SATURDAY OCT 21 at Froggy’s & Corazón
T H E 2 0 2 3 T O P A N G A F I L M F E S T I V A L
SPONSORED BY
AT FROGGY’S
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HER LIFE CHOICE
SATURDAY OCT 21, 11:00 - 11:30AM at Froggy’s
RUNTIME: 25:00
USA
Directors: Toni Crey
Post War America finds one woman questioning faith against reproductive choice when one woman must chose between following religion when her chances of surviving a pregnancy are slim to none.
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VICTORIAN QUEENS
SATURDAY OCT 21, 11:30AM - 12:00 PM at Froggy’s
RUNTIME: 45:00
AUSTRALIA
Directors: Joseph Gardner, Andrew Cox
Influenced by the 1990 cult documentary Paris Is Burning, Victorian Queens explores the significance of Naarm's queer geographies and the drag queens who rule them.
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STRONG HUNTER
SATURDAY OCT 21, 12:00 - 1:00 PM at Froggy’s
RUNTIME: 22:00
UNITED KINGDOM
Directors: Tony Lee
P22 Mountain Lion was revered by the Tongva people and the Angelenos for over 10 years. When he died in December 2022, it created an outpouring of mourning and affection for a single animal that has never been seen before. Tongva and Chumash Tribal Elder Alan Salazar says that the spirit and plight of P22 mirrors that of the Native Americans who lost their land to white settlers. The film is told through Alan's voice with original music by Tongva Lazaro Arvizu.
SATURDAY OCT 21, 1:00-3:00PM AT FROGGY’S
Followed by a Q&A with director Colin Gray, Megan Raney Aarons, Jamila Fairley and Dr. king
Directed by Colin Gray
UNZIPPED: An Autopsy of American Inequality
From the award-winning writer & director, Colin K. Gray, produced by The Sibs and executive produced by Lucy Liu, UNZIPPED: An Autopsy of American Inequality is a searing exposé of the growing affordable housing crisis in America.
This intimate feature documentary focuses on one of the country's most iconic and income divided zip codes, Venice CA 90291. Once a mecca for artists, outsiders and a thriving black community, Venice is now the frontline for America's heated battles over gentrification, lack of affordable housing, and homelessness.
With moving, personal profiles of several artist families who struggle to remain in their neighborhood, to bitterly contested community fights over a proposed homeless shelter, UNZIPPED explodes stereotypes and humanizes the lived experiences of people caught in the crossfire of America's growing housing divide.
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AMERICAN POT STORY: Oaksterdam
SATURDAY OCT 21, 3:00- 5:00PM at Froggy’s
Followed by a Q&A with Directors Ravit Markus & Dan KatzirRUNTIME: 1:36:56
USA
Directors: Ravit Markus, Dan Katzir
WINNER OF THE AUDIENCE AWARD AT SLAMDANCE 2023, American Pot Story: Oaksterdam is a documentary about how change transpires in America. The account of "a small group of concerned committed citizens" (to quote Margaret Mead) who took a huge risk in order to bring about a massive shift in public perception.
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BRIGHT HOUSE
SATURDAY OCT 21, 5:00 - 7:00 PM at Froggy’s
RUNTIME: 01:35:00
Iran, Islamic Republic of
Director: Rouhollah Hejazi
Forty-year-old Roshan is totally broke! He has paid all he had for a flat in a complex whose construction does not seem to end! His wife Maryam thinks he is passive about life and his family, even about Maryam’s affair with a close friend! When Maryam asks for a divorce and the court awards the custody of their six-year-old daughter to her, Roshan finds himself a big loser in life. Now it is time for him to do something and to prove he is not the person he used to be anymore.
SATURDAY OCT, 21 7-10PM AT FROGGY’S
Followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers
Directed by Joshua Tickell & Rebecca Harrell Tickell
COMMON GROUND
Common Ground is the highly anticipated sequel to the juggernaut success documentary, Kiss the Ground, which touched over 1 billion people globally and inspired the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to put $20 billion toward soil health. By fusing journalistic expose’ with deeply personal stories from those on the front lines of the food movement, Common Ground unveils a dark web of money, power, and politics behind our broken food system. The film reveals how unjust practices forged our current farm system in which farmers of all colors are literally dying to feed us. The film profiles a hopeful and uplifting movement of white, black, and indigenous farmers who are using alternative “regenerative” models of agriculture that could balance the climate, save our health, and stabilize America’s economy – before it’s too late.
AT CORAZÓN
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EMBRACING THE WILD Experience
SATURDAY OCT 21, 11:00AM - 1:00 PM at Corazón
THE ETW PANEL
• Moderated by Molly Ann Hale Award winning producer, WGA writer, comedian.
• Jules Blaine Davis is a kitchen healer, a TED speaker and one of Goop’s leading experts on women’s healing. She is on a fierce journey to spread permission, freedom, beauty and LOVE like wildfire all over our phenomenal lives, in and out of the kitchen.
• Indigenous Elder (Woman) (TBD)
• Kyle Ruddick is an award winning film director and experience designer. He comes from a strong VFX and post production background, most notably his work with Lucasfilm on the Star Wars franchise and the Directing to the THX trailer Amazing Life. Kyle is the founder of the documentary film project One Day on Earth, which produced the first film made in every country of the world with the support of thousands of volunteer filmmakers, dozens of Non-Profits and the United Nations.
• Brando Farr Brando Farr a.k.a “The Topanga Mushroom Guy” has been immersed in the world of wild mushrooms since he was a young boy. He learned from his late father, Gary Farr, who acted as a mentor to Brando. He has studied wild mushrooms, and mushroom ecology for the better part of seventeen years, while working as a cook to support himself. It is a great love of his to teach and share knowledge and information about the natural world with Topanga, as well as with other California communities. His focus is on educating adults and children alike about the rich environment we live in and how it can sustain us.
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THE DOG AND THE DUCK
SATURDAY OCT 21, 1:00 - 3:00 PM at Corazón
Followed by a Q&A with director Silvia Gallini and Joe BlausteinRUNTIME: 1:08:10
USA
Director: Silvia Gallini
Director Silvia Gallini recalls her personal life-changing journey with Joe Blaustein, an expressionistic artist in his eighties who transformed her view of life, of art and of feminine beauty. Through a choir of Joe's students' original and raw artwork and their stories emerges the power of a real teacher, one who is able to help each individual's hidden voice emerge and give shape and color to one's most authentic self.
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International Shorts Competition III
SATURDAY OCT 21, 3:00 - 5:00 PM at Corazón
• The Winner Director: ALI KEYVAN
• Twin Oaks Director: Sean O'Connor
• Moving Violation Director: Eric Bergemann
• This Was Dunes Director: Chance Foreman
• Dear Animal Director: Younes Kafashian
• Exist Director: Payam
• Please Ask for It Director: Allison Waid
SATURDAY OCT, 21 5-7PM AT CORAZÓN
Directed by Andrew Adams
AMERICAN MELTDOWN
CHATTANOOGA FILM FESTIVAL "BEST FEATURE" WINNER 2023. A 'Millennial Coming-of-Rage' story about a young woman who loses her job and struggles to pay rent… Until she befriends a pickpocket named Mari who convinces her that the only way to make it in America is by committing petty crime.
