Atlanta Film Festival – “Vanguard” – FREE and Open to the Public

“Vanguard” is an investigative documentary series from Current TV whose award-winning correspondents put themselves in extraordinary situations to immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. This year, the Atlanta Film Festival is offering a FREE screening and Q&A for two episodes of this exciting documentary series.

“Sex, Lies and Cigarettes” The Smoking Baby – the 2-year old who became a global YouTube sensation in the summer of 2010, has unwittingly become the poster child and symptom of a Big Tobacco-sponsored battle being waged in developing markets. In this Vanguard documentary, correspondent Christof Putzel heads to Indonesia — the land of smoking toddlers and cigarette sponsored everything (concerts, youth basketball tournaments, trips to Mecca, etc) — where the stage is set for a David vs. Goliath fight as a small, underfunded group of concerned advocates battle Big Tobacco and a government drunk on profits and denial. Sex, Lies and Cigarettes charts Big Tobacco’s attempt to expand its business in Indonesia, which by all accounts has become the “Wild West” of cigarette promotions.

“Sushi To The Slaughter” From Siberia to the Amazon, you can now get your sushi fix in some of the most remote regions of the world. What was once one nation’s cuisine has, in a matter of 20 years, gone global. But the worlds’ insatiable appetite for sushi comes at cost. In this Vanguard hour, Adam, a ravenous sushi consumer since childhood, goes on the journey of the Bluefin tuna from the deep waters of the ocean to a sushi bar in downtown Los Angeles. He then travels to Japan, where the populace is nervously bracing for what could be a world without Bluefin tuna. Adam visits the famous Tsukiji fish market, where the world’s best fish is bought and sold to the world -- and asks the question: will our taste buds spell chaos for the world’s oceans?

Over the course of ten days, April 28 – May 7, the ATLFF will screen more than 125 films curated from over 1,500 submissions, and with many participating filmmakers and industry professionals. This year’s festival will also mark the introduction of the CINformation Seminar Series. Screening venues include the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, the Plaza Theatre and the Lefont Cinema Sandy Springs.  For more information, please visit www.AtlantaFilmFestival.com.