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Bwakaw
Philippines, 2012, 110 min.
One of the year’s most charming surprises, this life-affirming comic drama stars veteran Filipino superstar Eddie Garcia as Rene, an elderly, hilariously cantankerous gay man coming out of his shell late in life. Winner: Audience Choice, Best Actor, Cinemalaya.... more
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Defiant Requiem
USA, 2012, 85 min.
A memorial concert reawakens the story of an artistic uprising in the Nazi concentration camp, Terezin, where a chorus of 150 inmates confronts the Nazis face-to-face ... and sings to them what they dare not say.... more
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Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey
USA, 2012, 113 min.
How to replace Steve Perry? That was the dilemma for anthemic rockers Journey after their lead singer quit the band. Eventually they found the perfect solution via YouTube: a street kid who fronted a Filipino cover band.... more
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Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story
USA, 2012, 99 min.
A thoroughly engrossing documentary about “the most famous children’s book author you have never heard of”, whose subversive and brilliant work has won him legions of fans… and more than a few enemies.... more
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A Fierce Green Fire
USA, 2012, 114 min.
A fervent and engrossing account of environmentalism, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Mark Kitchell's five-part history offers up righteous fury and startling realities about the short-sighted past, perilous present, and uncertain future of our relationship with nature.... more
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The Final Member
Canada, 2012, 75 min.
Forget Hollywood, the funniest comedy of the year may be this documentary about the Icelandic Phallological Museum. That’s right, a penis museum. Join “Siggi” Hjartarson on his quest to find the one thing that will make his museum complete – a human penis.... more
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Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp
USA, 2012, 88 min.
An African-American writer’s authentic treatment of inner city street life sells 6 million books –Malcolm X? Alex Haley? James Baldwin? No. His name is Robert Beck, aka Iceberg Slim, and his story is truly remarkable and surprisingly moving.... more
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Informant
USA, 2012, 82 min.
Possibly the year’s best thinking man’s who-done-it, Jamie Meltzer’s brilliant political thriller doc has a twist: we know who done it. The question is: what makes a man go from militant leftwing activist to FBI informant?... more
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Jews of Egypt
Egypt, 2012, 96 min.
“An engrossing, enraging and deeply moving chronicle of the lost history of Egyptian Jews from the beginning of the 20th Century until the mid-60s… seamlessly blends the personal with the public, painting a rich, multifaceted portrait of a history that has been deliberately forgotten and tarnished.”... more
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Koch
USA, 2012, 95 min.
Love him or hate him, Ed Koch personifies the image of New York and the big city mayor. Granted unprecedented access, filmmaker Neil Barsky engages the still feisty 87-year-old Koch in a probing assessment of his life, career, and legacy.... more
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No Place on Earth
USA, 2012, 83 min.
“Maybe some Jews lived down there.” These words mark the beginning of an incredible story: 38 Ukrainian Jews who hid deep inside some of the longest caves in the world for 511 days to escape the Nazis.... more
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Nuala
Ireland, 2012, 90 min.
This warts-and-all documentary paints a vivid picture of Irish author/TV producer/columnist/cultural commentator Nuala O'Faolain’s remarkable life, bountiful talent and uncompromising death.... more
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Pad Yatra: A Green Odyssey
USA, 2012, 70 min.
In this adventure eco documentary, 700 people trek 450 miles on foot across the rooftop of the world, the Himalayas, bringing environmental education, planting 33,000 trees, and carrying off half a ton of litter on their backs.... more
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The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology
United Kingdom, 2012, 134 min.
Courtesy of director Sophie Fiennes, this follow-up to her instant classic The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema, once again stars sly frontman and philosophical provocateur Slavoj Zizek; it’s the fun philosophy course you wish you could have taken in college - loaded with clips from classic films.... more
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Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself
USA, 2011, 89 min.
Take a thoroughly enjoyable ride with this American original – the writer, editor, journalist, raconteur, celebrity George Plimpton. Did I leave anything out, George?... more
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Room 237
USA, 2012, 104 min.
Stanley Kubrick’s enigmatic masterpiece The Shining goes under the microscope courtesy of 5 brilliant – but possibly insane – interpretations from its most obsessive fans. Could it really be about the genocide of the Indians? And why did he change that room number to 237?... more
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The Shining
United Kingdom, 1980, 146 min.
One of the scariest movies ever made, and also one of the most fascinating, Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film about a husband and father turning axe-wielding maniac is worth revisiting in the light of PSIFF documentary Room 237. ... more
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Smiling Through the Apocalypse - Esquire in the 60s
USA, 2012, 98 min.
An intimate and engaging portrait of Harold Hayes, the brilliant editor of Esquire magazine in its 1960s peak, who fostered the leading lights of the New Journalism, including such talents as Tom Wolfe, Gore Vidal, William F Buckley and Norman Mailer.... more
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United in Anger: A History of Act Up
USA, 2012, 93 min.
A riveting tear through the tumultuous history of Act Up, arguably one of the most effective political action movements of the past half-century, United in Anger traces the origins, outrageous (to some) exploits and achievements of this seminal group... more
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When Day Breaks
Serbia, 2012, 90 min.
Retired music professor Misha Brankov learns a life-changing secret about his past in this moving tribute to the Jews and Romani who perished in Belgrade’s notorious Sajmiste concentration camp from acclaimed director Goran Paskaljevic.... more
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A Whisper To A Roar
USA, 2012, 95 min.
Inspired by the work of Stanford’s Center for Democracy, Ben Moses set to chronicle the accomplishments of five democracy activists, in Egypt, Malaysia, Ukraine, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. “By turns shocking and inspiring.” - New York Times.... more
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A World Not Ours
United Kingdom, 2012, 93 min.
A remarkably intimate glimpse inside the Ain El-Helweh refugee camp in Lebanon. “A passionate, ironic, bittersweet documentary that flips storytelling and Mideast-Arab cliches on their heads while weaving an irresistible mood of amused melancholy.” Variety. Best Documentary, Abu Dhabi Film Fe... more
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