2011 Sundance Film Festival – US Docs Compete

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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

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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.

Sundance Premieres, Documentary Premieres

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Friday, 21 January 2011 00:38

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 nation’s most prestigious film festival presents the section with a long-time record as a career-launcher.

“2011 sees the majority of films in the Premieres section coming from outside the studios, illustrating that independent film is both robust and broadening its scope,” said John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival.

Premieres

Salt Lake City Gala Film:
The Music Never Stopped
Director Jim Kohlberg, Screenwriters Gwyn Lurie and Gary Marks
(based on the story "The Last Hippie” by Oliver Sacks) (USA)  
Using the power of music, a father struggles to bond with his estranged son, who suffers a brain tumor that prevents him from forming new memories. With J.K. Simmons, Julia Ormond, Cara Seymour, Lou Taylor Pucci, Mia Maestro.

Cedar Rapids
Director Miguel Arteta, Screenwriter Phil Johnston (USA)   
A naive small-town Wisconsin man travels to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to represent his company at a regional insurance conference. With Ed Helms, John C Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Alia Shawkat, Sigourney Weaver.

The Convincer
Director Jill Sprecher, with co-Screenwriter Karen Sprecher (USA)  
An insurance salesman, caught in a caper involving a rare musical instrument, sets off a series of dramatic consequences. With Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Billy Crudup, David Harbour.

The Details
Director / screenwriter Jacob Aaron Estes (USA)  
When hungry raccoons discover worms living under the sod in a young couple’s backyard, the pest problem sets off a wild and absurd chain reaction of domestic tension, infidelity, organ donation and murder by way of bow and arrow. With Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney, Ray Liotta, Dennis Haysbert.

The Devil’s Double
Director Lee Tamahori, Screenwriter Michael Thomas (Belgium)
A chilling vision of the House of Saddam comes to life through the eyes of the man who knew too much. With Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier, Mimoun Oaissa, Raad Rawi, Philip Quast.

Flypaper
Director Rob Minkoff, Screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (USA)
When two gangs try to rob the same bank at the same time, a clever hostage in the middle must save the day. With Patrick Dempsey, Ashley Judd, Mekhi Phifer, Jeffrey Tambor, Tim Blake Nelson, Pruitt Taylor Vince.

The Future
Director / screenwriter Miranda July (Germany, USA)
When a couple decides to adopt a stray cat their perspective on life changes radically. With Hamish Linklater, Miranda July, David Warshofsky, Isabella Acres, Joe Putterlik.

I Melt with You
Director Mark Pellington, Screenwriter Glenn Porter
(based on the story by Glenn Porter and Mark Pellington) (Canada, USA)
Four friends gather every year to celebrate their friendship. This year they are unexpectedly forced to confront a forgotten promise they made 25 years earlier. With Thomas Jane, Jeremy Piven, Rob Lowe, Christian McKay, Carla Gugino.

Life in a Day
Director Kevin Macdonald (UK)
This is a historic global experiment to create the world’s largest user-generated feature film. On July 24, 2010, professional and amateur filmmakers captured a glimpse of their lives on camera and uploaded the footage to YouTube, serving as a time capsule for future generations.

Margin Call
Director / screenwriter JC Chandor (USA)
Over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis, the key people at an investment bank struggle to decide how to handle an emergency business situation while examining the personal and moral implications of every action they take. With Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci.

My Idiot Brother
Director Jesse Peretz, Screenwriters Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall (USA)
After serving time for selling pot, Ned successively moves in with each of his three sisters as he tries to get back on his feet. With Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer.

Perfect Sense
Director David Mackenzie, Screenwriter Kim Fupz Aakeson (UK)
A love story about two people who start to fall in love just as the world begins to fall apart. With Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, Ewen Bremner, Stephen Dillane, Denis Lawson, Connie Nielsen.

Red State
Director / Screenwriter Kevin Smith (USA)
A group of misfits encounter extreme fundamentalism in Middle America. With Michael Parks, Michael Angarano, Kyle Gallner, John Goodman, Melissa Leo.

Salvation Boulevard
Director George Ratliff, with co-Screenwriter Doug Max Stone
(based on the novel by Larry Beinhart)  (USA)
An evangelical preacher who has captivated a city with his charm frames an ex-hippie for a crime he did not commit. With Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear, Marisa Tomei.

Win Win
Director / screenwriter Tom McCarthy
(based on the story by Tom McCarthy and Joe Tiboni)  (USA)
When a disheartened attorney moonlighting as a high school wrestling coach stumbles across a star athlete, things seem to be looking up -- until the boy's mother shows up fresh from rehab, flat broke, and threatening to derail everything. With Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale, Jeffrey Tambor.

Closing Night Film:
The Son of No One
Director / screenwriter Dito Montiel (USA)
Two men in post-9/11 New York are forced to relive two murders they committed as young boys. Their lives start to unravel by the threat of the revelation of these shocking and personal secrets. With Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Tracy Morgan, Ray Liotta, Juliette Binoche.

Documentary Premieres

Says John Cooper, Festival Director: “The decision to create a Documentary Premieres section was a natural evolution to shine a light on films with prominent filmmakers or anticipated subjects without distracting from documentaries in competition. Sundance Institute has since its inception been one of the leading organizations in the world in support of nonfiction film, and our Festival remains a platform for both first-time and established documentary filmmakers.” All the films are world premieres.

Becoming Chaz
Directors Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (USA)
Born biologically female, Chastity Bono invites the viewer into a deeply personal journey as he transitions from female to male, embracing his true self, which is Chaz.

Bobby Fischer Against the World
Director Liz Garbus (USA)
The drama of late chess-master Bobby Fischer's career was undeniable,as he careened from troubled childhood, to World Champion and Cold War icon, to a fugitive on the run.

Granito
Director Pamela Yates (USA)
A documentary film intertwines with Guatemala’s turbulent history and emerges as an active player in a nation’s struggle to heal itself and serve up justice.

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
Director Morgan Spurlock (USA)
A documentary about branding, advertising and product placement is financed and made possible by branding, advertising and product placement.

The Interrupters
Director Steve James (USA)
From the Academy Award^TM-winning director of Hoop Dreams comes a story of ex-gang members who are now protecting their communities from the violence they themselves once employed.

Magic Trip
Directors Alison Ellwood and Alex Gibney (USA)
In 1964 Ken Kesey, author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and his band of Merry Pranksters set out on a cross-country road trip to the New York World's Fair. Fueled by large doses of LSD, they filmed the entire journey. Forty-plus years later, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney and co-director Alison Ellwood use that footage, audio recordings and photographs to create an immersion experience of the legendary trip.

Reagan
Director Eugene Jarecki (USA, UK)
Reagan examines the enigmatic career of one of the revered architects of the modern world – icon, screen star, and two-term president Ronald Reagan.

Rebirth
Director Jim Whitaker (USA)
Weaving together five stories of individuals whose lives were profoundly altered by the 9/11 attack. With unprecedented time-lapse footage of Ground Zero composed over ten years.

These Amazing Shadows
Directors Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton (USA)
The history and importance of the National Film Registry unfolds in a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself.

It is films such as these that say “Sundance”.

For further information, visit www.sundance.org/festival.