Festival Sin Frontera/Without Borders Film Festival

FESTIVAL SIN FRONTERA
October and November 2007

The Screening Room
Tucson, Arizona

The Arizona Media Arts Center, Borderlands Theater and Raices Taller 222 Art Gallery and Workshop are pleased to present the first annual FESTIVAL SIN FRONTERAS, an innovative showcase of theater, poetry, film, visual arts andmusic that represent the diverse voices of the Southwest.

The following programs will take place at The Screening Room, 127 EastCongress in downtown Tucson.

ROMANTICO ROMÁNTICO
is a documentary film about Mexican musician Carmelo Muñiz. Filmmaker Mark Becker follows Carmelo as the troubadour returns home to scratch out a living after years of trying to get ahead as a musician (for tips) in San Francisco. An immigrant tale in reverse, this portrait vividly captures why a 60-year-old father chose to leave his beloved daughters and cross the desert to the U.S.ROMÁNTICO is tangentially about illegal immigration, United States/Mexican economics, the romantico music of the title, and the subterranean American alien community. But at the heart of Mark Becker's beautifully shot, poetic film are the fundamental love and devotion of a father to his family; his desire above all is to provide them a decent living and a better future. Friday, October 5 at 7:30pm Saturday, October 6 at 7:30pm Sunday, October 7 at 3:00pm Admission: $5

BORDER STORIES
Thousands of footprints cover the ground like a blanket. Each footprint describes a shadow that moves in the night, marking the trail of Mexican and Central American migrants' journeys through the desert in search of work in the United States. Filmmaker Kathryn Ferguson, Dr. Norma Price and actor Ted Parks work with the Samaritans, volunteers who search the desert for people in need of water and medical assistance. Border Stories is a reading of experiences they collected on the trail. It is the migrants' stories of who they are and why they choose to cross the deadly terrain. Friday, October 12 at 7:30pm$5 suggested donation

TRESPASSING
Ten years in the making, Trespassing is a feature-length documentary that poetically examines our fight for survival. By focusing on the battle around nuclear storage in the United States, the film carefully unpacks a deadly controversy around land rights, uranium mining, nuclear testing and the disposal of nuclear waste. Filmed in and around Native American sacred sites in Nevada's Yucca Mountain, Four-Corners and California's Mojave Desert, Trespassing captures the breathtaking beauty of the natural environment, while documenting the actions of indigenous people and others as they risk relocation, eviction and arrest to prevent further desecration of these lands, the air and the water by nuclear waste. Filmmaker Carlos DeMenezes will be present for the screenings. Awards include: Best Documentary, Boston International Film Festival, Special Jury Award, Arizona International Film Festival, Best Documentary, Granada International Film Festival, Spain, Best of the Fest, Cine Pobre, Gibara, Cuba Friday, October 19 at 7:30pm Saturday, October 20 at 7:30pm Sunday, October 21 at 3:00pm Admission: $5

NARRATIVES OF THE SOUTHWEST
A dynamic panel discussion which will place theater, film, story telling, music and visual arts as interrelated expressions of current "historical moments" here in the Southwest. Participants will include actor Victor Carpinteiro, filmmaker Carlos DeMenezes, director Eva Tessler, artist Ceci Garcia and others. Saturday, October 20 at 4:00pm Free Admission DANZON directed by Maria Novaro This balmy tropical breeze of a movie tells the story of a switchboard operator who finds fulfillment in the dance hall performing that elegant mixture of passion and precision known as danzon. With its vibrant colors, torchy love songs, and engaging characters, the film negotiates a delicate balance between modern notions of female empowerment and the no less valid appeals of tradition, nostalgia, sexiness and old-fashioned romance. Victor Carpinteiro, award-winning Mexican actor, director and teacher will introduce the screening. Highlights of his film work include: Danzón, Old Gringo/Gringo Viejo, Collateral Damage and Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
Friday, November 2 at 7:30pm$5 suggested donation

CINE SIN FRONTERAS
Independent cinema pushes established cinematic boundaries and explores unexpected possibilities. Presenting a rich diversity of story and technique, Cine Sin Fronteras will showcase a collection of short films that reflect the themes of the festival.
Saturday, November 3 at 7:30pm Admission: $5

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