The Daedalus Project, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s annual fundraiser to end the spread of HIV/AIDS, will launch its first-ever film festival on August 16-18 at The Varsity Theatre on Main Street in Ashland, Oregon. The Daedalus Film Fest, produced in partnership with the Ashland Independent Film Festival and Coming Attractions Theatres, includes a slate of 5 bold, original, award-winning documentaries about the ongoing global HIV/AIDS crisis.
“For years, we’ve come together as a community to save lives at Daedalus. This Film Fest is a new way for audiences to engage in the conversation about HIV/AIDS and to participate in OSF’s life-saving efforts,” says Daedalus organizer and OSF Company Member Eduardo Placer.
Festival selections originated on 4 continents and garnered significant awards and nominations including the 2013 Sundance Grand Jury Prize, the 2013 Sundance Audience Award, the 2012 Independent Spirit Award and a 2012 Academy Award ® nomination.
2013 Daedalus Film Festival Selections
BLOOD BROTHER, 2012, 93 mins, India/US
Director, Steve Hoover
2013 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Winner and Audience Award Winner
The unmistakable power of love is celebrated in this story of one American’s decision to move to India and restart his life among children living at an orphanage for those infected with HIV.
Friday, August 16 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, August 18 at 7:30 PM
THE DREAMS OF ELIBIDI (NDOTO ZA ELIBIDI), 2010, 75 mins, Kenya
Directors Nick Reding, Kamau Wa Ndung’U
S.A.F.E. (Sponsored Arts for Education) Production
Originally a stage play with actors from the Nairobi slums, this film combines fiction and documentary as its lively protagonists come to terms with HIV and life in the slums.
Saturday, August 17 at 1:00 PM
FIRE IN THE BLOOD, 2012, 80 mins, UK/India
Director, Dylan Mohan Gray
An untold corporate crime story of immense proportions about pharmaceutical companies and governments blocking access to low-cost AIDS drugs in Africa and India causing millions of unnecessary deaths – and of the people who decided to fight back.
Saturday, August 17 at 4:00 PM
Sunday, August 18 at 1:00 PM
HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE, 2012, 110 mins, US
Director David France
Academy Award ®Nominated film for Best Documentary
The story of young activists who created some of the most powerful social movements of our time, saving their own lives and millions more. Their activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.
Saturday, August 17 at 7:00 PM
Sunday, August 18 at 7:00 PM
WE WERE HERE, 2011, 90 min, US
Director, David Weissman
2012 Independent Spirit Nominated film for Best Documentary
Five individuals who lived in San Francisco during the AIDS epidemic share intensely personal stories that also illuminate the much larger themes of that era and the incredible power of a community coming together with love, compassion, and determination. (View trailer)
Saturday, August 17 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, August 18 at 4:00 PM
“Nearly all of these films are making their first big-screen appearance in the Rogue Valley,” says Joanne Feinberg, Director of Programming at the Ashland Independent Film Festival. “In many cases, we wanted to include these selections in AIFF’s annual festival, but some of these films are only now available. The Daedalus Film Fest presents us with a unique opportunity to share these works with Southern Oregon.”
