The winners of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival were announced earlier today. A list of the feature awards follows:
US Documentary Competition Awards:
World Cinema Documentary Competition Awards:
US Dramatic Competition Awards:
World Cinema Dramatic Competition Awards:
NEXT Awards:
Festival Favorite:
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
NAVALNY
In August 2020 while on a plane traveling from Siberia to Moscow, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, a nerve agent implicated in attacks on other opponents of the Russian government. Navalny partnered with journalists and international news organizations to investigate his attempted assassination and find proof of the Kremlin’s involvement.
Director:
Daniel Roher
Producers:
Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller, Shane Boris
Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition
More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details by clicking on the film title above.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
The 2022 Sundance Film Festival begins tomorrow, Thursday, January 20, and runs through Sunday, January 30. w(n)td will be on hiatus for the duration while I’m busy with my responsibilities as a Senior Programmer for the festival. Regular daily weekday posting will resume on Monday, January 31.
Sundance is available online across the US — and in-person at seven Satellite Screens — so I encourage everyone who is able to catch as much of our amazing lineup as possible. Full program and ticketing info is available at the link above.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Gondwana
A durational VR experience that runs over 24 hours, and a constantly-evolving virtual ecosystem chronicling the possible futures of the world’s oldest tropical rainforest, the Daintree. Powered by climate data, each showing is unrepeatable and speculative, a meditation on time, change, and loss in an irreplaceable landscape.
Lead Artists:
Ben Joseph Andrews, Emma Roberts
Key Collaborators:
Lachlan Sleight, Michelle Brown, The Convoy
Producer:
Emma Roberts
Festival Section:
New Frontier
More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details by clicking on the project title above.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
32 Sounds
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.
Lead Artist:
Sam Green
Producers:
Josh Penn, Tommy Kriegsmann
Festival Section:
New Frontier
More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details by clicking on the project title above.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to Showtime Sunday, January 30:
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT COSBY
Director:
W Kamau Bell
World Premiere:
Sundance 2022
About:
Can you separate the art from the artist? Should you even try? While there are many people about whom we could ask those questions, none poses a tougher challenge than Bill Cosby.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to MUBI Friday, January 28:
FEELS GOOD MAN
Director:
Arthur Jones
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
True/False, SXSW, Big Sky Doc, Taipei, Fantasia, Sidewalk, Kyiv
About:
An exploration of the unpredictable development of an influential Internet meme.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to VOD next Tuesday, January 25:
HAMTRAMCK, USA
Director:
Razi Jafri, Justin Feltman
World Premiere:
SXSW 2020 (unscreened)
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, DOXA, Sarasota, St Louis, CAAMFest, Melbourne Doc, Virginia
About:
An election in America’s first majority Muslim city splits the community along ethnic lines.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Formerly a solid Polish Catholic town, Hamtramck MI is America’s first majority Muslim city. During one election cycle, popular incumbent Karen Majewski faces Muslim challenger Mohammed Hassan for mayor, and the typically harmonious, culturally commingling community begins to split along ethnic lines. Going behind the scenes of small-town politics to explore the beauty and challenges that come with multiculturalism, Razi Jafri and Justin Feltman’s film is a heartwarming reminder that civility and respect can coexist in our political races.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
PHOENIX RISING
Actress and activist Evan Rachel Wood takes her experience as a survivor of domestic violence to pursue justice, heal generational trauma, and reclaim her story in a culture that instinctively blames women. The film intimately charts her journey as she moves toward naming her infamous abuser for the first time.
Director:
Amy Berg
Producers:
Kirsten Sheridan, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller
Festival Section:
Special Screenings
More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details by clicking on the film title above.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
LAST FLIGHT HOME
An examination of Eli Timoner’s intentional death and his family’s emotional turmoil as they grapple with his decision to end his own life. The family journeys back through Eli’s remarkable, painful life to discover what true love looks like and help him shed shame he’s carried for forty years.
Director:
Ondi Timoner
Producers:
Ondi Timoner, David Turner
Festival Section:
Special Screenings
More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details by clicking on the film title above.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
what (not) to doc 