LOS ANGELES, July 6, 2009 — From the astonishing stories of starvation, persecution, and escape from the world’s worst human rights violator to the surprising inside story of an iconic cult, the International Documentary Association (IDA) presents this year’s DocuWeeksâ„¢ Theatrical Documentary Showcase.
Screening in Los Angeles and New York City July 31st through August 20th, 2009, IDA’s 13th Annual DocuWeeksâ„¢ Theatrical Documentary Showcase will present 18 feature films and 10 short films, a collection of some of the best groundbreaking documentary films from around the world. DocuWeeksâ„¢ returns to the ArcLight Hollywood (6360 W. Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles) and the IFC Center (323 Sixth Avenue at West Third Street in New York City) for this annual showcase of documentary films qualifying for Oscar® consideration.
“We have expanded our DocuWeeksâ„¢ showcase to give filmmakers an opportunity to reach a larger audience as they qualify for Oscar® consideration,†says IDA Executive Director Michael Lumpkin. “This year’s program is more international in scope with films from Nepal, Zambia, Russia, Australia and Norway.â€
DocuWeeksâ„¢ premiered in 1997, and in the past 12 years, the showcase has qualified over 133 short and feature length films yielding 16 nominations and 7 Academy Award® winners. Some of the documentaries included in past DocuWeeksâ„¢ programs include Oscar® winners Smile Pinki (2008), Taxi To The Dark Side (2007) and The Blood of Yingzhou District (2006), as well as Oscar® Nominees The Betrayal (2008), War/Dance (2007), Salim Baba (2007) and Sari’s Mother (2007).
Features appearing in this year’s DocuWeeksâ„¢ Theatrical Documentary Showcase are: DIRT! The Movie, Garbage Dreams, Hunting Down Memory, Kimjongilia, Living In Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders, Racing Dreams, Rock Prophecies, Saint Misbehavin’: The Wavy Gravy Movie, The Sari Soldiers, Mugabe and the White African, Severe Clear, Smile ‘Til It Hurts: The Up With People Story, Split Estate, Soundtrack For A Revolution, SUNRISE/SUNSET DALAI LAMA XIV, Sweet Crude, Tapped and Yes Madam, Sir.
DocuWeeks™ will also present 10 documentary short films including: 12 notes down, Aliens Among Us, Crossing Midnight, Far From Gone, Ingelore, Rabbit à la Berlin, point of entry, Salt, The Solitary Life of Cranes and Women Rebels.
Each feature film runs twice daily at the ArcLight Hollywood and the IFC Center with the exception of Mugabe and the White African that runs only at the IFC Center. Short films run once daily at either the ArcLight Hollywood or the IFC Center. Tickets for individual films at the ArcLight Hollywood are $12 for general admission, $9 for ArcLight/IDA members, as well as seniors and students. Tickets for individual films at the IFC Center are $12.50 for general admission, $9.50 for IDA members and $8.50 for seniors and children. Tickets can be purchased at the respective box offices, or at www.documentary.org/docuweeks09. A complete schedule and additional information about each film can be found on the International Documentary Association’s website at www.documentary.org or call 213-534-3600 x7447 for ticket information.
The presenting sponsor for DocuWeeksâ„¢ is Langley Productions. Additional sponsors include HBO Documentary Films, FotoKem, CNN ImageSource, ArcLight Hollywood, Video Symphony and Samsung Mobile.
