Two award-winning films from the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, and the audience choice award winning film from this year's Berlin Film Festival, are among six documentary films selected to screen at the first Bermuda Docs Film Festival.

Bermuda Docs will be held on Saturday, November 28, in the Tradewinds Auditorium at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute. Screenings begin at 11 a.m. and continue throughout the day with the final screening beginning at 9 p.m.

The director and programmer of the event is Duncan Hall, former deputy director and film programmer at the Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF). Mr. Hall left the festival in November 2008.

"I have always loved documentaries, and Bermuda filmgoers have always supported docs, so launching a documentary film festival was a natural fit," he said.

"I have received an incredibly positive reaction from everyone I have spoken to about the festival, and I am most grateful to Mini for coming aboard as title sponsor of the event."

Michael Butler, General Manager of Ultimate Motors, said: "We are proud and excited to be title sponsors of the first Bermuda Docs Film Festival. Documentary films can expose audiences to new issues and have the power to make them think differently about others."

All six films in the festival line-up screened at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival, widely regarded as North America's best documentary festival.

Four of the films screened at Sundance, and three screened at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, which many consider the world's best documentary festival.

'Afghan Star', about an American Idol-style TV show in Afghanistan, won both the Audience Choice and Directing Awards in the World Cinema Documentary category at Sundance this year. The film is the United Kingdom's nominee in the Foreign Language category for the Academy Awards.

'Rough Aunties', tabbed a surefire Oscar nominee by film critic David Poland, won the Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Documentary category at Sundance.

It tells the uplifting story of five fearless, feisty and resolute women unwavering in their stand to protect and care for the abused, neglected and forgotten children of Durban, South Africa.

'Rough Aunties' is directed by acclaimed documentarian Kim Longinotto, whose previous films 'Sisters in Law' and 'Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go' screened in Bermuda. Ms. Longinotto was honoured earlier this year with a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

'The Yes Men Fix the World', a comedy doc about anti-corporate pranksters, won the Audience Award at Berlin, widely considered one of the world's top festivals.

The 'Horse Boy', a hopeful and inspiring film about a family's epic quest to find healing for their autistic son, captured Audience Choice Awards at the SXSW (South by Southwest) Film Festival in Austin, Texas, and at the Saratoga Film Festival and won the Truly Moving Picture Award at the Heartland Film Festival in Indianapolis, all this year.

A film for music lovers, and another about women who love cats, round out the line-up.

'Cat Ladies' was a smash hit at Hot Docs in Toronto earlier this year, where it sold out, and it is now travelling the festival circuit. It goes beyond the stereotypes to explore the lives of four women who really, really love cats and is sure to be a hit with Bermuda's cat-loving population.

'RiseUp: Stories from Jamaica's Music Underground', is a journey into the heart of Jamaica and its flourishing underground music scene with music or appearances by soon-to-be stars as well as reggae legends Robbie Shakespeare, Sly Dunbar and Lee 'Scratch' Perry.

The film won the Best Music Doc award at the Silverdocs Film Festival in Washington DC this year, and has been a favourite at festivals throughout the world.

Tickets, $15, are available from today at www.bdatix.bm. Walk-up sales are available at the I-store, 46 Reid Street, Hamilton, and at Fabulous Fashions (formerly Picture Perfect), Heron Bay Plaza, Southampton. Tickets are also available by phone by ringing 232-2255 Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is a $3 per ticket charge for telephone orders.

The film line-up:

11 a.m. Cat Ladies

12.30 p.m. The Horse Boy

2.45 p.m. Rough Aunties

5 p.m. Afghan Star

7 p.m. The Yes Men Fix the World

9 p.m. RiseUp: Stories from Jamaica's Music Underground