Movie-goers get the opportunity to talk with filmmakers and policy-makers at film screenings

WASHINGTON, May 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) today announced the line-up of panelists who will appear at this weekend's Politics on Film festival. These panels will offer movie-goers the opportunity to discuss the political topics covered in the featured films with the filmmakers themselves, as well as with prominent policy experts. The festival runs from May 7-10, 2009, in Washington, D.C., at the following locations: E Street Cinema, George Washington University's Amphitheater and Navy Memorial Auditorium.

2009 Panelists:

-- The Other Side of Immigration, East Coast Premiere - Why do so many Mexicans come to the U.S. illegally? What happens to the families and communities they leave behind? Director Roy Germano seeks answers to these and other questions in The Other Side of Immigration, a documentary based on his interviews with over 700 households in rural Mexican towns where 20-50 percent of the population has left for work in the United States. Through an approach that is both subtle and thought-provoking, The Other Side of Immigration challenges audiences to imagine more creative and effective solutions to America's illegal immigration problem. The Other Side of Immigration is director Roy Germano's first film and was recently seen at the Las Vegas Film Festival.

Runtime: 57 minutes

Time: Saturday, May 9th at 12 p.m., Screening and Panel Discussion to follow

Location: E Street Cinema

Panelists: Former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez; Jock Scharfen, Former Director, US Citizenship and Immigration Services; Roy Germano, Filmmaker.

-- Sprawling from Grace: The Consequences of Suburbanization, Washington Premiere - This documentary feature film explores the unintended consequences of suburban sprawl and illustrates the importance of altering current development trends in the nation's cities. Sprawling from Grace is the first feature documentary film from director David Edwards.

Run time: 82 minutes

Time: Saturday, May 9th at 3:30 p.m., Screening and Panel Discussion to follow

Location: George Washington University's Marvin Center Amphitheater

Panelists: Emil Frankel, Director of Transportation Policy at the BPC; Joshua Schank, Director of Transportation Research at the BPC; James Corless, Executive Director of T4America; Alan Pisarski, Consultant and Author of "Commuting in America;" Polly Trottenberg, Executive Director of Building America's Future; David Edwards, Filmmaker.

-- The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court, Washington Premiere, Late in the 20th century, more than 120 countries united to form the International Criminal Court (ICC) - the first permanent court created to prosecute perpetrators of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. The film follows an ICC prosecution team for three years across four continents as they issue arrest warrants in Uganda, Congo and Colombia, culminating in the arrest warrant for the President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir for crimes in Darfur. As this tiny court in The Hague struggles to change the world and forge a new paradigm for justice, the film highlights the challenges faced in building cases against genocidal criminals. The Reckoning premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival in Utah earlier this year.

Runtime: 95 minutes

Time: Friday, May 8th at 7:30 p.m., Screening and Panel Discussion to follow

Location: E Street Cinema

Panelists: Christine Chung, Former ICC prosecutor; Paco de Onis, Filmmaker.

-- What's the Matter with Kansas?, Sneak Preview - What's the Matter with Kansas? follows a group of Kansas conservatives as their fortunes suddenly decline - their candidates lose elections, just as their church splinters, moves to an amusement park, and, when that fails, a Best Western Motel. Meanwhile, an idealistic farmer revives Kansas' progressive tradition, taking his message all the way to Washington, D.C. Based on Thomas Frank's book, which was on the New York Times best-seller list for 38 weeks.

Runtime: 90 minutes

Time: Saturday, May 9th at 7:30 p.m., Screening and Panel Discussion to follow

Location: Navy Memorial Auditorium

Panelists: Cameron Lynch, Executive Vice President of the BPC; Thomas Frank, Author of "What's the Matter with Kansas?"; John Feehery, President of The Feehery Group; Joe Winston, Filmmaker.

Politics on Film is the nation's first juried film festival with a mission to highlight political film broadly, providing a platform for filmmakers who focus on government, the electoral process or pressing public policy issues. It is a project of the Washington Political Film Foundation and is made possible by an alliance with the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), a bipartisan organization that promotes political discourse and seeks to unite the constructive center in the pursuit of viable policy goals. www.bipartisanpolicy.org

A complete screening schedule, tickets and program details for the Politics on Film festival are available at www.politicsonfilm.com

About the Bipartisan Policy Center:

In 2007, former U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole, and George Mitchell formed the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) to develop and promote solutions that can attract the public support and political momentum to achieve real progress. The BPC acts as an incubator for policy efforts that engage top political figures, advocates, academics, and business leaders in the art of principled compromise. For more information please visit our website: http://www.bipartisanpolicy.org/

SOURCE Bipartisan Policy Center

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