American Documentary and Animation Film Festival begins with opening night
PALM SPRINGS, Calif,(KESQ) - The 14th annual American Documentary and Animation Film Festival begins today.
After several earlier screenings, the Opening Night event in Palm Springs will feature four short films about music and dance, accompanied by live music during the program.
The day's events also includes shorts packages with themes such as immigration, sports, inequality and African American stories.
One full-length movie will also be shown Thursday at the Camelot Theatres at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. "Scars Unseen,'' which premiered last June in Los Angeles, centers on three domestic violence survivors who aim to pay it forward.
Academy Award-winning documentary "No Other Land," a collaboration between a collective of Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers, is set to screen multiple times throughout the festival. The film was in the news earlier this week as Hamdan Ballal, one of its directors, was attacked by masked Israeli settlers before being detained for 24 hours.
Another high-profile film, the Oscar-nominated "Porcelain War," will play 90 minutes after "No Other Land" starts Friday.
Leighton Ginn, Director of Development, said the festival is also investing in the next generation of filmmakers.
“We have a program with the high schools," Ginn said. "We have some high school filmmakers who are in here. They're going to show theirs at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday."
“I also got to create a film which is a glimpse into Sunnylands," Daisy Mejia Salacar, Cathedral City High school student said. "Which is so amazing because honestly, it's so much fun to learn more about this place."
Some attendees said involving young people at the festival helps generations connect and keep important conversations going.
The full schedule, which includes several surprise screenings and movies to be announced, is also highlighted by a conversation between former Senator Barbara Boxer and journalist Soledad O'Brien.
The festival, which itself has Academy Award-qualifying status, runs through Monday. Tickets can be found at filmfreeway.com/AmericanDocumentaryFilmFestivalandFilmFund/tickets.
