Fixer: the taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi begins with the relationship between Naqshbandi, a young Afghan journalist, translator and coordinator, and one of his clients, Christian Parenti, an American journalist (and one of the film’s producers). Over the course of six months, their paths converge, and then separate. Naqshbandi is subsequently kidnapped by Taliban forces, along with Italian reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo and Afghan driver Sayed Agha, who is immediately beheaded. As foreign powers increase pressure to bring a fast resolution to the kidnapping, the Afghan government bungles its response, leaving Naqshbandi’s family with mounting frustration. The Taliban release Mastrogiacomo after weeks in captivity, but Naqshbandi is later killed. The documentary provides a harrowing inside look at today’s Afghanistan, where dissent and violence from both inside and outside forces continue to ravage the state. With the Taliban increasing its grip on the country, the government is riddled with corruption, and most of the people live in poverty. As a result, many Afghans question the competence of their leaders, not to mention the goodwill of the international community, while Ajmal’s family and friends are left wondering why a foreigner was set free, but a native Afghan was murdered. Fixer: the taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi is an HBO Documentary Films presentation of a G Films and Subdivision Productions Film; directed, cinematography and edited by Ian Olds; produced by Nancy Roth and Christian Parenti & Ian Olds; co- producer, Gabe Maxson; interviews and additional photography by Christian Parenti.

A devastating and disturbing documentary about the death and destruction caused in Darfur by the government-sponsored Janjaweed militias. Using the exclusive photographs and first hand testimony of former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle, The Devil Came on Horseback takes the viewer on an emotionally charged journey into the heart of Darfur, Sudan, where an Arab run government is systematically executing a plan to rid the province of its black African citizens. As an official military observer, Steidle had access to parts of the country that no journalist could penetrate. He was unprepared for what he would witness and experience, including being fired upon, taken hostage, and being unable to intervene to save the lives of young children. Ultimately frustrated by the inaction of the international community, Steidle resigned and returned to the US to expose the images and stories of lives systematically destroyed.

• Humanitarian journalism: beyond reporting
Wednesday April 21 11.00 – Hotel Brufani
Speakers Glenda Cooper Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford, John Davison communications director Christian Aid, Maso Notarianni director PeaceReporter, Linda Polman freelance journalist and writer

• Networked journalism
Thursday April 22 15.00 – Sala dei Notari
Speakers Tom Loosemore director Channel 4, Gianni Riotta editor Il Sole 24 Ore, Richard Sambrook director BBC Global News

• Photojournalism and conflict
Friday April 23 11.00 – Hotel Brufani
Speakers Luc Bovens philosophy professor at the University of London, Diego Buñuel National Geographic Channel, Paul Lowe photojournalist, Giacomo Pirozzi photojournalist

“Hard-hitting documentary which addresses one of the most disturbing incidents during Vladimir Putin’s presidential term: The systematic killing of Anna Politkovskaya. Through the view of Politkovskaya this documentary takes the pulse of Russian’s situation. Contains much exclusive footage of Anna Politkovskaya. On October 7, 2006, Vladimir Putin’s 54th birthday, the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaja is shot in the lift of her Moscow apartment. Anna’s death is a personal tragedy: she has just learnt that she‘s to become a grandmother. But the murder is also a political act, for Politkovskaja was the President’s fiercest critic. Why was she shot in cold blood, this elegant woman who was always on the side of the weak and those who had no rights? Was it because of the stance she took against the war in Chechnya – a war that was virtually ignored in the world at large and yet became a turning point in Anna’s life? LETTER TO ANNA – a personal quest, but also a political film. Includes interviews with Elena Kodumowa, Anna Politkovskaya’s sister Ilya Politkovski, Anna Politkovskaya’s son Alexander Politkovski, ex-husband of Anna Politkovskaya, Dimitri Muratov Editor in Chief Novaja Gazeta, former colleague Andrei Mironov dissident who visited Stockholm with Anna Politkovskaya three weeks before her murder, Elena Tregubova Russian journalist living in exile, Garry Kasparov former world chess champion, leader of Russia ’s opposition and Boris Beresovsky the oligarch who once “made” Putin”.

In Rip! A remix manifesto, Web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the media landscape of the 20th century and shattering the wall between users and producers. The film’s central protagonist is Girl Talk, a mash-up musician topping the charts with his sample-based songs. But is Girl Talk a paragon of people power or the Pied Piper of piracy? Creative Commons founder, Lawrence Lessig, Brazil’s Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil and pop culture critic Cory Doctorow are also along for the ride. A participatory media experiment, from day one, Brett shares his raw footage at opensourcecinema.org, for anyone to remix. This movie-as-mash-up method allows these remixes to become an integral part of the film. With RiP: A remix manifesto, Gaylor and Girl Talk sound an urgent alarm and draw the lines of battle. Which side of the ideas war are you on?

A Barcamp is an ad-hoc unconference born from the desire for people to share and learn in an open environment. Anyone with something to contribute or with the desire to learn is welcome and invited to join. There are no spectators, only participants. Attendees give a presentation or otherwise contribute in some way to support the event.

A Mediacamp is a Barcamp dedicated to the current state of the media. Topics to be discussed include new and traditional media, on-line and off-line, interactive and print/broadcast, global and local. From the beloved radio to the hated TV, from the glorious unpredictability of the internet to the sunset tunes of the print media. A Barcamp dedicated to producers and consumers of news, to traditionalists and revolutionaries, to devotees of the local town rag and UGC lovers, to users of e-books, i-phones, y-nots and everything else in-between.

In the shocking and hilarious 2009 documentary Orgasm inc, filmmaker Liz Canner takes a job editing erotic videos for a drug trial for a pharmaceutical company. Her employer is developing what they hope will be the first Viagra drug for women that wins FDA approval to treat a new disease: Female Sexual Dysfunction (FSD). Liz gains permission to film the company for her own documentary. Initially, she plans to create a movie about science and pleasure but she soon begins to suspect that her employer, along with a cadre of other medical companies, might be trying to take advantage of women (and potentially endanger their health) in pursuit of billion dollar profits. Orgasm inc is a powerful look inside the medical industry and the marketing campaigns that are literally and figuratively reshaping our everyday lives around health, illness, desire — and that ultimate moment: orgasm.
www.orgasminc.org