Rehoboth Beach Film Festival 2007
With more than 17,500 tickets sold for more than 150 screenings, including 62 screening sell-outs, Rehoboth Beach Film Society leaders and volunteers calculated the votes of the audience and announced “Rocket,” directed by Charles Binamé, as the 10th Annual Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival’s feature film winner.
“Rocket” is based upon discrimination against French-speaking hockey players in Canada during the late 1930s through mid-1950s. In the movie, hockey becomes a metaphor for much larger issues regarding politics and prejudice, said festival program director Joe Bilancio.
“It is a film about how the actions of an unassuming man, a machinist who became a hockey player with extraordinary talent, leads to change in the sport and throughout all of Canada,” Bilancio said.
“The Bubble,” directed by Eytan Fox, stepped up to become the second-place feature film. Set in Tel Aviv, it portrays the relationship between two men, an Israeli and a Palestinian, who meet at a checkpoint.
Third in the feature film category was “Flawless,” a diamond-heist thriller directed by Michael Radford, starring Michael Caine and Demi Moore.
Competition among the documentaries was fierce, said film society board member Rob Rector. Directed by Bill Guttenberg and Dan Sturman, the documentary “Nanking” nudged into first place, defeating second-place documentary “In the Shadow of the Moon” by only one-one hundredth of a point and third-place winner “War Dance” by less than one-sixth of a point, Rector said.
“Nanking” recounts the story of the Japanese attack upon the Chinese city of Nanking four years before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, culminating in the execution of thousands of prisoners of war and the raping of thousands of women and young girls. It is the story of a small group of outsiders who struggled to protect tens of thousands of refugees from Nanking, making it a testament to the horror of war and the value of peace.
Directed by David Sington and produced by Ron Howard, “In the Shadow of the Moon” reveals the marvels of scientific developments and the human quest of the unknown that combined to create the Apollo space program. Presented through interviews with surviving Apollo astronauts, the film includes never-before-released NASA film footage.
“War/Dance,” directed by Sean and Andrea Fine, chronicles the journey of three elementary-school-age children who leave their Patongo refugee camp in war-torn Northern Uganda to compete in Uganda’s national music and dance competition. By doing so they also leave their world of horrific atrocities that made them orphans and murders and return with honor and hope for their tribe.
The debut feature film winner was “Dear Mr. Waldman,” directed by Hanan Peled. The film tells the tale of a family struggling to deal with grief suffered during the Holocaust as two young brothers try to ease their pain during the 1960s.
Rounding up the awards were those for the shorts. “The First Time,” directed by Borja Cobeaga of Spain took first place. “West Bank Story,” directed by Ari Sandal came in second and the animation “Sexteens” by Argentinean director Juan Zaramella placed third.
source: capegazette.com
