Throw Down Your Heart

Director: Sascha Paladino
Format: HDCam   Runtime: 97 minutes
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screening in: 24 Beats Per Second

Screening Times

9:00 PM, Sunday March 9th - Alamo Ritz 1
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11:00 AM, Wednesday March 12th - Alamo Ritz 1
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11:00 AM, Friday March 14th - Alamo Ritz 1
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everything subject to change

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Synopsis:
'Throw Down Your Heart' follows American banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck on his journey to Africa to explore the little known African roots of the banjo and record an album. Bela's boundary-breaking musical adventure takes him to Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia, and Mali, and provides a glimpse of the beauty and complexity of Africa. Using his banjo, Bela transcends barriers of language and culture, finding common ground and forging connections with musicians from very different backgrounds.

Director's Bio:
Sascha Paladino is a filmmaker and writer. His documentary short, 'Obstinato: Making Music for Two' (2004), about the musicians Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer, premiered at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, played at festivals including the Full Frame Film Festival and Nashville Film festival, won the Best Documentary Short Award at the Woodstock Film Festival, the Audience Award at the Newport Film Festival, and was released on DVD by Sony Classical.Sascha's other documentary shorts include 'Party For the People' (2005), about a communist rockabilly band in Northern Italy, (Woodstock Film Festival, Newport Film Festival), and 'The Subway Line' (2002), about a guerilla subway artist in New York City (Mill Valley Film Festival, Florida Film Festival).Sascha is also an Emmy-nominated writer for children's television, and has served variously as writer, head writer, and producer on a number of programs, including 'Blue's Clues,' 'Wonder Pets,' 'Ni Hao, Kai-lan,' 'ToddWorld,' and many others. He has worked for companies including Nickelodeon, The Discovery Channel, Disney, Noggin, the BBC, and Granada UK. Sascha is also involved in many facets of arts education, and has taught and developed workshops for arts organizations, public schools and prisons.