The spring and summer of 2009 were a heady time for the youth of Iran. The candidacy of reformist Mir-Hossein Mousavi promised a blossoming of democracy and freedom. Green scarves and banners became the symbol of the opening up of life and activism. When the manipulated outcome gave President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a landslide victory, the fury of Mousavi's supporters erupted in massive street demonstrations, met by a brutal government crackdown. As the regime silenced conventional media outlets, new ones took their place. A continuous stream of Facebook reports, tweets, cell-phone videos, and blog entries spread like wildfire around the globe, broadcasting live accounts of a youth revolt against a repressive regime. With The Green Wave, filmmaker Ali Samadi Ahadi has created a moving documentary collage, interweaving from-the-street video and photographs with vivid animation to adroitly capture this new-media people's movement, whose lessons for 21st-century revolution are still evolving in the ongoing "Arab Spring" uprisings. 80 min. Written and directed by Ali Samadi Ahadi. Produced by Jan Krueger and Oliver Stoltz.

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Surveys the life and times of singer/actor/activist Harry Belafonte. From his rise to fame as a singer, inspired by Paul Robeson, and his experiences touring a segregated country, to his provocative crossover into Hollywood, Belafonte’s groundbreaking career personifies the American civil rights movement and impacted many other social-justice movements. Rostock reveals Belafonte as a tenacious hands-on activist, who worked intimately with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., mobilized celebrities for social justice, participated in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, and took action to counter gang violence, prisons, and the incarceration of youth. But an indomitable sense of optimism motivates his path even today as he continues to ask, at 84, "What do we do now?" His example may very well inspire you to action.

Guest: Special Guest Gina Belafonte in post-screening conversation.

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Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock examines the world of product placement, marketing and advertising by making a film entirely financed by product placement and advertising. These days, it seems like you can't even walk down the street without someone trying to sell you something. It's gotten to the point where practically the entire American experience is brought to us by some corporation.

Guest: Director Morgan Spurlock in post-screening conversation.

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The Horse Whisperer may be the stuff of Hollywood legend, but the cowboy who inspired the novel and film is very real. Trainer Buck Brannaman - master horseman, raconteur, and philosopher - travels the country sharing a hard-won wisdom that's often more about human behavior than animals. He possesses seemingly magical abilities as he dramatically transforms horses - and people - with his unorthodox and down-to-earth approach. A Sundance audience-award winner, this wonderfully warm portrait reveals a teacher whose gentle methods evolve out of a fascinating personal story. As Brannaman says, 'Your horse is a mirror to your soul, and sometimes you may not like what you see. Sometimes, you will."

Guest: Director Cindy Meehl in post-screening conversation.

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Once a year, the brightest kids from across the Islamic world head to Cairo for the world's oldest and most prestigious Koran-reciting competition. They must not only repeat randomly selected passages down to the last perfect syllable, but also perform to the highest standards of tajweed, ancient rules governing melody and rhythm. This lively film follows three extraordinary 10-year-olds: Nabiollah, from Tajikistan, has never attended school; Senegalese Djamil, an imam’s son, carries the weight of his village's expectations; Rifdha, from the Maldives, is exceedingly bright and one of the few female competitors. Through the eyes of his three young subjects, acclaimed filmmaker Greg Barker (Sergio) provides a compelling and colorful glimpse into the many faces of contemporary Islamic culture.

Guest: Director Greg Barker in post-screening conversation.

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From the Oscar-winning team behind Man on Wire comes the story of Nim, the celebrated chimpanzee who in the 1970s became the focus of a landmark experiment that aimed to show that an ape could learn to communicate with language if raised and nurtured like a human child. Following Nim's extraordinary journey through various social and scientific experiments, and the enduring impact he makes on the people he meets along the way, the film is an unflinching and unsentimental biography of an animal we tried to make human. What we learn about his true nature – and indeed our own – is amusing, revealing, and, ultimately, profoundly unsettling.

Guest: Bob Ingersoll, vice president of Mindy's Memory monkey sanctuary, in post-screening conversation.

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Weight gain, degenerative diseases and prescription meds are on the rise. Despite the most advanced medical technology, we are sicker than ever. Could there be a simple solution to all of these problems? Forks Over Knives offers compellingly persuasive food for thought. Dr. T. Colin Campbell, a nutritional scientist from Cornell, and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a former top surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, share groundbreaking research on how a whole foods, plant-based menu can control or even reverse heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some forms of cancer. The camera also follows everyday people beset by chronic conditions as they learn how to change their diets, with remarkable results. Perhaps the most life-changing film you'll see all summer.

Guests: Creator and executive producer Brian Wendel and Dr. T. Colin Campbell in post-screening conversation.

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