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"I still have a dream: I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed" - MLK speech at civil rights march on Washington, August 28, 1963 In honor of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, the seventh MountainTop Film Festival presents a series of human and civil rights related films that address the current hopes and concerns of our society in the US and around the globe. Film has an unrivaled power to use human stories to make us think about broader issues. This years festival program is doing just that: with films about hope for real change - be it in the form of a new leadership ("By the People") or by uniting people through music in a global effort for a common ground ("Playing for Change"). With films about hope for a better life ("Amreeka", "Eden is West"), films about walls being built and coming down ("Palestine Blues", "Goodbye Lenin"). Films about finding our voices ("Kashmir", "Slingshot Hip Hop"), standing up to power ("Crude", "The Lives of Others") and about environmental degradation and conservation ("The Age of Stupid", "Up the Yangtze"). With this the MountainTop Film Festival continues its effort to provoke critical thinking, start conversation, and encourage action. 15 films, events with special guests such as filmmakers Mark Johnson (Playing for Change), Alicia Sams (By The People) and Udi Aloni (Kashmir) along with policy makers, activists and pundits will make for another versatile and action driven program. The festival will also host a free screening of The Learning Tree (1969) - a film by civil rights activist and filmmaker Gordon Parks. The story, set in Kansas during the 1920's, covers a year in the life of a black teenager, and documents the veritable deluge of events which force him into sudden manhood. The family relationships and enmities, the fears, frustrations and ambitions of the black teenager in small-town America are explored with a strong statement about human values. Parks became Hollywood's first major black director with his film adaptation of his autobiographical novel, The Learning Tree. Parks also composed the film's musical score and wrote the screenplay. Friday January 15, 4pm. The festival starts Friday, January 15 and will host an opening reception with live music and light refreshments at 6pm. Films and events will run in both theaters - please note length of films to ensure your desired schedule! Tickets and festival passes will be available at the box office at the Big Picture Theater, 48 Carroll Road, Waitsfield VT. Tickets are $6 per screening unless otherwise noted. "Bakers Dozen" festival passes are available for $60 for 13 tickets or $25 for five tickets. For more information call 802.496.8994. For further press related info call Festival Director Claudia Becker 802.279.0054 or e-mail cbecker007@yahoo.com
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7th Annual MountainTop Film Festival:
