SANTA ROSA FILM FESTIVAL - Santa Rosa International Film Festival

3rd Street Cinemas 1, 12:05 pm
DIR: Erik
Sween
ED: Don
Poe, Diana
Logreira
MUS: Haik
Naltchayan
50
Minutes,
2011,
USA
Barista: Inside the Counter
Culture
World Premiere
Food on Film
Five baristas spill the beans on the daily
grind—getting up at before dawn, caffeinating
the masses, multi-tasking like maniacs.
They serve up an eye-opening blend of
espresso, sass, and subculture. Filmed in
New York, Portland, Seattle, DC, and San
Francisco, this film shows how your favorite
cup is flavored as much by the cultures and
history that created it, as it is by the coffee
in your cup.
Come meet the Ethiopian barista, the Italian
joker, the aspiring national champion,
the coffee historian, and the philosopher of
cups. You’ll never look at your cup of coffee
the same.
Summerfield Cinemas 3, 1:45 pm
DIR:
Srdan
Karanovic
PROD:
Srdan
Golubovic,
Jelena
Mitrovic
SCR:
Srdan
Karanovic
CAM:
Slobodan
Trninic
ED:
Branka
Ceperac,
Mateja
Rackov
MUS:
Zoran Simjanovic
CAST:
Miki
Manojlovic,
Iva
Krajnc,
Nebosja
Dugalic,
Radivoje
Bukvic
104
Minutes,
2010,
Serbia,
Albania
Saturday, September 17 Saturday, September 17
Solemn Promise (Besa)
World Cinema
Adapted from a true story, this is a subtle,
clever and heartwarming movie about how
even the bloodiest of human conflicts is no
match for the power of friendship, loyalty,
and love. Taking its title from the Albanian
word for “faith,” the story takes place inside
an unassuming schoolhouse in a small Serbian
town during World War I. The principal,
Filip, a native Serb, receives notification
urgently requiring him to travel to Belgrade
and assist in the war effort. While he is
away, the school custodian Azem, offers his
“besa”—a solemn promise to be kept even
if it means certain death—to keep Filip’s
wife Lea, safe.
The arrangement is uneasy at first. Azem is
an uneducated Albanian Muslim and Lea is
a cultured, Christian woman from Slovenia
who feels as though they have nothing in
common. As time goes by and the fighting
inches closer, Azem and Lea trade stories
from their lives and discover they share a
passion and talent for music while building
a bond that transcends war, politics and any
possible difference in race, class or religion.
- James Conrad
Summerfield Cinemas 2, 2:00 pm
DIR:
Davey
Frankel,
Rasselas
Lakew
PROD:
Mesereta
Argaw,
Davey
Frankel,
Michael
Frenschkowski,
Lise Mette
Jensen,
Rasselas
Lakew,
Susannah
Ludwig,
Chris
Ouwinga,
Izabella
Tzenkova,
Darryn
Welch
ED:
Davey
Frankel,
Matt
Mayer
MUS:
Christian
Meyer
CAST:
Rasselas
Lakew,
Dag Malmberg,
Ruta
Gedmintas
The Athlete
World Cinema
The first Ethiopian film submitted for an
Oscar Nomination for Best Foreign Film is
based on a true story (with some amazing
archival footage). It celebrates the life
of Abebe Bikila, the first African to win an
Olympic Gold Medal. Having earned comparisons
to the classic Robert De Niro film
Raging Bull, the poignant and moving story
will impart the lesson that accepting defeat
is truly optional.
It seemed as though Bikila was destined
for Olympic stardom, as his birth date, August
7, 1932, coincided with the Olympic
Marathon in Los Angeles, California. While
serving in Ethiopia’s Imperial Bodyguard,
he was discovered by Onni Niskanen, a
Finnish-born Swede who was hired by the
Ethiopian government to train potential
athletes.
In 1960, Bikila was added to the Ethiopian
Olympic team at the last minute. Unable to
acquire a pair of shoes that fit him comfortably,
Bikila ran the marathon barefoot and
finished first with a record time of 2:15:16.2.
Four years later in Tokyo, Bikila won the
marathon with a time of 2:12:11:2, setting
a new world record and becoming the first
athlete to win the Olympic Marathon twice
in a row, cementing his reputation as the
greatest long distance runner in the world.
Then tragedy struck him down...or did it?
-James Conrad
32 33
93
Minutes,
Ethiopia
Roxy 3, 2:00 pm
Total
Running
Time:
85
Minutes
LMAO! Humor Shorts
Laugh out loud... it’s cool
A Sense of Humor
DIR: Nathan Larkin-Connolly
USA, 2011, 10 Minutes
Laura was born with a disorder that makes
it impossible for her to laugh. Starring
Glee’s Heather Morris.
California King
DIR: Eli Akira Kaufman
USA, 2008, 21 Minutes
A womanizing mattress salesman falls
for a skeptical insomniac who knows her
science better than her heart.
Life In Short
DIR: Matthew Perkins
USA, 23 Minutes
A struggling dwarf actor produces a short
film in an attempt to win the heart of his
average sized best friend..
The Movie Critic
DIR: Gary Corbett Davis
USA, 8 Minutes
My Friend Peter
DIR: Steve Kopera
USA, 2010, 11 Minutes
An awkward waiter and his hand puppet
strike up a conversation on the bus.
Stanley Pickle
DIR: Vicky Mather
United Kingdom, 2010, 12 Minutes
Stanley plays with his toys all day and
every evening his mother kisses him goodnight.
Thing is Stanley is twenty.