Film

In 1973, a military coup overthrew and murdered the democratically-elected president of Chile, socialist Salvador Allende, replacing him with General Augusto Pinochet, whose regime perpetrated torture, murder and “disappearances” until 1990. MORE »

Minneapolis residents Dominic Howes and Joel Weber, co-directors of The Listening Project, pose an urgent post-9/11 question: What does the world think of America? Traveling to 14 countries (including Africa, the UK, Afghanistan, Israel and Palestine, Mexico, India, and China), the answers they get are often contradictory and surprising. The film casts serious doubt on the Bush Administration’s assertion that we Americans are “hated for our freedom.” MORE »

Four Sheets to the Wind begins with a Muscogee language narration of a story of a rabbit that swallowed a bear, while Cufe (Cree for “rabbit”) Smallhill (Cody Lightning, Smoke Signals) finds his father Frankie “more quiet than usual”—Frankie has committed suicide. Cufe follows his father’s wishes and buries him in a nearby pond. The death and funeral reanimate buried emotions of stark loneliness, neglect, and desire. Cufe’s mother Cora (Jeri Arrendondo) is unhappy about her husband’s not having a proper funeral, but is trying to move on after years of enduring her husband’s silence. Cufe’s troubled sister Miri (Ojibway actress/singer Tamara Podemski) returns home, only to resume a past conflict with Cora. Cufe leaves his Oklahoma reservation to check out Tulsa—the big city—and to visit Miri. As Miri’s not home when he arrives, Cufe hangs out with her neighbor, Francie, and finds shelter from his immense loneliness from his father’s death—and also burgeoning love. He discovers Miri’s self-destructive downward spiral with alcohol and strange men as she aimlessly and compulsively reaches for comfort. MORE »

With gas prices rising and the environment at risk, bicycling has a “cool factor” like never before. There are thousands of bicycles on local streets—the Midtown Greenway has its very own rush hour—and the Bicycle Film Festival (BFF) is again making its way to Minneapolis. Comprising more than 20 features, 20-some short films, and even a couple of bike music videos, the festival captures a wide spectrum of perspectives on biking as sport, pastime, and mode of transportation. MORE »