Ten Canoes
Special thanks to Adam Lewis
Australia, 2005, 90 min.
dir/scr Rolf de Heer co-dir Peter Djigirr prod de Heer, Julie Ryan cam Ian Jones ed Tania Nehme cast David Gulpilil, Djigirr, Crusoe Kurddal print courtesy of Palm Pictures

Majestic, lyrical and often bawdy, this feature from Rolf de Heer (The Tracker) and the Ramingining Aboriginal community masterfully interweaves a depiction of traditional tribal life with the even more ancient past of mythic Dreamtime. The results are completely original. A cast of first-time Aboriginal actors, breath-taking cinematography, and engaging narration by Australian screen icon David Gulpilil (Rabbit-Proof Fence) make Ten Canoes both authentic and entertaining. Gulpilil's meanderingly playful storyteller relates the tale of Minygululu, a tribal elder. While on a mission to harvest bark for canoes and gather goose eggs, he learns that his youngest brother, Dayindi, covets one of his wives. To show Dayindi the error of his ways and avert a disruption of tribal law, Minygululu relates an ancestral tale as they travel through the swamp region of far northern Australia. The film switches nimbly between their ongoing hunt and a cautionary parable of illicit love - replete with kidnapping, sorcery, bungling mayhem, and revenge gone wrong. Always respectful and never precious, de Heer and his Aboriginal collaborators have made a film that recognizes and celebrates a bygone culture. Surprisingly funny, human, and other-worldly, this Cannes Festival award winner is, in the words of its narrator, "a story like you never seen before."

Starter for Ten
Special thanks to Marty Flug
USA/UK, 2005, 92 min.
dir Tom Vaughan scr David Nicholls prod Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, Sam Mendes cam Ashley Rowe ed Jon Harris cast James McAvoy, Rebecca Hall, Alice Eve, Catherine Tate print courtesy of Picturehouse

Its 1985. Margaret Thatcher's in office and college turntables are blasting New Wave vinyl (The Cure, New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Smiths...). First year student Brian Jackson is busy navigating the hallowed hallways and social parameters of Bristol University. A working class kid, he has a lot to prove...and learn. Equally awkward at dorm kegger parties and anti-apartheid rallies, Brian decides to set his sights on University Challenge, the British equivalent of G.E. College Bowl; specifically, he's obsessed with making the Bristol team that will compete on the country's longest running television quiz show. When it comes to girls, Brian is equally unschooled and clueless, but that doesn't keep him from becoming smitten with Alice, a comely blonde with acting aspirations, or attracted to Rebecca, a raven-haired campus activist. Alternately funny and sharply observed, Tom Vaughan's debut feature is based on David Nicholls' best-selling novel and is produced by Tom Hanks and Sam Mendes among others. The uniformly delightful cast, led by the terrifically talented James McAvoy as Brian and starring UK comedy sensation Catherine Tate as his mum, brings lively depth to this coming-of-age tale where the biggest lesson is discovering the difference between knowledge and wisdom.

Beyond the Call
USA, 2006, 82 min.
dir/scr/prod/cam Adrian Belic ed Jennifer Chinlund with Sir Ed Artis, James Laws D.O., Walt Ratterman print courtesy of Wadi Rum

Ed, a former mortgage banker, Jim, a cardiologist, and Walt, a rural Pennsylvania businessman, are not your average weekend warriors. Ordinary, inconspicuous Americans with wives, careers, and hobbies, these three friends realize their deepest passion in life through self-financed humanitarian missions to geopolitical hotspots around the globe. In Beyond the Call, documentary filmmaker Adrian Belic (Genghis Blues) tracks these self-styled knights in shining armor from Afghanistan and Tajikistan to Burma and the Philippines as they risk everything to bring cash, food, clothing, and medical supplies to desperate refugees. Indifferent to politics or religion and frustrated with bureaucracies that more often than not obstruct the flow of international aid, these intrepid world citizens embark on their privately funded missions simply because they can. Whether installing a solar-powered oven at a girls' school in Afghanistan or delivering a million dollars worth of medicine to a refugee camp in Manila, the captivating subjects of Beyond the Call demonstrate time and again how altruism makes the world go round. Winner of Telluride Mountainfilm's Grand Prize. Adrian Belic expected.

Driving Lessons
UK, 98 min.
dir/scr Jeremy Brock prod Julia Chasman cam David Katznelson ed Trevor Waite cast Julie Walters, Rupert Grint, Laura Linney print courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Summer for Ben (Rupert Grint, Harry Potter series) looks very unpromising indeed, comprised as it is of bible study, church play rehearsals, volunteering in a convalescent home, and driving lessons with his overbearing mother (Laura Linney). Hardly a 17-year-old's dream vacation, but with a steamroller of a mother who upholds Christian good works above all else and a passive vicar for a father, he doesn't have much choice. The catalyst for change arrives in the form of Evie (Julie Walters), an eccentric retired actress who hires Ben as her assistant. Vulgar, dignified, and childish all at once, her unpredictable behavior unnerves the shy, innately conservative boy. But gradually Ben begins to gravitate towards his employer's unconventional ways, even though it continually gets him in trouble at home. One day Evie drags Ben on a camping trip. What follows is a journey in which they help each other move forward in their radically different lives. Loosely based on his own experiences, accomplished screenwriter Jeremy Brock (Mrs. Brown, Charlotte Gray) adjusts effortlessly to directing in his feature debut, which is equal measures of family drama, quirky comedy, and heartfelt friendship.

Live and Become
Special thanks to The Danny Kaye & Sylvia Fine Kaye Foundation
France/Israel, 2005, 140 min.
dir Radu Mihaileanu scr Mihaileanu, Alain-Michel Blanc prod Denis Carot, Marie Manmonteil, Mihaileanu cam Remy Chevrin ed Ludo Troch cast Yael Abecassis, Roschdy Zem, Moshe Agazai, Mosche Abebe, Sirak M. Sabahat print courtesy of Menemsha Films

Winner of audience awards at film festivals worldwide, Live and Become is an epic, emotional story of sacrifice and survival. Amidst the confusion of a refugee camp during the Ethiopian famine of the mid-1980s, a mother, desperate to save her young son, places him with a group of Falashas (Ethiopian Jews) bound for Israel as part of "Operation Moses." Warned to never reveal his true identity, the boy, now called Schlomo, grows up pretending to be both Jewish and an orphan in modern Israel. He adopts Judaism and Western values, but must also confront the cultural divides - black and white, secular and orthodox, war and peace - that compete for the soul of his country. Warmly embraced by his new family, Schlomo maintains his secret as he comes of age, but growing tension between his hidden truth and outward facade challenges his deepest fears and his never-forgotten desire to one day reunite with his mother. Featuring a succession of remarkable performances by actors portraying Schlomo as a child, adolescent, and young man, Live and Become is brave, complex, moving, and compassionate. It is both the story of one small boy and anyone who starts over, reborn in a new land.

Smiling in a War Zone
Special thanks to Aspen Filmfest Reel People & Volunteers
Denmark/Austria/Sweden/Germany/Finland, 2005, 78 min.
dir/scr Simone Aaberg Kaern, Magnus Bejmar prod Helle Ulsteen cam Bejmar ed Margareta Lagerqvist, Molly Malene Stensgaard print courtesy of Films Transit International, Inc.

As a young girl, director and performance artist Simone Aaberg Kaern always dreamed of being a fighter pilot. As an adult, flying became not just her passion, but her mission. In the wake of September 11, when airspace became severely restricted, Simone was determined to "reclaim the freedom of the sky." After reading a newspaper article about a 16-year old Afghan girl, Farial, who shared her pilot dreams, Simone knew what she needed to do: get to Afghanistan and show Farial how to fly. And so climbing aboard her tiny, canvas-covered Piper Colt, Simone takes to the wild blue yonder for an amazing adventure. Along the way, she dodges a series of obstacles: no fly zones, expired flight permits, questionable black market fuel, and strict Pentagon warnings. But it seems nothing can keep Simone down. For her, the right to fly is the very ideal of freedom. From the confines of her fishbowl cockpit, the glaring sunshine continually refracts our perspective as she buzzes above beautifully stark, lunar landscapes, and the dream of flying becomes a shared reality.

Last of the Cowboys
USA, 2006, 60 min.
prod Anita Witt, Chip Comins, Jolie Ramo dir Chip Comins, Krysia Carter-Giez cam Chip Comins Ed Krysia Carter-Giez print courtesy of First Light Films

In this documentary, three years in the making, historian and producer Anita Witt interviews some of the last of the old time cowboys in the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond. These men, descended from original homesteaders who came in search of land and livelihood and who ultimately carved out the ranches that at one time dominated the area, recall a bygone era of growing up, attending one-room schoolhouses, and often dropping out to help on the ranch. With a mix of unique archival images, footage of local cowboys at work today, and exclusive interviews with many of the valley’s ranching patriarchs, this fascinating and often humorous oral history gives us an intriguing insight into a way of life that is fast disappearing. With so much of our ranchland being lost to development, this documentary serves as a tribute to the cowboys and their way of life while encouraging the viewer to think more seriously about individual and communal relationships to the land and the importance of preserving remaining open spaces.

God Grew Tired of Us
Special thanks to Mel & Paulette Blumenthal
USA, 2006, 86 min.
dir Christopher Quinn co-dir Tommy Walker writer Christopher Quinn exec prod Peter Gilbert, Brad Pitt, Steven Rosenbaum, Adam Schlesinger, Jack Schneider prod Molly Bradford Pace, Quinn, Walker co-prod Eric Gilliland, Catherine Keener, Dermot Mulroney cam Paul Daley ed Johanna Giebelhaus, Geoffrey Richman with Panther Bior, John Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach narr Nicole Kidman print courtesy of Newmarket Films

Moving and mind-expanding, God Grew Tired of Us follows three unforgettable young men - John, Daniel and Panther - on their odyssey in a strange New World. In the late 1980s, 27,000 Sudanese boys marched across thousands of miles of desert, fleeing a brutal civil war and settling in a Kenyan refugee camp. Recently the U.S. invited some of them to settle in America. Winner of the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury and Audience Awards, this stirring documentary paints a compelling portrait of culture shock and gradual adaptation. It's fascinating to witness the young men's wonder at Western customs, and even more gripping when the film monitors their spiritual temperatures. For the first time, these immigrants find themselves well fed, yet painfully isolated from the brotherly fellowship that once enabled theirsurvival. They face hints of racism and are perplexed by American values like monogamy and the obsessive need for privacy. Yet John, Daniel, and Panther - each radiantly charismatic and thoughtful - meet their challenges, fueled by a desire to help others. Though they grew up in unspeakable circumstances, their integrity and honor are impeccable, raising profound questions about the conditions necessary to create a civilized society. Film guests expected.

After the Wedding
Special thanks to Greg & Marcia Abbott
Denmark, 2006, 119 min.
Also screens Sun. at the Crystal Theatre
dir Susanne Bier scr Anders Thomas Jensen prod Sisse Graum Jergensen cam Morten Søborg ed Pernille Bech Christensen, Morten Højbjerg cast Mads Mikkelsen, Sidse Babette Knudsen, Rolf Lassgård print courtesy of IFC Films

Jacob Petersen has dedicated his life to helping street children in India. When the orphanage he heads is threatened by closure, he receives an unusual offer. A businessman named Jorgen offers to make a substantial donation to his project, but Jacob must leave his young charges and travel to Copenhagen to seal the deal. Upon meeting, the benefactor says he needs a few more days to finalize the arrangement. Figuring Jacob has no weekend plans, Jorgen invites him to a family wedding, a celebration which proves to be a critical juncture between past and future and catapults Jacob into the most intense dilemma of his life. Following the international acclaim of their last collaboration, Brothers, director Susanne Biers and screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen have once again joined forces to create a story filled with surprising revelations and difficult choices. The tight script, sharp direction and uniformly excellent cast make this adult drama both emotional and engaging. A critical and commercial hit in Denmark, After the Wedding plumbs the deep waters of family - exploring how we define it and how circumstances can reshape it.

Jesus Camp
Special thanks to Filmfest Media Sponsors
USA, 2006, 86 min.
dir/prod Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady cam Mira Chang, Jenna Rosher ed Enat Sidi print courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

In this multi-award-winning documentary, filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady offer a fascinating tour into the heart of America's Evangelical movement. Through the eyes and voices of its participants, we experience an unusual summer camp in Devil's Lake, North Dakota. The "Kids on Fire" camp is run by children's minister Becky Fischer, whose self-proclaimed mission is to groom a young army of proselytizers who will "take back America for Christ." Instead of Barbies or video games, these kids are inflamed by a different passion. Twelve-year-old Levi, who was "saved" when he was five, is a shy boy except when he is filled with the Holy Spirit. Nine-year-old Rachael is outspoken in her love for the Lord. In between typical camp activities like go-carting and water balloon fights, Fischer's articulate charges learn to preach, speak in tongues, stage protests, and choreograph dances set to Christian rock music. This film is a first-ever look into an intensive training ground that recruits born-again Christian children to become an active part of America's political future. Jesus Camp is a provocative and eye-opening must-see.

Puccini for Beginners
Special thanks to Juliet Shield-Taylor & J. David Taylor
USA, 2005, 90 min.
dir/scr Maria Maggenti prod Eden Wurmfeld, Gary Winick, Jake Abraham cam Mauricio Rubinstein ed Sue Graef cast Elizabeth Reaser, Justin Kirk, Gretchen Mol print courtesy of Strand Releasing

Everyone is love-crazed in Maria Maggenti's light-hearted, quick-witted comedy. But Allegra (Elizabeth Reaser) is by far the most commitment phobic of all as she fumbles for love after being dumped by her girlfriend. Just as our dashing, adorable heroine is drowning her sorrows in a giant slice of Camembert in walks Philip (Justin Kirk), a dapper Columbia University professor who lights her fire. Meanwhile, she can't help but fall for the irresistibly gorgeous Grace (Gretchen Mol), a recently single, straight woman, setting in motion a romantic juggling act that is advancing way too quickly for comfort. Divided into three acts, like the operas Allegra adores, this screwball comedy playfully orchestrates the inevitable rude awakenings for Allegra, and then her unwitting rival lovers. Smart, snappy dialogue and effortlessly charming performances by the three leads make this triangular tale soar. Like an accomplice, New York City operates as an enchanting cosmopolitan village, where chance meetings alter destinies and anything is possible.

Ira and Abby
USA, 2006, 100 min.
dir Robert Cary scr Jennifer Westfeldt prod Brad Zions cam Harlan Bosmajian ed Phillip J. Bartell cast Chris Messina, Westfeldt, Judith Light, Robert Klein, Frances Conroy, Fred Willard print courtesy of Breakout Pictures

This sweetly hilarious second feature penned by and starring Jennifer Westfeldt (Kissing Jessica Stein) is a worthy successor to the best of Woody Allen's romantic comedies. The chronically indecisive Ira (Chris Messina) has just been dumped by his psychoanalyst, after more than a decade of visits with no apparent progress. In reaction, he joins a gym, where he meets the utterly charming Abby (Westfeldt), who, after six hours of flirtation, impulsively proposes marriage. Their whirlwind romance throws everything into question, including the supposedly happy marriages of the couple's respective parents who are perfect reflections of their offspring: overly analytic and neurotic in Ira's case, free-spirited and effervescent on Abby's side. What follows is a flurry of infidelity, soul-searching, and a climactic group therapy session, all highlighted by Westfeldt's gift for intelligent, lively dialogue. This thoroughly modern meditation on marriage, family, and fidelity won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Westfeldt and Messina are buoyed by a stellar supporting cast including Robert Klein, Frances Conroy, Fred Willard and Judith Light, who shines as Ira's Gorgon-with-a-heart-of-gold mother. Judith Light and Brad Zions expected.

The U.S. vs. John Lennon
Special thanks to Jonathan Lewis
USA, 2006, 99 min.
dir/scr/prod David Leaf, John Scheinfeld cam James Mathers ed Peter S. Lynch II with Yoko Ono, Carl Bernstein, Noam Chomsky, Walter Cronkite, Angela Davis, John Dean, Ron Kovic, G. Gordon Liddy, George McGovern, Bobby Seale, Tommy Smothers, Gore Vidal print courtesy of Lions Gate Films

Before the Dixie Chicks, Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam...there was John Lennon, the celebrated musical artist who used his fame and fortune to advocate for world peace and an end to the Vietnam War. In The U.S. vs. John Lennon, David Leaf and John Scheinfeld trace Lennon's metamorphosis from lovable "moptop" to anti-war activist to inspirational icon as they reveal how and why the U.S. government tried to silence him. Focusing primarily on the decade from 1966 to 1976, this story places Lennon's activism in the context of those fractious times. As anti-war protests gained momentum, it was Lennon's voice that served to perfectly encapsulate the frustration felt by many. The filmmakers interview a diverse array of the era's notable figures - Walter Cronkite, Carl Bernstein, Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, G. Gordon Liddy, John Dean, George McGovern and Gore Vidal. But it is Lennon himself who is the film's preeminent voice and galvanizing central presence. Filled with his music and granted unprecedented access to the Lennon-Ono archives, this documentary captures a public and private figure that many may not know: a principled, funny, and extraordinarily charismatic young man who refused to be silent.

Family Law
Special thanks to Melva Bucksbaum & Raymond Learsy
Argentina/Spain/Italy/France, 2006, 102 min.
dir/scr Daniel Burman prod Diego Dubcovsky, José María Morales cam Ramiro Civita ed Alejandro Parysow cast Daniel Hendler, Julieta Díaz, Arturo Goetz, Adriana Aizemberg print courtesy of IFC First Take

Family Law is a deft, witty, and emotionally rewarding study of a thirty-something man seeking to define his roles as father and son. Perelman Jr. (Daniel Hendler) is a lawyer-turned-teacher, a loyal husband to Pilates instructor Sandra, and a good, if slightly nervous, dad to toddler Gaston. He lives his life under the long shadow cast by Perelman Sr., his widowed father who is a respected attorney and the kindly, wise center of their community - and as such, a tough act to follow. So what, exactly, is the good son to do? Filled with self-doubt, Perelman Jr. is disarmingly affecting as he charts his future and weighs whether or not to walk in his father's big steps. Effortless in its combination of shrewd observation and intimate detail, and in its use of casual, apparently banal dialogue to communicate deeper truths, Argentinean director Daniel Burman's Family Law is one of the warmest and most human films of the year: a refreshingly understated comedy-drama, thick with the flavors of Buenos Aires street life, and filled with a nostalgic sense of family and community.

A Land out of Time
Special thanks to the City of Aspen & Town of Snowmass Village
USA, 2006, Program runs 100 mins.
dir/prod Mark Harvey scr Laurel Garrett, Harvey cam Greg Poschman ed Scott Davis print courtesy of Maroon Creek Productions

With the biggest public land grab in American history well underway, time is running out for the last wild swaths of the Rocky Mountain West. America's appetite for energy has put places like Colorado's Roan Plateau, Utah's canyon country, Wyoming’s Red Desert, and Montana's Rocky Mountain Front on the auction block. The oil and gas industries have already leased more than 35 million acres of federal land and are moving aggressively to lease millions more. Over 100,000 oil and gas wells have been drilled from Montana to New Mexico: 100,000 more are planned. Ranchers, hunters, and outdoor enthusiasts are joining conservationists in an effort to save their beloved West. In his new documentary, Mark Harvey sketches a timely and sobering portrait of where we're headed. Westerners who have lived on this land for generations recount the dramatic changes to their landscape and livelihoods. Our screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers and some of the documentary principals including Tom Bell (rancher, conservationist and founder of High Country News) and Randy Udall (visionary energy analyst and director of Community Office for Resource Efficiency, CORE). A Land out of Time promises to generate an essential dialogue.

Days of Glory
Special thanks to The Aspen Times
France/Morocco/Algeria/Belgium, 2006, 120 min.
scr dir Rachid Bouchareb scr Olivier Lorelle, Bouchareb prod Jamel Debbouze, Jean Bréhat, Jacques-Henri Bronckart cam Patrick Blossier ed Yannick Kergoat cast Debbouze, Samy Nacéri, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila, Bernard Blancan print courtesy of The Weinstein Company

At once a gripping war tale and a film with a powerful message, Days of Glory recounts the largely forgotten story of the Algerian, Moroccan, and Tunisian "native" recruits who bravely fought for France against the Nazis during World War II. Though valiant soldiers, they were treated as second-class citizens by their "Mother" country, denied the leave, food rations, and feminine companionship their French counterparts enjoyed. Sweeping in scope, with widescreen scenes ranging from the ruggedly arid North African mountains to the lush green forests of French Alsace, Days of Glory seeks to step beyond history and concentrate on its human subject matter as it focuses on a quartet of North African soldiers and their sergeant in their campaign across Sicily, Italy and France. Of Algerian heritage himself, French director Rachid Bouchareb pays overdue tribute to the heroism and humanity of his subjects. With exceptional performances (the ensemble lead cast received the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Festival in May), Bouchareb crafts a compelling group portrait of men struggling against both "foe" and "friend" to maintain their human dignity.

Shut Up and Sing
Special thanks to Lynda Palevsky
USA, 2006, 100 min.
dir Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck with Emily Robison, Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire (aka The Dixie Chicks) print courtesy of The Weinstein Company

late addition as we go to press : Fresh from the Toronto Film Festival comes this powerful new documentary profiling the Dixie Chicks from two-time Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple and producer Cecilia Peck. Complete description coming soon.

Be with Me
Singapore, 2005, 93 min.
Also screens Sat. at the Wheeler Opera House
dir Eric Khoo scr Khoo, Wong Kim Hoh prod Brian Hong cam Adrian Tan ed Low Hwee Ling cast Theresa Poh Lin Chan, Ezann Lee, Samantha Tan print courtesy of Film Movement

An ode to love, destiny, and, ultimately, hope, Be with Me blends fiction and documentary with rare emotion. Director Eric Khoo, an impressive talent from Singapore, weaves the stories of four distinctly different characters: a security guard who longs for the woman of his dreams, two teenage girls who meet online, and an elderly shopkeeper grappling with the winter years of his life. While these stories are fictitious, one character beating at the heart and soul of this film is not. Her name is Theresa Chan, a 61-year-old who plays herself and shares her remarkable story. The film's beacon, Theresa walks through life emanating strength and joy and profoundly affects one of the characters. While exploring themes of loneliness, desire, and the struggle to communicate in a modern world, Khoo has created something truly special and deeply moving. In a media landscape teeming with a blitz of images and nonstop chatter, Be with Me offers an oasis, a cinema of tenderness and poetry that sneaks up to take you by gentle surprise.

The Queen
Special thanks to Neil & Susan Karbank
UK, 2006, 103 min.
dir Stephen Frears scr Peter Morgan exec prod Scott Rudin cam Affonso Beato cast Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Sylvia Syms print courtesy of Miramax Films

With Helen Mirren in the title role as HM Elizabeth II, this is the newest film from director Stephen Frears, one of contemporary cinema's finest talents (Dangerous Liaisons, High Fidelity, Dirty Pretty Things, Mrs. Henderson Presents). The Queen offers an intimate, revealing, and often acidly funny portrait of the British royal family during the dramatic days immediately following the death of Princess Diana. Tony Blair (played by Michael Sheen) has just been elected as Britain's new Prime Minister and the first crisis he must negotiate is not an international incident, but one much closer to home. Frear's fictionalized account explores the behind-closed-doors interaction between the royal household and the Labor government as they struggle to reach a compromise that honors privacy for a personal family tragedy and the public's demand for an overt display of mourning.

The U.S. vs. John Lennon
Special thanks to Jonathan Lewis
USA, 2006, 99 min.
Also screens Fri. at the Wheeler Opera House
dir/scr/prod David Leaf, John Scheinfeld cam James Mathers ed Peter S. Lynch II with Yoko Ono, Carl Bernstein, Noam Chomsky, Walter Cronkite, Angela Davis, John Dean, Ron Kovic, G. Gordon Liddy, George McGovern, Bobby Seale, Tommy Smothers, Gore Vidal print courtesy of Lions Gate Films

Before the Dixie Chicks, Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam...there was John Lennon, the celebrated musical artist who used his fame and fortune to advocate for world peace and an end to the Vietnam War. In The U.S. vs. John Lennon, David Leaf and John Scheinfeld trace Lennon's metamorphosis from lovable "moptop" to anti-war activist to inspirational icon as they reveal how and why the U.S. government tried to silence him. Focusing primarily on the decade from 1966 to 1976, this story places Lennon's activism in the context of those fractious times. As anti-war protests gained momentum, it was Lennon's voice that served to perfectly encapsulate the frustration felt by many. The filmmakers interview a diverse array of the era's notable figures - Walter Cronkite, Carl Bernstein, Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, G. Gordon Liddy, John Dean, George McGovern and Gore Vidal. But it is Lennon himself who is the film's preeminent voice and galvanizing central presence. Filled with his music and granted unprecedented access to the Lennon-Ono archives, this documentary captures a public and private figure that many may not know: a principled, funny, and extraordinarily charismatic young man who refused to be silent.

Other Filmfest Programs

Independent by Nature Award
An Evening With Harrison Ford - In Conversation with Dick Cavett
With this year's Independent by Nature Award, we are delighted to honor Harrison Ford, one of the most iconic and acclaimed actors of our time. Beginning as a contract player, Mr. Ford made his film debut in 1966. After a small role in Getting Straight (1970), he resolved not to let financial concerns dictate his career choices and turned to carpentry while waiting for the right role. That came with American Graffiti three years later. The next year he landed a prominent supporting part in Francis Coppola's The Conversation (1974). Another couple of years passed and then came his indelible performance as hotshot pilot Han Solo (Star Wars, 1977). Synonymous with one of the most intrepid adventurers of all time, Indiana Jones, Mr. Ford has appeared in close to 40 films and worked with some of the greatest directors, including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Mike Nichols, and Peter Weir. In addition to his often-wry portrayals of action heroes, Mr. Ford has played in everything from drama to sci-fi to romantic comedy with starring roles in Witness, The Mosquito Coast, Working Girl, Patriot Games, Blade Runner, The Fugitive, and Sabrina.

Following a selection of film highlights, and the presentation of the Independent by Nature Award, Mr. Ford will be interviewed onstage by Dick Cavett.

Mr. Cavett has enjoyed a distinguished television career, most notably as the witty, urbane host of The Dick Cavett Show, which ran opposite The Tonight Show for years. Mr. Cavett has interviewed a veritable "who's who" of politics, arts, and culture. A writer and professionally trained actor, he has appeared on Broadway (including narrator stints for Into the Woods and The Rocky Horror Picture Show), as well as film and television (Beetlejuice, Forest Gump, Cheers and The Simpsons.)