FILM CATALOG - EDUCATIONAL

THE REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN
Directed by: Taggart Siegel
Produced by: Teri Lang and Taggart Siegel

The epic tale of a maverick Midwestern farmer. An outcast in his community, Farmer John bravely stands amidst a failing economy, vicious rumors, and violence. By melding the traditions of family farming with the power of art and free expression, this powerful story of transformation and renewal heralds a resurrection of farming in America.

Through highly personal interviews and 50 years of beautifully textured footage, filmmaker Taggart Siegel shares Farmer John’s haunting and humorous odyssey, capturing what it means to be wildly different in a rural community.

Born on Cambodian New Year in a refugee camp, Socheata grew up in the United States not knowing anything about her family’s past. She journeys to Cambodia to discover the secrets of how her family came together during the Khmer Rouge period. She finds that what her parents hid in shame also proves their great heroism. NEW YEAR BABY is a love story – a celebration of family and the power of commitment.

Modern industrial agriculture is destroying the earth: desertification, water scarcity, toxic cocktails of agricultural chemicals pervading our food chains, ocean ecosystem collapse, soil erosion and massive loss of soil fertility.

Our ecosystems are overwhelmed. Humanity's increasing demands are exceeding the Earth's carrying capacity. A simple recipe to save the world? One man and a bucket of cow dung. Are you crazy?

THE SPLIT HORN:
LIFE OF A HMONG SHAMAN IN AMERICA

The Split Horn is the sweeping story of a Hmong shaman and his family living in Appleton, Wisconsin. Documenting the journey of Paja Thao and his family from the mountains of Laos to the heartland of America this poignant film shows a shaman's struggle to maintain his ancient traditions as his children embrace American culture. American has become the testing ground for the enduring strength of Hmong culture. The evocative narrative captures the daily struggle to Paja Thao's family between two worlds.

BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

Between Two Worlds: The Hmong Shaman In America powerfully exposes the struggle of Hmong refugees in America. This classic documentary traces the lives of three Hmong families displaces thousands of miles from their villages in Northern Laos and alienated in American cities. Renowned anthropologist, Dwight Conquergood, narrates the rich history of shamanic rituals and explains the similarity between Hmong beliefs and those of Aboriginal people of the Americas.

THE HEART BROKEN IN HALF

Gangs are society's ultimate devil figure. They sybolize transgression and embody the deepest fears of middle class citizens. Few filmmakers have dared or been able to get behind the headlines to confront the human reality and complexity of street gangs in urban America. Challenging stereotypes, this documentary gives voice to the street youths and reveals their underground culture. Here is an intricate web of symbols and passions, terrirory and brotherhood, honor and all to often, death.

BLUE COLLAR AND BUDDHA

This Dramatic Documentary explores America's most recent refugees, struggling against the mounting tension of a post-Vietnam era filled with guilt and anger. A group of Laotian era filled with guilt and anger. A group of Laotian refugees have built a Buddhist temple on a small farmstead on the outskirts of a resolutely blue collar town. Their efforts to preserve their culture and religious heritage have been greeted by several terrorist attacks upon their temple.

Blue Collar and Buddha is a moving portrait of the experience of today's refugees and the dramas that results when East meets West.

BODY MEMORIES

Body Memories is a wild and often comic ride, one man's journey inward to find meaning in his life. He becomes an archeologist of the soul, digging through the layers of his past. Evocative images blend with a riveting performance that uncovers family secrets and buried traumas.

One part Spalding Gray, one part Pan's Labyrinth, Body Memories is more than a poignant and enchanting story, it is mythic revelation of hope and possibility.

CHILDREN OF IBDAA:
To Create Something Out of Nothing

CHILDREN OF IBDAA: To Create Something Out of Nothing is about the lives of several adolescents in a Palestinian children's dance troupefrom Dheisheh refugee camp in the West Bank. They use their performance to express the history, struggle, and aspirations of the Palestinian people, specifically the fight to return to their homeland. Through interviews and documentation of the children, the film offers insight into their families' displacement from their villages in historical Palestine, the physically and emotionally stressful aspects of life in a refugee camp, and the unique experience of participating in the politically motivated dance troupe. The story culminates in a visit by the children for the first time to demolished villages from which their grandparents were expelled in 1948.

Self-taught artist Stuart Buehler has a bad case of artistic gridlock. After his close friend and gallery owner William Jamison (Jamison/Thomas Gallery- Portland,Oregon & New York City) dies in 1995, huge loads of Stuart's unique work is returned to him, burying him under his own obsessive talents...until he starts the purging process. Relief comes in the form of the chaotic clean-up, including art jettisoned into the Willamette River and dolls floated down historic Tanner Creek, readings from Buehler's own "Gridlocker's Manifesto" and his final wild west get-away.

RICHART

Best Video Documentary - Microcinefest

While confined to a psychiatric ward at age 50, Richard “Richart” Tracy made this discovery: “If you want to get out of the hospital – start making art like this. They will get rid of you - fast!" Seventeen years later, he’s turned three residential lots into a massive maze of his artistic, sculptural visions. A true, original thinker, Richart's genius turns your waste into his inspiration. "Out of your garbage, I become you!"

This documentary takes a trip through his yard, art, methods and his mind. Wait until you see what he keeps in his basement!

Ridin' & Rhymin': A Documentary About the Poetry and Perserverence of Cowgirl Georgie Sicking

Cowgirl poet Georgie Sicking pens tough rhymes for hard times. Whether on horseback, driving cattle across mountains, or onstage reciting to hundreds of fans, this intimate documentary captures the remarkable life of America’s most honored cowgirl poet.

Featuring the music of Lisa Miller & Ian Miller (from Lisa & Her Kin), Wylie & the Wild West, Leon Autrey, and David Lipkind.