Press Release - March 13th, 2009

Full Frame Announces 2009 Special Programming & NEW DOCS Additions
World Premiere of “Sons of Cuba” kicks off opening night

Durham, N.C., - March 16, 2009 – The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival has announced its Special Programming lineup for the 12th annual festival, April 2 – 5, 2009. This section will feature 17 films, including three Center Frame programs and two free screenings, each featuring moderated conversations following the films. A list of special guests will be released in the scoming days, along with details on panels and the 2009 Career Award.

The festival is also very proud to announce the 2009 Opening Night Film "Sons of Cuba," which follows young athletes in the Havana Boxing Academy through months of training as they prepare for Cuba's National Boxing Championship for Under-12's.

"We are honored to feature the World Premiere of Andrew Lang’s 'Sons of Cuba' on Opening Night, especially with our focus on sports this year," said director of programming, Sadie Tillery. "With remarkable access, this film reveals the experiences of young boxers in Cuba, encouraging us to engage with characters and culture through the lens of sports. We cannot imagine a better way to begin the festival."

Special Programming includes:

OPENING NIGHT FILM: Sons of Cuba (Hijos de Cuba)
World Premiere
Directed by Andrew Lang
A rare behind-the-scenes look at the legendary Havana Boxing Academy, where young boys train to be champions and bring honor to their country.

Sponsored by the American Tobacco Campus and Capitol Broadcasting Company.
CENTER FRAME: Food, Inc.
Directed by Robert Kenner
From factory farms to patented seeds, this film skillfully untangles the twisted knot of farm policy, lobbying, engineering, and corporate greed that has drastically altered the landscape of American farming since the 1950s.
CENTER FRAME: The September Issue
Directed by R.J. Cutler
Photographers, models, and haute couture collide in this inside look at the creation of Vogue’s notorious fall edition, product of the collective genius of Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and Creative Director Grace Coddington.
CENTER FRAME: The Yes Men Fix the World
Directed by Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno
Join The Yes Men as they battle the free market mentality with their politically charged hijinks in this fastpaced, entertaining look at their unique brand of activism.
FREE STUDENT SCREENING: Shooting Beauty
World Premiere
Directed by George Kachadorian
A photographer works to enable a group of people living with severe disabilities to take their own pictures, revealing the powerful effects of self-expression.
Sponsored by the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation.
FREE COMMUNITY SCREENING: Hoop Dreams
Directed by Steve James
Steve James’s deeply moving film follows Arthur Agee, Jr., and William Gates as they strive to achieve professional basketball stardom and escape poverty in Chicago.
Sponsored by the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation.
24 City
Directed by Jia Zhang-ke
In an ode to China’s transforming economy, a factory morphs into an apartment complex while communism gives way to capitalism.
7915 KM
US Premiere
Directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter
An unflinching look at the landscapes, both human and topographical, along the route of the infamous 7,915-kilometer Dakar Rally.
Anatomy – Skin, Heart, Muscle
North American Premiere
Directed by Rhys Graham, Amy Gebhardt, Natasha Gadd
This triptych of films portrays a tattooed retiree, a painter’s muse, and a trio of acrobats as they reflect on their bodies, their identities, their mortality, and their legacies.
Blind Loves
Directed by Juraj Lehotský
Four stories of characters searching for love, and finding it, without the gift of sight.
The Cove
Directed by Louie Psihoyos
A small inlet in Japan holds an immense secret, with horrifying consequences for the future of dolphins, as well as for our oceans.
Earth Days
Directed by Robert Stone
This film takes us back to the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 as it recounts the nearly forty year history of the efforts that continue to shape our world.
Every Little Step
Directed by James D. Stern, Adam Del Deo
An unprecedented look at the audition and casting process of a major Broadway musical, the 2006 revival of Michael Bennett’s beloved show about casting, "A Chorus Line."
Miroir Noir
US Premiere
Directed by Vincent Morrisett
Arcade Fire makes beautiful and moody music and Vincent Morrisett has made a beautiful and moody film about the making of their critically acclaimed 2007 album "Neon Bible."
Objectified
Directed by Gary Hustwit
From potato peelers to iPhones, Gary Hustwit’s latest project brings us behind the scenes of our manufactured environment and introduces us to those who have created the (material) world we live in.
Out of Focus
Directed by Tomer Heymann
Renowned choreographer Ohad Naharin of the Batsheva Dance Company demonstrates the ways his unique philosophy of movement, "Gaga," transforms the bodies and minds of dancers across all forms.
Wounded Knee
Directed by Stanley Nelson
A gripping account of the dramatic 71-day standoff between federal agents and members of the Oglala Lakota Tribe who seized the village of Wounded Knee, South Dakota.


Along with the Special Programming lineup, the festival has announced six additional films for the NEW DOCS program:

Carmen Meets Borat
North American Premiere
Directed by Mercedes Stalenhoef
Carmen, just 17, dreams of leaving Glod, Romania, for the allure of Spain, but when Sasha Baron Cohen rolls through town to film "Borat," life at home perks up—and then turns sour when the townspeople discover how they have been portrayed.
Forgetting Dad
North American Premiere
Directed by Rick Minnich, Matthew Sweetwood
In this personal detective story, co-director Rick Minnich retraces the events in the weeks before and after his father’s suspiciously convenient memory loss.
The Lower Ninth Ward
World Premiere
Directed by Lucia Small
Drifting images underscored by an atmospheric soundtrack capture a brief but distinctively haunting representation of the destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The Queen and I
Directed by Nahid Persson Sarvestani
An exiled Iranian filmmaker and one-time revolutionary interviews the wife of the former Shah of Iran, Queen Farah Diba Pahlavi, over the course of two years and forges an unexpectedly warm—if wary—connection.
Salt
North American Premiere
Directed by Michael Angus, Murray Fredericks
Every year Murray Fredericks pitches camp in the middle of a desolate salt flat in South Australia to photograph a kaleidoscopic array of brilliant color and subtle movement.
War Against the Weak
Directed by Justin Strawhand
A cinematic adaptation of Edwin Black's book of the same name, this film unveils chilling examples of American eugenics, presenting a disquieting analysis of an obscured history.


Contact Information:
Lauren Whaley, Jennings, 919-929-0225, lwhaley@jenningsco.com
Nancy Novell, Full Frame, 919 433 9803, nancy.novell@fullframefest.org

About Full Frame
The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is an annual international event dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema. Each spring Full Frame welcomes filmmakers and film lovers from around the world to historic downtown Durham, N.C., for a four-day, morning to midnight array of over 100 films as well as discussions, panels, and southern hospitality. Set within a single city block, the intimate festival landscape fosters community and conversation between filmmakers, film professionals and the general public.

The festival is produced by Doc Arts, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and receives support from corporate sponsors, private foundations and individual donors whose generosity provides the foundation that makes the event possible. To learn more on the mission of Full Frame or for information on membership or sponsorship opportunities, scheduled films or festival passes visit www.fullframefest.org.