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Sundance Goes Global as Docs Compete
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Friday, 21 January 2011 23:14
- Written by Lynne Shannon
The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs January 20-30 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and 
Sundance, Utah. The World Cinema Documentary Competition offers more unique visions from all over the world.
International Premiere:
Position Among the Stars / Stand Van De Sterren (Netherlands)
Director Leonard Retel Helmrich
The effects of globalization in Indonesia’s rapidly changing society ripple into the life of a poor Christian woman living in the slums of Jakarta with her Muslim sons and teenage granddaughter.
World Premieres:
The Bengali Detective (India, USA, United Kingdom)
Director Phil Cox
Chubby, dance-obsessed private-detective Rajesh Bharti and his motley band of helpers tackle poisonings, adultery and the occasional murder on the frenzied streets of Kolkata.
The Blackpower Mixtape 1967-1975 (Sweden, USA) 
Director Gran Olsson
From 1967 to 1975, Swedish journalists chronicled the Black Power movement in America. Combining that 16mm footage, undiscovered until now, with contemporary audio interviews, this film illuminates the people and culture that fueled change and brings the movement to life anew.
Family Portrait in Black and White (Canada, Ukraine)
Director Julia Ivanova
In a small Ukrainian town, Olga Nenya raises 16 black orphans amidst a population of Slavic blue-eyed blonds. Their stories expose the harsh realities of growing up as a bi-racial child in Eastern Europe.
Hell and Back Again (USA, United Kingdom)
Director Danfung Dennis
Told through the eyes of one Marine from the start of his 2009 Afghanistan tour to his distressing return and rehabilitation in the U.S., we witness what modern “unconventional” warfare really means to the men who are fighting it.
Knuckle (Ireland, United Kingdom)
Director Ian Palmer
An epic 12-year journey into the brutal and secretive world of Irish Traveler bare-knuckle fighting, this film follows a history of violent feuding between rival clans.
Project Nim (United Kingdom)
Director James Marsh
From the Oscar-winning team behind Man on Wire comes the story of Nim, the chimpanzee who was taught to communicate with language as he was raised and nurtured like a human child. 
Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure (Australia, USA)
Director Matthew Bate
When two friends tape-recorded the fights of their violently noisy neighbors, they accidentally created one of the world's first "viral" pop-culture sensations.
North American Premieres:
An African Election (Ghana, Switzerland, USA)
Director Jarreth Merz
The 2008 presidential elections in Ghana, West Africa, serve as a backdrop for this feature documentary that looks behind the scenes at the complex, political machinery of a third-world democracy struggling to avoid civil war and establish stability for good.
The Flaw (United Kingdom)
Director David Sington
Within a few months in 2008, several American financial institutions failed, and before you knew it the USA was in the red. An imaginative blend of archive, animation and personal stories delivers a devastating indictment of the unfettered capitalism which has led to crippling, catastrophic income inequality in the land of the free.
The Green Wave / Irans grüner Sommer (Germany)
Director Ali Samadi Ahadi
Animated blogs and tweets tell the story of democracy under fire and hopes dashed as protesters are arrested, tortured and raped during Iran’s tumultuous elections of June 2009.
Senna (United Kingdom)
Director Asif Kapadia, Screenwriter Manish Pandey
The story of the legendary racing driver and Brazilian hero Ayrton Senna takes us on the ultimate journey of what it means to become the greatest when faced with the constant possibility of death.
For further information, visit www.sundance.org/festival.
Sundance's 2011 World Cinema Dramatic
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Friday, 21 January 2011 21:05
- Written by Lynne Shannon
The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs January 20-30 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden an
d Sundance, Utah. The World Cinema Dramatic Competition is eagerly anticipated as another chance to see the world through the eyes of other countries. More than one Academy Award™winner for Best Foreign Film has come from this Festival category.
Two of the entries are International Premieres; the rest are all World Premieres.
International Premieres:
Abraxas (Japan)
Director Dai Sako, with co-Screenwriter Naoki Kato
After botching a speech on career guidance at a local high school, a depressed Zen monk with a heavy metal past realizes that only music can revive his spirit. With Suneohair, Rie Tomosaka, Manami Honjou, Ryouta Murai, Kaoru Kobayashi.
Lost Kisses / I baci mai dati (Italy)
Director Roberta Torre, with co-Screenwriter Laura Nuccilli
A 13-year-old girl in the deprived outskirts of a sprawling Sicilian city becomes a local celebrity to her needy community when word spreads that she just might be able to perform miracles. With Donatella Finocchiaro, Pino Micol, Giuseppe Fiorello, Carla Marchese, Martina Galletta, Tony Palazzo.
Mad Bastards (Australia) 
Director Brendan Fletcher, with co-Screenwriters Dean Daley-Jones, Greg Tait and John Watson
In a frontier town of northern Australia’s Kimberley Region, an urban street warrior meets his match in a local cop. Performances and stories from real people in Kimberley are woven through the music of legendary Broome musicians, The Pigram Brothers. With Dean Daley-Jones, Greg Tait, John Watson, Ngaire Pigram, Lucas Yeeda.
World Premieres:
All Your Dead Ones / Todos Tus Muertos (Colombia)
Director Carlos Moreno, with co-Screenwriter Alonso Torres
A peasant finds a pile of bodies in the middle of his crops. When he goes to the authorities, he quickly realizes that the dead ones are a problem nobody wants to deal with. With Alvaro Rodrguez, Jorge Herrera, Martha Marquez, Harold Devasten, John Alex Withillo.
The Cinema Hold Up / Asalto Al Cine (Mexico)
Director Iria Gómez Concheiro, with co-Screenwriter Juan Pablo Gómez
Four childhood friends in Mexico’s Guerrero colony consider robbing a cinema, in hopes that the heist will hurtle them past life’s obstacles. With Gabino Rodrguez, Juan Pablo de Santiago, Angel Sosa, Paulina Avalos.
A Few Days of Respite / Quelque Jours de Repit (Algeria, France)
Director / screenwriter Amor Hakkar
A pair of gay men who have escaped from Iran seek safe harbor in a small French village, where a lonely middle-aged woman offers aid. With Marina Vlady, Samir Guesmi, Amor Hakkar.
The Guard (Ireland)
Director / screenwriter John Michael McDonagh
A small-town cop in Ireland has a confrontational personality, a subversive sense of humor, a fondness for prostitutes and absolutely no interest whatsoever in the international drug-smuggling ring that has brought a straight-laced FBI agent to his door. With Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, Fionnula Flanagan.
Happy, Happy / Sykt Lykkelig (Norway)
Director Anne Sewitsky, Screenwriter Ragnhild Tronvoll
A perfect housewife, who just happens to be sex-starved, struggles to keep her emotions in check when an attractive family moves in next door. With Agnes Kittelsen, Henrik Rafaelsen, Maibritt Saerens, Joachim Rafaelsen.
Kinyarwanda (Rwanda, USA)
Director / screenwriter Alrick Brown
Based on accounts from survivors, the film tells the story of Rwandans who crossed the lines of hatred during the 1994 genocide, turning mosques into places of refuge for Muslims and Christians, Hutus and Tutsis. With Edouard Bamporiki, Cassandra Freeman, Cleophas Kabasiita, Hadidja Zaninka, Kennedy Mazimpaka, Hassan Kabera.
Restoration / Boker Tov Adon Fidelman (Israel)
Director Yossi Madmoni, Screenwriter Erez Kav-El
Aided by a young and mysterious apprentice, an antique furniture restorer struggles to keep his workshop alive, while his relationship with his own estranged son, who is trying to close down the shop, begins to disintegrate. With Sasson Gabay, Henry David, Nevo Kimchi, Sarah Adler.
The Salesman / Le Vendeur (Canada)
Director / screenwriter Sébastien Pilote
Car salesman Marcel Lévesque operates by the rules of a bygone era, turning on the charm to make his quota. But the increasing decline of his fading industrial town threatens to plummet this peddler of dreams into an unfriendly reality. With Gilbert Sicotte, Nathalie Cavezzali.
Ticket to Paradise / Boleto al Paraiso (Cuba)
Director Gerardo Chijona Valdes, with co-Screenwriters Francisco Garcia Gonzalez and Maykel Rodriguez Ponjuan
A teenage girl running away from her father's sexual harassment meets a young rocker who has escaped to Havana with his misfit group of friends. Set in 1993, during a period of acute shortages in Cuba, the local AIDS hospice begins to look like an unlikely refuge to the hopeless teens. With Miriel Cejas, Hctor Medina, Dunia Matos, Jorge Perugorria, Luis A. Garcia.
Tyrannosaur (United Kingdom)
Director / screenwriter Paddy Considine
For Joseph, a man plagued by self-destructive violence and rage, a chance of redemption appears in the form of Hannah, a Christian charity shop worker with a devastating secret of her own. With Peter Mullan, Eddie Marsan, Olivia Colman.
Vampire (Japan, Canada)
Director / screenwriter Iwai Shunji
On the surface, Simon seems like a fairly normal, average young man, devoted to his teaching job and ailing mother. Secretly, he is compelled to hunt through online chat rooms and message boards, searching for the perfect girl who will ensure his own survival. With Kevin Zegers, Keisha Withle-Hughes, Rachel Leigh Cook, Kristin Kreuk, Aoi Yu and Adelaide Clemens.
For further information, visit www.sundance.org/festival.
2011 Sundance Film Festival – US Docs Compete
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Friday, 21 January 2011 17:52
- Written by L E Shannon
The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs January 20-30 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. Like the US Dramatic Competition, the U.S. Documentary Competition has its own tradition of presenting some of the most thought-provoking and courageous documentaries to the world, most of which have won awards at Sundance and elsewhere.
Beats, Rhymes and Life
Director Michael Rapaport
The story of the rise and influence of one of the most innovative and influential hip-hop bands of all time, the collective known as A Tribe Called Quest.
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey
Director Constance Marks
The Muppet Elmo is one of the most beloved characters among children across the globe. Meet the unlikely man behind the puppet -- the heart and soul of Elmo -- Kevin Clash.
Buck
Director Cindy Meehl
In a story about the power of nonviolence, master horse trainer Buck Brannaman uses principles of respect and trust to tame horses and inspire their human counterparts.
Connected: An Autoblogography about Love, Death & Technology
Director Tiffany Shlain, with co-Screenwriters Ken Goldberg, Carlton Evans and Sawyer Steele
An exhilarating stream-of-consciousness ride through the interconnectedness of humankind, nature, progress and morality at the dawn of the 21st century. For centuries we’ve been declaring independence. With insight, curiosity, and humor, the film explores whether it’s time to declare our interdependence.
Crime After Crime
Director Yoav Potash
Debbie Peagler is a survivor of brutal domestic violence, incarcerated for her connection to the murder of her abuser. Two decades later a pair of rookie land-use attorneys cut their teeth on her case, attracting global attention to the troubled intersection of domestic violence and criminal justice.
Hot Coffee
Director Susan Saladoff
Following subjects whose lives have been devastated by an inability to access the courts, this film shows that many long-held beliefs about our civil justice system have been paid for by corporate America.
How to Die in Oregon
Director Peter D. Richardson
In 1994 Oregon became the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. This film gently enters the lives of terminally ill Oregonians to illuminate the power of death with dignity.
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Director Marshall Curry
The Earth Liberation Front is a radical environmental group that the FBI calls America's “number one domestic terrorist threat.” Daniel McGowan, an ELF member, faces life in prison for two multi-million dollar arsons against Oregon timber companies. But who is really to blame?
The Last Mountain
Director Bill Haney, with co-Screenwriter Peter Rhodes
A coal mining corporation and a tiny community vie for the last great mountain in Appalachia in a battle for the future of energy that affects us all.
Miss Representation
Director Jennifer Siebel Newsom, with co-Screenwriter Jessica Congdon
This film uncovers how American mainstream media’s limited and disparaging portrayals of women contribute to the under-representation of women in power positions, creating another generation of women defined by youth, beauty and sexuality, and not by their capacity as leaders.
Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times
Director Andrew Rossi, with co-Screenwriter Kate Novack
Unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom yields a complex view of the transformation of a media landscape fraught with both peril and opportunity.
The Redemption of General Butt Naked
Directors Eric Strauss and Daniele Anastasion
A brutal warlord who murdered thousands during Liberia's horrific 14-year civil war renounces his violent past and reinvents himself as an evangelist, facing those he once terrorized.
Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles
Director Jon Foy
An urban mystery unfurls as one man pieces together the surreal meaning of hundreds of cryptic tiled messages that have been appearing in city streets across the U.S. and South America.
Sing Your Song
A film by Susanne Rostock
Most people know the lasting legacy of Harry Belafonte, the entertainer; this film unearths his significant contribution to and his leadership in the civil rights movement in America and to social justice globally.
Troubadours
Director Morgan Neville
A musical journey tracing the lives and careers of James Taylor and Carole King, pillars of the California singer/songwriter scene, which converged in and around L.A.'s Troubadour Club in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
We Were Here
Director David Weissman
A deep and reflective look at the arrival and impact of AIDS in San Francisco and how individuals rose to the occasion during the first years of this unimaginable crisis.
For further information, visit www.sundance.org/festival.
Sundance – US Dramatic Films Weigh In
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Previews
- Published on Friday, 21 January 2011 13:57
- Written by L E Shannon
The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs January 20-30 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and 
Sundance, Utah. The U.S. Dramatic Competition again offers a selection of features that support the Festival’s tradition as a career-launcher. Among several world premieres is the directorial debut of Academy Award™-nominated actress Vera Farmiga.
Another Earth
Director Mike Cahill, with co-Screenwriter Brit Marling
On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, a horrible tragedy irrevocably alters the lives of two strangers, who begin an unlikely love affair. With William Mapother, Brit Marling, Jordan Baker, Robin Lord Taylor, Flint Beverage.
Benavides Born
Director Amy Wendel, with co-Screenwriter Daniel Meisel
A high school senior in a forgotten town has earned admission to the University of Texas at Austin but can't afford to go. Her one shot is a scholarship for winning the State Powerlifting Championship. With Corina Calderon, Jeremy Ray Valdez, Joseph Julian Soria, Julia Vera, Julio Csar Cedillo.
Circumstance
Director / screenwriter Maryam Keshavarz (USA, Iran)
A wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain a teenager's growing sexual rebellion and her brother's dangerous obsession. With Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy, Reza Sixo Safai, Soheil Parsa, Nasrin Pakkho.
Gun Hill Road
Director / screenwriter Rashaad Ernesto Green
After three years in prison, Enrique is back in his beloved Bronx, back in the arms of an estranged wife and back in the life of his teenage son, who is stumbling towards a transformation that will put the bonds of their embattled family to the test. With Esai Morales, Judy Reyes, Harmony Santana, Vanessa Aspillaga.
HERE
Director Braden King, co-written Dani Valent
On assignment to create a new, more accurate satellite survey of Armenia, an American cartographer forms a powerful bond with an Armenian expatriate and art photographer. With Ben Foster, Lubna Azabal, Narek Nersisyan, Yuri Kostanyan, Sofik Sarkisyan.
Higher Ground
Director Vera Farmiga, Screenwriters Carolyn S. Briggs and Tim Metcalfe
A frustrated young mother turns to a fundamentalist community for answers to life. With Vera Farmiga, Joshua Leonard, John Hawkes, Dagmara Dominczyk, Norbert Leo Butz.
Homework
Director / screenwriter Gavin Wiesen
Quirky, rebellious George has no ambitions other than to cut his next class. But one day, one girl gives him the perfect reason to figure out who he really is. With Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano, Elizabeth Reaser, Rita Wilson, Blair Underwood.
The Ledge
Director / screenwriter Matthew Chapman
Perched on a ledge, a man says he must jump by noon, while a cop races against time. With Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson, Terrence Howard, Christopher Gorham.
Like Crazy
Director Drake Doremus, with co-Screenwriter Ben York Jones
A young American guy and a young British girl meet in college and fall in love. Their love is tested when she is required to leave the country. With Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Alex Kingston.
Little Birds
Director / screenwriter Elgin James
Amidst the stark landscape of the Salton Sea, two 15-year-old girls test the limits of their friendship when one follows the other to Los Angeles. With Juno Temple, Kay Panabaker, Leslie Mann, Kate Bosworth, Kyle Gallner.
The Loved Ones
Director / screenwriter Sam Levinson)
A pair of reckless siblings are dragged into a chaotic family wedding by their overwrought mother. With Demi Moore, Kate Bosworth, Jeffrey DeMunn, Ellen Barkin, Ellen Burstyn, Thomas Haden Church.
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Director / screenwriter Sean Durkin
Haunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia, a damaged woman struggles to re-assimilate with her family after fleeing an abusive cult. With Elizabeth Olsen, Brady Corbet, Hugh Dancy, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson.
On the Ice
Director / screenwriter Andrew Okpeaha MacLean
On the snow-covered Arctic tundra, two teenagers try to get away with murder. With Josiah Patkotak, Frank Qutuq Irelan, Teddy Kyle Smith, Adamina Kerr, Sierra Jade Sampson.
Pariah
Director / screenwriter Dee Rees
When forced to choose between losing her best friend and destroying her family, a Bronx teenager juggles conflicting identities and endures heartbreak in a desperate search for sexual expression. With Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Kim Wayans, Charles Parnell, Aasha Davis.
Take Shelter
Director / screenwriter Jeff Nichols
A working-class husband and father questions whether his terrifying dreams of an apocalyptic storm signal something real to come or the onset of an inherited mental illness he's feared his whole life. With Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Katy Mixon, Kathy Baker.
Terri
Director Azazel Jacobs, with co-Screenwriter Patrick Dewitt
Orphaned to an uncle who is fading away, mercilessly teased by his peers and roundly ignored by his teachers, Terri is alienated and alone. When the dreaded vice principal sees something of himself in Terri, they establish a friendship which opens Terri up to life’s possibilities. With Jacob Wysocki, John C. Reilly, Creed Bratton, Olivia Crocicchia, Bridger Zadina.
For further information, visit www.sundance.org/festival.
