Seventh Annual Documentary Film Festival (DocFest) October 17, 2008

A film festival that offers a manageable amount of the truth

OCTOBER 17 – 30, 2008 • ROXIE CINEMA IN SAN FRANCISCO

OCTOBER 31 – NOVEMBER 6, 2008 • SHATTUCK CINEMAS IN BERKELEY

Oscar Wilde once said, "The truth is rarely pure and never simple." With over 60 films from around the world, the seventh annual Documentary Film Festival (DocFest) is offering three weeks of rather complex, and engaging nonfiction films and videos, October 17–30, 2008 at the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street; and October 31–November 6, 2008 at the Shattuck Cinemas, 2230 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley.

Tickets are $10.50 and there are no service charges for advance ticket purchases. The DocPass, good for admission to all films at the festival as well as the Opening Night Party, is $200. The BerkeleyDocPass, good for all screenings at the Shattuck, is $100.
For tickets or more information call (415) 820-3907 or www.sfindie.com

World premieres, make the festival line-up pop!
To date, DocFest is proud to announce the world premiere screenings of two films:
DEBATE TEAM and A STIFF UPPER LIP.

DEBATE TEAM by B. Douglas Robbins (Berkeley, CA). World Premiere.
Debate Team is a documentary exploring the weird subculture of competitive college debates. Competitors battle at 360 words per minute, hauling mountains of evidence called 'cards' with nearly every debate ending in global nuclear annihilation. In 2005, nearly 200 teams converged on San Francisco State University to compete in the National Championship. The documentary follows four teams, from Michigan State, Harvard, West Georgia, and UC Berkeley in their quest for the national title. What emerges is not simply a chronicle of the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, but a more disturbing examination into the nature of competition itself and the American fetish with awards and champions.

A STIFF UPPER LIP by Mike Maloney, UK, World Premiere.
This documentary follows Mr. Dave Hill's progress from fresh-faced Essex boy to his full handlebar wearing moment of glory: representing his country at the Olympics of facial hair: The 2007 World Beard and Moustache Championships. With the assistance of the Windsor Castle's Handlebar Club he prepares for this great challenge - to take on the world's finest mustachioed men. A Journey into a convivial world of old school manners, decency, and the finest bunch of jolly chaps you could hope to meet.
The only ticket needed is a finely adorned upper lip.

Monuments, Artists and Obsession!
HEAD TRIP by John Law and Fletcher Feudujon. (local) Produced by Laughing Squid.
85 min. John Law is an original Suicide Club member, charter member of the Cacophony Society and co-founder of Burning Man festival. Flecher Fleudujon is a film professional and co-founder of the Yard Dogs Roadshow & Revue.

Set at the time of the beginning of the Iraq war, a bus-load of San Francisco characters crisscrosses across the USA on a quixotic/good-will journey to The Big Apple. They drop in on noteworthy American monuments and oddball artists along the way with their own "roadside attraction, three giant Doggie Diner Heads in tow!

I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW, by Sean Donnelly

Every celebrity deals with his or her share of obsessed fans. I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW is a documentary that focuses on two individuals, Jeff and Kelly, who claim to be in love with the 80's pop singer Tiffany. Jeff Turner, a 50-year-old man from Santa Cruz, CA has attended Tiffany concerts since 1988. Diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, he has never had a girlfriend. Jeff spends his days on the streets of Santa Cruz, striking up conversations with anyone who has a moment to spare. Kelly McCormick is a 35-year-old intersex person from Denver, CO, who claims to have been friends with Tiffany as a teenager and credits Tiffany as the shining star who been the motivation for everything in Kelly's life.

Both Jeff and Kelly have been labeled stalkers by the media and other Tiffany fans.
This film takes you inside the lonely lives these two characters, revealing the source of their clinging obsessions. This age-old story of unrequited love is a comedic and emotional trip through themes of desperation, isolation, and hope, illustrating that having something, or someone, to believe in can be more powerful than anything reality has to offer.

General Information about DocFest
Now in its seventh year, the San Francisco Documentary Film Festival (DocFest) presented by the San Francisco Independent Film Festival (SF IndieFest), runs October 17 - 30 at the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street in San Francisco, and October 31–November 6, 2008 at the Shattuck Cinemas, 2230 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley.

Tickets are $10.50 and there are no service charges for advance ticket purchases. The DocPass, good for admission to all films at the festival as well as the Opening Night Party, is $200. The BerkeleyDocPass, good for all screenings at the Shattuck, is $100.
For tickets and more information, (415) 820-3907 or sfindie.com

Official Website: http://www.sfindie.com