AFI-Discovery Channel Prep Details for SILVERDOCS

SILVER SPRING: The AFI-Discovery Channel SILVERDOCS Festival will open on June 15 with a showing of Lionsgate’s More Than a Game and will close on June 20 with the world premiere of the HBO documentary film The Nine Lives of Marion Barry.

Making its U.S. premiere, More Than a Game, directed by Kristopher Belman, is a coming-of-age story about friendship and loyalty in the face of adversity. It follows the incredible rise (and occasional fall) of five talented young basketball players from Akron, Ohio. Directed by Dana Flor and Toby Oppenheimer, The Nine Lives of Marion Barry looks at achievements, failures and rebirths that have made him a symbol of indestructibility. Some know Barry as the philandering drug-using mayor of the nation’s capital, while others know him as a folk hero, a civil rights champion and defender of the poor

“We are thrilled to open the 2009 SILVERDOCS Festival with Kristopher Belman’s More Than a Game,” said Sky Sitney, SILVERDOCS’ artistic director. “With a heart-racing narrative and magnificent cast of subjects, the film addresses both contemporary social issues and personal struggles and triumphs, and is an inspiring message to all.”

Of the closing night film, Sitney commented, “The Nine Lives of Marion Barry is not just a DC story about one man’s rise and fall, but a universal story of promise, disillusionment, and the quest for redemption. While its message speaks globally, we are thrilled to launch the film in the city that serves not merely as an essential backdrop to the story, but as a character itself.”

Now in its seventh year, SILVERDOCS presents eight days of programming showcasing 100 films plus special screenings, music performances and dozens of panel discussions featuring hundreds of filmmakers, subjects and media professionals.