Category Archives: Sundance

Coming to PBS’ Independent Lens this Thursday, March 8: BHUTTO

Duane Baughman and Johnny O’Hara premiered their portrait of Benazir Bhutto at Sundance in 2010. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, Stockholm, and a number of other festivals, picking up a special jury prize at the Sonoma International Film Festival.

While the assassinated Pakistani leader and her political family dynasty are at the core of Baughman and O’Hara’s film, their engrossing doc is actually as much about the history of her nation. Taking a comprehensive approach to Bhutto’s life, they present the story of how the daughter of Pakistan’s first democratically elected president – also tragically assassinated – was groomed to continue her father’s legacy, becoming, in the process, one of the most polarizing individuals in the Muslim world, and the first woman in history elected to lead an Islamic nation. Interviews with family and friends at the same time humanize and sanctify her, indicative of her enduring legacy as a national symbol of resistance and hope. While the film perhaps takes on too much and verges at times on hagiography, it nevertheless offers an engaging profile of a complex and fascinating figure.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 6: SENNA

Asif Kapadia’s doc on Formula One’s Ayrton Senna made a splash at Sundance last year, winning the World Cinema Audience Award. It was released in theatres last Summer and on VOD this Winter.

I wrote about the film before Sundance here.

Released on DVD earlier this week: ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE

Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath premiered this personal look at the crimes of the Khmer Rouge at IDFA in 2009. It came to North America at Sundance in 2010, winning the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Prize. The film also claimed awards at Full Frame, the Human Rights Watch, Santa Barbara, and Hong Kong, and enjoyed a limited theatrical release.

I wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.

Coming to cable as part of the Oprah Winfrey Network’s Documentary Club next Thursday, March 1: FAMILY AFFAIR

Chico Colvard premiered his remarkable excavation of family secrets at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. During its subsequent festival run, the doc picked up awards at Atlanta, Silverdocs, Independent Film Festival Boston, and elsewhere, and also screened at other notable events such as Hot Docs and Full Frame.

In this incredibly raw and personal story, Colvard investigates the disturbing fallout from a particularly dramatic childhood accident in which, at the age of ten, he accidentally shot his eldest sister. While she survived, his sister revealed horrific child abuse taking place in their home – abuse from which Colvard was protected. Though Paula, Angelika, and Chiquita suffered at the hands of their father, as adults, they strangely maintain a staunch loyalty to him. Through his film, Colvard attempts to understand these intersections of trauma, forgiveness, and familial love. Mixing archival footage with frank present-day discussions with his sisters and parents, the director brings the audience along with him as he tries to make sense of what many would consider unthinkable, but which has in many ways defined his essential experience of family.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 21: SLAVERY BY ANOTHER NAME

Sam Pollard brought Douglas A Blackmon’s Pulitzer Prize-winner about shameful pseudo-slavery practices to the screen, premiering the doc at Sundance. Earlier this month, the film made its broadcast debut on PBS.

I wrote about the doc before Sundance here.

Opening at NYC’s Cinema Village today, Friday, February 17: PUTIN’S KISS

Lise Birk Pederson’s bracing look at politics and ideology in modern-day Russia through one young woman’s experience made its premiere at IDFA. The film came to Sundance for its US debut, claiming the World Cinema Documentary Award for Cinematography.

I wrote about the film prior to Sundance here.

Coming to DVD next Tuesday, February 14: HOW TO DIE IN OREGON

Peter D Richardson premiered his doc on the terminally ill and dying with dignity at Sundance last year, where it won the Documentary Grand Jury Prize. It went on to screen at numerous additional fests, picking up awards at Full Frame and Ashland Independent, before making its cable debut last Spring on HBO.

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