Sundance Doc Report #2

image [Melissa Hibbard follows her first Sundance report with this new post filed on January 24]

First of all, congratulations to Thom and Raphaela on the birth of their son, Bez.

With the snow still piling up all over town, I woke up early and stood in the wait list line to see SPACE TOURISTS, a science fiction-esque documentary directed by Christian Frei. The film, which explores the impact of space tourism on the heavens and the earth, seemed very much like a homage to the great Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky.  It’s beautiful images, moody dialogue and slow paced editing transports the viewer to the uncomfortable spaces of the old Soviet Union where space tourist are funding the continued exploration of the stars. It’s the kind of film I love to watch: sparse dialogue, stunning landscapes, and a gorgeous soundtrack composed by Jan Garbarek , Steve Teich and Edward Artemyev (who was the composer on some of Takovsky’s more sci-fi films including Stalker and Solaris)  For the Q and A, Frei was there along with the protagonist of the film, Anousheh Ansari [pictured], the first woman space tourist who paid more that 20 million dollars to make her childhood dream of going to space a reality.  Most of the questions were directed to Ansari who answered questions ranging from “What were the after effects on your body?”  to “Was it really worth that much money?” I loved Ansari’s reply: “How do you put a price tag on a dream.”

Right after SPACE TOURISTS I headed into THE RED CHAPEL, by Danish filmmaker Mads Brügger, for a surreal journey to North Korea.  Brügger travels to North Korea under the guise of directing a theater troupe that promotes cultural understanding. The troupe, consisting of Simon the straight man and Jacob the self proclaimed spastic are both Danish Koreans who have never been to Korean. The film is a crazy mix of the theater of the absurd and political activism. It reminded me, in some ways, of BORAT. But instead of making fun of the soft targets of American society, THE RED CHAPEL attempts to expose the dictatorship for the “evil and demonic” oppressor that it is.  Not sure if they accomplished that but it did reveal a lot about a country that most people don’t know: the capitol city is virtually deserted, there are no handicapped persons to be seen and that Kim Jong-ill wrote a book on how to make a great movie. 

With my mind reeling from images of space junk scrappers and robot-like 5 year olds performing for their Dear Leader, I make my way to my last film of the day, WAITING FOR SUPERMAN, directed by Davis Guggenheim. The film examines the current state of the US education system, which is an enormous undertaking.  Guggenheim uses archival footage, animation, charts, interviews and the stories of 5 children to tackle this beast. The stories of the kids were most effective and I wish Guggenheim had spent more time with them.  But the ending is suspenseful and does a good job of conveying just how big of a mess we are in. 


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Upcoming Screenings

Sep 20: THE HOUSE OF STEINBRENNER

image from THE HOUSE OF STEINBRENNER by Barbara Kopple
STF pre-season MONDAY SPECIAL (Season passes now on sale at early bird rate through Thurs. Sept. 16; Individual tickets go on sale Fri. Sept. 17, subject to availability) Love them or hate them, ...
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Sep 28: MARWENCOL

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STF Fall Season Opening Night (Season passes now on sale at early bird rate through Thurs. Sept. 16; Individual tickets go on sale later in Sept.) STF kicks off its fall season with MARWENCOL, ...
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Oct 5: AMERICAN SPLENDOR

image from AMERICAN SPLENDOR by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
(Season passes now on sale at early bird rate through Thurs. Sept. 16; Individual tickets go on sale later in Sept.) STF pays tribute to Harvey Pekar, who recently died, with this special screening ...
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Oct 12: ON COAL RIVER

image from ON COAL RIVER by Francine Cavanaugh & Adams Wood
ON COAL RIVER takes viewers on a gripping emotional journey into the Coal River Valley of West Virginia, where longtime local residents begin to uncover the toxic effects of America’s increased ...
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Oct 19: THE CANAL STREET MADAM

image from THE CANAL STREET MADAM by Cameron Yates
Until an FBI bust upended her life, Jeanette Maier was a successful New Orleans madam. Her discreet clientele included a number of powerful, high-ranking politicians. The ensuing very public trial - ...
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Oct 26: TAKING ON THE KENNEDYS

image from TAKING ON THE KENNEDYS by Joshua Seftel
“A film that would be mistaken for a Robert Altman political satire if it weren’t absolutely and horribly true.” —USA TODAY When Kevin Vigilante took on Patrick Kennedy for a seat in the U.S. House ...
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Nov 2: WO AI NI MOMMY (I LOVE YOU MOMMY)

image from WO AI NI MOMMY (I LOVE YOU MOMMY) by Stephanie Wang-Breal
In presenting WO AI NI MOMMY with the Sterling Award for Best US Feature this past June, the jury at Silverdocs noted: “The film dives so deeply into its story that the filmmaker’s hands disappear. ...
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Nov 9: WAR DON DON

image from WAR DON DON by Rebecca Richman Cohen
Profiled in Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces in Independent Film as an “up-and-comer poised to shape the next generation of independent film”, Rebecca Richman Cohen won Special Jury at SXSW and the ...
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Nov 16: 12TH & DELAWARE

image from 12TH & DELAWARE by Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, the filmmaking team behind the 2006 Oscar-nominated doc JESUS CAMP, take us on another controversial journey with 12TH & DELAWARE.  Description from Sundance 2010 ...
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Nov 23: MARLENE

image from MARLENE by Maximilian Schell
Director Maximilian Schell got the reclusive Marlene Dietrich to agree to appear in this documentary only on the stipulation that she not be photographed as she looked today. Instead, we only hear ...
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Nov 30: SURVIVING HITLER: A LOVE STORY

image from SURVIVING HITLER: A LOVE STORY by John-Keith Wasson
Winner of the Inspiration Award at the 2010 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival As a teenager in Nazi Germany, Jutta is shocked to discover she is Jewish. She joins the German resistance and meets ...
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