Today at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival

Below is the schedule for today at the Documentary Film Festival at the Malco Theater in Hot Springs.
Sunday, October 17
10 a.m.
THE CRISIS MR. FAUBUS MADE: THE ROLE OF THE ARKANSAS GAZETTE
IN THE CENTRAL HIGH CRISIS
USA, 30 minutes, Donna Lampkin Stephens / Kevin Clark / Joseph Anderson
The film tells the story of the Arkansas Gazette’s leadership during the
desegregation of the Little Rock Central High School in 1957, an important chapter in the state’s history that has not been fully told until now. Filmmaker is present.
10 a.m.
RED LEAF TAKOJA
USA, 86 minutes, Peter Carlson / Howard Bad Hand
A film that documents the Red Leaf Takoja drum group, and the singing tradition from which it evolved. The group originated in and around the Red Leaf, Black Pipe and He Dog communities in the northwest quadrant of the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. Narrated by Wes Studi. Film maker is present as well as Wes Studi in person.
10 a.m.
WOODRUFF- A LESSON OF NON-VIOLENCE
USA, 30 minutes, Anncha Briggs
This film tells the remarkable story of an elementary school staff that took a stand against gang rivalries and school-house fighting by promoting conflict resolution while pushing up academic performance. Film maker is present.
11:25 a.m.
TORCH
USA. 23 minutes, Robert Clay
For 53 years, Birmingham, Alabama was home to one of the strangest oddities in the world: A 56 foot high, cast iron statue of a Roman god holding a light that would turn red in the event of a traffic death. ‘Torch’ tells the story of this unique landmark, and the impact it had on the people of Birmingham. Film maker is present.
11:25 a.m.
SNAKE FEVER
USA, 13 minutes, Wendy Greene
Rattlesnake hunting in the tiny rural town of Waynoka, Oklahoma isn’t just a way to keep residents, and their valuable cattle, from getting bitten. It’s not just a sport, with die-hards hunting snakes year round. It’s a way to keep the old West from being forgotten. Film maker is present.
11:25 a.m.
FIRE IN THE MOUNTAINS
USA, 22 minutes, Steven Middleton
Fire In The Mountains documents an independent wrestling organization in Appalachian Kentucky. Showing the hardships of life in both being a wrestler and promoter in Eastern KY in 2009. What was once a dream is now limited to very small armories and school lunchrooms
across the mountains. Film maker is present.
11:25 a.m.
THE SHERIFF
USA, 14 minutes, Jeff M. Giordano
Documentary portrait of Eugene, an elderly African-American man with
albinism from the mountains of North Carolina, focusing on his spirituality.
11:50 a.m.
BOMBS IN OUR BACKYARD
USA, 26 minutes, Jacob Bain / Devan Ohl
Fifty years ago, areas of rural Arkansas, Kansas, and Arizona were home to the largest nuclear missiles in the world: the Titan IIs. Though the missiles were never launched for war purposes, their presence, including accidents, greatly affected the lives of those who lived around them. Today, the missile silos are filled with dirt, but the Titan program lives on through veterans, experts, neighbors and museums. Film maker is present.
11:50 a.m.
THE SHARECROPPERS
USA, 18 minutes, Jonathan Shepard
A brief exploration into a world that most city dwellers have never seen, The Sharecroppers explores the quiet struggles of America’s chicken farmers as they struggle to provide for themselves and their families. Essentially forced into upgrading their farms, these farmers have no choice but to perpetuate a never-ending cycle of debt - on pain of bankruptcy. Film maker is present.
11:50 a.m.
I AM THE HOMELESS
USA, 10 minutes, Austin Franke
A student-made documentary on the homeless of Conway, AR. Film maker is present.
1:05 p.m.
THERE ONCE WAS AN ISLAND: TE HENUA E NOHO
New Zealand, 80 minutes, Briar March
As a terrifying tidal flood rips through their already damaged home, the Takuu community experiences the devastating effects of climate change first hand. This film gives a human face to the direct impacts of climate change in the Pacific, challenging audiences everywhere to consider their own relationship to the earth and the other people on it. Film maker is present.
1:15 p.m.
GOD’S CRITTERS
USA, 10 minutes, Bruce James
God’s Critters is a short verite-style documentary that explores pet-owner relationships in a religious context and looks at one way that a small, urban congregation comes together to celebrate their connections to one another and to the animal kingdom. It begins at the house of Fishtown residents Debbie and Joe Kinkead and follows them through the neighborhood with their two dogs, Ian and Shamus, where they experience the challenges of a dog owner in the city, from ‘curbing’ to the threatening bark of larger dogs.
1:15 p.m.
PINK SMOKE OVER THE VATICAN
USA, 64 minutes, Jules Hart
Pink Smoke Over the Vatican is a documentary film about the controversial movement of women seeking ordination in the Roman Catholic Church. More and more women are answering a spiritual calling to take on the vestments of priesthood and seek equality in the religion they love. These daring women have risked banishment, loss of livelihood, and even excommunication to take part in what the Church calls illicit ordinations. Film maker is present.
2:50 p.m.
CHIEFLAND
USA, 8 minutes, Gabriel Tyner / Christopher Ramsey
Ten years after a train accident derailed his bull-riding career, Chris Wilson returns to the sport a changed man. Determined to pick up where he left off, Wilson pushes his body to the edge in an attempt to have one last shot at his dream. Filmed at Carter’s Renegade Rodeo in Chiefland Florida, this documentary shows how far one character will go to finish what he started. Film maker is present.
2:50 p.m.
NICO’S CHALLENGE
USA/Tanzania, 15 minutes, Steve Audette
Nico Calabria was born with only one leg, but his disability does not define him. As he says, "Even though I have one leg, I can still do what anyone else can." In this short documentary, he takes on the highest peak in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro with his father Carl, and shares his success with those less fortunate than him. It is a story about one remarkable 13-year-old boy who knows who he is and what he’s capable of doing—both for himself and others—and he changes the world, or at least one little corner of it.
2:50 p.m.
CRAZY DIAMOND
USA, 11 minutes, Hanny Lee
Biography of Joe Rivas, a man lives a full life despite the severe disability caused by cerebral palsy. Film maker is present.
2:50 p.m.
NO PITY
USA, 19 minutes, Drew Goldsmith
A poignant exposé of pity-based fund-raising, as revealed through a disabled pre-teen’s heartfelt appeal for respect and dignity. In response to the pity-based tactics used in U.S. autism fund-raising, autistic self-advocates and their allies have begun speaking out, just as their predecessors in disability rights spoke out over 20 years ago. This short documentary vividly portrays these movements.
2:55 p.m.
AZORIAN: RAISING OF THE K-129
Austria, 104 minutes, Michael White
On July the 21th, 1974, despite incredible political and diplomatic risks, after six years of secret preparation in pursuit of an intelligence coup, the CIA and the United States Government under the cover of a Howard Hughes enterprise, attempted to raise a sunken Soviet ballistic missile submarine from the depths of the North Pacific Ocean.
4:15 p.m.
DOGPATCH USA
USA, 30 minutes, Dixie Kline / Matthew Rowe
From 1968 until its closing in 1993, the theme park inspired by Al Capp’s comic strip, "Lil Abner," located in the heart of the Ozarks, capitalized on the media popularity of "hillbillies" (Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, Dukes of Hazzard) while simultaneously generating endless debate about the negative impact of the stereotype on the state’s image. Dogpatch’s success was short-lived, but the stereotypes upon which it was built live on. Film maker is present.
4:15 p.m.
DIRTY WORK: ARKANSAS’ KNIFE HERITAGE FROM BOWIE TO RAMBO
USA, 29 minutes, Chris Cranford
Arkansas has played a prominent role in the history of knife-making. This video illuminates this role from the origins of the Bowie knife and Arkansas toothpick in the 1830s, to the modern custom knife making revival. (viewer discretion is advised) FILM MAKER IN PERSON
5:05 p.m.
GASLAND
USA, 104 minutes, Josh Fox
When film maker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey. What he uncovers is truly shocking—water that can be lit on fire right out of the sink, chronically ill residents of drilling areas from disparate locations in the US all with the same mysterious symptoms, huge pools of toxic waste that kill cattle and vegetation, well blowouts and huge gas explosions consistently covered up by state and federal regulatory agencies.
5:45 p.m.
CARBON NATION
USA, 83 minutes, Peter Byck
Carbon Nation is a documentary movie about climate change solutions. Even if you doubt the severity of the impact of climate change or just don’t buy it at all, this is still a compelling and relevant film that illustrates how solutions to climate change also address other social, economic and national security issues. We meet a host of entertaining and endearing characters along the way. Film maker is present.
7:20 p.m.
A NORMAL LIFE, PLEASE
Japan, 70 minutes Tokachi Tsuchiya
The subject of this documentary is a truck driver. On top of working 552
hours a month, he does not get paid overtime, does not receive social insurance benefits and cannot take paid holidays. One day, this seemingly weak-willed young man stands up for himself and demands a normal life. U.S. premiere, film maker is present.
7:20 p.m.
STRANGE THINGS: CHILDREN OF HAITI
Haiti, 72 minutes, Alexandria Hammond
Known only as soulless outcasts in their own country, the street boys of Haiti reveal lives of resilience and hope. In Strange Things, we journey through northern Haiti and the city of Cap-Haitien where hundreds of street boys live an unimaginable life. Strange Things is a cinematic documentary that captures the spirit of human survival and transports you to Haiti’s strange contrasts, breathtaking landscapes and rich history, through the eyes of some of Haiti’s most unforgettable characters. Film maker is present.
8:55 p.m.
WEIRD WORLD OF BLOWFLY
USA, 94 minutes
The Weird World of Blowfly tells the story of singer/songwriter Clarence Reid and his alter ego Blowfly, the original dirty rapper. At 69 years-old, with a catalog of the world’s raunchiest tunes, Blowfly continues to record new material and tour the world, struggling for success and recognition. The film highlights both Clarence’s and Blowfly’s unique contributions to music history, including Top-10 R&B hits and what might be the world’s first rap song, recorded in 1965. Film maker is present. (viewer discretion is advised)
9:10 p.m.
SPACE, LAND AND TIME:
UNDERGROUND ADVENTURES WITH ANT FARM
USA, 78 minutes, Elizabeth Federici / Laura Harrison
Space, Land and Time: Underground Adventures with ANT FARM is the first film to delve into the work of the renegade 1970s architecture collective Ant Farm, best known for its iconic land-art piece Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. Radical architects, video pioneers, and mordantly funny cultural commentators, the Ant Farmers created a body of deeply subversive multi disciplinary work that questioned everything by posing a set of creative and comedic alternatives. Film maker is present.