Editor Pick: Film

Flexing the mental muscles of this year's SXSW attendees are debates about robots and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Both Interactive sessions and films shed light on this topic.

Based on true events, Hirut Assefa, a 14-year-old Ethiopian school girl was the victim of telefa, a marriage abduction. Usually, when this happens, the girls are so demoralized that they do not resist, nor can they resist because their husband-to-be has the help of his friends to make the successful kidnapping. Hirut's story is different; what happens as a result of her kidnapping is an enthralling and eye-opening lesson in how one girl can take a stand for many, and in her stand, others join in to begin a movement to overthrow a system that existed for centuries.

Don't you forget about 'The Breakfast Club' 30th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray release.

Donna Stern is a stand-up comedienne whose comedy act has gone over the edge when she levels her shot-gun humor at her boyfriend who sits at the bar. After he breaks up with her, she tries to recoup but unbeknownst to her, she sets out on a collision course with deniability. If she wakes up in time to save herself, she will be able to use her humorous experiences in her act like she always does. If she doesn't, she and reality will collide and just maybe she'll have to step into adulthood.

Every ten minutes a woman dies from not having access to a safe abortion-Upworthy. Dutch physician Rebecca Gomperts treated women who had gravely injured themselves trying to induce a miscarriage in countries with restrictive abortion laws. The misery, the suffering, the death was so disheartening when just beyond their grasp, these women could have been in safety with non surgical medical abortions if they had only been given access. How Dr. Gomperts finds a solution to this global issue that is also threatening to become an issue in the US is the subject of the incredible documentary 'Vessel.'

Olympia Dukakis has stated that the Greek Civil War was one of the worst civil wars in modern Europe. "Tens of thousands of innocent people were accused of being enemies of the state and found guilty of crimes they never committed." They were thrown into concentration camps and brutalized. Why have you not heard of this? Events have been politicized and kept hidden. Until now.

Vivan Amsalem will obtain a divorce. Elisha Amsalem will not allow her to divorce him. If this were America, there would be no problem. It is not. It is Israel in a Mizrahi Orthodox enclave where there is no separation between church and state. Orthodox rabbis are judges and they help to determine whether a Gett (divorce), can be decreed. But even their power is limited if a husband does not want to grant his wife a Gett.

How much is the life of a billionaire worth? That and other questions about life, relationships and greed are explored in 'Kidnapping Mr. Heineken', staring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jim Sturgess and Sam Worthington. This is a kidnapping and bank robbery story, but this film is not the typical “heist flick” in the 'Oceans 11-The Italian Job' genre. It goes much deeper.

We all felt frightened and alone and in need of comfort after 9/11 whether we had loved ones nearby or not. I think we all went through that. I did certainly.

The piece really is about what happens after 9/11 on September 12th and the days after that, and what is happening in the city at that time.