Category Archives: Sundance

2017 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE NEW RADICAL

new radicalTHE NEW RADICAL
Adam Bhala Lough profiles two crypto-anarchists as they face off against systems of control.

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition
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2017 Sundance Docs in Focus: ICARUS

icarusICARUS
Bryan Fogel exposes a complex doping operation at the heart of Russia’s Olympics program.

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition
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2017 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE FORCE

forceTHE FORCE
Peter Nicks immerses viewers in the beleaguered Oakland Police Department as it attempts to reform its scandal-ridden image.

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition
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2017 Sundance Docs in Focus: DOLORES

doloresDOLORES
Peter Bratt celebrates an unheralded pioneer of the modern labor rights movement.

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition
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2017 Sundance Docs in Focus: DINA

dinaDINA
Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini profile an unforgettable woman as she seeks to realize her desires.

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition
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2017 Sundance Docs in Focus: CITY OF GHOSTS

city of ghostsCITY OF GHOSTS
Matthew Heineman captures a courageous group of citizen journalists and their struggle to expose the truth behind ISIS.

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition
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2017 Sundance Docs in Focus: CHASING CORAL

chasing coralCHASING CORAL
Jeff Orlowski races to capture the climate change-driven destruction of the planet’s lifegiving coral reefs.

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition

Special Program:
The New Climate
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2017 Sundance Docs in Focus: CASTING JONBENET

casting jonbenetCASTING JONBENET
Kitty Green’s hybrid explores the 1996 murder of the child beauty pageant winner from the perspectives of the local community.

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition
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2017 Sundance Docs in Focus

sundance 2017The Sundance Film Festival’s 33rd edition takes place next month, running January 19-29, with a lineup consisting of 118 features, 68 shorts, 11 installations/performances, and 16 VR experiences. Since the 2011 festival, I’ve profiled the feature documentary programming in advance of the festival, offering background about the exciting new crop of films. The 2017 lineup focus commences tomorrow, beginning with the US Documentary Competition, and will continue film-by-film, section-by-section, until I’ve covered the approximately 50 nonfiction titles, concluding right before the festival begins.

Given my role as Documentary Programming Associate for Sundance, please note that these profiles are not reviews – instead, they simply include select background, noting past Sundance projects where applicable, and reasons why readers should seek the films out, either in Park City during the festival or later in the year at other upcoming festivals and/or ijn release. For a sample, check out last year’s series, which began here.

I’ve also prepared a new Twitter list to give readers a look at the festival through the eyes of the Sundance 2017 films.

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In Theatres: THE BAD KIDS

bad kidsComing to theatres tomorrow, Friday, December 23: THE BAD KIDS

Keith Fulton and Lou Pepe’s look at troubled youths’ last chance for high school debuted at Sundance this year, where it won a special jury award. It went on to screen at True/False, Cleveland, Full Frame, Dallas, Visions du Réel, Hot Docs, DocAviv, and Atlantic, among other events.

My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.

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