The Ashland Independent Film Festival announced its lineup of over 150 films for the eighteenth annual festival, April 11-15, 2019, in Ashland, Oregon.
Stories of Our Lives
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Ashland Independent Film Festival Unveils Complete 2019 Lineup of Over 150 Films
Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements by Irene Taylor Brodsky
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Inspirational Documentary ZEMENE to Close 2015 Harlem International Film Festival | TRAILER
The Harlem International Film Festival (Hi) celebrating its 10th Anniversary, will take place September 9-13 featuring MIST Harlem as its primary 2015 theatrical venue.
Wednesday, September 9 at 7 PM Hi kicks off its lineup with award-winning Stories of Our Lives chronicling the hidden struggles of lovers, fighters and rebels that characterize the criminalized LGBT community in Kenya.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxDr1ue-lHc
Other highlights include the East Coast Premiere of the award-winning America is Still the Place, based on the unbelievable true story of Charlie Walker, the black man behind the clean up of one of the biggest oil spills in US history. The film features the unforgettable performance of Mike Colter, star of Marvel’s brand new Netflix series, Luke Cage, who will join director Patrick Gilles for Q&A.
https://vimeo.com/116602949
Closing Night Film is Melissa Donovan’s “must-see inspirational” documentary Zemene about a young Ethiopian girl’s bravery in the face of enormous odds. Living in a remote village with a rare curvature of the spine, she struggles with poverty, poor education, and potentially life-threatening illnesses. But a chance encounter in the streets of Gondar with Dr. Rick Hodes sets in motion a series of events that will change Zemene and the future of her village forever. Shot throughout the beautiful countryside, the film is a poetic testament to the power of compassion and the potential within us all. Zemene screened at the Library of Congress on August 12, 2015 and will be catalogued and become part of the official collection of the world’s largest library.
https://vimeo.com/97292617
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Kenyan LGBT Award-winning Film STORIES OF OUR LIVES to Open 2015 Harlem International Film Festival
Award-winning film STORIES OF OUR LIVES that documents the hidden personal stories of lovers, fighters, rebels and the community histories that characterize the criminalized queer experience in Kenya, will open the 2015 Harlem International Film Festival on September 9.
The filmmakers and cast risked their very lives to bring to life this insightful series of vignettes based on true stories collected for the STORIES OF OUR LIVES project.
STORIES OF OUR LIVES, Nairobi-based visual artist Jim Chuchu‘s first ever feature film, premiered at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival, and also screened at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival, where it won the Teddy Special Jury Award, and 2nd Place Panorama Audience Award, Fiction Film.
The stories in this extraordinary film anthology are united by a commitment to telling the truth about the lives and love of gay and lesbian people in Kenya. In Ask Me Nicely, a pair of schoolgirls, much to their own surprise, fall passionately in love. In Athman, two men working on a tea plantation address the fact that one man’s feelings for his friend have evolved. A young woman dreams of transforming genders, and living openly with her girlfriend. Filmed in chiaroscuro shades of black and white, each story unfolds with an honesty that is heartbreaking in its simplicity. Based on real life experiences that were collected by an artists’ collective in Kenya, the material proved so revelatory that a decision was made to adapt it to the screen. With little more than a couple of lights and a small camera, the crew of actors and technicians made this anthology over the course of eight months. Underneath every story depicted on camera is the reality that even to speak the truth out loud is a dangerous and subversive act. Members of the Collective are still forced to remain anonymous in order to protect themselves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaDs333V-vo The 2015 Harlem International Film Festival runs September 9-13, 2015.