The Rochester High Falls International Film Festival, est. 2001, can stake its claim as the largest and longest-running festival on the East Coast to specialize in shining a white-hot light on the vital roles that women play in the art and craft of moviemaking. Its 2009 version continues that tradition, with an eclectic selection of features, documentaries, and shorts from both around the world and around the corner, as well as the usual array of panels, parties, and events for the entire family. Recipients of this year's Susan B. Anthony "Failure Is Impossible" award are two-time Oscar nominee Lynn Redgrave and acclaimed character actor CCH Pounder, and both ladies are scheduled to be in attendance along with such diverse talent as journalist Lesley Stahl and counterculture icon Wavy Gravy.

Now, watching as Rochester glitters with stars is lovely and stuff, but remember that what we're really meant to be watching is the movies. So read on for a few thoughts, and then click over to the Rochester High Falls International Film Festival's website at rochestersmoviefest.com for every last detail, including a complete schedule and ticket info.

"Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg"

Wednesday, May 13, Little 1, 6 p.m.

About a month after the stock-market crash of 1929 plunged the United States into the Great Depression, a weekly 15-minute sitcom about a Jewish family living in the New York City tenements premiered on the radio. Two years later the wildly popular "The Rise of the Goldbergs" was airing six days a week, and in 1949 "The Goldbergs" made the move to a fledgling broadcast medium called television. But what takes those facts beyond fodder for your upcoming appearance on "Jeopardy" is a woman named Gertrude Berg, who created, produced, wrote, and starred in almost every episode, the mass appeal of her ethnic-based comedy transcending the country's simmering anti-Semitism.

The title of the film a twist on the show's tagline, "Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg" weaves archival footage through the reminisces of contemporaries, as well as the appreciation of famous fans (like Flatbush's own Hon. Ruth Bader Ginsberg) to sketch a rousing portrait of Berg, called "the Oprah of her day." Though Berg's scripts were rooted in real life, her characters culled from her upbringing and the people she encountered at her father's resort in the Catskills, she was not afraid to address hot-button issues like the Nazi threat, or the industry blacklisting once it hit close to home. Director Aviva Kempner ("The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg) will be on hand to present her opening-night film, an inspirational look at one of the key pioneers in both radio and TV, if not one of the more unlikely.

"Saint Misbehavin': The Wavy Gravy Movie"

Wednesday, May 13, Little 1, 8:45 p.m.

If hearing the words "Wavy Gravy" merely brings to mind an orgy of hazelnut ice cream with caramel swirls, cashews, and Brazil nuts, or that "Simpsons" episode where Mr. Burns disguised himself to infiltrate Greenpeace, then educate your ignorant self with filmmaker Michele Esrick's exploration of the life and times of one Hugh Romney, inadvertently christened Wavy Gravy by B.B. King at a 1969 music festival. (No, not that one; Mr. Gravy was still Mr. Romney at Woodstock, uttering that now-famous "breakfast in bed for 400,000" announcement.) This fascinating documentary chronicles Romney's time before that as beat poet, "unusual comic," Merry Prankster, and Hog Farm-er, as well as his ensuing days as Wavy Gravy, activist, clown, father, and husband.

Esrick treats us to a trove of great footage - much of it no doubt courtesy of Wavy Gravy himself, whose voluminous scrapbooks are often on display - and gleans informative sound bites from professional peers like Buffy Sainte-Marie, Dr. Patch Adams, and Ramblin' Jack Elliott. Of course Esrick gives her tireless, joyful subject ample face time, allowing him to tell his own amazing anecdotes. But as entertaining as Wavy Gravy is, it's actually his friends and family that offer up the most compelling observations, especially wife Jahanara. Clearly the grounded one, and keenly aware that today's audience might see her husband as a cheesy hippie relic, her decades of admiration for this fiercely uncompromised man are infectious.

"Before Tomorrow"

Thursday, May 14, Little 5, 6:30 p.m. (In Inuktitut with English subtitles)

Deriving its name from its home base, as well as the Inuktitut word meaning "to think," Igloolik Isuma Productions was founded with the intention of enabling Inuit voices to speak for themselves; its first full-length narrative, Zacharius Kunuk's "The Fast Runner," won the 2001 Camera d'Or for Best First Feature at Cannes. Now Igloolik Isuma has teamed up with Arnait Video Productions, ("arnait" translates to "women") for their own debut feature, "Before Tomorrow," an exquisitely shot drama set during the mid-19th century about a woman and her grandson trying to exist in the harsh splendor of the Arctic Circle after smallpox claims the entirety of their family.

Co-directed by Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Ivalu and shot over the changing seasons, "Before Tomorrow" stars the luminously wrinkled Ivalu as Ningiuq, who we meet as she and her kin are enjoying a summer reunion with her ailing best friend Kutuguk and her family. When preparations for winter are followed by unimaginable tragedy, Ningiuq and her pre-teen grandson Maniq (the charming Paul-Dylan Ivalu) find themselves battling nature to survive. At once intimate and expansive, "Before Tomorrow" incorporates social commentary and native myth as it narrows its focus to the resourceful pair, listening in as the old woman and young boy reflect on life, death, and the importance of a shared history.

"Quiet Chaos"

Thursday, May 14, Little 1, 7 p.m. (In Italian with English subtitles)

Nominated for a formidable 18 Donatellos in its native Italy, Antonio Luigi Grimaldi's "Quiet Chaos" opens as two brothers rescue a pair of drowning women, only to return home and find the elder brother's wife dead from a freak fall onto the patio. "Quiet Chaos" then observes as Pietro, played by acclaimed Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti, attempts to cope with his loss by staying within sight of his young daughter, his days spent killing time outside her school while he shuns his usual obligations. But life, which always goes on, finds him: his self-serving colleagues seek his counsel on a lucrative merger, his sister-in-law (Valeria Golino, overacting just a bit) pops by occasionally to nag and grieve, and various denizens of the nearby park come to rely on his odd but comforting presence.

Co-written by Grimaldi and Moretti, "Quiet Chaos" explores mourning from the too-often-ignored male angle, a topic Moretti also addressed with his 2001 Palme d'Or winner "The Son's Room." Moretti plays Pietro with a balanced, moving blend of sadness and hope, and his effortless scenes with Donatello winner Alessandro Gassman, whose yummy looks nearly distract from his palpable talent, are a delight to watch. There's an out-of-place sex scene that is both unnecessary and hot, and then a few scenes after that - if you'll permit me to conclude here with four words I don't often get to write - Roman Polanski shows up.

"Jerusalema"

Friday, May 15, Little 5, 9 p.m.

"Inspired by real events" reads a title card in "Jerusalema," an uneven, yet at times crackling hybrid of, let's say, "City of God" and "Robin Hood." Revolving around an episode in Johannesburg history referred to as the Hillbrow building hijackings, "Jerusalema" unfolds in flashback as it tells the rags-to-riches story of Lucky Kunene, an aspiring young township thug who grows into a low-income-housing tycoon by finding barely legal ways to liberate the ramshackle, crime-laden apartment buildings from the greedy white fatcats too apathetic to care for them. A sort of folk hero to the economically depressed people of the Hillbrow neighborhood, Kunene's rise to power encounters the usual cinematic obstacles, such as a volatile mentor turned trusted right-hand turned foe (Nazareth is played by a mesmerizing Jeffrey Zekele) and a growing conscience.

"Jerusalema," written and directed by the Los Angeles-based but Hillbrow-born Ralph Ziman, breaks no new ground in the gangster-film genre, with nifty handheld camerawork and shocking bits of violence injecting life into a narrative that drags at various times. The problem might be that adult Lucky (Rapulana Seiphemo from "Tsotsi") isn't half as interesting as his teenaged counterpart in flashback; Jafta Mamabolo is a charismatic young actor and totally fun to watch, especially during his first carjacking, once it dawns on him and his sidekick that neither of them can drive. And the moral ambiguity of Lucky's crimes, though refreshing, might frustrate viewers who can't deal with shades of grey.

Children's Shorts From Around the World

Saturday, May 16, Little 1, 11 a.m.

Three highlights: Julien Ezri's "For A Fistful of Snow" is deceptively primitive claymation that cautions against snowmen getting in snowball showdowns with each other since they're surprisingly shortsighted when it comes to ammunition. "I Can Add" combines the sounds of They Might Be Giants with the creative animation of Adam Sacks and homegrown illustrator David Cowles for a music video in which a squirrel and a pack of little kids dance, add, and hablan español. An absolute gem narrated in the soothing bedtime cadence of the splendid British actor Jim Broadbent, "Lost and Found" tells the tale of a small boy who finds a pushy little penguin on his doorstep and decides that he needs to get him back to the South Pole. Adapted from Oliver Jeffers' children's story by filmmaker Philip Hunt, the results are understated yet magnificent, with breathtaking animation that brings to life the mysterious wonders of the sea and the simple joys of friendship. Oh, and in the interest of full disclosure, I ought to mention that "Lost and Found" reduced me to big, juicy tears.

"Skin"

Saturday, May 16, Little 5, 7:15 p.m. (In English and Zulu with English subtitles)

A surreal tale of genetic anomaly and government-sanctioned racism, Anthony Fabian's absorbing drama "Skin" tells the true story of Sandra Laing, born in 1955 to white parents but blessed with the deep skin tone and tight curls normally found on a person of color. Actually, "cursed" might a more accurate verb than "blessed," since Sandra had the misfortune of being born in South Africa seven years after the National Party made apartheid the law. "Skin" watches as the young Sandra tries to find her identity while her frustrated parents jump through hoops of red tape to have their outwardly black daughter classified as white, an absurd process that the teenage Sandra will try to reverse once she falls for a man who shares her hue and finds temporary comfort in her own skin.

The graceful Sophie Okonedo, Oscar nominee for "Hotel Rwanda" and possessed of the cutest dimples around, plays Sandra from initially awkward teen to ultimately confident adult, with stops in between that illustrate the heartbreaking confusion of a woman unable to find her place, especially since one of those places is profoundly unjust. But it's actually veteran actors Sam Neill and Alice Krige, who deftly portray Sandra's parents, that provide "Skin" with its resonance. Krige's Sanni is figuratively color-blind, unable to see anything beyond her daughter's beauty, while Neill's Abraham is blinded with impotent rage: at a government who won't let his daughter claim her birthright, and at a world that may be thinking, despite his wife's assurances to the contrary, that she's made a fool of him.

"Mermaid"

Saturday, May 16, Little 1, 9:45 p.m. (In Russian with English subtitles)

A kind of Eastern Bloc "Amelie," director Anna Melikyan's quirky, lush "Mermaid" is a fairy tale about Alisa, born at the seaside to a zaftig siren and a drunken sailor, who believes she has the power to make wishes come true. ("You only have to want it very much," Alisa explains in voiceover.) Mute since her mother refused her ballet lessons, Alisa eventually travels with her mother to the big city after burning down their dilapidated shanty, taking life cues from billboards while wandering the streets of Moscow in a series of bizarre costumes as part of her job as a mascot-for-hire. It's love, of course, that gets her to speak again, and, of course, the self-absorbed young man is too distracted to appreciate the unique charms of this bright young woman. Until he needs a green-haired moon girl, that is.

Sounds a little too precious, right? Don't worry. "Mermaid" is firmly, Russianly grounded even when things appear to be totally improbable, a satisfying paradox achieved thanks to the unconventionally beautiful Masha Shalaeva as the older Alisa. We believe (and cross our fingers) that the seemingly unworthy object of her affection would be able to look past the leggy, manipulative blonde that he's currently bedding to see the adorable girl who he doesn't realize keeps saving his life. The vivid, saturated colors of "Mermaid" are pure eye candy, but as for the rest of your face, try not to hurt yourself when your hand instinctively slaps over your open mouth at the shocking, gutsy ending.

"Visual Acoustics"

Sunday, May 17, Little 5, 3 p.m.

Despite the fact that he's never created an actual structure himself, Julius Shulman is a crucial figure in American architecture. Born in Brooklyn on 10/10/10, Shulman's formative years took him from the East Coast to the West, eventually landing in Los Angeles where the aspiring camera buff began to make a name for himself an architectural photographer. His way with color, light, and landscape considered unmatched, Shulman was the leading chronicler of the form-follows-function design style known as California modernism, and in the prime of his career he was capturing the works of renowned modernist architects like Richard Neutra, Rudolf Schindler, and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Narrated in the enthusiastic deadpan of Dustin Hoffman, "Visual Acoustics," by documentarian Eric Bricker, works both as an intriguing history of an artistic medium that we use every day but take for granted as well as an affectionate portrait of a vibrant man still excited about his work as he stares down 100 years old, and wistfully bequeaths his collection to The Getty Museum. His wicked sense of humor often getting past admirers obviously surprised that he's still so damn sharp, Shulman's pride in his craft is unmistakable and punctuated by interviews with people as varied as fashion designer Tom Ford, cinematographer Dante Spinotti, and architect Frank Gehry. And you'll definitely recognize Shulman's most famous photo, "Case Study #22," an unthrilling name for living, breathtaking history.

"My Mother's Garden"

Sunday, May 17, Little 1, 6:45 p.m.

A sobering depiction of how one more thing that seems like an innocuous hobby can become a life-threatening problem, the poignant "My Mother's Garden" explores what's known as hoarding disorder through the story of Eugenia Lester, a Polish emigré whose childhood of having nothing paved the way for an adulthood suffering under a compulsive need to keep everything. Now sleeping in the yard since she can no longer get in her junk-filled house, the 65-year-old Eugenia initially takes us on a proud tour of her accumulated possessions, justifying each and every one of them, and that's when her filmmaker daughter, Cynthia Lester, lowers the boom.

"My Mother's Garden" takes root when Cynthia informs her mother that she's whisking her to New York so Eugenia's sons can gut her about-to-be-condemned house, and we can't look away as Eugenia devolves, the mother essentially becoming the child, when faced with what's no longer a choice. The facts often too disturbing to believe, Cynthia and her brothers tell of a nightmare of neglect playing backseat to their mother's comparatively worthless stuff, and a psychologist explains that compulsive hoarders get their identity through their belongings, an observation bolstered by Eugenia's depression upon returning to her clean home, stating that she's "waiting to die." Cynthia also follows her mother on the long, tough road back, finally showing us the brave woman we hoped she would become.

2009 Rochester High Falls International Film Festival Schedule

Tickets: Unless otherwise noted, individual events cost $8 - $12. For updates call 258-0480 or visit rochestersmoviefest.

Wednesday, May 13

6 p.m.: "Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg" Little Theatre ($15)

7 p.m.: "Tulpan" Little Theatre

8:45 p.m.: "Saint Misbehavin': The Wavy Gravy Movie" w/Wavy Gravy Little Theatre

9:15 p.m.: Adult Shorts: Program 1 Little Theatre

Thursday, May 14

11 a.m.: Coffee With: Sessions with Filmmakers Spot Coffee (Free)

1:30 p.m.: Student Award Reception Susan B. Anthony House ($30)

5:30 p.m.: A Conversation with PatCarroll Memorial Art Gallery

6:30 p.m.: "Before Tomorrow" Little Theatre

7 p.m.: "Quiet Chaos" Little Theatre

7 p.m.: "Invisible: Abbott Thayer and the Art of Camouflage" Memorial Art Gallery

9 p.m.: Mingle! w/RHFIFF and We ROC One Restaurant and Lounge ($20)

9 p.m.: "A Woman in Berlin" Little Theatre

9:15 p.m.: "Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love" Little Theatre

Friday, May 15

11 a.m.: Coffee With: Sessions with Filmmakers Spot Coffee (Free)

1 p.m.: Conversation with CCH Pounder Geva Theatre

6:30 p.m.: "Food, Inc." Little Theatre

7:15 p.m.: "Easy Virtue" (w/award presentation to CCH Pounder) Little Theatre ($20)

7:15 p.m.: "RIP: A Remix Manifesto" Carlson Auditorium, RIT

9 p.m.: "Jerusalema" Little Theatre

9:15 p.m.: "Signs of the Time" Carlson Auditorium, RIT

9:15 p.m.: "Gigantic" Little Theatre

Saturday, May 16

9:30 a.m.:  Conversation with LesleyStahl Memorial Art Gallery

10 a.m.: "Nerakhoon" (The Betrayal) Little Theatre

11 a.m.: "Albert Paley: In Search of the Sentinel" Memorial Art Gallery

11 a.m.: Children's Shorts from Around the World Little Theatre

12:30 p.m.: "Unmistaken Child" Little Theatre

12:30 p.m.: Museum of Kids Art Party Little Café (Free)

1 p.m.: "Laila's Birthday" Little Theatre

2 p.m.: Screenplay Live! Memorial Art Gallery

2:45 p.m.: Adult Shorts Program 2 Little Theatre

3 p.m.: "Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech" Little Theatre

5 p.m.: "The Queen and I" Little Theatre

5:15 p.m.: "Astronaut Pam: Countdown to Commander" Little Theatre

7 p.m.: "500 Days of Summer" (w/award presentations to Lynn Redgrave and Debra Zimmerman) Little Theatre ($20)

7:15 p.m.: "Skin" Little Theatre

9 p.m.-1 a.m.: Party at the Falls Max at High Falls ($30)

9:45 p.m.: "Mermaid" Little Theatre

9:45 p.m.: "Slingshot Hip Hop" Little Theatre

Sunday, May 17

11 a.m.: Conversation with Lynn Redgrave Little Theatre

11:45 a.m.: "Garrison Keillor: The Man on the Radio..." Little Theatre

12:15 p.m.: "Rough Aunties" Little Theatre

2 p.m.: "Blast!" Little Theatre

3 p.m.: "Visual Acoustics" Little Theatre

4:15 p.m.: Women of SoFA Little Theatre

5:15 p.m.: Young Filmmaker's Competition Little Theatre (Free)

6:45 p.m.: "My Mother's Garden" Little Theatre

7 p.m.: Night Out At Corn Hill Landing Under Douglass/Anthony Bridge (free)

7:30 p.m.: "French Film" Little Theatre

9:30 p.m.: "Machan" Little Theatre

Monday, May 18

7 p.m.: Audience Award Winner Best Feature Little Theatre

9 p.m.: Audience Award Winner Best Documentary Little Theatre