Competition Films. - Sundance Institute

Transcription

12th & Delaware
DIRECTORS: Rachel Grady, Heidi Ewing
U.S.A., 2009, 90 min., color
On an unassuming corner in Fort Pierce,
Florida, it’s easy to miss the insidious war
that’s raging. But on each side of 12th
and Delaware, soldiers stand locked in a
passionate battle. On one side of the street
sits an abortion clinic. On the other, a pro-life
outfit often mistaken for the clinic it seeks to
shut down.
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Using skillful cinema-vérité observation
that allows us to draw our own conclusions,
Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, the directors
of Jesus Camp, expose the molten core of
America’s most intractable conflict. As the
pro-life volunteers paint a terrifying portrait
of abortion to their clients, across the street,
the staff members at the clinic fear for their
doctors’ lives and fiercely protect the right
of their clients to choose. Shot in the year
when abortion provider Dr. George Tiller was
murdered in his church, the film makes these
fears palpable. Meanwhile, women in need
become pawns in a vicious ideological war
with no end in sight.—CAROLINE LIBRESCO
ExP: Sheila Nevins AsP: Christina Gonzalez,
Craig Atkinson Ci: Katherine Patterson
Ed: Enat Sidi Mu: David Darling
SuP: Sara Bernstein
Sunday, January 24, noon - 12DEL24TD
Temple Theatre, Park City
Wednesday, January 27, noon - 12DEL27YD
Yarrow Hotel Theatre, Park City
Wednesday, January 27, 9:00 p.m. - 12DEL27BN
Broadway Centre Cinemas VI, SLC
Thursday, January 28, 9:00 p.m. - 12DEL28YN
Friday, January 29, 9:30 a.m. - 12DEL292M
Holiday Village Cinema II, Park City
12
2010 Sundance Film Festival sundance.org/festival
Credit Legend ExP: Executive Producer Pr: Producer CoP: Coproducer AsP: Associate Producer Ci: Cinematographer Ed: Editor PrD: Production Designer ArD: Art Director So: Sound Mu: Music CoD: Costume Designer Ca: Casting Director PrCo: Production Company
Bhutto
DIRECTORS: Jessica Hernández, Johnny O’Hara
SCREENWRITER: Johnny O’Hara
U.S.A., 2009, 86 min., color
Urdu/English with English subtitles
As the first woman to lead an Islamic nation,
former Pakistani president Benazir Bhutto’s
life story unfolds like a tale of Shakespearean
dimensions. Educated at Harvard and Oxford,
Bhutto evolved from pampered princess to
polarizing politician battling tradition and
terrorism in the most dangerous country on
earth. Her father, the first democratically
elected president of Pakistan, chose Benazir
over his eldest son to carry his political
mantle. Accused of rampant corruption,
imprisoned, then exiled abroad, Bhutto was
called back in 2007 as her country’s only
hope for democracy. When she was struck
down by an assassin, her untimely death
sent shock waves throughout the world,
transforming Bhutto from political messiah to
a martyr in the eyes of the common people.
With exclusive interviews from the Bhutto
family and never-before-seen footage,
filmmakers Jessica Hernandez and Johnny
O’Hara have crafted a sweeping epic of a
transcendent, yet polarizing, figure whose
legacy will be debated for years to come.
—DAVID COURIER
CASINO JACK and the
United States of Money
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Alex Gibney
U.S.A., 2009, 120 min., color
This portrait of Washington super lobbyist
Jack Abramoff—from his early years as
a gung-ho member of the GOP political
machine to his final reckoning as a disgraced,
imprisoned pariah—confirms the adage that
truth is indeed stranger than fiction. A tale
of international intrigue with Indian casinos,
Russian spies, Chinese sweatshops, and a
mob-style killing in Miami, this is the story of
the way money corrupts our political process.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney returns
to Sundance, once again wielding the tools of
his trade with the skill of a master. Following
the ongoing indictments of federal officials
and exposing favor trading in our nation’s
capital, Gibney illuminates the way our
politicians’ desperate need to get elected—
and the millions of dollars it costs—may be
undermining the basic principles of American
democracy. Infuriating, yet undeniably fun to
watch, CASINO JACK is a saga of greed and
corruption with a cynical villain audiences will
love to hate.—DAVID COURIER
ExP: Glenn Aveni Pr: Duane Baughman,
Arleen Sorkin, Mark Siegel
CoP: Pamela Green, Jarik Van Sluijs
ExP: Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann,
Ben Goldhirsch, Mark Cuban, Todd Wagner,
Bill Banowsky Pr: Alex Gibney,
Alison Ellwood, Zena Barakat
CoP: Alexandra Johnes AsP: Sam Black
Ed: Alison Ellwood MuS: John McCullough
Saturday, January 23, 9:00 p.m. - BHUTT23TN
Saturday, January 23, 6:00 p.m. - CASIN23TE
Family Affair
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Chico Colvard
U.S.A., 2009, 80 min., color
At 10 years old, Chico Colvard shot his older
sister in the leg. This seemingly random act
detonated a chain reaction that exposed
unspeakable realities and shattered his
family. Thirty years later, Colvard ruptures
veils of secrecy and silence again. As he
bravely visits his relatives, what unfolds is
a personal film that’s as uncompromising,
raw, and cathartic as any in the history of the
medium.
Driving the story forward is Colvard’s sensitive
probing of a complex dynamic: the way his
three sisters survived severe childhood abuse
by their father and, as adults, manage to
muster loyalty to him. These unforgettable,
invincible women paint a picture of their
harrowing girlhoods as they resiliently
struggle with present-day fallout. The
distance time gives them from their trauma
yields piercing insights about the legacy of
abuse, the nature of forgiveness, and eternal
longing for family and love. These truths may
be too searing to bear, but they reverberate
powerfully within each of us.
—CAROLINE LIBRESCO
ExP: Abigail Disney, Dan Cogan
Pr: Chico Colvard, Liz Garbus
Ed: Rachel J. Clark Mu: Miriam Cutler
Friday, January 22, 3:00 p.m. - FAMIL22TA
Saturday, January 23, 9:00 a.m. - FAMIL234M
Holiday Village Cinema IV, Park City
Sunday, January 24, 11:30 a.m. - BHUTT24LD
Monday, January 25, 9:00 p.m. - CASIN25BN
Library Center Theatre, Park City
Sunday, January 24, 3:00 p.m. - FAMIL24BA
Tuesday, January 26, 9:00 p.m. - BHUTT26SN
Tuesday, January 26, 9:00 p.m. - CASIN26TN
Screening Room, Sundance Resort
Wednesday, January 27, 6:00 p.m. - FAMIL274E
Wednesday, January 27, 3:00 p.m. - BHUTT27TA
Wednesday, January 27, 2:30 p.m. - CASIN27LA
Thursday, January 28, 9:00 p.m. - FAMIL284N
Friday, January 29, 10:30 p.m. - BHUTT29BN
Friday, January 29, 10:00 a.m. - CASIN293M
Broadway Centre Cinemas IV, SLC
Holiday Village Cinema III, Park City
Saturday, January 30, noon - BHUTT30PD
Prospector Square Theatre, Park City
U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
13
Freedom Riders
GasLand
I’m Pat
DIRECTOR/ SCREENWRITER: Stanley Nelson
U.S.A., 2009, 111 min., color & b/w
DIRECTOR: Josh Fox
U.S.A., 2009, 107 min., color
DIRECTOR: Amir Bar-Lev
SCREENWRITER: Mark Monroe
U.S.A., 2009, 94 min., color
In 1961 segregation seemed to have an
overwhelming grip on American society.
Many states violently enforced the policy,
while the federal government, under the
Kennedy administration, remained indifferent,
preoccupied with matters abroad. That is,
until an integrated band of college students—
many of whom were the first in their families
to attend a university—decided, en masse,
to risk everything and buy a ticket on a
Greyhound bus bound for the Deep South.
They called themselves the Freedom Riders,
and they managed to bring the president
and the entire American public face to face
with the challenge of correcting civil-rights
inequities that plagued the nation.
It is happening all across America—rural
landowners wake up one day to find a
lucrative offer from an energy company
wanting to lease their property. Reason?
The company hopes to tap into a reservoir
dubbed the “Saudi Arabia of natural gas.”
Halliburton developed a way to get the gas
out of the ground—a hydraulic drilling process
called “fracking”—and suddenly America
finds itself on the precipice of becoming an
energy superpower.
Veteran filmmaker Stanley Nelson’s
inspirational documentary is the first featurelength film about this courageous band of
civil-rights activists. Gaining impressive
access to influential figures on both sides
of the issue, Nelson chronicles a chapter
of American history that stands as an
astonishing testament to the accomplishment
of youth and what can result from the
incredible combination of personal conviction
and the courage to organize against all
odds.—SHARI FRILOT
Pr: Laurens Grant AsP: Stacey Holman
Ci: Robert Shepard Ed: Lewis Erskine,
Aljernon Tunsil Mu: Tom Phillips
ArP: Lewanne Jones
But what comes out of the ground with that
“natural” gas? How does it affect our air
and drinking water? GasLand is a powerful
personal documentary that confronts these
questions with spirit, strength, and a sense
of humor. When filmmaker Josh Fox receives
his cash offer in the mail, he travels across
32 states to meet other rural residents on
the front lines of fracking. He discovers toxic
streams, ruined aquifers, dying livestock,
brutal illnesses, and kitchen sinks that
burst into flame. He learns that all water is
connected and perhaps some things are more
valuable than money.—SHARI FRILOT
Pr: Trish Adlesic, Josh Fox,
Molly Gandour Ci: Josh Fox, Matthew Sanchez
Ed: Matthew Sanchez Res: Molly Gandour,
Barbara Arindell, Josh Fox, Joe Levine
Cs: Morgan Jenness, Henry Chalfant
An: Juan Cardarelli, Alex Tyson
Tillman
Pat Tillman never thought of himself as a
hero. His choice to leave a multimillion-dollar
football contract and join the military wasn’t
done for any reason other than he felt it was
the right thing to do. The fact that the military
manipulated his tragic death in the line of
duty into a propaganda tool is unfathomable
and thoroughly explored in Amir Bar-Lev’s
riveting and enraging documentary.
Tillman’s tenacious family’s crusade to
uncover the truth provides the through line for
the film. Their tireless efforts meet resistance
at every step, but they refuse to be defeated.
Utilizing candid interviews with Pat’s fellow
soldiers, the film unearths the truth behind
the tragedy and in the process uncovers
the egregious missteps the military made at
every point following his death. Part moving
portrait, part exposé, I’m Pat
Tillman resounds with emotion and insight
and calls to task those responsible along the
entire chain of command.—TREVOR GROTH
ExP: Molly Thompson, Robert DeBitetto,
Robert Sharenow, Michael Davies,
Andrew Ruhemann Pr: John Battsek
CoP: Caitrin Rogers Lp: Alice Henty
Ci: Sean Kirby, Igor Martinovich
OrS: Philip Sheppard
Saturday, January 23, 3:00 p.m. - TILLM23TA
Sunday, January 24, 5:30 p.m. - GASLA24TE
Sunday, January 24, 9:30 p.m. - TILLM24GN
Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, SLC
Monday, January 25, 5:30 p.m. - GASLA25PE
Tuesday, January 26, 8:30 p.m. - TILLM26LN
Tuesday, January 26, 3:00 p.m. - FREED26TA
Monday, January 25, 6:00 p.m. - FREED25TE
Tuesday, January 26, 6:00 p.m. - GASLA26GE
Wednesday, January 27, 6:30 p.m. - FREED27GE
Thursday, January 28, 11:30 a.m. - GASLA28LD
Special screening for Park City locals. Pass holders
and any others need to waitlist. Contact the Park City
Main Box Office for ticket information.
Wednesday, January 27, 9:00 a.m. - TILLM27TM
Holiday Village Cinema I, Park City
Saturday, January 30, 8:30 a.m. - GASLA30PM
Friday, January 29, noon - FREED29SD
Thursday, January 28, 7:30 p.m. - FREED281N
Saturday, January 30, 9:00 a.m. - FREED30TM
14
Thursday, January 28, 9:00 p.m. - TILLM28SN
Friday, January 29, 4:00 p.m. - TILLM293A
Jean-Michel Basquiat:
The Radiant Child
Joan Rivers—
A Piece Of Work
DIRECTOR: Tamra Davis
U.S.A., 2009, 88 min., color & b/w
DIRECTORS: Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg
SCREENWRITER: Ricki Stern
U.S.A., 2010, 84 min., color
In his short career, Jean-Michel Basquiat was
a phenomenon. He became notorious for his
graffiti art under the moniker Samo in the late
1970s on the Lower East Side scene, sold
his first painting to Deborah Harry for $200,
and became best friends with Andy Warhol.
Appreciated by both the art cognoscenti
and the public, Basquiat was launched into
international stardom. However, soon his
cult status began to override the art that had
made him famous in the first place.
Director Tamra Davis pays homage to her
friend in this definitive documentary but also
delves into Basquiat as an iconoclast. His
dense, bebop-influenced neoexpressionist
work emerged while minimalist, conceptual
art was the fad; as a successful black artist,
he was constantly confronted by racism and
misconceptions. Much can be gleaned from
insider interviews and archival footage, but
it is Basquiat’s own words and work that
powerfully convey the mystique and allure of
both the artist and the man.—KIM YUTANI
ExP: Maja Hoffmann Pr: David Koh, Lilly
Bright, Stanley Buchthal, Alexis Manya
Spraic Ci: Tamra Davis, Harry Geller,
David Koh Ed: Alexis Manya Spraic
Mu: J. Ralph, Mike D. GDA: Shepard Fairey
and Studio No. 1/Obey
Preceded by LAST ADDRESS
Director: Ira Sachs
U.S.A., 2009, 9 min., color
This exposé chronicles the private dramas
of irreverent, legendary comedian and pop
icon Joan Rivers as she fights tooth and
nail to keep her American dream alive. The
film offers a rare glimpse of the comedic
process and the crazy mixture of self-doubt
and anger that often fuels it. A unique look
inside America’s obsession with fame and
celebrity, Joan’s story is both an outrageously
funny journey and brutally honest look at the
ruthless entertainment industry, the trappings
of success, and the ultimate vulnerability of
the first queen of comedy.
Being able to break through Rivers’s selfmade façade is a tribute to filmmakers Ricki
Stern and Annie Sundberg. It is obvious
the magic of this film is the inherent trust
between filmmakers and subject. Shot
over the course of a year, the film enlists a
resilient cinema vérité style to craft a moving
look at this iconic performer, stripping away
her comedy masks and laying bare the truth
of her life and inspiration.—JOHN COOPER
ExP: Ricki Stern Pr: Ricki Stern,
Annie Sundberg, Seth Keal Ci: Charles Miller
Ed: Penelope Falk Mu: Paul Brill So: Seth Keal
Lucky
DIRECTOR: Jeffrey Blitz
U.S.A., 2009, 87 min., color
Dreaming of winning the lottery is as
American as apple pie. Millions of Americans
spend billions of dollars each year hoping to
come up a winner. But what happens to the
lucky few who actually pull a winning ticket?
Lucky crisscrosses the country, examining
a handful of past lottery winners as they
navigate their newly found riches and a
couple of extremely determined hopefuls.
The winners’ lives are undoubtedly changed
forever but not necessarily in the ways we
may expect. Life becomes complicated as
attorneys, hired security guards, jealous
friends, scheming family members, and
desperate pleas for help from strangers
pepper their new existence.
Veteran director Jeffrey Blitz (Spellbound,
Rocket Science —2007 Sundance Film Festival
Directing Award winner) has skillfully crafted
a revealing look at the way one’s identity
is undoubtedly turned upside down after
the big payout. Thoroughly involving, Lucky
cleverly strips off the veneer and shatters
our perceptions about the ultimate American
dream.—LISA VIOLA
ExP: Rebecca Morton, Liz Manne,
Catherine Tait Pr: Sean Welch, Marc
Turtletaub, Peter Saraf, Jeb Brody
Ed: Yana Gorskaya Mu: Eef Barzelay
An: Walter Robot
Monday, January 25, 9:00 p.m. - JOANR25TN
Tuesday, January 26, 11:30 a.m. - JOANR26YD
Preceded by Mr. Okra
Director: T.G. Herrington
U.S.A., 2009, 12 min., color
Wednesday, January 27, 8:00 p.m. - JOANR27RN
Monday, January 25, 3:00 p.m. - JEANM25TA
Racquet Club, Park City
Sunday, January 24, 9:00 p.m. - LUCKY24TN
Wednesday, January 27, 6:00 p.m. - JEANM27TE
Thursday, January 28, noon - JOANR28SD
Monday, January 25, midnight - LUCKY254L
Thursday, January 28, 9:00 a.m. - JEANM28YM
Friday, January 29, 9:00 a.m. - JOANR29TM
Tuesday, January 26, 9:00 p.m. - LUCKY26BN
Friday, January 29, 6:30 p.m. - JOANR29GE
Wednesday, January 27, 8:30 a.m. - LUCKY27LM
Friday, January 29, 6:00 p.m. - JEANM29WE
Tower Theatre, SLC
Saturday, January 30, noon - JEANM30YD
Friday, January 29, 9:30 p.m. - LUCKY29TN
15
My Perestroika
The Oath
Restrepo
DIRECTOR: Robin Hessman
U.S.A./United Kingdom, 2010, 88 min.,
color & b/w
Russian with English subtitles
DIRECTOR: Laura Poitras
U.S.A., 2010, 95 min., color
Arabic/English with English subtitles
DIRECTORS: Sebastian Junger, Tim Hetherington
U.S.A., 2009, 70 min., color
The Bolshevik revolution, the cold war, and
the collapse of the Soviet Union defined the
history of the twentieth century. With such
a past, what does it mean to be Russian
today? Robin Hessman’s lovingly crafted
documentary, My Perestroika, adopts the
idea of the “everyman story,” suggesting
that the unheralded lives of the last
generation of Soviets to grow up behind the
iron curtain hold the key to understanding
the contradictions of modern Russia from
the inside out.
Crafted during five years of researching and
shooting, and based on almost a decade of
living in Russia in the 1990s, Hessman’s film
poetically interweaves an extraordinary trove
of home movies, Soviet propaganda films,
and intimate access to five schoolmates
whose linked, but very different, histories
offer a moving portrait of newly middle-class
Russians living lives they could never have
imagined when they were growing up.
—CARA MERTES
Pr: Robin Hessman, Rachel Wexler Ci: Robin
Hessman Ed: Alla Kovgan, Garret Savage
Mu: Lev “Ljova” Zhurbin So: Barbara Parks,
Peter Levin Res: Robin Hessman
Preceded by The Poodle Trainer
Director: Vance Malone
U.S.A., 2009, 9 min., color
Unraveling like a lush, gripping novel that
constantly subverts expectations, The Oath is
the interlocking drama of two brothers-inlaw, Abu Jandal and Salim Hamdam, whose
associations with al Qaeda in the 1990s
propelled them on divergent courses. The
film delves into Abu Jandal’s daily life as a
taxi driver in Sana’a, Yemen, and Hamdan’s
military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay prison.
Abu Jandal and Hamdan’s personal stories—
how they came to serve as Osama bin
Laden’s bodyguard and driver respectively—
act as prisms through which to humanize
and contextualize a world the Western media
demonizes. As Hamdan’s trial progresses,
his military lawyers challenge fundamental
flaws in the court system. As charismatic
Abu Jandal dialogues with his son, Muslim
students, and journalists, he generously
unveils the complex evolution of his belief
system since 9/11.
Exquisitely constructed so multiple threads
and time periods commingle seamlessly,
and gaining astonishingly intimate access
to subjects and information, The Oath
illuminates a realm too long misunderstood.
—CAROLINE LIBRESCO
ExP: Sally Jo Fifer, David Menschel
Pr: Laura Poitras CoP: Jonathan Oppenheim,
Nasser Arrabyee, Aliza Kaplan
Ci: Kirsten Johnson, Laura Poitras
Ed: Jonathan Oppenheim Mu: Osvaldo Golijov
In 2008 Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm)
and Tim Hetherington dug in with the men
of Second Platoon for a year. Afghanistan’s
Korengal Valley, a stronghold of al Qaeda
and the Taliban, has proven to be one of the
U.S. Army’s deadliest challenges. It is here
that the platoon lost their comrade, PFC
Juan Restrepo, and erected an outpost in his
honor. Up close and personal, Junger and
Hetherington gain extraordinary insight into
the surreal combination of backbreaking labor
and deadly firefights that are a way of life at
Outpost Restrepo.
Ever wonder what it’s really like to be in the
trenches of war? Look no further. Restrepo
may be one of the most experiential and
visceral war films you’ll ever see. With
unprecedented access, the filmmakers reveal
the humor and camaraderie of men who come
under daily fire, never knowing which of them
won’t make it home.—DAVID COURIER
ExP: John Battsek, Nick Quested
Pr/Ci: Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger
Ed: Michael Levine AsE: Maya Mumma
Thursday, January 21, 9:30 p.m. - RESTR21CN
Eccles Theatre, Park City
Friday, January 22, 9:30 p.m. - RESTR22SN
Saturday, January 23, 3:30 p.m. - RESTR23GA
Sunday, January 24, 9:00 a.m. - RESTR24EM
Egyptian Theatre, Park City
Sunday, January 24, 3:00 p.m. - MYPER24TA
Monday, January 25, 8:30 a.m. - MYPER25YM
Tuesday, January 26, 10:30 p.m. - MYPER26BN
Thursday, January 28, 6:00 p.m. - MYPER28YE
Friday, January 29, 12:30 p.m. - MYPER292D
Friday, January 22, 9:30 p.m. - OATHH22TN
Wednesday, January 27, 3:00 p.m. - RESTR27YA
Saturday, January 23, 12:45 p.m. - OATHH23BD
Saturday, January 30, noon - RESTR30TD
Broadway Centre Cinemas V, SLC
Sunday, January 24, 9:00 a.m. - OATHH24TM
Thursday, January 28, 6:00 p.m. - OATHH28TE
Friday, January 29, 8:30 p.m. - OATHH291N
Sunday, January 31, 1:00 p.m. - OATHH31SA
16
A Small Act
Smash His Camera
WAITING FOR SUPERMAN
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Jennifer Arnold
U.S.A., 2009, 90 min., color
English/Kikuyu/Swedish with English subtitles
DIRECTOR: Leon Gast
U.S.A., 2009, 88 min., color
DIRECTOR: Davis Guggenheim
SCREENWRITERS: Davis Guggenheim, Billy Kimball
U.S.A., 2009, 95 min., color
As an impoverished boy in Kenya, Chris
Mburu’s life was dramatically changed when
an anonymous Swedish woman sponsored
his primary and secondary education. Now
a Harvard-educated human-rights lawyer, he
hopes to replicate the generosity he once
received by founding his own scholarship
fund to aid a new generation. The challenges
Mburu faces instituting his new program seem
at times insurmountable but lead him down
the path to discovery. Who is Hilde Back, the
person who signed the checks that gave him
a chance to succeed?
With clarity and grace, Jennifer Arnold’s
film bears cinematic witness to the lasting
ramifications of a small ripple of human
kindness. Using a strong narrative thread, she
unearths fascinating accounts and weaves
them together seamlessly. It doesn’t hurt
that her subjects have pure motivations and
back stories to match. The secret of A Small
Act was destined to be discovered, if only
to remind and inspire others to take such a
chance—and change a life.—JOHN COOPER
ExP: Sheila Nevins, Joan Huang
Pr: Jennifer Arnold, Patti Lee,
Jeffrey Soros Ci: Patti Lee Ed: Carl Pfirman,
Tyler Hubby Mu: Joel Goodman
Friday, January 22, noon - SMALL22TD
Saturday, January 23, 3:00 p.m. - SMALL23YA
Sunday, January 24, noon - SMALL24SD
Thursday, January 28, 9:00 p.m. - SMALL28TN
Friday, January 29, 8:30 a.m. - SMALL291M
Saturday, January 30, 12:45 p.m. - SMALL30BD
Paparazzi might be the norm in our celebrityinfested times, haphazardly snapping every
movement of the rich and famous. Ron
Galella, though, is the original paparazzo. He
elevated the celebrity snapshot into art and,
at 78, remains a stalwart in the business.
Dogged in his quest to photograph celebrities
in unguarded moments, he defines his
passion for his work by the ups and downs
of his career—documenting the parade of
stars at a thriving Studio 54 and having the
dubious honor of being sued by Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis (his favorite subject) and
having his jaw broken by Marlon Brando.
Leon Gast (When We Were Kings)
masterfully profiles Galella and places
him at the center of the debate about the
First Amendment right to privacy. Galella’s
work and tactics have their critics, but his
influence is undeniable. In a career defined
by perseverance, he has created some of the
most lasting, iconic photographs of our times.
—KIM YUTANI
Pr: Adam Schlesinger, Linda Saffire
Ci: Don Lenzer Ed: Doug Abel So: Mark Maloof
CC: Roger Rosenblatt
Preceded by Photograph of Jesus
Director: Laurie Hill
United Kingdom, 2008, 7 min., color
Saturday, January 23, noon - SMASH23TD
Saturday, January 23, 9:45 p.m. - SMASH23BN
For a nation that proudly declared it would
leave no child behind, America continues to
do so at alarming rates. Despite increased
spending and politicians’ promises, our
buckling public-education system, once
the best in the world, routinely forsakes the
education of millions of children.
Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim reminds us
that education “statistics” have names:
Anthony, Francisco, Bianca, Daisy, and
Emily, whose stories make up the engrossing
foundation of WAITING FOR SUPERMAN. As
he follows a handful of promising kids
through a system that inhibits, rather than
encourages, academic growth, Guggenheim
undertakes an exhaustive review of public
education, surveying “drop-out factories”
and “academic sinkholes,” methodically
dissecting the system and its seemingly
intractable problems.
However, embracing the belief that good
teachers make good schools, and ultimately
questioning the role of unions in maintaining
the status quo, Guggenheim offers hope by
exploring innovative approaches taken by
education reformers and charter schools that
have—in reshaping the culture—refused to
leave their students behind.—JOHN NEIN
ExP: Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann Pr: Lesley
Chilcott CoP: Eliza Hindmarch Ci: Erich
Roland, Bob Richman Ed: Greg Finton, Jay
Cassidy, Kim Roberts Mu: Christophe Beck
Friday, January 22, 5:30 p.m. - WAIT122PE
Monday, January 25, 6:00 p.m. - SMASH25YE
Yarrow Hotel Theatre 1, Park City
Saturday, January 23, 9:00 a.m. - WAIT123TM
Wednesday, January 27, 11:30 p.m. - SMASH27LL
Sunday, January 24, 3:30 p.m. - WAIT124OA
Friday, January 29, 3:30 p.m. - SMASH292A
Peery’s Egyptian Theater, Ogden
Wednesday, January 27, noon - WAIT127TD
Friday, January 29, 9:30 p.m. - WAIT129GN
Saturday, January 30, noon - WAIT1304D
17
3 Backyards
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Eric Mendelsohn
U.S.A., 2010, 85 min., color
A trio of brief, yet potentially life-altering,
adventures unfold on one seemingly normal
autumn day. In a complacent suburban
neighborhood, an emotionally troubled
businessman (Elias Koteas) wanders around
his hometown while waiting for a delayed
flight, a starstruck housewife (Edie Falco)
embarks on an peculiar trip when she gives
her famous neighbor a ride to the local ferry,
and an eight-year-old girl takes a wrong turn
on the way to school and finds herself in an
unexpected adult realm.
For more than 20 ye
ars, the
Dramatic Competit
ion has
offered a first lo
ok at
ground breaking ne
w voices
in American indepe
ndent film.
Fueled by fierce cr
eativity
and vision, these
16 films are
guaranteed to leav
e a lasting
impact on the next
generation
of cinema.
Eric Mendelsohn (Judy Berlin—Sundance
Film Festival 1999) shapes an intense and
detailed domestic drama of quiet suspense.
With its unconventional visual style,
3 Backyards looks and feels like a film from
another time—possibly the past or the near
future. Its identifiable characters and often
painfully human scenarios work in tandem
to pry out unsettling emotional truths of our
times—creating a memorable story of turning
points in these three lives.—KIM YUTANI
ExP: Fred Berner Pr: Rocco Caruso,
Amy Durning, Eric Mendelsohn
CoP: Jennifer Grausman, Bodgan George
Apetri, Atilla Yucer Ci: Kasper Tuxen
Ed: Morgan Faust, Jeffrey K. Miller
Mu: Michael Nicholas Principal Cast: Embeth
Davidtz, Edie Falco, Elias Koteas, Rachel
Resheff, Kathryn Erbe, Danai Gurira
Sunday, January 24, 8:00 p.m. - 3BACK24RN
Wednesday, January 27, 8:30 a.m. - 3BACK27PM
Wednesday, January 27, 6:00 p.m. - 3BACK27SE
Thursday, January 28, 3:15 p.m. - 3BACK28CA
Friday, January 29, 11:15 a.m. - 3BACK29RD
Friday, January 29, 9:00 p.m. - 3BACK29BN
Blue Valentine
Douchebag
The Dry Land
DIRECTOR: Derek Cianfrance
SCREENWRITERS: Derek Cianfrance,
Cami Delavigne, Joey Curtis
U.S.A., 2009, 120 min., color
DIRECTOR: Drake Doremus
SCREENWRITERS: Lindsay Stidham,
Drake Doremus, Jonathan Schwartz, Andrew Dickler
U.S.A., 2009, 81 min., color
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Ryan Piers Williams
U.S.A., 2009, 92 min., color
Spanish/English with English subtitles
Blue Valentine is an intimate, shattering
portrait of a disintegrating marriage.
The week Sam Nussbaum is to be married,
his fiancée questions why his only brother,
Tom, isn’t coming to the wedding. Unsatisfied
with his lame reply, she surprises Sam by
bringing the brothers together. Sam is not
happy, but he rarely is—unless he’s telling
someone what to do. When it’s revealed that
Tom has only been in love once—with his fifthgrade girlfriend—Sam insists they go find her.
It soon becomes evident that their journey
is simply an excuse for Sam to avoid his
impending commitment.
On the far side of a once-passionate
romance, Cindy (Michelle Williams) and
Dean (Ryan Gosling) are married with a
young daughter. Hoping to save their
marriage, they steal away to a theme hotel.
We then encounter them years earlier, when
they met and fell in love—full of life and hope.
Moving fluidly between these two time
periods, Blue Valentine unfolds like a
cinematic duet whose refrain asks, where did
their love go? Framing the film as a mystery
whose answer lies scattered in time (and
in character), filmmaker Derek Cianfrance
constructs an elegant set of dualities: past
and present, youth and adulthood, vitality
and entropy. The rigor of his process is
visible throughout the film. Eliminating
artificial devices, he has only the truth
of the characters to work with. Because
Gosling and Williams bring amazing intensity
and emotional honesty to their roles, the
experience of connecting to these two souls
becomes truly moving.—JOHN NEIN
Pr: Lynette Howell, Alex Orlovsky,
Jamie Patricof CoP: Carrie Fix
Ci: Andrij Parekh Ed: Jim Helton, Ron Patane
PrD: Inbal Weinberg Mu: Grizzly Bear
Principal Cast: Ryan Gosling, Michelle
Williams, Mike Vogel, John Doman,
Faith Wladyka
If you haven’t deciphered the derivation
of the title by now, stick with it. The fresh
writing and original characters will reveal it
all. Douchebag will make you squirm, laugh,
and get pissed off—all at the same time.
Outstanding breakout performances bring an
authenticity that would be impressive even
from seasoned actors. Drake Doremus’s
clever, straightforward filmmaking keeps the
story buzzing in this offbeat comedy that
gives a modern twist to sibling rivalry.
—JOHN COOPER
Pr: Jonathan Schwartz, Marius Markevicius
CoP: Lindsay Stidham, Jennifer Cochis,
Sean Vowter AsP: Ben York Jones Ci: Scott
Uhlfelder, Chris Robertson Ed: Andrew
Dickler, Drake Doremus, Jason Stewart
Principal Cast: Andrew Dickler, Ben York Jones,
Marguerite Moreau, Wendi McClendon-Covey,
Nicole Vicius, Amy Ferguson
James (Ryan O’Nan) returns from Iraq to
face a new battle—reintegrating into his
small-town life in Texas. His wife (America
Ferrera), his mother (Melissa Leo), and his
friend (Jason Ritter) provide support, but they
can’t fully understand the pain and suffering
he feels since his tour of duty ended. Lonely,
James reconnects with an army buddy
(Wilmer Valderrama), who provides him with
compassion and camaraderie during his
battle to process his experiences in Iraq. But
their reunion also exposes the different ways
that war affects people—at least on
the surface.
This moving, taut story of redemption and
reconstruction extends beyond a post
traumatic-stress-disorder narrative. O’Nan is
heartbreaking as he explores the depths of
his internal struggle; Ferrera fearlessly tackles
her role of a young wife in turmoil. The Dry
Land is about one man’s fight within his own
terrain—his country, home, and mind—and his
journey to rebuild what he’s lost.—KIM YUTANI
ExP: Sergio Aguero, America Ferrera
Pr: Heather Rae Ci: Gavin Kelly
Ed: Sabine Hoffman Mu: Dean Parks
Ca: Jeanne McCarthy, Nicole Abellera
Principal Cast: Ryan O’Nan, America Ferrera,
Jason Ritter, Wilmer Valderrama,
Melissa Leo, June Diane Raphael
Sunday, January 24, 12:15 p.m. - DRYLA24CD
Friday, January 22, 8:00 p.m. - DBAGG22RN
Sunday, January 24, 3:15 p.m. - BLUEV24CA
Sunday, January 24, 9:00 p.m. - DBAGG24SN
Monday, January 25, 8:30 a.m. - BLUEV25RM
Monday, January 25, 11:30 a.m. - DBAGG25RD
Tuesday, January 26, 9:30 p.m. - BLUEV26GN
Wednesday, January 27, 9:30 p.m. - DBAGG27CN
Thursday, January 28, 8:00 p.m. - BLUEV28RN
Friday, January 29, 2:30 p.m. - DBAGG29LA
Friday, January 29, 2:15 p.m. - BLUEV29RA
Saturday, January 30, 3:00 p.m. - DBAGG30TA
Monday, January 25, 2:15 p.m. - DRYLA25RA
Tuesday, January 26, 6:00 p.m. - DRYLA26BE
Wednesday, January 27, 8:30 a.m. - DRYLA27RM
Thursday, January 28, 6:00 p.m. - DRYLA28LE
Friday, January 29, 9:00 p.m. - DRYLA29SN
Tower Theatre, SLC
U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION
19
happythankyoumoreplease
Hesher
Holy Rollers
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Josh Radnor
U.S.A., 2009, 100 min., color
DIRECTOR: Spencer Susser
SCREENWRITERS: Spencer Susser, David Michôd,
based on a story by Brian Charles Frank
U.S.A., 2010, 100 min., color
DIRECTOR: Kevin Asch
SCREENWRITER: Antonia Macia
U.S.A., 2009, 87 min., color
Hebrew/English with English subtitles
Hesher is the story of a family struggling to
deal with loss and the anarchist who helps
them do it—in a very unexpected way.
Inspired by actual events, Holy Rollers uses
the incredible story of Hasidic Jews smuggling
Ecstasy in the late ’90s as a backdrop to
examine the difference between faith and
“blind” faith.
Six New Yorkers juggle love, friendship, and
the keenly challenging specter of adulthood.
Sam Wexler is a struggling writer who’s having
a particularly bad day. When a young boy gets
separated from his family on the subway, Sam
makes the questionable decision to bring the
child back to his apartment and thus begins a
rewarding, yet complicated, friendship. Sam’s
life revolves around his friends—Annie, whose
self-image keeps her from commitment;
Charlie and Mary Catherine, a couple whose
possible move to Los Angeles tests their
relationship; and Mississippi, a cabaret singer
who catches Sam’s eye.
Written, directed, and starring Josh
Radnor (CBS’s How I Met Your Mother),
happythankyoumoreplease boasts a wryly
funny script and engaging performances from
its ensemble cast. With honesty and humor,
Radnor captures a generational moment—
young people on the cusp of truly growing
up, struggling for connection, and hoping to
define what it means to love and be loved.
—DAVID COURIER
ExP: Glenn Williamson, Bingo Gubelmann,
Peter Sterling Pr: Jesse Hara, Austin
Stark, Benji Kohn, Chris Papavasiliou
Ci: Seamus Tierney Ed: Michael Miller
PrD: Jade Healy Mu: Jaymay Principal Cast:
Malin Akerman, Josh Radnor, Kate Mara,
Zoe Kazan, Pablo Schreiber, Tony Hale
Friday, January 22, 12:15 p.m. - HAPPY22CD
TJ is 13 years old. Two months ago, his mom
was killed in an accident, leaving TJ and his
grieving dad to move in with grandma to pick
up the pieces. Hesher is a loner. He hates the
world—and everyone in it. He has long, greasy
hair and homemade tattoos. He likes fire and
blowing things up. He lives in his van—until he
meets TJ.
Hesher is that rare film that manages to be
a completely original vision, a thoroughly
entertaining story, and a provocative
metaphor. Joseph Gordon-Levitt brings the
character of Hesher to life with anger and
angst, and Devin Brochu makes quite a
splash as the young boy dealing with both
the loss of his mother and an unwanted
houseguest. Cowriter/director Spencer Susser
crafts a multidimensional, darkly humorous
film that exhibits an immensely talented
storyteller at work. —TREVOR GROTH
Pr: Lucy Cooper, Matthew Weaver, Scott
Prisand, Spencer Susser, Natalie Portman,
Johnny Lin, Win Sheridan Ci: Morgan Pierre
Susser Ed: Michael McCusker PrD: Laura Fox
CoD: April Napier Ca: Kim Davis, Justine
Baddeley Principal Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt,
Natalie Portman, Rainn Wilson, Devin
Brochu, Piper Laurie, John Carroll Lynch
Saturday, January 23, 8:30 a.m. - HAPPY23RM
Sam Gold, an insulated Hasid on the cusp
of manhood, is frustrated by the constraints
of his beliefs and his father’s poor business
decisions. When Sam is presented with
an opportunity to make some real money
smuggling Ecstasy between Amsterdam
and New York, he cautiously accepts it—and
quickly finds himself seduced by the allure of
the secular world. Caught between life as a
smuggler and the path back to God, Sam and
his worlds begin to unravel.
In the lead role, Jesse Eisenberg deftly
displays the internal moral struggle of a young
man torn between polar-opposite cultures
and ideologies. Director Kevin Asch fleshes
out the disparate outer worlds of Brooklyn’s
Hasidic community and the drug scene in
Amsterdam, while revealing the complex
interior lives of his characters and the taut
dynamics among them. —TREVOR GROTH
ExP: Dave Berlin, Kevin Asch, Isaac Gindi,
Marat Rosenberg Pr: Danny A. Abeckaser,
Tory Tunnell, Per Melita, Jen Gatien
CoP: Robert Profusek, Ryan Silbert
Ci: Ben Kutchins Ed: Suzanne Spangler
PrD: Tommaso Ortino Principal Cast: Jesse
Eisenberg, Justin Bartha, Ari Graynor,
Danny A. Abeckaser, Q-Tip, Mark Ivanir
Friday, January 22, 3:15 p.m. - HESHE22CA
Saturday, January 23, 6:30 p.m. - HAPPY23GE
Saturday, January 23, 6:30 p.m. - HESHE23OE
Monday, January 25, 9:00 p.m. - HAPPY25PN
Sunday, January 24, 11:15 a.m. - HESHE24RD
Tuesday, January 26, 8:00 p.m. - HOLYR26RN
Wednesday, January 27, 7:00 p.m. - HAPPY27OE
Wednesday, January 27, 6:45 p.m. - HESHE27BE
Wednesday, January 27, 9:30 p.m. - HOLYR27GN
Friday, January 29, 5:15 p.m. - HAPPY29RE
Thursday, January 28, 5:15 p.m. - HESHE28RE
Thursday, January 28, 9:00 p.m. - HOLYR28LN
Saturday, January 30, 3:00 p.m. - HESHE30EA
Friday, January 29, 8:30 a.m. - HOLYR29RM
20
Monday, January 25, 3:30 p.m. - HOLYR25CA
Howl
DIRECTORS/SCREENWRITERS: Rob Epstein,
Jeffrey Friedman
U.S.A., 2009, 90 min., color & b/w
It’s San Francisco in 1957, and an
American masterpiece is put on trial.
Howl, the film, recounts this dark moment
using three interwoven threads: the
tumultuous life events that led a young Allen
Ginsberg to find his true voice as an artist;
society’s reaction (the obscenity trial); and
mind-expanding animation that echoes the
startling originality of the poem itself. All
three coalesce in a genre-bending hybrid that
brilliantly captures a pivotal moment—the
birth of a counterculture.
Rob Epstein and Jeffery Friedman navigate
a seamless segue from their documentary
roots to masterful storytellers. They expand
the notion of how a “true story” can be
realized on film by not simply relying on facts
but enlisting cinematic vision to capture the
Zeitgeist of an era. The amazing cast provides
the extra passion and urgency that are sure
to introduce Howl to the best minds of a new
generation.—JOHN COOPER
ExP: Jawal Nga, Gus Van Sant Pr: Elizabeth
Redleaf, Christine Kunewa Walker, Rob
Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman Ci: Edward
Lachman Ed: Jake Pushinsky PrD: Thérèse
DePrez Mu: Carter Burwell Principal Cast:
James Franco, David Strathairn, John Hamm,
Mary-Louise Parker, Jeff Daniels
The Imperialists Are
Still Alive!
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Zeina Durra
U.S.A., 2009, 90 min., color
Spanish/French/Arabic/Korean/English
with English subtitles
A successful visual artist working in post9/11 Manhattan, Asya lives the life of the
hip and glamorous, replete with exclusive art
parties, supermodels, and stretch limousines
while she carefully follows the situation in
the Middle East on television. Out partying
one night, Asya learns that her childhood
friend, Faisal, has disappeared—the victim
of a purported CIA abduction. That same
night, she meets Javier, a sexy Mexican PhD
student, and romance blossoms. Javier finds
Asya’s conspiracy theories overly paranoid—
but nothing in Asya’s world is as it seems.
Zeina Durra’s atmospheric debut feature is a
splendidly alluring and intelligent look at the
way the war on terror seeps into the texture
of everyday American life. Gorgeous 16 mm
grain imbues the film with an anachronistic
feel that interestingly evokes times past. The
Imperialists Are Still Alive! is an exceptional
work and heralds the arrival of Durra as an
exciting new directorial talent.
—SHARI FRILOT
ExP: Rami Makhzoumi, Matthew Chausse
Pr: Vanessa Hope CoP: Joel Blanco
Ci: Magela Crosignani Ed: Michael Taylor
PrD: Jade Healy Principal Cast: Elodie Bouchez,
Jose Maria de Tavira, Karim Saleh
Thursday, January 21, 6:00 p.m. - HOWLL21CE
Friday, January 22, 6:30 p.m. - HOWLL22SE
Saturday, January 23, 2:30 p.m. - HOWLL23LA
Tuesday, January 26, 11:15 a.m. - HOWLL26RD
Wednesday, January 27, 6:00 p.m. - HOWLL27BE
Friday, January 29, 3:15 p.m. - HOWLL29CA
Lovers of Hate
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Bryan Poyser
U.S.A., 2010, 93 min., color
In this delicious tale of resentment, deceit,
and sibling rivalry, two adult brothers, Rudy
and Paul, represent failure and success.
Younger brother Paul is a successful author
who writes Harry Potter-like fantasy novels
for children. The painful part is that Rudy, an
aspiring writer, was Paul’s original childhood
collaborator on the stories. The one thing
they do have in common is their love for
Diana. Although Rudy is married to Diana,
their divorce is impending—and he currently
lives out of his car. Ever the opportunist, Paul
makes his move on Diana.
Director Bryan Poyser brilliantly executes
an intricate game of cat and mouse in a ski
lodge (incidentally, the film culminates in
Park City, Utah). A testament to the actors
and a tightly constructed script, Lovers of
Hate juggles humor and despair and pushes
situations and characters to extremes while
remaining in complete control. There are
no clear winners in this story, but it is one
enjoyable, tragicomic ride.—KIM YUTANI
ExP: Athina Rachel Tsangari, Jay Duplass,
Mark Duplass Pr: Megan Gilbride
CoP: Morgan Coy, Adam Donaghey,
Chris Ohlson Ci: David Lowery
PrD: Caroline Karlen Mu: Kevin Bewersdorf
Principal Cast: Chris Doubek, Heather Kafka,
Alex Karpovsky, Zach Green
Sunday, January 24, 5:15 p.m. - LOVER24RE
Monday, January 25, 12:30 p.m. - IMPER25CD
Tuesday, January 26, 2:30 p.m. - LOVER26LA
Tuesday, January 26, 5:15 p.m. - IMPER26RE
Wednesday, January 27, 10:30 p.m. - LOVER27BN
Thursday, January 28, 8:30 a.m. - IMPER28RM
Thursday, January 28, 12:15 p.m. - LOVER28CD
Thursday, January 28, 9:30 p.m. - IMPER28GN
Saturday, January 30, 8:30 a.m. - LOVER30LM
Friday, January 29, 8:30 p.m. - IMPER29LN
21
Night Catches Us
Obselidia
Skateland
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Tanya Hamilton
U.S.A., 2009, 90 min., color
DIRECTOR/ SCREENWRITER: Diane Bell
U.S.A., 2009, 96 min., color
In the summer of ’76, as President Jimmy
Carter pledges to give government back to the
people, tensions run high in a working-class
Philadelphia neighborhood where the Black
Panthers once flourished. When Marcus
returns—having bolted years earlier—his
homecoming isn’t exactly met with fanfare.
His former movement brothers blame him
for an unspeakable betrayal. Only his best
friend’s widow, Patricia, appreciates Marcus’s
predicament, which both unites and paralyzes
them. As Patricia’s daughter compels the
two comrades to confront their past, history
repeats itself in dangerous ways.
Believing he’s the last door-to-door
encyclopedia salesman in the world,
George decides to write The Obselidia, a
compendium of obsolete things. George
believes that love, among other things, is
obsolete. In his quest to document nearly
extinct occupations, he befriends Sophie, a
beautiful cinema projectionist who works at
a silent movie theatre. Sophie believes that
nothing is obsolete as long as someone loves
it. When they interview a reclusive scientist
who predicts that 80 percent of the world’s
population will be obliterated by irreversible
climate change by the year 2100, the two
must face the question, if the world is going
to disappear tomorrow, how are we going to
live today?
DIRECTOR: Anthony Burns
SCREENWRITERS: Anthony Burns,
Brandon Freeman
U.S.A., 2009, 98 min., color
Night Catches Us masterfully reckons with
the complexity of its characters’ revolutionary
ideologies and internal desires. Bell-bottoms,
Afros, potlucks, and Caddies set the scene
as the film potently interweaves political
media with an evocative soul-inspired score,
summoning a vivid sense of place and time.
The golden light that bathes characters’
faces seems to express the promise—and
elusiveness—of the necessary change Marcus
and Patricia struggle for so dearly—each by
separate means.—CAROLINE LIBRESCO
Pr: Ron Simons, Sean Costello
Ci: David Tumblety Ed: Affonso Gonçalves,
John Chimples PrD: Beth Mickle
Mu: Music Composed and performed by
The Roots Principal Cast: Anthony Mackie,
Kerry Washington, Jamie Hector, Wendell
Pierce, Jamara Griffin
Saturday, January 23, 5:15 p.m. - NIGHT23RE
Sunday, January 24, 2:30 p.m. - NIGHT24LA
Monday, January 25, 9:00 p.m. - NIGHT25SN
Wednesday, January 27, 12:15 p.m. - NIGHT27CD
Thursday, January 28, 9:00 p.m. - NIGHT28BN
Friday, January 29, 11:30 p.m. - NIGHT29PL
22
Diane Bell’s soft spoken, profound, and
disarmingly charming debut feature engages
these fateful issues of our time with a warm,
sparkling sense of beauty, sincerity, and
compassion. Obselidia offers a rare and
humane lens through which we can view a
world increasingly preoccupied with and
inhabited by extinction.—SHARI FRILOT
ExP: David McWhinnie Pr: Matthew Medlin,
Chris Byrne, Ken Morris CoP: Sharharzad
“Sheri” Davani Ci: Zak Mulligan
Ed: John-Michael Powell Mu: Liam Howe
Principal Cast: Michael Piccirilli, Gaynor
Howe, Frank Hoyt Taylor, Chris Byrne,
Kim Beuche
Preceded by Glottal Opera
Director: John Fink
Australia, 2009, 4 min., color
Friday, January 22, 2:15 p.m. - OBSEL22RA
Saturday, January 23, noon - OBSEL23BD
Tuesday, January 26, 12:15 p.m. - OBSEL26CD
Wednesday, January 27, 5:30 p.m. - OBSEL27PE
Friday, January 29, noon - OBSEL29ED
It’s 1983, and Skateland, the roller rink and
local hangout of a small town, is becoming a
fading memory of an earlier time, when disco
and roller-skating were king. The party scene
is getting stale, and 19-year-old Ritchie’s
romantic life is as cloudy as his future.
He struggles to make sense of it all, and
decisions do not come easily to the carefree
young man. When tragedy strikes his friends
and family, Ritchie must face the music—and
make the biggest decision of his life.
Without the benefit of a studio budget or
name casting, Anthony Burns and Brandon
Freeman capture the ’80s in startling detail.
The result: a cinematic scrapbook of a time
and place, a visceral visual, and an aural
experience that reclaims the decade for those
of us lucky enough to have lived through it
once. While the atmosphere is time specific,
the themes of the joys and pains of growing
up are universal.—TREVOR GROTH
ExP: Brandon Freeman Pr: Brandon Freeman,
Heath Freeman, Anthony Burns AsP: Justin
Gilley, Nicholas Jayanty, Victor Moyers
Ci: Peter Simonite Ed: Robert Hoffman
Mu: Michael Penn Principal Cast: Shiloh
Fernandez, Ashley Greene, Heath Freeman,
Taylor Handley, AJ Buckley, Haley Ramm
Monday, January 25, 5:15 p.m. - SKATE25RE
Tuesday, January 26, 2:15 p.m. - SKATE26RA
Thursday, January 28, 7:00 p.m. - SKATE28OE
Friday, January 29, 12:15 p.m. - SKATE29CD
Saturday, January 30, midnight - SKATE30PL
Sunday, January 31, 12:30 p.m. - SKATE31GD
Sympathy for Delicious
Welcome to the Rileys
Winter’s Bone
DIRECTOR: Mark Ruffalo
SCREENWRITER: Christopher Thornton
U.S.A., 2010, 98 min., color
DIRECTOR: Jake Scott
SCREENWRITER: Ken Hixon
U.S.A., 2009, 110 min., color
DIRECTOR: Debra Granik
SCREENWRITERS: Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini
U.S.A., 2009, 100 min., color
Recently paralyzed DJ “Delicious” Dean
battles the mean streets of Los Angeles,
struggling to survive in his wheelchair.
Yearning to walk again, and fighting to spark
the ashes that were once his career, Dean
turns to the dubious world of faith healing and
gets much more than he bargained for. Lured
by easy money and the heat of fame, Dean
sells out to an unstable rock band, stomping
the dreams of so many who see him as their
only hope. World-famous DJ “Delicious” must
now tackle his own worst demon—himself—if
he is ever to conquer his “handicap” and find
true healing.
Trauma transforms us. Years after their
teenage daughter’s death, Lois and Doug
Riley, an upstanding Indiana couple, are
frozen by estranging grief. She isolates herself
in their immaculate suburban home. He
philanders with a local waitress, anesthetizing
pain with easy passion. When he loses his
mistress to cancer, Doug, beset by further
heartache, escapes to New Orleans on
a business trip. Compelled by urgencies
he doesn’t understand, he insinuates
himself into the life of an underage hooker,
becoming her platonic guardian. Meanwhile,
Lois summons all of her remaining force to
overcome agoraphobia and venture south to
reclaim her marriage.
Deep in the Ozark Mountains, clans live by
an almost medieval code of conduct that no
one dares defy—until an intrepid teenage girl
has no other choice. When Rhee Jessup’s
crystal-meth-making father skips bail and
goes missing, her family home is on the line.
Unless she finds him, she and her young
siblings and disabled mother face destitution.
In a heroic quest, Rhee traverses the
county to confront her kin, break their silent
collusion, and bring her father home.
Written by and starring Christopher Thornton
in a gripping performance as the fiercely
determined deejay, Sympathy for Delicious
is a wildly original story. Mark Ruffalo makes
an auspicious directorial debut with a gritty,
yet fervent, take on the search for meaning
amidst tragedy and the redemptive power that
is compassion.—DAVID COURIER
ExP: Joanne Jacobson, Barry Habib,
Robert Stein, Dean M. Leavitt, Gina
Resnick, Marcelo Paladini, Andrew F. Renzi
Pr: Andrea Sperling, Matthew Weaver, Scott
Prisand Ci: Chris Norr Ed: Pete Beaudreau
Principal Cast: Christopher Thornton, Mark
Ruffalo, Juliette Lewis, Orlando Bloom,
Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich
Saturday, January 23, 8:00 p.m. - SYMPA23RN
Exacting performances from three
consummate actors (James Gandolfini,
Melissa Leo, and Kristen Stewart) infuse
this emotionally raw, gently humorous
drama with penetrating humanity. Director
Jake Scott’s debut refuses to flinch from
uncomfortable moments or tie neat bows
around its characters. Instead, it reveals how
taking risks and leaving our comfort zone
can become a profound path to healing the
human heart.—CAROLINE LIBRESCO
ExP: Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Steve
Zaillian, Ken Hixon Pr: Michael Costigan,
Giovanni Agnelli, Scott Bloom Lp: Bergen
Swanson Ci: Christopher Soos Ed: Nicolas
Gaster Principal Cast: James Gandolfini,
Kristen Stewart, Melissa Leo
With thrilling tension, Winter’s Bone depicts
an archetypal rite of passage. Only this
time, the young warrior is a girl. As our
heroine braves a nearly impossible task,
she redefines the notion of fealty and, in
the process, redefines herself, too. The
spare precision of Debra Granik’s direction
is effortlessly profound. Stunningly genuine
performances and exquisite visual details
capture the textures and rhythms of a
world where the mythic and the naturalistic
intermingle.—CAROLINE LIBRESCO
ExP: Jonathan Scheuer, Shawn Simon
Pr: Anne Rosellini, Alix Madigan Yorkin
Ci: Michael McDonough Ed: Affonso Gonçalves
PrD: Mark White Mu: Dickon Hinchliffe
Principal Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes,
Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt, Sheryl Lee,
Tate Taylor
Saturday, January 23, 12:15 p.m. - WINTE23CD
Monday, January 25, 7:00 p.m. - SYMPA25OE
Sunday, January 24, 3:00 p.m. - WINTE24SA
Saturday, January 23, 2:15 p.m. - WELCO23RA
Wednesday, January 27, 3:15 p.m. - SYMPA27CA
Tuesday, January 26, 8:30 a.m. - WINTE26RM
Sunday, January 24, 8:30 a.m. - WELCO24RM
Thursday, January 28, 8:30 a.m. - SYMPA28LM
Wednesday, January 27, 8:30 p.m. - WINTE27PN
Monday, January 25, 6:00 p.m. - WELCO25WE
Friday, January 29, 8:00 p.m. - SYMPA29RN
Tower Theatre, SLC
Friday, January 29, 9:00 a.m. - WINTE29EM
Tuesday, January 26, 3:15 p.m. - WELCO26CA
Saturday, January 30, noon - SYMPA30SD
Saturday, January 30, 3:30 p.m. - WINTE30GA
Saturday, January 30, 11:30 a.m. - WELCO30RD
23
Enemies of the People
DIRECTORS: Rob Lemkin, Thet Sambath
SCREENWRITER: Rob Lemkin
Cambodia/United Kingdom, 2009, 93 min., color
Khmer with English subtitles
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The Khmer Rouge slaughtered nearly
two million people in the late 1970s. Yet
the Killing Fields of Cambodia remain
unexplained. Until now. Enter Thet Sambath,
an unassuming, yet cunning, investigative
journalist who spends a decade of his life
gaining the trust of the men and women who
perpetrated the massacres. From the foot
soldiers who slit throats to Pol Pot’s righthand man, the notorious Brother Number
Two, Sambath records shocking testimony
never before seen or heard. Having neglected
his own family for years, Sambath’s work
comes at a price. But his is a personal
mission. He lost his parents and his siblings
in the Killing Fields. Amidst his journey to
discover why his family died, we come to
understand for the first time the real story
of Cambodia’s tragedy.
Codirectors Rob Lemkin and Sambath create
a watershed account of Cambodian history
and a heartfelt quest for closure on one of the
world’s darkest episodes.—DAVID COURIER
ExP: Sandra Whipmam Pr: Rob Lemkin, Thet
Sambath AsP: Justin Temple Ci: Rob Lemkin,
Thet Sambath Ed: Stefan Ronowicz
Mu: Daniel Pemberton
Sunday, January 24, 9:00 p.m. - ENEMI244N
Tuesday, January 26, 11:30 p.m. - ENEMI26LL
Wednesday, January 27, 9:45 p.m. - ENEMI27BN
Friday, January 29, 6:00 p.m. - ENEMI29EE
24
A Film Unfinished
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Yael Hersonski
Germany/Israel, 2009, 88 min., color & b/w
German/Hebrew/Polish/Yiddish with
English subtitles
Yael Hersonski’s powerful documentary
achieves a remarkable feat through its
penetrating look at another film—the
now-infamous Nazi-produced film about the
Warsaw Ghetto. Discovered after the war, the
unfinished work, with no soundtrack, quickly
became a resource for historians seeking
an authentic record, despite its elaborate
propagandistic construction. The later
discovery of a long-missing reel complicated
earlier readings, showing the manipulations
of camera crews in these “everyday” scenes.
Well-heeled Jews attending elegant dinners
and theatricals (while callously stepping
over the dead bodies of compatriots) now
appeared as unwilling, but complicit, actors,
alternately fearful and in denial of their
looming fate.
Hersonski relentlessly screens each reel as
ghetto survivors and (amazingly) one of the
original cameramen recall actual events,
investing the cryptic scenes with detail,
complexity, and authority. Rigorous in its
regard for human tragedy and the power of
images, A Film Unfinished indicts both the
evil and the astounding narcissism of the
Nazi state.—SHANNON KELLEY
Pr: Noemi Schory, Itay Ken-Tor
Ci: Itai Neeman Ed: Joëlle Alexis
Mu: Ishai Adar So: Aviv Aldema
Fix ME
His & Hers
Suda’
DIRECTOR: Ken Wardrop
Ireland, 2009, 80 min., color
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Raed Andoni
Palestine/France/Switzerland, 2009,
98 min., color
Arabic with English subtitles
Raed Andoni has a tension headache—one
that has lasted generations and isn’t going
to end soon. That’s because Andoni is a
Palestinian, living in the Ramallah, where the
prospects for a stress-free life are elusive.
Fix ME, Andoni’s latest documentary, follows
him through 20 therapy sessions as he tries
to cure his unwelcome condition. The internal
terrain of displacement and alienation that is
revealed to his therapist and through his daily
encounters with friends and family mimics the
lived reality of thousands of Palestinians who
are themselves displaced from their history
and homeland.
Ironic in tone, stylishly shot, and with a
haunting score, Fix ME deftly plays with the
concept of detachment from every angle.
In Andoni’s hands, life under occupation is
rendered with sly humor and an unexpectedly
light touch that culminates in a poignant
statement about the universal longing for a
way back home.—CARA MERTES
ExP: Palmyre Badinier Pr: Nicolas Wadimoff,
Nadia Turincev, Julie Gayet CoP: Arte
France Cinéma—TSR Switzerland Ci: Filip
Zumbrunn Ed: Tina Baz Mu: Erik Rug,
Yousef Hbeisch
Director Ken Wardrop has established a
sterling reputation by crafting elegant short
films that capture humanity in quick bursts.
Expanding on this technique into the feature
form, he crafts a cinematic mosaic that tells
a 90-year-old love story through the collective
voice of 70 ladies at different stages of
their lives.
The hallways, living rooms, and kitchens of
the Irish midlands become the canvas for
the film’s rich tapestry of female characters.
The story unfolds sequentially from young
to old, and the characters are charmingly
unabashed; while the younger contributors
are animated in discussing their relationship
with their other halves, the older women
describe their love, and often their bereft
love, with grace and candor.
His & Hers celebrates the ordinary moments
that add up to the extraordinary. Individually
each piece works on its own, but together
they create an emotional portrait that
explores the way we share life’s journey with
others.—TREVOR GROTH
Pr: Andrew Freedman Ci: Kate McCullough,
Michael Lavelle Ed: Ken Wardrop
AsE: Richard O’Connor Mu: Denis Clohessy
Res: Sheena O’Byrne, Hannah Smolenska
Friday, January 22, 3:00 p.m. - HISAN224A
Monday, January 25, 6:00 p.m. - FIXME254E
Saturday, January 23, 1:30 p.m. - HISAN23BD
Tuesday, January 26, noon - FIXME26SD
Monday, January 25, 8:30 a.m. - HISAN25PM
Wednesday, January 27, 9:00 p.m. - FIXME27YN
Tuesday, January 26, 6:00 p.m. - HISAN26SE
Thursday, January 28, 9:00 a.m. - FIXME28TM
Wednesday, January 27, 9:00 p.m. - FILMU274N
Thursday, January 28, 2:30 p.m. - HISAN283A
Friday, January 29, 9:45 p.m. - FIXME29BN
Thursday, January 28, 6:00 p.m. - FILMU28SE
Preceded by Para Fuera
Director: Nicholas Jasenovec
U.S.A., 2009, 7 min., color & b/w
Monday, January 25, 3:00 p.m. - FILMU254A
Friday, January 29, 3:00 p.m. - FILMU29EA
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
25
Kick in Iran
Last Train Home
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER:
Fatima Geza Abdollahyan
Germany, 2009, 82 min., color
Persian with English subtitles
DIRECTOR: Lixin Fan
Canada, 2009, 87 min., color
Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles
Sarah Khoshjamal, a 19-year-old
Taekwondo superstar, is the first female
professional athlete from Iran to qualify
for the Olympics. This skillful vérité portrait
follows the unassuming Khoshjamal in the
nine months leading up to the 2008 Beijing
games. Living in an Islamic country, she is
required to wear a hijab at all times and,
unlike her fellow competitors around the
world, cannot train with men; however, the
power in her fighting resoundingly breaks
down stereotypical barriers.
Khoshjamal’s experience as a world-class
athlete may be familiar, but captured here
is the importance of the coach-athlete
relationship. The bond she shares with her
feisty and much-admired female coach is
revealed through everyday moments as
both struggle through inequality to make
their mark—in sport and society. Though it’s
still the male athletes who are ultimately
celebrated in her country, Khoshjamal’s
accomplishments and lasting influence on
scores of girls in Iran are undeniable.
—KIM YUTANI
CoP: Petra Felber/Ba Jutta Krug/
Westdeutscher Rundfunk Ci: Jakobine Motz
Ed: Katja Hahn Mu: Saam Schlamminger
Pmg: Arash Setoodeh SuP: Professor
Heiner Stadler
Each year in China more than 130 million
migrant workers travel home for the New
Year’s holiday—the one time they’ll reunite
with family all year. The mass exodus
constitutes the world’s largest human
migration. Amid this chaos, director Lixin Fan
focuses on one couple, Changhua and Sugin
Zhang, who embark upon a two-day journey
to see their children.
The Zhangs left their rural village for factory
jobs when their children were just infants.
Now a teenager, daughter Qin resents their
continual absence. Yearning for her own
freedom, she quits school to work in a factory
herself. Her parents, who see education as
their children’s one hope, are devastated.
Through its intimate and heartbreaking
observation of the Zhangs, Last Train Home
places a human face on China’s ascendance
as an economic power. To overwhelming
effect, Fan illustrates the cost incurred by
fractured families and reveals a country
tragically caught between its industrial
future and rural past.
—ROSIE WONG AND JOHN NEIN
ExP: Zhao Qi Pr: Mila Aung-Thwin, Daniel
Cross CoP: Bob Moore Mu: Olivier Alary
Saturday, January 23, noon - LASTT23SD
Tuesday, January 26, noon - KICKI264D
Saturday, January 23, 9:00 p.m. - LASTT23YN
Wednesday, January 27, 6:00 p.m. - KICKI27YE
Tuesday, January 26, 8:30 a.m. - LASTT26PM
Thursday, January 28, 7:30 p.m. - KICKI28BE
Thursday, January 28, 3:00 p.m. - LASTT284A
Friday, January 29, 9:00 a.m. - KICKI294M
Saturday, January 30, 4:30 p.m. - LASTT30BA
26
The Red Chapel
Det Røde Kapel
DIRECTOR: Mads Brügger
Denmark, 2009, 88 min., color
Danish/English with English subtitles
A journalist with no scruples and two Danish/
Korean comedians—one a self-proclaimed
“spastic”—travel to North Korea under the
guise of a cultural exchange. On the pretext
of being a small Danish theatre group,
named The Red Chapel, they are allowed
into the country, but unbeknownst to the
North Koreans, cultural exchange is not
really what they have in mind. Mads Brügger,
the journalist; Simon, the straight man; and
Jacob, the spastic, use humor to challenge
one of the world’s most notorious regimes.
The troupe rehearse under the watchful
eye of government officials brought in to
“collaborate” on their performance and make
it more palatable for the Korean regime. They
are shown the important historical sights by a
female government employee, who smothers
poor Jacob with motherly affection.
Fusing elements of activist filmmaking with
theater of the absurd, The Red Chapel is an
acerbic romp, as subversive as it is wildly
original.—DAVID COURIER
ExP: Mette Hoffmann Meyer, Peter Aalbæk
Jensen Pr: Peter Engel Ci/Ed: René Johannsen
So: Jacob Garfield, Mikkel Sørensen
Friday, January 22, 9:00 p.m. - REDCH22BN
Saturday, January 23, 3:00 p.m. - REDCH234A
Sunday, January 24, 11:30 p.m. - REDCH24PL
Wednesday, January 27, noon - REDCH27SD
Friday, January 29, 6:30 p.m. - REDCH292E
Russian Lessons
Secrets of the Tribe
Sins of My Father
DIRECTORS: Andrei Nekrasov, Olga Konskaya
Russia/Norway/Georgia, 2010, 90 min., color
Russian/Georgian with English subtitles
DIRECTOR: José Padilha
Brazil, 2009, 110 min., color
Spanish/Italian/English with English subtitles
DIRECTOR: Nicolas Entel
Argentina/Colombia/U.S.A./United Kingdom
2009, 92 min., color
Spanish with English subtitles
Andrei Nekrasov, with directing partner
Olga Konskaya, returns to Sundance with a
formidable documentary that energetically
delves into the violent and bewildering
conflicts in the Caucasus, with Russia pitted
against the former Soviet state of Georgia,
and involving Georgia’s troubled regions of
South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Boldly visiting
conflict zones rarely filmed, the codirectors
uncover damning evidence of Russian
violence, incidents whose few recorded
images are often reprocessed in mass-media
reports as evidence of other people’s crimes
(often, supposedly, residents of Georgia).
The field of anthropology goes under the
magnifying glass in this fiery investigation of
the seminal research on Yanomami Indians.
In the 1960s and ’70s, a steady stream of
anthropologists filed into the Amazon Basin
to observe this “virgin” society untouched
by modern life. Thirty years later, the events
surrounding this infiltration have become a
scandalous tale of academic ethics
and infighting.
Parsing the complex history of the region, as
well as oversimplified cultural assumptions
about internecine ethnic conflicts, Nekrasov
and Konskaya construct a portrait of a cynical
Russia willing to engage in secret wars and
manufacture conflicts and media reports
simply to consolidate power. With immediacy
and passion, but also with a commanding
mastery of film form, their documentary
dignifies the struggles of powerless
people and holds a sobering mirror up to a
superpower and its media.
—SHANNON KELLEY
ExP: Torstein Grude, Olga Konskaya, Bjarte
Mørner Tveit, Giorgi Arveladze Pr: Torstein
Grude, Olga Konskaya Ci: Trond Tønde,
Varlam Karchkhadze, Davit Asatiani
Ed: Erik Andersson ArD: Sarah Horton
So: Davit Gvasania
The origins of violence and war and the
accuracy of data gathering are hotly debated
among the scholarly clan. Soon these
disputes take on Heart of Darkness overtones
as they descend into shadowy allegations of
sexual and medical violation.
Director José Padilha brilliantly employs two
provocative strategies to raise unsettling
questions about the boundaries of cultural
encounters. He allows professors accused of
heinous activities to defend themselves, and
the Yanomami to represent their side of the
story. As this riveting excavation deconstructs
anthropology’s colonial legacy, it challenges
our society’s myths of objectivity and the very
notion of “the other.”—CAROLINE LIBRESCO
ExP: Nick Fraser, Dan Cogan, Sheila Nevin,
Diana Barrett, Abigail Disney, Jim Swartz,
Susan Swartz, Sarah Johnson Redlich, Emily
Pottruck, David Pottruck, Julia Parker
Benello, Juliette Timsit, Caroleen Feeney
Pr: Mike Chamberlain, Carol Nahra, Marcus
Prado Ed: Felipe Lacerda Mu: João Nabuco
SuP: Sara Bernstein for Home Box Office
Tuesday, January 26, 9:00 p.m. - RUSSI264N
Pablo Escobar, the most notorious and brutal
drug lord in Colombia’s history, was gunned
down in Medellín in 1993. After his father’s
death, Juan Escobar fled to Buenos Aires,
changed his name to Sebastián Marroquín,
assuming a new identity to escape his
father’s dubious legacy. For the first time
since Escobar’s death, Marroquín comes
forward to tell his father’s story. With heartfelt
honesty, he recounts what it was like to
grow up loving a father that he knew was his
country’s number-one enemy. Unsatisfied with
simply relating history, Marroquín requests
a meeting with the sons of two celebrated
Colombian political leaders who were among
hundreds of victims that his father had killed
in the 1980s.
Filmmaker Nicolas Entel captures the
powerful and historic moment when the son
of Pablo Escobar and the sons of his victims
come together to heal wounds that have
haunted them all for decades.
—DAVID COURIER
ExP: Alan Hayling, Hans Robert Eisenhauer,
Tabitha Jackson, Angela Sondon, Michaela
Giorelli, Julian Giraldo, Carolina
Angarita Pr: Nicolas Entel, Ivan Entel
CoP: Arie Kowler AsP: Tania Garron, Daniel
Salcedo, Serianne Entel
Friday, January 22, 9:00 p.m. - SINSO224N
Saturday, January 23, 9:00 p.m. - SINSO23BN
Friday, January 22, 6:00 p.m. - SECRE224E
Sunday, January 24, 8:30 a.m. - SINSO24PM
Wednesday, January 27, 9:00 a.m. - RUSSI27YM
Saturday, January 23, 9:30 p.m. - SECRE23SN
Monday, January 25, 3:00 p.m. - SINSO25SA
Thursday, January 28, 10:30 p.m. - RUSSI28BN
Sunday, January 24, 9:00 a.m. - SECRE24YM
Friday, January 29, 11:30 a.m. - SINSO291D
Friday, January 29, 3:00 p.m. - RUSSI294A
Tuesday, January 26, 7:30 p.m. - SECRE26BE
Thursday, January 28, noon - SECRE28TD
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
27
Space Tourists
Waste Land
DIRECTOR: Christian Frei
Switzerland, 2009, 98 min., color
Russian/Romanian/English with English subtitles
DIRECTOR: Lucy Walker
CODIRECTORS: João Jardin, Karen Harley
United Kingdom/Brazil, 2010, 95 min., color
Portuguese/English with English subtitles
Anousheh Ansari has dreamt of going into
outer space since she was a child. A number
of years and $20 million later, with the help
of the Russian space program, her dream
is realized—Ansari becomes the first female
space tourist. In recent years, a number of
private citizens like Ansari have been willing
to endure rigorous training in Star City,
Kazakhstan, and part with significant
funds to spend time aboard the International
Space Station.
Director Christian Frei (The Giant Buddhas,
Sundance Film Festival 2006) explores the
impact of space tourism in the heavens
and on Earth by adeptly weaving together
multiple strands: Ansari’s joyous experience
in orbit; the efforts of local villagers to claim
black market rocket debris; the observations
of photographer Jonas Bendiksen; and the
training of the next space tourist in line.
Space Tourists examines the intersections
of human enterprise and commerce in the
final frontier.—BASIL TSIOKOS
Pr: Christian Frei Ci: Peter Indergand
Ed: Christian Frei, Andreas Winterstein
Mu: Jan Garbarek, Edward Artemyev,
Steve Reich So: Florian Eidenbenz
Brazilian artist Vik Muniz creates photographic
images of people using found materials
from the places where they live and work.
His “Sugar Children” series portrays the
images of deprived children of Caribbean
plantation workers using the sugar from their
surroundings. When acclaimed filmmaker
Lucy Walker trains her camera on Muniz, he is
cultivating a new idea for a project. He knows
the material he wants to use—garbage—but
who will be the subject of the new series
of works?
Waste Land is a wonderfully resonant
documentary that chronicles Muniz’s journey
to Jardim Gramacho, the world’s largest
landfill, located on the outskirts of Rio de
Janeiro. He collaborates with an eclectic band
of catadors, or self-designated pickers of
recyclable materials, and photographs these
outcasts of society as they recycle their lives
and society’s garbage. Walker gains fantastic
access to the entire process and, in doing so,
offers stirring evidence of the uplifting and
transformative power of art.—SHARI FRILOT
ExP: Fernando Meirelles, 02 Filmes, Almega
Projects Pr: Angus Aynsley Ci: Dudu Miranda,
Heloisa Passos Ed: Pedro Kos Mu: Moby
Ph: Vik Muniz, Fabio Ghivelder
Friday, January 22, 3:00 p.m. - SPACE22SA
Saturday, January 23, noon - SPACE234D
Sunday, January 24, 3:00 p.m. - WASTE244A
Saturday, January 23, 10:30 p.m. - SPACE23BN
Monday, January 25, 11:00 a.m. - WASTE25PD
Tuesday, January 26, 5:30 p.m. - SPACE26PE
Monday, January 25, 7:30 p.m. - WASTE25BE
Friday, January 29, 2:30 p.m. - SPACE291A
Friday, January 29, 7:00 p.m. - WASTE293E
28
All That I Love
Wszystko, Co Kocham
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Jacek Borcuch
Poland, 2009, 106 min., color
Polish with English subtitles
Poland 1981: Behind the iron curtain, Janek,
the teenage son of a navy captain, forms ATIL
(All That I Love), a punk-rock band whose
songs express a frustration with socialism
and a desire for freedom, echoing the
sentiments of the rising Solidarity movement.
At the same time, Janek finds love with Basia,
a young woman whose father is part of the
movement and disapproves of Janek’s military
family. When growing social turmoil leads to
martial law, Janek’s relationships and ATIL’s
music cause serious consequences for his
family members, lovers, and friends.
Jacek Borcuch refreshes the coming-of-age
film and its familiar tropes—teenage rebellion,
first love, and sexual exploration—by setting
it within a sobering sociohistorical context.
His camera captures a conflicting sense of
potential change and stifling paranoia, with
freedom just out of sight for his protagonists.
All That I Love is a bracing, potent reminder
that the personal can’t be easily separated
from the political.—BASIL TSIOKOS
Pr: Jan Dworak, Kamila Polit, Renata
Czarnkowska-Listos Ci: Michal Englert
Ed: Agnieszka Glinska, Krzysztof
Szpetmanski PrD: Elwira Pluta
Mu: Daniel Bloom CoD: Magda Maciejewska
Principal Cast: Mateusz Kosciukiewicz,
Olga Frycz, Jakub Gierszal, Andrzej Chyra,
Anna Radwan, Katarzyna Herman
From all c
orners of
the globe,
these emer
ging
film makin
g talents
offer
fresh pers
pectives a
nd
inventive
styles. We
present
these exce
ptional wo
rks
as a way t
o honor th
e
independe
nt spirit
i
n
film makers
everywher
e.
Animal Kingdom
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: David Michôd
Welcome to the jungle known as the
Melbourne underworld. Animal Kingdom uses
this edgy locale to unspool a gripping tale of
survival and revenge.
Pope Cody, an armed robber on the run from
a gang of renegade detectives, is in hiding,
surrounded by his roughneck friends and
family. Soon, Pope’s nephew, Joshua “J”
Cody, arrives and moves in with his hitherto
estranged relatives. When tensions between
the family and the police reach a bloody
peak, “J” finds himself at the center of a coldblooded revenge plot that turns the family
upside down.
Wielding a formidable cinematic lexicon,
writer/director David Michôd shows complete
command of every frame as he shifts between
simmering intensity and gut-wrenching drama.
There isn’t a false note in the film as it follows
through on the tantalizing promise displayed
in his short films and unleashes a fierce new
voice in Australian cinema.—TREVOR GROTH
Pr: Liz Watts Ci: Adam Arkapaw Ed: Luke Doolan
PrD: Jo Ford Mu: Antony Partos So: Sam Petty
Principal Cast: Guy Pearce, Ben Mendelsohn,
Joel Edgerton, Luke Ford, Jacki Weaver,
James Frecheville
Friday, January 22, 9:00 p.m. - KINGD22EN
Sunday, January 24, 9:00 p.m. - KINGD24BN
Monday, January 25, 11:30 a.m. - KINGD25YD
Friday, January 22, 9:00 p.m. - ALLTH22WN
Tower Theatre, SLC
Thursday, January 28, 2:30 p.m. - KINGD28PA
Saturday, January 23, 2:30 p.m. - ALLTH23EA
Tuesday, January 26, 9:00 a.m. - ALLTH26TM
Friday, January 29, 5:30 p.m. - ALLTH29PE
WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION
29
Boy
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Taika Waititi
New Zealand, 2009, 87 min., color
It’s 1984, and Michael Jackson is king—even
in Waihau Bay, New Zealand. Here we meet
Boy, an 11-year-old who lives on a farm with
his gran, a goat, and his younger brother,
Rocky (who thinks he has magic powers).
Shortly after Gran leaves for a week, Boy’s
father, Alamein, appears out of the blue.
Having imagined a heroic version of his
father during his absence, Boy comes face
to face with the real version—an incompetent
hoodlum who has returned to find a bag of
money he buried years before. This is where
the goat enters.
Inspired by his Oscar-nominated short,
Two Cars, One Night, Taika Waititi offers a
charming, funny, and earnest coming-of-age
story where everybody has some coming
of age to do—particularly Alamein (affably
played by Waititi himself). Never short on
humor, Waititi’s story is ultimately about three
boys (one grown) reconciling fantasy with
reality.—JOHN NEIN
Pr: Ainsley Gardiner, Cliff Curtis,
Emanual Michael Ci: Adam Clark
Ed: Chris Plummer PrD: Shayne Radford
CoD: Amanda Neale Ca: Tina Cleary
Principal Cast: Taika Waititi, James Rolleston,
Te Aho Eketone-Whitu
Preceded by My Rabit Hoppy
Director: Anthony Lucas
Friday, January 22, 6:00 p.m. - BOYYY22EE
Sunday, January 24, 6:30 p.m. - BOYYY24OE
Monday, January 25, 6:00 p.m. - BOYYY25SE
Tuesday, January 26, 2:30 p.m. - BOYYY26PA
Friday, January 29, 8:30 a.m. - BOYYY29LM
Contracorriente
(Undertow)
DIRECTOR/ SCREENWRITER: Javier Fuentes-León
Peru/Colombia/France/Germany, 2009,
100 min., color
In a tiny Peruvian seaside village, where
traditions run deep, Miguel (Cristian
Mercado), a young fisherman, and his
beautiful bride, Mariela (Tatiana Astengo), are
about to welcome their first child. But Miguel
harbors a scandalous secret. He’s in love with
Santiago (Manolo Cardona), a painter, who is
ostracized by the town because he’s gay.
After a tragic accident occurs, Miguel must
choose between sentencing Santiago to
eternal torment or doing right by him and, in
turn, revealing their relationship to Mariela—
and the entire village.
Four Lions
DIRECTOR: Chris Morris
SCREENWRITERS: Chris Morris, Jesse Armstrong,
Sam Bain
United Kingdom, 2009, 94 min., color
Urdu/Arabic/English with English subtitles
Could there be a more hot-button topic
than terrorism these days? Although
it is historically the subject of serious
documentaries and intense dramatic films,
renowned British comedian Chris Morris finds
the humor (and ultimately the humanity) in
this extremist world.
Four Lions tells the story of a group of British
jihadists who push their abstract dreams of
glory to the breaking point. As the wheels
fly off, and their competing ideologies clash,
what emerges is an emotionally engaging
(and entirely plausible) farce. In a storm of
razor-sharp verbal jousting and large-scale
Written and directed by Javier
set pieces, Four Lions is a comic tour de
Fuentes- León,and featuring a sizzling
international cast, Contracorriente (Undertow) force; it shows that—while terrorism is about
ideology—it can also be about idiots.
is rich in the details of legend, tradition, and
locale; and it is in these details that the truth
Based on three years of research and
lies. Strikingly photographed to accentuate
meetings with everyone from imams to
the majestic Peruvian coastline, this sexy,
ex-mujahedeen—not to mention a wealth of
haunting love story transcends place and
surveillance material from major trials, Four
time.—DAVID COURIER
Lions plunges beyond seeing these young
men as unfathomably alien or evil. Instead, it
ExP: Andrés Calderón, Cristian Conti,
Michel Ruben, Emilie Georges,
portrays them as human beings, who, as we
Ole Landsjöaasen Pr: Rodrigo Guerrero,
all know, are innately ridiculous.
Javier Fuentes-León Ci: Mauricio Vidal
—TREVOR GROTH
Ed: Roberto Benavides, Phillip J. Bartell
ArD: Diana Trujillo Mu: Selma Mutal
Principal Cast: Cristian Mercado,
Manolo Cardona, Tatiana Astengo
Tuesday, January 26, 3:00 p.m. - UNDER26EA
Thursday, January 28, 8:30 a.m. - UNDER28EM
ExP: Carole Baraton, Peter Carlton,
Will Clarke, Caroline Leddy, Angus
Aynsley, Mark Findlay, Alex Marshall
Pr: Mark Herbert, Derrin Schlesinger
AsP: Afi Khan, Faisal A. Qureshi
Ci: Lol Crawley Ed: Billy Sneddon
PrD: Dick Lunn Principal Cast: Riz Ahmed,
Arsher Ali, Nigel Lindsay, Kayvan Novak,
Adeel Akhtar
Friday, January 29, 6:00 p.m. - UNDER29YE
Saturday, January 30, 1:30 p.m. - UNDER30BD
Saturday, January 23, 5:30 p.m. - FOURL23EE
Monday, January 25, noon - FOURL25SD
Saturday, January 30, 6:30 p.m. - BOYYY30GE
Tuesday, January 26, 9:00 a.m. - FOURL26EM
Thursday, January 28, 9:45 p.m. - FOURL28BN
30
Friday, January 29, 2:30 p.m. - FOURL29PA
Grown Up Movie Star
The Man Next Door
Me Too
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Adriana Maggs
Canada, 2009, 95 min., color
El Hombre de al Lado
Yo, También
DIRECTOR: Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat
SCREENWRITER: Andres Duprat
Argentina, 2009, 110 min., color
DIRECTORS/SCREENWRITERS: Álvaro Pastor,
Antonio Naharro
Spain, 2009, 103 min., color
Leonardo, a successful industrial designer,
lives with his family in an architectural
wonder, a midcentury Le Corbusier home. One
morning, he wakes to an irksome noise and is
appalled to discover that workmen next door
are constructing a large window that faces
directly into his home. Leonardo protests,
using a number of excuses (privacy, building
codes, his wife), in an attempt to coerce his
neighbor, Victor, into scrapping his plan. But
Victor just wants a patch of sun to catch
some rays. Thus, one man’s light is another
man’s blight.
At first glance, Me Too is a typical romantic
comedy. Daniel meets Laura. She’s attractive,
rebellious, and a little trampy. They hang
out, have fun together, and he falls hard for
her. The unexpected part is that 34-year-old
Daniel has Down syndrome. While Daniel is
definitely extraordinary—a college graduate
who holds sophisticated conversations—he
still has to deal with others’ perceptions of
him. As Daniel and Laura grow closer, their
emotions take them into unfamiliar territory.
When Lillian leaves town in search of
stardom, her husband, Ray, and two
precocious daughters, Ruby and Rose, are
left to salvage the family. Ray’s emotional
development is plagued by a past that won’t
go away. As he flails from woman to woman
in search of a replacement mother for his
girls, starry-eyed teenager Ruby is on her
own path—discovering that her newfound
sexuality is an easy way to get the attention
she desperately craves. Separated only by
their generations, father and daughter find
themselves on similar journeys of sexual
awakening.
Grown Up Movie Star is an accomplished first
feature by Adriana Maggs. Using a remote
small town in Newfoundland as her backdrop,
she orchestrates a highly capable cast—with
an especially riveting breakout performance
by Tatiana Maslany as Ruby. Sharp, honest
dialogue blurs the roles of parent and child
and magnifies the pain of growing up. . . at
any age.—JOHN COOPER
Pr: Paul Pope, Jill Knox-Gosse, Shawn Doyle,
Adriana Maggs Ci: Jason Tan
Ed: Stephen Phillipson PrD: Shelly Cornick
Mu: Elliot Brood CoD: Charlotte Reid
Principal Cast: Shawn Doyle, Tatiana Maslany,
Jonny Harris, Mark O’Brien, Andy Jones,
Julia Kennedy
Preceded by Little Miss Eyeflap
Director: Iram Haq
Norway, 2009, 9 min., color
Friday, January 22, 6:45 p.m. - GROWN22BE
Monday, January 25, 9:00 p.m. - GROWN25EN
Wednesday, January 27, noon - GROWN27ED
Friday, January 29, 8:30 a.m. - GROWN29PM
Saturday, January 30, 3:00 p.m. - GROWN30SA
Enamored of architecture, the film is
meticulously designed. Mariano Cohn and
Gastón Duprat give it a carefully crafted
weirdness as well as a figurative quality. Its
caustic humor comes in contemplating why
the window completely undermines Leonardo.
Does it reveal his arrogance, affectation, and
lack of compassion; or dispel his bourgeois
illusion of power? The Man Next Door offers
a biting critique of moral shallowness—and
what happens when thou dost not love thy
neighbor’s window.—JOHN NEIN
ExP: María Belén de la Torre
Pr: Fernando Sokolowicz Ed: Jerónimo
Carranza Mu: Sergio Pángaro
Principal Cast: Rafael Spregelburd, Daniel
Aráoz, Eugenia Alonso, Inés Budassi,
Lorenza Acuña, Eugenio Scopel
Sunday, January 24, noon - MANNE24ED
Tuesday, January 26, 3:00 p.m. - MANNE26SA
Wednesday, January 27, noon - MANNE274D
Thursday, January 28, 6:00 p.m. - MANNE28EE
Friday, January 29, midnight - MANNE29BL
Part of the pleasure of Me Too is watching
two complex, playful characters onscreen—
both Pablo Pineda and Lola Dueñas inhabit
their roles completely and are dynamic
together. But what this film beautifully
realizes is the unconventional relationship
between these two unlikely characters. It’s a
bond that doesn’t compute from the outside,
but for those lucky enough to see the details,
it’s evident what makes these two shine when
they’re together.—KIM YUTANI
ExP: Koldo Zuazua, Emilio González
Pr: Manuel Gómez Cardeña, Julio Medem,
Koldo Zuazua Ci: Alfonso Postigo
Ed: Nino Martínez Sosa ArD: Inés Aparicio
Mu: Guille Milkyway Principal Cast: Lola Dueñas,
Pablo Pineda, Antonio Naharro, Isabel
García Lorca, Pedro Álvarez Ossorio,
Consuelo Trujillo
Preceded by How I Met Your Father
Director: Álex Montoya
Spain, 2008, 9 min., color
Tuesday, January 26, 9:00 p.m. - METOO26EN
Wednesday, January 27, 2:30 p.m. - METOO27PA
Friday, January 29, 9:00 a.m. - METOO29YM
Saturday, January 30, noon - METOO30BD
31
Nuummioq
Peepli Live
Son of Babylon
DIRECTORS: Otto Rosing, Torben Bech
SCREENWRITER: Torben Bech
Greenland, 2009, 95 min., color
Danish/Inuit with English subtitles
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Anusha Rizvi
India, 2009, 106 min., color
Hindi with English subtitles
DIRECTOR: Mohamed Al-Daradji
SCREENWRITERS: Jennifer Norridge,
Mohamed Al-Daradji, Mithal Ghazi
Iraq/United Kingdom/France/Holland/Palestine/
United Arab Emirates/Egypt, 2010, 90 min., color
Arabic/Kurdish with English subtitles
The most ambitious film ever to emerge
from Greenland, and the first Greenland/
Inuit-produced feature, Nuummioq tells
the story of a young man’s odyssey from
mundane existence into an acute sense of
the sacred. Like most regular guys in the
tiny capital city, Malik works, cavorts with
buddies, and fools around—toggling between
Danish and Kalaallisut languages. All at once,
when he discovers he’s very ill, mortality
intrudes. Keeping the news to himself, Malik
accompanies his cousin on a boat trip. What
begins as an unremarkable outing becomes a
transcendent journey at the edge of the world
as he grapples with his elusive past and tunes
into the present.
So breathtaking and luminous is Nuummioq’s
landscape that you can almost feel the brisk
air oxygenating your lungs. The tender play
of shadow and light on the characters’ faces
seems to suggest that we’re only a flicker in
nature’s vast radiance; but during our short
time here, there’s family, tradition, and maybe
even love.—CAROLINE LIBRESCO
Pr: Mikisoq Hove Lynge CoP: Claus “Matrix”
Lauritzen AsP: Ruth Montgomery-Andersen
Ci: Bo Bilstrup Ed: Henrik Fleischer, Niels
Ostenfeld PrD: Sabine Hviid Principal Cast:
Lars Rosing, Julie Berthelsen, Angunnguaq
Larsen, Morten Rose, Makka Kleist,
Marius Olsen
Saturday, January 23, 11:30 a.m. - NUUMM23ED
Monday, January 25, 9:45 p.m. - NUUMM25BN
Tuesday, January 26, 9:00 a.m. - NUUMM264M
Friday, January 29, 5:30 p.m. - NUUMM29LE
On the eve of national elections in the Indian
village of Peepli, two poor farmers, Natha
and Budhia, face losing their land over an
unpaid government loan. Desperate, they
seek help from an apathetic local politician,
who suggests they commit suicide to benefit
from a government program that aids the
families of indebted deceased farmers. When
a journalist overhears Budhia urge Natha to
“do what needs to be done” for the sake of
their families, a media frenzy ignites around
whether or not Natha will commit suicide.
Soon Natha becomes a cause célèbre, who
draws out the true character and motivations
of those who cross his path.
Anusha Rizvi’s auspicious first feature, Peepli
Live, is a fresh and intelligently spun satire
of the real life epidemic of farmer suicides
that have plagued India for the past decade.
With a deft hand, Rizvi infuses humor and
buoyancy in depicting this tragic predicament,
illuminating the true colors of many corridors
of Indian society.—SHARI FRILOT
Pr: Aamir Khan CoP: Ronnie Screwvala
Ci: Shankar Raman Ed: Hemanti Sarkar
ArD: Suman Roy Mahapatra Mu: Mathias
Duplessy Principal Cast: Omkar Das, Nawazuddin
Siddiqui, Raghubir Yadav, Shalini Vatsa,
Farukh Jaffer
Sunday, January 24, 3:00 p.m. - PEEPL24EA
Tuesday, January 26, 6:45 p.m. - PEEPL26BE
In 2003, three weeks after the fall of Saddam
Hussein, Ahmed, an energetic 12-year-old
Kurdish boy, travels with his grandmother
along the dustiest, most secluded roads in
northern Iraq. In search of their father/son,
a soldier missing since the Gulf War, they
head south to Babylon. Along their bumpy
way, they encounter the chaotic state of the
country but find unexpected allies on similar
quests, including one former member of the
Republican Guard. Though Ahmed may be too
young to fully understand the importance of
this journey, his life will be changed forever.
Beautifully directed by Mohamed Al-Daradji,
and featuring a magnificent performance
from young Yasser Talib as Ahmed, Son of
Babylon is both a fulfilling cinematic and
emotional experience. It is a story of hope
and forgiveness; one that palpably, and with
great humanity, illustrates reality for many
Iraqi and Kurdish people in the aftermath of
Hussein’s reign.—KIM YUTANI
ExP: Antonia Bird, Nashwa Al Ruwaini,
Hugo Heppell Pr: Isabelle Stead,
Atia Al-Daradji, Mohamed Al-Daradji,
Dimitri de Clercq CoP: Danny Evans,
Rashid Mashawari, Bader Ben Hirsi
Ci: Mohamed Al-Daradji, Duraid Al-Munajim
Ed: Pascale Chavance, Mohamed Jabarah
Mu: Kad Achouri Principal Cast: Yasser Talib,
Shazda Hussein, Bashir Al-Majid
Thursday, January 28, 8:30 a.m. - PEEPL28PM
Monday, January 25, 6:00 p.m. - SONOF25EE
Friday, January 29, 9:00 p.m. - PEEPL29YN
Wednesday, January 27, 11:30 p.m. - SONOF27PL
Thursday, January 28, 3:00 p.m. - SONOF28SA
Friday, January 29, 11:30 a.m. - SONOF29PD
Saturday, January 30, 6:45 p.m. - SONOF30BE
32
Southern District
Zona Sur
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Juan Carlos Valdivia
Bolivia, 2009, 109 min., color
Nestled in the lush valley of La Paz, Bolivia,
the upper-class suburb of Zona Sur has
sheltered the country’s wealthy elite for many
years. Here, in an adobe-tile-roofed castle, a
statuesque matriarch reigns over her spoiled
progeny and her Indigenous Aymaran butler.
But all is not what it seems. As the mother
fights with her oversexed son and clashes
with her petulant daughter, her six-year-old
son rambles the rooftops unnoticed. Decline
hangs in the air, and the threat of aristocratic
privileges changing hands signifies a new
chapter of a prickly and ill-fated class war.
Juan Carlos Valdivia’s revolving camera
poetically articulates the devolving drama
while exposing the bubble of decadence in
which the bourgeoisie exist. With the recent
reelection of Bolivia’s first Aymaran president,
the long-suppressed Indigenous people are
rising up to reclaim their homeland, and
Valdivia returns to Sundance (Jonah and the
Pink Whale —Sundance Film Festival 1996)
with a crystal vision of the change taking
place in his native country.
—CHRISTINE DAVILA
Pr: Gabriela Maire AsP: Ximena Valdivia
Ci: Paul De Lumen Ed: Ivan Layme PrD: Joaquin
Sánchez Mu: Cergio Prudencio Principal
Cast: Ninon Del Castillo, Pascual Loayza,
Nicolas Fernandez, Juan Pablo Koria,
Mariana Vargas, Viviana Condori
The Temptation
of St. Tony
Püha Tõnu Kiusamine
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Veiko Õunpuu
Estonia/Sweden/Finland, 2009, 114 min., b/w
Estonian/Russian/English/French/German with
English subtitles
To appreciate Veiko Õunpuu’s artful tale
of moral confusion, let’s begin where he
does—with Dante’s Inferno: “Midway upon
the journey of our life, I found myself within a
forest dark.”
Tony, a middle-aged, midlevel manager, leads
a quiet life. But one day, he starts to question
the value of being good. In a series of bizarre
encounters in which he fires his employees,
witnesses his wife’s infidelity, and meets
a soon-to-be kidnapped girl (never mind
the severed hands and mystery dog), Tony
gradually becomes unhinged from reality.
Õunpuu’s second feature asks, what good
is goodness when all it brings is loss? He
gleefully supplants our sense of narrative
context with avant-garde flourishes, wryly
devised vignettes, and unfolding metaphors,
stranding us in poor Tony’s forest dark.
Provocative and evasive, the film infuses
chaotic energy and emotional tension into its
elegant black-and-white imagery. Õunpuu’s
stark vision feels more like a dream (or
nightmare) and recalls the beauty of being
oblique.—JOHN NEIN
Pr: Katrin Kissa, Kristina Aberg,
Jesse Fryckman Ci: Mart Taniel
Ed: Thomas Lagerman PrD: Markku Pätilä,
Jaagup Roomet Mu: Ülo Krigul
So: Janne Laine
Tuesday, January 26, 6:00 p.m. - SOUTH26EE
Vegetarian
Chaesikjueuija
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Lim Woo-seong
South Korea, 2009, 113 min., color
Korean with English subtitles
Ominous dreams haunt and drive a young
woman to abolish meat from her diet and
her household, and even reject her husband,
who smells of meat. Her family mistakes
this sudden fixation for insolence, and soon
she grows despondent, alienating herself
from everyone. Her sister tries to reach
her, but only her brother-in-law, an artist,
manages to penetrate her withdrawn state.
Her mysterious trauma ignites creativity
and desire in him, and they collaborate
passionately on beautiful body-painting
art—drawing on her psychological pain but
also providing the catalyst for her mystical
transformation.
Working both literally and figuratively, the
film’s title is as much about her compulsion
as our primal desires and rejection of
feminine norms. That’s the richness of this
evocative film; it’s thrillingly profound and
sensual. The moody classical score and
stellar cinematography further enhance this
compelling feature debut by eye-opening
talent Lim Woo-seong.—CHRISTINE DAVILA
ExP: David Cho, Cho Eunun Pr: Lim Min-sub
Ci: Kang Chang-bae Ed: Moon In-dae
ArD: Jang Je-jeen Mu: Jeong Yong-jin
Principal Cast: Chea Min-Seo, Kim Hyun-Sung,
Kim Yeo-Jin, Kim Young-Jae
Friday, January 22, noon - VEGET22ED
Saturday, January 23, midnight - VEGET23BL
Thursday, January 28, 11:30 a.m. - SOUTH28ED
Sunday, January 24, 8:30 p.m. - TEMPT24PN
Friday, January 29, 3:00 p.m. - SOUTH29YA
Tuesday, January 26, 9:00 p.m. - TEMPT26WN
Tower Theatre, SLC
Saturday, January 30, 3:45 p.m. - SOUTH30BA
Wednesday, January 27, 9:00 a.m. - TEMPT27EM
Sunday, January 24, midnight - VEGET244L
Thursday, January 28, 9:00 p.m. - VEGET28EN
Friday, January 29, noon - TEMPT29YD
33

Competition Films. - Sundance Institute

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