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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Magic Lantern: Doc shorts capture real life

Dan Webster

The Magic Lantern has Oscar fever. As a warm-up to Sunday's ceremonies, the theater will be opening both sections of the Oscar-nominated documentary shorts programs. The lineup, each of which screens separately, is as follows:

PROGRAM A (Running Time: 72 minutes)

"Extremis" (dir. Dan Krauss, U.S., 24 minutes): Life and death in an Oakland, Calif., hospital.

"4.1 Miles" (dir. Daphne Matziaraki, U.S., 22 minutes): A Greek Coast Guard captain struggles to save the lives of refugees fleeing the Middle East.

"Joe’s Violin" (dir. Kahane Cooperman, U.S., 24 minutes): A 91-year-old Holocaust survivors donates the violin he has played for 70 years to a young student.

 PROGRAM B (Running Time 82 minutes)

"Watani: My Homeland" (dir. Marcel Mettelsiefen, 39 minutes): Forced from their home, a Syrian family attempts to build a new life in Germany.

"The White Helmets" (dir. Orlando von Einsiedel, 41 minutes): Members of the all-volunteer Syrian Civil Guard fight to save lives in war-torn Aleppo.

Stay tuned for other Magic Lantern news.