LEAVE NO TRACE: MOUNTAIN BIKING, short PSA film for kids, Directed by Susy Alkaitis & Michael Ramsay (Colorado). Stay on the trail, share the trail, and pick up after your dog! Pack it out with you; don’t litter the wildlands trails.

LEAVE NO TRACE: SOAKERS, short PSA film for kids, Directed by Susy Alkaitis & Michael Ramsay (Colorado). Kids play war-games in the woods: a message to remind people to always put out those campfires…dead!

I AM A CAR, short PSA film, “Two Minutes on Earth” series, courtesy Rocky Mountain PBS, funded by the EPA, for kids & adults, Directed by Michael Spencer (Colorado). A 1930’s black & white film noir, starring a mob character who is a classic car, strongly advising its owners to pay attention to environmental protection. It’s a message they cannot refuse!

CINDERELLA'S BUSY DAY, short PSA film, “2 Minutes on Earth” series , funded by the EPA, for kids & adults, Directed by Michael Spencer (Colorado). The iconic heroine wishes she could use less toxic cleaning products to clean up after her famously dysfunctional family and gets a spellbinding surprise from her hip Fairy Godmother.

SAUCERMANIA, short PSA film, , “Two Minutes on Earth” series, courtesy Rocky Mountain PBS, funded by the EPA, for kids & adults, Directed by Michael Spencer (Colorado). Space aliens discover people recycling and re-using, and decide to cancel their invasion of Earth!

WATER NIGHTMARE, short PSA film, “Two Minutes on Earth” series, courtesy Rocky Mountain PBS, funded by the EPA, for kids & adults, Directed by Michael Spencer (Colorado). A man learns that leaking, dripping water from sinks, toilets & hoses, in the millions of gallons, is the same as cash money going down the drain.

RECYCLED FORTUNES, short PSA film, “Two Minutes on Earth” series, courtesy Rocky Mountain PBS, funded by the EPA, for kids & adults, Directed by Michael Spencer (Colorado). A wise fortune-teller warns a young couple about the costs and dangers of not recycling, re-using, and buying re-manufactured products, in the home and office.

TASNIM, short film for kids, Directed by: Elite Zexer (Israel). Tasnim, a strong and opinionated 10-year-old, lives with her mother and siblings in a neglected Bedouin village in the Negev. A surprise visit from her father in the village forces her, for the first time in her life, to confront the conservative norms of the family tribe and the fact that she is no longer daddy's little girl.

SEEDS OF OPPORTUNITY, short animation for kids, Directed by: Andy Collen (USA). Even though females make up more than half of the population, only seven cents out of each charitable dollar go to programs that solely benefit women and girls in the state of Connecticut. Except for the Fund for Women and Girls through the Fairfield County Community Foundation Fund. This short film was designed to inspire support for the growth of this organization through its simple hand-drawn ink line animation.

THE DOOR GAME, short film for kids, Directed by teen filmmaker, Evan Ram (US). A boy discovers a dream-like video game, only to find its real-world surreal quality tethered to a strict adherence to the rules…or else!

THE 36, short film for kids & adults, Directed by teen filmmaker: Nic Weinfeld (USA). The film is set in 1945 Poland, after the Holocaust camps were liberated and WWII came to an end. The protagonist of the story is an older, Arian, Polish woman who witnesses the harassment of two liberated Jewish women passing through her town. She must make the decision whether to bring the Jews into her home despite the common prejudice that her neighbors hold towards them. Her actions toward these Jewish women in their time of need was a rare act of kindness, representative of that of the righteous 36. Derived from Yiddish, a theory that the fate of the world rests, at any given time, in the hands of 36 righteous people. They are put on earth to perform the healing of the world. They do not know they are one of the 36, nor does anyone else. They will always be among us.

THE DRAMA, short film for teens, Co-directed by teen filmmakers, Joe Flowers & Mathew Grodsky (USA). THE DRAMA follows a rag-tag group of high school students through the process of rehearsing and mounting plays and musicals at their high school. BRENT, an outsider athlete unknowingly thrust into the world of theater, falls hard for the lead ingenue JENNA. Despite the advice of his jock buddies, Brent decides to audition for the musical against the supremely talented and devious Viggo. Can Brent withstand the pressure and keep his cool long enough to impress Jenna, or will Viggo's underhanded backstabbing get the best of him? THE DRAMA is an original television pilot was created and shot by the Advanced Drama students and their theater teacher at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix, Arizona.

TALES OF WOE, short film for teens, Directed by: teen filmmaker, Ryan J. Saunders (USA). Four friends each have a terrible day, and decide to make a bet on whose day was the worst, but with a surprise twist at the end!

SHNEY DEGALIM  (TWO FLAGS), feature film for kids & adults, Directed by: Lior Molcho (Israel). The movie 'Two Flags', set in the time of WW2, tells in a voice that speaks to children and adults, the story of a small group of underdog kids fighting to save their home from their local bully. This kid's fight turns into full blown war led by the underdog's leader, Yashek, an immigrant boy from Poland who escaped Nazi Europe looking for a better life in Israel. The hero of the movie is a young Jewish Boy named Yashek who escapes Europe on the last boat to Israel on the eve of WWII, 1939. The Young Immigrant befriends a group of Outcast children in his new school, a friendship that pits him against the school bully and his gang. When the Bully comes to destroy the children Wooden fortress, the kids must decide: How far will you go to defend your home. The Historic landscapes of the 1930’s, the action, drama, Nostalgia and Visual effects create an age-less adventure, for the young and young at heart.

THE INSATIABLE MOON, feature film, Directed by: Rosemary Riddell (New Zealand). When Arthur, self-proclaimed second son of God, sets out to save the world he loves, miracles can happen. With his band of ragged street people, he brings wonder and hope to his gritty urban life. At a chance meeting, despairing housewife Margaret, lonely and infertile, wonders at her own grip on reality when she falls for the big Maori man and his enchanting tales. A night of mystical sex under the light of that looming moon leaves her teetering on the brink of fantasy. Was it all meant to be? But Arthur, single-minded, must be about his mission. When the closure of his communal home is threatened, he sees an opportunity to prove his heavenly credentials. Working in concert with his unlikely band of no-hopers, Arthur preaches his vision of a just and caring society to those who would destroy his world. Just when it seems he has worked another of his miracles, his own interior world begins to disintegrate. The centre won't hold. Increasingly confused and distracted, he is confined to the local psychiatric ward, where doctors pronounce him delusional and drug him into submission. Those like Margaret who have come to believe in him face a new and agonising doubt. Has it all come to nothing? Was Arthur's life offered in vain? But even in the face of despair, it seems that Arthur’s magic continues...

THE TURKISH PASSPORT, feature documentary film, Directed by: Burak Arliel ((Turkey). The Turkish Passport tells the daring story of diplomats posted to Turkish Embassies and Consulates in several European countries, who saved numerous Jews during the Second World War. Based on the testimonies of witnesses, who traveled to Istanbul to find safety, the Turkish Passport also uses written historical documents and archive footage to tell this passionate story of rescue and bring to light the events of the time. The diplomats did not only save the lives of Turkish Jews. They also rescued many foreign Jewish families  condemned to a certain death by giving them Turkish Passports. In this dark period of history, their actions lit the candle of hope and allowed these people to escape the Nazis, avoid being sent to prison camps, and travel to Turkey, where they found freedom.

AS IF I AM NOT THERE, feature film, Directed by: Juanita Wilson (Ireland). AS IF I AM NOT THERE is a moving story of a young woman, Samira, from Sarajevo, Serbia, whose life is shattered the day a young soldier walks uninvited into her apartment and tells her to pack her things. Rounded up with the other women from the village where she has taken up a teaching post and imprisoned in a warehouse in a remote region of Bosnia, Samira quickly learns the rules of camp life. The day she is picked out to 'entertain' the soldiers is the day the real nightmare begins. Stripped of everything she has ever had and facing the constant threat of death, Samira struggles against all the hatred she sees around her. In a final act of courage or madness, she decides to make one last stand: to dare to be herself. And it is this simple act that saves her life. It is when she realizes that surviving means more than just staying alive that she has to make a decision, a decision that will change her life forever. As If I Am Not There is a modern war story that explores love, identity and the connections between us all.

CANKERED AND CURSED, animation film, Directed by Todd DeJong (USA). A sisterhood of evil witches who must avoid getting possessed by the goodness that surrounds them, before it’s too late.

WOMEN IN THE DIRT: LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS SHAPING OUR WORLD, feature documentary, Directed by: Carolann Stoney (USA). Landscape frames our days: trees or flowers, sidewalks and walls, city parks or private gardens. But who envisions this framework for our daily lives? Women in the Dirt is a documentary about seven groundbreaking landscape architects. Their work ranges from intimate, jewel-like gardens to vast urban projects. Artists and scientists, the women bring to their work awareness of sustainability, function, and beauty. Women in the Dirt reveals how these self-described, masters of the obvious create the sublime.

SUNDAY'S BEST, short documentary, Directed by Chad Tingle & Russell Katzman (USA). Sundays Best was commissioned by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. This fascinating documentary explores the tradition of wearing crowns and features women who wear extraordinary hats to church services on Sundays. Focusing on the tradition within Miami’s own black community, the film incorporates interviews, vintage and contemporary photography and, of course, that wonderful gospel music.

TRIBOLUMINESCENCE, animation film, Directed by: Benjamin Ridgway (USA). The film 'Triboluminescence' gives the impression of constant movement and a seamless unfolding of glowing abstract forms. It is intended as a digital muse and an opportunity to engage in a world of abstraction that has it's own intrinsic meaning and message. The movie is a syntactical arrangement that does not rely on words. Rather, it stimulates archetypal associations and invites the viewer to make personal connections to the visual and auditory experience without any reliance on narrative.

CALL OF THE MAESTROS, feature documentary film, directed by Lou Hamilton, (UK). 'Call of the Maestro' is a journey undertaken to uncover how a 3000 year-old tradition of Indian classical music is surviving a modern world. Passed down from generation to generation there is a threat now that young people are less interested in dedicating their lives to learning the skills of an art form that is a highly complex mix of structure, improvisation and spiritual faith. The current great Maestros of India are now in their 80's and 90s, and unless they can inspire the next generation, their music is at risk of dying with them. The film follows a student of music and a promoter of Indian Classical music as they travel around India finding the Maestros who have dedicated their careers to keeping the music alive.

MEHERJAAN, feature film, Directed by: Rubaiyat Hossain (Bangladesh). Meherjaan is a film about loving the Other. Meherjaan gives away with the unitary masculine narrative in order to usher in emotional multiplicity of feminine emotion and sensibility. This film critiques certain pitfalls of nationalism that create conditions to justify war, killing and violence. Finally, Meherjaan attempts to offer an aesthetic solution to war and violence by taking refuge in love and spiritual submission. Finally, at the bottom of the box of stories, like lurking hope, there is the secret story of Meher’s own past of falling in love with a man from the enemy side. The stigma of loving an enemy has been heavy on her. However, when Sarah, the war-child says, “your story gives me hope!”—Meher finally feels forgiven. Together, Sarah and Meher gain the strength, courage and hope to go forward. The haunting traditional music of Bangladesh creates its own story, and this film score won at Moondance 2011.

THE GAME, short film, Directed by: Jon Cohen (Australia). James and Anna, a happily married young couple, like to play pranks on each other. Tonight, James decides it's time for hide and seek, with a twist. He pulls out furry leopard print handcuffs, and challenges Anna to find the key within 5 minutes, the time it takes him to go buy wine for dinner. Anna knows he's normally dreadful at hiding things, a game they've played before, so she agrees and lets him cuff her hands behind her back. Wishing her luck, he leaves to buy the wine. She's barely has time to start looking when the phone rings... James parents, her in-laws, have decided to come say hi, and they'll be there in 5 minutes! So begins a race against the clock, will she find the key in time. Her husband helpfully leaves her a clue: think inside the box. But she can't find the key in any of the normal boxes... maybe the letterbox! But she encounters an old lady who just wants to talk, and a little girl who thinks she's playing cops and robbers on her journey there. But the key is not there either! Running back inside, the husband has left her another clue, how is revenge best served . . . COLD. He's frozen the key in an ice cube! She tries to melt it in her mouth so she can unlock herself... And she swallows the key! The in-laws are almost there, and the husband is walking back... what can she do?

NEANDER-JIN: THE RETURN OF THE NEANDERTHAL MAN, feature film, Directed by: Florian Steinbiss (Germany). Neander-Jin is a screwball comedy about the media buzz surrounding the homecoming of Germany's most prominent citizen, a 50,000 year-old Neanderthal Man, to his native town near Düsseldorf. After an explosion at a pumping station in the Neanderthal valley, a technician discovers the troglodyte, but no one believes him and he is whisked into a psychiatric hospital. Meanwhile, the ruthless citizens of the modern world give chase to our 50.000-year-old ancestor. A madcap pack of semi-criminal tabloid journalists, publicity hound anthropologists, and power-hungry media bosses compete for the fame and wealth the commercialization of this world-wide sensation promises. Our Neanderthal Man beset by the maelstrom of modern society with its multitude of temptations finds a safe harbor in the garden shed of a 23-year-old student of environmental planning. She takes him under her wing in order to save 'the last living testimony of former humanity and naturalness' from the corrupting influences of western civilization. But when her altruistic feelings turn to romantic ones, she is faced with compromising her ethics, or losing the only person- or primitive- she has ever truly loved. A comedic snapshot of the ultimate reality experience. The Return Of The Neanderthal Man plays with different genres and styles, parodying a wide range of movies. It delivers a highly entertaining story that is joyful with absurd surprises. All audiences are sure to enjoy this movie!

KTO YA? (WHO AM I?), feature film, Directed by: Klim Shipenko (Russia). This story begins at the Sevastopol train station in the early rainy morning. On the platform near Moscow-Sevastopol train the police finds a young man without documents, who has lost his memory. He remembers a lot of facts: historical dates, songs of his favorite band “Serga“, but he can’t recollect his name or say where he is from and what his family is.

STABAT, animation film, directed by Luciano DeFraia (Italy). The narrative journey of the film begins with the voyage of angelic figures through endless territories of space and time. It is the voyage of the conscience in search of a sense of life, on the trail of illuminated existences. Stabat is dedicated to the memory of all pacifists who have fought to change the world. The director, Luciano DeFraia, passed away suddenly in June, and the screening of this film is a grateful tribute to him.