http://docfactory.fangohr.com/index.php/site/index/ this part is for site news and press clippings en jp1444@gmail.com Copyright 2008 2008-10-01T11:33:00-08:00 http://docfactory.org/?/site/black_gold/ http://docfactory.org/?/site/black_gold/#When:21:28:00Z In this eye-opening exposé of the billion dollar coffee industry, Black Gold traces one man's fight for a fair priceMultinational coffee companies now rule our shopping malls and supermarkets and dominate the industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil. But while we continue to pay for our lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers remains so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields. Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Tadesse Meskela is one man on a mission to save his 74,000 struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. As his farmers strive to harvest some of the highest quality coffee beans on the international market, Tadesse travels the world in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price. Against the backdrop of Tadesse’s journey to London and Seattle, the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world’s coffee trade becomes apparent. New York commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges, and the double dealings of trade ministers at the World Trade Organisation reveal the many challenges Tadesse faces in his quest for a long term solution for his farmers. 2006-12-01T21:28:00-08:00 http://docfactory.org/?/site/killing_kasztner/ http://docfactory.org/?/site/killing_kasztner/#When:11:33:00Z How much does one negotiate with the enemy? In Israel the debate surrounding this question can provoke fury to the point of assassination. Such was the case of Dr. Israel Kasztner. Killing Kasztner peels back layers of history, deepening our understanding of World War II and Israel's fledgling years.Dr. Israel Kasztner, a Hungarian Jew, negotiated directly with Adolf Eichmann to purchase Jewish lives with smuggled funds.  As a result, thousands were transported to Switzerland on what became known as “Kasztner’s train”. Later, this extraordinary act was cast as a betrayal.  After moving to Israel, many of Kasztner’s new countrymen accused him of collaborating with the enemy.  He fought a vicious libel battle in a trial that portrayed him as “the man who sold his soul to the devil,” and was ultimately assassinated in Tel Aviv in 1957. Director Gaylen Ross examines this story as it plays out today, when passions can still run high among those touched by Kasztner’s life, helping bring his memory back to life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVIEWS Hero or collaborator? Jerusalem Post, Israel - Jan 2, 2009 Cinefile: Ten best of 2008 Jerusalem Post, Israel - Jan 2, 2009 He Sold His Soul Haaretz, Israel - Mar 03, 2009 50 years on, Holocaust survivor defends Rudolph Kasztner Haaretz, Israel - Dec 14, 2008 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PAST SCREENINGS Premiere Toronto International Film Festival 2008 Toronto Archives 2008 Special sneak preview: 05 March 2009. UK Jewish Film Festival at The Tricycle Theatre UK Jewish Film Festival The Tricycle Theatre - Killing Kasztner 26 March-5 April 2009 Titanic Film International Festival. Budapest, Hungary Titanic Film Festival 22:00 Mon 25 May 2009 Storyville - BBC Four BBC Four - Storyville 00:30, Fri 29 May 2009 Storyville - BBC Four BBC Four - Storyville 20:00, Wed 13 May 2009 Jewish Film Festival Berlin, Kino Arsenal Berlin Jewish Film Festival 3-10 October 2009 Haifa international Film Festival Israel Haifa Film Festival ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Directed by Gaylen Ross Producers: Gaylen Ross, Andrew Cohen, Anne Feinsilber, Noam Shalev GR Films Inc/ DOCFACTORY. 2008-10-01T11:33:00-08:00 http://docfactory.org/?/site/an_independent_mind_reviews/ http://docfactory.org/?/site/an_independent_mind_reviews/#When:01:57:01Z The Independent - review How does a cartoonist confront the threat of imprisonment for caricaturing the president? How does a musician deal with exile for performing a song? How does a comedian survive being sent to a labor camp for telling a joke? How does a poet endure the impact of being tortured? AN INDEPENDENT MIND A film by Rex Bloomstein These are some of the stories you will encounter in AN INDEPENDENT MIND, a unique feature-length documentary inspired by one of the most fundamental and controversial of human rights: Freedom of Expression. Enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, freedom of expression is one of the most fundamental rights of all. It is the very cornerstone of democracy and underpins the values of any ‘free’ society. But with the emergence of new threats that challenge the balance between the security of the state and the freedom of the individual, it is increasingly coming under attack. AN INDEPENDENT MIND is a 90 minute documentary by BAFTA winning director Rex Bloomstein celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The film was awarded The Human Rights Award from Biografilm Festival in Bologna and premiered at DocDays as part of Frontline at The Curzon in London on the 14th of September 2008. AN INDEPENDENT MIND has screened around the world and was broadcast in the UK on More4 on 9th December 2008. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ AWARDS Biografilm Festival in Bologna – recipient of The Human Rights Award ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ REVIEWS “… a wonderful new documentary…” “…a packed crowd at the Soho Curzon sat enthralled and outraged…” Charlie Beckett’s Review Charlie Beckett Guardian Guide “Rex Bloomstein’s thoughtful, subtle film asks what has become of one of the defining questions of our time… Excellent.” Observer Digital Pick of the Day “Marking the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Rex Bloomstein’s film raises issues of freedom of speech by letting various individuals relate their battle to express themselves.” Independent, The New Review “Bloomstein’s film is unsettling. With no narrator to guide you or music to distract you, the stories speak for themselves, with often surprising consequences…. In the past, the director has won awards for his unflinching films about prisons and the Holocaust (including KZ and Kids Behind Bars).  An Independent Mind is a similarly stirring, challenging piece of work.” The Times Digital Choice “As soon as you start saying this opinion is accepted and acceptable and that opinion is not acceptable, then you are degrading society.” A laudable closing statement for this meaty film. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PAST SCREENINGS Special Preview Essex University Human Rights Centre’s 25th anniversary celebrations. Human Rights Centre 25th Anniversary 07 May 2008 Premiere and Director’s Q&A DocDays and Frontline Club at The Curzon, London DocDays and Frontline Club 14 September 2008 Festival Against Censorship - Guernika, Spain Festival Against Censorship 18 October 2008 Human Rights Human Wrongs, Film Festival Oslo, Norway Human Rights Human Wrongs 03 - 07 December 2008 Ambulante Film Festival, Mexico Ambulante Film Festival 01 February - 24 April (travelling), 2008. Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE), Hot Docs and The Walrus present “An Independent Mind”. Canadian Journalists for Free Expression 11 August 2008 RSA screens RSA screens 08 December 2008 TV Broadcast Sky Broadcast 10 December 2008 Paris International Festival of Human Rights Paris International Festival of Human Rights 03 - 15 March 2009 Movies That Matter Film Festival, Holland Movies That Matter 02 - 08 April 2009 Wed 13th May, 2009 - Goodenough College Contact Goodenough College 7.30pm, Tues 12th May, 2009 - Roxy Cinema Roxy Cinema Listings Screened in 10 cities across New Zealand on Courage Day. Further screenings in Stockholm - Copenhagen - Toronto - UK ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Directed by Rex Bloomstein Executive Producers: DOCFACTORY 2008-01-09T01:57:01-08:00 http://docfactory.org/?/site/shadows_of_liberty/ http://docfactory.org/?/site/shadows_of_liberty/#When:20:23:00Z A documentary exploring the news media industry in the US, currently in production. Through historical analysis and a series of riveting stories, the film will take an extraordinary journey through the American media landscape. Produced by DOCFACTORY. 2008-01-01T20:23:00-08:00 http://docfactory.org/?/site/kz/ http://docfactory.org/?/site/kz/#When:19:53:00Z When the story of the unspeakable has been told a thousand times, when the images of the unimaginable have been shown a thousand times, when the mind is numb - where do you go from there? You have to start anew. That is where this film begins ... KZ A film by Rex Bloomstein On the banks of the river Danube, surrounded by the beautiful landscape of Upper Austria, lies the picturesque town of Mauthausen. Two kilometers from its town centre is a place that attracts bikers, busloads of tourists, parties of schoolchildren, people from all over the world. Tour guides come to work here every day, while nearby the locals go about their daily lives. This is a place where thousands upon thousands of people from over 30 nations were tortured and murdered. This site is the former KZ, German short for concentration camp. How does it feel to be a tourist at a former concentration camp? How does it feel to work here as a guide, day in day out? How does it feel to live here as a local with the dark secrets of the past? And what of those who have chosen this town to be their new home? This is a groundbreaking film about facing our ultimate demons. It is a contemporary yet timeless piece on the horrors that we have and always will be able to inflict on one another. Stripped of the usual dramatic devices, survivor testimonies and archive footage this radical film shows nothing but says everything. It will shake you to the core. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ AWARDS Audience Award - Amnesty International Film Festival 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NOMINATIONS Grand Jury Prize - World Cinema, Documentary - Sundance 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2007-12-01T19:53:00-08:00