August 8 - 7:00 PM - Second Skin

Synopsis: Second Skin takes an intimate, disturbing look at computer gamers whose lives have been transformed by the emerging genre of computer games called Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMOs). World of Warcraft, Second Life, and Everquest allow millions of users to simultaneously interact in virtual spaces. Second Skin introduces us to the real people who populate these online virtual worlds. Couples who have fallen in love without meeting, disabled players whose lives have been given new purpose, those struggling with addiction, Chinese gold-farming sweatshop workers, wealthy online entrepreneurs and legendary guild leadersall living in a world that doesn’t quite exist.

Director: Juan Carlos Pineiro-Escoriaza
Country: USA
Runtime: 95 min.

August 8 - 9:00 PM - Broke Sky

Synopsis: Best friends Bucky and Earl live just outside Moody, Texas, and they work for the County Animal Control Department, Carcass Removal Division. Most of their days are spent collecting road kill on the long stretches of hot Texas pavement. The daily drudgery of their job is shattered after they discover the corpse of a young hitchhiker that they had picked up a few day’s earlier. Afraid of being implicated in the crime Earl convinces Bucky that they would be better off disposing of the body in the Deadpit with the other rotting carcasses. Reluctantly Bucky agrees. However, this decision begins to take its toll on their friendship. Bucky decides to find the killer on his own. Unfortunately what he finds is ore than he bargained for. Not intended for children.

Director: Thomas Callaway
Country: USA
Runtime: 97 min.

August 9 - 5:00 PM - Found in China

Synopsis: Six Midwestern families take their Chinese adoptive daughters to China to acquaint them with the Chinese culture. Climax of the journey is each family’s visiting their daughters’ orphanages and looking for the actual places where their daughters were found, for foster parents and caregivers. There is a surprise meeting with a farmer and his wife -two birthparents looking for their daughter who they relinquished 13 years ago; they share their grief with the American parents and spark anticipation of the ramifications-- what happens when more birthparents start seeking their daughters? The documentary focuses on the daughters’ feelings about being adopted and experiencing Chinese culture. Interspersed are comments from parents, adoption professionals and adult Korean adoptees who knew little about their birth culture and were highly assimilated.

Director: Carolyn Stanek
Country: USA
Runtime: 82 min.

August 9 - 7:00 PM - FEMA City

Synopsis: In 2004, a trailer park was set-up in a field in Charlotte County, Florida after Hurricane Charley destroyed buildings and homes. Nearly 1,500 people moved into the more than 1,000trailers and it took on the nickname FEMA City. It is FEMA’s policy to provide free emergency housing for up to 18 months. Once displaced, residents of FEMA City found that returning to their homes and to normalcy would prove to be one of the greatest challenges of their lives. Filmmaker Jamin Griffiths takes a look at the terrible toll the storm took on the community, and the long, difficult wait of most FEMA City residents to find a foothold back in the Southwest Florida area.

Director: Jamin Griffiths
Country: USA
Runtime: 70 min.

August 9 - 9:00 PM- Body / Antibody

Synopsis: Kip Polyard (Robert Gomes) suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and hasn’t left his rent-controlled Manhattan apartment in 10 months. When the beautiful Celine (Leslie Kendall) moves in across the hall, Kip finally opens his door ... to romance. But when Celine’s jealous ex-boyfriend Andy (Frank Deal) shows up, Kip realizes that he’s let in more than he bargained for. Also featuring Deborah (Debbie) Gibson, this darkly comic thriller will keep audiences guessing until the very last scene. Not intended for children.

Director: Kerry Dye
Country: USA
Runtime: 98 min.

August 15 - 7:00 PM- FLOW: For Love of Water

Synopsis: Water is the essence of life, sustaining every being on this planet. Without water, there would simply be no plants, no animals, and no people. But the global water supply isn’t just at risk, it’s already in crisis. With an unflinching focus on politics, pollution and human rights, FLOW: For Love of Water ensures that the precarious relationship between humanity and water can no longer be ignored. While specifics of locality and issue may differ, the message is the same; water, and our future as a species, is quickly drying up. Armed with a thirst for survival, people around the world are fighting for their birthright; unless we instigate change, we face a world in which only those that can pay for their water will survive. FLOW: For Love of Water, is a catalyst for people everywhere: the time has come to turn the tide and we can’t wait any longer.

Director: Irena Salina
Country: USA
Runtime: 93 min.

August 15 - 9:00 PM- The World in 2 Round Trips

Synopsis: In 1519, Portuguese Admiral Ferdinand Magellan risked his reputation by traveling the opposite direction taken by major explorers of his day and wound up proving that the earth was round. In 1997, the Brazilian Schurmann family took to the sea in the wake of Ferdinand Magellan’s trip and discovered the unceasing wonders of The World in 2 Round Trips.

Director: David Schurmann
Country: Brazil
Runtime: 80 min.

August 16 - 5:00 PM - The Jesus Guy

Synopsis: No money. No home. No name. What kind of person gives up everything to spread the Word of God? To some, he’s an inspiration. To others, a threat. So, what in God’s name is he doing, traveling across country and through a dozen countries? Director Sean Tracey traces the enigmatic odyssey of the anonymous, barefoot preacher known as The Jesus Guy. With the intimacy of single-camera filmmaking, we walk in his steps as he encounters both skeptics and believers, changing them…for better, for worse, forever..

Director: Sean Tracey
Country: USA
Runtime: 66 min.

preceded by: Jesus' Castle; director: Eric Hopper; Country: USA; Runtime: 9 minutes - Jesus’ Castle is a short film about iconoclastic artist, Cano, who lives in the Southwestern part of the United States. In the tradition of Howard Finster and other outsider artists, Cano began creating a large-scale monument to Jesus in 1980 by salvaging raw materials from junk yards. He continues to work on Jesus’ Castle to this day.

August 16 - 7:00 PM - Award Winning Short Films

Synopsis: A collection of some award-winning shorts from the 2008 Indianapolis International Film Festival, offering comedy, drama, thrills, chills, and a does of reality.

Bitch (Lilah Vandenburgh, US, 15 mins, Comedy) - If it’s for your bogus taste in music, your ugly clothes, or your poseur attitude – she will find you and she will beat you down.

A Day’s Work (Rajeev Dasani, US, 17 mins,
Thriller) - Recent winner of the Student Academy Award for outstanding narrative short, A Day’s Work follows Enrique, a young day laborer whose most recently job goes horribly wrong (pictured, top).

kids + money (Lauren Greenfield, US, 32 mins, Documentary) – Money talks. Teens discuss their families’ relationships to money, getting it, spending it, and learning to live without it.

Lapsus (Juan Pablo Zaramella, Argentina, 4 mins, Animated) - A nun explores her “dark side.”

Der Ostwind (Kohl Glass, US, 11 mins, Action) - A German WWI ace accepts the challenge of a mysterious and seemingly invincible American pilot—only to discover the true price of honor (pictured, bottom).

Spider (Nash Edgerton, Australia, 9 mins, Thriller) - It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye.

Ten to Two (Mathijs Geijskes, Netherlands, 6 mins, Drama) - Ab is a driving instructor for whom life has become no more than routine. Nothing seems to upset him. But at the end of this day, when driving home alone after his last client, something happens.

August 16 - 7:00 PM - ...An Alternative to Slitting Your Wrist

Synopsis: What if every single person in the world took a year out of their life to do all the things they've always thought about doing? Start and finish a movie, make someone's dream or wish come true, spray-paint an inspirational message on city property, burn their regrets to the ground. And with this thought Owen Lowry began compiling a list of 52 things which he would complete, one a week for the next year of his life. Director Owen Lowery will be in attendance for this screening to answer questions about the making of this remarkably personal and inspirational film. If you missed this one at the 2008 IIFF, do not pass up this remarkable opportunity. Not intended for children.

Director: Owen Lowery
Country: USA
Runtime: 82 min.