2012 International Film Festival Announces its Program of 12 International Documentary Films

Save the date! On Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, November 8, 9 and 10, 2012 at 7:00 pm each night, plus Sunday afternoon, November 11 at 1:30 pm join the Monterey Bay Chapter of the United Nations Association for the 13th Annual International Film Festival. End Quote

Salinas, CA (1888PressRelease) September 13, 2012 - The 13th Annual International Film Festival, presented by the Monterey Bay Chapter of the United Nations Association, will be held on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, November 8, 9 and 10, 2012 at 7:00 pm each night, plus Sunday afternoon, November 11 at 1:30 pm. All sessions will again take place in the historic Golden State Theatre at 417 Alvarado in downtown Monterey and doors open one hour before each session. Thanks to continued generous community support, admission to this film festival is held remarkably low: just $5.00 per session of three films, with FREE admission for all full-time students with a student ID. There are no reservations or advanced ticket sales, and there is open seating at the event. For more information about UNA, check out www.unamontereybay.org.

As in past years, this important film festival screens diverse international documentary films, all designed to wake up, educate and sometimes mobilize viewers around critical global issues. A committee of volunteers has spent over six months first searching the globe for recent excellent issue-oriented documentary films, then previewing 35 of the best, in order to select the 12 films which will be screened in this year's festival, three diverse films in each festival session.

Among the five feature films to be presented in the four sessions this year are The Island President, concerning the impact of climate change on many countries, especially the Maldives, a South Pacific island nation threatened to be overcome by a rising ocean; The Invisible War, about the under-reported epidemic of rape occurring within the United States military; The War Around Us, about the devastating bombardment of the urban, civilian population of Gaza in 2008; Miss Representation, about how common media presentation of women and girls impacts the self-image and negatively impacts the progress of girls and young women; and I Am, the uplifting story of Hollywood filmmaker Tom Shadyac, who responded to a cycling accident which left him physically and mentally incapacitated by undertaking a global search to discover what is wrong with the world, and what can we do to make it better. Other films will focus on social issues in Ethiopia, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sweden, Ecuador, Pakistan and elsewhere, including the Academy Award-winning film, Saving Face.

This year's festival in Monterey is again made possible through the generous support of the Arts Council for Monterey County with a grant from the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, City of Monterey, Old Monterey Business Association, Monterey County Weekly, KAZU 90.3 FM Radio, KRXA 540 AM Radio, KSBW-TV, Sotheby's International Realty, Portola Hotel & Spa, The Wild Plum Cafe and Bakery (of Monterey), Kerry Lee Remarkable Jewelry (of Carmel), Santa Catalina School and the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

According to Larry Levine, UNA Monterey Bay Chapter President," "It's hard to imagine that this is already our 13th annual film festival. This is an all-volunteer, low budget event, and our volunteers have been working hard since February to seek out and select another excellent program of meaningful international documentary films. This should be a terrific year!"
The Monterey Bay Chapter of the United Nations Association (UNA) is an all-volunteer organization of more than 700 members in Monterey County, and one of the largest and most active UNA chapters in the country.

In addition to the International Film Festival and other community events, they have held two successful Adopt-a-Minefield Campaigns for Bosnia and Afghanistan, and work with student groups at various local high schools, colleges and graduate schools. The United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) (national organization) is one of the country's largest grassroots foreign policy organizations, and a leading center of policy research on the United Nations. It is a nonprofit, nonpartisan group designed to educate Americans of every age about critical issues tackled by the U.N. With a national membership of thousands and more than 100 affiliated organizations, UNA-USA sponsors programs and events designed to encourage participation in global issues.

More information about the local 13th Annual International Film Festival is available at the website: www.unamontereybay.org under Future Events. Journalists may call Larry Levine at (831) 625-9414 or email farflung ( @ ) redshift dot com dot

BELOW ARE DETAILS ABOUT SPECIFIC FILMS AND HIGH RESOLUTION JPEG PHOTOS FROM THESE FILMS ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
Thursday, November 8, 7:00 pm
The Mobile Cinema (Dem. Rep. of the Congo, 22 minutes)
www.ifproductions.nl/fightingthesilence/mobile_cinema.html
Wikirebels (Sweden/Iceland, 58 minutes)
http://laughingsquid.com/wikirebels-a-documentary-on-wikileaks/
Miss Representation (USA, 88 minutes)
www.missrepresentation.org

Friday, November 9, 7:00 pm
Saving Face (Pakistan, 40 minutes)
www.savingfacefilm.com
My Neighbourhood (Israel/Palestine, 25 minutes)
www.justvision.org/myneighbourhood
The Island President (Maldives, 101 minutes)
www.theislandpresident.com

Saturday, November 10, 7:00 pm
Mother: Caring for 7 Billion (many countries, 60 minutes)
www.motherthefilm.com
When the Water Ends: Africa's Climate Conflicts (Ethiopia/Kenya, 16 minutes)
mediastorm.com/.../when-the-water-ends-for-yale360
The Invisible War (USA, 99 minutes)
www.invisiblewarmovie.com

Sunday, November 11, 1:30 pm
The War Around Us (Gaza/Palestine, 75 minutes)
www.thewararoundus.com
A Wild Idea (Ecuador, 26 minutes)
www.awildidea-movie.com
I Am (USA and others, 76 minutes)
www.iamthedoc.com

PUBLICITY CONTACT: WENDY BRICKMAN
(831) 633-4444 or brickman ( @ ) brickmanmarketing dot com

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