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Event
Documentary Shorts (Short Documentaries)
Short Documentary Showcase
1. Not Anymore: A Story of Revolution (Syria, USA)
Not Anymore: A Story of Revolution is a 14 minute documentary short that tells the story of the Syrian struggle for freedom as experienced by a 32 year old rebel commander, Mowya, and a 24 year old female journalist, Nour, in Aleppo, Syria. The film clearly and concisely shows why the Syrian people are fighting for their freedom, told through the emotional words of two powerful characters whose lives have been turned upside down and torn apart by war.
2. Rainy Season (Vietnam, USA)
Rainy Season takes the viewer deep into rural Vietnam to the home of the Hoang family and tells an intimate story set in a vast historical context. While searching for grasshoppers, seven year-old Thien ("Tien") found an American mortar in the family's rubber tree grove. Moments later his mother, Nu, heard a huge explosion and within hours Thien died in her arms. The viewer learns what happens on the other side of the gun, a rare view that shines a light on the far-reaching hidden effects of war that shatter a family's simple existence.
Although leftover bomb accidents in Vietnam are not widely publicized, they are not rare at all. Serious accidents still occur twice every month in the central provinces. Of the eight million tons of bombs that the U.S. deployed, it is estimated that up to 10% are still unexploded. The Hoangs are afraid of the bombs in their field, but "still must farm the land."
3. Changing Minds at Concord High School (USA)
Concord High is a transfer school - a last chance school for at-risk teens. Most of its students have histories of trauma and academic failure. This film follows them as they participate in a semester-long mindfulness-training program.
Students both helped to film the experience and conducted a scientific study - of their classmates! - comparing the effects of mindfulness training with that of a placebo group. Working as research assistants for scientists from Harvard and Hunter College, they posed the question: Would practicing mindfulness for just three minutes a day help their classmates learn to cope with anxiety and destructive emotions?
Said one reformed skeptic: Even though you can't change most of what happens in life, you can change your mind.
4. Dog Down (USA)
This remarkable story of an unlikely journey to freedom begins at a point of renewal. Discarded, un-adoptable dogs like Lindy are given a chance to survive and even thrive. Inmates like Perry redeem their dignity by training these dogs in basic obedience. In parallel, these men are transformed by the dogs' unconditional love, which in turn "trains" the men to respect themselves and others.
These dogs become the good dogs they always had inside themselves. These men become the real men they were meant to be. Perry says "This program has really opened me up. It's opened my eyes. It's brought me to a new level of responsibility." Men, once hardened to the world, begin to soften inside as they realize they have done a good thing and can have a positive impact.
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LocationEdward Westpark 8 Theatre
3735 Alton Pkwy, Irvine, CA
Irvine, CA 92606
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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