Three films from TFF 2009—Spike Lee's Passing Strange, Ian Olds' Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi, and Rebecca Cammisa's Which Way Home—will all find a broader audience in August, the first one in theaters and the others on HBO. 



As reported Friday in Playbill, Passing Strange—Lee's documentation of the final performances of the beloved Broadway rock musical—will have a theatrical run starting August 21. (As previously announced, the film will also be a part of the 2010 season of "Great Performances" on PBS.) Passing Strange is the story of a young man on an artistic and soulful journey that takes him from southern California throughout Europe and back again. With a Tony Award-winning book by Stew and star turns from both Stew and Daniel Breaker, the musical odyssey is one of identity, love, and pure rock 'n' roll.



Switching gears, Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi is a heartbreaking reminder of the violent and tragic wartime we are living in today. Ian Olds—with support from the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund—has documented the life and death of Ajmal Naqshbandi, a 24-year-old Afghani "fixer" (the term for the invaluable and brave individuals supporting foreign journalists covering the wars in the Middle East) captured by the Taliban in 2007. This intense, personal film will be shown on HBO on August 17, as part of the network's Summer 2009 Documentary Films Series.



One week later, HBO is screening Rebecca Cammisa's similary intense Which Way Home. The film follows several unaccompanied children attempting to make their way from Latin America through Mexico to a new life in the United States. Theirs is a grueling, dangerous and brutal journey, and one rarely documented—wise beyond their years, their hopes and dreams are often overlooked in the global debates about immigration.
 

All three of these films deserve to be seen, heard, and paid attention to.
Mark your calendars now.