 T. David Franklin Founder, President Pare Lorentz International Film Festival Please join me for a FREE Weekend of Documentary & Independent Films at the First Annual Pare Lorentz International Film Festival here in Clarksburg, WV December 11th - 13th, 2009. Since You are a supporter of the CREATIVE ARTS COMMUNITY here in Clarksburg, I would like to personally invite you to attend a VIP RECEPTION. Friday December 11th, 2009 at 6 PM at the historic Waldomore Mansion, and help me welcome our international guests. Submit Your Film For FREE! Pare Lorentz Film Festival Clarksburg, WV Dec 11-13, 2009 ALL Categories WelcomeFriday December 11th, 2009 ONE SHOW BEGINS at 7pm Saturday December 12th, ALL DAY FIRST SHOW BEGINS at 9am, LAST SHOW STARTS at 7PM Sunday December 13th, ONE SHOW BEGINS at 7pm at The Waldomore NO FEE Film Entry Submission Form located at the bottom of this page as an attachment    In celebration of the modern evolution of the documentary film, the International Documentary Association (IDA) and the West Virginia Movie Museum presents The Pare Lorentz Film Festival in honor of the best of recent documentary film. These are the films that inspire the best in all of us -- the films that address issues of social justice, pressing social problems, environmental or "green" themes, and appropriate use of the natural environment. The Pare Lorentz Film Festival is comprised of eight of the best documentaries from the last few years...as well as four films from documentary pioneer Pare Lorentz, (who was born in Clarksburg, WV on December 11th, 1905), whose work can be considered a touchstone for the modern documentary movement. These are all films that have been recognized as significant contributors in the evolution of the documentary form, and have been named IDA/PARE LORENTZ AWARD winners by the IDA - the leading documentary association in North America. Supported by the New York Community Trust, and the West Virginia Movie Museum. THE FILMS OF PARE LORENTZ THE PLOW THAT BROKE THE PLAINS (1936)  With The Plow That Broke the Plains, his first film and the first US Government-sponsored documentary, Pare Lorentz won praise and wide recognition for using sensitive photography, dramatic editing and a beautiful score by composer Virgil Thomson to illuminate a local problem of national importance – the challenges faced by wheat farmers and cattle ranchers in the Great Plains. As the film climaxes in a vivid portrait of the record drought that produced the dust bowl and the plight of the "blown out, baked and broke" people who felt its impact, it becomes clear that a new master of the documentary form has found his voice. 25 minutes THE RIVER (1938)  In The River, Pare Lorentz deploys powerful images, a poetic Pulitzer Prize-nominated script and another score by Virgil Thomson to illustrate the problems of flood control on the Mississippi River and the efforts to correct it. While arguing that the building of dams would put an end to the destruction of crops and property brought about by the havoc of annual floods, Lorentz reveals the ways the river has been misused, and presents a stirring paen to America’s natural landscape, and the proud history with which it is imbued. 31 minutes THE FIGHT FOR LIFE (1941)  In this short feature, based on a book by Paul De Kruit, Lorentz presents a staged re-enactment of an emergency childbirth in an urban hospital. As the story of the mother’s difficult delivery and death in spite of valiant efforts by the doctors to save her unfolds, The Fight For Life reveals the crisis of health and pre-natal care among the urban poor of the period, and explores the impoverished lives of the working people of the cities, who live in slums and tenements where they are forced to suffer from the disabling diseases endemic in such environments. 69 minutes NUREMBERG (1946)  Nuremberg is a grim, unflinching account of the Nuremberg trials, and of the war crimes that made them necessary, told almost entirely without editorial comment. During the trials, the courtroom was dominated by a large motion picture screen upon which the prosecution showed films of Nazi atrocities. Much of this footage was confiscated from the private libraries of high Nazi officials and, ironically, proved to be the most damning evidence against them. Working with more than a million feet of film, and inter cutting excerpts from these films with sequences from the trial, Lorentz and his staff created an absorbing historical narrative showing the rise of Hitler, the subjugation of most of Europe--and the systematic murder of millions of innocent people. 75 minutes PARE LORENTZ AWARD WINNING FILMS MANDELA: SON OF AFRICA, FATHER OF A NATION Directed by Jo Menell 118 Minutes Winner 1997  A captivating view of the indomitable spirit if one of the world’s most fascinating figures, this full-length documentary follows Nelson Mandela from his early days and tribal education to his election as South Africa’s first black president. Providing insights into his early life, the film takes us through Mandela’s childhood, adolescence, career in law and first marriage. “Mandela” is an absorbing look at the courageous life, tribulations and fortitude of Mandela the leader, while never forgetting the engaging and charismatic spirit of Mandela the man, as seen through exclusive interviews and narration from Mandela himself. SUGIHARA CONSPIRACY OF KINDNESS Directed by Rob Kirk 103 Minutes Winner 2000  In the fall of 1939, Hitler's murderous wave was sweeping through Eastern Europe. In the face of the Nazi onslaught, Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara set about saving thousands of lives. But his struggle was not fought on the battlefields or in war rooms. He used his power as a diplomat to rescue fleeing Jewish refugees. ISLAND OUT OF TIME Directed by Hugh Drescher 30 Minutes Winner 2001  Smith Island in the Chesapeake Bay is home to just over 400 people who have made their living from the water for more than a century. But now the island and its culture are under assault by rising sea levels, erosion, population loss, and a decline in the oysters and crabs its people depend on. The film shows how islanders are fighting to survive and struggling with change and loss. It is a story told by a quirky cast of islanders: watermen, preachers, crab-pickers, lawmen and environmentalists. "We're so stubborn," says one waterman, "they're going to have to drag us off of here kicking and screaming." “Will immerse you in beauty.” - Dan Nagengast, Farmer and Director of the Kansas Rural Center BERGA: SOLDIERS OF ANOTHER WAR  Charles Guggenheim dedicated the last six months of his life to finishing this film. This is a story about his fellow American infantrymen, who were captured during the Battle of the Bulge, then sent to a Nazi slave labor camp where many of them died. BERGA: SOLDIERS OF ANOTHER WAR is a documentary about American Prisoners of War caught in the tragedy of the Holocaust. Until now, their story has remained untold, lost in the trauma of the Second World War. OIL ON ICE  Oil on Ice explores the dangers and consequences that surround opening one of America’s last great wild places – or any protected wild place, for that matter – to exploration and exploitation. Interviews with esteemed arctic biologists and environmental experts deduce that hybrid cars and renewable energy sources are viable short- and long-term solutions to the nation’s dependence on oil for energy. Native Inupiat Eskimos and Gwich’in Indian activists share their heritage and way of life, and express on camera how their entire way of living is at risk due to oil drilling. The Gwich’in Indians, for example, describe how they have depended on the Alaskan caribou for food, clothing, tools and their spirituality for generations. The environmental impacts of oil drilling, however, are driving caribou and other wildlife away, changing the way the native people have lived with them for centuries. “ …debunks any myths that Arctic Alaska is barren…” - Metro Santa Cruz AMERICA’S LOST LANDSCAPE: THE TALLGRASS PRAIRIE Directed by David O’Shields  AMERICA'S LOST LANDSCAPE: THE TALLGRASS PRAIRIE tells the rich and complex story of one of the most astonishing alterations of nature in human history. Prior to Euro-American settlement in the 1820s, one of the major landscape features of North America was 240 million acres of tallgrass prairie. But between 1830 and 1900 -- in the span of a single lifetime -- the prairie was steadily transformed to farmland. This drastic change in the landscape brought about an enormous social change for Native Americans. In an equally short time their cultural imprint was reduced in essence to a handful of place-names appearing on maps. The extraordinary cinematography of prairie remnants, original score and archival images are all delicately interwoven to create a powerful and moving viewing experience about the natural and cultural history of America. GARBAGE WARRIOR  What do beer cans, car tires and water bottles have in common? Not much unless you're renegade architect Michael Reynolds, in which case they are tools of choice for producing thermal mass and energy-independent housing. For 30 years New Mexico-based Reynolds and his green disciples have devoted their time to advancing the art of "Earthship Biotecture" by building self-sufficient, off-the-grid communities where design and function converge in eco-harmony. However, these experimental structures that defy state standards create conflict between Reynolds and the authorities, who are backed by big business. Frustrated by antiquated legislation, Reynolds lobbies for the right to create a sustainable living test site. While politicians hum and ha, Mother Nature strikes, leaving communities devastated by tsunamis and hurricanes. Reynolds and his crew seize the opportunity to lend their pioneering skills to those who need it most. "Charismatic - with a warm sense of humor" - New York Times BURNING THE FUTURE: COAL IN AMERICA Directed by David Novack 89 Minutes Winner 2008  Burning the Future: Coal in America examines the explosive conflict between the coal industry and residents of West Virginia. Confronted by emerging “clean coal” energy policies, local activists watch a world blind to the devastation caused by coal's extraction. Faced with toxic ground water and the obliteration of 1.4 million acres of mountains, our heroes launch a valiant fight to arouse the nation's help in protecting their mountains, saving their families, and preserving their way of life. “As upsetting as it is informative.”- NEW YORK TIMES |