EIFF is pleased to have the Oregon Premiere of "Magritte Moment," a surreal, existential, and stimulating visual observation about a painter searching for his muse. Made by Columbia University Film School graduate Ian Fischer, it stars Tom Noonan (What Happened Was, Manhunter) and Mizuo Peck (Night at the Museum).

The twenty-year civil war in Uganda is known for its brutal guerrilla warfare and the common use of child soldiers. When film student Jon Betz stayed in a Ugandan orphanage, using his camera to document the war through the children's eyes, he found them willing to talk about the impact of being a child soldier, of the effects of constant violence and abuse, and what it's like for a generation of young people to know nothing but war. He also examines the complicated and mixed results of humanitarian aid. The orphaned children's are clearly touched by Jon and express their dreams as to how his film will help once it's shown in America.

A young woman sees her image in a painting at a gallery and goes on an existential journey looking for the artist who created her and so seeks to recreate herself. Wonderful production values.

Can we escape the consequences of our moral choices? Are our sins ever forgotten or live on in our repressed memories? This psychological thriller about an affluent San Francisco family headed toward destruction is a gripping, modern day film noir.

My Dearest Love

My Homework Ate My Dog

All the Mysteries of the Universe - Explained! Sort of... This is a worldwide quest that tackles many prevailing questions about philosophies, religions and belief systems.

Filmmaker Roger Nygard interviews spiritual leaders, scholars, scientists, artists, buffoons, and others that have pontificated on behalf of God or freaked out humanity.. Why are we here and what are we supposed to do about it? What started the Universe, and was it a mistake? Does God exist, and why does he seem so interested in our sex lives?

New Project
By Any Other Name

The life of a garden after dark: Balinese dancers sway on the petals of clematis flowers, Russian singers perform in a calla lily. In The Nightgardener disparate images that capture an idea about the humanity of the world play on floral screens.

When love at first sight needs a second chance...magic glasses might help. And funny things happen. Overly shy optometrist John is in love with his shop assistant, Barbara, but too scared to ask her out.

When John finds a pair of glasses that allow him to see 10 seconds into the future they'll surely help him win Barbara's heart. But the more John uses the glasses to predict the future the more they mislead him, and things begin to go awry.

Quail Hill is a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm located in Amagansett, New York. The farm has over 200 member families, with 30 acres of land in production. This prime, resort area land is part of a 192 acres Peconic Land Trust donated by Deborah Ann Light in 1995. The inspirational story of this donation and the success of the farm is vividly shown and told through the voices of Ms. Light, Scott Chaskey (manager/farmer). Beautifully photographed by Alec Hirschfeld.

When Caroline notices a troubled student sitting by herself in the school cafeteria, she is faced with a difficult choice of whether or not to reach out to the girl and risk being ostracized by her group of friends. Her decision, however, has consequences she never could have imagined.

The Cafeteria is a modern day retelling of the parable of the Lost Sheep.

Filmmaker Amy Ferraris, searches the coffee shops of America for a cup of cappuccino equal of those she's tasted in Italy. This simple idea is a pretext for a highly entertaining and surprisingly complex exploration of how Starbucks' mass marketing overwhelms independent coffee makers offering a much better product.

The story of Oregon's beaches has a long and storied history. This historical and timely documentary focuses on the efforts to keep the Oregon coast accessible to the public, beginning with Governor Oswald West's 1913 struggle to pass his landmark legislation. Featuring interviews with many of the living key players as well as voices from the past-"Politics of Sand" provides testimony to the fruits of citizen action.

When President-to-be Barack Obama visited Providence St. Mel School in inner city Chicago he was following in the footsteps of President Regan who had visited twenty years earlier. For almost 30 years now this celebrated, all-black parochial school has had a 100% success rate of getting its graduates accepted to college.

Paul J. Adams is the man behind the story - a diehard idealist and fundraiser who shaped Providence into a non-profit independent school. And this fascinating documentary not only chronicles his story, but interviews graduates, who explain how the school changed their inner city lives. It also takes you into the classroom to see how teachers are supported in teaching, and how dedicated and proud they are to be working at a first rank college preparatory school.

A tiny robot is given the gift of life with only one limitation, the length of his power cable. When a curious bird appears at the workshop window, his lust to live outside of his reach may be his demise.

Tom Lewis, born into a poor family of sixteen children in a small Southern town, navigates his way through the world as a migrant worker, a factory laborer, a soldier, and finally a riot cop on the mean streets of Washington, D.C. An African-American storyteller of quiet power, Tom's life takes a final twist when he buys a burned out old house in the roughest D.C. neighborhood and opens up a place called The Fishing School. It's here that Tom's extraordinary life spirit turns hardship into hope for the children of his community.

Leon Cooper, a World War II combat veteran returns to Tarawa where he was a participant during the War in the Pacific. Here, many American soldiers still lie forgotten 65 years after the battle and the US government has done nothing to repatriate their remains.

To add insult to injury, live ammunition-- America's - is still scattered everywhere on this tiny, densely populated island. And on the hallowed ground of Red Beach, where hundreds of Americans were killed by Japanese gunfire, piles of garbage cover the battleground. Ed Harris narrates. Leon Cooper will be attending the festival.

Rimshot is the story of a doctor who buried his true dream, and finds the key to unlock it in the most unlikely of places. Part magical realism, part dark comedy, Rimshot proves sometimes in life you're the punch line and sometimes you're the joke

Carter is getting ready for a planned engagement as best friend Jeff pressures him to blow it off. Blow off his engagement! What guy hasn't heard that! Filmed in Beaverton, Portland, and other Oregon locations, "Rose" has fun pumping up the "guy-fear" about getting married.