The 2008 Sundance Film Festival premieres 32 docs in two categories of competition: 16 are made by American filmmakers, 16 are from eight foreign countries. Subjects include current events, political analysis, environmental issues, cultural trends and portraits of iconic artists. The American films were selected from a record-breaking 953 submissions. There were 620 international submissions. Look for these films in theatres, on TV or DVD in about a year, or at other festivals in the interim.
Patti Smith: Dream of Life (USA)
Filmmaker Steven Sebring creates a revealing portrait of iconic poet, painter, musician and singer Patti Smith. World premiere.Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (USA)
Director Marina Zenovich, co-writing with Joe Bini and P.G. Morgan, elucidates the public scandal and private tragedy that caused cinema director Roman Polanski to suddenly take flight from the U.S. World premiere.Secrecy (USA)
Filmmakers Peter Galison and Robb Moss uncover vast caches of government secrecy, despite our passion for instantanous reporting of the news. World premiere.Singshot Hip Hop (USA)
Director Jackie Reem Salloum brings on the rhythms and rhymes of Palestinian rappers presenting alternative voices of resistance within the Israeli-Palestinian struggle. World premiere.Traces Of The Trade: A Story From The Deep North (USA)
Co-directed by Katrina Browne, Alla Kovgan and Jude Ray, co-written by Katrina Browne and Alla Kovgan, this film traces the history of early America's largest slave-trading family, showing contemporary descendants facing their family's past and their own present. World premiere.Trouble the Water (USA)
The directors, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, are an aspiring rap artist and her streetwise husband who, armed with a video camera, show what survival is all about when they're trapped in New Orleans by deadly floodwaters, and seize their chance for a new beginning. World premiere.Alone In Four Walls (Allein In Vier Wanden) (Germany)
Filmmaker Alexandra Westmeier shows teenage boys struggling to grow up in a home for delinquents in rural Russia where the release to freedom may present even greater hardships. North American PremiereThe Art Star And The Sudanese Twins (New Zealand)
Filmmaker Pietra Brettkelly follows artist Vanessa Beecroft's obsession to adopt Sudanese twin orphans, which fuels her creativity and creates havoc in her marriage. Her consuming passion calls up questions about cultural exploitation and Western cultural imperialism in Africa. World Premiere.Be Like Others (Canada, UK, USA, Iran)
Director Tanaz Eshaghian shows us the unexpected subculture of young Iranian men who choose to undergo sex change surgery. World Premiere.A Complete History Of My Sexual Failures (UK)
Director Chris Waitt, co-writing with Henry Trotter, tries to improve his own capacity for an intimate relationship by searching for answers as to why he doesn't function well as a boyfriend. He interviews ex-girlfriends, doctors and other women, including his mother, about how they really see him. World Premiere.
