July & August Film Center Viewings (SLC: July 19 - Aug 30)

JULY

ENVIRONMENTAL SERIES

CRUDE, July 19 – The City Library 7:00 PM

Directed by Joe Berlinger

Filmmaker Joe Berlinger's provocative documentary explores the ongoing battle waged by 30,000 indigenous Ecuadorans and their lawyers against Chevron for dumping billions of gallons of toxic oil waste into the Amazon. Berlinger examines the environmental catastrophe -- dubbed the "Amazon Chernobyl" -- from all sides, following the drama as it moves from the contamination site to the courtroom and beyond, even landing on the cover of Vanity Fair.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

ONE MAN ONE COW ONE PLANET, July 20 – The City Library 7:00 PM

Directed by Thomas Burstyn

By reviving biodynamics an arcane form of agriculture, people are saving their poisoned lands and exposing the bio-colonialism of multinational corporations. This film tells their story through the teachings of an elderly New Zealander many are calling the new Gandhi.

STRANGER THAN FICTION

COPYRIGHT CRIMINALS, July 26 – The City Library 7:00 PM

Directed by Benjamin Franzen & Kembrew McLeod

The film uncovers the struggle many of hip-hop music’s founding figures as well as emerging artists and their fight against major label lawyers. Featuring Public Enemy, and Digital Underground as well as artists from record labels Definitive Jux, Ninja Tune, and more.

2009 Toronto International Film Festival

ROCK DOCS

Dusk at Pioneer Park, pre-show with live bands programmed by UtahFM beginning approx 8:30 from July 30 through August 27.

THE WHITE STRIPES UNDER GREAT WHITE NORTHERN LIGHTS, July 30

Directed by Emmett Malloy

In 2007 the legendary American duo White Stripes toured Canada. Besides playing the usual venues they challenged themselves and played in buses, cafés and for Indian tribal elders. Music video director Emmett Malloy followed the band and managed to capture both the special tour, extraordinary concert versions of the band's minimalist, raw, blues-inspired rock songs and the special relationship between the extroverted Jack White and the introspective Meg White - a formerly married couple who for a long time claimed to be siblings. The film makes striking use of the band's concert colors: red, white and black.

SOUL POWER, August 6

Directed by Jeffery Levy-Hinte

In 1974, the most celebrated American R&B acts of the time came together with the most renowned musical groups in Africa for a 12-hour, three-night long concert held in Kinshasa, Zaire. Featuring performances from James Brown, Bill Withers, and B.B. King amongst others.

2008 Toronto International Film Festival; 2009 Berlin International Film Festival; 2009 Silverdocs Film Festival

STRANGE POWERS: STEPHIN MERRIT & THE MAGNETIC FIELDS, August 13

Directed by Kerthy Fix & Gail O’Hara

Stephin Merritt is known as "the Cole Porter of his generation" for his memorable melodies, lovelorn lyrics and wry musical stylings. Shot over a period of 10 years, this film explores his friendship recording and songwriting process.

2010 South By Southwest Film Festival; 2010 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival; 2010 Hot Docs

HEAVY METAL IN BAGHDAD, August 20

Directed by Suroosh Alvi & Eddy Moretti

In the late summer of 2006, in the middle of the insurgency, filmmakers Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi traveled to Baghdad to meet and interview the only heavy metal band in Iraq, Acrassicauda, as they try to stay together and stay alive.

2007 Toronto International Film Festival; 2008 Berlin International Film Festival

AUDIENCE CHOICE, August 27

Voting can be done on line at www.slcfilmcenter.org or by ballot at the screenings.

Options are; TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS: RUNNIN’ DOWN A DREAM, ELVIS ON TOUR, I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART, TALKING HEADS: STOP MAKING SENSE. Or audience write in…

AUGUST

MID-AUGUST LUNCH, August 2 – The City Library 7:00 PM

Directed by Gianni Di Gregorio

As the Italian holiday of Pranzo di Ferragosto approaches, cash-strapped Gianni (Gianni Di Gregorio) gets help from his landlord, his friend and his doctor, who offer financial relief in exchange for Gianni looking after their elderly relatives over the holiday. Four mismatched Italian mamas at the same table make for an awkward, hilarious and touching mid-August lunch in this film festival favorite from Di Gregorio, who also writes and directs.

COUNTDOWN TO ZERO, August 5 7:00 pm – The City Library

Directed by Lucy Walker

Presented in partnership with the Utah Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

Since the first atomic bomb exploded in 1945, scientists and world leaders have grappled with the apocalyptic dangers and paradoxes posed by nuclear weapons. This documentary presents an unblinking look at humanity's lethal predicament.

2010 Sundance Film Festival

NO IMPACT MAN, August 16 – The City Library 7:00 PM

Laura Gabbert & Justin Schein

A Fifth Avenue family goes very green when writer Colin Beavan leads his wife, Michelle Conlin, and their baby daughter on a yearlong crusade to make no net impact on the environment in this engaging documentary. Among their activities: eating only locally grown organic food, generating no trash except for compost and using no carbon-fueled transportation. Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein's film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

FRESH, August 17 – The City Library 7:00 PM

Directed by ana Sofia joanes

This film celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.

DOMINICK DUNNE: AFTER THE PARTY, August 30 – The City Library 7:00 PM

Directed By Kristy de Garis & Timothy Jolley

This film examines the life and career of storied Vanity Fair writer Dominick Dunne, from his service in World War II to his fall from grace in Hollywood society and his late-career renaissance covering the legal troubles of the rich and famous. Dunne himself offers a host of revealing anecdotes and insights about his experiences hobnobbing with celebrities, covering the murder trials of O.J. Simpson and Phil Spector and more.