2019 Macon Film Festival

ASHE ‘68

Total Run Time: 10:00
Director: Brad Lichtenstein, Jeff Fitzsimmons & Rex Miller
Country of Origin: United States
Ratings: None
Synopsis: An immersive experience into Arthur Ashe’s triumphant win at the 1968 US Open
Fifty years ago, amid the turmoil of 1968, there was Arthur Ashe, an athlete who parlayed his fame as the first black man to win the US Open tennis championship into a lifetime devoted to fighting injustice. The ASHE ’68 Virtual Reality Experience brings viewers into the intimate moments right before Arthur Ashe’s historic 1968 US Open win, an event that changed his life and the course of sports history forever. From the internal pressures he felt during this turbulent cultural shift, to walking down the halls of Forest Hills’ all white West Side Tennis Club, to his historic pre-match press conference and winning match point - the viewer is right there, immersed in that historic day witnessing Ashe’s defining moment as an athlete and emergence as an activist on the world stage. This unique VR experience weaves together 360° video re-creations, archival material, and evocative, never-before-seen 360° sand animation to tell the story.

THE ATOMIC TREE

Total Run Time: 10:00
Director: Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee & Adam Loften
Country of Origin: United States
Ratings: None
Synopsis: The Atomic Tree leads you on an immersive journey through the memories held within the Yamaki pine, a 400-year-old Japanese White Pine bonsai tree that survived the Atomic blast at Hiroshima. From its birthplace in the sacred island of Miyajima and ancient cedar forests imbued with Kami spirits, to the Yamaki family home in Hiroshima where it was cared for 350 years and witnessed and survived the atomic blast. Viewers will experience the intricate “living strands of relationship” woven between the human and non-human worlds in the places the tree has lived. What are the connections and conversations that exist within the memories of the tree? How can those memories help us regain a sense of kinship with the natural world?

DAWN LAND

Total Run Time: 5:00
Director: Scott Gorman
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Ratings: None
Synopsis: An estimated 10,000 people of Abenaki heritage live throughout New England and Quebec, Canada. Today, Abenaki is fluently spoken by less than 10 individuals. Dawn Land was made to bring attention to the issue of dying languages in general, but also to serve as a tool for Abenaki revitalization.

EVEREST: THE VR FILM EXPERIENCE

Total Run Time: 11:00
Director: Jonathan Griffith
Country of Origin: United Kingdom/Nepal
Ratings: None
Synopsis: Follow Sherpa Tenji as he attempts to climb Mt Everest without the use of bottled oxygen, something that only 175 people have done before. Travel with him through the “Death Zone” and experience the thrilling highs and lows of climbing at the highest elevations on earth.

LIONHEARTED

Total Run Time: 12:10
Director: Ricarda Saleh
Country of Origin: Greece, Germany
Ratings: None
Synopsis: Rida is 8 years old. The extroverted girl fled with her family from Pakistan to Europe. Now she lives in Hotel City Plaza, a self-organised refugee shelter in Athens. We follow Rida in her day-to-day life in Hotel City Plaza. Through the voice-over we learn details about the escape. Rida explains how her family entered Turkey by foot, how she experienced living in a camp arriving in Greece. She tells us about her nightmare, in which she remembers crossing the Medieval Sea and her fear of drowning.

* Female Filmmaker

SEE ME

Total Run Time: 5:00
Director: Alethea Root
Country of Origin: United States
Ratings: Adult Situations
Synopsis: 'See Me' is an exploration of women reclaiming their sexuality from the patriarchy. Experience the persistent barrage of verbal attack - cat calls to self-shaming - that women are exposed to daily. Watch as these women strip off those confines and emerge ready to truly be seen.

* Female Filmmaker