Take the DOCTOBER CHALLENGE this year. “Oct” is 8, right? Well, fill your DOCTOBER CHALLENGE punch card with 8 or more admissions (that’s only 2 docs a week—we KNOW you can do it!) and receive a certificate from the Pickford designating you as one of the Smartest Persons in the Universe, a free video rental from Film is Truth, a pint of Mallard’s ice cream, as well as two free passes for any movie, documentary or otherwise.
Doctober, Pickford Film Center’s month-long celebration of the best documentaries currently available for theatrical exhibition, has its roots in Bellingham’s longtime curiosity about people, places and things. Many of The Pickford Cinema’s biggest hits have been documentaries: from Bowling for Columbine to Rivers & Tides, from March of the Penguins to The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, documentaries have occupied lofty positions in our top grossing films.
In 2006, Pickford Film Center joined forces with True/False Film Festival, in Columbia, Missouri, to produce True/False West Film Festival, which won a 2007 Mayor’s Arts Award, and shocked Bellingham with over 25 films in three days at several venues. While the festival was a success, festival politics made it untenable to continue as a Spring festival. From this festival, Doctober was born in 2007 in an effort to continue to bring great documentaries—and often guests—to Bellingham, and give our patrons a month to see as many as possible.
Each year we feature documentaries that may not have received theatrical distribution, or are in distribution but have more niche-oriented audiences and will thrive in a festival-style setting. Doctober also gives us an opportunity to work with other organizations in Bellingham to bring important issues to the community, frequently with special guests and guided discussions.
The following films will be appearing in Doctober 2009—don’t miss a single one!
10.2–4 @ 2pm
IDEAL and WWU Industrial Design presents
Objectified + Form Function
Form Function, by Jason Morris, is a short film that follows the industrial design process and features WWU students. Objectified, a feature–length documentary that explores our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them. From toothbrushes to tech gadgets, meet the designers who re–examine, re–evaluate and re–invent our manufactured environment on a daily basis. 2009. USA. 75 min. Unrated. objectifiedfilm.com
10.3–4 @ 11am
In Search of Beethoven
Musicians, critics, and musicologists weigh in with lucid, informative, and unpretentious comments on Beethoven, the man and the artist. “Indeed it’s one of the finest movies about a great musician I’ve ever seen… the music is magnificently recorded, concluding with an excellent performance of the Ninth Symphony by the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century conducted by its founder, Frans Brüggen.” Phillip French, The Observer. 2008. UK. 139 min. Unrated. insearchofbeethoven.com/
10.6 @ 2:15 & 4:30pm
Theater of War
WWU English Department Presents…Theatre of War, this powerful, behind the scenes look at a new staging of Brecht’s play—starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline—is more than a backstage pass. It’s an engrossing and fiercely intelligent study of war and capitalism, and their regrettable dependence on one another. But even more, it’s about the power—if not responsibility—of art and artists to cast a light on that which we prefer not to see. 2008. USA. 95 min. Unrated.
Opens 10.9
It Might Get Loud
A rare and personal look at the stories of three generations of electric guitar virtuosos; The Edge (U2), Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), and Jack White (The White Stripes). It Might is an intimate and revealing film that goes beyond the glamorous veneer of rock stardom to shed light on each artist, his music and motivations. 2009. USA. 97 min. PG. sonyclassics.com/itmightgetloud/
10.10 @ 2pm
Nollywood Babylon
The wild world of Nollywood, is explored to frequently hilarious affect in this film which delves first–hand into Nigeria’s explosive homegrown movie industry, where Jesus and voodoo vie for screen time. Peppered with outrageously juicy movie clips and buoyed by a rousing score fusing Afropop and traditional sounds. 2008. Canada. 74 min. Unrated. films.nfb.ca/nollywood–babylon/
10.10 @ 4pm
Sweet Crude
In Person: Director Sandy Cioffi
In a small corner of the most populous country in Africa, billions of dollars of crude oil flow under the feet of a desperate people. Immense wealth and abject poverty stand in stark contrast. The environment is decimated. The issues are complex, the answers elusive. Sweet Crude tells the story of Nigeria’s Niger Delta. What if the world paid attention before it was too late? 2009. USA. 94 min. Unrated. Sweetcrudemovie.com
10.11–12 @ 2:30pm
Unmistaken Child
Unmistaken Child follows the 4–year search for the reincarnation of Lama Konchog, a world–renowned Tibetan master who passed away in 2001 at age 84. The Dalai Lama charges the deceased monk’s devoted disciple, Tenzin Zopa (who had been in his service since the age of seven), to search for his master’s reincarnation. Stunningly shot, this is a beguiling, surprising, touching, even humorous experience. 2009. Israel. 102 min. Unrated.
10.14 @ 5:30pm
The Response
Speaker: TBA
ACLU Washington presents this FREE screening of The Response, a courtroom drama based on the actual transcripts of the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals. Three military judges must decide the fate of a Middle Eastern detainee—is he an enemy combatant? An innocent victim? Stars Peter Riegert and Kate Mulgrew. 2009. USA. 30 min. theresponsemovie.com
10.15 @ 6:30pm
Saving Luna
In Person: Co–Director Suzanne Chisholm
“Breathtaking. Sends a shiver down your spine.” Katherine Monk, Vancouver Sun. Luna, a baby killer whale, gets separated from his family on the rugged, wild coast of Vancouver Island. People fall in love with him but the government decides that being friendly with Luna is a problem. What unfolds is a fascinating and poignant story about human/animal connections. 2008. Canada. 92 min. Rated G. mountainsidefilms.com/savingluna/
10.17 @ 2pm
Mad City Chickens
Transition Whatcom presents… Mad City Chickens, a sometimes serious, sometimes whimsical look at the people who keep chickens in their urban backyards. From chicken experts and authors to a rescued landfill hen and an inexperienced family that decides to take the poultry plunge—and even a mad scientist and giant hen taking to the streets—it’s a humorous and heartfelt trip through the world of backyard chickendom. 2008. USA. 81 min. Unrated (G). tarazod.com
10.17–18 @ 4:30pm
Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love
In 2005, beloved Senegalese singer Youssou Ndour defied expectations and produced his most personal album, Egypt, presenting his Islamic faith as a peaceable and tolerant religion. Director Chai Vasarhelyi follows Ndour for over two years, filming in Africa, Europe, and America, to capture the records and Ndour’s—fascinating journey. 2008. Senegal/France. 102 min. Unrated. ibringwhatilove.com/
10.21 @ 6:30pm
Community Food Co–op Presents
Fresh
Fresh celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re–inventing our food system. Each has confronted the consequences of industrial agriculture: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. “If Food Inc. was your wake up call, Fresh, The Movie is your call to action.” EcoSalon. 2009. US. 72 min. Unrated. freshthemovie.com
Opens 10.23
The Yes Men Fix the World
Back for another round, the Yes Men, Mike Bonanno and Andy Bichlbaum, use their abundant wit and serious cajones to get into the boardrooms and conference halls of big corporations they don’t like. Their jocular antics expose the greed, misdeeds and mindlessness of companies by the likes of Dow and Exxon, and their fun and games unearth provocative facts. Prepare to laugh. 2009. USA. 88 min. PG–13 for brief strong language. theyesmenfixtheworld.com
10.23–24 @ 4:30pm
Art & Copy
FLIR Creative presents Art & Copy, a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration, revealing the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising gurus of our time. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of major ad campaigns are brought to light. 2009. USA. 89 min. Unrated. artandcopyfilm.com/
10.23–24 @ 9:15pm
Soul Power
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, prior to “The Rumble in the Jungle,” the epic fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Now see the story—and the music like never before. 2009. USA. 93 min. PG–13. sonyclassics.com/soulpower
10.24–25 @ 2:30pm
Throw Down Your Heart
Throw Down Your Heart follows American banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck on his journey to Africa to explore the little known African roots of the banjo and record an album. It’s a boundary–breaking musical adventure that celebrates the beauty and complexity of Africa – an Africa that is very different from what is often seen in the media today. 2009. USA. 97 min. throwdownyourheart.com/
10.25–26 @ 4:30pm
The End of the Line
Technology is overwhelming the world’s oceans–gargantuan nets, hi tech sonar, and trawlers that scrape the crust of the world away suggest that fishing is no longer the apt term. From the threatened extinction of the bluefin tuna, the horror of farmed fishing where 40 percent of the world’s undersea protein is used to feed the fish, all are presented in urgent, visually stunning means. 2009. USA. endoftheline.com/
10.28 @ 5:30pm
Making Sense of Place
Future Wise Whatcom & Sustainable Connections presents this FREE screening of ‘Making Sense of Place’. Using Portland, OR as its model, this film examines the complex questions of urban planning and regional identity by exploring the ways in which people participate in and experience their cities. Isn’t now a good time to ask these questions about Bellingham? 2009. USA. 60 min. Unrated. makingsenseofplacefilms.com/
10.30 @ 7pm
*Note: Blue Horse Events Begins @ 5pm
Who Does She Think She Is?
Blue Horse Gallery presents a powerful examination of some of the most pressing
issues of our time: parenting and work, partnering and independence, economics and art. The film follows five women artists as they navigate the economic, psychological, and spiritual challenges of making work outside the elite art world. Blue Horse Gallery brings the film home by featuring three prominent local artists; Trish Harding, Ann Morris and Seiko Purdue. Events begin at Blue Horse, continue at Tivoli, and end at the Pickford. $20/$25. More info: pickfordcinema.org. 2008. USA. 73 min. USA. whodoesshethinksheis.net/
10.31–11.1 @ 2pm
Under Our Skin
A dramatic tale of microbes, medicine and money, Skin plays like a taut thriller that investigates the untold story of Lyme disease, an emerging epidemic larger than AIDS. Following the stories of patients and physicians as they battle for their lives and livelihoods, the film brings into focus a haunting picture of our health care system—and perhaps an even more sinister agenda. 2008. USA. 104 min. Unrated. openeyepictures.com/underourskin/index.html
10.31–11.1 @ Noon
Speaking in Tongues
Guest Speaker TBA
In the heated debate over bilingual education, the “English only” camp skews toward xenophobia and racism, while the opposition at times sounds utopian themes of American global economic resurgence with the aid of multilingual classrooms. Often neglected in this discourse is the firsthand experience of students. Affecting, wise, and conversation–worthy. 2009. USA. 60 min. Unrated. speakingintonguesfilm.info/