The birth of a notion at CMU is called "Faces of Democracy," the highly ambitious Carnegie Mellon International Film Festival debuting this week and continuing through Dec. 10.

	Ethiopian coffee pickers work for poverty wages as is shown in the documentary "Black Gold." Click photo for larger image.

It's an important new addition to the city's motion-picture smorgasbord: the Pittsburgh premiere of a dozen award-winning features and documentaries, plus 10 short student films, in as many languages from around the world, under the topical umbrella of democracy and its contemporary global dynamics.

You couldn't ask for a more diverse, thought-provoking look at cultures and societies in transition, or of cinematic styles, in screenings (at CMU, SouthSide Works and Regent Square Theater) intended to foster debate of the filmmakers' issues. Several of the directors will be in attendance to present their pictures and lead discussions.

Among the highlights of Week One (all screenings at Carnegie Mellon University's McConomy Auditorium):

Tonight at 5 p.m.: "My Country My Country" (USA, 2006), 90 min., in Kurdish, English and Arabic, with an introduction by director Laura Poitras.

The documentary highlighting the ethnic and religious issues surrounding the 2005 Iraq elections focuses on the phenomenal Dr. Riyadh, a Baghdad candidate seeking the opinions of his family, friends and countrymen during an election clouded by violence and the U.S. occupation.

Among the many recent Iraq documentaries ("Occupation: Dreamland," "Iraq for Sale," "Iraq in Fragments," etc.) this is one of the most compelling, showing what the war has really been like for Iraqis. Poitras gives us an inside look at the electoral process there. She worked alone for eight months with Dr. Riyadh, a sophisticated physician and family man who despises the American occupation and believes Islam offers more justice than any secular system -- yet also believes in democracy. Her film shows how inevitably alien the American and Iraqi world views are to each other.

Tonight at 7:15 p.m.: "Avenge But One of My Two Eyes" (Israel/France, 2005), 100 min., followed by a live-video Q&A conference with director Avi Mograbi in Israel.

Sometimes called the "Israeli Michael Moore," Mograbi puts us in the middle of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict's despair, juxtaposing Palestinian with Jewish zealots -- and questioning the myths and realities of martyrdom.

Saturday at 3 p.m.: "Black Gold" (UK, 2005), 78 min., directed by Marc Francis and Nick Francis.

Vessela Kazakova, left, as Anna and Valery Yordanov as Ivan in "Stolen Eyes," a story about love and animosity from Bulgaria.

You'll never drink a cup of coffee with the same insouciance again after seeing this incredibly moving, beautiful and informative documentary, which shows us the poverty-stricken people who produce those precious beans in Ethiopia -- and how terribly exploited they are by "globalization." They're lucky to get 22 cents a kilo ($13 retail) or 50 cents a day in wages for their back-breaking labor. Famine is everywhere around them. Farmers are ripping out coffee plants and replacing them with the narcotic plant "chat" to earn more cash.

The film's focus is on the struggles of the Oromio coffee farmers' cooperative and its conscientious manager, Tadesse Meskela. We also see how international giants like Kraft and Nestle fix the commodity's arbitrarily low prices in New York and London. Footage of a glitzy competition for "world's best barista" and customers sipping java in Italy and Seattle are juxtaposed with an Ethiopian farm where 15 people inhabit a single room. Elegant cinematography and music underscore the need for affluent consumers to be aware and do something about it. (Also at Regent Square, 6 p.m. Dec. 10.)

Saturday at 5 p.m.: "The Red Colored Grey Truck" (Serbia, 2004), 95 min., introduction by Dragan Kovacevic. Directed by Srdjan Kolijevic.

Color blindness is not the worst of the protagonist's problems in this funny-but-serious story of Ratko, a recently released convict, and the wild-and-crazy Belgrade city girl who hitches a ride with him to escape the Yugoslavian civil wars. This is one of the most fanciful and entertaining slices of East European life to be found in the CMU festival.

Saturday at 7 p.m.: "Czech Dream" (Czech Republic, 2004), 90 min., directed by Filip Remunda and Vit Klusak.

Two film students push the marketing envelope by creating a full-fledged ad campaign for a fake "hypermarket." They tell people, "Don't come, don't spend!" -- but, just like Wal-Mart the day after Thanksgiving, a crowd still forms for the opening. A classic documentary revelation of the historic Czech obsession with consumerism. (Also SouthSide Works, 8 p.m. Dec. 9.)

Sunday at 5:30 p.m.: "Stolen Eyes" (Bulgaria, 2005), 110 min., directed by Radoslav Spassov.

The strange, inexplicable love story of a Muslim Turk woman and a non-Muslim Bulgarian man is pure romance. Ivan gets caught up in the so-called "regeneration process" (when ethnic Turks' names were forcibly changed to Bulgarian ones) and is required to issue the new identity seals and documents. Schoolteacher Ayten tries to steal the seals and thus slow down the ethnic genocide. Their fateful encounters include the occasion of the death of her small daughter -- and Ivan's traumatic involvement in it. Animosity and love are the powerful themes. (Also SouthSide, 6:30 p.m. Dec. 8.)

ALSO IN WEEK ONE

Friday at 5 p.m.: "Faces of Change" (USA, 2005), 80 min., directed by Michele Stephenson. A black single mother counsels teen mothers in Brazil. A New Orleans lady fights medical problems and environmental racism. A Mauritanian abolitionist fights slavery. An Indian man challenges the stigma of the lower caste into which he was born. A Bulgarian Roma doctor-turned-lawyer struggles against his country's marginalization of the gypsies. (Also SouthSide, 8:30 p.m. Dec. 8, with director attending.)

Friday at 7:30 p.m.: "Your Name Is Justine" (Poland-Germany-Luxembourg, 2005), 97 min., directed by Franco de Pena. Mariola dreams of escaping her provincial town while boyfriend Artur invites her on a short vacation to Germany to meet his parents. His real motive? To sell her into prostitution. Two hundred thousand such women are sold to work in brothels each year. (Also SouthSide, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7.)

Sunday at 3 p.m.: "State of Fear" (Peru/USA, 2005), 94. min., directed by Pamela Yates. From Andean guerrilla fighting to downtown Lima, the disparity between Peru's indigenous natives and Western-style urbanites is unveiled.

A student short film will precede most of the screenings. Tickets are $7 ($3 for students) per film or full-festival pass at $35 ($20 for students). "Faces of Democracy" is co-sponsored by CMU, various Pittsburgh ethnic nationality organizations, The Sprout Fund, SouthSide Works Cinema and Regent Square Theater. For more information, contact festival director Jolanta Lion at 412-445-6292.

WEEK TWO

Screenings at SouthSide Works unless otherwise indicated.

Thursday, Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m.: "Your Name Is Justine."

Friday, Dec. 8, 6:30 p.m.: "Stolen Eyes."

Friday, Dec. 8, 8:30 p.m.: "Faces of Change."

Saturday, Dec. 9, 3 p.m.: "I Love You" (Croatia, 2006), 83 min., with introduction by director Dalibor Matanic. For Ana and Kreso, iBooks have replaced the intimate affection they once shared. Ana kvetches about Kreso's adultery, bad attitude and excessive drinking until he shuts her up with the news that he has AIDS. But Kreso can't -- or won't -- give up his lifestyle in a materialistic society more interested in face-lifts than life and death. (Also 3 p.m. Dec. 10)

Saturday, Dec. 9, 5.30 pm: "Foundation" (Poland, 2006), 110 min., with introduction by director Filip Bajon. Based on a true story, this is the tale of a con artist who tricks the whole law-enforcement establishment by a combination of charm and creative finesse. His schemes are conducted entirely from jail.

Saturday, Dec. 9, 8 p.m.: "Czech Dream."

Sunday, Dec. 10, 3 p.m.: "I Love You," introduction by director Dalibor Matanic.

Sunday, Dec. 10, 6 pm: "Black Gold" (at Regent Square)