Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Films cover gamut of spirituality

Sun Valley Spiritual Film Festival to begin Thursday


By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

The third annual Spiritual Film Festival will begin with a party at the Friesen Gallery on Thursday, Sept. 13, with special guest photographer David Edwards. Screenings of the 37 movies will be held Friday through Sunday at both the Liberty Theatre in Hailey and the Sun Valley Opera House.

Founded in 2005 by Mary Gervase of Hailey and Claudio Ruben of Santa Fe, the Spiritual Film Festival will show films from Israel, Denmark, Italy, Turkey, Canada, the Philippines, Russia, India and the United Kingdom.

This year there will be a spiritual panel discussion, a talk on Islam and the attendance of several filmmakers who will introduce and discuss their films.

The festival will kick off Friday with "Monsoon" (USA, 2006, 21 minutes). An atheist and cardiologist practicing in the United States returns to India to treat his ill father, a stubborn Brahmin. 1:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, at Sun Valley Opera House and 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, at Liberty Theatre.

Filmed on location in northern Canada, "The Journals of Knud Rasmussen" (Canada, 2006, 112 minutes) concerns a 1922 trip made by Danish explorer Rasmussen to the isolated camp of an Eskimo shaman. 1:30 p.m. Friday, Sept., 14 at Liberty Theatre and 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, at Sun Valley Opera House.

The Russian movie "The Island" (2006, 112 minutes) is set in a small monastery where a monk is known for his bizarre conduct. 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, at Sun Valley Opera House.

"The Power of Forgiveness" is sponsored by the Wood River Jewish Community, Presbyterian Church of the Big Wood, Light on the Mountains Spiritual Center, Emmanuel Episcopal Church, St. Thomas Episcopal Church and Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church. 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, at Sun Valley Opera House.

"Not That Kind of Christian!" (USA 2007, 80 minutes) is a documentary that explores gay and lesbian Christians' struggle for acceptance in the Episcopal Church. 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, at Sun Valley Opera House.

Director Gabriela Bohm will attend the screening of "The Longing: The Forgotten Jews of South America" (Israel/USA, 2007, 75 minutes). The movie is about a group of South Americans whose European ancestors were forced to convert during the Spanish Inquisition. Noon, Saturday, Sept. 15, at Sun Valley Opera House.

Directed by Stephen Crisman, who will attend the screening, "Jerusalem, Stories From the Street," (USA, 2007, 90 minutes) comes to life through candid stories told with heart and authority. 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14, at Sun Valley Opera House.

The Danish movie "The Monastery: Mr. Vig and the Nun" (2006, 112 minutes) is about an 86-year-old Danish bachelor, who has dreams of turning his castle into a Russian Orthodox Monastery. 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at Liberty Theatre.

The multiple award-winning "Favela Rising" (Canada, 2006, 112 minutes) documents a former drug trafficker who rallies his poor Brazilian community to act together against the violent oppression enforced by teenage drug armies and corrupt police. 8:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, at Liberty Theatre and 7:45 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, at Sun Valley Opera House.

"Buddha's Lost Children" (Holland, 2006, 97 minutes) was the winner of the top documentary prize at the AFI Festival in Los Angeles. Tiger Monk, a former Thai boxer turned Buddhist monk, travels on horseback to better the lives of the children around him. 9:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, at Sun Valley Opera House and 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, at Liberty Theatre.

"Sirah" (USA, 2006, 30 minutes) is a young American Muslim girl whose traditional dress and religious differences make her an outcast at her school. 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, at Liberty Theatre.

Surfing sensation Bethany Hamilton is the focus of "Heart of a Soul Surfer" (USA, 2007, 31 minutes). Attacked by a shark in 2003, she went on to discover her purpose in life as she overcame her loss and got back on the board just weeks later. 10:30 a.m. Saturday Sept. 15, at Liberty Theatre.

"Mystic Ball" (Canada/USA, 2006, 83 minutes) follows Canadian martial artist Greg Hamilton while he embarks on a journey of discovery about the game of Chinline, which leads him from Canada to Myanmar. Sunday, Sept. 16, 3 p.m. at Liberty Theatre.

Director Linda Hattendorf will attend the screenings of "The Cats of Mirikitani" (USA, 2006, 74 minutes), about 80-year-old street artist Jimmy Mirikitani in New York, who was raised in Hiroshima. 4 p.m. Friday Sept. 14, at Liberty Theatre and 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16 at Sun Valley Opera House.

Jewish music is more than just art, as shown in "The Chosen Ones" (Germany, 2007, 90 minutes), which captures the pulse of the New York Jewish music scene. 1:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, at Sun Valley Opera House and 10 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, at Liberty Theatre.

Director Mark Chatel will attend the U.S. premiere of "Salut Jean-Paul!!" (Canada, 2004, 52 minutes), which chronicles the story of four young Canadians in their journey to meet Pope John Paul II at the World Youth Day held in Toronto. 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, at Liberty Theatre.

Hosted by Swami Satyananda Saraswati, "Yoga of the Heart" (Australia, 2006, 51 minutes) covers the Chandi Festival in a remote tribal region northwest of Calcutta.

"Through The Eastern Gate" (Switzerland, 2007, 51 minutes) is a documentary film about the aspirations, practices and ways of life of three young Westerners who explore Tantric Yoga, Sufism and Tibetan Buddhism in India and Turkey.

There are several short films to be shown including "Invitation from God" (Denmark, 2006, 29 minutes), which features a charismatic Cistercian monk speaking on the Centering Prayer. "I Named Her Angel" (Turkey, 2006, 30 minutes) tells the story of a young Turkish girl and her desire to become a whirling dervish at the age of 12. "Conversion" is about a medicine man urged by missionaries to throw away his medicine bag, causing him to become seriously ill and die. Also shown will be the animated "Yoga, Noga, Reyoga," "Short Film about Faith" and "Su Mandalamade," the latter by the winners of the Best Film Award at the 2006 Sun Valley Spiritual Film Festival. There will also be world premieres of "Testament" and the Filipino "TO NI."




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