BUFFALO NIAGARA FILM FESTIVAL 2014 FILM SCHEDULE April 24th thru May 3rd 2014 SHOWTIMES ARE AS FOLLOWS: Thurs. – April 24, 2014 @ The Market Arcade Film & Arts Center, Buffalo, NY Screen 1 4pm - - Brave New West (Documentary, 86m) - by Doug Hawes-Davis, Drury Gunn Carr – (Missoula, Montana) - “From its vast and stunning landscapes to the frontier mentality of its inhabitants, few regions inspire a stronger sense of place than the American West. - - - Nickel City Vandals (Documentary, 37m) – by Aaron Ferguson – (Buffalo, NY) - Nickel City Vandals asks the question, is graffiti an art or a crime? It also describes how graffiti has transitioned within the mainstream culture. Featuring graffiti writers, law enforcement, and an academic giving their opinions on not only graffiti in Buffalo but how graffiti has migrated from the streets to public galleries. 6pm - - A Toy’s Story: Life, Death & Rock N Roll (Documentary, 34m) - by Elmer Ploetz – (Eden, NY) - One of Buffalo’s biggest punk-era bands pursues the rock ‘n’ roll dream – and everything that goes with it. - - - Dream Interrupted (Documentary, 40m) - by Mahmood Karimi-Hakak – (Niskayuna, NY) - Dream entangled 10pm - - Claire (F, 99m) – by David Schatanoff, Jr. – (Canoga Park, CA) - A high school football player risks everything to find out if a deceased classmate had feelings for him. Screen 2 5pm - - Lean, Mean & Green (Documentary, 52m) – by Carrie Lezotte – (Detroit, Michigan) - Population loss and industrial collapse scar cities around the globe. People in post- industrial, blighted neighborhoods are taking action to make their communities a better place to live. While transitioning their cities from polluted wastelands to environmentally sustainable communities, these urban heroes tell an international story we all share. - - - Hamlet’s Green Evolution (Documentary, 41m) - by Mahmood Karimi-Hakak – (Niskayuna, NY) - Green dies on Red 7pm - - Les Esclave (The Slaves) (SH, 15m) - by Director-Jesse Mast - (St Paul, MN) - Two friends live as slaves in ancient Italy. One of them hates their master, but the other reveres him. When tragedy strikes their master's house, both slaves must decide what is more important: to be free, or to stay alive. Filmed on location in Southern France. - - - Saving General Yang (F, 102m) – by Ronny Yu – (Hong Kong, China) - Northeast China, early Northern Song dynasty, AD 986. The Khitan army takes its revenge for a past massacre, abducting General Yang Ye (Adam Cheng) and leaving his wife and seven sons to rescue him - and fall into their deadly trap. Led by the first son (Ekin Cheng), the seven - two of whom have never seen combat - set out with a small band of fighters to face an army of thousands, brave the treacherous Wolf Mountain, face the nemesis of their shared history, and find the way back alive - all to bring their father home. 9:15pm – SHORTS BLOCK “B”- (71m) - - Aurally (4m) - by Vanessa Crosbie Ramsay - (Hamilton, ON, CANADA) - The city is filled with stories. Some exist silently in the nightscape, while others invite us in. AURALLY ponders solitude, loneliness and un/happiness against a backdrop of late night radio and beautiful music. - - - Dissent (32m) – by Vince Mistretta – (Italy/France/Buffalo, NY) - An old father, still a tyrant despite his age. Edward, the son, devoured by his Oedipus complex. And Karla, the young woman betrothed to Edward, who dreams about her future husband's attempt to break free from the yoke of his father and assert his own will. However…. - - - Damnbulance (17m) - by Terence Cover - (Waterford, MI) - Two paramedics believe God has instructed them to allow certain organ donors to die in order to save more lives. - - - Seasick Sailor (Short, 22m) - by Torre Catalano - (Los Angeles, CA)! - A lonely teenager working as a debt collector for an underground gambling ring in Los Angeles tries to fit in with a new group of friends. - - - The Return (Short, 16m) - by Doug Hawes-Davis – (Missoula, Montana) - In the late 1880s, the last wild bison were eradicated from the Great Plains of North America.! Over 130 years later, a group of Native Americans, biologists, and concerned citizens finally realize the dream of returning genetically pure wild bison to their native land. - - Antoine (6m) Fri. – April 25, 2014 @ The Market Arcade Film & Arts Center, Buffalo, NY Screen 1 4pm - - Brandonwood (F, 87m) – by John J. Fink - (Buffalo, NY) - A romantic thriller tracing four years in the lives of a young couple from the excitement of new love to reality of new circumstances for which they cannot escape. Made in WNY. 10pm - - The Secretary (Short, 10m) – by Alex Szatmary – (Cambridge, On, Can) - In case you were part of a government conspiracy and you want to go public with the story...you only have to find a documentary maker. Sounds easy... but can you really trust a filmmaker? - - - Hit and Stay (Documentary, 97m) - by Joe Tropea & Skizz Cyzyk – (Baltimore, MD) - The story of a group of priests and nuns who were only trying to abide by their faith and end the Vietnam War. They ended up wanted by the FBI. Screen 2 5pm - - Facing The Storm: Story Of The American Bison (Documentary, 78m) - by Doug Hawes-Davis – (Missoula, Montana) - FACING THE STORM is highly recommended for anyone with children (middle-school age and up) who are willing to learn how the West was really won and dang near ruined.”! 7pm - - SPECIAL PREMEIRE & 30 YEAR REUNION CELEBRATION FOR: “The Natural” which was shot right here in Buffalo and starred Robert Redford & Directed by Barry Levinson - Events, showtimes and special guests TBA Sat. – April 26, 2014 @ The Market Arcade Film & Arts Center, Buffalo, NY Screen 1 11am - - The Wingman (F, 89m) - by Jim Garrison - !(Vancouver, B.C. CAN) - The Wingman is an award-winning bromantic comedy about a professional womanizer who coerces his heartbroken relationship counsellor into helping him seduce women, only to discover that having him as his best friend is more important than using him to satisfy his insatiable sex drive. 1pm - - Since I Don’t Have You (Feature, 114m) - by Gavin Rapp & Ron Hankison - (Pittsburgh, PA) - Inspired by a true story - The son of the beloved female vocalist in the popular doo-wop group, The Skyliners, confronts his estranged father for the truth about her suicide. 3pm - - The Star Fishing Boy (SH, 12m) - by Chuanshu Shi - (Rochester, NY) - This story is about a boy who falls to Earth from the clouds and encounters situations that spark his empathy and compassion, but also puts him at risk of not being able to return to his home in the sky. - - - R.A.D.I.C.A.L.S. (Feature, 75m) - by Berenika Bailey & Jeff Solema - (Los Angeles, CA) - When Sandlot meets Spy Kids. Eight kids develop their natural talents to superhero levels to confront a comic-book-inspired villain kidnapping neighborhood dogs to pull off the crime of the century. 5pm - - The Bond (Feature, 99m) - by Rick Dumont- (Madbury, NH) - A young woman is caught in the middle of a series of ritualistic murders in a small New Hampshire town. Police are targeting her husband, the media want answers and she just wants it all to end. 7pm - Return To Innocence (SH, 5m) - - - Nobody’s Perfect (Documentary, 94m) – by Derrick Simmons – (NY, NY) - It’s a rag to riches story about a younger woman!name Sasha (Lexi Moeller)!who meets the man of her dreams!Morgan (Derrick Simmons)!with the perfect lifestyle and image. They quickly fall in love. Once they get married, her perfect dream turns into a nightmare. 9pm - - NYC Rooftop Story (Feature, 48m) - by Ricardo Catalan Jr. – (New York City, NY) - David is an ivy league-educated writer who loses his longtime girlfriend and ability to write. A cathartic episode occurs on the rooftop which triggers his pursuit of Misha, a famous international model, and his latent creative writing. In four days, David’s life transforms beyond his initial intention. Life is a comedy spiced with the ups and downs. - - - I’m A Stripper (Documentary, 43m) – by Charlie David – (Montreal, Niagara Falls and Las Vegas) - follows the lives of three male strippers in the sexiest cities in N. America Screen 2 1pm - - Hide Your Smiling Faces (F, 81m) – by Daniel Patrick Carbone – (New Jersey and New York) - Hide Your Smiling Faces depicts the young lives of two brothers as they abruptly come of age through the experience of a friend’s mysterious death. - 3pm - - Patterns of Evidence: The Exodus (Documentary, 115m) – by Timothy Mahoney - (Minneapolis, MN) - For centuries, a historical and religious controversy has existed around certain events described in the pages of the Bible. Is it real or is it fiction? 5pm – SHORTS BLOCK “C”- (91m) - - Minutes With Jawney Mookoo (5m) - - - Mosaic 33 (25m) – by Brad Hord - (Shelby NC) - Dr. Sarah Alexander and her fellow scientists were working on something completely off the grid with no approval from Mosaic. Something that could cure millions of people if things hadn’t gone terribly wrong. - - - Autograph (Short, 3m) - by Ray and Migdalia Etheridge - (Palm Bay, FL) - A star struck country bumpkin goes to Hollywood and learns that stars do not always glitter. - - - Mrs Neverlate & Mr Betterlate (6m) – by Shane Pennells – (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada) - Set in the early fifties, an old-fashioned fellow loses track of time before a first date. Left waiting is a widowed woman. Through her good-natured heart she forgives him and the rendezvous moves in a positive direction. - - - Odds (Short, 20m) - by Jeffery Scott Fowler - (Hamilton, Ontario. Canada) - Drowning in the malaise of his mediocre existence, John has decided to test fate and play the odds with his only remaining possession, his life. It's a gamble where winning will bring him a fresh start and losing means a body bag.