June 2003

You're in a crowded, smoky bar. The atmosphere is thick with romantic possibility; the night beckons. Clutching your drink as your polyester blend club shirt hoards moisture with the tenacity of a Mojave Desert cactus, you scan the room for hotties. Suddenly, a pair of eyes meets yours. They linger, betraying no hint of bashfulness or desperation. It's one of those people. You know -- intriguing, imperturbably confident and in control, way out of your league...

Christian de Rezendes’ "Getting Out of Rhode Island" overwhelms you right from the start, with a flash-forward opening montage that immerses you headlong into a crowded, noisy party, jumping quickly through time to give you a taste of what’s to come without gaining any comfortable understanding. Disorientation seems to be the norm. Dialogue from different characters overlap, characters interrupt each other, party chatter echoes constantly in the background. Then, just as suddenly, de Rezendes quickly backtracks to just read more...

Millions of animals are brought to shelters across the country each year. Although a lucky few are placed in homes, the majority are euthanized. In "Shelter Dogs," documentary filmmaker Cynthia Wade explores the complex ethical gray zone of the animal shelter system. Venturing behind the scenes at an upstate New York shelter, she provides an unprecedented and candid view of the staff’s highs and lows as they make life and death decisions about the animals in their care.

Filmmakers Wendy Ettinger and Donna Wick have hit the mark with their new feature-length documentary "Baby I’m Yours" portraying three first-time mothers as they journey -- along with their husbands and children -- from pregnancy to early motherhood.

Article Provided by the Boston Film Video Foundation

Cheryl Eagan-Donovan’s first film "All Kindsa Girls," documents the history of garage/punk rock from its roots in the ‘60s to its present day incarnations through bands such as the Strokes and the Explosion. In between, Eagan-Donovan focuses on John Felice and his band the Real Kids, revealing the impact of this vibrant music scene in Boston and beyond.

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First produced in 1999, the fast-growing Provincetown International Film Festival kicks off its fifth year of programming this June. Scheduled for June 18-22, this year's line up includes 49 new features --31 dramatic and 18 documentaries. One film that is garnering special attention is "To Do No Harm," a documentary that examines the link between the current trends in HIV infection, drug use and needle exchange programs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The vagary of fate. What role does it play every day in our lives to change the course of best laid plans? How does its whimsical nature work to bring us together in unexpected ways? The new independent film, "The Chester Story" examines this theme and looks at how hope, love, and second chances can sometimes be born out of terrible tragedy. In the film, the lives of several characters become intertwined after a fateful car accident in a small North Carolina town.