Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Gini Reticker, U.S., 2008, 72 min.
Friday, Nov. 21, 7 p.m., Tivoli 3

“Pray the Devil Back to Hell” – winner of the Best Documentary Award at Tribeca and the Witness Award at Silverdocs – provides a gripping account of a group of brave and visionary women who demanded peace for Liberia, a nation torn by a decades-old civil war. Combining contemporary interviews, archival images and scenes of present-day Liberia, “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” vividly captures the experiences and memories of the women who worked nonviolently to bring lasting peace to their country. Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu says the film “eloquently captures the power each of us innately has within our souls to make this world a far better, safer, more peaceful place.”

Shown with
The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306 (Adam Pertofsky, U.S., 2008, 32 min.), which document the moving recollections of the Rev. Samuel “Billy” Kyles, who stood next to MLK when the civil-rights leader was shot in Memphis.

Song Sung Blue
Greg Kohs, U.S., 2008, 85 min.
Saturday, Nov. 15, noon, Tivoli 1

“Song Sung Blue” tells the inspiring and ultimately tragic love story of Lightning & Thunder, Mike and Claire Sardina, a Milwaukee husband-and-wife singing duo who pay tribute to the music of Neil Diamond. Filmmaker Kohs goes backstage into the tumultuous and frequently calamitous personal lives of the couple – from their humble beginnings more than 20 years ago to the threshold of fame, when Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder memorably joined the couple for a rousing “Forever in Blue Jeans” at the Wisconsin State Fair. Variety observes: “Dysfunction and delusion run rife through a stranger-than-fiction saga that starts out kitschily amusing, then finds drama and pathos in its subjects’ rather hapless progress.” “Song Sung Blue,” which won both the jury and audience prizes as best documentary at Slamdance, movingly explores fleeting celebrity and lasting love. With director Kohs.

St. Benedict’s Rule
Jay Kanzler, U.S., 2008, 84 min.
Saturday, Nov. 15, 5 p.m., Webster

Founded in 1881, Conception Abbey in northwest Missouri is an apparent refuge from modern life, serving as home to Benedictine monks, providing religious instruction at its seminary college, and hosting retreats at its guest center. But not even this timeless sanctuary is immune to contemporary ills: On June 2002, a gunman walked into Conception Abbey, killing two monks and seriously wounding two others. “St. Benedict’s Rule” offers insight into the monsastic existence, exploring the abbey’s many facets and speaking with the priests and brothers about their life of prayer and contemplation. It also explores how the monks coped with the shocking outreak of violence that took place within the abbey’s walls. With director Kanzler.

The Stem Cell Divide
Barbara Shuman, Jill Mogil & Sharon Pollack, U.S., 2008, 90 min.
Sunday, Nov. 16, 2 p.m., Tivoli 1

“The Stem Cell Divide” examines the controversy – in Missouri and the nation – over embryonic stem cell research, an issue that has galvanized the religious, political and scientific sectors. The film covers a two-year period, beginning with legislation proposed in the Missouri Senate and continuing through the 2006 ballot referendum on the Missouri Stem Cell and Cures Initiative, and shows Missourians’ efforts to resolve this conflict, a debate that transcends geography, race, gender, age and socioeconomic status. The fundamental questions of when life begins and whether the hope for cures should override religious beliefs are eternal quandaries. Those questions elicit thoughtful, emotional responses from a range of individuals representing both sides of the debate.
With co-directors Shuman, Mogil & Pollack.

Stranded: I’ve Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains
Gonzalo Arijon, Uruguay, 2008, 126 min., Spanish
Wednesday, Nov. 19, 9 p.m., Tivoli 1

It is one of the most astonishing and inspiring survival tales of all time. On Oct. 13, 1972, a young rugby team from Montevideo, Uruguay, boarded a plane for a match in Chile – and then vanished into thin air. Two days before Christmas, 16 of the 45 passengers miraculously resurfaced after managing to survive for 72 days on a remote Andean glacier. Thirty-five years later, the survivors returned to the crash site – known as the Valley of Tears – to recount their harrowing story of defiant endurance and indestructible friendship. Visually breathtaking, the film is crafted with riveting detail by the filmmaker, a childhood friend of the survivors. A masterful combination of on-location interviews, archival footage and re-enactments, “Stranded” is by turns hauntingly powerful and spiritually moving.

Summer Sun, Winter Moon
Hugo Perez, U.S., 2008, 60 min.
Saturday, Nov. 22, 1 p.m., Tivoli 1

A symphony inspired by the Lewis and Clark expedition brings together two individuals from different worlds: Rob Kapilow, a celebrated composer trying to breathe new life into classical music, and Darrell Robes Kipp, a Blackfeet Indian poet fighting to save his language from extinction. “Summer Sun, Winter Moon” tells the story of how their unexpected collaboration creates a unique work of art from the perspective of American Indians today. St. Louisans will find the film especially compelling: The work was co-commissioned by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and its Powell Hall premiere is prominently featured. With director Perez, subjects Kapilow and Kipp, and producer Cynthia Newport.

That All May Be One
Karen Kearns, U.S., 2008, 55 min.
Sunday, Nov. 16, 11:30 a.m., Tivoli 1

“That All May Be One” explores the enduring legacy of the sisters of St. Joseph of Carondolet and their place in the South St. Louis neighborhood where they have lived for more than 150 years. Committed to community service and active in social-justice pursuits, the sisters profiled prove fiercely intelligent, passionately engaged and delightfully good-humored. With director Kearns.

Shown with
American Pioneers (Bruce Marren, U.S., 2008, 35 min.), an entertaining history of Old St. Ferdinand Shrine in Florissant, Mo., chronicling the pioneers, educators and immigrants who traveled to the remote wilderness. With director Marren.

Throw Down Your Heart
Sascha Paladino, U.S., 2008, 97 min., Bambara, English, French, Jola & Swahili
Sunday, Nov. 16, 7 p.m., Webster

In “Throw Down Your Heart” – winner of Silverdocs’ Music Documentary Award – virtuoso musician Béla Fleck takes his banjo on a journey to Africa to explore the little-known African roots of his instrument and record an album. His boundary-breaking musical adventure takes him to Mali, Gambia, Uganda and Tanzania on a journey that celebrates the beauty and complexity of Africa and its diverse music. Using his banjo as a form of communication, Fleck transcends barriers of language and culture, finding a common ground and ultimately forging connections with musicians and peoples from very different backgrounds.
Sponsored by Sheldon Concert Hall.

Shown with
Pickin’ & Trimmin’ (Matt Morris, U.S., 2007, 22 min.), a visit to The Barbershop in Drexel, N.C., where the atmosphere is laidback and the bluegrass music is a cut above the rest.

Traces of the Trade: A Story From the Deep North
Katrina Browne, Alla Kovgan, & Jude Ray, U.S., 2008, 86 min.
Monday, Nov. 17, 7:15 p.m., Tivoli 3

The Hollywood Reporter declares that “powerful is an inadequate word to describe the impact” of “Traces of the Trade,” which tells the story of co-director Browne’s New England ancestors, the deWolfs, the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. At Browne’s urging, nine fellow descendants journey with her on trips to Ghana and Cuba, retracing the steps of the Triangle Trade. At each stop, the family grapples with the contemporary legacy of slavery for Americans both black and white. Browne pushes her family members forward as they negotiate the minefield of race politics and debate the efficacy of reparations. With co-director Browne.

Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman
Eric Bricker, U.S., 2008, 83 min.
Saturday, Nov. 22, 6:15 p.m., Tivoli 1

“Visual Acoustics” – narrated by Dustin Hoffman – explores the monumental career of 97-year-old architectural photographer Julius Shulman. Populating his photos with human models and striking landscapes, Shulman combined the organic with the synthetic, melding nature with revolutionary urban design. The resulting images helped to shape the careers of some of the greatest architects of the 20th century, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra and Rudolf Schindler. Through the exploration of both Shulman’s art and uniquely individualistic life, the film offers an unforgettable portrait of modernism’s most eloquent ambassador. Variety writes: “Something of a missionary statement for a missionary, this is nirvana for lovers of mid-century modern and fine-art photography.” With director Bricker.
Sponsored by Art House