Sundance 2012 Coverage
The Ambassador
Mads Brügger returns to the world of documentary filmmaking with another voyeuristic hidden camera journey that transports viewers into more undesirable territories. His latest secretive expedition covertly places audiences in the middle of the Central African Republic while Brügger poses as a foreign business diplomat attempting to set up a faux organization in order to leave with a briefcase full of diamonds.
Excision
In his directorial debut, Richard Bates racks up multiple points for the fucked up in this twisted horror-story-meets-teen-comedy. AnnaLynne McCord steps out of her usual “vixen” roles to play Pauline—a greasy, acne-ridden teenager with bizarre sexual fantasies centered on performing surgery on strangers … read more
Marina Abramovic The Artist is Present
Following performance artist Marina Abramovic during her three-month 2010 MoMA exhibition, this beautifully executed documentary gives the audience an intimate look into the life of one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century. … read more
Detropia
Creating a documentary focused on a place, rather than a person or an event, is no easy task. Detropia could have easily been an incoherent mess of interviews with unemployed autoworkers and cutaways to the often-photographed crumbling buildings of inner city Detroit. Luckily, Ewing and Grady have created something that moves beyond the typical clichés of Detroit. … read more
The Invisible War
The Invisible War offers an intimate glimpse into one of America’s deepest secrets. Sexual violence against women in the military has reached epidemic levels, and high-level officials are systematically sweeping these cases under the rug. … read more
Keep the Lights On
Keep the Lights On is a multifaceted love story that examines what it means to love another individual and the lengths one is willing to go to keep things together. … read more
Where Do We Go Now?
Reading the short synopsis of this film, I thought I was walking into a political war narrative. Instead, Where Do We Go Now? greeted me with comedy, creativity and even song! In a small, secluded village in Lebanon, a group of women mourning their fallen husbands and sons due to the constant Christian vs. Muslim conflict tearing the world apart decide that they will not lose any more of their loved ones this way. … read more
Wuthering Heights
I imagine that a few people strayed away from this film simply because it is a Victorian novel adaptation from the UK. Perhaps they expected a theater full of 20- to 40-something-year-olds hoping to catch a glimpse of Colin Firth. However, this “adaptation” couldn’t be further from that demographic if it had brought in transforming robots and an electro soundtrack. … read more
This Must be the Place
Sean Penn plays a wealthy, retired and ultimately bored rock star named Cheyenne in This Must Be the Place. When Cheyenne learns that his estranged father is dying he travels to New York City only to arrive after his father has passed. From there, Cheyenne find himself on a journey-quest through America’s Heartland in an attempt to find the Nazi war criminal who persecuted his father at Auschwitz. … read more
Madrid, 1987
It’s a hot summer day in Madrid in 1987 when Miguel, a surly, but well-respected journalist agrees to meet with a journalism student named Angela for an interview. While her intentions are murky, it’s immediately clear that Miguel wants to get laid. … read more