The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom (39 min., Japan/USA, Lucy Walker)

Survivors in the areas hardest hit by Japan’s recent tsunami find the courage to revive and rebuild as cherry blossom season begins.

Incident in New Baghdad (25 min., USA, James Spione)

One of the most notorious incidents of the Iraq War – the July 2007 slayings of two Reuters journalists and a number of other unarmed civilians by US attack helicopters – is recounted in the powerful testimony of an American infantryman whose life was profoundly changed by his experiences on the scene. US Army Specialist Ethan McCord bore witness to the devastating carnage, found and rescued two children caught in the crossfire, and soon turned against the war that he had enthusiastically joined only months before. Denied psychological treatment in Iraq for his PTSD, McCord returned home, struggling for years with anger, confusion, and guilt over the war. When WikiLeaks released the stunning cockpit video of the incident, McCord was finally spurred into action, and began traveling the country, speaking out for the rights of PTSD sufferers against the American wars in the Middle East.

Saving Face (40 min., Pakistan/USA, Daniel Junge, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy)

Every year hundreds of people — mostly women — are attacked with acid in Pakistan. The HBO Documentary SAVING FACE, which premiers March 8 at 8:30 PM PT, follows several of these survivors, their fight for justice, and a Pakistani plastic surgeon who has returned to his homeland to help them restore their faces and their lives.

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement (25 min., USA, Gail Dolgin and Robin Fryday)

Mr. James Armstrong is a barber, a “foot soldier” and a dreamer whose barbershop in Birmingham, Alabama has been a hub for haircuts and civil rights since 1955. “The dream” of a promised land, where dignity and the right to vote belongs to everyone is documented in photos, headlines and clippings that cram every inch of wall space (and between the mirrors). 85-years-young, jauntily wearing a bowtie and suspenders, Mr. Armstrong will cut your hair while recounting his experiences as a “foot soldier”, citing the pictures on his wall as he does. In March 1965, civil rights activists began a march from Selma to Montgomery calling for voting rights. Mr. Armstrong, an Army Veteran, was the proud bearer of the American flag in that march, and it’s said that even as state troopers tear-gassed the crowd and beat marchers with billy clubs, he held the flag high. On the annual commemoration of Bloody Sunday he carries that flag. He used his barber chair to educate: “If you want a voice, you have to vote; you can’t complain about nothing if you don’t vote.” Despite threats to his life and home, his two sons were the first to integrate an all white elementary school. “Dying isn’t the worst thing a man can do. The worst thing a man can do is nothing.” No one can accuse Mr. Armstrong of doing nothing; and on the eve of the election of the first African-American president, THE BARBER OF BIRMINGHAM sees his unimaginable dream come true.

God Is the Bigger Elvis, also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short, is unfortunately not able to be shown in theaters due to licensing restrictions.

A hit at Sundance ’11 and winner of the Ediburgh Film Festival’s prize for Best New British Feature, the amazing genre creation directed by David Mackenzie stars Eva Green and Ewan McGregor as witnesses to the end of the world– strangers who form a desperate romantic connection in the face of an apocalyptic epidemic of sensory loss.

Ferrara’s latest is a haunting vision of apocalypse, as a New York couple (Willem Dafoe and Shanyn Leigh) faces the imminent end of the world. As they retreat into the havens of sex and art, Skyping their goodbyes from a Lower East Side apartment filled with screens bearing tidings of doom and salvation, the film becomes a soulful valentine to the city. With Paz de la Huerta and Natasha Lyonne.

A deeply moving tale of extraordinary grace, the Dardenne brothers’ (L’enfant, Rosetta) new film focuses on a troubled 11-year-old, abandoned by his father (Dardenne favorite Jérémie Renier). Randomly, he becomes the ward of a kind hairdresser (Cécile de France), who seems surprised to find herself so determined to help him. With his wild, unpredictable behavior and his disastrous search for father figures, the boy risks losing her—but she refuses to give up on him without a fight.

Sunday/Dimanche (10 min., English, Patrick Doyon)

Every Sunday, it’s the same old routine! The train clatters through the village and almost shakes the pictures off the wall. In the church, Dad dreams about his toolbox. And of course later Grandma will get a visit and the animals will meet their fate.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (15 min., No Dialogue, William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg)

Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story. Using a variety of techniques (miniatures, computer animation, 2D animation) award winning author/illustrator William Joyce and co-director Brandon Oldenburg present a hybrid style of animation that harkens back to silent films and MGM Technicolor musicals. Morris Lessmore is old fashioned and cutting edge at the same time.

La Luna (7 min., English, Enrico Casaroasa)

A fable of a young boy who is coming of age in the most peculiar of circumstances. Tonight is the very first time his Papa and Grandpa are taking him to work. In an old wooden boat they row far out to sea, and with no land in sight, they stop and wait. A big surprise awaits the little boy as he discovers his family’s most unusual line of work.

A Morning Stroll (7 min., No Dialogue, Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe)

When a New Yorker walks past a chicken on his morning stroll, we’re left to wonder which one is the real city slicker.

Wild Life (13 min., English, Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby)

Calgary, 1909: an Englishman moves to the Canadian frontier, but is singularly unsuited to it. His letters home are much sunnier than the reality. Intertitles compare his fate to that of a comet.

Plus the following “Highly Commended” Animated titles:

Nullarbor (10 min., English, Alister Lockhart)

An animated road movie set across the vast and barren landscape of Australia’s Nullarbor Plain.

Amazonia (5 min., English, Sam Chen)

In the dangerous world of the Amazon Rainforest, finding a meal proves to be an impossible task for a little tree-frog named Bounce. His luck changes when he meets Biggy, a blue-bellied treefrog who takes him under his guidance and shows him the ways of the jungle in this animated journey set to Beethoven’s Symphony No.8.

Skylight (5 min., English, David Baas)

Skylight is a mock animated documentary about the ecological plight of penguins in the Antarctic, possibly foretelling cataclysmic results for the rest of the world.

Hybrid Union (4 min., English, Serguei Kouchnerov)

In the imaginary land of Cyberdesert, Plus and Minus struggle with a dependency on an outdated source of energy. The mysterious self-sufficient Smart presents a new challenge for Plus and Minus and forces them to form an alliance — The Hybrid Union!

Pentecost (11 min., English, Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane)

When Damian is forced to serve as an altar boy at an important mass in his local parish, he faces a difficult choice: conform to the status quo, or serve an extended ban from his life’s passion – football.

Raju (24 min., English/German, Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren)

Director Max Zaehle, together with his Director of Photography Sin Huh, and wonderful actors Wotan Wilke Möhring and Julia Richter, succeed at making the moral dilemma faced by couples wishing to adopt emotionally palpable.

The Shore (31 min., English/Gaelic, Terry George and Oorlagh George)

After 25 years in exile, Jim Mahon (Ciaran Hinds) returns to Ireland to show his American daughter Patty (Kerry Condon) his Belfast roots. But things don’t go as planned when she learns of a secret love triangle and a long lost best friend, Paddy (Conleth Hill). Their reconciliation leads to hilarious confusion. Directed by two time Oscar nominee Terry George, The Shore won Best Director and Best Actor at the Rhode Island Film Festival, and is nominated for an Irish Film and Television Award.

Time Freak (11 min., English, Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey)

A neurotic inventor creates a time machine, only to get caught up travelling around yesterday.

Tuba Atlantic (25 min., Norwegian, Hallvar Witzø)

Everybody is going to die one day. Oskar, 70, is going to die in 6 days. He is now ready to forgive his brother for a disagreement years ago. Will he reach his brother, who he believes live on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, before it’s too late?

“Hartley’s jeu d’esprit starts from an intriguing premise: the same script is delivered three times, by three different casts, thus allowing local cultural differences and the viewer’s cumulative knowledge to influence various shifts in tone and treatment. Shot first as a stand alone short, ‘New York, February 1993′ brings the tart romantic confusions familiar from the director’s earlier work, as Bill Sage gives himself 90 minutes to decide if his future lies with partner Posey, and has his decision shaped by barfly Donovan’s suicidal response to rejection by Sage’s other lover. In ‘Berlin, October 1994′ black American Dwight Ewell hesitates over his affair with art dealer Bender, and a chorus of refreshingly straightforward workmen explain the film’s self-reflexive strategies. ‘Tokyo, March 1995′ sets down with butoh performer Nikaido (Hartley’s off-screen wife) and visiting American film-maker ‘Hal’, played with quizzical self-consciousness by the writer/director himself. Although the aphoristic dialogue and sly wit are by now a given, the structure allows Hartley to jettison more and more of the narrative exposition as he goes along, creating a Godardian sense of playfulness and also renewing the director’s interest in purely choreographic nuance.” – Time Out (London)

“Hartley’s typically wry, witty and inventive contribution to Haut et Court’s Millennium series envisages Christ (Donovan) reluctantly sent by dad to NYC to supervise the Day of Judgment; meanwhile Satan (Ryan) hopes to put a stop to the Apocalypse, while continuing his quest for wayward souls. The plotting, the philosophical discussions and the playing are as enjoyable as ever, but what makes this Hartley film special is his invigorating use of digital video and experiments with sound and music.” – Time Out (London)

US premiere! MEANWHILE concerns Joe Fulton, a man who can do anything from fixing your sink to arranging international financing for a construction project. He produces online advertising and he’s written a big fat novel. He’s also a pretty good drummer. But success eludes him. For Joe can’t keep himself from fixing other people’s problems. His own ambitions are constantly interrupted by his willingness and ability to go out of his way for others. – Possible Films

In this wonderfully deadpan, surprisingly touching tale from the burgeoning new Greek cinema (and the country’s official submission to the 2012 Oscars), awkward 23-year-old Marina is stuck in a dead-end seaside town. She passes the days watching Richard Attenborough nature documentaries and listening to Suicide songs, but relationships with her ailing father, promiscuous friend Bella and a visiting engineer (Dogtooth director Yorgos Lanthimos) push her into contact with the strange and funny world of adulthood.