CHASING ICE (80 min.) (USA)

Directed by Jeff Orlowski

In the spring of 2005, acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment for National Geographic: to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth’s changing climate. Inspired by his trip, Balog began deploying revolutionary time-lapse cameras across the brutal Arctic to capture a multi-year record of the world’s changing glaciers. As the debate polarizes America and the intensity of natural disasters ramps up globally, Balog finds himself battling untested technology in subzero conditions and even facing his own mortality. His mission results in a series of hauntingly beautiful videos that compress years into seconds and capture ancient mountains of ice in motion as they disappear at a breathtaking rate. Chasing Ice depicts a photographer trying to deliver evidence and hope to our carbon-powered planet. “The most important documentary of the year.” Detroit News

11:30 am - 12:50 pm PROGRAM B SCOTTISH SHORTS

CUTTING LOOSE (30 min.)

Directed by Finlay Pretsell and Adrian McDowall

Cutting Loose immerses the audience in prison life in the build up to the annual Scottish Prison Service hairdressing competition. Discover how hairdressing is helping many of Scotland’s prisoners come to terms with their crimes and preparing them for life outside.

THE PERFECT FIT (9 min.)

Directed by Tali Yankelevich

Shortlisted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for ‘Documentary Short Subject’ Oscar, this film follows a perfectionist shoemaker who specializes in ballet shoes, pounding his soul out with each pair as he tries to ease the burden on the dancers’ feet.

NIGHT SHIFT (9 min.)

Directed by Ruth Reid

A decade ago God gave Anne Wallace a mission in a dream: to save the souls of the working women of Glasgow. The unlikely vehicle was a purple double-decker bus, and ever since, Anne has been offering support through tea, soup and the words of the gospel, whether they are listened to or not.

I CAN SMELL THE CORDITE (9 min.)

Directed by Andy Taylor Smith

One bunker. Two men. Christmas Eve, 1944. Or was it 2011?

JIMMY (12 min.)

Directed by Martin Smith

Jimmy McIntosh, MBE, campaigns daily for disabled rights. Nothing can stop him, especially not his own Cerebral Palsy.

1:30 – 3:05pm PROGRAM C

KINSHASA SYMPHONY (95 min.) (Germany)

Directed by Claus Wischmann and Martin Baer

Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the third-largest city in Africa, is also the home of Central Africa’s one and only symphony orchestra. Among the people guiding us through the city are bread salesgirl Chantal Ikina, electrician and hairdresser Joseph, artisan Albert Matubenza and preacher Armand Diangienda. What they all have in common is their love of music, and their lives converge at the rehearsals and performances of the symphony. The film shows how people living in one of the most chaotic cities in the world have managed to forge one of the most complex systems of human cooperation ever invented: a symphony orchestra. It is a film about the Congo, about the people of Kinshasa and about music.

3:15-4:45pm PROGRAM D

HEAR FOR ME (8 min.) (USA)

Directed by Sean Dolan

Introduction by filmmaker.

Winner of the 2012 Documentary Film Shorts Competition held at North Carolina Campus Connect, this student-directed short tells the story of an Elon University student whose experience learning American Sign Language with an Elon professor led him to connect with and advocate for the deaf community.

TRASH DANCE (68 min.) (USA)

Directed by Andrew Garrison

Choreographer Allison Orr finds beauty and grace in garbage trucks, and in the men and women who pick up our trash. The filmmaker follows Orr as she joins city sanitation workers on their daily routes to listen, learn, and ultimately to convince them to collaborate in a unique dance performance. Hard working, often carrying a second job, their lives are already full with work, family and dreams of their own. But some step forward, and after months of rehearsal, two dozen trash collectors and their trucks perform an extraordinary spectacle. On an abandoned airport runway, thousands of people show up to see how in the world a garbage truck can “dance.”

5:00 – 6:30pm PROGRAM E

AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY (91 min.) (USA)
Directed by Alison Klayman

Winner of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is the inside story of a dissident for the digital age who inspires global audiences and blurs the boundaries of art and politics. Ai Weiwei is China's most famous international artist, and its most outspoken domestic critic. Against a backdrop of strict censorship and an unresponsive legal system, Ai expresses himself and organizes people through art and social media. In response, Chinese authorities have shut down his blog, beat him up, bulldozed his newly built studio, and held him in secret detention. First-time director Alison Klayman gained unprecedented access to Ai while working as a journalist in China. Her detailed portrait provides a nuanced exploration of contemporary China and one of its most compelling public figures.

“One of the most engagingly powerful movies of the year almost completely on the strength of Ai's rumpled charisma and the confusion it creates in the bureaucratic mindset of the Chinese Communist Party.” – Boston Globe

Saturday, January 26
UNCW's King Hall Auditorium
10AM - 6:30PM
General Admission: $7
Students: Free with ID
Seniors: $5 (All Day Pass $20)
All-Day Pass: $25

Advance tickets may be purchased at Sharky's Box Office (in UNCW's Fisher Student Center) or online at www.etix.com.