Well, we're REALLY in the homestretch now, and we're looking forward to a great Vermont International Film Festival on Oct. 11-14 in Burlington. The films are strong, we have some great guest speakers coming in, and the volunteers are at the ready.
FILM PROGRAM:

* BAMAKO (115 min.) (Mali/U.S.A./France) - www.bamako-themovie.com/This narrative film chronicles African civil society proceedings against the IMF and World Bank that take place in the courtyard of Melé, a bar singer, and her out-of-work husband, Chaka.

* EVERYTHING'S COOL (100 min.) (U.S.A.) - http://www.everythingscool.org/
Billed as a "real life disaster movie," this provocative documentary extends the conversation on global climate change with voices ranging from the "poet laureate" of global warming Bill McKibben to the "Columbo of Climate Change" Ross Gelbspan to Bish Neuhouser, a frustrated snow groomer at a Utah ski resort-and many more.

* FOUR EYED MONSTERS (U.S.A.) - www.foureyedmonsters.com
The first feature film distributed over YouTube, this quirky quasi-documentary chronicles the highly mediated courtship of two young urbanites that employ technology to make their love connection. Filmmaker Susan Buice will attend the festival and take part in a discussion.

* HABANA BLUES (110 min.) (Spain/Cuba/France) -
http://wwws.warnerbros.es/movies/habanablues/

In this lively, music-filled film fable set in Cuba, young pop musicians Ruy and Tito face a momentous decision when they finally get their break: Take the record contract and run to Spain - never to be allowed to return - or stay in Havana...maybe forever.

* LIVING GODDESS (87 min.) (U.K)
As a revolution ignites in the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal, the hidden lives of three young girls worshipped as goddesses unfolds. With the documentarian's camera rolling, their world of secret Tantric rituals, blood sacrifice and childish mischief is changed forever as violence closes in.

* MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES (90 min.) (Canada) -
http://zeitgeistfilms.com/

This documentary follows acclaimed photographer Edward Burtynsky to China as he captures the effects of the country's massive industrial revolution and leads us to meditate on human endeavor and its impact on the planet.

* PANTHER ARCHIVES (U.S.A.) - www.newsreel.us
Roz Payne's gripping newsreel footage of the Black Panther Party includes Black Panther stories, photos, and FBI documents - fascinating historical material on one of the nation's most controversial organizations.

* PUBLIC HOUSING (195 MIN.) (U.S.A.) - PRE-FESTIVAL SCREENING!
Here's a portrait of daily life at the Ida B. Wells public housing development in Chicago. The film shows the work of the tenants council, street life, the role of police, job training programs, drug education, teenage mothers, dysfunctional families, elderly residents, nursery school and after school teenage programs and the activities of the city, state and federal governments in maintaining and changing public housing. The scenes illustrate some of the experiences of people living in conditions of extreme poverty.

Film and discussion introduced by Vermont Law Line Director and film historian Tom Garrett. This screening is part of Burlington College's Institute for Civic Engagement. This Vermont International Film Foundation is co-sponsor of this special pre-festival event.

* STRANGE CULTURE (75 min.) (U.S.A.) - www.strangeculture.net/
This documentary chronicles the bizarre case of artist/professor Steve Kurtz whose life took a nightmarish turn when his wife, Hope, died of heart failure. The FBI investigation into the death and Kurtz's art led to his detention as a bioterrorist - a case still unfolding.

* THE UNION (105 min.) (Canada) - http://www.theunionmovie.com/
This provocative, poignant, and amusing documentary explores the costs and benefits - an estimated $7 billion annually - of the Canadian marijuana trade. What really are the health risks of marijuana? Is it really the scourge that conservative lawmakers have long made it out to be?

* VERMONT FILMMAKERS SHOWCASE
Cherchez La Femme (1 min.)
Digital Pamphleteer (8 min.)
Ethiopian Adoption (35 min.)
Hamburger Spaceship (9 min.)
Life and Choice (60 min.)
Life in Franklin County (41 min.)
Living on the Fault Line (80 min.)
Luncheon Meat ((30 min.)
Marching for Action (55 min.)
One Room School House (9:35 min.)
Small Farm Food Fest (30 min.)
To a Flame (5:30 min.)
Unexpected Affair (15 min.)
We Will Return (6 min.)

* VERMONT COLLEGE STUDENTS FILM SHOWCASE
Participating: Burlington College, Champlain College, Middlebury College, St. Michael's College, and the University of Vermont.



* WALTER UNGERER RETROSPECTIVE
The innovative experimental filmmaker of Meet Me, Jesus (1965), The Animal (1976), and others is the guest of Kriya Studio for a discussion and screening of select short works and the feature Down the Road.

* WAR DANCE (105 min.) (U.S.A.) - www.fine-films.com/main/films/war-dance/

This documentary follows three Ugandan children - once abducted to serve as soldiers in the war-torn north - as they overcome tragic pasts. Schoolmates from a refugee camp transcend hardship on their way to becoming finalists in Uganda's national music and dance competition.