Documentary film fest offers something for all

The 6th Annual Homer International Documentary Film Festival will show the nine best documentary films produced around the world during 2008 and 2009. The Homer Doc Fest has been declared the premiere doc fest in Canada and Alaska, beyond Montreal. It takes place in one of the “10 best places to live in America.” Sunset Magazine declared such because of its beauty and rich artistic community.
A gala opening on Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. will kick off the fest with the showing of “The Cove.”
Come down to Homer and the festival and spend some time with the best documentaries in the world. The fest includes films from Italy, Israel, Afghanistan and the United States.

This year’s Festival presents:

The Cove
In a sleepy lagoon on the coast of Japan lies a shocking secret that a few desperate men will stop at nothing to keep hidden from the world. At last, the truth comes to the fore in acts of high drama and covert filmmaking. This is a heart-pounding call for help from the world’s oceans, and a documentary that is a gripping action-adventure thriller.

Food, Inc.
How much do we really know about the food we buy and serve to our families? This film lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, which puts profits above the health of consumers, the livelihood of America’s farmer, and the safety of their workers and our environment. A scary movie that’s also funny and touching – and it’s good for you.

Afghan Star
After 30 years of war and Taliban rule, the Afghan people craved the return of modernity and popular culture. The TV musical contest “Pop Idol” swept the country. 2000 people auditioned, including three extremely brave women, who risk their lives to sing. And cell-phone votes are for many their first encounter with the democratic process. Enlightening, hopeful and heart-rending. Winner: Audience Award at Sundance World Documentary Festival.

Unmistaken Child
When one of the greatest Tibetan Masters of our times dies at the age of 84, his shy and devoted disciple, Tenzin Zopa, is heart-broken. But he is instructed by the Dalai Lama to search for his master’s reincarnation. Visually stunning and emotionally gripping, this film follows a secret and ages-old sacred quest, long a mystery to the West, by Tenzin to find his master’s embodiment in a little boy. Magical, graceful and divine.

Valentino, The Last Emperor
After a nearly 50-year career at the top of the world’s most glamorous and competitive game, this film is the dramatic, behind the scenes story of the struggle of art against commerce. It is also the master, and last true couturier, confronting the final act of his celebrated career.
Combined with fashion show Sept 27 • Separate tickets.

Tyson
Mike Tyson is one of American culture’s most fascinating figures. In this riveting documentary, Tyson tell his own volatile story. Beaten up as a young boy in tough Brooklyn, he moves to up-state New York to live with boxing’s legendary guru, Gus D’Amato. As the father Tyson never had, D’Amato develops in him the strength and focus needed to become the youngest, and most feared, heavyweight champion in history. Surprisingly, Tyson is charismatic, articulate and intelligent.

Every Little Step
A fascinating pursuit of real-life dancers as they struggle through auditions, hoping to play the parts of struggling dancers in the Broadway 30th Anniversary Revival of “A Chorus Line”. The hopefuls perform for the very people who created the landmark roles in the original. As powerful as the play, these are the actual stories of singers and dancers you get to know and join in their triumph and heartbreak, accompanied by terrific music.

It Might Get Loud
Here are the personal stories, in their own words, of three generations of electric guitar superstars; The Edge (U2), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), and Jack White (The White Stripes). The film travels with each one and looks at their roots, their intimate writing and playing. It culminates on a day when the three first gather in a spacious but cluttered studio to swap riffs, war stories, tips, inspirations, and to jam together.

Joel Bennett: Juneau, AK
The guest of the festival this year will be world renowned film maker and documentary director, Joel Bennett. Bennett has created more than 40 films and television documentaries for National Geographic, Survival Anglia, The Sierra Club, CBS, Turner and Discovery Channel. Famed for his award-winning and magical “The Mountains of the Snow Leopard,” Bennett will present three of his films and discuss the craft of the documentary with the festival audience.

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