Rappahannock Independent Film Festival 2009

3 people trapped in an elevator. A Christian, A Jew and a Muslim.Why won't anyone answer the emergency phone? Can they bear the tensions that are building between them? Is that screaming they hear?

Four young musicians, Ben Wood, Mikey Blackburn, Jordan Duling, and Chris Carr, tell the story of their indie/rock band ¡Carlos I'm Pregnant! from its founding in a suburban basement in late 2006 to local gigs in their hometown of Fredericksburg, Virginia, to concerts in Washington D.C. and Richmond. The personal lives, influences, and experiences of the band members are seen through the music they composed, the gigs they played, and the world they lived in. Through interviews, music, and humor, the story of ¡Carlos I’m Pregnant! Is told.

Ed Artis, James Laws and Walt Ratterman are three middle aged men whose idea of adventure is taking desperately needed food and medicine into the world's most dangerous places.The three men are self-styled Knights of Malta, and in 1995, they formed Knightsbridge International, a unique humanitarian aid organization comprised of the three individuals, whose motto is 'High Adventure and Service to Humanity.' Their specialty is going where death from landmines, bullets, or bombs is as frequent as death from hunger, disease, or the elements. As Laws tells it simply, “We do what we can, when we can, because we can.”Artis, Laws and Ratterman are a fusion of Mother Teresa and Indiana Jones. Their personal convictions and courage drive them to places like Afghanistan, Albania, Chechnya, Cambodia, Rwanda and the southern Philippines, often before other aid organizations arrive. The three are still on the ground when other aid organizations deem things too dangerous and pull out. Artis explains: 'We're not there to change anybody's politics, we're not in the God business, and we pay our own way.'BEYOND THE CALL inspires as it entertains. The camera follows Artis, Laws and Ratterman as they take us through some of the most forbidding yet beautiful places on Earth, on a journey into the heart of humanity and the soul of courage.BEYOND THE CALL is made in the cinema vérité style of the director’s previous Academy Award nominated film, Genghis Blues.

Archie has made a discovery that will change the world forever. A toy radio. Archie’s brother Billy, is deaf. So, Archie duct tapes the radio to his head, to help him explore a world full of sound. Sophie is Archie’s girlfriend. Archie thinks he is in love with Sophie, but Sophie is not sure they know what love is. They spend their time waxing each other’s noses, deciding if getting slapped is worse than getting spit on, and arguing about anything that’s not worth arguing about. Then one day, Archie decides to steal Billy fare and square from their repressive sister. Sophie decides to go along for the ride. The adventure that follows will force them to seriously consider: Do relationships rely on riding couches through automatic car washes? Is a toy radio really the cure to deafness? Is it legal to throw dead animals in dumpsters? Finding the answers to these important questions makes Archie, Sophie and Billy examine their relationships in ways they never thought possible.

When a murder shakes the heart of an insular Jewish community, Detective Rebecca Wolinsky is assigned the strange case. Rebecca soon discovers that her cold, calculating rationalism is no match for the mysterious and supernatural truth behind the trail of blood and stone.

The Enrichment Center of Winston Salem is an arts and life skills facility for adults with developmental disabilities. The Enrichment Center PerformanceEnsemble and The Enrichment Center Percussion Ensemble are constituents of the Enrichment Center who create and perform original work with the help of professional artists who work at the Enrichment Center full time, and by professional artists during residencies of varied lengths. 'Breathe In, Breathe Out' is a choreographic work for film choreographed collaboratively by the members of The Enrichment Center Performance Ensemble during an artist residency with Choreographer/Dancer Cara Hagan. Music for the film was written by Aaron Bachelder, dorector and creator of the Enrichment Center Percussion Ensemble.

This short film includes: scene selection / trailer / selected cut scenes / alternative ending / eliminated scene / videoclip / featurette: “What’s a freak?” / audiocommentary / character selection and a boy-meets-girl story.

With an emphasis on connecting emotionally with the audience on a deep and subconscious level, 'Empty House' is an experimental documentary that focuses on the residue of memories trapped in physical objects and the rooms in which we live. Can pain be absorbed into the physical world? Drawing from his own life and personal experiences, writer and director Sean Christensen tries to answer this question, by crafting an intimate and artistic look into his past. Through dream images, sound-scapes and physical textures - Empty House puts the audience into the subjective mind and reality of the narrator. Based on his true story, it depicts a family torn apart by divorce - told through the perspectives of the house and furniture that they used to own. Utilizing mixed media, home movies and doll house miniature models, the film creates a collage of mixed media to provoke the subconscious and stir the imaginations of the audience.

Peter wakes abruptly from the same terrifying dream of him trapped in an overturned car.He lethargically drags himself through his days trying to recover his lost talent and previous life style. Tussling with his painting never being able to finish or match his previous grandeur, Peter work tirelessly but is still tormented by the disturbing dreams in the night. His lifestyle then comes under threat, as the curators for his own exhibition push for him to finish his final piece the day before his exhibition opens, but to no avail. Exasperated and with little else to turn to, he is given a ray of hope, a phone call informs him of an arranged meeting with a woman. This woman may hold the key to him finding his way out of the hole his life has become, but why is she so important? He faces the woman who caused the car accident and almost killed him for the first time after the event. His last hope is his own nightmare.