In light of the Arab Spring and the Occupy Wall Street movements, the 2011 Vermont International Film Festival has included Freedom & Liberty as important themes for this year's festival. The films in this strand deal with struggles for national liberty, for the freedom to think independently, for individual freedoms, and for the freedom to live dignified lives.

Films include Amigo, a Jonathan Sayles' film set in what seems to be a remote time in the Philippines and steps from gravity to humor without stereotyping any of the characters; Connected: An Autobiography About Love, Death, and Technology, which begins as an exploration about the increasing connectivity between people and becomes an artist's stream of consciousness on love, life, death, and family; How to Start a Revolution, a portrait of Gene Sharp whose 198-step guide to toppling dictators has inspired democratic struggles in the Balkans, Burma, and most recently in Egypt; and Offside, a film from Iranian director Jaffar Panahi who has been arrested numerous times for his film about girls who try to watch a World Cup soccer match even though they are banned from doing so because of their gender.

VTIFF 2011

The 2011 festival will run from Friday, October 21st through Sunday, October 30th. 

VTIFF is Vermont's longest running film festival and this year marks its 26th anniversary.  The festival is best known for featuring groundbreaking and independent films from around the world and Vermont, with a special focus on entertaining films that seek to broaden our views of the world.  Please visit our website http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=ajjagzdab&et=1108053375555&s=118&e=001wgIHKTfsMyMdA37xKj6eFSnaOlqrf3IVay2hjBwo5KbJjtBDYw40WpHMh0fWJTHwK-qoiZNyidH-sMmSMsWHKnhcKGw0sXHu52qGjoMHQFg=.