Here is a list of the "Official Selections" for the 2021 SW DocuFest! These selections were carefully chosen by our Festival Judge Philip Wray and the members of his Jury. We hope that everyone enjoyed these films during our February 20-21 weekend. Due to some festival regulations some of the films are unable to be screened but we hope audiences will seek out these films wherever they continue to be screened.
SHORTS:
TITLE: “A 1969
COMET’S TALE”
RUN TIME: 0:25
SYNOPSIS:
This is a documentary about my car, a
1969 Mercury Comet. Some people say it has a personality all its own. This film
was done, entirely long distance between myself editing and shooting some of
the material, and Georgia resident Neil Strawbridge, who did the amazing music
& animation. For the most part, this was a 2 person operation.
COUNTRY OF
ORIGIN: United States
TITLE: “CHESTY
& OPAL”
RUN TIME: 0:11
SYNOPSIS:
CHESTY & OPAL is a 10 minute short
documentary film about 2 burlesque legends talking about the golden years of
burlesque. Burlesque legends Chesty Morgan and Wild Star share memories from
their dancing days in the 60's and '70's. A hilarious, eye-opening, shocking
underground short film, CHESTY & OPAL opens the audience's eyes to a lost
era.
COUNTRY OF
ORIGIN: United States
TITLE: “IN A
STRANGE ROOM”
RUN TIME: 0:38
SYNOPSIS:
In the summer of 2008, Enzo travels to
Berlin to work on a creative documentary and find a former lover.
COUNTRY OF
ORIGIN: Spain
SPECIAL NOTES:
Film contains nudity and explicit
sexual context. Viewer discretion is
advised.
TITLE: “THE
LEGACY”
RUN TIME: 0:34
SYNOPSIS:
What traces do we leave behind after
death? Climate change, extinction of species, environmental pollution - the
last few decades have clearly shown that the earth is at its limit. And some
people wonder if this is what they want to bequeath to future generations. This
film is the legacy of such a person. After a cancer diagnosis, a man is facing
the end of his life. And he decides to invest the money he has saved in a
project that is dedicated to these issues. A film that takes stock of how we
humans deal with the environment and nature. A film that should be made
available to as many people as possible, free of charge and without looking at
quota. On his behalf, animal filmmaker Jens Klingebiel is on the road to get an
idea of the situation. On his travels he discovers both shocking and
encouraging things. Humanity now faces one of its greatest challenges. Which
direction will it take?
COUNTRY OF
ORIGIN: Germany
Website:
http://eng.das-vermaechtnis.org/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TierfilmerJensKlingebiel
FEATURES:
TITLE: BEHINDTHE
NAME SHAKESPEARE: POWER, LUST, SCORN & SCANDAL
RUN TIME: 1:39
SYNOPSIS:
WHO
CREATED THE GREATEST WORK OF IAMBIC THUNDER IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE? “Behind
the Name SHAKESPEARE: Power, Lust, Scorn & Scandal” answers that question
in this fun yet important film. It is a costume-filled journey into literary
history’s greatest mystery: Who really wrote the works of Shakespeare?
This
charming documentary is clearly a labor of love, which one can feel in every
scene. The world needs it and bravo to Christina di Marlo for doing it!"
-- Don Rubin, Professor Emeritus, York University Editor, World Encyclopedia of
Contemporary Theatre.
VENICE
FILM AWARDS REVIEW, 11/11/2020
"BEHIND
THE NAME SHAKESPEARE is an extraordinary one-woman show/documentary.
The exceptional Robin Phillips guides us through the exciting investigation
about who is really behind the most important plays in the whole world and
therefore behind the name of William Shakespeare…
Robin
Phillips puts all her talent as an author, actress, and storyteller, playing
sort of comedian detective (a brilliant choice that makes us remain glued to
the screen for the whole duration of the film) but contextualized in the era we
are referring to. She transforms herself several times, she steps out and gets
back into the narration with delicacy and without ever being out of tune.
And as a consequence of this, it's not difficult to get involved in the typical
atmosphere of the sixteenth century, also thanks to the beautiful costumes
designed by Phillips herself, who also worked on the music ("Best Sound
Design," Venice Film Awards) hairstyles, make-up, and artistic direction.
The
documentary is full of information, anecdotes, details, and spins around two
centuries, between literature, history, and art. Despite being so full of news
and quotes, you can easily follow it from start to finish. Not only without
ever getting bored but remaining with bated breath in search of yet another
proof that helps to agree with an increasing number of groups of people who
support this extraordinarily beautiful and thrilling theory.
It's difficult, after having seen it, not to want to join the chorus of voices
of these artists, historians, writers, who claim that a glove maker's son could
not have created what are among the greatest masterpieces of world theater
literature. And that it's much more likely that it was the 17th Earl of Oxford,
Edward de Vere, lover (to be reductive) of Queen Elizabeth, and an erudite and
brilliant man of letters.
Art Harman enriches the movie with his cinematography and his technical
effects, which join the narrative moments in a fluid and coherent way .To quote
Anna Rice, even within the documentary itself this is "very very
interesting stuff", which could not tell this crazy part of history in a
better way.
I challenge the public not to fall in love with this
story, with their protagonists, and with Robin Phillips in this delightful
documentary film, which teaches and entertains, thus remaining faithful to the
primary purpose of Elizabethan theater."
COUNTRY OF
ORIGIN: United States
SPECIAL NOTES:
Due to ongoing distribution
arrangements this film is not being screened at this event since it is an
online event but it is eligible for festival awards and prices. Please remember to seek out this wonderful
film in whatever festivals and outlets that you can.
Website:
https://groundbreakerfilms.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GroundbreakerFilms/
TITLE: F.E.A.R.:
FACE EVERYTHING AND RISE
RUN TIME: 1:03
SYNOPSIS:
"Cultural expectations” and
“values” can often clash with our innermost desires. Many women today feel
caught between what has been conditioned into them by their family, culture or
society and their own dreams and aspirations. Many are consumed by what has
been put upon them instead of fighting for what they believe is their freedom
and the opportunity to make a better life for themselves and the world around
them.
COUNTRY OF
ORIGIN: Canada
SPECIAL NOTES:
Due to ongoing distribution
arrangements this film is not being screened at this event since it is an
online event but it is eligible for festival awards and prices. Please remember to seek out this wonderful
film in whatever festivals and outlets that you can.
Website: https://findyourselfseries.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/gtasamn
TITLE: KILLING
THE SHEPHERD
RUN TIME: 1:28
SYNOPSIS:
A
remote community in Africa, led by a woman chief, attempts to break the
stranglehold of absolute poverty by waging a war on wildlife poaching. For
decades illegal wildlife poaching by both subsistence and bush meat gangs has
led to the government declaring this community’s homeland “depleted” of
wildlife.
The
chief finds help in the form of a safari operator and they work together to
bring stability to the community. But all was not well. Disease, food
stability, and rampant alcoholism hamper basic needs like health care and
education. Even young girls, just after reaching puberty, are sold by their
parents as child brides in order to feed their family for one year. Dark forces
including South African land speculators, criminal poaching gangs, and her own
people conspire against the chief. Even elements from the modern world work
against the chief’s wishes.
Will the chief and her community see success?
COUNTRY OF
ORIGIN: United States
Website:
https://www.shepherdsofwildlife.org/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/shepherdsofwildlifesociety
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/wildshepherds
TITLE: WHAT IS
GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT?
RUN TIME: 1:10
SYNOPSIS:
Filmed
over the last decade, a reach into the minds of one person from every country
in the world; revealing their spontaneous response to the title question,
sharing their views, fears & hopes for the future.
‘What
is Going to Happen Next?’ is a large-scale and ambitious documentary that
showcases a curated selection of unrehearsed video responses to the title
question, put to one person in every country around the world.
The
film emerged from a ten-year-long socially engaged project to capture opinions
from all 203 sovereign states as defined by the United Nations. The
documentary, which was completed in 2020, presents a curated selection of these
participants. This film creates a global discussion that serves to highlight
the diversity and complexity of humanity.
To
initiate a genuinely unplanned answer to the title question, the participants
were not informed of the question in advance. Instead, the participants were
asked to record themselves reading the question, and were given just two
minutes to respond. By removing the participant’s ability to prepare, the film
presents its audience with a series of natural responses and a variety of
behavioural nuances within an international cultural context.
By showcasing participants’ choice in visual setting, manner
and practice of participating, along with a series of complex personal, social
and political responses, the film attempts to give voice to the incredible
diversity of our planet’s population.
COUNTRY OF
ORIGIN: Ireland
Website: http://whatisgoingtohappennext.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coreproject/
TITLE: ZE PEDRO:
ROCK ‘N Roll
RUN TIME: 1:49
SYNOPSIS:
Zé Pedro, the legendary guitar player
of Xutos e Pontapés, is the greatest name in Portuguese rock ‘n’ roll. He was
its main driving force, not only as the founding guitar player of the greatest
Portuguese band ever, but also by promoting the genre as a music critic, radio
broadcaster and owner of Johnny Guitar, a mythic club and concert hall in
Lisbon where so many bands took their first steps.
COUNTRY OF
ORIGIN: Portugal
Website:
https://hot-chilli-films.pt/
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/zepedrorocknroll
