Program Guide - Cleveland International Film Festival

PROGRAM UPDATES > www.clevelandfilm.org < TICKETS > Call 877.304.FILM FILMS A –Z 133
ISLAMIC AND ARAB SOCIETIES
LOCAL HEROES
The Suffering Grasses: When
Elephants Fight, It Is the Grass
That Suffers
Directed by Iara Lee
SYRIA, TURKEY 2012
52 minutes
Thursday, April 4 Friday, April 5
7:25 PM I Code SUFF04 12:10 PM I Code SUFF05
When elephants go to war, it is the grass that suffers. Syria
is a nation of 20 million people being trampled underfoot as
resistance fighters battle government troops for supremacy.
In THE SUFFERING GRASSES, filmmaker-activist Iara Lee
interviews dozens of Syrians whose lives have been upended
by the conflict. More than 355,000 Syrian refugees have fled
their country to live in border camps. Distressed by the lack
of assistance from the outside world despite repeated descriptions
of their plight to the media, many Syrians have concluded
that they are on their own. Indeed, an appalling number
of tourists interviewed in neighboring Turkey are completely
unaware of the situation in Syria. And, still, there is hope for
normalcy: mothers have set up schools in refugee camps where
children make art depicting a peaceful future. “What did I do
to Assad that he made me a refugee in another country?” one
farmer asks. The answer is blowing in the wind. (In English
and Arabic with subtitles) —B.B.
Preceded by CALL ME ESHAAN
Directed by Micah Garen, Afghanistan, USA, 9 minutes
The U.S. war in Afghanistan through the eyes of Lt. Col. JD Loftis.
Producer~Al-Omariya Kuwait Cinematography~Sabah Haider, Iara Lee Editing~
Emad Maher
Print Source~Caipirinha Productions / info@culturesofresistance.org /
www.culturesofresistance.org/suffering-grasses
About the Director~Iara Lee, a Brazilian of Korean descent, is an activist,
filmmaker, and founder of the Cultures of Resistance Network, an organization
that promotes global solidarity and supports peace with justice projects. Lee is
currently working on a variety of initiatives, grouped under the umbrella of
CulturesOfResistance.org. Filmography~“Synthetic Pleasures” (1995)—20th
CIFF, “Modulations” (1998)—22nd CIFF, “Cultures of Resistance” (2010)—
34th CIFF, THE SUFFERING GRASSES: WHEN ELEPHANTS FIGHT, IT IS
THE GRASS THAT SUFFERS (2012)
Media Partner:
The Sugar Wars: The Life Story
of Angelo Lonardo
Directed by T.J. Amato, Josh Mills
USA 2012
52 minutes
Monday, April 8
7:20 PM I Code CAPT08
At the Capitol Theatre
(see page 40)
Sunday, April 7 Tuesday, April 9
9:30 PM I Code SWFH07 11:40 AM I Code SWFH09
THE SUGAR WARS: THE LIFE STORY OF ANGELO LONARDO
chronicles the life of the legendary mobster. His father, “Big
Joe” Lonardo, was Cleveland, Ohio’s first mafia godfather.
During prohibition, he operated refineries that turned sugar
into alcohol. In 1929, Joe was murdered by one of his own,
Salvatore Todaro, who was secretly working for his rival, Joe
Porello. Outraged, young Angelo and his cousin set out for
revenge, murdering Todaro and reclaiming control of the city.
In 1983, he was arrested for running a drug ring. Instead of
facing life in prison, Angelo became an informant, supplying
information that eventually helped the F.B.I. dismantle the
mafia’s infrastructure. THE SUGAR WARS masterfully tells
Lonardo’s story through riveting interviews with experts, archival
footage, and tasteful re-enactments. But, its key asset is an
interview with Angelo himself, captured before his death in
2006, when he returned to Cleveland after years in the witness
protection program. The film gets all the juicy details straight
from the source, putting you as close to the Cleveland mob
as you’re ever going to get. —E.F.
Screening with A FIGHTING HEART
57 minutes (see page 74)
Producers~T.J. Amato, Josh Mills, Frank Lonardo, Joe Lonardo, Steve Camp
Cinematography~Scott Peck Editing~Jeff Murphy
Print Source~Desert Wind Films / tjassist@gmail.com / www.desertwindfilms.com
About the Directors~T.J. Amato and Josh Mills are a producer/director team from
Los Angeles, California. Amato studied marketing at Ohio State University, and
Mills received a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from Texas A&M. Both have worked
in Hollywood as actors and production assistants. Together, they run the production
company, Desert Wind Films. Filmography~“Brother’s Keeper” (2012), THE
SUGAR WARS: THE LIFE STORY OF ANGELO LONARDO (2012)