Multi-Screening: Another Kind of Courage, Far Away Man, Choices, Believe: The True Story of Real Bearded Santas, Blue, Be a Man, Be a Lady, The Captain's Heart

Be a Man

110 teenage boys from two regions of northern Namibia reflected on the pressure put by their communities, their schools, and their friends on their understanding of manhood. The result of their brainstorming was turned into a poem. Five prominent male figures (actors, models, singers) and two dancers were invited to read/ interpret the poem. ‘Be a man, as they say. It can’t be that difficult, can it?’. This short is the pendant to another poem, ‘Be a Lady’.

Believe: The True Story of Real Bearded Santas

Believe: The True Story of Real Bearded Santas chronicles a year in the life of real bearded Santas from across the country, exploring the lives of men who not only still believe in Santa Claus…they think they are Santa Claus.

Along the journey into this strange subculture, we visit the prestigious Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School in Michigan, the Beverly Hills costume shop specializing in authentic suits for the most elite Santas, and join several hundred Santas at the almost unbelievable annual trade show and convention of the Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas.

Be a Lady

110 teenage girls from two regions of northern Namibia reflected on the pressure put by their communities, their schools, and their friends on their understanding of femininity: what is it a girl can and cannot do. The result of their brainstorming was turned into a poem. Five prominent female figures (actors, models, activists) and two dancers were invited to read/ interpret the poem. ‘Be a lady, as they say. It can’t be that difficult, can it?’. This short is the pendant to another poem, ‘Be a Man'.

Another Kind of Courage

Another Kind of Courage features moving performances by veteran poets/musicians and family members expressing their experiences with war and homecoming. The Warrior Writers poets are Jan Barry, Kevin Basl, Chantelle Bateman, Jeremy Stainthorp Berggren, Lovella Calica, Jacob George, Charles H. Johnson, Jennifer Pacanowski, Carlos Sirah, Brian Turner, Jon Turner, and Eli Wright. The powerful, original music is written by Tomás Doncker and Yusef Komunyakaa and performed by Tomás Doncker & The True Groove All-Stars. Another Kind of Courage was filmed at the Dodge Poetry Festival at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Poets spoke their truths, bringing their stories to the 17,000 in attendance at the festival – moving some in the audience to tears, but more importantly, educating and advocating for change.

The creative writing by Warrior Writers poets is powerful, emotional, and haunting. It is critical for veterans to share their stories, as they are too often silenced during their military careers and have minimal opportunities to share their perspectives. The sharing of veteran artwork helps to bridge the gap between veterans and civilians. There is a history of veterans telling their stories, both as a personal healing process and a community educational process. Author Maxine Hong Kingston has been facilitating an ongoing writers’ workshop for Vietnam era veterans for 50 years, inspired by Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, who invited Vietnamese war veterans and their family members to retreats to meditate, write and heal. Warrior Writers poets continue that tradition of education, healing, and building community.

Far Away Man

The timeless story of a human's experience following trauma, the struggles they and their loved ones can experience, and the hope and freedom available at the end of a journey of process and vulnerability. This is Far Away Man.

Blue

A relationship in three parts, intertwined with the music that came from it.

Choices

The Choices made can affect the rest of your life.

Created as an educational program to be used in 7th-grade classrooms across North Carolina to be a conversation starter about the dangers of guns, gangs, and sexting.

The Captain's Heart

The director sets out to understand his maternal grandfather, the late Captain Goth (1893-1966). In the process, he had to recreate the ship that was the Captain’s life and great love. Through interviews with his remaining children, mementos from his old ships chest, photos, and archival material mixed with hand-drawn animations, the film depicts a turbulent time in world history through a man willing to defy submarines, mines, bombing and shipwrecks to serve God, King and country. But after 50 years at sea, the new world no longer accords with the Captain's rules, and his heart is not as stubborn as his will. He can keep the world and its wars at bay, but he cannot control his family and their desire for freedom. Nor can he submit to the new world that has arisen from the ashes of the old. Seventeen years in the making, acclaimed storyboard artist and painter Simon Bang in his first feature documentary digs into a painful family story spanning two world wars and a life at sea.