With the 2023 Sundance Film Festival kicking off tomorrow, in-person in Park City and Salt Lake City, UT, for the first time since 2020, and keeping me busy in my role as Senior Programmer, this is typically the time of the year when w(n)td goes on hiatus for the duration of the Festival.
This year, it also makes for a fitting time to bring this site to a close, more or less. I’ve been posting about all things documentary since the summer of 2010, usually multiple times daily during the work week. While my writing has been less in-depth in recent years, making the site function more like a nonfiction release listing, it’s still been a time commitment. With others providing similar information – I recommend interested readers sign up for DOC NYC’s Weekend Watch newsletter – I feel like it’s time for me to step away from regular posting for the foreseeable future. I may pop in with an occasional post, such as notable Sundance announcements or listings of Sundance alumni releases, but, after 12.5 years and more than 8000 posts, my daily contributions to w(n)td have now wrapped.
Thanks to everyone who has checked out this site over the years, which I’ll continue to maintain as an archive. If you’re headed to Sundance, I hope to see you in person there.
About: An inside look at the studio responsible for some of the most iconic and recognizable album covers of all time. From Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon to Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy, the studio ruled the ’70s.
About: The quixotic journey of Nam June Paik, one of the most famous Asian artists of the 20th century, who revolutionized the use of technology as an artistic canvas and prophesied both the fascist tendencies and intercultural understanding that would arise from the interconnected metaverse of today’s world.
About: Three elite mountain climbers sacrifice everything but their friendship as they struggle through heartbreaking loss and nature’s harshest elements to attempt the never-before-completed Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru, the most coveted first ascent in the dangerous game of Himalayan big wall climbing.
About: The history of New York’s Meatpacking District, told from the perspective of transgender sex workers who lived and worked there. Filmmaker Kristen Lovell, who walked “The Stroll” for a decade, reunites her community to recount the violence, policing, homelessness, and gentrification they overcame to build a movement for transgender rights.
About: In Eastern Ukraine, follow the daily life of children and staff in a special kind of home: an institution for children who have been removed from their homes while awaiting court custody decisions.
About: The improbable tale of a short kid from a Canadian army base who became the darling of 1980s Hollywood — only to find the course of his life altered by a stunning diagnosis. What happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease?
About: The quixotic journey of Nam June Paik, one of the most famous Asian artists of the 20th century, who revolutionized the use of technology as an artistic canvas and prophesied both the fascist tendencies and intercultural understanding that would arise from the interconnected metaverse of today’s world.
About: Investigative journalist Rae de Leon travels nationwide to uncover and examine a shocking pattern: Young women tell the police they’ve been sexually assaulted, but instead of finding justice, they’re charged with the crime of making a false report, arrested, and even imprisoned by the system they believed would protect them.
About: A galvanizing look at actor, model, and icon Brooke Shields as she transforms from sexualized young girl to a woman discovering her power. Holding a mirror up to a society that objectifies women and girls, her story shows the perils and triumphs of gaining agency in a hostile world.
About: An exploration of the rise and fall of Richard Davis, the charming and brash inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest who shot himself 192 times to prove his product worked.
About: This celebration of Little Richard reveals the Black queer origins of rock ’n’ roll, finally exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music. Through archival and performance footage, the revolutionary icon’s life unspools with all of its switchbacks and contradictions.
Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Antti Savolainen
Director: Tania Anderson
About: A revelation of the inner lives of young Mormon missionaries, as they leave their homes for the first time and embark upon the most emotionally, physically, and psychologically challenging period of their life.
About: The radical honesty of the books by young adult fiction pioneer Judy Blume changed the way millions of readers understood themselves, their sexuality, and what it meant to grow up, but also led to critical battles against book banning and censorship.
About: This celebration of Little Richard reveals the Black queer origins of rock ’n’ roll, finally exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music. Through archival and performance footage, the revolutionary icon’s life unspools with all of its switchbacks and contradictions.
Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Grant Din
Director: Julie Ha, Eugene Yi
About: After a Korean immigrant is wrongly convicted of a 1973 San Francisco Chinatown gang murder, Asian Americans unite as never before to free Chol Soo Lee. A former street hustler becomes the symbol for a landmark movement. But once out, he self-destructs, threatening the movement’s legacy and the man himself.
About: An immersive documentary and sensory film experience that explores the elemental phenomenon of sound and its power to bend time, cross borders, and profoundly shape our perception of the world around us. The film will be presented in its “live cinema” form, featuring live music and live narration.
About: In Eastern Ukraine, follow the daily life of children and staff in a special kind of home: an institution for children who have been removed from their homes while awaiting court custody decisions.
About: The quixotic journey of Nam June Paik, one of the most famous Asian artists of the 20th century, who revolutionized the use of technology as an artistic canvas and prophesied both the fascist tendencies and intercultural understanding that would arise from the interconnected metaverse of today’s world.
Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Jeff Hutchens | courtesy of SHOWTIME
Director: Razelle Benally, Matthew Galkin
About: The deaths of a group of Native American women in rural Montana are the focus as Native families, journalists, and local law enforcement reveal a violent crisis set in motion almost 200 years ago.
About: Stopping the climate crisis is a question of political courage, and the clock is ticking. Over three years of turbulence and crisis, four remarkable young women of color fight for a Green New Deal, igniting a historic shift in US climate politics.
About: Against the darkening backdrop of Delhi’s apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protect one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the Black Kite.
>February 10: In Theatres: Anthology Film Archives
Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Ava Benjamin Shorr
Director: Chase Joynt
About: After discovering case files from a 1950s gender clinic, a cast of transgender actors turn a talk show inside out to confront the legacy of a young trans woman forced to choose between honesty and access.
Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Love Martinsen
Director: Maria Loohufvud, Love Martinsen
About: A coming-of-golden-age look at Florida’s most dedicated dance team for women over 60, shaking up the outdated image of “the little old lady,” and calling for everyone to dance their hearts out, while they still can.
Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Rebecca Greenfield
Director: Dylan Southern, Will Lovelace
About: An immersive journey through the New York music scene of the early 2000s. Set against the backdrop of 9/11, the film tells the story of how a new generation kickstarted a musical rebirth for New York City that reverberated around the world. Inspired by the book by Lizzy Goodman.
The winners of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival were announced earlier today. A list of the feature awards follows:
US Documentary Competition Awards:
Grand Jury Prize: GOING TO MARS: THE NIKKI GIOVANNI PROJECT | Courtesy of Sundance InstituteAudience Award: BEYOND UTOPIA | Courtesy of Sundance InstituteDirecting Award: A STILL SMALL VOICE | Courtesy of Sundance InstituteJonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: GOING VARSITY IN MARIACHI | Courtesy of Sundance InstituteSpecial Jury Award: Clarity of Vision: THE STROLL | Courtesy of Sundance InstituteSpecial Jury Award: Freedom of Expression: BAD PRESS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
World Cinema Documentary Competition Awards:
Grand Jury Prize: THE ETERNAL MEMORY | Courtesy of Sundance InstituteAudience Award: 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | AP Photo/Mstyslav ChernovDirecting Award: SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD | Courtesy of Sundance InstituteSpecial Jury Award: Creative Vision: FANTASTIC MACHINE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by Alexander TikhomirovSpecial Jury Award: Verite Filmmaking: AGAINST THE TIDE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
US Dramatic Competition Awards:
Grand Jury Prize: A THOUSAND AND ONE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Focus FeaturesAudience Award: THE PERSIAN VERSION | Courtesy of Sundance InstituteDirecting Award: THE ACCIDENTAL GETAWAY DRIVER | Courtesy of Sundance InstituteWaldo Salt Screenwriting Award: THE PERSIAN VERSION | Courtesy of Sundance InstituteSpecial Jury Award: Ensemble | THEATER CAMP | Courtesy of Sundance InstituteSpecial Jury Award: Creative Vision: MAGAZINE DREAMS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Glen WilsonSpecial Jury Award: Acting: MUTT | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
World Cinema Dramatic Competition Awards:
Grand Jury Prize: SCRAPPER | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by Chris HarrisAudience Award: SHAYDA | Courtesy of Sundance InstituteDirecting Award: SLOW | Courtesy of Sundance InstituteSpecial Jury Award: Creative Vision: ANIMALIA | Courtesy of Sundance InstituteSpecial Jury Award: Cinematography: MAMI WATA | Courtesy of Sundance Institute.Special Jury Award: Best Performance: WHEN IT MELTS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
NEXT Awards:
NEXT Innovator Award: KOKOMO CITY | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by D SmithAudience Award: KOKOMO CITY | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by D Smith
Festival Favorite:
Festival Favorite: RADICAL | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Oscar nominations were announced this morning, including the documentaries listed below. Congratulations to all the nominees – particular the past Sundance Film Festival titles recognized – and good luck on Sunday, March 12.
Documentary Feature:
ALL THAT BREATHESALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHEDFIRE OF LOVEA HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERSNAVALNY
Documentary Short Subject: The Elephant Whisperers Haulout How Do You Measure a Year? The Martha Mitchell Effect Stranger at the Gate
Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by Antti Savolainen
Coming to VOD next Friday, January 27: THE MISSION
Director: Tania Anderson
World Premiere: Sundance 2022
Select Festivals: Göteborg, Thessaloniki Doc, Zurich, Beldocs, Docs Against Gravity
About: A revelation of the inner lives of young Mormon missionaries, as they leave their homes for the first time and embark upon the most emotionally, physically, and psychologically challenging period of their life.
what (not) to doc 