VIFVF, Documentaries

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Long Haired Warriors
Fri., Jan. 29, 8:15 pm & Tues., Feb. 2, 9:15 pm

Mel Halbach, USA, 1998, 60 min., Canadian Premiere
Having served in Vietnam and gotten over the surfboards-and-BBQ-type mentality that was conveyed so eloquently in Apocalypse Now, Mel Halbach returns to Vietnam to investigate the women who fought in the Vietnam war and the culture and history of The Long Haired Warriors whose tradition they follow in. For many Vietnam movies (and Apocalypse Now not excepted) women are portrayed merely as opportunistic mates for American servicemen or crazed guerrilla fighters who blow up helicopters without apparent logic. Mel instead chooses to find and highlight the stories and real strength and conviction of the Vietnamese women of this highly unpopular war.

Red Rain
Fri. Jan. 29, 9:30 pm & Thurs., Feb. 4, 9:00 pm

Laura Plotkin, USA, 1998, 54.5min, Canadian Premiere
This documentary features the charismatic Gina 'Boom Boom' Guidi, the female welter weight world boxing champion. As the film explores her personal growth and professional development, complex questions emerge when women enter and challenge a traditionally male-dominated sport. This inquiry includes the impact of socio-economics on boxers, cultural perceptions and norms of women athletes, and finally the exploration of gender identity. The film also investigates the standard of rules and regulations in and out of the ring. Viewers are compelled to re-examine their own belief systems as Red Rain gradually reveals the life of a remarkable woman athlete.

Taxicab Confessions
Sat. Jan. 30, 8:15 pm

Joe & Harry Gantz, USA, 1998, 52 min.
You will know this documentary from the television series of the same name. VIFVF is pleased to offer a sneak peak at next season's highlights of taxis from Washington, D.C., For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, a cab is rigged with six lipstick size cameras. When the fare is spotted the camera comes on and is allowed to speak freely until the ride is over when they are told about the cameras and permission to rebroadcast is requested. Some amazing stories pass through these cabs which are otherwise unheard of in the night.

Between Worlds
Sat. Jan. 30, 9:15 pm

Shawn Hainsworth, USA, 1998, 74.5 min., World Premiere
A six year portrait of three Vietnamese Amerasians and their families who arrived as refugees in 1992. From Vietnam to a refugee camp in the Philippines to their final destinations in America, this film is an extensive and moving portrait of the struggles of recent immigrants to create new lives for themselves in America. Shawn Hainsworth is a graduate of Harvard University and award winning creator of educational & documentary films and videos.

Sea of Souls
Sat. Jan. 30, 10:30 pm & Thurs. Feb. 4, 8:15 pm

Chantelle Tucker, BC, 1998, 29 min., World Premiere
A visual poem. A film about coexisting. Two souls in one world. The underwater realm becomes the environment where the merging of souls takes place. According to the Haida legend, the undersea realm is where human souls resort after death. Using this statement as a concept, exploration of Orca and human interaction is investigated. The goal is to touch our spirit with the similarities we share. We transcend language into a world of understanding, respect, and admiration.

This is Chiapas
Sun. Jan. 31, 3:30 pm & Wed. Feb. 3, 8:15 pm

Elio Gelmini, CANADA/MEXICO, 1997, 42 min., Canadian Premiere
January 1, 1994, Chiapas, Mexico. A group of indigenous people known as EZLN (The Zapatistan Liberation Army), declare war on the Mexican government. The images send a reminder to western culture of the concept of people living without hope and yet with the strength to resist, their struggle echoing throughout the world, attempting to make a new life. Although independently conceived, This is Chiapas is demonstrably a logical extension to, and a convincing statement following closely, the messages discovered and announced in the compelling Academy Award winning 1983 documentary featuring Nobel laureate Rigoberta Menchu, When The Mountains Tremble.

Manuel Ocampo, God is My Co-Pilot
Sun. Jan. 31, 9:30 pm & Wed. Feb. 3, 9:15 pm

Phillip Rodriguez, USA, 1998, 61 min., Canadian Premiere
A documentary on the work of artist Manuel Ocampo. This film deals with issues related to colonial perceptions of art still lingering in the today's modern times and art community. Ocampo's work is not only about what you can buy but also what you can't. An art show featured here has Ocampo lining the floors of the shows with his very own painted canvases to be painted and trampled upon by the viewing public as they view the 'high art' he offers for the show. As a side point, completely secondary to the documentary's main objective is the inclusion of interviews with Dennis Hopper, actor and private art collector. If you saw him as a fictional art dealer for Warhol in Basquiat, you may be interested in hearing some of his real thinkings on art as well.

Voices of Ayacucho, Peru
Tues. Feb 2, 8:15 pm

Tony Papa, BC, 1998, 52 min.
Exploring the work of a Peruvian artist, we discover that his work is fascinating on its own but what makes the art even more interesting is the immense national history from which it draws. Much of the work acknowledges a black chapter of Peru's history known as The Shining Path, a communist based political guerrilla-terrorist army movement and how the middle class leader of this "People's Party" so ruthlessly exploited and degraded the peasant population he was supposed to be supporting. The film also has very positive highlights examining the festivals and culture of Peru.

Ntaruev...i am telling the truth
Sun. Jan. 31, 8:15 pm

Marjorie Beauvage, MANITOBA, 1997, 39 min,
A moving and telling documentary that is much more than most documentaries strive to be. As most viewers of Public Television, Discovery, and The Learning Channel can tell you many, modern day TV documentaries have adopted the formal voice over narration format of some singular celebrity to bring cohesion to an almost random bunch of filmed and found images. Ntaruev is a far more interesting variation that will keep you listening to its insights on life in a northern aboriginal community.

The difference is that Ntaruev is not one narrator but many, all helping to paint a collage and that collage is of life in small northern reservation towns. The collage has definite patterns and slips easily back upon itself to correlate ideas and problems. The end result gives an organic feel of the kaleidoscope of daily life in a community.

A Cow at My Table
Sat. Jan. 30, 3:30 pm & Mon., Feb. 1, 8:15 pm

Jennifer Abbott, BC, 1998, 90 min.
There is no doubt that Jennifer Abbott is a vegetarian with a point to make. She likes animals and is set against eating them and especially degrading them as living beings before they get eaten. It is impossible to say whether or not this film will ever make any converts despite its effective imagery and montage.
So here is why you should watch and love Ms. Abbott's film: it's intelligently made with a clear sense of direction. She has deliberately crafted a well reasoned set of arguments against meat eating and especially the factory farming mentality in general that drives our North American society. Abbot makes her arguments through interviewed subjects, her images, found footage, filmmaking incidents, and quoted articles, interviews and essays. She gives say to the industry she attacks and gives answer back to them, highlighting key phrases and the critical thinking flaws that she sees. She never leaves a half-answer unquestioned. Abbott refuses to be stagnant or too repetitious, keeping the viewer engaged in an ongoing collage of audio and visual material. Although you probably won't see this many pictures of meat breathing or not for a time to come or so many cross cuts (pun unintentional) with a beef industry spokesperson, all roads lead to the same central nail of her argument. This work has a sense of vision, reason, and direction that makes Abbott an admirable documentarian.

Borders Across the Heart
Sat., Jan. 30, 5:15 pm & Mon., Feb. 1, 10:00 pm

Melanie Groves, BC, 1998, 28 min.
"I had never really realized how important it is to have your relationship recognized, not just by your partner, or your family, but by society." - Deborah in Borders Across The Heart.
Borders Across The Heart profiles the lesbian and gay men who are challenging Canada's discriminatory immigration laws. Interviews with several 'cross-border' couples continue to prevent gay and lesbian Canadians from sponsoring their foreign partners for immigration. Although partners can sometimes come to Canada under discretionary Humanitarian and Compassionate considerations, couples often face uncertainty, hardship, and separation. This documentary chronicles the courage and commitment of these men and women in their struggle for justice and equality.

Singing Our Stories
Sun., Jan. 31, 4:30 pm

Annie Frazier Henry, BC, 1998, 48 min.
'Singing Our Stories' is a visionary journey through the landscape of North American music- from the rock-icon Rita Coolidge to Tuscarora singer/songwriter Pura FŽ, from Blackfoot composer Olivia Tailfeathers and the Old Agency Singers to the traditional music of the Zu–i Olla Maidens. This ground-breaking documentary film profiles the 'First Ladies' of indigenous song and pays tribute to the precious musical archive they preserve, carry, and celebrate. Through their language, heritage, and homelands, the stories and songs of the women link the past to the present as they trace the voices of their ancestors.

Voices From The Talking Stick
Sun., Jan. 31, 9:00 pm

Todd Tyarm, BC, 1997, 27 min.
A positive and revealing story of the past, present, and future told by the Haida people. The Haida having survived spiritually and psychologically through cataclysmic devastations offer a vantage of a people literally threatened with extinction that is a poignant parable and allegorical inspiration to the rest of the world.