Category Archives: Foreign Affairs

First, a clip, then some comments:

The above is a backgrounder for the “Hot Coffee” documentary, more on it later.

And yes, I’m behind in terms of Sundance 2011 updates and coverage. I was surprised by some Internet access issues, but I also should have taken into account the weird day-to-day schedules that are the Sundance Film Festival.

At least I didn’t have to deal with intimate strangers in my condo, as did this journalist.

(Most of) The Winners

Documentaries are the hidden gem of the Sundance Film Festival. Sure, you get the occasional breakout hit such as “Supersize Me” or “Bowling for Columbine” — but there are a lot of other great documentaries that essentially go on to possible but unlikely theatrical distribution ; with most relegated to PBS, cable or online.

That’s a shame. The documentary programs (U.S. and World Cinema) essentially match the structure of Sundance’s feature film organization: films in competition, films that are premiers but not in competition, then other slots for those that are hard to peg or need some additional support (such as Spotlight, NEXT, Park City at Midnight, depending on the year and selections).

And it’s a shame these docs don’t get their fair share of attention. They’re generally of a far higher quality than the features, and they don’t suffer from the same tension of art-vs-commerce in terms of featuring celebrity/name actors versus just great acting talent that the fictional pieces have to balance.

Yak yak yak. Here’s a short list of docs that won awards at the 2011 festival, so they’ll likely be distributed in some form, this year:

How To Die in Oregon, directed by Peter D. Richardson. This won the Grand Jury Prize. It’s a study of how that state’s assisted-suicide rules affect the lives of terminally ill patients, their families, and the physicians involved. Gripping, ultimately affirming.

Hell and Back Again, directed by Danfung Dennis. This is a joint U.S./United Kingdom production, and won both the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize and World Cinema Cinematography Award. To the point, though, it’s about the journey of North Carolina soldier Sgt. Nathan Harris, shot by the Taliban in Afghanistan. His recovery has been long and grueling, and supposedly reveals the cost we’re paying in lives lost and lives damaged in this ongoing conflict.

Buck, directed by Cindy Meehl. This won the Documentary Audience Award, and profiles the trainer that inspired “The Horse Whisperer,” Buck Brannaman.

Project Nim, directed by James Marsh. This won the World Cinema Directing Award, and is from the same team that brought us “Man on Wire”!! Nim is a chimpanzee that, beginning in the 1970s, was taught sign language in an attempt to see if we could have true cross-species communications. Things… evolve from there.

Documentaries that need some championing

(As in, they may be harder to find after Sundance).

The Green Wave, directed by Ali Samadi Ahadi. The first major documentary about the short-lived, violently-crushed democracy movement in Iran, 2009, following what likely was an election stolen from Mir Hossein Mousavi.

The iranian director combines live action and animation to tell this heartbreaking story, while also offering up hopeful possibilities for the future.

The Last Mountain, directed by Bill Haney. It’s about the practice of mountaintop coal removal, specifically in West Virginia. But If this doc is even halfway competently done, it should ring alarm bells nationwide in terms of the short- and long-term damage this practice does to the environment, the community and the local and regional economies.

Hot Coffee,  directed by Susan Saladoff. It’s about the McDonald’s hot-coffee lawsuit, but DON’T roll your eyes. It tells the story after the story you think you know. McDonald’s and other large corporations have used this case as an example of how tort law needs to be reformed — but it’s a slick spin job on their part. Hearing how average citizens have tried to get their cases to trail could make this a crowd-pleaser.

Probably coming to your town or television…

Documentaries that, while still good, probably have a great shot at widespread distribution –

Miss Representation, directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom. This focuses on how women are portrayed in the media, and in our culture at large. It features interviews with Katie Couric, Condoleeza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Gloria Steinem and Rachel Maddow, to name just a few. Trust me, you’ll get a chance to see this one.

Page One: A Year Inside ‘The New York Times’, directed by Andrew Rossi. A fascinating account of how arguably the world’s best newspaper is dealing with the change from print to online — but not just in terms of delivery modes, ad charges, and balance sheets. What happens if The Paper of Record loses the economic and cultural battle, and we lose one of the great investigative reporting resources the nation has ever known. Is a replacement model even possibly in this day and age? Are essentially unedited/lightly curated online resources such as Wikileaks even near what the NYT brings to the table?

One way or the other, this will get some form of distribution.

Troubadors, directed by Morgan Neville. The story centers on James Taylor and Carole King to discuss the larger story of 1970s Los Angeles-based singer/songwriters. Could be just great, likely will get distribution, but other docs deserve more championing.