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Report from Sundance

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Posted on March 2, 2004

Festival Features Political Docs in Leading Role

Deadline: Governor George Ryan, a known conservative, shocked the nation and pardoned four men from being executed--three days before his term was up in office

Documentaries had a strong showing at this year's Sundance Film Festival, which ran January 15-25 in Park City, Utah. Films took on powerful issues and generated inspiring dialogue. For the first time in Sundance history, the festival opened with a doc -- Riding Giants, a surfing ode directed by Stacy Peralta. And for the 9 days that ensued, docs caught a political wave as they grabbed headlines in national press outlets, launched outreach campaigns, and carved their way into festival buzz.

A notable focus this year was the global political climate after September 11th. A slew of films tackled the restrictions of civil liberties, immigration policy, the war on terrorism, and the role of media in military interventions. The body of politically oriented work reflected the submissions received, which were on whole more political than last year. "I think it took some time post 9/11 to really process what was happening in this country," says Diane Weyermann, head of the Documentary Film Program at the Sundance Institute.

Farmingville: Farmingville is a perfect example of the racism and hate that stems from mixed messages and shaky American policy regarding immigrants.

"The Politics of Fear" was a panel put together by Weyermann that created a dialogue around some of this work.

Included on this panel were Jehane Noujaim, Director of The Control Room, an examination of popular U.S. media coverage of the war in Iraq via the perspective of Al Jezerra, the Arab world's most popular outlet; Robert Stone, Director of Neverland: The Rise and Fall of the Symbionese Liberation Organization, a look into the infamous militant radicals and the media's response to them;

Alison Maclean and Tobias Perse, makers of Persons of Interest, which documents the pursuit of Muslim Americans living in the United States in the wake of 9/11; and Andrei Nekrasov's Disbelief, an investigation into the fatal bombing of a Moscow apartment building blamed on Chechnyan terrorists.

Moderated by film critic John Anderson of Newsday, the discussion centered around the role of the documentary filmmaker in today's Ashcroftesque climate, where those who dare to criticize - or even dissent - are labeled unpatriotic.

Chrisholm '72: Shirley Chisholm was not only the first black woman in Congress, but the first woman to run for the nation's highest office

An interesting question that surfaced during this panel was whether or not filmmakers see themselves as activists. What are the dividing lines, perhaps blurred, between these two roles? Is it enough to be an artist or journalist and put your work out into the world, or must you mount a full-blown outreach campaign? Clearly, each filmmaker will define their social responsibility on their own terms. And, accordingly, outreach plans for documentaries differ greatly.

Several social-issue documentaries garnered awards at the festival. Born into Brothels took home the Documentary Audience Award. Directed by Ross Kaufman and Zan Briski, the film offers a sobering and in turn hopeful look into the world of children born into the red-light district of Sonagachi, Calcutta. What's remarkable about this film is the way that filmmaker Briski affects change. The film documents Briski as she teaches the children the art of photography. They then use photos to document their lives. The photographs are personal, expressive and extraordinary. As part of the outreach for the film, the photos were on display and for sale during the festival. The children's work and Briski's efforts to create a world for these kids outside of prostitution, offer an inspiring vision of the potential for filmmakers to create concrete change.

Born into Brothels: 11-year-old Shanti took this picture of Manik.

Other festival honors included the World Cinema Documentary Audience Award presented to The Corporation in which filmmakers Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott trace the origins of the corporation as a publicly regulated institution to its present-day social predominance, dwarfing and influencing governments worldwide. Kim Dong-wan took home the Freedom of Expression Award for Repatriation about North Korean political prisoners in detention in South Korea and their quest to return home, and Morgan Spurlock received the Documentary Directing Award for Super Size Me - a crowd-pleasing doc exposing the dangers of the fast food industry. Spurlock takes on the role of guinea pig, eating nothing but McDonald's for 30 days. The film was picked up for theatrical distribution by Roadside Attractions.

Rounding out the documentary awards was a Special Jury Prize that went to Farmingville by Catherine Tambini and Carlos Sandoval. The film examines the hate-motivated attempted murders of two Mexican day laborers in a New York City suburb to delve into the impact of national immigration policies. It will kick-off the P.O.V. documentary series on PBS this coming June.

Of particular interest to election year politics was another P.O.V. film, the rousing Chisholm '72: Unbought and Unbossed. The film chronicles the extraordinary black congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, and her unprecedented bid for presidency in 1972. With words most resonant, Chisholm reminds us, "The institutions of this country belong to all the people who inhabit it." There is no date set yet for its PBS broadcast, sometime before November to be sure. Outreach goals are to use the film to promote civic engagement and to stir things up, the same pursuits that motivated Shirley Chisholm in 1972.

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