Co-chairs AJ Schnack and Thom Powers, accompanied by Danielle DiGiacomo from Indiepix, welcomed the crowd to the Cinema Eye Honors announcement at Sundance today. Filmmakers Laura Poitras (director of the Academy-award nominated MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY) and Joe Berlinger (here at Sundance with his current film CRUDE) helped read out the nominees across categories. A list of nominees can be found at the blog All These Wonderful Things.
Editor Sam Pollard (juror for US Docs this year at Sundance) with director Ross Kauffman
“I’m coming to feel like a horse-and-buggy manufacturer watching those model-T’s rolling off the line,” said New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof about the experience of being a writer at the Sundance film festival. Kristof was speaking on a panel at the Sundance Filmmakers Lodge with fellow journalist Samantha Power, moderated by Orlando Bagwell of the Ford Foundation.
Kristof is attending Sundance as the subject of the documentary REPORTER. Power is supporting the film SERGIO, based on her book “Chasing The Flame” about the U.N. maverick Sergio Vieira de Mello. “There’s nothing like seeing a film with an audience,” Power said. “Neither of us get the experience of seeing people read our work.”
Both writers shared engrossing stories about reporting from the world’s most dangerous places. In REPORTER we see Kristof traveling to the Congo and conducting a very delicate interview with the warlord accused of killing civilians. “When you write about warlords and are within their gun-range, you tend to be more careful about what you say,” explained Kristof.
Yesterday was a heroic viewing day as I tackled five doc screenings, with the last one taking place at midnight. Here are some highlights from what I saw:
GOOD HAIR is a hilarious and insightful journey into the world of black peoples’ hair. I must be honest – this is not a subject I have ever really thought about in any meaningful way. But with Chris Rock as the guide, the journey was extremely entertaining and educational. Sitting behind Russell Simmons and Chris Rock at the screening, surrounded by a huge portion of the cast and crew, I ate this film up – as did the audience. (Photo – Q&A with the cast, L to R: hair-dresser Jason, actress Sarah Jones, comedian Chris Rock and actress Nia Long)
THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE by R.J. Cutler is a fascinating look at Anna Wintour – editor of Vogue and the world’s most influential fashion figure. Cutler observes the nine months leading up to Vogue’s “September Issue” the largest magazine in their history.
STF sponsor SnagFilms hosted a great party in Sundance yesterday afternoon filled with all the documentary regulars, plus a few special guests (like Robert Redford!).
L to R: P.O.V.‘s Yance Ford (who premieres her new film’s trailer tomorrow at the Chicken and Egg Party) with Stephanie Sharis of SnagFilms
After years of hearing about this famed festival from colleagues and friends, I am finally here! From all of their descriptions, I was fairly confident I knew what to expect and was bracing myself for freezing cold temperatures, cramped living quarters, and celebrity attitudes. Well, on day three of my visit, I am pleased to report that all of my initial expectations were wrong. Getting off the plane on Thursday, I was pleasantly surprised (and somewhat disturbed) to discover that Utah was actually warmer than NY. Bizarre. As for cramped living quarters, this year Thom is a juror for the World Docs category, so we are being treated by the wonderful people at Sundance to a lovely hotel, complete with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the mountains (Thom insists on reminding me that we’ll never have it this good again). And as for celebrity attitudes, although I’ve seen Paris Hilton, the ex-wife of Hulk Hogan and other ridiculous Hollywood divas on the street, there is something quite democratizing about bulky winter clothing. We all look a bit silly in our furry boots and poofy coats.
Surrounded by blue skies, white-capped mountains and tempting ski-trails, it was initially difficult to get myself inside a dark theater to do what I came here to do – watch movies! I overcame the hurdle to see several interesting docs:
BIG RIVER MAN tells the story of Slovenian endurance swimmer Martin Strel who swims the length of the Amazon to highlight environmental issues. Narrated by his son and manager John Maringouin, the film follows Strel 3,375 miles (66 days) as he completes history’s longest, most perilous swim.
Editor Sam Pollard (juror for US Docs this year at Sundance) with director Ross Kauffman
L to R: 
