Phoenix Film Festival 2009

In 1974, a misguided 19 year old named Michael Peterson decided he wanted to make a name for himself and so, with a homemade sawn-off shotgun and a head full of dreams he attempted to rob a post office. Swiftly apprehended and originally sentenced to 7 years in jail, Peterson has subsequently been behind bars for 34 years, 30 of which have been spent in solitary confinement.

A drama with a two-tiered storyline concerning a mother (Basinger) and daughter (Theron) who try to form a bond after the young woman's difficult childhood.

Dante Milestone, a world-weary baby-boomer, is not happy. His struggles with everyday life, his past, even the question of 'the existence of a higher power', have led him to evaluate his own life. An assessment, that ultimately drives him to leave work and success behind, and set out on a quest in search of his happiness. But Dante soon learns that it's not that simple ... for after a series of painfully humorous attempts fail to provide an answer, Dante sinks even deeper. It is not until he encounters Cynthia, a spiritual guide of sorts, that he uncovers the underlying truth and finally arrives at an answer that surprises even him.

Carl (13) is a child in foster care, growing up is difficult enough but he has no proper family life. After many moves he arrives, settles in and is happy at his new foster home. Suddenly the same old problem crops up. How can he stop it ever happening again?

An excerpt from Plato's Republic, the 'Allegory of the Cave' is a classic commentary on the human condition. We have adapted and brought it to life by shooting over 4,000 still photographs of John Grigsby's wonderful claymation. The look was achieved by use of candlelight in a real fire that burned at the back of the set.

A collection of college shorts.

A collection of college shorts.

This film is a political satire about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. Conflict in the Middle Table is a short film about an Israeli and a Palestinian meeting at a dinner party in a restaurant and they begin to fight over a plate of hummus. The dialogue, characters, and actions mirror the history of the conflict between the two peoples over the land of Israel and/or Palestine. It starts with the Romans handing over the land to the Palestinians and includes the English involvement, American involvement, the 6 day war, the Gaza Strip and West Bank, the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the current state of affairs, and even extends past that to predict what the future has in store for us if we continue down the same path. Without being strictly a comedy or a drama, the film makes you laugh and think at the same time.