Films of 2011
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A WakeA Wake is an intriguing mystery about a troupe of actors who reunite for the wake of their eccentric theatre director. But all hell breaks loose when secrets and lies are exposed. Featuring a superb ensemble cast, A Wake uses the rawness of improvisation and modern Shakespearean subtext to take you on a visceral, emotional ride that will engage your thoughts long after you’ve left the theatre. |
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About Love . . .Most Hollywood love stories end with marriage, but these six short films about love manage to say much more than their Hollywood counterparts. Taken together, this collection of films illuminates what we all know is true . . .that love is complicated. In six very different styles and genres we see complications of the heart unfold. |
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Apache 8 with Spirit of the BluebirdScreening with Spirit of the Bluebird, a short that is making it's World Premier at CJFF. Apache 8 tells the story of an all-woman wildland firefighter crew from the White Mountain Apache Tribe, who have been fighting fires in Arizona and throughout the U.S. for over 30 years. This compelling film delves into the challenging lives of these Native firefighters for the first time. Four extraordinary women from different generations speak of hardship and loss, family and community and pride in being a firefighter from Fort Apache.Song of the Bluebird making it's World Premier at CJFF opens. |
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Atomic MomAtomic Mom invites viewers to confront American Nuclear History in a way that has never happened before. This story, of an American scientist (the filmmaker's mother) and a Hiroshima survivor finding peace decades after the bombing, empowers individuals and communities to work toward global unity. It inspires dialogue about human rights, personal responsibility, and the possibility – and hope – of peace. |
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Bob and the MonsterThis award-winning documentary follows outspoken indie-rock hero Bob Forrest through his life-threatening struggle with addiction, to his transformation into one of the most influential and controversial drug counselors in the United States today. Bob and the Monster interweaves contemporary footage, animation and interviews with archival performances and personal videos from Bob’s past, revealing the complex layers of this troubled, but hopeful soul. Testimony from his peers, including Courtney Love, Anthony Kiedis and Flea add texture, but it's the depth of Bob's music, interwoven throughout the film, that illuminates this unforgettable and inspirational story. |
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Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks SameIn person filmmaker Madeleine Olnek The Hollywood Reporter called it, "A hilarious date movie for couples of all orientations." Variety described it as a "family film" and a "Sweet, funny, clever comedy." This award-winning feature, which premiered at the Sundance film festival, affectionately spoofs the black-and-white B-movies of the '50s, complete with low-grade special effects, bald heads, and government paranoia. "Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same" follows the adventures of three lesbian space aliens on Earth, and the romance between Jane, a shy greeting card store employee, and Zoinx, the woman Jane does not realize is from outer-space. Meanwhile, two government agents are tracking Jane and the aliens while harboring their own secrets. |
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CrossroadsIn person filmmakers Liz Cambron and Susannah Lane Bragg Five short but powerful films about people from around the world, all at crossroads in their lives. These films reflect the ripple effect of quick decisions where the lines are not clear but consequences are real. “The Line” by Nancy Schwarzman, “PARK” by Liz Cambron, “Fifth Time Lucky” by Susannah Lane Bragg, “Sis” by Deborah Haywood, and “Protect the Nation” by C.R. Reisser. |
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Dish with Stanley Pickle and BoCoMo: At Your ServiceSunday, 6PM @ Missouri Theatre Dish gets the dirt from waitresses, restaurant owners and maitre d’s about the demands of the job, offering an insider’s view of women in the restaurant biz. From the hustle of a busy truck stop to the discreet hush of a Parisian house of fine dining, this well-crafted deconstruction of waitressing, serves up an illuminating look at gender, power and the art of service. Closing Night opens with “The History of the World” as seen by the CPS EEE students and Tiny Circus, followed by the delightful and innovative short, “Stanley Pickle,” an animated film that uses a technique called ‘Pixilation’, where actors are animated as opposed to stop-motion puppets. “Stanley Pickle” was shot frame by frame on two sets and two locations, using a stills camera and Dragon Stop-Motion Software. It is followed by “BoCoMo: At Your Service,” a short doc made by Stephens College students asking local women “in the art of service” what it’s really like. Q and A to follow. |
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Emerging VoicesIn person filmmakers Jennifer Tolle, Vicky Mather, Megan Hague, Mary Ahlman, Jennifer Razor and Regina Robbins. This collection of short films shows off the early works of emerging filmmakers with serious talent. “Still” introduces a couple stricken by grief who find no comfort in each other or even their personal privacy, by Felicia Heykoop. “Touch” examines the energy within one's hands and an intimate encounter among strangers, by Amanda McEwan. Jennifer Tolle’s Lost and Found creates a world of magical realism where more than objects can be lost, found, and perhaps even repaired. A mother and daughter bake a cake... with unfortunate consequences in Vicky Mather’s “Baking with Mother”. “Sk8 Like a Grrrl” documents the experience of two young, female skateboarders on their way to becoming professionals as they navigate within the realm of a male-dominated, extreme sport, by Megan Hague. Mary Ahlman’s “In Perpetuum” is a captivating journey through the surreal world of a man stuck in a mysterious current—drawing him towards the same future over and over. “Darwin: A Life in Poems” is an experimental documentary pondering the life of Darwin through poetry and archival images, by Jennifer Razor. “Last Minute” is an animated rabbit’s unique point of view, by Linda Audyová. Regina Robbins “Queen of Beasts” is a wild romp through NYC with the help of the right outfit and the wrong friends. |
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FarmageddonWhy is local food pricey and so hard to find? This hard-hitting film gives us the answer. Farmageddon tells the story of small, family farms that were providing safe, healthy foods to their communities until government agencies forced them to stop. The film shows that burdensome and unnecessary government regulations designed to ensure food safety often make family farms struggle for survival and leave consumers without access to foods they want. |
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Fashion CircusFashion is a circus. There is the excitement and masquerade of dressing to please others and yourself. Others become risk-takers, rule breakers and renegades. Under the big top of fashion, the Stephens College Fashion Department’s Costume Museum and Research Library presents: The Greatest Show on Earth: Fashion Circus. We invite you to come under the big top and join the parade of fashion as interpreted by the collection’s curators. |
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From the Archives with Julia Reichert: It Happens to Us and Taking Our Bodies BackJulia Reichert, three-time academy award nominee, "Godmother" of the festival and the film teacher you always wished you had, returns for a program of films you won't find anywhere else and a discussion about the health issues that affect women most. First released in 1972, It Happens to Us tells the personal stories of a wide range of women — rich, poor, young, older, black, white, married and unmarried — and presents cogent arguments for why ending a pregnancy must remain an available choice. Taking Our Bodies Back: The Women’s Health Movement - The “shocking” thesis of this film — that women should control their health and regain the knowledge about their bodies that had been withheld by the male-dominated medical industry — became a major focus for the women’s movement of America. |
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Made in IndiaMade in India is a feature length documentary film about the human experiences behind the phenomena of “outsourcing” surrogate mothers to India. The film looks at an American couple whose struggle with infertility has led them to seek a surrogate mother to carry their child, and the Indian surrogate who chooses to carry their fetuses for a fee. In San Antonio, TX, Lisa and Brian Switzer sell their house and risk all their savings on a Medical Tourism company that has promised them an affordable solution after seven years of infertility. Across the world in Mumbai, India, Aasia Khan puts on a burka—not for religious reasons—but to hide her identity from neighbors as she enters a fertility clinic to be implanted with Lisa’s embryos. These are the scenes that unfold as we watch East meet West in suburbs and shanty towns, in test tubes and Petri dishes, in surrogates and infertile couples. |
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Sneak Peek: SarabahRapper, singer and activist, Sister Fa is hero to young women in Senegal and an unstoppable force for social change. A childhood victim of female genital cutting, she decided to tackle the issue by starting a grassroots campaign, “Education Without Excision,” which uses her music and persuasive powers to end the practice. But there was one place she had never brought her message – back home to her own village of Thionck Essyl, where she feared rejection. Sarabah follows Sister Fa on her challenging journey home. |
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Somewhere BetweenAn intimate look into the lives of four teenage girls, whose birth parents could not keep them, due to personal circumstances colliding with China's 'One Child Policy', as they search to find their identity as American teenagers. These strong young women allow us to grasp what it is like to come-of-age in today's America as trans-racial adoptees. At the same time, we see them as typical American teenagers doing what teenagers everywhere do…struggling to make sense of their lives. This brilliant and insightful film challenges us all to consider who we are and where we belong. |
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Southern Belle with The Real PrincessesEvery summer, young women from around the world eagerly sign up to attend the 1861 Athenaeum Girls School in Columbia, Tennessee, hoping to become that iconic and romantic image of southern identity: the southern belle. Never before have cameras been allowed to closely shadow the students and teachers during this intensive week of historical reenactment. This documentary raises the question of how southern pride can exist within the dark shadow of slavery. REal Princesses, a short made by the Citizen Jane Film Academy opens. |
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The Secret Lives of GirlsYoung women are often the targets of mass media, but come see what they have to say when they turn the cameras around and speak for themselves. This is the third year of our collection of short films all made by girls from around the world. Filmmakers from as far away as Fiji and as close to home as Columbia, Missouri tell us stories that are funny, raw, poignant, introspective, and always genuine |
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Un Cirque de New YorkA nostalgic look back at the Circus Amok, featuring performer Jennifer Miller (CJFF Ringleader). Circus Amok is a group of avant-garde performance artists (bearded ladies, queers, misfits and drag artistes)that made New York the big apple in the pre-Guiliani era. |
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Whale Rider with Tiny Circus ColumbiaKeisha Castle Hughes, the youngest ever nominee for a Best Actress Academy Award, stars in this acclaimed family drama set on the eastern coast of New Zealand. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandKeisha Castle Hughes, the youngest ever nominee for a Best Actress Academy Award, stars in this acclaimed family drama set on the eastern coast of New Zealand. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny. Tiny Circus came back to Citizen Jane a week early this year to help create a new "History of the World" with the EEE students of CPS. Made with the help of more than three hundred students, over the course of a week, this stop motion short will play before Whale Rider. |
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Women in Music: Violet and the UndercurrentsViolet and the Undercurrents are Violet Vonder Haar, Phylshawn Johnson and Ruth Acuff. The Undercurrents add a foundation to Vonder Haar’s songs, taking you on a musical journey of love, family and life. Seeing them perform is a one of a kind experience that you won’t want to miss. |
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Work of a ThousandMarion Stoddart lived next to one of America's most polluted rivers and transformed herself from a 1960s housewife to a citizen leader and environmental hero honored by the United Nations. The Work of 1000 is a documentary film chronicling her life, achievements, setbacks, and unwavering belief that one person can make a difference in the world. It's joined by four other short docs that reiterate this message. You'll meet Carl Sagan and his intergalactic love letter to his wife in the sublimely beautiful film Voyagers. Grounded by Reality introduces Jessica--an artist who rolls hard and lives large as she comes up with new ways to keep creating despite the continuing loss of her mobility. KISS THE PAPER is a poetic doc that contemplates the revival of the nearly obsolete, centuries-old craft of letterpress printing. A lifelong letterpress printer invites us into his studio to discover. Life Model also takes us into a studio and shows a 75-year-old nude figure model learning to love her body through the art she inspires. |