ons stival . - California Film Institute

Que Viva la Lucha (Wrestling in Tijuana) US/MexIcO 2007 54 MINS - TOTAL PROGRAM 69 MINS
Saturday, October 13 2:30 pm QUEV13R Rafael
Sunday, October 14 4:00 pm QUEV14T 142 Throckmorton
Director/Producer Gustavo Vazquez Cinematographer Luis Martel Editor Jonathan Parra Print Source Maskarte Productions
In Spanish with English subtitles • Professional wrestlers in Mexico are like mid-level rock stars, especially in the sport’s
capital, Tijuana. They walk the streets and pilot their big cars in their masks, signing autographs and posing for pictures.
But the spectacle in the ring goes beyond anything the WWF sanctions. The bad guys (heroes and villains are a staple
of the sport) taunt the crowd with rude, crude obscenities, while every wrestler gets blasted with blows to the head from
steel chairs and ladders. “Sometimes you don’t gauge the consequences correctly,” one competitor wryly remarks about
the extreme and occasionally bloody leaps and falls that are de rigueur. Gustavo Vazquez’s affectionate, action-packed
documentary exposes the surprising variety of nuances in a seemingly macho culture. World Premiere —Michael Fox
PRECEDED BY
Learning to Fly: A First Year of BASE Jumping Director Lincoln Else
US 2007 15 MINS A year in the life of avid BASE jumper Chris McNamara as he completes 395 jumps in 365 days—well
on his way to flying like a bird.
• • •Sponsored by Best Beverage Catering
Rails & Ties US 2007 105 MINS
Saturday, October 13 8:15 pm RAIL13S Sequoia
Director Alison Eastwood Producers Robert Lorenz, Peer Oppenheimer, Barrett Stuart Screenwriter Micky Levy Cinematographer
Tom Stern Editor Gary D. Roach Cast Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden, Miles Heizer, Eugene Byrd Print Source Warner Bros
Unable to face the possibility of losing his wife to illness, Tom Stark buries himself in his job as a train engineer. But
when Tom’s train hits a car on the tracks, a young woman is killed and her son, Davey, is left to cope with the loss
of his mother. The accident puts the Starks and Davey on their own collision course. Instead of leading to tragedy,
however, this crossing could mean new hope for a woman who has only one chance left to fulfill her dreams, for a
man who must learn to open his heart before it is too late and for a boy who has never known the true meaning of
family. The directorial debut of Alison Eastwood, Rails & Ties stars Kevin Bacon and Marcia Gay Harden.
• • •Sponsored by Marin Magazine
Red Robin (Sineh Sorkh) IRAN 2006 81 MINS
Saturday, October 6 12:00 pm REDR06R Rafael
Friday, October 12 4:30 pm REDR12S Sequoia
Director/Screenwriter Parviz Sheikhtadi Producer Majid Esmaeili Cinematographer Sirus Abdoli Editor Shahrzade Pouya
Cast M. R. Davoodnejad, Reza Safaipour, Yousef Maradian Print Source Aviny Cultural Artistic Institute
In Farsi with English subtitles • Red Robin takes place against the backdrop of a beautiful hillside area. While
a group of adults watch a bullfight, some local children play games, chasing young Aliyar through the fields with
a scarecrow. But when Aliyar tries to get his own back on his best friend, Gholam Hossein, tragedy occurs, and
Aliyar fears that he has been the cause of Gholam Hossein’s death. A Muslim, Aliyar has noticed that members
of the Christian church nearby believe in resurrection; moreover, the priest has recently acquired a new cross for
his church, hoping this will make it the most beautiful in the area. So Aliyar resolves to search for someone who
has the breath of Christ in order to resurrect his friend. Director-writer Sheikhtadi’s mystical tale about faith and
the interconnectedness of all people is told with a gentle power that recalls Majid Majidi’s Color of Paradise and
Children of Heaven. North American Premiere —Zoë Elton
• • • Presented in association with Iranian.com
Rendition US/SOUTh AFRIcA 2007 123 MINS
Saturday, October 6 6:00 pm REND06S Sequoia
Sunday, October 7 8:45 pm REND07R Rafael
Director Gavin Hood Producers Steve Golin, Marcus Viscidi Screenwriter Kelley Sane Cinematographer Dion Beebe Editor
Megan Gill Cast Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Alan Arkin, Meryl Streep Print Source New Line
What if someone you knew just ... disappeared? In Oscar-winning director Gavin Hood’s (Tsotsi; A Reasonable Man,
MVFF 1999) gripping film, Anwar El-Ibrahim inexplicably vanishes on his return from South Africa to Washington
DC. His wife, Isabella (Reese Witherspoon), is left in the dark about his whereabouts. but with the aid of a friend and
budding politician (Peter Sarsgaard), she learns Anwar is the victim of “extraordinary rendition”—the policy developed
in the ’90s that allows terror suspects to be transferred secretly from one country to another. Anwar, meanwhile, is
held and interrogated in an undisclosed detention facility in northern Africa, where CIA analyst Douglas Freeman
(Jake Gyllenhaal), assigned as an observer, questions the nature of this unorthodox practice and makes a daring
attempt to secure Anwar’s release. Performed by an incredible ensemble cast, Rendition is a powerful, layered
examination of the US government’s methods of interrogation and their devastating effects. —Josh Moore
• • •Sponsored by the Gruber Family Foundation
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