Former Portland director Penny Allen’s (PROPERTY, PAYDIRT) new film is the intimate, turbulent portrait of a French-Algerian-Moroccan family residing in Algeria and adrift following the death of their mother, Zineb, a notorious smuggler of gold and jewels. Filmed over the course of three years, the film finds its own space between documentary and fiction as the family’s story brings to life the complexities of cross-border identities, the influence of political context on individual lives, and the importance of the mother figure in Arab/Islamic cultures

Cash-strapped Oregon winemakers turn to growing pot in order to finance their vineyard.

Cash-strapped Oregon winemakers turn to growing pot in order to finance their vineyard.

Cash-strapped Oregon winemakers turn to growing pot in order to finance their vineyard.

Cash-strapped Oregon winemakers turn to growing pot in order to finance their vineyard.

Facing eviction, the residents of a bohemian quarter of Portland, Oregon organize to collectively purchase a block of houses, only to get a crash course in bureaucracy.

Facing eviction, the residents of a bohemian quarter of Portland, Oregon organize to collectively purchase a block of houses, only to get a crash course in bureaucracy.

Facing eviction, the residents of a bohemian quarter of Portland, Oregon organize to collectively purchase a block of houses, only to get a crash course in bureaucracy.

The Soldier’s Tale is a deeply personal documentary about the Iraq War that takes us places no mere journalistic inquiry could go. Sergeant R. approaches director Allen on a plane headed for the U.S. carrying a laptop full of electronic memories shot by fellow soldiers—the digital “war porn” they capture on smartphones and trade like baseball cards. After the soldier mails her a CD with all his images, the two meet in a motel somewhere in the U.S. and he narrates the war for Allen—before trudging back to the battlefield.

Stann is the head of a three-generation troubled French family that he struggles to support through petty crime. He puts on a strong front, but is floundering and he hates his life until a beautiful Black woman, Gloria, arrives on the scene. They secretly marry against the family’s will – not only is she Black but she is also an American. PUSHING PAST THE BAD tells an unusual story of love that transcends romance. Gloria and Stann find themselves in a world falling apart. Stann is tortured by his crazy brutal father and the rest of the family. Meanwhile, the police pursue Stann for murder but it was the father who was the assassin. Stann refuses to denounce him, and he disappears, leaving the family to Gloria who had already left behind a troubled world in the United States. Gloria is now both provocateur and mediator. A strange and poignant fable.