August 28
August 28, 1 pm – Orinda Theatre #2
Afghan Cycles
Director: Sarah Menzies
Producer: Caryn Capotosto
Documentary, USA, Afghanistan
90 mins
What lengths would you go to in order to ride a bicycle? Following a new generation of young Afghan women cyclists, Afghan Cycles uses the bicycle to tell a story of women’s rights—human rights—and the struggles faced by Afghan women on a daily basis, from discrimination to abuse, to the oppressive silencing of their voices in all aspects of contemporary society. These women ride despite cultural barriers, infrastructure, and death threats, embracing the power and freedom that come with the sport.
August 28, 3 pm – Orinda Theatre #2
Short Film Showcase of Female Directors
This program includes five (5) short films that showcase the talents of female directors from around the globe.
First Disco
Writer, Director: Helen Reilly
Producers: Helen Reilly, David C. Lynch and Jim Sheridan
Drama, Dublin, Ireland
18 mins
It’s 1983. Culture Club are No. 1, everyone’s glued to “Knight Rider,” and Kelly Harrison is not only experiencing her first crush, she’s going to her first disco. The only problem is that she’s getting braces on her teeth before her big night. With the help of her best friend, however, Kelly realizes what’s really important in her life.
Yellow Arrows
Writer and Director: Yana Sar
Producers: Ryan Alan Dearth and Javier Gonzalez
Drama, New York, NY
15 mins
After receiving messages from a stranger, Jack follows a path into a hidden world. As he gets trapped in the maze of the unknown, answers he was looking for begin to be revealed to him.
He Wants To Know My Number
Writer, Director and Producer: Sakinah Iman
Producers: Brilliant Champions and Joe Lumbroso
Comedy, Brooklyn, NY
4 mins
Science has proven that, due to dopamine and serotonin levels in the male and female brain, women actually need to have twice as much sex as men. Yet in 2019, there is still a huge double-standard regarding male and female sexuality. Women are still being slut-shamed and ridiculed for being absolutely normal human beings. Sakinah Iman created this powerful and provocative piece to express her take on the issue of Sex and Promiscuity in the 21st Century.
America
Director: Mary Lou Belli
Writer: Jana Sue Memel
Producers: Mary Lou Belli, Charles Dougherty and Grant Kretchik
Drama, Los Angeles, CA
10 mins
In a tribute to his brother's military service in Iraq, Tim takes his brother's ashes to NYC to the 9/11 Memorial. The journey ends with a lesson in racial profiling when he shares his evening with his Middle Eastern Airbnb host, Abdul.
Table Stakes
Director and Producer: Khai Thu Nguyen
Producer: Arthur Yee
Documentary, San Francisco, CA
16 mins
African American writers Joe Thompson and Chris Adams pursue their dreams in a comic book industry accustomed to white and Asian artists.
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August 28, 6:30 pm – Orinda Theatre #2
Dukla 61
Director: David Ondříček
Producers: Michal Reitler
Drama/History, Czech Republic
150 mins
Centered on a mining disaster that took the lives of 108 men on July 7, 1961, Dukla 61 is an expansive, emotionally resonant portrait of a family. When Petr brings home his pregnant girlfriend Jana, declaring that he will abandon his college studies and become a miner like his father Milan, he dashes his parents’ hope for their son and plants seeds of discord that grow with the young couple’s live-in presence in a home crowded with younger children. This gripping two-part drama represents a masterwork for director Ondříček, with the pressures, worries, and intergenerational conflicts of family life ultimately intertwined and upstaged by the tense, chilling lead-up to the horror of the accident waiting to happen. In Czech with English subtitles.