WASHINGTON, D.C. /CitizenWire/ — The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) announced today the 29 films selected for the American Film Showcase, an international cultural diplomacy initiative that brings people together worldwide through film. The Showcase, a partnership between the U.S. Department of State and USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, brings award-winning American films, including documentaries, feature films and animated shorts, to foreign audiences through events worldwide. Filmmakers and film experts will discuss the films and conduct workshops and master classes on a variety of issues related to filmmaking and film scholarship.
The American Film Showcase builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of “smart power diplomacy,” which embraces the use of a full range of diplomatic tools – in this case film – to bring people together and foster greater understanding.
Comprised of 29 American films, the Showcase represents work of high artistic quality, illustrates diverse viewpoints, and reflects contemporary American society and culture. In addition to presenting the films to overseas audiences, the filmmakers and film experts will also conduct lectures, workshops, master classes on a variety of topics including filmmaking, storytelling, cinematography, marketing, distribution and funding, animation, digital technology, and emergent media, among others.
The 2012 American Film Showcase includes the following films:
Documentary Films:
1. CALAVERA HIGHWAY – Director: Renee Tajima-Peña
Website: http://www.calaverahighway.org/Calavera_Highway/Home.html
2. CATFISH – Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Website: http://www.iamrogue.com/catfish
3. CONNECTED – Director: Tiffany Shlain
Website: http://connectedthefilm.com/
4. ELEVATE – Director: Anne Buford
Website and Trailer: http://elevatethemovie.com/
5. FOOD INC. – Director: Robert Kenner
Website: http://www.foodincmovie.com/
6. FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE – Director: Jim Bigham
Website: http://4onceinmylife.com/proyecto/
7. GASLAND – Director: Josh Fox
Website: http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/
8. THE INTERRUPTERS – Director: Steve James
Website: http://interrupters.kartemquin.com/
9. MAD HOT BALLROOM – Director: Marilyn Agrelo
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5wEb_3S2VM
10. REBIRTH – Director: Jim Whitaker
Website: http://www.projectrebirth.org/
11. REVENGE OF THE ELECTRIC CAR – Director: Chris Paine
Website and Trailer: http://www.revengeoftheelectriccar.com/
12. SHAKESPEARE HIGH – Director: Alex Rotaru
Website and Trailer: http://shakespearehigh.org/
13. SPELLBOUND – Director: Jeffrey Blitz
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkbJWZvBVvk
14. SWEETGRASS – Director: Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Ilisa Barbash
Website: http://sweetgrassthemovie.com/
15. TO BE HEARD – Directors: Amy Sultan, Roland Legiardi-Laura, Edwin Martinez, Deborah Shaffer
Website: http://www.tobeheard.org/
16. UNDEFEATED – Director: Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin
Website and Trailer: http://weinsteinco.com/sites/undefeated/
17. WE STILL LIVE HERE – Director: Anne Makepeace
Website: http://www.makepeaceproductions.com/wampfilm.html
18. WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR – Director: Chris Paine
Website: http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com/
19. WO AI NI MOMMY – Director: Stephanie Wang-Breal
Website: http://www.woainimommy.com
Documentary Shorts:
1. LIBRARY OF DUST – Director: Ondi Timoner
Website: http://libraryofdustmovie.com/Welcome.html
2. PHANTOM LIMB – Director: Jay Rosenblatt
Website and Trailer: http://www.jayrosenblattfilms.com/phantom_limb.php
3. PILGRIMAGE – Director: Tadashi Nakamura
Website: http://tadashinakamura.com/Tadashi_Nakamura/Pilgrimage.html
4. A POET’S ALZHEIMER’S (aka Translating Edwin Honig: A Poet’s Alzheimer’s) – Director: Alan Berliner
Website: http://www.alanberliner.com/index.html
Narrative Feature Films:
1. REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES – Director: Patricia Cardoso
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKpDifyDIp0
2. THE STRAIGHT STORY – Writer/Producer/Editor: Mary Sweeney
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OnsVDKjhpc
Animated Shorts:
1. GUARD DOG – Director: Bill Plympton
Website: http://www.plymptoons.com/gallery/gallery.html
2. STILL LIFE WITH ANIMATED DOGS – Director: Paul Fierlinger
Full film: http://www.hulu.com/watch/66691/pbs-indies-still-life-with-animated-dogs
3. THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION – Director: John Canemaker
Full film: http://video.baomihua.com/whw1113/4884622
4. BOTTLE – Director: Kirsten Lepore
Website: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1680060/