International Film Festival highlights

All were released in 2012 or 2011. Descriptions are edited from festival materials.

Find the full schedule at www.filmfestivalarizona.com

Features

"Below Zero"

• Directed by Justin Thomas Ostensen, U.S.

• 98 minutes.

• Desperate for creative inspiration after his first film, horror screenwriter "Jack the Hack" (Edward Furlong) makes a deal with his agent to sequester himself inside a meat locker to avoid worldly distractions and to induce ideas for his next big project.

• Screens: 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Crossroads Festival and at 10 p.m. April 20 at The Screening Room.

"Bucksville"

• Chel White, U.S.

• 104 minutes.

• Following the path of his father and uncle, Presley reluctantly remains a follower of his town's civilian militia. When the group's activities become increasingly violent, he risks his own life by challenging their vigilante methods.

• Screens: 7 p.m. April 21 at the Crossroads Festival.

"Fray"

• Geoff Ryan, U.S.

• 94 minutes.

• A young war veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder finds that coming home is filled with many unforeseen challenges.

• Screens: 6 p.m. Sunday at the Screening Room.

"Il Cacciatore di Anatre" (The Duck Hunter)

• Egidio Veronesi, Italy.

• 90 minutes.

• Duck season comes to a small, provincial Italian village that celebrates it with a festival of wine, song and dance. The onset of World War II threatens the dreams of its various denizens.

• Screens: 6 p.m. April 22 at the Screening Room.

"Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy"

• Rob Heydon, Canada.

• 99 minutes.

• Based on a short story by Irvine Welsh ("Trainspotting"), the film revisits the gritty realism of the Scottish drug scene through the seemingly carefree life of Lloyd (Adam Sinclair), a raver, dealer and user who escapes life's responsibilities while being bullied and coerced by the local kingpin.

• Screens: 9 p.m. April 21 at the Crossroads Festival and at 9 April 28 at the Screening Room.

"Meherjaan"

• Rubaiyat Hossain, Bangladesh.

• 119 minutes.

• Meher prefers to bury the memory of war in the soft forms of her sculpture. When her niece wants to hear about the past, Meher must face the truth head-on and finally mourn the love she lost.

• Screens: 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Crossroads Festival.

"Shouting Secrets"

• Korinna Sehringer, Switzerland/USA.

• 88 minutes.

• When a successful novelist's mother suffers a stroke and falls into a coma, he returns to the San Carlos Apache Reservation to be with his family. There, he learns they have not forgiven him for leaving them and using their likenesses in his novel.

• Screens: 7 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday at Crossroads Festival, and 7 p.m. Tuesday at the DesertView Theater.

Documentaries

"Bringing King to China"

• Kevin McKiernan, U.S.

• 85 minutes.

• A young American teacher decides to produce a play in China about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She enlists China's most prestigious modern theater and initiates a provocative cross-cultural dialogue.

• Screens: 3 p.m. April 21 at the Crossroads Festival.

"Circus Dreams"

• Signe Taylor, U.S.

• 82 minutes.

• Circus Smirkus is the only traveling youth circus in America. Packed under its Big Top tent are jugglers and acrobats, gymnasts and red-nosed clowns - all performers between the ages of 10 and 18.

• Screens: Noon Sunday at the Crossroads Festival.

"Dislecksia: The Movie"

• Harvey Hubbell V, U.S.

• 82 minutes.

• Filmmaker Harvey Hubbell V is one of 35 million Americans who have dyslexia. Hubbell journeys across the country to learn more about the condition. He discovers that scientists are close to unlocking the secrets of dyslexia, which is the key to teaching everyone how to read, and stamping out illiteracy.

• Screens: 6 p.m. Sunday at Crossroads Festival and 7 p.m. April 24 at the DesertView Theater.

"Kinderblock 66: Return to Buchenwald"

• Rob Cohen, U.S.

• 87 minutes.

• Nearly 1,000 boys were alive when Buchenwald was liberated on April 11, 1945. This is the story of several of the survivors, who returned 65 years later.

• Screens: 3 p.m. April 28 at Crossroads Festival.

"Love Free or Die"

• Macky Alston, U.S.

• 83 minutes.

• Gene Robinson, the first openly gay partnered Episcopal bishop, challenges and inspires his colleagues and parishioners to live their faith.

• Screens: 5 p.m. April 21 at Crossroads Festival and 8 p.m. April 24 at The Screening Room.

"Money & Medicine"

• Roger Weisberg, U.S.

• 84 minutes.

• Penetrating exploration of U.S. health care reveals that the current system does not guarantee better patient health.

• Screens: 2 p.m. Sunday at Crossroads Festival and 2:15 p.m. Tuesday at DesertView Theater.

"Two Americans"

• Valeria Fernández and Dan De Vivo, U.S.

• 90 minutes.

• This film looks at the different ideas a 9-year-old girl and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio have about immigration law enforcement and justice. The wrong decision risks devastating consequences for affected individuals, local government and Arizona.

• Screens: 7 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday at Crossroads Festival.

"Where Did the Horny Toad Go?"

• Stefanie Leland, U.S.

• 74 minutes.

• Children used to play with horny toads when the strange-looking creatures were everywhere and could be caught easily. These days, though, they're not so simple to find. In fact, many folks have never seen one. Where have these iconic reptiles gone?

• Screens: 2 p.m. Sunday at the Screening Room and 6 p.m. next Thursday at the Oro Valley Public Library.