DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS BROUGHT TO UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS BY HOT SPRINGS DOCUMENTARY FILM INSTITUTE

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Hot Springs Documentary Film Institute is partnering with the University of Arkansas to bring highlights of its annual film festival to Northwest Arkansas on April 27-28.

The Film Institute is partnering with seven universities throughout Arkansas as part of a grant it received from the Rockefeller Foundation. The grant is making it possible for the Institute to start pilot programs with universities throughout Arkansas to make it possible for a greater number of Arkansans to experience the cultural aspect of film that the Institute provides in Hot Springs.

A complete description of the Institute’s mission and schedule is available at the following web site: http://www.DocuFilmInst.org/

The two-day program will feature programming, to be shown on the UA campus, for local high school students and additional programming for the college community. The Institute is also partnering with the organizers of the Fayetteville Film Festival that will be conducted Saturday at the University of Arkansas Continuing Education Center.

The schedule for the documentary film series is as follows

Friday, April 27^th.

Jr. High and High School Audience -- Giffels Auditorium

This screening is primarily for invited jr. High and high school students, but is open to everyone.

10:00 a.m. - "Women's Emergency Committee to Open the Schools" (Profiles the behind the scenes efforts of Little Rock women during the desegregation crisis.)

Sandra Hubbard, director, 40 minutes

Followed by Q&A w/ filmmaker

College Audience -- Reynolds Auditorium

These screenings are primarily for college students, but are open to everyone.

1-1:30 p.m. Music Films

1 p.m. - "Musique de Tables" (A fascinating performance of the musical composition by the same name.)

Thierry De Mey, director, 8 minutes

1:10 p.m. - "The Spitball Story" (The true but little-known story of why late jazz greats Cab Calloway and Dizzy Gillespie struck up a feud in the early 1940's.)

Jean Bach, director, 21minutes

2:00 -3:20 p.m. -- Road Stories for the Flesh-Eating Future, (A fast-paced, ultra-contemporary documentary that shows how the hype and hipness of new technology Is starting to unsettle our basic belief of what it means to be human.)

Lewis Cohen, director, 50 minutes

Followed by Q&A and discussion with UA faculty

3:30 -5 p.m. - "Pop and Me" (A gorgeous travelogue that follows a twenty-something son and his Baby Boomer father as they take a trip around the world, hoping to find some universal truths about the bonds between fathers and sons.)

Chris Roe, director, 90 minutes

Saturday, April 28th

1p.m. - "King Gimp" (1999 Academy Award winner in the short documentary category. Profiles the development of a remarkable artist as the camera follows him from age 13 until his graduation from college.)

Susan Hannah Hadary, director, 40 minutes

1:50 p.m. - "Americanos: Latino Life in the United States" (Explores the diversity of Latinos, from a Mexican-American Elvis impersonator to the first Hispanic woman in the President's cabinet, destroying stereotypes along the way.)

Andrew Young & Susan Todd, directors, 80 minutes

3:20 p.m. - "Bird by Bird with Annie" (Portrait of best-selling writer and humorist Anne Lamott, a recovering alcoholic and addict -- and a single mother who is a born-again Christian.) Freida Lee Mock, director, 40 minutes

4:15 p.m. - "Uncle Saddam" (Shows extremely private footage of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein - allowing viewers a rare glimpse into his personal life. For the first time, viewers will also discover Saddam Hussein’s family, including the revenge, betrayal and murder within the clan.)

Joel Soler, director, 66 minutes.

Followed by Q&A with filmmaker

5:45-6:45 - "Meet the Filmmaker" Reception for Campus and Community leaders (by invitation)

More information about the Fayetteville Film Festival on April 27, 28 and 29 is available at the following web site:

http://www.fayettevillefilmfest.com/main.html