Rec. Grade Levels Archives: 9

Wolfskinder

A remarkable story inspired by true events, Wolfschildren follows 14-year-old Hans and his younger brother Fritz, orphaned after WWII, on the long and difficult journey to Lithuania where family friends might take them in. Almost immediately, the brothers are separated, and Hans must make his way alone through treacherous territory, fighting off disease and hunger while outrunning the Soviet army, praying that he and his brother will fine each other again in this beautifully shot, true-life thriller.

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Undefeated

Set in Memphis, Undefeated chronicles the Manassas Tigers’ 2009 football season as they strive to win the first playoff game in the high school’s 110-year history.

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The Visitor

Walter, s widower college professor, travels to New York City to speak at an academic conference and discovers a swindler has rented his apartment to a young, illegal immigrant couple. The two nearly leave but Walter convinces them to stay, and a friendship develops between the trio as they learn to get by together.

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War Dance

Since 1985, the children of the Acholi tribe in northern Uganda have been victimized both by civil war and by a rebel force, the Lord’s Resistance Army. Millions have been displaced into camps where life is harsh. But when one camp’s primary school won the right to compete in Uganda’s national music and dance festival, its children dared to dream again. Nominated for an Academy Award, WAR DANCE follows three of these children – Dominic, Rose and Nancy – as they faced their past and imagined their future.

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A Wedding in Ramallah

Even in the midst of intense political conflicts, people try to get on with their lives. So it is with Mariam and Bassam, a Palestinian couple who met during the relatively peaceful summer of 2000. This wonderfully observant film follows their relationship from courtship to marriage, and beyond. Bassam, a telephone repairman in Cleveland, returns to Palestine to find a “home-made” bride. He quickly meets and marries the young Mariam, but leaves he in Palestine with his family. Soon afterward, a new intifada takes place and violence erupts throughout Palestine. Life in wartime is brilliantly evoked: people talk on cell phones, quarrel and cook dinner while tanks are shelling buildings a few blocks away. After many months, Bassam is able to procure a visa for Maraiam, but she soon discovers that life is exile in the UC is not what she expected. This charming film says a great deal about love, courtship, and the roles of women and men in Palestinian society, while touching on the details of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.

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