Director: Jon Foy
Website: http://www.resurrectdead.com/
Summary: Toynbee Idea in Movie 2001. Resurrect Dead on Planet Jupiter.
Beginning in the early 1980s, hundreds of tiles carrying this cryptic message were found embedded in the asphalt of city streets as far apart as New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Santiago, and Buenos Aires. Street art? A prank? A message from space?
Filmmaker Jon Foy recounts how young artist Justin Duerr became fascinated with the strange plaques and, with two other "Toynbee tile" enthusiasts, Steve Weinik and Colin Smith, spent years trying to discover what they meant and who made them. The unlikely investigators uncovered increasingly bizarre clues: a newspaper article, a David Mamet play, a Jupiter colonization organization, and a Toynbee message that "hijacked" local news broadcasts.
That the origins of a street tile can be so captivating is testament to both Duerr’s passion and Foy’s filmmaking. Artfully constructed, Resurrect Dead thrusts us into the black hole of this fantastic mystery but also reflects on Duerr himself, and the personal connection he develops with finding an answer.
Excitement scale (1-10): 9 - I know nothing about Jon Foy but this first timer just won a best directing award at Sundance, so he’s clearly starting off on the right foot. The story sounds bizarre, but it reminds me of Exit Through the Gift Shop (not sure why, perhaps the crazy graffiti art comparison) and that’s definitely a good thing.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Sundance Film: The Redemption of General Butt Naked
Director: Eric Strauss, Daniele Anastasion
Website: http://www.generalbuttnakedmovie.com/
Summary: Joshua Milton Blahyi, aka General Butt Naked, murdered thousands during Liberia’s horrific 14-year civil war. Today this once-brutal warlord has renounced his sadistic past and reinvented himself as evangelist Joshua Milton Blahyi. In a riveting cinema vérité journey that unfolds over the course of five years, filmmakers Eric Strauss and Daniele Anastasion follow Blahyi’s unrelenting crusade to redeem his life. Facing those he once terrorized, preaching where he once murdered, Blahyi is on a quest to save his soul.
Can a man really change? Should we be judged by what we have done, or by who we are now? Whatever you make of him—liar or madman, charlatan or genuine repentant— General Butt Naked is certainly a mesmerizing character. Challenging our preconceived notions of evil, justice, and faith, this shocking story of one man’s remarkable journey will resonate with anyone who has ever questioned his or her capacity to forgive.
Excitement scale (1-10): 8 – With no trailer to watch, this film by two National Geographic veterans is knocked down a few pegs- only because I'm not sure what to expect. Cinema vérité style is never easy and today’s audiences are certainly less interested in it, but when it works, it works beautifully.
Website: http://www.generalbuttnakedmovie.com/
Summary: Joshua Milton Blahyi, aka General Butt Naked, murdered thousands during Liberia’s horrific 14-year civil war. Today this once-brutal warlord has renounced his sadistic past and reinvented himself as evangelist Joshua Milton Blahyi. In a riveting cinema vérité journey that unfolds over the course of five years, filmmakers Eric Strauss and Daniele Anastasion follow Blahyi’s unrelenting crusade to redeem his life. Facing those he once terrorized, preaching where he once murdered, Blahyi is on a quest to save his soul.
Can a man really change? Should we be judged by what we have done, or by who we are now? Whatever you make of him—liar or madman, charlatan or genuine repentant— General Butt Naked is certainly a mesmerizing character. Challenging our preconceived notions of evil, justice, and faith, this shocking story of one man’s remarkable journey will resonate with anyone who has ever questioned his or her capacity to forgive.
Excitement scale (1-10): 8 – With no trailer to watch, this film by two National Geographic veterans is knocked down a few pegs- only because I'm not sure what to expect. Cinema vérité style is never easy and today’s audiences are certainly less interested in it, but when it works, it works beautifully.
Sundance Film: Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times
Director: Andrew Rossi
Website: N/A
Summary: With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source, newspapers going bankrupt, and outlets focusing on content they claim audiences (or is it advertisers?) want, Page One chronicles the media industry’s transformation and assesses the high stakes for democracy if in-depth investigative reporting becomes extinct.
The film deftly makes a beeline for the eye of the storm or, depending on how you look at it, the inner sanctum of the media, gaining unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom for a year. At the media desk, a dialectical play-within-a-play transpires as writers like salty David Carr track print journalism’s metamorphosis even as their own paper struggles to stay vital and solvent. Meanwhile, rigorous journalism—including vibrant cross-cubicle debate and collaboration, tenacious jockeying for on-record quotes, and skillful page-one pitching—is alive and well. The resources, intellectual capital, stamina, and self-awareness mobilized when it counts attest there are no shortcuts when analyzing and reporting complex truths.
Excitement scale (1-10): 7 – If Page One reminds you of 2004’s Control Room (Inside the Al Jazeera network) don’t be surprised. Andrew Rossi was an associate producer in that film. Since then, he’s made two restaurant related documentaries before returning to cover the news world. I’m curious to see how this plays out and am hoping this turns out nearly as well as the film that ushered him to the documentary world.
Website: N/A
Summary: With the Internet surpassing print as our main news source, newspapers going bankrupt, and outlets focusing on content they claim audiences (or is it advertisers?) want, Page One chronicles the media industry’s transformation and assesses the high stakes for democracy if in-depth investigative reporting becomes extinct.
The film deftly makes a beeline for the eye of the storm or, depending on how you look at it, the inner sanctum of the media, gaining unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom for a year. At the media desk, a dialectical play-within-a-play transpires as writers like salty David Carr track print journalism’s metamorphosis even as their own paper struggles to stay vital and solvent. Meanwhile, rigorous journalism—including vibrant cross-cubicle debate and collaboration, tenacious jockeying for on-record quotes, and skillful page-one pitching—is alive and well. The resources, intellectual capital, stamina, and self-awareness mobilized when it counts attest there are no shortcuts when analyzing and reporting complex truths.
Excitement scale (1-10): 7 – If Page One reminds you of 2004’s Control Room (Inside the Al Jazeera network) don’t be surprised. Andrew Rossi was an associate producer in that film. Since then, he’s made two restaurant related documentaries before returning to cover the news world. I’m curious to see how this plays out and am hoping this turns out nearly as well as the film that ushered him to the documentary world.
Sundance Film: Miss Representation
Director: Jennifer Siebel Newsom
Website: http://www.missrepresentation.org/
Summary: Like drawing back a curtain to let bright light stream in, Miss Representation uncovers a glaring reality we live with every day but fail to see. It’s clear the mainstream media objectifies women, but what most people don’t realize is the magnitude of that phenomenon and the way objectification gets internalized—a symbolic annihilation of self-worth—and impedes girls and women from realizing their full potential. While women have made strides in leadership over the past few decades, trivializing and damaging images continue to proliferate. In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that a woman’s value and power lie only in her youth, beauty, and sexuality is pervasive.
Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, academics, and activists like Condoleeza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, and Gloria Steinem build momentum as the film accumulates startling facts and statistics that leave the audience shaken and armed with a new perspective.
Excitement scale (1-10): 8 – I’m a man, so maybe my excitement is just me trying to make up for all my objectifying, but I actually think this is going to be a great film. As an actress, Jennifer Newsom has a unique perspective on the subject matter and her wide array of interviews should present something everyone can understand. Just like the controversial book Blink, perhaps it’s time to look at how our images in the media affect the mentality of millions.
Website: http://www.missrepresentation.org/
Summary: Like drawing back a curtain to let bright light stream in, Miss Representation uncovers a glaring reality we live with every day but fail to see. It’s clear the mainstream media objectifies women, but what most people don’t realize is the magnitude of that phenomenon and the way objectification gets internalized—a symbolic annihilation of self-worth—and impedes girls and women from realizing their full potential. While women have made strides in leadership over the past few decades, trivializing and damaging images continue to proliferate. In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that a woman’s value and power lie only in her youth, beauty, and sexuality is pervasive.
Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, academics, and activists like Condoleeza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, and Gloria Steinem build momentum as the film accumulates startling facts and statistics that leave the audience shaken and armed with a new perspective.
Excitement scale (1-10): 8 – I’m a man, so maybe my excitement is just me trying to make up for all my objectifying, but I actually think this is going to be a great film. As an actress, Jennifer Newsom has a unique perspective on the subject matter and her wide array of interviews should present something everyone can understand. Just like the controversial book Blink, perhaps it’s time to look at how our images in the media affect the mentality of millions.
Sundance Film: The Last Mountain
Director: Bill Haney
Website: http://thelastmountainmovie.com/
Summary: It’s easy to forget that each time we turn on a light, we are contributing to the ecological damage caused by the coal that generates electricity in this country. The Last Mountain gives us plenty of reasons to remember. Contaminated air, soil, and water; coal dust, cancer clusters, and toxic sludge are all by-products of this widespread energy source.
Focusing on the devastating effects of mountaintop coal removal in West Virginia’s Coal River Valley, filmmaker Bill Haney illustrates the way residents and activists are standing up to the industry and major employer that is so deeply embedded in the region. With strong support from Bobby Kennedy Jr. and grassroots organizations, awareness is rising in the battle over Appalachian mountaintop mining. Forces are aligning to prevent coal removal on Coal River Mountain and preserve the region’s precious natural resources. Superb storytelling and exquisite photography combine to remind us that this environmental calamity impacts us all.
Excitement scale (1-10): 5 – No one can doubt Bell Haney’s activist mentality. His films generally attempt to confront the mainstream public with major issues caused by our everyday actions. His films are honest, providing messages usually necessary for the public to discuss, but they are a bit too ‘in your face’ for general audiences. Depending on his approach, this could be really good or just another run of the mill activist minded film.
Website: http://thelastmountainmovie.com/
Summary: It’s easy to forget that each time we turn on a light, we are contributing to the ecological damage caused by the coal that generates electricity in this country. The Last Mountain gives us plenty of reasons to remember. Contaminated air, soil, and water; coal dust, cancer clusters, and toxic sludge are all by-products of this widespread energy source.
Focusing on the devastating effects of mountaintop coal removal in West Virginia’s Coal River Valley, filmmaker Bill Haney illustrates the way residents and activists are standing up to the industry and major employer that is so deeply embedded in the region. With strong support from Bobby Kennedy Jr. and grassroots organizations, awareness is rising in the battle over Appalachian mountaintop mining. Forces are aligning to prevent coal removal on Coal River Mountain and preserve the region’s precious natural resources. Superb storytelling and exquisite photography combine to remind us that this environmental calamity impacts us all.
Excitement scale (1-10): 5 – No one can doubt Bell Haney’s activist mentality. His films generally attempt to confront the mainstream public with major issues caused by our everyday actions. His films are honest, providing messages usually necessary for the public to discuss, but they are a bit too ‘in your face’ for general audiences. Depending on his approach, this could be really good or just another run of the mill activist minded film.
Sundance Film: If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Director: Marshall Curry
Website: http://www.ifatreefallsfilm.com/
Summary: Marshall Curry’s documentary tells a timely story of political action and environmental beliefs at loggerheads. His reconstruction of the recent history and unraveling of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) is a fascinating exploration of a modern revolutionary movement and its efficacy. Fusing fervent concerns about ecological imbalance and capitalism run amok, ELF members and sleeper cells employed economic sabotage by destroying facilities involved in deforestation to remove the profit potential from companies wreaking environmental destruction.
Focusing on Oregon-based activist Daniel McGowan, Curry relates the tale of a mild-mannered, middle-class citizen driven to extremes and brought to trial on charges of terrorism for his participation in ELF-related arson plots. Detailing activists’ past disillusionment with public protest—and the police brutality and inertia that often followed—the film poses difficult questions about the possibility of effecting change from either within or without the system and examines the changed stakes for revolutionaries today in a world fixated on branding all dissenters as terrorists.
Excitement scale (1-10): 10 – If there is one thing I’ve learned in recent years, it’s never doubt Marshall Curry as a director. He makes great films and brings his characters and their issues to life in engaging ways. The subject appears fascinating on its own, and having Curry helm the project only makes it all the more appealing.
Website: http://www.ifatreefallsfilm.com/
Summary: Marshall Curry’s documentary tells a timely story of political action and environmental beliefs at loggerheads. His reconstruction of the recent history and unraveling of the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) is a fascinating exploration of a modern revolutionary movement and its efficacy. Fusing fervent concerns about ecological imbalance and capitalism run amok, ELF members and sleeper cells employed economic sabotage by destroying facilities involved in deforestation to remove the profit potential from companies wreaking environmental destruction.
Focusing on Oregon-based activist Daniel McGowan, Curry relates the tale of a mild-mannered, middle-class citizen driven to extremes and brought to trial on charges of terrorism for his participation in ELF-related arson plots. Detailing activists’ past disillusionment with public protest—and the police brutality and inertia that often followed—the film poses difficult questions about the possibility of effecting change from either within or without the system and examines the changed stakes for revolutionaries today in a world fixated on branding all dissenters as terrorists.
Excitement scale (1-10): 10 – If there is one thing I’ve learned in recent years, it’s never doubt Marshall Curry as a director. He makes great films and brings his characters and their issues to life in engaging ways. The subject appears fascinating on its own, and having Curry helm the project only makes it all the more appealing.
Sundance Film: How to Die in Oregon
Director: Peter D. Richardson
Website: N/A
Summary: From its opening scene, where a terminally ill cancer patient takes a lethal dose of Seconal and literally dies on camera, it becomes shockingly clear that How to Die in Oregon is a special film. In 1994, Oregon became the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. As a result, any individual whom two physicians diagnose as having less than six months to live can lawfully request a fatal dose of barbiturate to end his or her life. Since 1994, more than 500 Oregonians have taken their mortality into their own hands.
In How to Die in Oregon, filmmaker Peter Richardson (Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon screened at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival) gently enters the lives of the terminally ill as they consider whether—and when—to end their lives by lethal overdose. Richardson examines both sides of this complex, emotionally charged issue. What emerges is a life-affirming, staggeringly powerful portrait of what it means to die with dignity.
Excitement scale (1-10): 9 – How to Die in Oregon could very well be the next iteration of The Bridge, which also examined suicide in a meaningful way. Richardson’s film takes this investigation further by including assisted suicide into the equation. Winning the Grand Jury Prize is a big boost for this film’s credibility, but one has to wonder how the general public will feel about such a taboo subject.
Website: N/A
Summary: From its opening scene, where a terminally ill cancer patient takes a lethal dose of Seconal and literally dies on camera, it becomes shockingly clear that How to Die in Oregon is a special film. In 1994, Oregon became the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. As a result, any individual whom two physicians diagnose as having less than six months to live can lawfully request a fatal dose of barbiturate to end his or her life. Since 1994, more than 500 Oregonians have taken their mortality into their own hands.
In How to Die in Oregon, filmmaker Peter Richardson (Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon screened at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival) gently enters the lives of the terminally ill as they consider whether—and when—to end their lives by lethal overdose. Richardson examines both sides of this complex, emotionally charged issue. What emerges is a life-affirming, staggeringly powerful portrait of what it means to die with dignity.
Excitement scale (1-10): 9 – How to Die in Oregon could very well be the next iteration of The Bridge, which also examined suicide in a meaningful way. Richardson’s film takes this investigation further by including assisted suicide into the equation. Winning the Grand Jury Prize is a big boost for this film’s credibility, but one has to wonder how the general public will feel about such a taboo subject.
Sundance Film: Hot Coffee
Director: Susan Saladoff
Website: http://hotcoffeethemovie.com/
Summary: For many Americans, the famous McDonald’s coffee case has become emblematic of the frivolous lawsuits that clog our courts and stall our justice system. Or is that exactly what McDonald’s wants us to think? Enter intrepid filmmaker Susan Saladoff. Using the now-infamous legal battle over a spilled cup of coffee as a springboard into investigating our civil-justice system, Saladoff exposes the way corporations have spent millions distorting this case to promote tort reform. Big business has brewed an insidious concoction of manipulation and lies to protect its interests, and media lapdogs have stirred the cup.
Following four people whose lives have been devastated by their inability to access the courts, this searing documentary unearths the sad truth that most of our beliefs about the civil-justice system have been shaped or bought by corporate America. Informative, entertaining, and a stirring call to action, Hot Coffee will make your blood boil.
Excitement scale (1-10): 6 – I’m actually curious to see Susan Saladoff’s documentary. It has a premise most audiences won’t know too much about (or have misrepresentations of) and it comes at it from a unique and honest perspective. The question remains how well she presents her argument. Admittedly, I loathe the ‘media lapdogs’ mentality because it portrays the filmmaker as this lone knight in shining armor (and we know they aren’t the only ones suddenly presenting the issue), but I’ll let it slide for now.
Website: http://hotcoffeethemovie.com/
Summary: For many Americans, the famous McDonald’s coffee case has become emblematic of the frivolous lawsuits that clog our courts and stall our justice system. Or is that exactly what McDonald’s wants us to think? Enter intrepid filmmaker Susan Saladoff. Using the now-infamous legal battle over a spilled cup of coffee as a springboard into investigating our civil-justice system, Saladoff exposes the way corporations have spent millions distorting this case to promote tort reform. Big business has brewed an insidious concoction of manipulation and lies to protect its interests, and media lapdogs have stirred the cup.
Following four people whose lives have been devastated by their inability to access the courts, this searing documentary unearths the sad truth that most of our beliefs about the civil-justice system have been shaped or bought by corporate America. Informative, entertaining, and a stirring call to action, Hot Coffee will make your blood boil.
Excitement scale (1-10): 6 – I’m actually curious to see Susan Saladoff’s documentary. It has a premise most audiences won’t know too much about (or have misrepresentations of) and it comes at it from a unique and honest perspective. The question remains how well she presents her argument. Admittedly, I loathe the ‘media lapdogs’ mentality because it portrays the filmmaker as this lone knight in shining armor (and we know they aren’t the only ones suddenly presenting the issue), but I’ll let it slide for now.
Sundance Film: Crime After Crime
Director: Yoav Potash
Website: http://crimeaftercrime.com/
Summary: In 1983, Deborah Peagler, a woman brutally abused by her boyfriend, was sentenced to 25 years-to-life for her connection to his murder. Twenty years later, as she languished in prison, a California law allowing incarcerated domestic-violence survivors to reopen their cases was passed. Enter a pair of rookie land-use attorneys convinced that with the incontrovertible evidence that existed, they could free Deborah in a matter of months. What they didn’t know was the depth of corruption and politically driven resistance they’d encounter, sending them down a nightmarish, bureaucratic rabbit hole of injustice.
The outrageous twists and turns in this consummately crafted saga are enough to keep us on the edge of our seats. Meanwhile, the spirit, fortitude, and love all three characters marshal in the face of this wrenching marathon is nothing short of miraculous. We fall in love with the remarkable triumvirate as they battle a warped criminal-justice system and test whether it’s beyond repair.
Excitement scale (1-10): 4 – Oprah already snatched up the rights to this film so take that as you will. This could be potentially over-dramatic/hyper-emotional documentary, but it’s also a fascinating story. I really want to be excited about this documentary, but so far I’m just not feeling it.
Website: http://crimeaftercrime.com/
Summary: In 1983, Deborah Peagler, a woman brutally abused by her boyfriend, was sentenced to 25 years-to-life for her connection to his murder. Twenty years later, as she languished in prison, a California law allowing incarcerated domestic-violence survivors to reopen their cases was passed. Enter a pair of rookie land-use attorneys convinced that with the incontrovertible evidence that existed, they could free Deborah in a matter of months. What they didn’t know was the depth of corruption and politically driven resistance they’d encounter, sending them down a nightmarish, bureaucratic rabbit hole of injustice.
The outrageous twists and turns in this consummately crafted saga are enough to keep us on the edge of our seats. Meanwhile, the spirit, fortitude, and love all three characters marshal in the face of this wrenching marathon is nothing short of miraculous. We fall in love with the remarkable triumvirate as they battle a warped criminal-justice system and test whether it’s beyond repair.
Excitement scale (1-10): 4 – Oprah already snatched up the rights to this film so take that as you will. This could be potentially over-dramatic/hyper-emotional documentary, but it’s also a fascinating story. I really want to be excited about this documentary, but so far I’m just not feeling it.
Sundance Film: Connected: An Autoblogography about Love, Death and Technology
Director: Tiffany Shlain
Website: http://connectedthefilm.com/
Summary: With wonderful heart and an impressive sense of scale, Tiffany Shlain’s vibrant and insightful documentary, Connected, explores the visible and invisible connections linking major issues of our time—the environment, consumption, population growth, technology, human rights, the global economy—while searching for her place in the world during a transformative time in her life. Employing a splendidly imaginative combination of animation and archival footage, plus several surprises, Shlain constructs a chronological tour of Western modernization through the work of her late father, Leonard Shlain, a brain surgeon and best-selling author of Art and Physics and The Alphabet Versus the Goddess.
With humor and irony, the Shlain family life merges with philosophy to create both a personal portrait and a proposal for ways we can move forward as a civilization. Connected illuminates the beauty and tragedy of human endeavor while boldly championing the importance of personal connectedness for understanding and coping with today’s global conditions.
Excitement scale (1-10): 3 – This is one of those ideas that ends up either really cool or extremely pretentious. There is no middle ground and unfortunately, these documentaries tend to fall in the latter category. Shlain is relatively new to the documentary world and her desire to experiment and try something unique could be refreshing, but so far I’m not too hopeful.
Website: http://connectedthefilm.com/
Summary: With wonderful heart and an impressive sense of scale, Tiffany Shlain’s vibrant and insightful documentary, Connected, explores the visible and invisible connections linking major issues of our time—the environment, consumption, population growth, technology, human rights, the global economy—while searching for her place in the world during a transformative time in her life. Employing a splendidly imaginative combination of animation and archival footage, plus several surprises, Shlain constructs a chronological tour of Western modernization through the work of her late father, Leonard Shlain, a brain surgeon and best-selling author of Art and Physics and The Alphabet Versus the Goddess.
With humor and irony, the Shlain family life merges with philosophy to create both a personal portrait and a proposal for ways we can move forward as a civilization. Connected illuminates the beauty and tragedy of human endeavor while boldly championing the importance of personal connectedness for understanding and coping with today’s global conditions.
Excitement scale (1-10): 3 – This is one of those ideas that ends up either really cool or extremely pretentious. There is no middle ground and unfortunately, these documentaries tend to fall in the latter category. Shlain is relatively new to the documentary world and her desire to experiment and try something unique could be refreshing, but so far I’m not too hopeful.
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