9TH LDS FILM FESTIVAL 2010
JANUARY 20-23, 2010 | SCERA CENTER, OREM

FEATURE FILM PRESENTATIONS

Tickets for all events are available beginning Monday, January 11, at 801-225-ARTS, online at scera.org or at the door. Click here for admissions information.

All events are open to the public and take place at the SCERA Center for the Arts in Orem (745 South State Street).

Berlin

Musical, 119 minutes, color, 2008
Director: Steve Lowe, Tim Threlfall; Writer: Erik Orton; Producer: Russ Richins; Executive Producers: Sterling VanWagenen, Rodger Sorensen; Production Designer: Doug Ellis; Original Score: Erik Orton; Editor: Nathan Grout; Music Director: Ross Boothe; Choreographer: Michelle Boothe; Audio Mix: Scott Sandstrom, Jake Peery.
Cast: Emily Blewitt, Darick Pead, Ken Ecklof, Mary Jane Wadley, Makenna James, Ian Jones, Kevin Goertzen, Reese Purser, Benjamin King, Jeff Dickamore, Devin Williams, Erik Agle, Ward Wright, Brannon Killgo, Annalece Boothe, Carolyn Hartvigsen, Shayla Osborne.

Synopsis:
Post World War II Berlin is the setting for this musical dramatization of real life events depicting the struggle of a people sick of war and their yearning to be free. In a blatant attempt to force Berliners to unify Berlin under Communist rule, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin orders a total blockade of supplies to western held sectors of the city. The United States, Great Britain and France, in an effort to sustain the over two million people of West Berlin, operates an air-bridge flying millions of tons of food, fuel, and supplies into the city for fifteen months in the largest airlift in aviation history.

Q&A with the filmmakers after the screening.

Screenings:
Thursday, January 21, 7:30 pm, Scera Showhouse II

Big Dreams Little Tokyo

Comedy, 86 minutes, color, 2006
Official Website: Big Dreams Little Tokyo
Director: Dave Boyle; Writer: Dave Boyle; Producer: Duane Andersen, Meg Boyle; Executive Producer: Howard Hayes; Director of Photography: Bill Otto; Production Designer: Erica Elmer; Original Score: Mark Schulz; Editor: Duane Andersen, Scott M. Hurst.
Cast: Dave Boyle, Jayson Watabe, Rachel Morihiro, Drew Knight, Pepe Serna, Michael Yama, James Kyson Lee.

Synopsis:
This charming comedy was written and directed by Dave Boyle as a cinematic metaphor for his Japanese-speaking LDS mission.  The Japan-obsessed character of "Boyd Wilson" will be familiar to anyone who's met (or been) a returned missionary who just can't seem to move on! Boyd Wilson (Boyle), a young self-proclaimed businessman who speaks fluent Japanese, and his roommate Jerome (Jayson Watabe), a sluggish but affable Japanese-American sumo wrestler, have big dreams for themselves.  Together, the two travel door-to-door by tandem bike, giving flyers and sales pitches to anyone who listens...but Boyd's Japanese clients aren't buying his "Translation Services," and no one will give Jerome--a paltry 200 pounds--a chance in the ring.  When they meet Mai (Rachel Morihiro), who is unfazed by their oddities and offers a hand, Boyd and Jerome discover that in a world where cultural identity is seldom what it seems, there's a place for everyone.  Home Media Magazine hails "Big Dreams" as "brazenly original and intelligent!" The short film Spit will play as a pre-film to Big Dreams Little Tokyo.

Q&A with the filmmakers after the screening.

Screenings:
Friday, January 22, 7:30 pm, Scera Showhouse II

Broken Hill

Drama, 104 minutes, color, 2009
Rating: PG
Fan Site: Broken Hill
Writer, Director: Dagen Merrill; Producer: Chris Wyatt, Julie Ryan; Executive Producer: Peter Rancie, Kieth Merrill, Sean Covel; Director of Photography: Nick Matthews; Production Designer: Robert Webb; Original Score: Chris Brady; Editor: Mike Saenz.
Cast: Luke Arnold, Alexa Vega, Rhys Wakefield and Timothy Hutton.

Synopsis:
In the tradition of Save The Last Dance, Billy Elliott and August Rush comes the musical drama Broken Hill. Tommy was born and raised on a rocky, drought-ridden sheep station in the middle of the Australian Outback. He works at the station and does all he can to appease his demanding father but in his heart wants to be a great musician. That all changes when Tommy meets his new class-mate Kat, a bold and brash beauty, who at first doesn’t notice him at all. As Tommy tries desperately to get her attention, his antics cause him to fall into hot water with the local police. He luckily escapes jail and chooses to do community service at the nearby prison to stay out of trouble. Soon the stakes for Tommy are raised when his music teacher and mentor lands him an audition for the elite music conservatorium.

Q&A with the filmmakers after the screening.

Screenings:
Friday, January 22, 7:00 pm, Scera Xango Grand Theatre

Fire Creek

Drama, 85 minutes, color, 2009
Rating: PG
Official Website: Fire Creek
Director: Jed Wells; Writer: Nathan Keonaona Chai; Producer: Charles Cranney, Dennis Packard, Seth Packard, Raymond Robinson ; Director of Photography: Jed Wells; Production Designer: Matt Mangum; Original Score: Jay Packard.
Cast: Seth Packard, Kim Abunuwara, John Cannon, Dayne Rockwood, Melinda Lockwood, Adam Daveline.

Synopsis:
Fire Creek tells the story of a young soldier's search for an answer to the age-old question "why do bad things happen to good people?" Jason is serving as a soldier in Afghanistan when divine intervention saves him from a sniper attack. However, his closest friend, a devoted husband and father, is shot and killed just inches away. Critically wounded but alive, Jason returns home wondering why his life was spared. The rest of the film follows his search for answers.

Q&A with the filmmakers after the screening.

Screenings:
Friday, January 22, 9:45 pm, Scera Showhouse II

God's Army

Drama, 108 minutes, color, 2000
Rating: PG
Official Website: God's Army
Director: Richard Dutcher; Writer: Richard Dutcher; Producer: Richard Dutcher, Mark Victor; Director of Photography: Ken Glassing; Original Score: Miriam Cutler; Editor: Michael Chaskes; Casting Director: Jennifer Buster.
Cast: Matthew A. Brown, Richard Dutcher, Jacque Gray, Jeffrey Scott Kelly, Desean Terry, Michael Buster, Luis Robledo.

In 2000, God's Army took the independent film world by storm and Mormon Cinema was born. To celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the theatrical release of God's Army in March 2000, we will showcase the original print of the film. Writer/director Richard Dutcher will be in attendance.

Synopsis:
Life as a Mormon missionary isn't what 19-year-old Brandon Allen expected: so many rules and so few successes. Los Angeles is as unrepentant as Sodom and Gomorrah. He's forced to share a small apartment with five young prank-loving missionaries and, to top it off, his first companion, 29-year-old Marcus Dalton, proves to be a harsh mentor. After only one day as a missionary, Allen is ready to hang up his necktie and go home. His point-of-view changes, however, as he begins to see the struggles and sacrifices that the other missionaries endure: Dalton, he soon learns, is fighting a losing battle with cancer. Banks, an African-American missionary, was disowned by his family when he joined the Mormon church. Kinegar, a fifth-generation Latter-Day Saint, finds himself doubting under the intellectual attacks of anti-Mormons. Working and living with these young men, Allen becomes a part of the drama occurring under the everyday surface of missionary life. After only a few intense days, Allen finds faith he didn't know he had, and courage he didn't know he lacked. He learns that the time has come to put away childish things, and to become more than just a man--to become a man of God.

Q&A with the filmmakers after the screening.

Screenings:
Saturday, January 23, 4:30 pm, Scera Xango Grand Theatre

Humble Pie (American Fork)

Comedy/Drama, 84 minutes, color, 2009
Rating: PG-13
Official Website: Humble Pie
Director: Chris Bowman; Writer: Hubbel Palmer (from a story by Hubbel Palmer and Nathan Scoll); Producers: Shannon B. Gardner, Derek Beumer, Jeremy Coon, Maya Browne; Executive Producer: Derek Ferguson; Director of Photography: Doug Chamberlain; Production Designer: Anne K. Black; Composer: Bobby Johnston; Editor: Cary Gries.
Cast: Hubbel Palmer, William Baldwin, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Kathleen Quinlan, Bruce McGill.

Synopsis:
At nearly 400 pounds, Tracy Orbison (Hubbel Palmer) is a wide target. When he sets out to pursue his dream of acting, the grocery clerk finds an assortment of people waiting to dash his hopes: a drama coach (William Baldwin) with designs on Tracy's sister, Peggy (24's Mary Lynn Rajskub); a pack of juvenile delinquents; and his God-fearing, self-loathing mother (Academy Award nominee Kathleen Quinlan).  Through it all, Tracy remains irrepressibly upbeat, convinced he's destined for something big.

Q&A with the filmmakers after the screening.

Screenings:
Friday, January 22, 9:30 pm, Scera Xango Grand Theatre

Melted Hearts El Otro Lado del Corazon

Comedy, 90 minutes, color, 2009
Facebook: Melted Hearts
Director: Jorge Ramirez Rivera; Writer: Jorge Ramirez Rivera, Rafael de la Lanza; Producer: Felipe Perez Arroyo; Executive Producer: Felipe Perez Arroyo; Director of Photography: Rafa Sanchez; Production Designer: Moises Perez Belmont; Original Score: Adrian Gutierrez, Carlos Madrigal, Shaun Barrowes; Editor: Jorge Ramirez Rivera, Rodrigo Barajas.
Cast: Monique Lomeau-Derr, David Medel, Salvador Zerboni, Kristen Jensen, Ruben Zamora, Edgar Vivar.

Synopsis:
Elder Pedro Rodriguez is a missionary from Mexico City with a bad attitude against Americans, ever since Ariel, his girlfriend sent him a Dear John letter letting him know that she would marry someone else. Elder Brian Lauper, his companion, feels he’s gone from A.P. to babysitter, until Pedro falls sick and Brian saves his life. A few months after their mission, Brian visits Pedro and asks him if he could show him and his family the city. Pedro meets Wendy, Brian’s sister, and falls for her. Pedro struggles with his feelings for her and his feelings towards Americans in general. In the meantime Mauricio, Pedro’s former brother-in-law, follows Wendy everywhere she goes. Wendy returns home, and Pedro follows her hitchhiking from Mexico City to Utah. When he finally makes it there, he is courting Wendy aided by Hannah, Wendy’s best friend. Unfortunately, Pedro finds out that Ariel didn’t get married and Mauricio is in town attending BYU and spending time with Wendy.

Q&A with the filmmakers after the screening.

Screenings:
Friday, January 22, 4:30 pm, Scera Xango Grand Theatre

Sundance Skippy

Documentary, 85 minutes, color, 2009
Official Website: Sundance Skippy
Director: Mark Hedengren; Producer: Mark Hedengren; Director of Photography: Mark Hedengren; Editor: Mark Hedengren.
Cast: Aldo Wug, Scott "Skippy" Jessop, Kristen Stewart, Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Liam Neeson, Michael Cera, John Krasinski, and many more. For a complete list, click here.

Synopsis:
Skippy seeks to win the love of celebrities and a woman by getting his photographs taken with as many famous people as possible. Will he do it? Watch Sundance Skippy and find out. In this whimsical documentary, Skippy has encounters with Kristen Stewart, Josh Brolin, Uma Thurman, Zooey Daschanel and many others as he seeks that perfect woman and that perfect photograph. This is a film that you and your friends will love to talk about.

Q&A with the filmmaker after the screening.

Screenings:
Thursday, January 21, 4:30 pm, Scera Xango Grand Theatre

The Book of Jer3miah

Web Series - Complete Season One, 122 minutes, color, 2009
Official Website: The Book of Jer3miah
Director: Jeff Parkin, Jared Cardon; Writer: David Jon Banks, Jared Cardon, Scott Clarke, Lyvia Martinez, Jeff Parkin, Matt Pieper, Taylor Rose, James Shores; Producer: Jared Cardon, Jeff Parkin, Brad Cummings, Justin Bogh; Executive Producer: Jeff Parkin, Jared Cardon; Director of Photography: Devin Graham, Devin Graham, Nathan Armstrong, Austen Everett, Byron Kirkland, Matt Long, Matt Love, Paul Meyers, Derek Pueblo, Ephriam Smith, A. Todd Smith, Cole Webley; Production Designer: Adis Regar; Original Score: Ben Carson, Alan Williams; Editor: Karen Worth, Michelle Ballamis, Phil Goodwin, Sarah Jensen Rasmussen, Taylor Rose, Lindsay Gwynn Walton.
Cast: Jared Shores, Jeff Blake, Richie Uminski, Christopher “Critter” Davis, Becca Ingram, Camee Anderson Faulk, Jourdan Lance, Blaine Quarnstrom, Gary Reimer, Anne Sward, Reese Purser, Matthew Carlin, Douglas E. Brinley, Stephanie Brienholt, Ward Wright, Elizabeth Funk, Megan Sanborn Jones, Austin Everett, Rodger Sorensen, Jon Bell, Noteworthy.

Synopsis:
On his 18th birthday, college freshman Jeremiah Whitney is given the charge to protect a mysterious box, and immediately becomes the target of a terrifying conspiracy. Soon every facet of his life is called into question, and now he must uncover the truth about the box, the conspiracy and his very identity before it's too late.

Q&A with the filmmakers after the screening.

Screening:
Thursday, January 21, 9:00 pm, Scera Xango Grand Theatre

The Yankles

Comedy, 115 minutes, color, 2009
Official Website: The Yankles
Director: David R. Brooks; Writer: David R. Brooks, Zev Brooks; Producer: Cary Glieberman, Zev Brooks, David R. Brooks; Executive Producer: Zev Brooks, Michael Morhaime; Director of Photography: Boris Price; Production Designer: George Costello; Original Score: Eddie Hernandez; Editor: Lance Chapman; Hair: Janna Larsen; Makeup: Ed Matsu; Casting: Joan Peterson, Lori Weekes.
Cast: Brian Wimmer, Michael Buster, Susanne Sutchy, Don Most, Bart Johnson, Jesse Bennett, Kenneth F. Brown, Tyler Johnson, Matthew Whittaker, Gavin Bentley, Jared Shipley, Mark Brocksmith, Danor Gerald, Trevor Jerome, Nicholas Dunn, Garet Carson, Ryan Hiatt, Cameron Garner, Robert Kelleher, Jeff Olson, Sheldon Worthington, Britani Bateman, Ben Governale, James Goldberg, Loren Lambert, Darius A. Gray, Phyllis Cummings, D Minor, Joshua Nelson, Jason Tatom, Geoff Hansen, Joseph Batzel, Ray Kelleher, Steve O’Neill, Mitch Hall, Jimmy Chunga, Zev Brooks, Ann Bosler, Kenny Ho, Rick Macy, Rory Markas, Cary Glieberman.

Synopsis:
The Yankles is the story of an upstart, Jewish orthodox yeshiva baseball team that earns a ticket to compete in the college world series, coached by Charlie Jones, an ex-major league center fielder on parole for multiple DUI convictions and desperate to fulfill his community service. While The Yankles strive for success on the field, Charlie works to rebuild his reputation and relationships, and in the process finds redemption. The Yankles was filmed in Utah with a majority of LDS actors. It will be screened on the same day at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival.

Screenings:
Saturday, January 23, 9:30 pm, Scera Xango Grand Theatre

White on Rice

Comedy, 86 minutes, color, 2009
Rating: PG-13 (for some violent images and sex-related humor)
Official Website: White on Rice
Director: Dave Boyle; Writer: Dave Boyle, Joel Clark; Producer: Duane Andersen, Dominic Fratto, Michael Lerman; Executive Producer: Howard Hayes; Director of Photography: Bill Otto; Production Designer: Meg Boyle; Original Score: Mark Schulz; Editor: Duane Andersen; Additional Music: Micah Dahl Anderson.
Cast: Hiroshi Watanabe, Nae, Mio Takada, Lynn Chen, James Kyson Lee, Justin "Bob" Kwong.

Synopsis:
Jimmy (Hiroshi Watanabe, Letters from Iwo Jima) loves dinosaurs and sleeps on the top bunk. Unfortunately, Jimmy is 40 and shares that bunk with Bob (Justin Kwong), his 10-year-old nephew. Freshly divorced, Jimmy lives with his sister Aiko (Japanese Academy Award winner Nae) and her family while boldly searching for a new wife. His brother in-law, Tak (Mio Takada, Late Night with Conan O'Brien) thinks he’s a disaster. And although Jimmy may lack social grace, he is convinced the best years of his life are just beginning. His plan seems like it’s all falling into place when Tak’s beautiful niece Ramona (Lynn Chen, Saving Face) moves in. But once Jimmy sets his sights on stealing her from his best friend Tim (James Kyson Lee, Heroes), he sees his intentions go hilariously awry. The San Francisco Chronicle calls White on Rice "wonderful...a cinematic milestone!" While the tone of the movie is overall innocent, parents of small children and audience members who are easily offended should take note: this film includes a scene of comedic "Monty Python" style violence, several instances of mild language, a brief accident scene featuring some blood, and a scene in an adult lingerie store with some innuendo.

Q&A with the filmmakers after the screening.

Screenings:
Saturday, January 23, 7:00 pm, Scera Xango Grand Theatre

You're So Cupid

Drama/Comedy/Romance, 93 minutes, color, 2009
Official Website: You're So Cupid
Director: John Lyde; Writer: Sally Meyer; Producer: John Lyde, Sally Meyer, Cynthia Coury, Brian Brough; Executive Producer: Cynthia Coury; Director of Photography: John Lyde; Production Designer: Anthony Straga; Original Score: James Schafer; Editor: John Lyde.
Cast: Brian Krause, Jeremy Sumpter, Lauren Holly, Caitlin EJ Meyer, Danielle Chuchran, Malese Jow.

Synopsis:
Fraternal twin sisters Emma and Lilly are as different as night and day. Emma, the beautiful blonde tomboy, would rather be riding a horse than anything else in the world. While Lilly, her shy redheaded twin, loves to be left alone to curl up with a good book. Inseparable since the day they were born, Emma and Lilly have an insatiable desire to play matchmaker, even though they've never fallen in love themselves. Emma and Lilly find out their matchmaking skills are not just a gift from heaven, but rather because their father is actually Cupid (yes the guy who shoots bows and arrows). As they enter their senior year in high school, Emma and Lilly finally fall in love. Life gets complicated when they discover they're in love with the same guy and they become bitter rivals as they try to win his affection.

Q&A with the filmmakers after the screening.

Screenings:
Wednesday, January 20, 7:00 pm, Scera Xango Grand Theatre
Saturday, January 23, 7:30 pm, Scera Showhouse II