Dir: David Hauka
Website: certaintyfilm.com
Taking inspiration from Marcel Proust’s “À la recherche du temps perdu,” Certainty explores the themes of death, grief and memory. Set to the music of Glass, Preisner, Keating, Prokofiev and Apocalyptica (among others), the film is a compelling look into personal loss set against the flux of time and history. "Among all the things I've already previewed for this year's VIFF ... nothing has moved as deeply as 'Certainty'... Ken Eisner, Film Critic, The Georgia Straight. "Deep and fluid… a hybrid of dynamic tension, symphony and personal narrative." Randy Shore THE VANCOUVER SUN

Dir: Keith Olwell
The Big Bang is important and amazing, but often misunderstood. In this video, noted theoretical physicist Janna Levin explains the theory in a way that is both captivating and easily understandable (with the aid of some stunning visuals). The video was put together with no outside funding - just donated creative time from a group of people with a desire to further public awareness of science.

Dir: Lionel Laget
During the winter of the early twentieth century, the noise had begun to be spread that a mad tram was moving at night in the streets of the town, mowing down everything in its passage. One night a man got inside of it ...

Dir: Samina Akbari
Website: thevisitorsfilm.com
Happy together, Nisa and Daniel share a small apartment in Brooklyn. Afraid of disappointing her Thai parents with a white boyfriend, Nisa keeps Daniel and her New York life a secret. As mice begin to invade their home, Daniel realizes that Nisa is also hiding something from him. Caught between her family and the one she loves, Nisa must make an impossible choice.

Dir: Stephanie Owens
All that Paper depicts a small used bookstore situated in an anonymous urban environment. The Bookkeeper, an older man who lives in the store is solely responsible for all its books. The space is small, cluttered, and seemingly unorganized. Old office furniture, boxes, clothes, and other non-literary objects crowd the thousands of books stacked on the floor and shelves, making many books inaccessible to the public. As such, the store is used as a vehicle to address larger issues surrounding the value of information and knowledge, as well the importance of books. The film is told through the exchange of three different levels of narration, the Bookkeeper who speaks of his experience running the store, an omniscient narrator that attempts to organize and present facts, and the voices of two friends that spend time observing the store. Each narration reinforces and contradicts the other, situating the film between documentary and narrative. Using conventions from both genres the combination of actuality and fiction results in a reality, a look at community, knowledge, and the fate of books.

Dir: Misha Sundukovskiy
Jonathan is a parking garage attendant, and he is happy about it. Aside from an occasional annoyance from assistant manager, Daniel, Jonathan's job is great. It's easy, the money is good, and did we forget to mention, he is sleeping with Rebecca, an older businesswoman whose car he parks everyday. One day while daydreaming, Jonathan decides to show Rebecca how much she truly means to him, only to discover that his job and his life may not be as great as he thought they were.

Dir: Michael P. Gaughan
With the help of local historians and an engineer/collector THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN STAR explores the development of a unique little known bicycle from the turn of the 20th Century.

Dir: Stephan Littger
Website: picturetraincompany.com
Every morning, the homeless orange seller collects the rejected oranges from the fancy merchant around the corner to sell them at a makeshift stand on Wall Street. He is proud to work in the streets of Big Finance despite the business men who would never consider buying the ridiculously ugly fruits from this strange man. They prefer the arrogant merchant around the corner. Until a mysterious supplier with the sweetest oranges comes his way and offers to provide him with the most golden fruits in town. A poet by nature, the inventive orange seller conceives of a system that will allow him to sell those golden oranges while pleasing his newly found clients: he starts selling the fruit on credit. The line in front of his revamped cart becomes longer by the day as he and his oranges enjoy ever-increasing popularity. The press starts reporting on this mysterious business success who even attracts the attention of the high-flying traders that he used to silently adore. Prices quickly follow the oranges' skyrocketing popularity. Nothing can stop the lines in front of his cart from getting longer, until an inquisitive journalist finally decides to get at the bottom of the fantastically perfect oranges' origins. The orange seller's business is shattered, and so are the illusions he sold to his formerly adoring clients.

Video music series from around the world.
Let Me In - Let It All Burn Down - Love Me or Hate Me Music Video - Philadelphia Chickens - Re-creation - Ruse of Fools-The Flood - S T R E T C H - 'The Light' Dj Easeback feat Prince Lord - TIL MY VOICE IS GONE - Vou Mandar Pastar - Winkie: Truth It Is - Maranda- 646

Dir: Matthew Leutwyler
Website: theriverwhy.com
Based on the novel of the same name, this coming-of-age story is about Gus Orviston, who leaves his eccentric parents in the city for what he thinks is fly fishing bliss along the banks of a wild river. It quickly turns into a journey of self-discovery and the meaning of life. Most of all, it is a love story: the love of a man for the wilderness and for the beautiful woman who comes to share it with him.

Dir: Stuart Weinstock
In 1939, Hungarian-born physicist, Leo Szilard, advances beyond the recent splitting of the atom -- which was believed to have no practical application -- and discovers the next step in physics that will make atomic energy and a bomb imminently possible. While working at Columbia University, Szilard must convince his colleague, Enrico Fermi, and the Physics Dean, George Pegram, that they must keep their atomic research secret to protect the world from a technology that could end all human life.

Click Here For More Details On The: Animation Festival
An exciting series of 8 short animations, by different artists.
Seed - The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger - The Hybrid Union - Skylight - The Lift - Dancer and the Red Ball - No Naked! - Insurgency of Ambition

Dir: Michael Lawrence
Website: phillyphilms.com
"Mike Ryan is a directing major at LA Film school set to begin his graduation thesis film. His uncle Dave is an agent in Hollywood and had always promised to help him with casting his film when it comes time for him to make it. That time is now, and after 37 revisions of 'Pair of Jacks', Dave is not impressed and tries to convince Mike that maybe film making is not for him.
Mike is determined to make 'Pair of Jacks' and is convinced he will get some top shelf talent regardless of his Uncle's willingness to help. While watching the Lakers game at home with his roommates, he sees Jack Nicholson sitting court-side and decides that Jack is his man. He intends to wait for him at the VIP parking lot his Uncle uses at the Staples center with intentions of 'pitching' his thesis script to him in hopes of convincing him to be a part of it.
His misfit friends, Willie, Johnny and Joey (who never speaks, only films.. everything he sees) decide to 'help' Mike by kidnapping Jack with hopes that Mike will convince him later once he has him in a room. Mike is forced to help for fear of going to jail and now must convince Jack to not only do the film, but also to not press charges when they let him out of the box they held him captive in. The film is saved in the oddest of ways in the end! "

Dir: Joe'l Ludovich
The Brian Dennis Project is a 40 minute documentary that follows an installation artist, Brian David Dennis as he creates a site-specific installation for the Philadelphia Art Alliance in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This documentary chronicles Brian's year long journey, from being invited to produce a work in a specific location in the Art Alliance, through the development of his concept, deciding materials, and constructing and installation pf the piece. Subtly, woven through the piece are the adversities that he faces.

Dir: Karen Price
Website: housequakethefilm.com
"In 2006, Democrats face a moment of truth. Republicans control all three branches of government and possess more concentrated power than in nearly a century. The daily reality of war, fear, and economic unrest is taking its toll on the American psyche. Facing the prospect of becoming a permanent minority party, Democrats formulate an unprecedented, high-risk strategy to gain control of the House of Representatives in hopes of restoring the balance of power and enacting a progressive agenda. At the helm of their relentless effort is the colorful, iconoclastic congressman Rahm Emanuel. Republicans prepare to play defense. As the race unfolds, HOUSEQUAKE gets inside seven key contests across the country and follows national players on both sides of the aisle. It captures the emotional drama, high stakes, intense competition, and historical implications of the race with an intimate view of the American political process that is rarely revealed in the media. The Democratics' takeover of Congress was more than just a good year. This historic campaign for change paved the way for Barack Obama's presidential victory and transformed forever the way political races are run in America. HOUSEQUAKE shows how."

Dir: Mark Dechiazza (co-director) Michael Dowling
Website: speckslast.com
Speck's Last tells the tale of two brothers and a younger sister fighting about what to do with an unopened note from their older brother after his suspicious, accidental death.

Dir: Barton Landsman
Website: bananabreadfilm.com
Matt Meyerson has a worried Jewish mother. She's concerned about his health, the freelance nature of his work, and just about everything else. But when Matt leaves for his job, we discover that his mom might actually have good reason to worry.

Dir: Sabah Hadi
FURS' examines the dark nature of adultery as two people (Tom and Sharon) have an affair – despite their respective spouses. What follows is a tale of jealousy, betrayal, and ultimately murder, as the characters face the harsh consequences of their actions.

Dir: Marcio Garcia
Website: marciogarciaproducoes.com
Seven men, one woman and a plan. The customers and employees at the International Bank in Rio de Janeiro have no idea that they're about to have one very bad day. It will go down on a calm Ash Wednesday. Everything is perfectly planned – well, almost everything. A series of glitches in the plan end up changing the outcome of this bloody day where few will survive. "Predilection" shows the very real and gritty side of the criminal world, where criminals aren't poetic or just.

Dir: Bradley Cox
Website: whokilledcheavichea.com
"One sunny morning in 2004, a motorcycle pulled up to a corner newsstand in Phnom Penh. Chea Vichea, the president of Cambodia's garment workers union, looked up from his paper--and was executed on the spot. Under pressure from human rights groups and foreign aid donors, the police quickly arrested two local men. They were sentenced to twenty years in prison. Were they guilty, or was their conviction part of a larger plan? WHO KILLED CHEA VICHEA? follows the story with footage shot as events unfolded, reaching far beyond the police station and the courtroom, to the top of the ruling party. It's a front-row seat to a world of corruption, calculation, and courage that will leave you breathless.
(Note: As of May 1, 2010, WHO KILLED CHEA VICHEA? has been declared illegal by the Cambodian government.) "

Dir: Bradley Cox
Website: whokilledcheavichea.com
"One sunny morning in 2004, a motorcycle pulled up to a corner newsstand in Phnom Penh. Chea Vichea, the president of Cambodia's garment workers union, looked up from his paper--and was executed on the spot. Under pressure from human rights groups and foreign aid donors, the police quickly arrested two local men. They were sentenced to twenty years in prison. Were they guilty, or was their conviction part of a larger plan? WHO KILLED CHEA VICHEA? follows the story with footage shot as events unfolded, reaching far beyond the police station and the courtroom, to the top of the ruling party. It's a front-row seat to a world of corruption, calculation, and courage that will leave you breathless. (Note: As of May 1, 2010, WHO KILLED CHEA VICHEA? has been declared illegal by the Cambodian government.) "

Dir: Benjamin Coccio
Carter never left his sleepy, suburban, NYC commuter-community after finishing High School. When his friends finish college and return home for a brief visit before starting their adult lives, he is spurned to action. He cashes in his unused college fund, packs a suitcase, and leaves home determined but without direction.

Dir: Todd Jones
The CABLE SPORTS AND LIFE NETWORK was struggling to get viewers until 2006, when it disappeared from the airwaves forever. THROWS OF PASSION is a compilation of footage that was mostly obtained through the sale and auction of the network's assets after it closed its doors. CSLN was going to air a web series on the competitive world of Rock, Paper, Scissors and this footage was what was produced for that series. The producers had decided to interview Hal Albee, the President/Founder/CEO of Albeetainment Co., which was running the Long Island Invitational Qualifying Tournament, Wallace Morris, the top rated 'ripper' (RPS Player) in the United States, Marcus Matasavage, widely regarded as the finest prodigy the sport had ever seen, and a host of new players who are looking to capitalize on the new found popularity of the sport. There is also never-before-seen footage of the final days at CSLN and insight into the decisions that were made that finally finished off this American enterprise.

Dir: Adam Bluming
Website: nelafilms.com
For every hit in life, there's a miss -- the side of daily living that doesn't get airplay.

Dir: Andres Peyrot
Lorraine, a uptown Manhattanite amidst a nasty separation, has just returned to Panama at the recommendation of her therapist. While her family life has never been a source of comfort, she struggles to find the loving relationship once again with her father. Distraught and distracted over her choices and present situation, Lorraine almost runs over a young, mysterious girl who invites her to remove her demons through the shamanic practices of her tribal relatives. Being a skeptic to the supernatural, Lorraine embarks on a journey of confrontation, healing and rebirth through a culture she never knew existed. This independent woman soon realizes that sometimes, 'it takes a village.'

Dir: Greg Koorhan
Website: crossbowstudiofilms.com
Tim and his best friend Maggie love playing video games everyday after high school. But a new girl in school, Amanda, changes the routine. Changes the rules. Changes everything. Now Tim and Maggie have to decide what level they are really playing.

Dir: Chia-Ching LIN
His is a conceptual experimental narrative short film. The original idea is inspired by a myth by Aristophanes, an ancient Greek comic playwright. People nowadays usually use this theory as an explanation of the origin of love. The story shows the distant intimacy that people in modern society are blindly pursuing. Beginning with a struggling clandestine relationship that the female character is entangled in, we see the film is surrounded by a mysterious atmosphere. The unexpected disappearance of the male character exaggerates the female character's delusions of intimacy. By running in between reality and fantasy, she blindly attempts to grasp the other's existence, but eventually she falls into endless cycles of attraction and obsession. Through her reflection, the story portrays a modern take on Aristophanes' myth of human origin.

Dir: Allen Cognata
Website: theputtputtsyndrome.com
"Tired of hearing his bitter friend's hypothesis on why marriages fail and wives cheat, one good day happily married Johnny decides to check his buddy's theories, and realizes he's got all the symptoms himself. Suddenly, Johnny's perception of suburban marital bliss comes tumbling down, as he finds himself trying to save his marriage in the midst of a midlife crisis. "