2009 AFI Film Festival - Documentary Shorts

Program Running Time is 97 min

Smokey
Directed By: Scott Thurman
USA, 2008, 15 min
An Elvis impersonator from Stinnett, Texas, dedicates his life to making people happy.

Team Taliban
Directed By: Benjamin Kegan
USA, 2008, 12 min
A powerful documentary short that uses the unique lens of professional wrestling to explore Muslim stereotypes in American culture.

Tipping Point
Directed By: Javier Solis
USA, 2009, 6 min
Short documentary on the myth of cow tipping.

The Poetry of Exactitude
Directed By: Alan Govenar
France, USA, 2008, 9 min
Lucien Mouchet has been making small-scale reproductions of carrousels and fairground scenes since 1946.

China's Wild West
Directed By: Urszula Pontikos
UK, 2008, 10 min
This part-observational, part-impressionistic study of a day in the life of a Muslim community illustrates its hopeful efforts to discover jade in a dried-up riverbed in a remote town on the Silk Road in western China.

One Cup of Coffee
Directed By: Sarah Smith
USA, 2008, 22 min
Before he became the world's most famous reggae star, Bob Marley was a farmer. Bob used to say that some day he wanted to stop playing music and go back to the farm. Now, his son, Rohan, is fulfilling his father's dream by starting a coffee farm in the beautiful, lush Blue Mountains of Jamaica. He founded Marley Coffee based on the Rastafari principle of 'Ital,' which brings together the concepts of fair-wage, sustainable, shade-grown and organic farming. In this way, Rohan is helping to raise the bar of responsible, ethical farming.

Sister Wife
Directed By: Jill Orschel
USA, 2008, 11 min
During a private bathing ritual, DoriAnne, a Mormon fundamentalist, explores the surprisingly universal challenges of her polygamist marriage involving her biological sister and their shared husband.

Push Button House
Directed By: Ryan Silbert,
Robert Profusek
USA, 2008, 12 min
Investigates the creation of Adam Kalkin's creation of a shipping container that blossoms into a sleek, modern, pre-fabricated home.

Information from the AFI's website