SNOB (Somewhat North of Boston) Film Festival Opens on Friday for the weekend run
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on November 6, 2008 under SNOB (Somewhat North of Boston) Film Festival, Uncategorized | 
The 7th SNOB (Somewhat North of Boston) Film Festival returns Friday, Nov. 7, through Sunday, Nov. 9, at New Hampshire Technical Institute, 31 College Drive, and Red River Theatres, 11 S. Main St. for three days of independent film.
The festival opens tomorrow, Friday, with the 7 PM screening of “Racing Daylight,” starring David Straithairn and Melissa Leo in a film that weaves together a ghost story, murder mystery and love story. Also screening Friday night will be “HellDrivers: The Original Crash Test Dummies,” centering on a traveling band of daredevils, including New England’s own Doug Danger and Crash Moreau. This Darren Garnick film features Danger’s longest motorcycle jump - a Loudon feat included in the Guinness Book of World Records, and his near-death crash in Hudson. The showing is set for 9 p.m. [via]
The film list
| Bingo Nation (MA/6 min/2007/ Stephanie Stender) Every Saturday night, Joanna and the gals court Lady Luck at the local Bingo hall, but, lately, Lady Luck has been hiding. Sun, 2pm | |
| Boletos Por Favor (Tickets Please) (Spain/14 min/2006 /Lucas Figueroa) A train, a pursuit, only one way to escape… (Spanish w/ English subtitles) www.boletosporfavor.com Sat, 10:30am |  |
| The Busker (NH/ 87 min/ 2007/Stephen Croake) Racial tension and an unlikely stranger’s proposition threaten the developing relationship between a busker (street musician) and an African-American girl. Sat, 12pm | |
| The Castle (ME/51 min/2007/ Neil Norello) By using a U.S. Navy-produced film, interviews with former Marine and Navy personnel, as well as the wife of the last Marine commander, this film tells the story of the Navy’s only maximum-security prison, ever, the Portsmouth Naval Prison. Sun, 12 pm |  |
| Creating Karma (NY/104 min/2006/ Jill Wisoff) Karma, uptight corporate climber, becomes a poet after moving in with her wacky new-age therapist sister. Thrown into the mix is her meddling mother, Chanel Fontaine nee Lollipop Fields, the British “it” girl from the sixties; their dead father’s lover, Rajah, the pop star sitar player; and Vincent, the love interest, an inappropriate guy who talks to puppets. NE Premiere. Winner of Best Feature at the 2008 Broad Humor Film Festival. www.creatingkarma.com Sat, 3:30pm |  |
| Dean and Me: Roadshow of an American Primary (VT/88 min/2008/ Heith Eiden) Connect to a revolutionary, grassroots effort that changed politics and jump-started a national debate at a time when American democracy was, and remains, fragile. This film’s ultimate discovery is that the real story about Howard Dean and the movement he inspired took place well outside the closed theater of American media politics. Sat, 8 pm Q&A w/filmmaker. | |
| Drowning Era (NH/65min /2008/Alex Garrett) After a devastating pandemic, three men, who have been looking for other survivors, must endure the long winter at an old, desolate sawmill. Sun, 6 pm |  |
| Easter Eve (MA/ 14min /2008/ Joe Tronatore) The truth about the Easter bunny has been discovered…. Sun, 6 pm | |
| The Faking of the President (NY/80 min/1976/Alan Abel) This rarely screened faux documentary features scenes starring famed Nixon-imitator Jim M. Dixon inter-cut with archival news footage. The audio track was created via splicing together snippets of the ex-President’s actual voice. Sifted from hundreds of hours of interviews, the Abel’s manipulated and re-edited Nixon’s words, syllable-by-syllable, to make him utter outrageous things. In this pastiche, the audience is treated to a full confession from a tearful Nixon and many more interesting vignettes. Q&A with filmmaker. Sat, 6pm |  |
| Fathers (ME/17 min/ 2007/Bridget Lake) Mike, a middle-aged factory foreman with a wife and teenage daughter, loses his job when the town mill closes. His unemployment threatens to unhinge him and his family. Can he realize this before it’s too late? | |
| For A Few Marbles More (Netherlands/11min/ 2006/Jelmar Hufen) Two aggressive drunks kick four ten-year-olds out of their favorite playground. Getting help will mean paying a price. Sun, 12pm |  |
| For The Birds (Canada/2min/ 2008/ Malcolm Johnstone) A descendent of Antarctic explorers attempts to revive and expand their strange research, against all manner of obstacles. Sat, 12pm, 6pm |  |
| Four Minutes On An Abandoned Bridge (NC/4 min/2007/ Todd Tinkham) Ordinary places - at certain times, under a certain light - can become extraordinary. Spend four minutes at one such place. healing image: the mandalas of David Bookbinder - A man, devastated by medical malpractice, returns to photography and discovers the mandala form. He also becomes a psychotherapist, helping others as he learns spiritual wholeness by making mandalas. Sat, 10:30am |
 |
| Gólgota (Spain/27 min/ 2008/Roman Rubert) Ródeno, a family father who lives in a rural zone, discovers a letter of his wife, Gólgota. (Spanish w/ English subtitles) Sat, 10:30am |  |
| Healing Image: The Mandalas of David Bookbinder (MA/ 13 min/2008/Lawrence Pruyne) A man, devastated by medical malpractice, returns to photography and discovers the mandala form. He becomes a psychotherapist and helps others as he seeks spiritual wholeness by making mandalas. Sat, 10:30am |  |
| HELLDRIVERS: America’s Original Crash Test Dummies (NH/ 60min/2007/ Darren Garnick) Meet the last American “HellDRIVERS” a traveling band of daredevils who smash school busses, mobile homes and flaming garbage trucks - with no more protection than a motorcycle helmet and an ordinary seat belt. Harboring no dreams for Hollywood, New England’s own Doug Danger and Crash Moreau barely earn enough to fill their gas tanks. For them, though, almost dying is the only way to live. Film footage includes Danger’s longest motorcycle jump in Loudon, NH, enshrined in the Guinness Book of World Records, and his near-death crash that happened in Hudson, NH. Fri, 9 pm | 
Q&A to follow screening |
| Heroes, No Hacen Falta Alas Para Volar (Heroes, Wings Are Not Necessary To Fly) (Spain/25 min/ 2007/Angel Loza) Pascal Kleiman was born without arms, but this circumstance did not impede him to continue with his career as a disc jockey in techno music. A clear example that proves the willpower is stronger than any obstacle, whatever it is. (Spanish w/ English subtitles) Sat, 10:30am |  |
| Immokalee U.S.A. (FL/77 min/ 2008/George Koszulinski) Recently honored at the 4th Annual Docufest Atlanta with the “Best Director” award granted to Immokalee U.S.A. and Georg Koszulinski, this feature-length documentary is an account of migrant farm workers in the U.S.A and boasts a fascinating cast of characters, from Panchito, the lonely romantic who plucks his guitar with a weary hand, to the heartbreaking Mateo Diego, whose grasp on reality seems to fade with each succeeding interview. What is our collective role in this chain of servitude, the film seems to ask us, providing an opening for self-reflection rather than didactic sermonizing. Sat, 8pm |  |
| In The Shadows Of Monadnock (MA/6 min/2007/ Karen Aqua and students) This charming animated film traces the colorful natural and cultural history of NH’s beloved Mount Monadnock. Made by 7th grade students at Mountain Shadows School in Dublin, NH, with the support of the McDowell Colony in Peterborough, NH, this film was one of McDowell’s “Peterborough Projects,” in honor of the Colony’s centennial. Sun, 12pm | |
| Jake Ramsey and the Vampire Arcanum (Australia/ 16 min/ 2005/Daniel Inglese) In this fiendishly well-shot noir horror, Jake Ramsey must solve a supernatural murder, or is he just seeing things? Sun, 12pm | |
| Love And Class In Connecticut (CT/40 min/2007 Doug Tenaglia) Based on a play by Susan Cinoman. No one has invited Tina, the black sheep, Bohemian sister, to be at the naming ceremony of her sister’s new baby. Tina shows up anyway, not to see the baby, but to see the baby’s father and to make sure that he sees her. After sleeping with construction workers for too long, Tina has found a handsome doctor to rescue her from her life. The fact that he is her estranged sister’s husband will not stand in her way, but her mother and the handyman might. Best Narrative Short - NE Film and Video Festival. Sun, 2pm |  |
| Made In Japan (Spain/5 min/2007/Ciro Aletabas) “…My mother admitted that the man who I thought was my father was not my father.” (Spanish w/ English subtitles) Sat, 10:30am |  |
| Mr. Big (Canada/ 89min/ 2007/Tiffany Burns) After her brother, Sebastian Burns, confesses and is convicted of murder, director Tiffany Burns takes a closer look at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police undercover sting known as “Mr. Big,” where police pose as organized criminals who offer target money and threaten violence, at the same time they seek confessions for unsolved murders. Sat, 12pm |  |
| Monster Road (NC/80min /2005/Brett Ingram) Enter the dazzling and fantastic worlds of legendary underground clay animator Bruce Bickford in this “eerie and affectionate” (Chicago Reader) documentary portrait of a man and his obsessions. Winner of the Best Documentary in the 2004 Slamdance Film Festival. Fri, 7pm; Sat, 10:30am |  |
| Nerdcore Rising (NY/80 min/2008/Negin Farsad) Nerdcore Rising follows MC Frontalot the “Godfather of Nerdcore” on his first national tour to reveal the roots of the genre, the dorky complexities of its artists, and one MC’s fight for nerd stardom. Fri, 9pm; Sat, 10:30am; Sat, 6pm | |
| No Escape (NY/2 min/2007 Patrick Johnson) A young man, marooned on a small planet, attempt to reach his beloved, who lives across the solar system. | |
| Notes on the Fair (NY/6 min/ 2008/John D. Scott) Kinetic visual expression of a bustling New England Fair. Sat, 10:30am | |
| One Below Even (NH/ 20 min/2007/Jeremy Mohler) Charles hits a near hole-in-one that is mistaken for a hole-in-one by another golfer. He goes along with it and is exposed to the high society country club world. Sun, 6pm |  |
| Pascha (CA/13 min/2008/Fay Lellios) The journey to Pascha, also called Easter, or the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, in the Eastern Orthodox community of Concord, New Hampshire. Filmed by SNOB’s own Peter Burgess, Mike Eschenbach, and Bill Whitman. Sat, 10:30am | |
| Pinko’s Place (CA/79min/2007/ Daniel Printz) A young L.A. transplant must see through his neighbor’s lies in this dark comedy. Sat, 2pm | |
| Play-By-Play Men and the Art of the Perfect Call (MA/ 76min/ 2007/Ziad Hamzeh) Sit beside Baseball Hall of Fame’s Ernie Harwell, voice of the Detroit Tigers and six-time winner of Sportscaster of the Year; Chicago Cubs’ Pat Hughes, two-time winner of Washington’s Sportscaster of the Year; Seattle Mariners’ Hall of Famer Dave Neihaus; former MLB player, Detroit Tigers’ announcer Jim Price, the Baltimore Orioles’ Joe Angel, and the Red Sox play-by-play-man of twenty-five years, Joe Castiglione, for an insider’s look at the inside craft of play-by-play. Sun, 6pm |  |
| Porque Hay Cosas Que Nunca Se Olvidan (Because There Are Things You Never Forget) (Spain/ 13 min/2008/Lucas Figueroa) Naples, Italy, 1950: Four friends are playing soccer out on the street when their ball is accidentally kicked into the evil old lady’s yard. They’ll never play with their ball again … and for that the revenge will be deadly. (Spanish in English subtitles) Sat, 10:30am |  |
| Prometheus’ Garden (NC/28min/ 1988/Brett Ingram) This haunting film immerses viewers in a cinematic universe unlike any other. Its dark and magical images unfold in a dreamlike stream of consciousness and reveal an unlikely cast of characters engaged in a struggle for survival. Fri, 7pm; Sat, 10:30am |  |
| Put Him In The Ground (NH/ 15 min/2008/Jonathan Buiel) Marcus, 24, is the sole caretaker of his younger brother, Frankie, aged 16. After their mother abandons them, Marcus drops out of music school and takes a job as a janitor to support Frankie. Unable to stray too far from music, Marcus attempts to become a famous, rich rap star, no matter what the consequences. Sun, 2pm & Sat, 12pm |  |
| Racing Daylight (NY/83 min/ 2007/Nicole Quinn) A ghost story, a murder mystery and a love story which crosses time. What happens when time collides? Sadie thinks she’s going insane. Edmund’s sure he’s being haunted. And Henry, well Henry’s racing daylight. Starring David Strathairn and Melissa Leo. Fri, 7pm |
 Q&A with Nicole Quinn, writer, director, producer follows the show. This show is sponsored by Lincoln Financial Foundation.
|
| Radio Cape Cod (MA/72 min/2008/Andrew Silver) Radio Cape Cod is an energizing, award-winning love story set on Cape Cod. Tamzin Outhwaite stars as a radio interviewer and single mom coming to terms with a dashing scientist entering her life and her teenage daughter experiencing her first love. Fresh, fun, natural, and uplifting. Best Cinematography at the 2008 All American Film Festival, Durham NC. Sun, 2pm |  |
| A Rendezvous… (CA/10 min/ 2007/Laura Black) An alluring couple meet in a café only find their underlying attraction for each other undermines the true reason for their meeting. They came. They conspired. They drank lattes. Sun, 2pm | |
| Roses Have Thorns (NY/97min/ 2008/Jong W. Lee) The collision of deceptive perspectives caused by a failed cross-cultural relationship. Sat, 3:30pm |  |
| Scouts Are Cancelled (NY/72 min/2007/John D. Scott) Middle-aged, way broke, with nothing to lose, maverick telemarketer John Stiles invents rural routes inspired call center performance art, at first to woo his cold calls, but after its success to launch an improbable “career” as a performance poet. Sat, 2pm |  |
| Shadow Worlds (MA/18 min/ 2007/James Higgins) Three young Khmer women struggle to reconcile an American dreamscape of gangs, addiction, and alienation with the traditions of their Cambodian culture. Where is the love? Sat, 10:30am | |
| Sibyllan (Sweden/19 min/ 2008/Jona Elfdahl, Elin Maria Johannseon, Fredric Berg) Five people visit an underground nation of cripples and poets, where there is one body and one blood, with many diseases. Sat, 10:30am |  |
| Silent Monsoon (28min) Nabarsiyeko Jhari) - In a rural village in Nepal, Durga struggles to save her twelve-year-old daughter, Laxmi, from the family profession of prostitution. Sat, 3:30pm |  |
| Stiff Napoleon (CA/21 min/ 2008/ Lila McLaughlin) An aspiring newspaper reporter gets more than he bargained for with his first major article and its unpredictable and unruly subject. Sun, 2pm |  |
| Talking Guitars (Netherlands/ 72 min/2007/ Claire Pijman) Meet master guitar craftsman, Flip Scipio, an unassuming Dutchmen with an obsession. His clients include Jackson Browne, David Lindley, Ben Taylor, Paul Simon, David Tronzo, Leni Stern and Carly Simon. It is claimed that Flip “can make the worst piece of sh*t sing”. Sat, 2pm |  |
| This Bus, Every Day (4 min)- “I ride this bus every day and every day I think about my life: my family, my parents, childhood.” So begins this quietly powerful short film about life, reflection, and the importance of memories in all our lives. Sat, 10:30am; Sun, 2pm | |
| Truce (MA/14 min/ 2008/ Sharon Perpignani) Truce is an original short film about a mother who is constantly engaged in battle with her teenage daughter. After seeing a series of therapists, each of which is loonier than the last, the warring mother and daughter come to an understanding - or do they? Sun, 2pm |  |
| The Visual Orchestra (IL/2 min/2006/David Burns) Using color and form, an original music score comes to life. This short film explores relationships between audio and visual rhythms through the representation of a experimental sonic track. Sat, 10:30am |  |
| “Why We Love the Movies” Panel discussion with Barry Steelman, Amy Diaz and Bob Pingree. Sat, 3:30pm | |
| Wiener Takes All: A Dogumentary (Canada/89 min/2007/Shane MacDougall) Take a journey into the unexplored world of competitive wiener dogs, home to capacity crowds, healthy dachshunds, and rabid owners. “Wiener” unleashes the truth as it tracks America’s fastest weenies on a tour of the national dachshund racing circuit. Crisscrossing the continent, we get the inside scoop on what makes these champion dogs and their colorful owners tick. Sun, 12pm |  |
| The Wizard Rockumentary: A Movie About Rocking and Rowling (USA/92 min/2008/Mallory and Megan Schuyler) Enter a world where music is magic, love is power, and reading is cool, the world of wizard rock. This movie documents the wrock community through the year looking up to the final Harry Potter book release, their rise from less than 30 bands to 450, and their journey from obscurity to international media coverage. Sun, 2pm |  |
| Woodpecker (MA/87 min/2008/Alex Karpovski) An inventive hybrid of narrative comedy and documentary detail, Woodpecker is set against the true-life backdrop of devout birdwatchers that have descended upon a small town in the Arkansas bayou in hopes of finding the celebrated Ivory Billed Woodpecker. Declared extinct in the 1940’s, the bird has recently been positively identified by experienced ornithologists. Yet despite massive efforts to obtain undisputable visual proof of the woodpecker’s existence, not a single clear photo exists. Enter amateur birder and poet Johnny Neander, convinced that he will be the one to find the elusive ivory-billed. The ensuing chaos divides the small town between believers and non-believers, committed environmentalists and opportunistic entrepreneurs. Much like the bird itself, Woodpecker explores the intersection of fact and fiction, manipulating our notions of documentary and narrative techniques within a tragic comedy about hope, perception, and some very, very strange birds. Sat, 12pm |  |
