8 Days

4 movies to reveal. Like I said in my previous post, I know of two movies in my top 5 list that I will be seeing. It includes #4 Restrepo and #1 A Film Unfinished. I'm very excited to see what these movies have in store and what I can learn and experience through them. I will also be seeing the grand prize for the dramatic section. I do not yet know what movie this will be, but I assume it will be after judging and we'll know later. Here are my next two movies I will see.

Small Act (U.S. Documentary)
As an impoverished boy in Kenya, Chris Mburu's life was dramatically changed when an anonymous Swedish woman sponsored his primary and secondary education. Now a Harvard-educated human-rights lawyer, he hopes to replicate the generosity he once received by founding his own scholarship fund to aid a new generation. The challenges Mburu faces instituting his new program seem at times insurmountable but lead him down the path to discovery. Who is Hilde Back, the person who signed the checks that gave him a chance to succeed? With clarity and grace, Jennifer Arnold's film bears cinematic witness to the lasting ramifications of a small ripple of human kindness. Using a strong narrative thread, she unearths fascinating accounts and weaves them together seamlessly. It doesn't hurt that her subjects have pure motivations and back stories to match. The secret of A Small Act was destined to be discovered, if only to remind and inspire others to take such a chance-and change a life.

Skateland (U.S. Drama)
It's 1983, and Skateland, the roller rink and local hangout of a small town, is becoming a fading memory of an earlier time, when disco and roller-skating were king. The party scene is getting stale, and 19-year-old Ritchie's romantic life is as cloudy as his future. He struggles to make sense of it all, and decisions do not come easily to the carefree young man. When tragedy strikes his friends and family, Ritchie must face the music-and make the biggest decision of his life. Without the benefit of a studio budget or name casting, Anthony Burns and Brandon and Heath Freeman captures the '80s in startling detail. The result: a cinematic scrapbook of a time and place, a visceral visual, and an aural experience that reclaims the decade for those of us lucky enough to have lived through it once. While the atmosphere is time specific, the themes of the joys and pains of growing up are universal.

Small Act is one of those films made for a greater purpose than perhaps two hours of entertainment. That kind of generosity is not unheard of, but it's special when you do. It reminds me of the movie Pay It Forward. I'm hoping this movie will be just as good. It's an interesting idea and I hope they can pull it off well. Skateland sounds interesting. I'm intrigued by it. It sounds like it could be good. I guess we'll have to see.

The days get closer and I becoming more and more excited.