Policing the Pacific

THE DREAM OF SHAHRAZAD is a feature-length documentary film that brings together the famous story collection THE 1001 (or "ARABIAN") NIGHTS with recent political events in Egypt, Turkey and Lebanon... Description The "Arab Spring" of early 2011 was a momentous global event, raising great hopes for anyone interested in the forward march of humanity. No one, however, is yet sure about the meaning or consequences of these events... THE DREAM OF SHAHRAZAD is a feature-length documentary film which locates the Egyptian revolution - and also recent political changes in Turkey and Lebanon - within a broader historical and cultural framework: that of storytelling and music. More particularly, it looks at the legacy of the famous collection of stories known as THE 1001 (or "ARABIAN") NIGHTS. Weaving together a web of music, politics and storytelling, the film follows a series of unforgettable characters, all of whom draw their inspiration from the NIGHTS and whom, like Shahrazad - the storytelling princess in the NIGHTS who saves lives by telling stories - puts creativity to new political use... A young female Turkish violinist travels to Istanbul, where a charismatic conductor uses Rimsky-Korsakov's SCHEHERAZADE suite as a tool for political education, leading up to a final performance at Istanbul's Topkapi Palace. A young Lebanese woman makes peace with her past by learning the art of storytelling in Egypt. An older visual artist who is obsessed with THE NIGHTS finds his "dream of Shahrazad" manifesting through the appearance of a beautiful young storyteller. Members of a Cairo theatre troupe meet with the mothers of martyrs of the January 25 Revolution and turn their testimonies into new storytelling performances... This richly kaleidoscopic film is at once observational documentary, concert film, political essay and visual translation of an ever-popular symphonic and literary classic. It is a documentary homage to THE NIGHTS, to the SCHEHERAZADE suite, and to the role of a rich historical and creative legacy within huge current political change.

The film is a view from the inside on how it is to be in opposition in Russia of Putin. Attempts, mistakes, political tricks, seen through the eyes of the opposition leaders.

We the Parents, a feature documentary film, follows the people and events surrounding the first ever school transformation under California's 'Parent Trigger' law. Parents, with the help of the non-profit group Parent Revolution, gather signatures from over 51% of the families at McKinley Elementary School in Compton, CA. When their petitions are turned in to the district, demanding that a charter school take over McKinley, the controversy begins. Everyday people, who simply want a better life for their children, suddenly find themselves doing extraordinary things: appearing on television, speaking at press conferences, lobbying in the state capital, and becoming community leaders. On their journey they inspire a national movement and discover that education is a political beast.

Protest this protest that, so many protests. All good causes, activism spreads. No doubt the world has wrongs that need exposing. What's the next protest? Une proteste, international strike, a boycott. Protest whatever? Whatefer. says Felice Falafafull, the Protester.

'Road to Heaven' tells the story of a young Sikh's pilgrimage across India. His journey leads him along the 'Grand Trunk Road', an ancient trading route and one of the most dangerous roads in the world, from Kolkata in the east to Amritsar in the west where it ends at the spiritual centre of Sikhism. On the way to his journey's end, the golden temple of Amritsar, he is confronted with the reality of his country, in which corruption, social evils and violence towards women create the fabric of society. The road to heaven invariably leads him through purgatory.

Emmy-award winning journalists Zachary M. Newmark and Amy Jacobson search for answers in the small Welsh community of Bridgend, where thirty young people took their own lives over a two-year period. The newspapers called it an 'internet suicide cult.' But what really happened, and why here? In his directorial debut, Newmark has assembled a collection of interviews with family and friends of the dead, local politicians, and various experts to come to a conclusion about the area's missing services.