Using Up All the Tissues

That's what it was for director Tami Gold, who came to the festival to talk about her film Every Mother's Son, the heartbreaking story of three mothers dealing with the deaths of their sons, all killed by the New York Police Department. She relished the collegial atmosphere, where directors delight in each others' works. "We're about content, storytelling and building bridges," Gold says. "It's not glamorous. It's driving your own car, schlepping, carrying your own camera."

A weeper opened the festival. The Kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt follows a fresh-faced Colombian presidential candidate, a stunning mother of two, who criticizes the government for corruption. She hands out Viagra along with campaign literature ("a vote for me will be like Viagra for Colombia") and wears a dust mask to emphasize her call for a breath of fresh air.

Peasant revolutionaries kidnap Ingrid mid-campaign, and the filmmakers join her family, aiding their efforts to keep her campaign alive and their endeavors to free her. As the film ends, we see only a dated "proof of life" video released by the kidnappers last year. The struggle continues.