Hello Film Festival Fans,

Our fourth festival offers up a diverse collection of films, from WANDERLUST, which traces America's love affair with the "road movie" through interviews with Hollywood stars and clips from roadie classics, to CHANCES OF THE WORLD CHANGING, nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, which captures one man's quest to save the world's endangered turtles and tortoises. Another stand-out on the subject of environmental issues, PLAGUES & PLEASURES ON THE SALTON SEA, narrated by film icon John Waters, is a hilarious ode to a fallen paradise known as the "California Riviera." Meanwhile, from world renowned photographer Susan Meisleas, PICTURES FROM A REVOLUTION is a deeply moving account of her journey back to Nicaragua to track down the Sandinista revolutionists captured by her camera a decade earlier. Shortly after a recent Academy Award® short list nod, CAN MR. SMITH GET TO WASHINGTON ANYMORE? tells a modern David-versus-Goliath story as it follows a U.S. Senate race and reveals the true power of unbridled enthusiasm in grassroots politics. With the current war on terrorism the very timely Academy Award®-winner PANAMA DECEPTION exposes the United States Government's history of militarization in Latin America. Another Academy Award®-nominated and timely film, BUILDING BOMBS, plunges into the day-to-day lives of a community struggling to survive in the shadow of the nation's largest atomic bomb-making factory. The recent theatrical film I LIKE KILLING FLIES is a profile of the eccentric and wildly colorful New York legend and restaurateur Kenny Shopsin as he is forced to close up shop after 32 years in business. And on a more upbeat note, ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER: BEYOND THE STEPS goes behind-the-scenes of the legendary Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, one of America's most beloved cultural institutions.

Finally, as a special retrospective, we are showcasing one of our Docurama titles from our growing catalog of documentary gems. Just in time for the new school year, the extraordinary film THE FIRST YEAR from Davis Guggehiem, recent winner of an Academy Award® for An Inconvenient Truth starring Al Gore, chronicles the first year of five young teachers as they fight the real fight: educating our children, one child at a time.

Enjoy the films.