ADMISSIONS (21MIN, USA)
DIRECTOR: HARRY KAKATSAKIS
Admissions is a short film starring Academy Award nominee James Cromwell that tells a transformational tale about what it takes to find lasting peace, even in war-torn places like the Middle East. Featuring an Israeli couple and a Palestinian man, this modern parable is set in the Admissions Room for the afterlife. Its purpose is to start a conversation that heals.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BWT4jXLOGBc
THE PEOPLE AND THE OLIVE (70MIN, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES)
DIRECTOR: AARON DENNIS
WORLD PREMIERE
To raise awareness about the struggles of Palestinian fair trade olive farmers — and to replant uprooted olive trees — six Americans set out in February 2012 to run 129 miles in five days across the West Bank of Palestine. The Run Across Palestine was organized by the Traverse City, Michigan-based nonprofit On the Ground, which works to support sustainable community development in farming regions across the world. Joining them was a media team comprised of a filmmaker, two journalists and a musical ambassador. The runners faced many barriers in the endeavor - barriers that represented a microcosm of what their Palestinian friends face every day. Along the way, they forged deep bonds with their hosts while witnessing the harsh political reality and uplifting beauty of life in the West Bank. The run was supported by the Palestine Fair Trade Association, a collective of over 1700 small-scale farmers in the West Bank who have embraced fair trade practices to sustain their future and to sell their products worldwide. During the run, filmmaker Aaron Dennis and journalist Jacob Wheeler created a daily web series that told the story of these farmers. The videos have received over 10,000 views worldwide. Dennis and Wheeler have since created a feature-length documentary, The People and the Olive, which narrates the drama of the run and the challenges and uplifting stories of the farmers.
Trailer: http://vimeo.com/46262890