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Des
Moines, IA (October 2009) — The Des Moines Art Center is proud to present the Full
Frame Documentary Film Festival on Friday, October 23, at 6:30 pm and Saturday,
October 24, at 1 pm. ....
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This annual international festival celebrates the power and artistry of
documentary cinema. The Festival, held in Durham, North Carolina each spring,
takes place over a four-day period, and nearly 100 films are screened. The Festival
Board of Directors’ Chair is Martin Scorsese, and board members include Mary
Lea Bandy, Ken Burns, Jonathan Demme, D.A. Pennebaker, John Sayles, and other
influential people from the film and cultural scenes. The Festival received
over 1,200 submissions to its New Doc: Films in Competition category in
2009 and 59 were then eligible for awards.....
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Sadie Tillery, Director of Programming for the Festival, will be on hand to
discuss the Festival and introduce the selected films. She has worked with the
Festival’s programming team for five years and was also the Associate Producer
of Time Piece, an omnibus documentary film connected to the Full Frame
Institute’s Turkish American Exchange Project. Tillery is a graduate of Hollins
University with a degree in film and photography.....
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Both programs are FREE and will be held in Levitt Auditorium. The October 24
program is not a repeat of the October 23 films. Check www.desmoinesartcenter.org for the
most current information.....
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The
Art Center’s program is as follows:....
(Please
note: All films were selected with an adult audience in mind.)....
Friday,
October
23, 6:30 pm....
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“Utopia,
Part 3: The World’s Largest Shopping Mall” 2009, Sam Green, Carrie Lozano,
directors, USA, 13 minutes....
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More
than twice the size of the Mall of America, the South China Mall in Dongguan,
China, seems to have it all: gondolas, carnival rides, palm trees, Teletubbies.
Conspicuously missing, however, are the bustling tenants and hordes of
shoppers. Buoyed by a mellow yet optimistic techno-pop soundtrack, this film
takes us on a tour of this failed monument to consumerism.....
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"The
Red Race"
Chao Gan, director, China, Germany, 70 minutes....
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This
eye-opening film penetrates at least one layer of mystery surrounding the
training of Chinese athletes, a subject that fueled much controversy at the
2008 Olympics in Beijing. The filmmaker follows young children at the Lu Wan
District Youth Athletic School as they train for the Olympic glory many of them
will never achieve. Watching these children being pushed to the breaking point
one minute and happily enjoying candy prizes the next forces us to consider the
price of Olympic glory – who it’s for and who pays for it.....
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Saturday,
October 24, 1 pm....
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“Salt” 2009, Michael
Angus, Murray Fredericks, directors, Australia, 28 minutes....
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Every
year photographer Murray Fredericks ventures to the middle of Lake Eyre, a
desolate salt flat in South Australia. He pitches camp at its very core, with
neither land nor water in sight. Frederick’s journey isn’t a quest for high
adventure or spiritual transcendence – this much is clear when he casually
picks up his cell phone to chat with his family back home. Rather, he sets out
to see – to really see – what happens in a place that might literally be in the
middle of nowhere.....
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“Sweet
Crude”
2009, Sandy Cioffi, director, USA, 90 minutes....
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The
people of the Niger Delta live in deplorable conditions while billions of
dollars’ worth of oil from the region is pumped out to satisfy the rest of the
world’s consumption. “Sweet Crude” masterfully presents what happens when this
community demands control of its resources to remedy the lack of potable water,
sanitation, healthcare, schools, and jobs.....