Visit the St John Film Society Recommends shelf at Kaleidoscope Video, The Marketplace, and at K2 in Coral Bay for many of the titles listed below.
Contact us at stjviff@gmail.com if you wish to purchase a film.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
AFRICA UNITE Screening Date February 10th 2009 – documentary and concert tribute to Bob Marley by director Stephanie Black (89 min) 2008
In 2005, three generations of Marleys travel to Ethiopia to present a live musical tribute to reggae legend Bob Marley on what would have been his 60th birthday.
THE AGRONOMIST Screening Date March 18th 2009 by Jonathan Demme (90 min) 2003
A profile of the Haitian radio journalist and human rights activist Jean Dominique. This realistic portrayal of Haiti’s troubled history includes interviews with Dominique and his wife, Michele Montas.
ARISTIDE AND THE ENDLESS REVOLUTION by Nicolas Rossier II (82 min) 2006
The story of the 2004 coup d’etat in Haiti and the human rights violations and violence that occurred during the years of the interim government. Includes interviews with Jean Paul Aristide and other notables.
BANANA SPLIT Screening Date March 3rd 2009 by Kelly Saxeburg and Ron Harpelle (46 min) 2002
A lesson in the history the of banana: its production, transportation and challenges. Old film clips are combined with a current look at the state of the industry.
BLACK GOLD Screening Date September 15th 2009 by Marc Francis and Nick Francis (74 min) 2006
A revealing look into the coffee industry and one man’s fight for a fair price. Ethiopian coffee farmers struggle to keep their families fed even though coffee is the second highest traded commodity on the world market.
THE BOYS OF BARAKA by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (84 min) 2005
When twenty “at risk” 12-year-old boys attend an experimental boarding school in Kenya, East Africa, their goals, worldviews and hopes for the future are given a new path. When they return to inner-city Baltimore, however, will these young people be able to bring positive change to their own lives and their communities?
CALYPSO DREAMS Screening Date June 16th 2009 a documentary by Geoffrey Dunn & Michael Horne (85 min) 2004
This award-winning film documents the history of Calypso in Trinidad and Tobago. Features performances by Mighty Sparrow, Calypso Rose, Lord Superior, Brother Valentino, Regeneration Now, and Mystic Prowler.
CLEAN MIC: LAUGHING UNTIL IT HURTS by Will Gorham (62 min) 2008
A look at the challenge facing today’s comedians when they attempt to produce clean entertainment. Features interviews with Dick Gregory and Paul Mooney.
COUNTRYMAN by Dickie Jobson (102 min) 1982
A peaceful fisherman rescues an American couple after their plane crashes in a Jamaican swamp. Political intrigue follows as the identity of the survivors remains in doubt.
DARWIN’S NIGHTMARE Screening Date October 22nd 2009 documentary by Hubert Sauper (107 min) 2004
When the Nile Perch is introduced into Tanzania’s Lake Victoria, it quickly decimates the native fish species. While its fillets are desirable and shipped all over the world, the local fishermen and their families are starving.
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD Screening Date May 19th 2009 by Werner Herzog (99 min) 2007
Herzog explores the landscape and the dreams of people who live and work in the Antarctic. Breathtaking underwater scenes, images of deep tunnels carved beneath the snow and ice and more are intermixed with interviews with scientists and other souls who choose to live for a time at the ends of the earth.
FLOW: FOR LOVE OF WATER Screening Date April 28th 2009 by Irene Selena (93 min) 2008
A careful look at the politics behind the world’s diminishing water supply. The film includes interviews with scientists and activists that outline the seriousness of the growing crises and highlights efforts to develop practical solutions and technologies.
GARBAGE WARRIOR by Oliver Hodge (83 min) 2007
Building sustainable housing communities with beer cans, car tires and water bottles. The true story of Michael Reynolds and his fight with the state of New Mexico to continue using his unusual building methods/materials in Taos. He and his crew teach the Indian islanders whose homes were destroyed by the recent tsunami how to build simple sustainable homes from recycled materials.
A GARIFUNA JOURNEY Screening Date April 7th 2009 by Andrea Leland and Kathy Berger (46 min) 1998
Made with the cooperation and participation of the Garifuna people, this documentary celebrates the enduring spirit of these descendants of the African and Carib-Indian inhabitants of the Caribbean. The Garifunas were never enslaved. They resisted British colonialism and, because of this, were exiled to Central America where their distinct culture continues to exist today.
GHENGIS BLUES by Roko and Adrian Belec (88 min) 1999
Blues great Paul Pena travels to the Republic of Tuva to study the art of throatsinging, a unique style in which multiple sounds come from the throat of the same singer. Winner of the Audience Award at Sundance, among others.
GOD GREW TIRED OF US Screening Date June 2nd 2009 by Christopher Dillon Quinn (89 min) 2005
This touching and inspiring documentary traces the journey of three of the thousands of Sudan’s Lost Boys who trek barefoot for five years across barren desert to reach the UN refugee camp in Kenya. Over 3000 of them are then resettled in the US. They experience the modern world with the eyes of innocence as they grow accustomed to a new way of life, yet they never lose sight of those who were left behind and their desire to help them as well.
GOLDEN VENTURE Screening Date May 5th 2009 by Peter Cohn (70 min) 2006
The Golden Venture is an immigrant smuggling ship that ran aground near New York City in 1993. The film follows the fate of the passengers who had paid thousands of dollars to leave China for what they thought would be a golden future in the US. Their fate gets entangled with the confusing objectives of US immigration policy, which is set in stark contrast with the heartwarming concern of everyday US citizens.
THE HARDER THEY COME Screening Date December 1st 2009 by Perry Henzell (120 min) 1972
Reggae singer Jimmy Cliff stars. A poor Jamaican becomes a reggae singer, then signs away his rights and turns to a life of crime and violence.
IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES Screening Date February 2nd 2010 by Mariano Barroso (95 min) 2004
Based on the book by Julia Alvarez, the film tells the story of the three Mirabal sisters who were revolutionary activists in the Dominican Republic. They opposed the regime of Rafael Trujillo and ultimately paid with their lives. Stars Salma Hayek and Edward James Olmos.
JAMESIE, KING OF SCRATCH by Andrea Leland (70 min) 2006
With a focus on James Brewster of St Croix, this documentary is a history of scratch band music, or Quelbe, the unique music that provides an oral history of the Virgin Islands. Includes footage from performances of Jamesie and the All-Stars at music festivals and from a trip Jamesie made to Denmark to perform and teach there.
LETTERS FROM THE OTHER SIDE by Heather Courtney (73) 2006
A look at the fate of Mexican families left behind when the husbands and sons migrate to the US. Told through video letters that are carried back and forth between the countries.
LIFE AND DEBT Screening Date March 3rd 2009 award winning documentary by Stephanie Black; narrated by Jamaica Kincaid (80 min) 2001
Explores the complexity of international lending and free trade in the developing world. It focuses on individual Jamaicans who struggle to survive amid US and multinational economic agendas.
THE MILAGRO BEANFIELD WAR Screening Date September 1st 2009 by Robert Redford (117 min) 1988
The residents of a small New Mexican agricultural community are threatened when big business tries to take away their water rights, thus depriving them of their one source of livelihood, crop raising. One man courageously stands up to fight the usurpers and causes division within the community. Stars Ruben Blades and Sonia Braga.
PEEL: THE PERU PROJECT by Thomas Joseph Barrack III and Wes Brown (74 min) 2006
Surfing in Peru? Surprisingly, surfing is a big sport in the waters off Peru. Filmed on location with stunning surfing footage and a visit to Machu Picchu, this film does not ignore the cultural richness of this country.
PLAY, JANKUNU PLAY Screening Date June 1st 2010 A documentary by Oliver N Greene, Jr 2006 (46 min)
A look at the Garifuna Wanaragua ritual, known as Jankunú. The dances, with their distinctive costumes and music, are a blend of African, European, Arawak and Carib traditions. Includes interviews with Garifuna singers, drummers and dancers who echo the value of the ritual to their culture.
THE POWER OF COMMUNITY: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil Screening date October 6th 2009 A documentary by Director Faith Morgan and Co-Producers Pat Eugene Murphey & Megan Quinn (53 min) 2006
Shimmering with life like a cornucopia of colorful vegetables, this vibrant, hopeful film brings to light one of the most important stories of the last two decades – how a small island nation responded to a sudden and dangerous drop in oil supplies.
THE PRICE OF SUGAR by Bill Haney; narrated by Paul Newman (90 min) 2007
In the Dominican Republic, Father Christopher Hartley works on behalf of the displaced Haitians who work in the sugar industry under armed guard and without adequate housing, water or electricity.
PROUDLY WE SERVED: Virgin Island Veterans of WWII Screening Date November 4th 2009 Produced for the American Legion in the U.S. Virgin Islands by Joan Keenan (56 min.) 2007
Veterans from the Virgin Islands faced unique challenges as they left a small, predominantly African Caribbean-American community to join the segregated armed forces of the United States. The surviving group of veterans provided a rich source of historical and social perspectives.
RAIN by Maria Govan (93 min) 2008
Heartwarming story of a young Bahamian girl who must leave the small island where she grew up under her grandmother’s care to find her mother, a drug-using prostitute in Nassau.
THE RECYCLERGY Screening Date August 18th 2009 by Jeremy Kaller (33 min) 2006
The history of the recycling movement in the San Francisco area, starting with the first Earth Day celebration in 1970.
RUN FOR YOUR LIFE by Judd Ehrlich (95 min) 2008
The story of Fred Lebow and how his fascination with and love of running led to the creation of the New York City Marathon. Contains archival footage and interviews with notables.
SACRED PLANET by Jon Long (47 min) 2004
Beautiful footage of the natural landscape and the animals and people who inhabit it. Focuses on indigenous cultures and wildlife. A Disney production.
SIERRA LEONE’S REFUGEE ALL STARS Screening Date August 4th 2009 by Banker White and Zach Niles (80 min) 2007
The heartwarming true story of a group of African men who fled Sierra Leone during the civil war that devastated their country from 1991 to 2000. Music connected the men and eventually led them to a recording contract and world tour.
SOLDIERS OF CONSCIENCE by Catherine Ryan and Gary Weimberg (86 min) 2007
A dramatic window on the dilemma of individual U.S. soldiers in the current Iraq War – when their finger is on the trigger and another human being is in their gun-sight. This is not a film that tells an audience what to think, nor is it about the situation in Iraq today. Instead, it tells a bigger story about human nature and war.
SOUND OF THE SOUL Screening Date July 21st 2009 by Stephen Olsson (70 min) 2005
This documentary highlights the historic city of Fez, as well as the annual music festival staged there. A chorus of African Berber women, players and vocalists from Afghanistan, England, France, Portugal, Russia, Ireland, Mauritania, Turkey and a gospel band from Harlem intermingle with a group of amazing Sufi whirling dervishes.
SPIRIT OF THE MARATHON Screening Date February 24th 2009 by Mark Johnathan Harris, Jon Dunham and Gwendolen Twist (102 min) 2008
The first ever non-fiction feature film to capture the drama and essence of the famed 26.2 mile running event.
THE STORY OF STUFF Screening Date July 18th 2009 by Annie Leonard (20 min) 2007
The way you look at all the stuff you accumulate may change forever. Lighthearted and educational.
SUGAR CANE ALLEY by Euzhan Palcy, based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Joseph Zobel (107 min) 1983
Set in Martinique in 1930, the story of a young orphan from the cane fields. He receives a scholarship to attend school in Fort-de-France, where he lives in a packing case with his grandmother.
SURFWISE by Doug Pray (93 min) 2007
Fascinating documentary about Dorian Paskowitz, a surfer and doctor, who raised his nine home-schooled children in a camper on the beach. Contains interviews with the grown children.
TROUBLE THE WATER by Tia Lessin and Carl Deal (90 min) 2008
This documentary takes you inside Hurricane Katrina in a way never before seen on screen. Incorporates remarkable home video footage shot by Kimberly Rivers Roberts—an aspiring rap artist trapped with her husband in the 9th Ward. This is a redemptive tale of self-described street hustlers who become heroes.
THE UNFORESEEN Screening date November 19th 2009 A documentary by Laura Dunn, produced by Robert Redford and Terrence Malick (2007) 88 min
The tragedy of overdevelopment is made painfully clear in this film that traces the ambition of a Texas developer and the threats his project imposes on the local environment. When the development threatens the local treasure Barton Springs, a fragile limestone aquifer and spring-fed swimming hole, the community organizes to fight back.
VOODOO AND THE CHURCH IN HAITI by Andrea Leland and Bob Richards (47 min) 1989
This colorful documentary is a fascinating study of the spiritual life of the Haitian. Voodoo continues to play the lead role as its practitioners give Catholic saints and rituals a place in their rituals.
WINGS OF DEFEAT by Risa Morimoto and Linda Hoaglund (89 min) 2007
In this enlightening and moving documentary, the filmmaker, a Japanese-American woman who was born in New York, returns to Japan to learn about her uncle, who flew as a Kamikaze pilot during the second world war. She lets the story tell itself, primarily through interviews with men who were trained as Kamikazes but survived the war.