Delray Beach Film Festival 2009

Each Independence Day, spectators gather in the nation's capitol for the official fireworks celebration. Against a backdrop of the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial, pyrotechnics paint the sky capital red, white, blue and every imaginable color.Filmed in high-definition, 3,2,1 FIREWORKS! takes viewers behind the barricades of one of the largest and most impressive fireworks shows in the country, the annual Fourth of July celebration in Washington, D.C.The film visits small factories in China to see the making of fireworks that will ultimately be destroyed in Washington D.C. Once there, an army of technicians undertake the arduous task of setting and filling 2,500 mortar tubes. Days before the show, their frenzied, last-minute preparations include wiring, setting charges, trouble-shooting and, coping with unexpected weather delays.These pyrotechnicians face incredible danger. 3,2,1 FIREWORKS! highlights an annual safety training course that illustrates what can go wrong when dealing with thousands of pounds of explosives. Additionally, a 5,000-frame per second camera captures the destruction caused by an errant firework shell.Dr. John Conkling, one of the world's foremost experts on fireworks chemistry, explains how different chemical compounds react to create fireworks' signature colors, shapes, sparks and crackle. He also provides a brief history of fireworks - from the discovery of powder in China to its use by European royals.Finally, the program witnesses the culmination of a year's worth of work from the pyrotechnician's vantage point. The production's dazzling finale left the crowd of 600,000 onlookers cheering for more.

Justin and Amanda work for a marketing agency, and they're currently helping to get a new scifi show off the ground, launching at a scifi convention. Justin's two best friends, Suzy and Phil, are dealing with their own issues, including a new love interest named Monique for Suzy, recently out of the closet, and Phil realizing he needs to grow up and find a real job. Amanda's relationship with Dan is strained as she works overtime, and her older sister Christie isn't helping things with her bad advice. Her youngest sister Billie becomes obsessed with former scifi actor Mark Lang, in town to sign a deal for the new show. As the scifi convention gets closer, things get more difficult for Justin and Amanda.

In many ways, Ledo and Ix are just like us. Sleeping under the stars makes them philosophical, ometimes they wonder if they should have chosen different careers, and they avoid dens of monsters when possible. But in one crucial way, they're different: they're fantasy adventurers in an eight-bit video game.

In 1961, John F. Kennedy set a goal for the nation; to put an American on the moon and bring them safely home. This effort to reach the moon before the Soviet Union prompted a burst of creativity within our nation's space industry. NASA, the U.S. Air Force, and Aerojet General were the key players in the creation of Aerojet-Dade; a state-of-the-art rocket testing facility. This remote complex located just outside the boundaries of Everglades National Park would make strides in our nation's Solid Rocket Program; closing the space gap with the Russians. History was made when the largest single rockets in the world were test-fired at the Aerojet-Dade facility. Unbeknownst to many, a small town of homesteaders contributed to a highly successful space program that derived the necessary science to develop today's aeronautic technology.Learn about the pros and cons of both solid and liquid fuel...the process of creating the biggest rockets ever tested...Find out what caused this once cutting edge facility to close, in Aerojet-Dade: An Unfinished Journey.

Our Sapphic film 'Agnes Moorehead is God!' is based upon 'The Stronger' by the great Swedish dramatist, August Strindberg, & as such is a deeply psychological character study of 2 {very strong} women.... The great 'hook' in the play is that one woman does ALL of the talking while the other remains largely silent...begging the question: 'Just who IS the stronger?' In our film {as in life} it is Miss Moorehead who sermonizes on & on, whilst Miss Stanwyck 'watches from the wings'. Or DOES she. There is much power in silence & our talkie seeks to show this. These two ladies had a real {or 'reel} rivalry...not as virulent as the one between Bette & Joan...but quite toxic, just the same. Why did they hate each other SO much?? They were very similar in many ways. Both came from humble backgrounds, rising to the top through sheer force of will. Both were locked in awful marriages to abusive alcoholics...both had foster sons who simply vanished from their lives...you would think that they would have been friends. And yet, they hated each other. Maybe they had actually loved each other...once. The film opens on a RED rose...the camera pulls back to reveal another 'rose'...the lovely Miss Barbara Stanwyck. Even though it is Christmas Eve, this celebrated lady sits alone, sipping tea & reading a magazine. In sails 'Madame X' herself...the GREAT Agnes Moorehead {in full Endora mode}. Babs {oops, sorry...she hated that nickname} SEEMS startled...rather like a frightened doe, but Aggie is on the warpath. She begins a full on assault...hurling insults & accusations, like she is rehearsing 'Virginia Woolf'. Barbara takes this all pretty well...calmly sitting, & smoking {and plotting revenge, no doubt}. At first the ladies stick to tea & hot chocolate {yuck}...but soon the wine, & venom, REALLY start flowing. After a lot of drinking & smoking {Where is Bette Davis when we really need her} a kind of rapprochement is reached. For didn't these ladies once adore each other?? Miss Moorehead finally allows the mask to slip & admits to Stanwyck, that she has been 'haunting this little cafe {the place of their first meeting} for 17 years...waiting for a word...a glimpse even'. Barbara {not so icy as we were led to believe} melts...a bit, even bringing herself to utter Aggie's name. The two even share an old movie style kiss...or is it a Judas kiss...you decide. Agnes sails back into the black night & as for Barbara...well let us just say she FINALLY has the last word. The End.

All Roads Leads to Family The program is a rounded selection of eight short films from animation to narrative short story and a combination of both, blended animation with live action. The films portray Native cultures throughout the western hemisphere and the Maori of New Zealand. AYDAYGOOAY Director: Mary Code This blended live-action and animation short tells the Sayisi Dene story of Aydaygooay, a young man who brings the caribou back to his people. Canada | 2007 | 6 minutes | Sayisi Dene with English subtitles HAWAIKII Director: Mike Jonathan Faced with the anxiety of the first day of school, a young girl is soothed by her connection to her family and her Maori culture. New Zealand | 2006 | 11 minutes | English and Maori KEAO Director: Kaliko Spenser Keao, a young hula dancer, is torn between the commercialization and the sacred ritual of the dance. United States | 2008 | 10 minutes KIDS’ STORIES Director: Ricardo Barahona Kids’ Stories is a collection of animated shorts inspired by the famous Salvadoran writer Salarrué. Stories included are “The Tale of What I Want and Don’t Want, The Magic Staff, and Other Silly Thingies,” “Menchedita Copalchine’s First Communion,” and “The Tale of the Geological Shake Up and Scared Up Earthlings.” El Salvador | 2007 | 10 minutes | Spanish with English subtitles MAQ AND THE SPIRIT OF THE WOODS Director: Phyllis Grant A young boy learns a valuable life lesson through the help of an inconspicuous mentor. Canada | 2007 | 9 minutes MARIACHI SPECTACULAR Producers: Christine Vasquez, and Thom Eberhardt See and hear the fabulous Mariachi music performed by the hundreds of dedicated students ages 5-19 who congregate in Albuquerque, New Mexico to learn this vibrant Mexican music from the masters. United States | 2008 | 15 minutes