AFI PROJECT: 20/20 is an American Film Institute (AFI) international initiative designed to enhance cultural exchange, understanding and collaboration through filmmakers and their films from the US and abroad. It is an unprecedented cultural diplomacy effort that is supported by the US cultural agencies -- National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) -- and the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, US Department of State and the Global Cultural Initiative (a program announced by Mrs. Laura Bush in September 2006). AFI FEST 2007 presented by Audi will launch the second year of this program.
Participation in AFI PROJECT: 20/20 is by invitation based on an artist's filmmaking excellence and his or her potential for positively interrelating with film professionals, filmmaking peers, cultural officials and audiences, particularly in foreign countries. AFI FEST and the other venues and countries participating in AFI PROJECT: 20/20 provide an arena for American and international cultural voices to be heard and seen, creating learning opportunities for audiences and artists alike. Through workshops, seminars and appearances at film festivals, cultural centers, museums and other community, educational and cultural venues in the US and abroad, AFI PROJECT: 20/20 filmmakers will promote mutual understanding, while nurturing filmmaking excellence.
The second year of the program begins at AFI FEST in Los Angeles, November 1-11, and will include seven American and international filmmakers and four alumni from the first year. Representing 12 countries, 2007 AFI PROJECT: 20/20 introduces a multicultural roster of films signifying a universal perspective that challenges us to examine, reflect and celebrate diversity.
AFI PROJECT: 20/20 Filmmakers
Alberto Arvelo (Venezuela) CYRANO FERNANDEZ From the slums of Venezuela comes this outrageously original adaptation of Cyrano De Bergerac. Can a woman see past a man's scarred face and find true romantic happiness? The gloriously gritty backdrop pumps up the stakes for this tale of tough love.
Chris Bowman (USA) AMERICAN FORK At nearly 400 pounds, Tracy (Hubbel Palmer) is a wide target. When he sets out to pursue his dream of acting, the grocery clerk finds an assortment of people to dash his dreams: his acting coach (THE SQUID AND THE WHALE's William Baldwin), who has designs on his sister; his juvenile-delinquent friends who suck him into their petty crimes; and his God-fearing, self-loathing mother (Academy Award nominee Kathleen Quinlan). Through it all, Tracy remains irrepressibly upbeat, convinced he's destined for something big.
Weijun Chen (China) PLEASE VOTE FOR ME How do you build democracy in the world's largest communist community? Start small ... very small. This charming film follows the intense politicking to become class monitor of a third-grade class in Wahun Province.
Andreas M. Dalsgaard (Denmark) AFGHAN MUSCLES Men's bodybuilding is one Afghanistan's most popular public sports, a source of local and national pride in a society where there is too often little reason to be proud. We follow the Afghan national team as its members qualify and travel to compete in the "Mr. Asia" bodybuilding championship. This unusual backdrop allows for a documentary about Islamic culture that has absolutely nothing to do with politics, religion or American imperialism.
Doug Pray (USA) BIG RIG From documentarian Doug Pray comes this lyrical voyage through the world of long-haul trucking. Like a funky country tune, the film rolls down the road while following a diverse cast of characters who literally drive the shipping and supply lines of America.
Jeffery Schwarz (USA) SPINE TINGLER! THE WILLIAM CASTLE STORY This documentary chronicles the last great American showman. A master of ballyhoo who became a brand name in movie horror with his outrageous audience participation gimmicks, Castle treated delighted moviegoers to buzzing seats, flying skeletons, luminescent ghosts and life insurance policies against "death by fright." Director Jeffrey Schwarz relates Castle's rags-to-riches tale with appropriate brio, including a wealth of entertaining archival footage and numerous interviews with the impresario's friends, family and fans.
Salif Traore (Mali) FARO - GODDESS OF THE WATER Zanga, the village bastard, comes back to his rural town after studying engineering in the city. He finds his village is still bound to the old beliefs of the river Faro that is the god of their world. Soon the old traditions begin to clash with his new knowledge.
2007 AFI PROJECT: 20/20 Alumni
Jay Craven (USA) DISAPPEARANCES Set in the Prohibition-era, this whiskey-running adventure based on the award-winning novel by Howard Frank Mosher, takes place along the Vermont-Canadian border. With a unique style influenced by magical realism, the film features a standout performance from cinematic legend Kris Kristofferson.
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Mohammed Naqvi (Canada/Pakistan) SHAME In 2002, following the tribal custom of "honor for honor," a young woman, Mukhtar Mai, was gang-raped and then publicly paraded for a crime her younger brother committed. Mai set out to seek justice. SHAME is her transformative journey from a simple peasant woman into a world human rights icon -- who gave the village that shamed her two schools and a women's crisis center.
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J.B. Rutagarama (Rwanda/UK) BACK HOME BACK HOME is the first film about the Rwandan genocide made by an actual survivor. The true story of director J.B. Rutagarama, who was adopted by reporters as he fled the killings and given a new life, Rutagarama takes us along as he returns to his homeland to confront what happened there.
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Amie Williams (USA) NO SWEAT An all-American tale about an all-American garment -- the T-shirt -- this documentary takes a wild ride into the bowels of the Los Angeles garment industry. Mostly undocumented workers at American Apparel and SweatX are offered better wages, benefits, even a shot at worker-ownership. But what's really behind the label?
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For more information about AFI PROJECT: 20/20 please contact Stacey Marbrey, smarbrey@AFI.com.
PRESS CONTACTS:
Stacey Marbrey, AFI PROJECT: 20/20, smarbrey@AFI.com
Alison Deknatel, American Film Institute, 323.856.7896, adeknatel@AFI.com
Kimber Craine, President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, kcraine@PCAH.gov
AFI PROJECT: 20/20 is an American Film Institute (AFI) international initiative designed to enhance cultural exchange, understanding and collaboration through filmmakers and their films from the US and abroad. It is an unprecedented cultural diplomacy effort that is supported by the US cultural agencies -- National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) -- and the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, US Department of State and the Global Cultural Initiative (a program announced by Mrs. Laura Bush in September 2006). AFI FEST 2007 presented by Audi will launch the second year of this program.
