All in the Family

Running time: N/A

A short series about acceptance, misunderstanding, family values and traditions.In Jesus Manuel Munoz' THE PARIS EXPRESS, a man must come to terms with the responsibility of fatherhood when his live-in girlfriend becomes pregnant. How can he face the challenge and finally grow up? By witnessing the London delivery of the Paris Express! Natalia Lazarus' DARK ROOM unflinchingly deals with the reality of sexual abuse within the family. Photographer Sandra Alvarez prepares for an exhibition of childhood portraits. An unexpected visit from her father brings about disturbing memories of childhood sexual abuse. The film brings us face to face with the issue, without sensationalizing it. Princess is 15 and on a family road trip to PARADISE PLAINS (Elizabeth Schub). Her parents still see a little girl, but uncle Marty senses her budding womanhood. Princess and Marty guard each other's secrets, but can this be an even exchange? In Maria Norman's SUMMER OF MY DREAMS, Cristina is in the midst of preparing for her initiation into womanhood--"Los Quinces" in Cuban culture. Her world is filled with momentos and photographs of her dead father and of Cuba, from where her family was exiled. She falls for Jerry, a recently exiled cafeteria worker, of whom her mother strongly disapproves, but to Cristina, he is her connection to her romanticized past, her homeland, and to her father. Kimberly Caviness' VANESSA, THE ORANGE THROWER is a comedy about Catholic guilt and family values. 14-year-old Vanessa is having a terrible day. Fed up, she lies and announces that she is pregnant. This sends shock waves of hysteria and gossip through the community, and by the time the smoke clears, everybody is forced to deal with the power and threat an unwed pregnancy poses to traditional religious and family values. --Matt Aquino