May 14 Naf: A Street Kid; meet Israeli filmmaker Moshe Alafi

INDIANAPOLIS –7:00 PM, Wednesday, May 14, —Naf: A Street Kid.  Screening of the shocking Israeli documentary that follows a homeless boy’s life over a three-year period.  Kicked out of his parent’s ultra-orthodox home for being a “bad apple,” the 14 year old experiences homelessness in Jerusalem.  He eventually learns to survive on the street as a rapper, a lobbyist for other street youth, and a part time drug dealer.

The film’s director, Moshe Alafi, will be at the screening to talk about the documentary.  Hosted at Lockerbie Methodist Church/Earth House, 237 N. East St, Indianapolis, IN 46204.  

Meet Film Director Alan Webber at Earth House

You are what you eat…so you’d better start paying attention to what exactly that is.
These films provide a refreshing education on the current state of agriculture, and point
out positive sustainable and organic practices that you can take part in. The Meatrix and
Frankensteer expose the ways of unethical farming, while others provide us with role
models through CSAs, Cuban community, sustainable lemon farms, organic choices, and
a new wave of female farmers leading the way.

Some Highlights

The Meatrix I, II, & II 1/2

Louis Fox, 2006, 10 min., animation

New York, NY

Moopheus, Leo, and Chickity spoof Keanu Reeves & Matrix company,
and take the red pill, enabling them to see the horrific truth of what’s
really going on with the food we eat today. Our heroes wage war on
industrial agriculture, indecent dairy conditions, factory farm pollution,
animal cruelty, and the horrors of meat processing, exposing the lies
our society tells itself, vowing to turn things around. The Meatrix has
been created and produced by Sustainable Table
www.sustainabletable.org and Free Range Studios

6. Ladies of the Land – ACADEMY AWARD WINNER!
Megan Thompson, 2006, 29 min., doc

Minnesota, Pennsylvania, NYC

Women are the fastest growing demographic in American agriculture,
and they are doing things differently. While the average
farm size in the U.S. has grown dramatically over the last 50
years, women tend to run smaller operations. Many choose
organic and natural methods, in contrast to the highly mechanized
and chemically-dependent farming that dominates the rest of the
agricultural industry. And many women strongly value their
relationships with the community, from selling their products at
local markets, to using their farms as “de facto community
centers.” Academy Award winner for Student Documentary, Ladies
of the Land takes us on a journey through America’s new
heartland. www.ladiesofthelandmovie.com

Friday and Saturday, April 25 and April 26

8:00 PM, 237 N. East Street, Indianapolis

Friday Night: Rural Route Film Festival:

Some Highlights

Dear Deer
Alan Webber, 2007, 4.5 min., narrative
New York, NY

It’s an alternate take on nature vs. urbanity when a plastic lawn
doe finds herself lost on the gritty streets of Brooklyn, NY.
Survival story, and a folktale of newfound love – the bewildered
deer gets “caught in the headlights” and hit by an oncoming car
while trying to scamper across the street, but is found by a
magical street faerie who nurses it, making bandages, food and
water appear with a magic wand. The doe regains her health, and
wanders back onto sunnier streets. She can’t believe her eyes
when she happens upon something truly special under the
Queensborough Bridge. Features the music of Bright Eyes’ “Make
a Plan to Love Me”.

Snowies
Elliott Kennerson, 2006, 12 min., doc
Flathead Lake, MT

Elliott Kennerson, an MFA candidate in Montana State University’s
Science and Natural History Filmmaking Program, and Jeremy Roberts,
an avid birdwatcher, follow an unusually large group of stunning, allwhite
Arctic Snowy Owls. Intelligent and enlightening, the film is also
honest and funny as we witness the filmmakers missing some of the
best owl shots because they accidentally turn the camera off or
compose their frame wrong. Our guides also become a bit sidetracked
upon meeting a couple of lady birdwatchers, who they believe are “after
them.” A brief and delightful alternative to the often-dry standard
wildlife documentary.

In The Glow (Pick #1 from Lights are On, but Nobody’s Home program)
Stewart Copeland, 2006, 8 min., exp
Interstates and highways between St. Louis, MO and Tullahoma, TN

Part personal film, part pseudo-scientific study and part observational
essay, Copeland’s film explores the banal (yet strangely beautiful)
world of blank billboards. While many creatures (including the filmmaker)
have an attraction to this ‘advertisement free’ light, Webster
University’s Head of Biological Sciences teaches us that the massive
intrusion of mile-after-mile of unnatural billboard light disturbs insect
life cycles, plants, and on up through the ecosystem.

Wanderlust 2: Thunder on the Track
Walter Forsberg, 2004, 5 min., doc
Creelman, Saskatchewan, Canada

Inspired by stock car crash videos, this micro-documentary gives a
1980s glance into the sensational Saskatchewan Lawnmower Racing
Circuit. In the hallowed Winnipeg tradition of image degradation, this
work demeans cinematic imagery into a bygone videoscopic era of the
movies. www.winnipegfilmgroup.com

April 25 and April 26

8PM

Friday Night:

The Rural Route Film Festival was created to highlight works that deal with rural people and places. The festival, which showcases rural themes in an urban environment, features award-winning narrative, documentary, and experimental films as well as music videos. Based in New York City, the most urban of environments, the festival brings an alternative to the box office action flick so often set in New York or Los Angeles, or the overdone generic suburban dramedy. .

This year’s “Rural Route Tour” program definitely leans towards the more artistic and documentary side. We’ve got fun and serious pieces from all around the world. Arctic owls in Montana, Canadian riding lawnmower races, films about light pollution, a Ukrainian poetic peasant masterpiece, dancers in the snowy Norwegian tundra, plastic lawn deer lost in Brooklyn, a man’s captivating search for his ancestors in Lithuania, and some good, ‘ol banjo playin’ at a Kentucky old folks home. Total running time is 97 minutes.

Saturday Night:

Our “Go Organic!” program, originally screened at Anthology Film Archives in New York City, is a new component to the Rural Route tour that we consider absolutely essential. These films provide a refreshing education on the current state of agriculture, and point out positive sustainable and organic practices that you can take part in. The Meatrix and Frankensteer expose the ways of unethical farming, while others provide us with role models through CSAs, Cuban community, sustainable lemon farms, organic choices, and a new wave of female farmers leading the way. Includes Ladies of the Land, Academy Award Winner for Best Student Documentary. Total running time is 110 minutes.