ons stival . - California Film Institute

Autism: The Musical US 2007 94 MINS
Saturday, October 13 4:30 pm AUT13R Rafael
Sunday, October 14 2:30 pm AUT14S Sequoia
Director/Cinematographer Tricia Regan Producers Tricia Regan, Sasha Alpert, Perrin Chiles Editors Kim Roberts, Jeffrey
McMahon, Carla Garcia Print Source Bunim/Murray Productions
Single mother of an autistic boy and tireless founder-director of the Miracle Project, a Southern California program
for autistic children, Elaine Hall proposes that the kids create and perform a show, in keeping with the project’s
aim of developing social skills and self-confidence. The months leading up to the performance provide an ideal
framework for director Tricia Regan to involve us with these incredible kids. Henry, for example, is an expert on
dinosaurs and reptiles, while Lexi is a gifted singer. But for every breakthrough there’s a setback, often just moments
later. Filled with extraordinary people, in particular the kids’ remarkable parents, and unflinching in the face of hard
realities, Autism: The Musical accomplishes the rare feat of being at once heartwarming and heart-wrenching. This
is one of the richest documentaries of the year—even before the kids take the stage and steal the show (yet again).
—Michael Fox
• • • Presented in association with Autism Speaks/Cure Autism Now
• • •Sponsored by CBS 5 TV
Battleship Potemkin (Bronenosets Potyomkin) USSR 1925 66 MINS
Sunday, October 7 7:30 pm Marin Civic Center
Tuesday, October 9 7:30 pm Marin Civic Center
Director/Editor Sergei M. Eisenstein Producer Jacob Bliokh Screenwriters Nina Agadzhanova, Sergei M. Eisenstein
Cinematographer Edward Tisse Cast Aleksander Antonov, Vladiir Barsky, Grigori Alekandrov, Mikhail Gomorov, A. Levshin Print
Source Sheldon M. Rich & Associates Inc.
With English intertitles • All the power and glory of this 1925 silent film classic comes alive accompanied by the
Marin Symphony in live performance of legendary composer Dimitri Shostakovich’s triumphant, alternative musical
score. It’s 1905, and the sailors aboard the battleship Potemkin are in the midst of a fiery uprising against their
senior officers in a collective, courageous act of resistance to inhumane conditions aboard ship. Tragedy strikes
one of the sailors, and, as the ship docks in the Odessa harbor, a revolution soon spreads among the passionate
citizenry, sparking a bloody confrontation (the inimitable Odessa Steps sequence) that results in triumph over social
injustice. Long hailed by critics and cinemagoers as one of the most innovative, landmark films of all time (even
Charlie Chaplin admitted it was his favorite), director Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin remains a testament
to the mightiness of the moving image. —Josh Moore
• • •See page 24 for more information on this special live music event.
• • •Sponsored by the Marin Symphony
Beaufort ISRAeL 2007 120 MINS
Sunday, October 7 9:00 pm BEAU07S Sequoia
Tuesday, October 9 8:15 pm BEAU09R Rafael
Director Joseph Cedar Producers David Silber, David Mandil Screenwriters Ron Leshem, Joseph Cedar Cinematographer
Ofer Inov Editor Zohar M. Sela Cast Oshri Cohen, Itay Tiran, Eli Eltonyo, Itay Turgeman, Ohad Knoller, Arthur Faradjev Print Source
Kino International
In Hebrew with English subtitles • Winner of the Silver Bear for best director at the 2007 Berlin Film Festival,
director Joseph Cedar employs an effective minimalist style in this intense, subtle study of war. Southern Lebanon,
2000: Israeli troops have held the strategic Beaufort Castle for 18 years, but international concerns about the
occupation leads to their covert withdrawal. A small cohort of soldiers still occupies the fort, led by the tough,
taciturn Liraz (Oshri Cohen). As the soldiers wait, unclear whether their mission serves a justified purpose, long days
in the remote, picturesque locale unfold slowly and skillfully, moments of bravery and cowardice alongside simpler
scenes of mealtime chats and bedtime music. Tension builds as Hezbollah mounts an offensive and the film moves
toward the moment of Israeli retreat. With more recent Israeli–Lebanese history clearly in mind, Cedar has crafted a
riveting reminder of the frustrations and futility of armed conflict. —Rod Armstrong
• • • Presented in association with the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival
Bee-ing Me TOTAL PROGRAM 97 MINS
Saturday, October 6 2:45 pm BEE06T 142 Throckmorton
Sunday, October 14 6:00 pm BEE14T 142 Throckmorton
ACTIVE CINEMA MOVEMENT • Vanities, ventures and vulnerabilities collide in this program of nonfiction shorts.
In Jesse Erica Epstein’s The Guarantee (US 11 mins) a dancer reveals discomfort with his nose. Bees charm their
way into your heart after their arduous journey, in Singeli Agnew and Joshua Fisher’s Pollen Nation (US 26 mins).
Civil disobedience or performance art? Local young activists set up parks in open spaces in Matthew Passmore’s
Park(ing) Day (US 14 mins). Children from Richmond sound off on life in the hood in May Lin Au Yong’s Bullet
Proof Vest (US 6 mins). Soldiers from Iraq speak out on post-battle adjustment in Peter Jordan and John Kane’s Left
in Baghdad (US 13 mins), and in Julie Caine and Charlotte Buchen’s All the Way Home (US 27 mins) a soldier’s
return is only the beginning of his and his family’s emotional adjustment. —Janis Plotkin
online | mvff.com
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