A variety of short films will join the program of feature films at the Show Me Justice Film Festival, planned for April 10-12 at the University of Central Missouri.

Three afternoon shorts programs are planned, in addition to a program of shorts before each of the three evening feature films. Among the short films featured are three with local connections:

  • “Reframing Islam,” a 15-minute documentary by UCM graduate students Abdulrahman Alghannam and Joshua C.W. Lewin that follows the talented Algerian photographer Nassim Hadj-Benali as he photographs Muslims in America with smiles on their faces.
  •  “The Vagina Song,” a 4-minutes experimental film directed by Warrensburg resident Julie Rae Mollenkamp, UCM professor of theatre. The music video for “The Vagina Song” was created as part of “In Conclusive Woman,” Mollenkamp’s solo theatre performance with multimedia that has been performed in Kansas City and New York.
  • “Phil the Phoenix,” an 11-minute animated film by Kansas City resident Trent Coffin. Based upon the filmmaker’s own experience dealing with Tourette’s Syndrome, the film is about a boy named Phil with a unique condition—at random he turns into a phoenix and explodes!

The 2014 festival will offer 28 films. Fourteen of the of films will featured the work of American filmmakers, with the remaining 14 by filmmakers from Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East, South America, Central America and Africa. Various filmmakers will be in attendance at the festival, including those for the three films listed above and filmmakers from as far away as France.

Tickets for the festival will be available 30 minutes prior to each screening in the Hendricks Hall lobby. Admission for feature film nights will be $10 per person for the general public and $5 per person for students, senior citizens and military with proper ID. With the donation of two canned goods for the local food pantry, admission for the features is $5 for the general public and free for UCM students, seniors and military. Admission for the short programs is $5 for the general public and free for students, seniors and military. With the donation of two canned goods, admission is free for the general public.

This is the fourth year for the annual Show Me Justice Film Festival, which this year is being held in conjunction with UCM Social Justice Week. The festival program includes short features at 7 p.m. each evening prior to the feature films, and three shorts programs comprised of a variety of short documentaries, narratives and experimental-animated films.

The festival also will feature a filmmaker roundtable discussion on Thursday and Saturday afternoons, college/community film workshops on Thursday morning, and a day of high school workshops on Friday.

For more information about the Show Me Justice Film Festival, including a full schedule of films, visit the UCM website, or follow the festival on Twitter at @SMJFF and on Facebook.

Justicely yours,
Behka

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