We all need a 3pm pick-me-up. Nyom. Enjoy.

Today marks the beginning of the Stranger than Fiction festival of documentaries at the IFI. The real meat of the festival begins tomorrow with a flurry of politically-charged films on rebellion, media shaping politics (and vice-versa), economics and

The Irish premiere of ‘The Sun Behind The Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom’ tracks the ramifications of the 2008 protests on the Dalai Lama and Tibetans alike.

Far from being the staple ‘this is rebellion’ docu, the filmmakers had access to the Dalai Lama before, during and after the protests and documented his reactions in contrast to the rhetoric spiking on the ground in Tibet.

The Sun Behind The Clouds shows at 12 noon, tomorrow the Friday 16th April.

Trailer: Youtube

Site: thesunbehindtheclouds.com

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In ‘Videocracy’, filmmaker Erik Gandini returns to Italy to explore where Berlusconi and the Television Age of Reality TV and fame has taken the country culturally and politically over the past 30 years.

The film interviews members of Berlusconi’s inner circle, follows a paparazzo that sees himself as a modern Robin Hood except liberating wealth for himself and takes a wry look at shopping centre auditions.

The trailer has been banned from Italian TV stations.

Videocracy shows at 2:15pm tomorrow, Friday 16th April.

NSFW Trailer: Youtube

Site: Videocracy (beware of NSFW imagery)

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‘Last Time Home’ follows the story of a family, the Zhangs. A family of factory migrant workers, they leave a newborn at home in their rural village and only to see her once a year at the Spring festival.  Years pass and embittered by being left behind, she leaves the countryside to seek work in the city.

The film explores the changes in family, education and society brought about by economic necessity in modern China. The story of the Zhangs is the story of over 200 million migrant workers in China today.

Debut film by Chinese-Canadian director Lixin Fan.

‘Last Train Home’ shows tomorrow at 3:30pm (Friday 16th April.)

Trailer: Youtube

Site: Last Train Home on Eye Steel Film

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In ‘South of the Border’, Oliver Stone travels to South America to account for the might of the left in Venezuela, Bolivia . Termed ‘a political road movie’, Stone’s documentary examines the economic agendas of the US and the IMF in the region and the effect these policies had to the economies.

On the trip, Stone interviewed the presidents of several South American countries. The movie was negatively received in the US, as ‘cheerleadery’.

‘South of the Border’ shows on Sunday, April 18th at 4pm.

Trailer: Youtube

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Tomorrow, a barrage of free events hit the STF festival at the IFI:

• Ethics in Documentary
• A Lifetime on Film: Directors of ‘American: The Bill Hicks Story’ talk about the ups and downs of making the documentary

Full detail of the films are available at the Stranger Than Fiction festival site.

And bang, they are off. Voting in the Irish Book Awards kicks off today. The Irish Book Awards are looking for the Irish book of the decade. Supported by Bord Gáis, the Irish Book Awards has shortlisted 50 Irish books published in the naughties in the shakedown to the top award.

While it’s a rather long shortlist, I’m sure there be cries of where’s the Four Angry Men are or what Roy Keane is doing on the list.

Notable nominees include John McGahern, Maeve Binchy, Cathy Kelly and Ross O’Carroll-Kelly.

Voting is open until May 28th. The awards show is set for November.

Apologies on the lack of updates, Election.ie Towers was moving over the past week. The cable broadband was installed yesterday and we’re raring to go. All hands inside the car!

Four high-profile resignations in the last couple of weeks, odds of a 2010 election being cut to 7/4 and James Downey on the radio this morning saying a trip to the polls before the Summer is likely -  is it time to order in the family-sized packs of Complan?

If not for the politicians (who are looking hagard at best), then for the correspondents and the politicial junkie bloggers and Twitterers?

Barely a day is going by without a national shitfit in the Houses of Oireachtas. Just before the explosive media feeding frenzy, the political news junkies were setting themselves up to track the passage of the Finance Bill 2010 through committee. Yesterday was supposed to be celebratory for the Greens, with a fresh-faced senator in the upper house – instead they lost a former leader and Junior Minister.

Who’s next and who’s up for Berocca?