors and raising their hearts in song, three children whose land has been ripped apart by the LordÕs Resistance Army (LRA), tell their heart-rending stories through scripted voice over and visual reenactments.

Husband and wife documentary team, Sean and Andrea Nix Fine, follow the fortunes of Rose and Nancy - whose parents were murdered by the LRA - and Dominic, recruited by the LRA to be trained as an assassin.

Interviews are interwoven with uplifting sequences of the children in practice for a national musical/dance competition they dream of winning.

A touching tale of immense hardship and triumph over the worst kind of adversity told with uncompromising honesty and careful integrity, which won this film the award for Best Directing at the Sundance Film Festival this year.

View the Movie Trailer - Click Here

SCREENINGS: Katharine Cornell Theatre, Spring Street

12:00 p.m. "Mei man ren sheng" (a.k.a. "Singapore Dreaming")
Directors: Colin Goh and Yen Yen Woo
Drama, Singapore, 105 mins.



When a lottery winner dies suddenly his family is left to ponder the meaning of life and what truly matters in this moving tale of desire and ambition.

"Singapore Dreaming" is a poignant story, which follows the lives of six individuals navigating the turbulent changes of modern society in South East Asia.

Winner of the Montblanc New Screenwriters Award, this film about the rise of capitalism and its effects on an Eastern culture has been the highest grossing independent film from Singapore in 8 years.

This is only the second film by husband and wife team Woo Yen Yen and Colin Goh, but could be seen to herald another cinematic renaissance in the East.

2:00 p.m. C.R.A.Z.Y.
Director: Jean-Marc Vallee
Comedy/Drama, Canada, 127 mins.



It's a story of two love affairs. A father's love for his five sons and one son's love for his father, a love so strong it compels him to live a lie. That son is Zac Beaulieu, born on the 25th of December 1960, different from all his brothers, but desperate to fit in. During the next 20 years, life takes Zac on a surprising and unexpected journey that ultimately leads him to accept his true nature and, even more importantly, leads his father to love him for whom he really is. A mystical fable about a modern-day Christ-like figure, "C.R.A.Z.Y" exudes the beauty, the poetry and the madness of the human spirit in all its contradictions.

4:30 p.m. Cama Adentro (a.k.a. Live-In Maid)
Director: Jorge Gaggero
Comedy, Argentina, 83 mins.



"Large in spirit and ambition, and very nearly perfect in execution."
-- A. O. Scott, The New York Times

"A terrifically understated, magnificently well-acted drama of class and social collapse."
-- New York magazine

"Outstanding performances"
- Melissa Anderson, Time Out New York

This Argentinean comedy centers on the tenuous friendship between a woman and her maid. Though the former aristocrat finds her finances dwindling, she holds onto her maid as proof she still belongs to the upper class in Buenos Aires.

Norma Aleandro, the grande dame of Argentine cinema (think Meryl Streep crossed with Penelope Cruz), plays Beba, a still-elegant haute-bourgeois divorcee, living in a fashionable Buenos Aires apartment, surrounded by a lifetime of consumer goods, but with too little cash to stay afloat. Dora, Beba's maid for 30 years, massages her feet, freshen her drinks and listens to her complain. When Dora makes moves to abandon this sinking ship, the two begin their tango of class resentment and unacknowledged dependency with consummate subtlety and grace. Those words also apply to Mr. Gaggero's direction, which is breathtakingly understated...The rooms and hallways of Beba's apartment...seem to resonate with unspoken emotions - love, loyalty, regret, spite - that achieve a poignant, comical clarity precisely because they are never expressed.

Watch the Trailer



SCREENINGS: Vineyard Playhouse, Church Street

12:00 p.m. Live Earth - SOS Short Films Program
Introduction by Vineyard Energy Project representative
Shorts, Global Warming - approx. 90 mins.

ÒGlobal warming is a generational challenge requiring both U.S. leadership and a global response. The SOS Short Films Program harnesses some of the world's most creative minds to educate, inform and inspire people across the globe to solve the climate crisis," former Vice President Gore said.

SOS has engaged many of the industry's most prominent filmmakers (and their recent films) including:

Jonathan Glazer, Director, Birth, Sexy Beast
Kevin MacDonald, Director, Last King of Scotland
Abel Ferrera, Director, King of New York
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, Directors, Oscar-nominated Jesus Camp
Aardman Animation, Producers, Wallace and Gromit
Amy Berg, Director, Oscar-nominated Deliver Us From Evil
Ari Sandel, Director, Oscar-winning, West Bank Story

2:00 p.m. "Kan shang qu hen mei" (a.k.a. "Little Red Flowers")
Director: Yuan Zhang
Drama, China, 92 mins., Not Rated (Good Choice for Familities)



At the outset of Zhang Yuan's poignant reflection on conformity, a four-year-old boy, Qiang, is deposited in a Beijing kindergarten. Effectively orphaned, Qiang has difficulty acclimating to the school's regimen of how and when to eat, dress, wash his hands, and use the bathroom. The formation of good habits is rewarded with coveted little red flowers, but since Qiang can't yet dress himself and still wets his bed, he's unable to earn any. His frustration and defiance soon put him at odds with the head teacher; Mrs. Li. Zhang is an eclectic, iconoclastic figure in Chinese cinema (as well as a Sundance alumnus with Beijing Bastards and I Love You). He succeeds in the nearly impossible task of eliciting authentic performances from four- and five-year-old kids, capturing their unpredictable behavior, uncertain social interactions, games, and, amazingly, even their moments of introspection.

Despite its light touch, the film is a carefully structured exploration of individuality and community. Although Qiang is rebellious more by instinct than intent, he innocently and perfectly represents Zhang's concern about "fitting into" society. Needless to say, the film delivers a dose of satire when that means emulating the "good habit of pooping in the morning." Little Red Flowers is a touching, artful meditation on socialization that also manages -- without pandering or softening its point -- to be quite adorable as well.

4:00 pm Kargaran mashghoole karand (a.k.a. "Men At Work")
Director: Mani Haghighi
Comedy, Iran, 75 mins



This film tells the hilarious story of four old friends who, driving back from a failed skiing trip, encounter a strange and enormous rock. The men's frivolous attempt to dislodge the rock gradually disintegrates into a tale of betrayal, defeat and renewed hope. The heroes of the film are doctors, engineers and businessmen in the throes of mid-life crises. Their middleclass problems and the absurd phallic rock venture gives rise to great humor.

"Sophisticated audiences will enjoy this thoroughly modern spoof on masculine fixations, played out in frank, realistic dialogue." --Deborah Young, Variety


Closing Night - Classic Martha's Vineyard Beach Bash 6-8 p.m. Live Music at the Black Dog Tavern Beach, Vineyard Haven
Beach and lounge with a cocktail on the beach or on board the classic Black Dog Tall Ship The Alabama while grooving to the Caribbean rhythms of the Beetlebung Steel Drum Band. Light bites from island chefs and cocktails sponsored by Bossiet America.Stella Artois Beer. Pellegrino Waters also available.
Special solar lighting provided by Vineyard Alternative Heating of Vineyard Haven.