http://festival.sundance.org/2010/


Films to be posted later, unless you just want to go to the link provided

i've got a short at slamdance again this year, tho i won't be in utah to see it

no shit winded? that's great, congrats. is it, or was it ever, online?

i'm putting it online after the festival, i'll so keep a lookout

U.S. Documentary Competition

12th & Delaware
World Premiere/Political
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. 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.

Bhutto
World Premiere/Political
As the first woman to lead an Islamic nation, former Pakistani Prime Minister 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.

CASINO JACK and the United States of Money
World Premiere/Political
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.

Family Affair
First Feature/World Premiere
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.

Freedom Riders
World Premiere/Political
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. Veteran filmmaker Stanley Nelson’s inspirational documentary is the first feature-length 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.

GASLAND
World Premiere/Political/Environmental
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. 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.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
World Premiere
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.

Joan Rivers—A Piece Of Work
World Premiere/Comedy
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, Rivers'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 self-made 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.

Lucky
World Premiere
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.

My Perestroika
First Feature/World Premiere/Political
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.

The Oath
World Premiere/Political
Unraveling like a lush, gripping novel that constantly subverts expectations, The Oath is the interlocking drama of two brothers-in-law, 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.

Restrepo
World Premiere/Political
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.

A Small Act
First Feature/World Premiere
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.

Smash His Camera
World Premiere
Paparazzi might be the norm in our celebrity-infested 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.

The Tillman Story
World Premiere/Political/Sports
Pat Tillman gave up his professional football career to join the Army Rangers in 2002—and became an instant symbol of patriotic fervor and unflinching duty. But the truth about Pat Tillman is far more complex, and ultimately more heroic, than the caricature created by the media. And when the government tried to turn his death into war propaganda, they took on the wrong family. From her home in the Santa Cruz mountains, Pat’s mother, Dannie Tillman, led the family’s crusade to reveal the truth beneath the mythology of their son’s life and death. Featuring candid and revelatory interviews with Pat's fellow soldiers as well as his family, Amir Bar-Lev’s emotional and insightful film not only shines a light on the shady aftermath of Pat’s death and calls to task the entire chain of command but also examines themes as timeless as the notion of heroism itself.

WAITING FOR SUPERMAN
World
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.

U.S. Dramatic Competition

3 Backyards
World Premiere
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. 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.

Blue Valentine
World Premiere
Blue Valentine is an intimate, shattering portrait of a disintegrating marriage. 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.

Douchebag
World Premiere
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 fifth-grade 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. 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.

The Dry Land
First Feature/World Premiere/Political
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.

happythankyoumoreplease
First Feature/World Premiere
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.

Hesher
First Feature/World Premiere
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. 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.

Holy Rollers
World Premiere
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. 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.

HOWL
World Premiere
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 Jeffrey 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.

The Imperialists Are Still Alive!
First Feature/World Premiere/Political
A successful visual artist working in post-9/11 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.

Lovers of Hate
World Premiere
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.

Night Catches Us
World Premiere/Political
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. 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.

Obselidia
First Feature/World Premiere/Political/Environmental
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? 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.

Skateland
First Feature/World Premiere
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 and Heath 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.

Sympathy for Delicious
First Feature/World Premiere
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. 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.

Welcome to the Rileys
World Premiere
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. 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 uncompromising film refuses to flinch from difficult 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.

Winter's Bone
World Premiere
Deep in the Ozark Mountains, clans live by a code of conduct that no one dares defy—until an intrepid teenage girl has no other choice. When Ree Dolly'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, Ree traverses the county to confront her kin, break their silent collusion, and bring her father home. With thrilling tension, Winter’s Bone depicts an archetypal rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood. Only this time, the young warrior is a girl. As our heroine braves immoveable obstacles, she redefines the notion of family loyalty and, in the process, discovers her own power. 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.

World Cinema Documentary Competition

Enemies of the People
First Feature/Political
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 right-hand 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.

A Film Unfinished
First Feature/World Premiere/Political
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.

Fix ME
First Feature/Political
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.

His & Hers
First Feature
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.

Kick in Iran
First Feature/World Premiere/Political/Sports
Sarah Khoshjamal, a 20-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.

Last Train Home
First Feature/Political
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.

The Red Chapel
Political
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.

Russian Lessons
World Premiere/Political
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). 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.

Secrets of the Tribe
World Premiere/Political
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. 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.”

Sins of My Father
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.

Space Tourists
Political
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.

Waste Land
World Premiere/Political/Environmental
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 catadores, or self-designated pickers of recyclable materials, and photographs these inspiring characters 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 transformative power of art and the dignity that can be found in personal determination.

World Cinema Dramatic Competition

All That I Love
Political/Music
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.

Animal Kingdom
First Feature/World Premiere
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 cold-blooded 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.

Boy
World Premiere/Comedy
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.

Contracorriente (Undertow)
First Feature
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. Written and directed by Javier Fuentes-León, and featuring a sizzling international cast, Contracorriente (Undertow ) is rich in the details of legend, tradition, and locale; and it is in these details that the truth lies. Strikingly photographed to accentuate the majestic Peruvian coastline, this sexy, haunting love story transcends place and time.

Four Lions
First Feature/World Premiere/Comedy/Political
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 set pieces, Four Lions is a comic tour de force; it shows that—while terrorism is about ideology—it can also be about idiots. Based on three years of research and meetings with everyone from imams to ex-mujahedeen—not to mention a wealth of surveillance material from major trials, Four Lions plunges beyond seeing these young men as unfathomably alien or evil. Instead, it portrays them as human beings, who, as we all know, are innately ridiculous.

Grown Up Movie Star
First Feature
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.

The Man Next Door
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. 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.

Me Too
First Feature
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. Part of the pleasure of Me Too is watching two complex, playful characters on-screen—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.

Nuummioq
First Feature/World Premiere
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.

Peepli Live
First Feature/World Premiere/Political
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.

Son of Babylon
Political
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 understand fully 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.

Southern District
Political
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.

The Temptation of St. Tony
World Premiere
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.

Vegetarian
First Feature/Environmental
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.

Premieres

Abel
First Feature/World Premiere
Adorable little Abel has problems in the head. His mother collects him from the psychiatric ward hoping not to upset him. She carefully discusses with his teacher how to deal with the absence of Abel’s father. The entire family is on pins and needles, worrying about Abel breaking down. But things take an interesting turn when the little boy emphatically carves out a new role for himself in the family—he decides to become the father of the house. Abel transforms the fear his family has about his episodes into the respect due to the head of the household. Oddly enough, it works! That is, until a stranger shows up at the breakfast table, claiming to be Abel’s father. Diego Luna, in his debut effort, crafts a heartwarming tale of the way one family's dynamic works through peculiar means. Abel is an entertaining and endearing family drama that manages to infuse its foreboding tone with a delightful sense of humor.

Cane Toads: The Conquest
World Premiere
The cane toads are ba-a-a-ck! But this time those pesky varmints are coming at you in glorious 3-D. In 1988, filmmaker Mark Lewis had tongues wagging when he unleashed his celebrated documentary Cane Toads: An Unnatural History, exposing a bizarre biological blunder. Here, Lewis takes a giant leap forward as he revs up the technology, once again tracking the unstoppable march of the cane toad across the Australian continent. Reviled by many, adored by a few, the toad has gripped Australia's consciousness, achieving both cult and criminal status. Imported to save the sugar cane crop, the toad’s spread is considered one of Australia’s greatest environmental catastrophes. Yet for a world awakening to the daunting prospect that we have forever altered our ecosystem, this is a story of global implication. With its tongue not so firmly in its cheek, Cane Toads: The Conquest is a comic, yet provocative, journey of a species that has already invaded planet Earth.

The Company Men
First Feature/World Premiere
One of the first casualties of a corporate downsize is Bobby Walker, a hot-shot sales executive who is living the idyllic life—complete with two kids and a mortgaged picket fence. His boss, and founder of the company, doesn't take Bobby's severance well, and he storms into the boardroom to demand a reprieve of the severe measures. He learns quickly that some choices are out of his hands, and this is only the beginning. We embark on a journey that is all too familiar in today’s recessionary economy: one that will test friendships, loyalties, and family bonds. John Wells explores the powerlessness of losing one's job while examining how anger, fear, and forced humility can replace the security of "normal." The inspired casting of great actors, lending their formidable insight to this timely story, makes The Company Men a tribute to America's unsung heroes: hard-working men caught in life's unexpected misfortunes.

Cyrus
World Premiere/Comedy
The Duplass brothers are back with their singular knack: treating us to a tingling, irresistible experience of utter discomfort—suffused with pathos, romance, irony, and a little dollop of horror. This time they intrepidly mine Oedipal terrain to wrestle with stirring, profound questions about the obstacles to human intimacy. Alone and acutely depressed, having just learned of his ex-wife’s wedding plans, John can’t believe his luck when he encounters beautiful, charming Molly at a party. The two get along famously and launch a passionate affair—until Molly’s 21-year-old son, Cyrus, enters the scene. Will Molly and Cyrus’s deep and idiosyncratic bond leave room for John? Cyrus becomes a dark, poignant, sometimes hilarious war dance as Molly, Cyrus, and John walk the line between creepy and sympathetic. Each member of this awkward triangle teeters somewhere between bare honesty and furtive manipulation as he or she lets loose all manner of dysfunctionality. The excruciating, delightful fun is seeing where the boundaries ultimately land.

The Extra Man
World Premiere/Comedy
Louis Ives, a lonely dreamer who fancies himself the hero of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, leaves his job and heads to Manhattan to become a writer. He rents a room in the ramshackle apartment of Henry Harrison, a wildly eccentric, but brilliant, playwright who happens to be an “extra man”—a social escort for the wealthy widows of New York’s high society. The two form an unexpected bond. Paul Dano and Kevin Kline couldn't be better suited to bring to life these two dapper men lost in time, each lending his own distinct sensibility to the sharply conceived characters. Delicately balancing humor and pathos, writers/directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (American Splendor) have a knack for bringing edgy tales to life with humanity, a rich universe, and a brisk compelling intellect that all combine to leave the audience splendidly satisfied. The Extra Man is a sophisticated comedy that will do just that.

Get Low
First Feature
Featuring three of the finest actors working today, Get Low is the kind of film that you rarely see anymore—intelligent storytelling that's awash in humanity, warmth, insight, and wit. Felix is a miserable old hermit who has lived in an isolated cabin for the past 38 years. He catches word that an old friend has passed away and hatches a plan to throw himself a "funeral party." He even wants the townsfolk, who either despise him or fear him, to attend the party and share all the crazy stories they may have heard about creepy old Felix. Is he a fugitive? A murderer? Or something worse? Director Aaron Schneider places his humorous fable in 1930s Tennessee, and his attention to period detail is extraordinary. Bill Murray and Sissy Spacek are exceptional, but it's Robert Duvall's masterful performance as Felix that brings everything together in this heartfelt story about guilt, loss, and forgiveness.

It's a Wonderful Afterlife
World Premiere/Comedy
With nods to Frank Capra, ghost stories, murder mysteries, and screwball comedies, Gurinder Chadha whips up an irreverent caper about the pressures on Indian women to tie the knot. Set in West London (Bend It Like Beckham territory), the film centers on Mrs. Sethi, a doting Punjabi mother obsessively seeking a suitor for her appealing, but (heaven forbid!) rapidly aging, daughter, Roopie. When a string of curious murders involving poisonous curries and chapati dough begins to rattle the neighborhood, things really start to heat up. As detectives and ghosts trample through the Sethi household, Roopie’s love life gets an injection of excitement, too. Nothing in this supernatural escapade is as it seems as spicy truths unspool and fate takes its madcap course. A top-notch cast, including celebrated Indian actress Shabana Azmi, sexy Sendhil Ramamurthy, and a zany Sally Hawkins, breathe life into Chadha’s clever tale about appreciating what’s right under our noses—with a little help from the Hereafter.

Jack Goes Boating
First Feature/World Premiere/Comedy
Jack Goes Boating is a tale of love, betrayal, and friendship set against the backdrop of working-class New York City life. Jack and Connie are two single people who on their own might continue to recede into the anonymous background of the city, but in each other begin to find the courage and desire to pursue their budding relationship. In contrast, the couple who brought them together, Clyde and Lucy, are confronting the unresolved issues in their rocky marriage. The multifaceted Philip Seymour Hoffman makes his directorial debut demonstrating an assured style and grace, both behind the camera and in front of it. He leads a skilled cast, who waltz through their group scenes in perfect counterpoint, each getting what he or she needs from the other. The writing is fiercely authentic as are the performances. Lyrical and lovely, Jack Goes Boating is an offbeat love story that almost forgets to happen.

The Kids Are All Right
World Premiere/Comedy
A couple, Nic and Jules (Annette Benning and Julianne Moore), live with their teenage children, Joni and Laser (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson), in a cozy craftsman bungalow in Los Angeles. As Joni prepares for college, her younger brother pesters her for a big favor—help him find their biological father. Against her better judgment, she makes a call to the sperm bank; the bank, in turn, calls Paul (Mark Ruffalo) and asks him if he’s willing to meet his daughter. He agrees, and a complicated new chapter begins for the family. Director Lisa Cholodenko returns to Sundance (Laurel Canyon played at the 2003 Festival, and High Art won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 1998 Festival) with this vibrant, astute, and richly drawn portrait of a modern family. Once again, Cholodenko demonstrates her uncanny ability to reach beneath the gloss of Southern California to illuminate the emotional and transformative power of human vulnerability and, in doing so, establishes herself as one of America’s most formidable auteurs.

The Killer Inside Me
World Premiere
Based on the novel by legendary pulp writer Jim Thompson, The Killer Inside Me tells the story of handsome, charming, unassuming small-town deputy sheriff Lou Ford, who has a bunch of problems. Women problems. Law-enforcement problems. And an ever-growing pile of murder victims in his west Texas jurisdiction. All the while Lou manages to remain his stoic self. However, as evidence is discovered over the course of the investigation, suspicion begins to fall on Lou. But in this savage and bleak universe, nothing is ever what it seems. In this film, Michael Winterbottom continues to show his immense prowess as a director. Pushing noir to its darkest extreme, he has fashioned a star vehicle for Casey Affleck, who delivers a powerful performance that resonates with a quiet ferocity that evokes shades of Robert Mitchum. This violent, stylish psychosexual thriller is imbued with all the amoral energy of its genre and is sure to shock some and dazzle all.

Nowhere Boy
Music
Growing up in Liverpool in 1955, and raised by his aunt and late uncle, John is a smart, spirited, but directionless, teen who skips school, steals records, and is told he’s going nowhere. Having brought rock music into the "house of Tchaikovsky," John widens the rift with Aunt Mimi when he seeks out his estranged mother, to whom he forms an immediate attachment. Full of energy and sexuality, his mother encourages John’s interest in music, inflaming the rivalry with her sister, Mimi. In opening the door to a painful past, John seeks refuge in music—a journey that leads to The Beatles. British artist Sam Taylor Wood sees this formative period of John Lennon’s life as a way to explore a maturing artistic sensibility. Written by Matt Greenhalgh (Control), and featuring bright newcomer Aaron Johnson and a smattering of the early repertoire, Nowhere Boy avoids biopic nostalgia, focusing instead on an adolescent soul discovering his voice. "Nowhere" proves an important part of the journey.

Please Give
World Premiere/Comedy
Kate (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt), a married couple who run a successful business reselling estate-sale furniture, live in Manhattan with their teenage daughter, Abby. Wanting to expand their two-bedroom apartment, they buy the unit next door, planning to knock the walls out. However, before doing so, they have to wait for the occupant, Andra, a cranky elderly woman, to die. The wait becomes complicated when the family develops relationships with Andra and her two grown granddaughters. Nicole Holofcener infuses her story of love, death, and liberal guilt with a rare balance of humor and complexity that stems from her uncanny ability to understand people—their motivations, interactions, and contradictions. Her characters go to great pains to navigate a world of moral confusion; we want to feel good about ourselves, but we never feel quite good enough. In avoiding judgment, she offers a funny and philosophical reflection on the give and take of modern life.

The Romantics
In The Romantics, seven close friends—all members of a tight, eclectic college clique—reconvene at a deluxe seaside wedding to watch two of their own tie the knot. Lila is the golden girl preparing for her dream wedding, and Laura is Lila's maid of honor. Once college roommates, Laura and Lila have been best friends since their first meeting on campus, but Lila's groom, Tom, is the man they have long rivaled over. Promiscuity and hi-jinks abound as the drunken friends frolic in the nearby surf and revel in the nostalgic haze of their glory days. Producer-turned-director Galt Niederhoffer adapts her own novel of the same name in this audacious first feature. With an outstanding ensemble cast, The Romantics is both a Zeitgeist love story and generational comedy that breathes new life into the genre and recaptures the camaraderie of youth.

The Runaways
First Feature/World Premiere/Music
Of all the bands to come out of the 1970s Los Angeles music scene, The Runaways are by far the most uniquely fascinating. This is partially due to their music but more so to the fact that they were teenage girls whose wild and reckless lifestyle was the stuff of legend. Focusing on the duo of guitarist/vocalist Joan Jett and lead vocalist Cherie Currie as they navigate a rocky road of touring and record-label woes, the film chronicles the band's formation as well as their meteoric rise under the malevolent eye of an abusive manager. Acclaimed video artist Floria Sigismondi directs from her own script, and her luscious camerawork captures every sweaty detail—from the filthy trailer where the women practice to the mosh pits of Tokyo. What really makes the film cook are the sizzling performances by Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart. Not to be missed, The Runaways is an ode to an era and a groundbreaking band.

The Shock Doctrine
Political
Based on the best-selling book by Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine seeks to explain the rise of disaster capitalism: the exploitation of moments of crisis in vulnerable countries by governments and big business. The film traces the doctrine’s beginnings in the radical theories of Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago, and its subsequent implementation over the past 40 years in countries as disparate as Augusto Pinochet’s Chile, Boris Yeltsin’s Russia, Margaret Thatcher’s Great Britain, and most recently through the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Filmmakers Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross use a brand of artistic license to present a cinematic experience that takes this theory to a new audience. They make heavy use of archival images, offset with new footage of Klein's interviews and lectures. Warning: After viewing this film, you may interpret our world history in a new light. The first screening will be followed by an onstage dialogue with Robert Redford, Naomi Klein, and Michael Winterbottom to explore further the ideas presented in the film.

Twelve
World Premiere
Based on the critically acclaimed novel by Nick McDonell, written when he was only 17 years old, Twelve is a chilling chronicle of privileged urban adolescence on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Set over spring break, the story follows White Mike, a kid with unlimited potential, who has dropped out of his senior year of high school and sells marijuana to his rich, spoiled peers. When his cousin is brutally murdered in an east Harlem project, and his best friend is arrested for the crime, White Mike is hurled on a collision course with his own destiny. Led by director Joel Schumacher, a talented ensemble cast perfectly captures the obvious pain of children teetering on the brink of adulthood. Schumacher counters their overindulged behavior with operatic staging and a literary voice-over. For every decade, there are moments when youth culture is frozen in "art," to be reveled in by the generation that lived it and observed by those that didn't. That is Twelve.

Spotlight

8: The Mormon Proposition
World Premiere/Political
Documentary Spotlight Mormons in California and Utah, following their prophet's call to action, wage spiritual warfare, fueled with money and religious fervor, against LGBT citizens and their fight for equality. This exploration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ involvement in the passage of California's Proposition 8 reveals a secretive, decades-long campaign against lesbians’ and gays’ right to marriage. Directors Reed Cowan, a former Mormon missionary, and Steven Greenstreet deftly investigate this ongoing battle through three telling perspectives: personal, political, and ideological. They are careful not to succumb to emotional rant but choose instead well-researched data and a range of interviews with politicians, historians, and those most affected by the outcome. One such couple is composed of Spencer Jones and Tyler Barrick, who is the direct descendant of Mormon polygamist Frederick G. Williams. Cowan and Greenstreet's film tellingly reminds us that, if any common ground can ever be found, it must be based on truth and transparency.

Bran Nue Dae
Comedy/Music
In her second time at the Sundance Film Festival, Rachel Perkins brings to the screen an adaptation of Jimmy Chi’s popular stage musical Bran Nue Dae, which was a national hit in Australia. It’s the summer of 1969, and with his evangelical mother pointing him toward the priesthood, earnest young Willie (Rocky McKenzie) attends a Catholic boarding school in Perth but, protesting its strict rules, runs away to his homeland. With Father Benedictus (Geoffrey Rush) in hot pursuit, he heads back to Broome, acquiring traveling companions along the way. With songs and dances rooted in traditional Aboriginal performance, blues, rock and roll, Hollywood musicals, and the rituals of the Roman Catholic Mass, Willie sings and dances his way back to his own land and inspires the people around him to find their own truth. The colors of Aboriginal Australia shimmer in this wonderfully exuberant film, giving viewers a joyful romp while simultaneously touching on Aboriginal history and politics in a way that leaves us all wanting to be Aborigines.

Catfish
First Feature/World Premiere
Documentary Spotlight Nev, a 24-year-old New York–based photographer, has no idea what he’s in for when Abby, an eight-year-old girl from rural Michigan, contacts him on MySpace, seeking permission to paint one of his photographs. When he receives her remarkable painting, Nev begins a friendship and correspondence with Abby’s family. But things really get interesting when he develops a cyber-romance with Abby’s attractive older sister, Megan, a musician and model. Prompted by some startling revelations about Megan, Nev and his buddies embark on a road trip in search of the truth. Catfish centers on a riveting mystery that is completely a product of our times, where social networking, mobile devices, and electronic communication so often replace face-to-face personal contact. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman’s grounded documentary is a remarkable and powerful story of grace within a labyrinth of online intrigue.

Climate Refugees
World Premiere/Political/Environmental
Documentary Spotlight If global warming is our planet’s most pressing issue, large-scale population displacement is the human consequence. Massive continental migration is already under way, and diminished natural resources continue to threaten the lives of millions. The quickly submerging islands of Tuvalu in the South Pacific, drought-affected regions of Sudan, storm-susceptible coastlines of Bangladesh, and rapidly expanding deserts in China are forcing millions to relocate beyond their borders. Who will accept these refugees, and how will they impact their adopted homeland? Filmmaker Michael Nash spent two years traversing the globe, visiting these and other hot spots where rising sea levels are threatening millions of people’s survival. Strong visuals and potent testimony from the victims of climate change, politicians, scientists, relief organizations, and authors help sound the alarm for instituting new policies and working together to create solutions to cope with this imminent crisis. Climate Refugees fervently captures the human fallout of climate change.

Countdown to Zero
World Premiere
Documentary Spotlight During the cold war, public consciousness fixated on the atomic bomb. Then the cold war ended, and we retreated into denial. In fact, the danger of nuclear annihilation never disappeared; it only swelled. Countdown to Zero sweeps us into a scorching, hypnotic journey around the world to reveal the palpable possibility of nuclear disaster and frame an issue on which human survival itself hangs. Scientists, world leaders, and security experts—including Valerie Plame herself—expose the absurdities and alarming realities of the situation. The 1990s heralded a second nuclear age. Many countries and terrorist groups are now actively acquiring fissile materials and construction blueprints. The possibility of an accident or miscalculation looms even larger. As the film projects a startling vision, interviews with Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Tony Blair, and Pervez Musharraf yield a unified message: our only option is to eradicate every-last nuclear missile. Luckily for us, getting to zero is possible—step by step. Let’s jump-start the change.

Daddy Longlegs
With Daddy Longlegs (formerly known as Go Get Some Rosemary), Josh and Benny Safdie have crafted a realistic fairy tale that captures the magic of parenthood, invoking memories of their inventive dad from their own childhood. Divorced and alone, Lenny (the perfectly cast Ronald Bronstein) is the father of two young boys he gets to see a couple of weeks a year. He cherishes these days with the kids, being both stern parent and lovable buddy, inventing myths and somehow living them, all while working overtime in the big city. When the going gets tough, Lenny uses some unusual, perhaps even hazardous, techniques to keep the kids safe from the world. Because of the film’s fluid style, we feel that we are in the boxing ring alongside Lenny, as flawed as he is charismatic, champion of each day, yet totally black and blue. As the storm of society continually rains on him, Lenny laughs through it all. Isn’t life crazy?

Enter the Void
Visionary filmmaker Gaspar Noé's reputation as a provocateur and master technician is sure to be solidified by Enter the Void, a cinematically audacious exploration of the connected nature of sex, drugs, life, and death. Oscar’s a small-time drug dealer. One night he is caught in a police bust and shot. As he lies dying, his spirit, faithful to the promise he made his sister—that he would never abandon her—refuses to leave the world of the living. It wanders through the city, its visions growing ever more distorted and nightmarish. Past, present, and future merge in a hallucinatory maelstrom. Words cannot describe the visually rich and assaulting epic tale of death and its aftermath of memories and spiritual travel that unfolds. Through sheer cinematic wizardry, Noé has created the equivalent of a mind-bending trip. The graphic sexual and violent content is integral to the ideas in the film but may prove shocking to some. Like life and death, Enter the Void at your own risk.

I Am Love
The polished rooms of a Milanese villa ignite with anxious activity as the wealthy industrial family, the Recchis, prepare to celebrate the birthday of their patriarch. It is an occasion designed to ensconce family traditions—the handsome grandson, Edoardo, introduces his new girlfriend; his sister presents another piece of her artwork to her grandfather; and the grandfather, knowing this is his last birthday, names the successor to his empire. As the refined familial machinations unfold, the woman of the house, Emma Recchi (Tilda Swinton), skates along the tight seams of the family, exuding elegance and uncertain turbulence. Change is like a fog at sea that quickly consumes the land. A feast for the senses, Luca Guadagnino’s magnificent film, I Am Love, possesses a vibrant and formally irreverent style that luminously articulates its themes of passion and constraint. Swinton turns in a stunning performance as the central muse of a tale about the irresistible draw of forbidden passion and the bittersweet victory of liberation from the constrictions of wealth and power.

Life 2.0
First Feature/World Premiere
Documentary Spotlight Every day, across all corners of the globe, hundreds of thousands of users log onto Second Life, a virtual online world not entirely unlike our own. They enter a new reality, whose inhabitants assume alternate personas in the form of avatars—digital alter egos that can be sculpted and manipulated to the heart’s desire, representing reality, fantasy, or a healthy mix of both. Within this alternate landscape, escapism abounds, relationships are formed, and a real-world economy thrives, effectively blurring the lines between reality and "virtual" reality. Director Jason Spingarn-Koff digs deeply into the core of basic human interaction by assuming his own avatar and immersing himself in the worlds of Second Life residents, whose real lives have been drastically transformed by the new lives they lead in cyberspace. In doing so, he manages to create an intimate, character-based drama that forces us to question not only who we are, but who we long to be.

Louis C.K.: Hilarious
World Premiere/Comedy
With a simple “Hello, everybody,” television writer and stand-up comedian Louis C.K. opens his latest live show, Hilarious. This harmless salutation is the least-controversial thing that comes out of Louis C.K.’s mouth as he turns rants on everyday subjects (impatient people, his weight, fatherhood) into hilarious, expletive-laden diatribes where nothing is sacred—not even (gasp!) his children. Who else can name-check Ray Charles and Adolph Hitler in the same breath and elicit a chorus of raucous laughter? Louis C.K. says what’s on his mind, even at the risk of offending, but his “I don’t give a f**k” attitude makes his irreverent brand of humor especially endearing and relatable. His self-deprecating style elevates his filmed live show to a form of therapy, where we, too, can get comic relief from some pretty warped subjects. At one point, Louis C.K. asks, “Where do you draw the line?” With him, there is no line.

Lourdes
A famed city of healing, Lourdes offers hope to countless Christian pilgrims who seek miracles. Not particularly pious herself, Christine, a wheelchair-bound young woman, takes trips with a church group mostly to escape her solitary life. Though she finds Lourdes touristy, Christine is conveyed to grottos, baths, and ceremonies by her roommate, a devout older woman, and the starchy group leader, Cecile. Do both sense a miracle? With pitch-perfect sincerity, filmmaker Jessica Hausner nestles Lourdes between religious satire and redemption story. Though she delights in the comical (Lourdes has an office of miracle certification), Hausner is driven by curiosity, not cynicism. She approaches the subject of miracles less interested in whether they’re real than in what they awake in us. In Hausner’s Lourdes, the eternal mystery goes unrevealed, but the human spirit abides. As one woman ponders, “If God is not in charge, who is?”, to which a friend replies, “Do you think there’ll be a dessert?”

Mother & Child
Destiny plays a part in the lives of three women—a 50-year-old physical therapist, the daughter she gave up for adoption 35 years earlier, and a woman looking to adopt her first child. In this exploration of one of nature's most basic instincts, their pasts intertwine, inform, and evolve to reveal their innermost desires. Rodrigo García once again reveals himself as a master storyteller with an uncanny understanding of the psyche of his unique characters. With strong directorial vision, he dares us to go to uncharted territory in a way that is both effortless and beautiful. The nuanced performances by this stellar cast let you into the fractured existence of these women, each motivated by a deep longing that holds them prisoners in their own fate. Moving and profound, Mother & Child exposes the complex layers of life's challenges while remaining poetic and ethereal, yet painfully real on all levels.

A Prophet
At the outset of his six-year prison sentence, Malik El Djebena, a 19-year-old French Arab, appears no match for the brutal system. Unable to sidestep the rival Corsican and Arab factions, he’s swiftly brought into the Corsican fold by its kingpin, Cesar, who compels him to kill an Arab prisoner. But Malik gradually ingratiates himself with Cesar, learning the language and turning informant. When the influential Cesar secures “leave days” for Malik (to do his bidding), he unwittingly sets up his own downfall. Malik’s criminal persona matures, and servitude turns to mastery. An outstanding crime drama, Jacques Audiard’s Cannes winner transcends genre through its character complexity, thematic depth, and sheer cinematic intensity. Anchored in Tahar Rahim’s arresting performance, A Prophet explores the formation of Malik’s identity. When his options become kill or be killed, coming-of-age refuses neat moral paradigms. Audiard counters the film’s coarse aesthetic and lifeless hues with an unexpected serenity and fabulist impulses (a ghost haunts Malik throughout), creating a rich inner space.

Pumzi
Political/Environmental
Thirty-five years after World War III, the "Water War,” a woman from East Africa flees an enclosed community in hopes of once again restoring life outside its walls.

Saint Louis Blues
Music
Dakar, Senegal: the end of the summer. Along the journey from Dakar to Saint Louis, the seven passengers of a taxi cross each other's destinies and tell their lives through songs.

Teenage Paparazzo
World Premiere
Documentary Spotlight When precocious 13-year-old paparazzo Austin Visschedyk snapped a photo of celebrity Adrian Grenier (HBO's Entourage), little did he know his life was about to change. Turning the tables on the juvenile paparazzo, Grenier stepped on the other side of the lens in an attempt to mentor a teenager obsessed with the lure of the Hollywood lifestyle. Grenier develops a meaningful relationship with his camera-clicking young friend as he attempts to reconcile their mutual exploitation. Indeed, Grenier puts himself on the line here, trying to make sense of his own recently acquired fame. Given the success of Entourage and its place in the Zeitgeist, Adrian Grenier is the perfect person to explore our preoccupation with celebrity and the adolescent desire for fame. Exquisitely layered, Teenage Paparazzo moves beyond personal documentary, charting a cultural revolution of celebrity obsession that may have been born in the United States but stretches across the globe.

To Catch a Dollar: Muhammad Yunus Banks on America
World Premiere/Political
Documentary Spotlight What prevents poor people from getting ahead? Banks refuse to give credit without collateral. Where commercial banks see insolvency, Nobel Prize–winning economist Muhammad Yunus sees opportunity. His groundbreaking Grameen Bank was built on the radical notion that if you loan poor women money within the context of peer support, not only will they repay and sustain the bank, but they’ll elevate their communities in the process. With millions of microloans to rural entrepreneurs in developing countries, Grameen is now audaciously importing its methods to the bastion of first-world capitalism: the U.S.A. First stop: Queens, New York. With an intimate camera capturing both buoyant and despairing moments, To Catch a Dollar chronicles the evolution of the tiny new branch. Will the solidarity principles translate to a diverse group of inner-city women? As the banking industry collapses, will these intrepid social-justice financiers succeed? One thing’s clear: we need new models to ensure prosperity for all.

The Tunnel
World Premiere
1980s Zimbabwe: when her father vanishes, young Elizabeth believes he has dug a tunnel to the city. Only by facing reality can she discover the truth behind his disappearance.

Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks
World Premiere/Sports
Documentary Spotlight If you’re a basketball fan, you know that one of the great NBA rivalries in the mid-1990s was between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks. In classic David-meets-Goliath style, the two teams faced off in thrilling seven-game battles during the 1994 and 1995 playoffs. In Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. the New York Knicks, Dan Klores focuses on the Pacers’ master showman, Reggie Miller, who was as skilled at three-pointers as he was at trash talking. Not only did he antagonize the Knicks; he antagonized a whole city and relished every minute of it—just ask Spike Lee. Winning Time entertains on many levels: it goes beyond the action on the court and delves into the psychology of the game. By deftly weaving humorous interviews with exciting archival footage, Klores has created a film that appeals to both the die-hard fan and someone who has never seen a game.

Women Without Men
Political
In her feature-film debut, renowned visual artist Shirin Neshat offers an exquisitely crafted view of Iran in 1953, when a British- and American-backed coup removed the democratically elected government. Adapted from the novel by Iranian author Shahrnush Parsipur, the film weaves together the stories of five individual women during those traumatic days, whose experiences are shaped by their faith and the social structures in place. With a camera that floats effortlessly through the lives of the women and the beautiful countryside of Iran, Neshat explores the social, political, and psychological dimensions of her characters as they meet in a metaphorical garden, where they can exist and reflect while the complex intellectual and religious forces shaping their world linger in the air around them. Looking at Iran from Neshat’s point of view allows us to see the larger picture and realize that the human community resembles different organs of one body, created from a common essence.

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Armless
World Premiere/Comedy
For years, John, an insurance executive living in the suburbs, has secretly wanted to have his arms chopped off. Finally, he gathers the courage to leave his loving wife, Anna, and travel to the city to find a physician willing to amputate. When Anna’s mother-in-law (in an attempt to calm her down) convinces Anna that John is simply having an affair, Anna becomes enraged and determines to find John—and cut off his balls. So begins director Habib Azar’s delightful debut feature Armless, a deliciously twisted romp of comedic drama filled with mistaken identities, missed chances, and revealing consequences. Azar deftly crafts a thoughtful, off-kilter farce out of Kyle Jarrow’s tautly written play by the same name. Armless offers a dark, philosophical fable about marriage and acceptance—speaking to those who fake it and still make it, and perhaps especially to those who want to change but still stay the same.

Bass Ackwards
World Premiere
Yes, in Bass Ackwards, a man drives a ’76 Volkswagen van across America. No, the film isn’t mired with the tired mechanics of a typical “road movie.” This utterly original, lyrical, and visually exciting adventure has such a light touch that it quietly sneaks up and tugs you into an overpowering appreciation of being human. When humble Linas, kicked off of his friend’s couch and spurned by his lover, finds a forgotten van on a llama farm outside Seattle, he begins lurching east with nothing to lose. Slowly, the road eases him out of his relentless longing and into the moment. As his encounters with enigmatic characters take on subtly transcendent qualities, his shame and discomfort at being alone gradually give way to self-acceptance and connection. The dented, off-kilter vehicle, which valiantly, amazingly endures the journey, becomes a colorful metaphor for the human condition—our tenacity and hopefulness always tinged with imperfection.

Bilal's Stand
First Feature/World Premiere/Comedy
Bilal is an upright black Muslim teen who works at his family’s taxi stand in Detroit. “The Stand,” as they affectionately call it, has been the family’s social and financial hub for the past 60 years, and Bilal is in line to carry the torch. But Bilal, who burns the midnight oil to keep up both the family business and his grades, develops a secret life designed to enable him to attend a top university. When his two lives collide, Bilal is forced to decide between keeping The Stand alive—and living the only life he has ever known—or taking a shot at social mobility. Based on a true story, Bilal’s Stand radiates warmth, humor, and originality. Sultan Sharrief’s debut feature is a freshly crafted film filled with heart and authenticity that transports audiences to a world rarely seen on-screen and heralds the arrival of its filmmaker as a new voice in American independent cinema.

The Freebie
First Feature/World Premiere
Darren and Annie have an enviable relationship built on love, trust, and communication. After seven years of marriage, they wouldn’t change their relationship one bit. They still enjoy each other’s company and laugh at each other’s jokes, but, unfortunately, they can’t remember the last time they had sex. When a dinner party conversation leads to an honest discussion about the state of their love life, and a bikini photo shoot leads to crossword puzzles instead of sex, they begin to flirt with a way to spice things up. The deal: one night of no-strings-attached sex with a stranger for each of them. Can one night of freedom be just what they need? With a keen eye and fresh take, Katie Aselton’s directorial debut shines. The Freebie is an insightful, humorous look at love, sustaining relationships, and the awkwardness of monogamy when the haze of lust has faded.

Homewrecker
First Feature/World Premiere/Comedy
Mike is a locksmith. He’s also a prisoner on work release, but you wouldn’t know it. He’s just trying to focus on his house calls and reconcile with his ex-girlfriend—until Margo hijacks his day. A live-wire kook, who’s certain her boyfriend is cheating on her, Margo bulldozes Mike into spying on the alleged cad. The result: an all-day adventure with a (seemingly) stolen vehicle, a visit to an unlikely drug dealer, and a low blood-sugar attack. Potential trouble follows these two around—but maybe something good will come of it? Codirectors (and brothers) Todd and Brad Barnes infuse screwball sensibility into their version of the romantic comedy. The chemistry between the leads is crucial: Ana Reeder revels in her free-spirited, no-boundaries role and keeps Margo likeable; Anslem Richardson is perfect as her straight man. Full of jaunty dialogue and subtle charm, Homewrecker is an irresistible and impressive debut feature.

New Low
First Feature/World Premiere/Comedy
The worst thing about Wendell isn't his slightly balding head, skinny frame, or thin lips; it's that he’s a bit of an idiot. He just started dating Vicky, an angry drunk, who conveniently shares his lack of ambition and cleanliness. But he might prefer a relationship with Joanna because she’s a selfless social worker who doesn't have lip acne. Eventually, Wendell is going to have to decide who he really belongs with: the best girl he's ever known—or the worst. Twenty-five-year-old Adam Bowers writes, directs, and stars in this deadpan comedic love triangle for questionable romantics, which was shot on borrowed equipment by whichever one of his friends was available that day. This sharply scripted debut feature out of Gainesville, Florida, charms with Bowers's natural comedic timing and endless supply of one-liners while questioning not only who we should spend our life with but who we truly are under all our neuroses.

One Too Many Mornings
First Feature/World Premiere/Comedy
Fisher has it pretty good living rent free in exchange for taking care of a church and teaching kids to play soccer. But Fisher has a drinking problem. He drinks quite well, actually; it’s just that he acts like a moron when he drinks (and the morning after)— destroying things and relationships every time. Suddenly, Fisher’s old friend, Pete, shows up looking for some dude consolation after his girlfriend cheats on him. Too bad he looks for it in Fisher because not even hot “cougars” and bad advice can make Pete happy. What Pete needs is for Fisher to realize that they aren’t teenagers anymore. And that’s when Pete’s girlfriend shows up with some truth he sorely needs. In One Too Many Mornings, director Michael Mohan intelligently explores the nuances of friendship and responsibility and keeps it charming. The hilarious film perfectly illustrates the complex problem of wanting to be loved while refusing to make yourself attractive. The acting is great, the characters are real, and the story’s challenge asks you personally—this is your life; what are you gonna do about it?

The Taqwacores
First Feature/World Premiere/Political
Oh, to be young, beautiful, Muslim—and punk rockers! Here’s one story of disaffected American youth we haven’t seen before. Yusef, a straitlaced Pakistani American college student, moves into a house with an unlikely group of Muslim misfits—skaters, skinheads, queers, and a riot grrrl in a burqa—all of whom embrace Taqwacore, the hardcore Muslim punk-rock scene. They may read the Koran and attend the mosque, but they also welcome an anarchic blend of sex, booze, and partying. As Yusef becomes more involved in Taqwacore, he finds his faith and ideology challenged by both this new subculture and his charismatic new friends, who represent different ideas of the Islamic tradition. Adapted from the influential novel by Michael Muhammad Knight (cowriter of the film), The Taqwacores marks the energetic directorial debut of Eyad Zahra, who creates a wholly original spin on the identity narrative and invests the filth and fury of Islamic punk with humor and humanity.

Park City at Midnight

7 Days
World Premiere
When successful surgeon Bruno Hamel’s otherwise uneventful world is torn apart by the brutal rape and murder of his eight-year-old daughter, Jasmine, he embarks on a quest for revenge against the perpetrator of this heinous crime. In a game of cat and mouse with the police detectives assigned to the case, Bruno successfully kidnaps the accused murderer as he is transported to the courthouse. With the roles now reversed, this father-turned-predator drives his prey to a remote cabin, where seven days of unspeakable torture await. He even keeps the police apprised of his plan, vowing to turn himself in after the execution of this alleged monster. Director Daniel Grou aka Podz does a masterful job of immersing the audience in this dark and gritty world, deftly capturing the psyche of a sane man gone mad. Far more than your average torture flick, 7 Days is an eye-for-an-eye tale that is chock-full of tension, suspense, and inner conflict.

Buried
World Premiere
Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is a U.S. citizen working as a contract driver in Iraq. After a swift and sudden attack on his convoy, he awakens to find himself buried alive inside a coffin with nothing more than a lighter, a cell phone, and little memory of how he ended up there. Faced with limited oxygen and unlimited panic, Paul finds himself in a tension-filled race against time to escape this claustrophobic deathtrap before it's too late. If the sheer logistics of this premise are enough to make your head hurt, rest assured that director Rodrigo Cortés tackles these issues with relative ease, aided a great deal by a superbly convincing performance by Reynolds, the lone on-screen actor in the film. The result is a gripping and suspenseful thriller that will leave you gasping for air until the very end.

Frozen
World Premiere
On a chilly winter night, three skiers huddle together on a chairlift, confused as to why their ride to the summit suddenly stops. The sting of the icy wind worsens when the floodlights power down, leaving them stranded in the dark. As they wait for help, the reality of the nightmare hits them. The ski resort has just closed, stranding the group high above the mountain slopes in an oncoming snowstorm. With ominous howls echoing through the surrounding woods, they will need to make some tough decisions to survive. Writer/director Adam Green skillfully guides this real-world thriller, pushing three college students to confront their natural fears of the dark, cold, heights, and beyond, to see how far a human is willing to go to survive. With bone-chilling performances by Kevin Zegers, Shawn Ashmore, and Emma Bell, Frozen continues horror's time-honored tradition of scaring audiences away from their favorite recreational activities.

HIGH school
First Feature/World Premiere/Comedy
So it’s the end of the school year, and smarmy Principal Gordon (Michael Chiklis) has suddenly instituted a zero-tolerance crusade against his nemesis, the reviled marijuana. A mandatory drug test for all students is to be administered, failure of which will result in immediate expulsion. Normally, this would be of no consequence to straight-arrow valedictorian Henry Burke, except he just tried ganja for the very first time. With his college scholarship hanging in the balance, Burke begrudgingly teams up with charismatic pothead Travis Breaux to do the only thing they can think of to neutralize this threat—get the entire student body stoned. In his debut feature, director/cowriter John Stalberg Jr. percolates his deliriously manic narrative with sparkling energy and deviant characters, joyously ramming his protagonists deeper and deeper into frenzied chaos. HIGH school paints its slacker wit with lush broad strokes, firmly accomplishing the conclusive stoner fantasia run hilariously amuck.

The Perfect Host
First Feature/World Premiere
Warwick Wilson is the consummate host. He carefully prepares for a dinner party, the table impeccably set and the duck perfectly timed for 8:30 p.m. John Taylor is a career criminal. He’s just robbed a bank and needs to get off the streets. He finds himself on Warwick’s doorstep posing as a friend of a friend, new to Los Angeles, who’s been mugged and lost his luggage. As the wine flows and the evening progresses, we become deeply intertwined in the lives of these two men and discover just how deceiving appearances can be. With outstanding performances by David Hyde Pierce and Clayne Crawford, cowriter/director Nick Tomnay takes us on a suspense-filled ride where nothing is as it seems. The Perfect Host is a slippery psychological thriller that exposes true human nature and reveals just how far we’re willing to go to satisfy our needs.

Splice
The classic monster film gets a deliciously sadistic twist in Vincenzo Natali's contemporary dissection of the genetic-engineering dilemma. Clive and Elsa are young, brilliant, and ambitious. The new animal species they engineered has made them rebel superstars of the scientific world. In secret, they introduce human DNA into the experiment. The result is something that is greater than the sum of its parts: a female animal/human hybrid that may be a step up on the evolutionary ladder. They think they may have created the perfect organism—until she makes a final, shocking metamorphosis that could destroy them—and the rest of humanity. In an age where creating life is a near-scientific possibility, the terrifying premise of Splice takes on hauntingly powerful implications. Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody deliver nuanced performances, and Natali's lurid special effects and dazzling visual design create a modern-day horror film that will make you scream, squirm, and think.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
First Feature/World Premiere/Comedy
“The hillbillies from the store captured Alison!” Tucker and Dale, two hillbillies heading to their “fixer-upper” cabin for some relaxin’, discover they ain’t alone in them woods. They encounter an SUV full of vacationing college kids, and Dale unintentionally creeps them out. But later, as he and Tucker are fishing, Dale rescues one of them—the pretty blond Alison—after she falls into the lake. Assuming she’s been captured, the indomitably preppy college kids rally to find her. A comically macabre battle between Izods and overalls, Eli Craig’s ingenious send-up of the horror genre recounts a simple misunderstanding gone grotesquely wrong. Our hillbilly psycho killers are actually sweet as pie; it’s the judgmental college kids who have “issues.” Craig lovingly embraces clichés, dispensing humor and gore in equal parts as we watch the educated class blunder to its demise. Nature, beer, and a rising body count—what better way to spend Memorial Day?

The Violent Kind
World Premiere
Cody and Q are just the sort of upstanding young citizens you might expect of second-generation members of an outlaw biker gang. So when the boys take a break from their busy schedule of sex, drugs, and stompin’ fools to attend a righteous party at a secluded cabin, what can possibly go wrong? As it happens, everything. The soirée goes to hell, people start dying, and a fine biker mama gets possessed by . . . well, by something foul indeed. It’s all more perverse fun from the utterly demented minds of writers/directors the Butcher Brothers (aka Phil Flores and Mitchell Altieri). Reuniting with much of the cast from their cult favorite The Hamiltons, the Butchers continue to surprise and offend in delightfully equal measures. The Violent Kind succeeds because it knows what it is—gleeful, insane exploitation. So pop a tall boy, lose the shirt, and get ready to ride, brother!

New Frontier Films

All My Friends Are Funeral Singers
First Feature/World Premiere
The beautiful Zel is a special woman. Her big house is full of ghosts of all ages from different eras. A psychic advisor, Zel works with her ethereal roommates to help her clients. Although it’s magical, it is also a job as she removes clients’ aches and pains, advises gamblers, and channels cranky spirits to check on their loved ones. Business is good—until the ghosts see “the light” one night. The ghost crew now feel they are trapped and start pressuring Zel for the truth. Writer/director Tim Rutili is also a member of the band Califone, whose members act in the film and provide the lush original soundtrack. The band brought its music-making talent to the film’s construction, treating the footage and story like an album. Zel’s unique existence is a lesson in hope, habit, and folklore. The atmosphere is utterly enchanting, mixed with an odd realism, filled with as much humor as wonder.

Double Take
The best art imitates life, but at a slant. Johan Grimonprez adroitly proves this in his highly original film, which locates and develops thematic conjunctions between escapist entertainment and real-life horror; more specifically, between the work and images of legendary film director Alfred Hitchcock and the escalation of the cold war in the 1960s. Appropriating and reprocessing film and television images of Hitchcock, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Nikita Khruschev, and others, Grimonprez expands droll generalizations about doppelgangers, guilt, and paranoia into a full-blown analysis of global politics, fear of the bomb, and the mad rush to mutually assured destruction. As public anxieties are sublimated in popular entertainment, so do they sometimes erupt in artistic expressions (such as Hitchcock’s The Birds). In addition to pinpointing the postmodern, movielike unreality of public life, Grimonprez convincingly indicates the precision with which an artist may sketch the public psyche in entertainment, and why Hitchcock still haunts our dreams.

Memories of Overdevelopment
World Premiere
What happens when a socialist revolutionary intellectual asserts creative freedom? In Memories of Overdevelopment, ideological clashes and contradictions explode and fragment within a Cuban émigré while they spurt across the world stage. A kinetic, mesmerizing, subliminal collage, the film forges new cinematic dimensions with multiple planes fueling each other: a picaresque saga of desire and decomposition, a self-reflexive formal project about art reifying life and vice versa, a surreal foray into memory and the unconscious, and a searing critique of twentieth-century forces like genocide and totalitarianism. Shot with psychedelic lucidity, the narrative evolves from our rogue’s Cuban boyhood, when the revolution and his aunt’s dying wish for a kiss become formative fodder and iconographic propaganda. He constructs and deconstructs reality—manipulating language, image, and sound with his computer, camera, recorder, and X-Acto knife—to manufacture the very art we're consuming. As he careens from youth to old age in elliptical swirls of misadventure, elusive pleasures of collectivity and individualism give way to existential truth.

ODDSAC
First Feature/World Premiere/Music
Opening with torch-wielding villagers and a wall bleeding oil, ODDSAC attaches vivid scenery and strange characters to the wonderful melodic wavelengths of the band Animal Collective, revitalizing the lost form of the “visual album.” Working on the project for three years with friend Danny Perez, Animal Collective pushes the boundaries of the music video and joins music visionaries like The Residents, Devo, and Daft Punk, who previously connected film imagery with their songs. Animal Collective’s music is a glittering mix of pop rock, experimental noise, and horror-movie soundtrack. Perez’s visuals mirror that, incorporating intense scenes of vampires, campfires, and screaming prophets to form themes and a distinct vision, rather than following a traditional plot and dialogue. The characters are interlaced with flicker effects that mimic pressure phosphenes, the magic colors produced by rubbing your closed eyes. A true physical experience, ODDSAC turns the theatre into a sensory submarine.

Pepperminta
First Feature
Pepperminta is a playful young woman with an anarchic imagination, determined to free people from their fears through her own special alchemy. Colors are her best friends, strawberries are her pets, and the world outside her door is there to be licked. Together with a plump, shy young man named Werwen and Edna, a gender-bending gardener, Pepperminta sets out on a mission to fight for a more humane world. Internationally acclaimed visual artist Pipilotti Rist’s first feature, Pepperminta, is an explosion of psychedelic color and fantasy where things sacred and taboo become playful and whimsical, and color can transform and heal lives. Crafting a tactile film seen through a toddler’s-eye camera, Rist irreverently engages with childhood fairy tales to create a magical and visually stunning contemporary fable of courage in the face of shame. Lobe of Lung: The Saliva Ooze Away to the Underground is a fully immersive version of Rist’s feature film, which invites audiences to lie back and lounge inside the film. The installation can be experienced at New Frontier on Main.

Utopia in Four Movements
World Premiere/Political
Throughout human history, people have had giddy dreams and fantastic notions about what the future would bring. Today the future has become more of a threat than a promise—a knot of intractable problems looming menacingly on the horizon. With a powerful sense of poetry, Utopia in Four Movements uses the collective experience of cinema to explore the battered state of the utopian impulse at the dawn of the twenty-first century. In this “live documentary,” filmmaker Sam Green cues images and narrates in person while musician Dave Cerf performs the soundtrack. From the establishment of a man-made language designed to end war and cultural conflict and the undying optimism of an American exile in Cuba, to the current economic boom in China and the desire to give the remains in mass graves a dignified burial, Green and Cerf sift through the history of the utopian impulse with audiences and search for insights about the way to build a vision of the future based on humankind’s noblest impulses.

New Frontier Performances and Installations

Bordertown
Tracey Snelling’s exquisitely crafted miniature sculptures of buildings and landscapes conjure up a visceral sense of time and place and manifest the life that comes from within. Incorporating architecture, photography, collage, film, and audio, Snelling presents a carnivalesque tableau of the Mexican/American border that tells the story of a sweeping locale and the individual inhabitants who reside in its buildings, streets, and alleyways. The cinematic image stands in for real life and, as it unspools behind windowpanes, creates a sublime sense of wonder, nostalgia, and the relevance of the cinematic image in our terrestrial lives.

Cloud Mirror
Artist and computer scientist Eric Gradman brings online social networking back into the human realm with Cloud Mirror, an interactive, augmented, reality-based art installation that merges audiences with their online identities. Step in front of the magic mirror, and you will see yourself in the flesh. You will also see your “second skin”—a thought bubble transmitting information from your Facebook, Twitter, and other social-networking identities. Anyone who has properly registered can participate in this playful and insightful work, which aims to bring human intimacy back into terrestrial interaction.

The Earthwalk
Attention Google Earth junkies! Digital-media designers Thomas Gläser and Jens Franke invite you to surf the globe with your feet! Their installation, The Earthwalk, offers an intuitive way for the user to control Google Earth and navigate the Earth’s surface by stepping onto an interactive map projected on the floor. Fly around the world in one minute or descend upon the city of your choice and become immersed in your favorite tangle of streets. The Earthwalk lets you soar and explore the planet, one step at a time.

The End
A soulful siren song lures the viewer into a magical surround-sound concert performed from five different locations in the majestic Canadian Rocky Mountains. Icelandic musician and performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson’s mesmerizing five-channel installation, The End, is a portal to another time and place, transporting the viewer to a sweeping expanse of alpine landscape where just two musicians, Kjaartansson and Davio Por Jonsson, fill the crisp snowy air with an evergreen tune performed by an entire ensemble of acoustic guitars, banjos, drums, and a grand piano.

hitRECord.org
Part media workshop, part social network, and part art exhibition, hitRECord.org is a hybrid production enterprise that taps crowd-sourced creativity and topples traditional ideas of artistic ownership, online communication, and film production. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Hesher, 500 Days of Summer, Mysterious Skin, Brick) invites audiences to collaborate collectively with him in the filmmaking process and create, record, and remix each other’s art (video, music, photos, writing, etc.). The goal is to fashion cohesive, short, multimedia work that will have a special screening at an event designed to bring the community of hitRECorders together at the end of the Festival. Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s remarks : Sunday, January 24 at 8:30 p.m. and Wednesday, January 27 at 9:00 p.m. hitRECorder screening: Friday, January 29 at 6:00 p.m.

Lifecycles
As a fourth-generation Arizona farmer whose land is currently being encroached upon by suburban sprawl, Matthew Moore designs his installations to reconnect consumers to their local geographies and the life cycles of the Earth and its produce. Lifecycles is a multimedia installation that reconfigures the produce section of the Park City Fresh Market grocery store and transforms the experience of shopping for vegetables into a beautiful meditation that brings us closer to the life cycles of the produce we buy and consume. Park City Fresh Market grocery store 1760 Park Ave.

Lobe of Lung (The Saliva Ooze Away to the Underground)
The deviously delicious imagination of internationally renowned multimedia artist Pipilotti Rist invites audiences to lie back and lounge inside her film. Lobe of Lung is a fully immersive installation rendition of her debut feature film Pepperminta, which is being screened in the films’ program. Starring two humans, a pig, and an earthworm, Lobe of Lung merges fantasy with reality as it opens up the walls of New Frontier onto a luscious panoramic poem that bathes audiences in audiovisual delight. Full credits on http://www.pepperminta.com

Post Global Warming Survival Kit
Petko Dourmana’s fascinating interactive multimedia installation invites audiences to explore a postapocalyptic landscape and visit the workplace of a person whose job is to observe the border between land and the rising sea. Upon entering the room, viewers at first think there is nothing but an old caravan there. However, once they alter their ability to see through the darkness with night-vision devices, viewers can experience and explore the hauntingly futuristic landscape surrounding them.

Silver & Gold
Filmmaker and performance artist Nao Bustamante returns to Sundance with a deliciously outrageous and ambitious new work; her short film Untitled #1 (from the series Earth People 2507 ), starring her toy poodle as a herd of buffalo, appeared at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Silver & Gold combines film, live performance, and original costumes into a self-proclaimed “filmformance” that evokes the muse of legendary filmmaker Jack Smith and his tribute to 1940s’ Dominican movie starlet Maria Montez in a magical and joyfully twisted exploration of race, glamour, sexuality, and the silver screen. Sunday, January 24 at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 26 at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, January 28 at 6:30 p.m. Commissioned by LIVE FILM! Jack Smith! Festival, coorganized by Arsenal—Institute for Film and Video Art and Hebbel-am-Ufer Theater (HAU) in Berlin. Produced at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute iEAR Studios with assistance from EMPAC.

Sweet, Sampled, and LeftOva
Kalup Linzy’s work is a splendid mix of southern culture, daytime soap opera, and the raunchy, shady humor of black gay culture, all turbocharged with fierce DIY Network determination. Linzy writes, directs, and stars in his hilariously melodramatic tales of love and flama. Following the video presentation, one of the characters, Taiwan, comes to life to star in a multimedia musical performance. Featuring the videos, Ride to da Club, Conversations wit de Churen VII: Lil Myron's Trade, Keys to Our Heart, and episodes from the series Melody Set Me Free.

The Works of Gina Czarnecki: Cell Mass N2, Infected, Nascent
Multimedia artist Gina Czarnecki explores the convergence of sensuality, biology, dance, and cinema in her mesmerizing single-channel installations. In these pieces developed in collaboration with biotechnologists, computer programmers, dancers, and sound artists, Czarnecki crafts gorgeously textural, digital meditations on the human form in motion: gazing across scale, blurring the boundaries between the mass and the cellular, and investigating what is possible when nature ends and the technologically manipulated begins. Cell Mass N2 2006 United Kingdom Video installation with 5.1 Surround Producer: Forma Supported by Arts Council England Sound: Fennesz Infected 2001 United Kingdom Single-channel video with two-channel sound 8 minutes Producer: Forma Supported by Arts Council England Sound: Fennesz Nascent United Kingdom 2005 Single-channel video with two-channel sound 10 minutes Producer: Forma Coproducer: Australian Dance Theatre Supported by Arts Council England Commissioned by Forma and Adelaide Film Festival Sound: Fennesz

Shorts

The Armoire
Eleven year-old Aaron plays a game of Hide and Seek where his friend Tony is never found. The mystery of their relationship—and their queer attachment to the armoire in Aaron's bedroom—can only be revealed, it turns out, through hypnosis.

The Art of Drowning
Pondering the possibilities that await us at the end of the line.

Birthday
Sara loves her wife, Katarina. For her fortieth birthday, Sara wants to surprise her wife, unaware that Katarina also has a surprise for this memorable day.

Born Sweet
World Premiere/Political/Environmental/Music
Arsenic-laced water has poisoned a 15-year-old boy from a small, rural village in Cambodia, who fashions dreams for karaoke stardom in spite of his illness.

Bus
Political
An examination of those who live amidst the complex rules, walls, soldiers, and permits that make up the Israel/Palestine bus system.

Can We Talk?
Comedy
Vince gets way more than he bargains for when he dumps his girlfriend . . . again.

Charlie and the Rabbit
Charlie, a four-year-old who loves Bugs Bunny, decides to hunt a rabbit of his own.

Chicken Heads
After his father's prized sheep goes missing, Yousef devises a strategy to keep the truth buried.

Dock Ellis & the LSD No-No
Comedy/Animation/Sports
In celebration of the greatest athletic achievement by a man on a psychedelic journey, here's the animated tale of Dock Ellis' s legendary LSD no-hitter.

Drunk History: Douglass & Lincoln
World Premiere/Comedy/Political
On March 22, Jen Kirkman drank two bottles of wine and then discussed a historical event.

Drunk History: Tesla & Edison
Comedy/Political/Environmental
On January 7, Duncan Trussell drank a six-pack of beer . . . then a half a bottle of absinthe . . . and then he discussed a historical event.

Echo
After murdering a young girl, two boys have to relive the brutal crime they committed and confront the strange and shocking feelings that linger.

Family Jewels
Political
Carol, a mother and a U.S. solider ready for deployment, finds that the most painful part of leaving is spending the last night with her family.

The Fence
Political
In October 2006, the United States government decided to build a 700-mile fence along its Mexican border. Three years and 3.1 billion dollars later, its stated goals—containing illegal immigration, cracking down on drug trafficking, and protecting America from terrorists—have unforeseen consequences.

Fiddlestixx
World Premiere/Comedy
Fiddlestixx is about a monkey . . . a very special monkey.

The Fight
Comedy
Mads should have told the truth; he is terrible at fighting.

Glottal Opera
World Premiere/Comedy
Disturbing, confronting, mesmerizing, yet ultimately compelling.

Gone to the Dogs
World Premiere/Comedy
A dinner party turns ugly when one of the guests brings her dog along.

Herbert White
World Premiere
In this film based on the poem by the same name, a man struggles with his inner demons while trying to live a normal family life.

How I Met Your Father
World Premiere/Comedy
Every couple has a story, some more romantic than others.

I'm Here
no description

I Without End
World Premiere/Animation
An unexpectedly sensual drama of two lovers caught somewhere between living and dying, rhythmically decaying, until all moisture is gone, and their movements subside.

Laredo, Texas
World Premiere/Political
Sam trains Juan for his first day at his new job—fixing pay phones in the border town of Laredo, Texas. However, tensions boil when Sam suspects that Juan is an undocumented worker.

LAST ADDRESS
World Premiere/Political
A compilation of exterior images from the last residential addresses of a group of New York City artists who died of AIDS.

Let's Harvest the Organs of Death Row Inmates
Political/Animation
In 2008, 37 death-row inmates were executed. None of their organs were donated. Considering that there are currently 2,775 people on the waiting list for heart transplants, shouldn’t we be harvesting healthy organs from executed inmates?

Little Accidents
World Premiere
A desperate young factory worker recruits a mentally disabled ex-boyfriend to steal a pregnancy test for her.

The Little Dragon
World Premiere/Comedy/Animation/Sports
The dragon spirit is reincarnated in a doll’s body trapped in a box for 35 years. With insurance, rubber toy sets out to discover the oversized world outside.

Little Miss Eyeflap
Political
The fantastical, magical story of a Norwegian/Pakistani girl who escapes the forced marriage her family has planned for her.

Logorama
/Political/Animation
Spectacular car chases, an intense hostage crisis, and wild animals rampaging through the city change a world constructed by heavy corporate sponsorship.

Madagascar, a journey diary
World Premiere/Political/Animation/Music
A visual travel journal demonstrating the importance of dance, death, and traditional customs present and vibrant in the Malagasy society.

Mary Last Seen
World Premiere
A young woman embarks on a road trip with her boyfriend to a place he promises will be beautiful and peaceful. But a series of strange events occur on their journey, and it becomes clear that their relationship is not what she thinks and their destination is not what was promised.

MEATWAFFLE
Comedy/Animation
An old man reflects on his strange and bizarre memories.

Mr. Okra
Political/Environmental
An intimate look at one of New Orleans's most colorful characters: the charismatic vegetable salesman Mr. Okra, who provides a glimpse into the soul of an American city.

My Invisible Friend
World Premiere/Comedy
With the arrival of Andy—his invisible friend—an extremely shy Tomas starts to realize how much better his life would be if he were able to communicate with the people around him.

My Mom Smokes Weed
World Premiere/Comedy
After a loyal son comes home to visit his aging mother, she assigns him some chores; one of them involves a road trip to help satiate her desire for a certain special herb.

My Rabit Hoppy
World Premiere/Comedy
Henry's show-and-tell school project about his pet rabbit goes horribly wrong.

N.A.S.A. A Volta
World Premiere/Animation/Music
Another day, another drug deal gone wrong in this NC-17 bit of ultraviolence set in an 8-bit isometric metropolis.

NEW MEDIA
World Premiere
Living in the lap of luxury through no achievement of his own, an out-of-touch, middle-aged poseur tries to make good by getting in on the “viral video” craze.

Notes on the Other
Political
Each summer, a crowd of Ernest Hemingway doubles meets in Key West, Florida, to choose the authentic Hemingway after his death. One day in 1924, the real Ernest Hemingway also wanted to be someone else.

old fangs
World Premiere/Animation
A young wolf decides to confront his father, whom he has not seen since he was a child.

One Square Mile of Earth
World Premiere/Comedy/Animation
Bill the bunny is a struggling novelist who has never actually written anything, much to the chagrin of his perfectionist life partner, Gary the frog. Thad the bear is a hopeless romantic who can't find the right words to express his feelings for the scandalous and alluring Lucy the goat. And Leon the hippopotamus—one of the coolest and hippest guys in town—has struck up an unlikely friendship with a down-on-his-luck high-school sociology teacher, Pedro the mouse.

Para Fuera
World Premiere/Political/Music
A portrait of Dr. Richard J. Bing on his hundredth birthday.

PATROL
World Premiere
A man pretends to be a policeman to impress his six-year-old son.

Photograph of Jesus
Comedy/Political/Animation
Real-life archives become the stage where fact and fiction collide, belief runs amok, and unruly images acquire a life of their own.

Plastic and Glass
Environmental
In a recycling factory, the machines dance, the workers join in song, and the truck drivers circle as if part of a factory ballet.

Please Say Something
Animation
A troubled relationship between a cat and mouse set in the distant future.

The Poodle Trainer
World Premiere/Political
Irina Markova, a solitary Russian poodle trainer, reveals her transcendent relationship with her dogs, the childhood tragedy that sparked a lifetime of working with animals, and the welcome isolation behind the red velvet curtains of the circus.

Quadrangle
World Premiere/Political
An unconventional look at two conventional couples who swapped partners and lived in a group marriage in the early 1970s, hoping to pioneer an alternative to divorce and the way people live in the future.

Rains
Environmental/Animation
A meditation on everyday life and our relationship with nature.

Raw Love
The story of two friends at the end of high school, and a secret love that is threatened by the closing of the school year.

Renegades
World Premiere/Comedy
Oh them fuckin’ renegades. Pleasurin’ their selves again. Waitin’ for the mighty rain. To purge their souls of all their pain. Try to touch but fingers dead. Want to call but all's been said. Shot that man in his fuckin’ head. Made her come on that old dirty wet bed.

Rob and Valentyna in Scotland
World Premiere/Comedy
A lost American travels with his long-lost Ukrainian cousin to the Highlands of Scotland.

Runaway
Comedy/Animation
Happy passengers are having a great time on a crowded train, oblivious to the unknown fate that awaits them around the bend.

Seeds of the Fall
World Premiere/Animation
Middle-aged Rolf and Eva live in a passionless relationship full of sexual frustration. Then something happens that will change their relationship forever.

The S from Hell
World Premiere
A documentary-cum-horror film about the scariest corporate symbol in history: the 1964 Screen Gems logo, aka the "S from Hell." Featuring interviews with survivors still traumatized from viewing the logo after shows like Bewitched or The Monkees, animation, found footage, and reenactments bring their stories to life.

Shimásání
World Premiere/Political
When Mary Jane finds a geography book that shows her an entirely new world, she must decide whether to maintain her traditional Navajo reservation lifestyle with her grandmother or go out into a larger world.

The Six Dollar Fifty Man
Andy, a gutsy eight-year-old boy, is forced to break out of his make-believe superhero world to deal with playground bullies.

Still Birds
A dystopic fable that takes place in an enclosed world where meaning is about to disappear.

Successful Alcoholics
World Premiere/Comedy
Drake and Lindsay are successful alcoholics who may need to rethink their definition of "success."

Thompson
Political/Sports
Since second grade, Matt and Ryan have shared the bond of speech impediments, weapons, and things that go fast. But as their last days of high school speed by, the two friends find that their go-carts, dirt bikes, and RC cars can't outrun adulthood.

TUB
World Premiere/Comedy
Paul can't commit. Paul jerks off in the shower. Paul just impregnated his bathtub.

Tungijuq
Political/Environmental/Animation
A thought-provoking meditation on the seal hunt and what it means to the traditional way of life for the Inuit.

The Visitors
World Premiere
Nisa and Daniel, a young interracial couple, struggle to get by in a rodent-infested apartment. The arrival of unexpected guests forces Nisa to face an impossible decision.

Vive la Rose
Animation/Music
When illness takes the woman he loves, a simple man raises his voice in melancholy song as a last farewell.

Voice on the Line
World Premiere/Political/Animation
The era of nuclear anxiety, the Red scare, and covert CIA plots forever changed the way we engage with the telephone.

Vostok Station
Environmental
The sole survivor of a cataclysmic disaster experiences a bewildering moment of fleeting beauty.

Wagah
Political/Music
A visual illustration of a single evening where 20,000 people dance and sing daily at the only checkpoint between India and Pakistan.

Wisdom Teeth
World Premiere/Comedy/Animation
Nigel recently had his wisdom teeth removed.

Young Love
Comedy
Clarity often exists in the eyes of strangers.

The ZO
World Premiere/Animation
A hand-drawn animated film about abuse and escape, where a child becomes trapped by a monster in a nightmare house.

well, i don't know much about all these films, but I am anxious to watch Blue Valentine, Ryan Gosling's latest, and first film since 07's Lars and the Real Girl.

Well because a lot of these are WORLD PREMIERES, but that's also why I tried to give a little synopsis. more synopsis is from the film section at the sundance site

-off-topic-
hey WS:
http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2 ... mpler.html

thanks dude. I'm submitting!

and it got accepted today