STILL BILL (78 min.)
A film by Damani Baker & Alex Vlack
"Still Bill" is an intimate portrait of soul legend Bill Withers, best known for his classics "Ain't No Sunshine," "Lean On Me," "Lovely Day," "Grandma's Hands," and "Just the Two of Us." With his soulful delivery and warm, heartfelt sincerity, Withers has written the songs that have—and always will—resonate deeply within the fabric of our times.

Filmmakers Damani Baker and Alex Vlack follow Withers and offer a unique and rare look inside the world of this fascinating man. Through concert footage, journeys to his birthplace, interviews with music legends, his family and closest friends, "Still Bill" presents the story of an artist who has written some of the most beloved songs in our time and who truly understands the heart and soul of a man.

July 8:
Film: JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT: THE RADIANT CHILD (90 min.)
A film by Tamra Davis
Music: The Gallows Humor
Director Tamra Davis pays homage to her friend in this definitive documentary but also delves into Basquiat as an iconoclast.

July 15:
Film: SCENES FROM THE LIFE OF ANDY WARHOL (30 min.)
A film by Jonas Mekas
Music: Amps Do Furnish a Room (Television cover band)
The film is made up of Jonas Mekas's film diaries related to Andy Warhol from the years 1965-1982. Locations are New York and Montauk: The Factory, house of George Maciunas, village gate, psychiatrist's convention, home of Stephen Shore, Warhol Estate, Montauk, etc.

July 22:
Film: BEAUTIFUL DARLING: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF CANDY DARLING, WARHOL SUPERSTAR (100 min.)
A film by James Rasin
Music: Rough Hands
"Beautiful Darling," a documentary film, pays tribute to the short but influential life of an extraordinary person—the actress Candy Darling, born James Slattery in a Long Island suburb in 1944.

NERDCORE RISING (85 min.)
A film by Negin Farsad & Kim Gatewood
"Nerdcore Rising" investigates the newest wave of hip-hop, nerdcore, as it follows the godfather of the genre, MC Frontalot, on his first national tour. Beginning in South Carolina and culminating in nerd mecca—the Penny Arcade Gaming Convention in Seattle—masses of fans across the country come out to bask in the Front's geek glory as he strives to achieve mainstream success.

MC Frontalot fanatics are the real stars of the film. They are hackers and gamers, bloggers and podcasters, they play World of Warcraft, live virtually in Second Life, and of course, they love nerdcore hip hop. In short, they are hardcore nerds, and together, they illustrate the funny, fascinating, and unapologetically uncool cultural phenomenon that is nerdcore.

D TOUR (99 min.)
A film by Jim Granato
Pat Spurgeon is a drummer with Rogue Wave, an indie rock band that's toured the world and released several critically acclaimed albums. He's passionate about his career as a professional musician, and he's determined to not let anything stand in the way—not even a serious medical condition. Pat was born with just one kidney, which began deteriorating when he was in junior high school. He received a kidney transplant, but after 12 years, just as Rogue Wave starts to take off, that kidney begins to fail. "D Tour" follows Pat's search for a living organ donor and the myriad challenges associated with finding a viable match. Featuring live performances from Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie), Nada Surf, John Vanderslice, The Moore Brothers and Rogue Wave, "D Tour" chronicles Pat's experience coping with his condition, and his fierce resolve to go on with a "normal" life despite living with an uncertain future.

MUSIC OF THE BRAIN (55 min.)
A film by Fiona Cochrane
Music affects our development from the womb to the grave. This documentary examines the role music plays in developing our brains as humans, beginning with premature infants in neonatal intensive care wards, moving through the role of music in enhancing performance in childhood (including discussion of the Mozart effect), the role of music therapy in hospital patients, and finally looking at the elderly. Music is good for our health—as non-Western tribal cultures have always known—and this documentary shows you how and why.

MELLODRAMA (75 min.)
A film by Dianna Dilworth
Preceded by the World Premiere of MELTING OF THE GLOBE (2009)
Music Documentary Short by Carrboro filmmaker Nic Beery
"Mellodrama" explores the rising and falling fortunes of the Mellotron—the first musical keyboard to sample the sounds of other instruments from its birth in a California garage in the 1950s, through its dominance on concert stages in the 1970s, through its almost religious cult of followers in the 2000s.

HAIR: LET THE SUN SHINE IN (55 min.)
A film by Pola Rapaport
The genesis, life and renaissance of "Hair," the most revolutionary musical of its time: a poetic and explosive condensation of the spirit of the 60's. A young troupe makes the social and political meaning of the musical more relevant than ever, setting it against the backdrop of the Iraq War. By 1972, "Hair" had been performed in more than twenty productions around the world, and had been seen by 30 million people. Since then, it has had a profound influence socially and politically. Featuring actors Keith Carradine, Melba Moore, Ben Vereen; directors Milos Forman and Tom O'Horgan; producer Michael Butler and authors Jim Rado and Gait MacDermot.

HERB AND DOROTHY (97 min.)
NORTH CAROLINA PREMIERE
A film by Megumi Sasaki
This art-collecting documentary by Megumi Sasaki tells the improbable but true story of Herb and Dorothy Vogel, a postal worker and librarian living in New York City. In the early 1960s, when very little attention was paid to Minimalist and Conceptual Art, Herb and Dorothy quietly began purchasing the works of unknown artists. Devoting all of Herb's salary to buy art, and living on Dorothy's paycheck alone, they continued collecting artworks guided by two rules: the piece had to be affordable, and small enough to fit in their one-bedroom Manhattan apartment.

DREAMS WITH SHARP TEETH (97 min.)
A film by Erik Nelson
In a career spanning more than 40 years, Harlan Ellison has won more awards for the 75 books he has written or edited, the more than 1700 stories, essays, articles, and newspaper columns, two dozen teleplays, and a dozen motion pictures he has created, than any other living fantasy author, according to his official website, harlanellison.com. This documentary about Ellison is narrated by actor Robin Williams, who appeared with him on the radio series "2000." The film also features an original score performed by the legendary Richard Thompson.

THE WRECKING CREW (95 min.)
A film by Denny Tedesco
Sponsored by the Salem College of Music
This new documentary tells the story of the Wrecking Crew, a collective of Los Angeles musicians who played on hits by the Righteous Brothers, the Beach Boys, the Byrds and many others. Directed by Denny Tedesco, son of the late guitarist Tommy Tedesco, "The Wrecking Crew" features interviews with Brian Wilson, Cher, Roger McGuinn, and famed Crew members like bassist Carol Kaye and drummer Hal Blaine. "These guys were chameleons," Tedesco says. "They went from Phil Spector to Nancy Sinatra to the Beach Boys. They always had to sound like somebody else."

FOUR OF A KIND (97 min.)
NORTH CAROLINA PREMIERE
A film by Fiona Cochrane
Sponsored by the Salem Center for Women Writers and the Australian Embassy, Washington DC
From independent Australian filmmaker Fiona Cochrane comes this compelling tale of mystery and intrigue. Meet Gina, Anne, Glenda and Susan, four women who unknowingly share a dark secret. The drama unfolds as one woman's story melds into the next, creating a multi-layered circle of betrayals and connections. The experience is similar to watching four short episodes of a crime re-enactment show with overlapping characters. Writer Helen Collins turns in a great screenplay, based on her play.

JACK TAYLOR OF BEVERLY HILLS (52 min.)
A film by Cecile Leroy Beaulieu
This charming documentary tells the story of Jack Taylor, who, in his nineties, still makes high-end custom suits that have been famous for their cut and style for six decades. In fact, it was Taylor's threads that established the fashion trends of the Rat Pack. Through candid interviews and many hours spent with Taylor at work, filmmaker Cecile Leroy Beaulieu provides a captivating glimpse into how an old-Hollywood-era icon has maintained his traditional high standards, with help from his wife.

DREAMS WITH SHARP TEETH (97 min.)
NORTH CAROLINA PREMIERE
A film by Erik Nelson
In a career spanning more than 40 years, Harlan Ellison has won more awards for the 75 books he has written or edited, the more than 1700 stories, essays, articles, and newspaper columns, two dozen teleplays, and a dozen motion pictures he has created, than any other living fantasy author, according to his official website, harlanellison.com. This documentary about Ellison is narrated by actor Robin Williams, who appeared with him on the radio series "2000." The film also features an original score performed by the legendary Richard Thompson.

RECENT MEDIA BY FRANCESCA TALENTI: "BEYOND THE RECTANGLE"
Presented in a special partnership with the Salem College for Women Writers
Francesca Talenti is a filmmaker and animator who has exhibited her work from Sundance to PBS National. She has won a number of audience and "best of" awards, and has received grants from the Independent Television Service, Latino Public Broadcasting and the Kauffman Foundation, among others. Talenti will show several of her pieces including "Rain," "Dreams of Liquid Memories" (excerpt), "Genesis: Mishaps in the Kitchen" (excerpts) and "Full Fathom Five" (excerpt). Talenti teaches media production at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

4 (88 minutes)
A film by Tim Slade
Co-hosted by Nic Beery at Century Center Cinema; sponsored by the Australian Embassy, Washington DC
Listen to Nic Beery's "NicKast" podcast about this screening.
In four corners of the globe, in the four seasons, four outstanding violinists guide us on an extraordinary journey through their four distinct homelands. From the springtime blossoms of Japan, into the blistering heat and thunderstorms of an Australian summer; from a joyful autumn in New York, to the unforgiving cold and human warmth of a Finnish winter. The resonant and much-loved music of Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons and the timeless stories they tell, form the backbone to this bold and engaging celebration of friendship, homeland and the cycles of life.

SIDEKICK (87 minutes)
NORTH CAROLINA PREMIERE
A film by Blake Van de Graaf
Norman Neale is a comic-book-obsessed computer geek who finds new meaning in life when he discovers his crass but highly popular co-worker Victor Ventura is telekinetic. Norman hatches a plan to create a superhero and offers to train Victor to hone his powers, envisioning a future in which Victor becomes a real superhero with his own costume, and Norman gets to be the trusty sidekick. However, the idealistic Norman discovers that not all gifted people use their powers for good. Which path will Victor choose? Superhero or supervillain?

HULA GIRLS (108 min.)
A film by Sang-il Lee
In 1965, the bleak coal-mining town of Joban, Japan is hanging by a thread due to a decreased demand for coal and impending layoffs. In an attempt to revive the economy, the town leaders and mining officials create "Joban Hawaiian Paradise," a tourist attraction with hula as the main draw. There's only one problem: there are no hula dancers in cold, northern Joban. A former dance star is brought in from Tokyo to teach hula to the miners' daughters, and despite some parents' disapproval, the fun—and drama—begins. Based on a true story, HULA GIRLS features music by Hawaiian-born ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro.

WONDERS ARE MANY: THE MAKING OF DR. ATOMIC (94 min.)
NORTH CAROLINA PREMIERE
A film by Jon Else
This film chronicles the making of "Dr. Atomic," a new work by the San Francisco Opera that dramatizes the dropping of the first A bomb in 1945. Acclaimed filmmaker Jon Else tracks the opera's progress over a year, while telling the parallel story of how nuclear weaponry came to be.

TALES OF THE RAT FINK (76 min.)
NORTH CAROLINA PREMIERE
A film by Ron Mann
A documentary about the anti-Mickey Mouse: Rat Fink, and his exuberant creator, Ed Roth.
With the voice talents of John Goodman, Ann-Margret, Jay Leno, Brian Wilson, Tom Wolfe, Matt Groening, Robert Williams, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Paul LeMat, Billy F. Gibbons, and The Smothers Brothers.