DocuWeeks New York Shorts Program

Friday, August 12 - Thursday, August 18, 2011

Part of DocuWeeks

THE BARBER OF BIRMINGHAM: FOOT SOLDIER OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Directed by Gail Dolgin & Robin Fryday, 26 min., USA, NR

Mr. James Armstrong is a rank-and-file “Foot Soldier” and proud proprietor of Armstrong’s Barbershop, a cultural and political hub in Birmingham, Alabama, since 1955. Eight-five years-young, he fought for the right to vote while carrying the American flag in the 1965 Bloody Sunday march from Selma to Montgomery. He was the first to integrate his children in the all-white Graymont Elementary School. On the eve of the election of the first African-American president, Mr. Armstrong, the barber of Birmingham, sees his unimaginable dream come true.

MAYA DEREN’S SINK

Directed by Barbara Hammer, 29 min., USA, NR

Maya Deren’s Sink, a tribute to Maya Deren, the mother of avant-garde American film, evokes her creative spirit through a meditation on the architectural details of her homes.   Fragments from Deren’s films are projected in the spaces where they were originally filmed while a ghosted actor performs a script crafted from her writing. Teiji Ito’s family, Carolee Schneemann, Judith Malvina and others tell stories of Deren’s fiery personality, driving ambition, and charm.  As “the walls speak” Deren lives again in this evocative documentary film.

THE HOME FRONT

Directed by Phie Ambo, 40 min., Denmark, NR

THE HOME FRONT is about conflicts in our private sphere: feuds between neighbors. The film follows a boundary inspector who mediates between disagreeing neighbors. We enter the homes of the feuding parties to learn about the conflicts from both sides. Why is it so difficult to solve a conflict so close at hand? And what do fences and hedges represent? Is this really what the conflicts are all about?

• Language English
• Running Time Total program 95 minutes

IFC Center does not generally provide advisories about subject matter or potentially triggering content in films, as sensitivities vary from person to person. In addition to the synopses, trailers and other links on our website, further information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media, IMDb and DoesTheDogDie.com as well as through general internet searches.