Gasparilla International Film Festival 2009

HENRY O!, a feature-length documentary, tells the remarkable and inspiring story of Henry Oliu, a man blind since birth, who has overcome all the odds and made his major league baseball dream come true. Calling upon his love for sports and an encyclopedic memory for facts and figures, Henry hears the crack of the bat and knows if it’s a single, double, or homerun; he listens for the ball singing into the catcher’s mitt and knows if it’s a curveball, fastball, or change-up. Henry is the color analyst on Mega Classica 820 radio, WMGG.

Mark has never been able to give the perfect high-five. He is constantly getting picked on by the popular high-five’ers and his secret crush doesn’t even know he exists. After one last humiliating straw, Mark sets off to master the art of high-five and thus win the girl of his dreams. Tori Carroll's short film won top honors at the Art Institute of Tampa's CAMotion Festival.

Andreotti is synonym of power in Italy for over four decades. At the beginning of the Nineties, this impassive yet insinuating, ambiguous figure appears set to assume his seventh mandate as Prime Minister without arrogance and without humility. He is untouched by it all, unchanging. Until the strongest counter power in Italy, the Mafia, declares war on him. Then things change. Perhaps even for the enigmatic, immortal Andreotti. But the question is: do they really change or only appear to? We can be sure of one thing: it is difficult to tarnish Andreotti, the man who knows the ways of the world better than any of us.

Explore how the US trade embargo has had a rippling effect on Cuban society in every way, focusing on auto-mechanics, education, health-care, transportation, entertainment, food supply, general appliance maintenance, and overall life in Cuba. This documentary points out how the people of Cuba improvise in regards to everything mentioned above. Their methods, creativity, undying will, and overall positive attitude will touch you and move you. It will also raise questions about the legitimacy of the current US trade embargo and the intentions of the US in regards to Cuba. This is a story of the resilience of a people, and a call for change.

Trying to rescue his faltering marriage with his standard apology, a hopeless man attempts to smooth things over with his wife. In his confused search for intimacy and forgiveness, we soon learn why this man is utterly alone. ‘I Would for You’ is a film about relationships; it’s a lesson to all men that if you don’t learn to listen, you might truly end up in a one-way relationship.

Born in Uganda, kidnapped by the rebel army and trained to be a child soldier at the age of 6. When the rebels took over the government, Kassim became an army soldier. He soon discovered the army’s boxing team was his ticket to freedom. After 12 years of warfare, Kassim defected from Africa and arrived in the United States. Homeless and culture shocked, he quickly rose through the boxing ranks and became Junior Middleweight Champion of the World. Keeping his demons out of the ring becomes increasingly difficult. His desires to reunite with family in Uganda intensify when Kassim’s only hope for a safe return is a military pardon from those responsible for his abduction. Kassim will attend the screening.

Andrej and his family have been living in Germany illegally for years. When his son reaches school age, he can´t hide any longer. Mischa´s future is at stake. When the boy runs off and into the near school, Andrej realizes that he needs to offer his son a future. There seems to be only one way out. Andrej is devastated and afraid to lose what matters most: his family.

A young man, the victim of a severe beating, has been hospitalized in Havana. The perpetrator appears to have been a transvestite. Mercedes, a nurse, convinces Frank, an ex-cop, to investigate the case. Taking place entirely over the course of one night (December 28th: the “Day of the Innocents”), the man’s hospital room becomes crowded with family and some unexpected visitors, gradually revealing family secrets, hidden desires, and finally uncovering what exactly happened to the young man.