Academy and Emmy award winning director Kirby Dick partnered with producer Amy Ziering to dig into the U.S. military’s most closely guarded secret: the epidemic of rape inside the one of the most powerful institutions in the world. Since it’s Sundance premiere, the film has been circulating through the highest levels of the Pentagon and the administration.
Introduced by Adrienne Kinney, ex-army reservist, current activist.

Including: An introduction by ex-army reservist and current activist Adrienne Kinney.

Shot by two Israeli filmmakers during Operation Cast Lead, a three-week bombing and invasion of the Gaza Strip in 2009 by Israel, this powerful film explores the absurd relationship between war and tourism by juxtaposing bombing footage with blunt commentary by the “gawkers” – people cheering on the spectacle as if in a corrida.

Including: Short film Thief.

Knuckleball! is an inspiring and accessible film for both die-hard baseball fans and casual observers alike: An unprecedented documentary which focuses on one of baseball’s most obscure aspects, the knuckleball. It chronicles the careers of the two most popular modern knuckleball pitchers, Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey, as they deal with the unpredictability of the pitch upon which their careers rely.-K.M.

Filmmaker Mohammad Shirvani steps into the no-man‘s land of Iranian households – the kitchen. Seven housewives talk to him as they prepare the delicious foods of Ramadan. Shirvani notes, “The kitchen is a place my mother spent over 30 years in and I never really noticed its details.” A subtle and humorous take on a women’s realm.

Includes: Short film Cravings.

A fascinating film about army cooks and how the everyday needs of thousands of armed stomachs affect the victories and defeats of statesmen. It reveals the field kitchen as a model of a world where food preparation becomes a military strategy. “A hungry soldier doesn’t feel safe,” explains a sausage-wielding Army cook.

Includes: Short film Good Bread.

Acclaimed filmmaker Léa Pool produced this brilliant film about the commercialization of the pink ribbon. Recommended viewing for the healthy and the sick alike, this is one of the more thought-provoking films in our line-up and a wake-up call for all who are affected in some way by breast cancer.

Lucien and Regina are foragers – they gather wild mushrooms and sell them to New York restaurants. Their lifestyle is simple, their income unstable. As Regina seeks more stability and Lucien wants to devote himself to full-time nomadic foraging, their individual desires put the marriage to a test. A food lovers’ film.

A gorgeously photographed ethnographic whirlwind tour of the Taiwan’s coastal regions. The cooking segments are so lush we can smell the spices and almost feel the heat on our faces from a tantalizing stir-fry. This film will also be of interest to many Vermonters through our concerns with a locally produced sustainable food system.

Includes: Short film Free Lunch.

This film tells the story of the case of the Cuban Five, Cuban intelligence agents sent to penetrate exile terrorist groups in Miami and now serving long prison sentences in the U.S. It highlights decades of assassinations and sabotage at first backed by Washington and then ignored by the very government that launched a “war against terrorism.” With Danny Glover. Director Saul Landau will attend the screening.

Shot in the aquatic community of Dal Lake, considered the crown jewel of Kashmir, this award-winning film blends fiction and documentary to tell a story of love, war and the devastating effects of pollution on the lake. Lush cinematography heightens the region’s visual splendor. Followed by guest speaker: Buzz Hoerr, CEO ElectroCell Technologies.

A gorgeously photographed ethnographic whirlwind tour of the Taiwan’s coastal regions. The cooking segments are so lush we can smell the spices and almost feel the heat on our faces from a tantalizing stir-fry. This film will also be of interest to many Vermonters through our concerns with a locally produced sustainable food system.

Includes: Short film Free Lunch.

Actor Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty) turns in one of the best performances of his career as a former Britpop star working on an American farm, who is forced to confront his own past while facing deportation. Writer/Director Marshall Lewy creates a thoroughly engaging story supported by simple, beautiful filmmaking.-K.M.

Including: Short film Curfew.

Playing with California Solo

Writer/Director Andrea Blaugrund Nevins provides a thoughtful take on modern parenthood, showcasing the experiences of some of the most influential figures of the punk rock movement of the 1980s and ‘90s. Often funny and emotionally gripping throughout, this film is a treat for music lovers and a stunning presentation of what “family” means in the 21st century.-K.M.

Karel Ducasse is brought to the USA by the Americas Media Initiative whose mission is to present Cuban filmmakers and their work in the US. As an Afro-Cuban filmmaker, Ducasse has a unique perspective regarding filmmaking and life in Cuba. He will be presenting his film Zone of Silence and other shorts.

A collaboration between VTIFF and North End Studios. NES has long been hosting monthly dinners, focusing on the food and cooking of different communities. The dinners are usually accompanied by a performance. October is Latin American month and VTIFF will be showing the marvelous Violeta Went To Heaven to accompany the meal. Tickets for this dual offering to be purchased directly from NES. 802-863-6713. If you only want to watch the film, the screening will start at 6.30 and tickets will be $5.00 at the door.

A group of gay activists in Belgrade strikes a tense alliance with Limun, a Serbian crime boss, whose fiancée demands an extravagant wedding that only struggling gay theater director Mirko and his friends can provide.

All aboard the bus to Kathmandu. Set among the breathtaking landscapes of Eastern Nepal, Deepak Rauniyar’s debut feature has provoked a tumultuous response from Nepali audiences with its realistic characters and their taboo-shrouded issues. Rendered in an improvised cinematic style that heightens an already wild ride, Highway is being called the harbinger of a new era in Nepali filmmaking.

A government official, carrying a message from Iran’s president, travels across Iranian Kurdistan with his driver and a young guide on a mission to stop 111 young Kurdish women from committing suicide in protest against conditions that have left them spinsters.

San Bao is a young man left behind by Beijing’s fabulous new wealth, having just lost his job, his apartment and the woman he loves (who’s left him for a richer man). Even Happiness, his dog, has run away from him.

In a glorious black-and-white flashback mingling movie-tainted memories of his Galician childhood, forced exile to Cuba and arrival in Mexico, intrepid “Juanito“ pursues failed careers as baseball player, boxer, bullfighter and gangster before landing in the movies—where failure kind of works for him.

Set in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital, this radiantly self-referential film-within-a-film describes the vision and trials of a determined filmmaker named Balthazar, as he tries to produce his first feature, The Cycle of the Cockroach