The Sundance Film Festival Is Back
Long Post Alert...LOL.
Once again, another year has passed and the Sundance Film Festival is back. It is running from January 15-29, 2009 in Park City, Utah. Attending this festival, one day, is on my things to do list. Here are some of the featured films.
Good Hair
US Documentary Feature Films
U.S.A., 2009, 95 mins., color
Chris Rock co-produced and co-wrote this documentary
Brief Intro from Sundance.org: "When Chris Rock's daughter, Lola, came up to him crying and asked, "Daddy, how come I don't have good hair?" the bewildered comic committed himself to search the ends of the earth and the depths of black culture to find out who had put that question into his little girl's head! Director Jeff Stilson's camera followed the funnyman, and the result is Good Hair, a wonderfully insightful and entertaining, yet remarkably serious, documentary about African American hair culture."
Definitely one to watch even though I am tired of the hair issue and wish we could all overcome it.
Passing Strange
US Narrative Feature Films
U.S.A., 2008, 135 mins., color
This documentary is directed and produced by Spike Lee
Brief Intro from Sundance.org: "The story (developed at the Sundance Theatre Lab) concerns the uneasy relationship of a young black man (called simply Youth in the show's credits) with his life. Raised somewhere south of Interstate 10 in Los Angeles, our hero, a would-be songwriter, stews in a sea of conflicted cultural signals. He chafes under his mother's fixation on family ties and church and her bourgeois aspirations. So he sets out on his own--like pioneers Josephine Baker and James Baldwin--to Europe, seeking something "real.""
I would take a chance on this one.
PUSH: Based on the novel Sapphire
US Narrative Feature Films
U.S.A., 2008, 105 mins., color
Brief Intro from Sundance.org: "With sheer audacity and utter authenticity, director Lee Daniels tackles Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire and creates an unforgettable film that sets a new standard for cinema of its kind. Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is a high-school girl with nothing working in her favor. She is pregnant with her father's child--for the second time. She can't read or write, and her schoolmates tease her for being fat. Her home life is a horror, ruled by a mother (Mo'Nique) who keeps her imprisoned both emotionally and physically."
This one sounds depressing, but worth watching to get an introduction to Gabourey Sidibe's acting talent, and to check out the quality of the film.
Tyson
U.S.A., 2008, 90 mins., color
Mike Tyson was an executive co-producer
Brief Intro from Sundance.org: "A gritty and intimate portrait of one of boxing's most polarizing figures, James Toback's Tyson recounts Iron Mike's rise to superstardom and subsequent fall from grace through the eyes of the man himself. Candid interviews with Tyson reveal an often-misunderstood persona that encompasses a broad spectrum of decidedly human instincts."
Definitely would be interesting as long as it reveals information we didn't already know about Iron Mike.
UPDATE 12:47PM: I KNEW IT. VARIETY IS REPORTING SONY JUST BOUGHT THE RIGHTS TO BLACK DYNAMITE FOR $2 MILLION. WHY AM I NOT SURPRISED? FOLLOW THE JUMP TO READ MORE ON THIS BLAXPLOITATION STYLED FILM. THEY ARE MOVING QUICKLY TO RELEASE IT IN 2009 WITH HEAVY MARKETING.
Sony grabs rights to 'Black Dynamite'
Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy
US Documentary Feature Films
U.S.A., 2008, 95 mins., color
Brief Intro from Sundance.org: "Inspired by comedian Darryl Littleton's book, directors Robert Townsend and Quincy Newell have crafted a no-holds-barred documentary that is both an insider's take and a critical examination of the cultural influence of black comedy."
Sounds like a good film and I love good stand up comedy.
Toe to Toe
US Narrative Feature Films
U.S.A., 2008, 100 mins., color
Brief Intro from Sundance.org: "Emily Abt's emotionally powerful feature film, Toe to Toe, tells the story of a love/hate relationship between lacrosse mates Tosha and Jesse, two senior girls at a competitive Washington, D.C., prep school. Tosha is a fiercely determined African American scholarship student from Anacostia, one of Washington's poorest areas, while Jesse is a privileged, but troubled, white girl from Bethesda, who deals with promiscuous tendencies that pull her toward self-destruction."
I would definitely watch this.
Rough Aunties
International Documentary Feature Films
United Kingdom, 2008, 103 mins., color
Brief Intro from Sundance.org: "Jackie, Mildred, Eureka, Sdudla, and Thuli are the women behind Bobbi Bear, a nonprofit organization based in Durban, South Africa, that counsels sexually abused children and works to bring their abusers to justice. Born out of a recognition of cultural stigmas that discourage reporting abuse and inadequate methods of communicating with young victims, Bobbi Bear developed a method of letting children use teddy bears to explain their abuse."
Reporter
US Documentary Feature Films
U.S.A., 2008, 90 mins., color
Brief Intro from Sundance.org: "Tracking Kristof as he traveled during the summer of 2007 to the Congo to report on the conflict and desperate poverty besieging that African republic in an attempt to put this crisis on the international radar, as he did with his articles on Darfur, the film immerses us in a discussion of the ways this kind of reportage reaches the public, effects change, and creates a humanitarian response."
Sounds like one to watch.
Black Dynamite
US Narrative Feature Films
U.S.A., 2008, 90 mins., color
Brief Intro from Sundance.org: "When "the man" kills his brother, pumps heroin into the local orphanage, and floods the ghetto with a secret weapon disguised as Anaconda Malt Liquor, there is only one brother bad enough, strong enough, and brave enough to take them on: the legendary Black Dynamite.Black Dynamite is a throwback with an attitude. Hilarious, campy, hot, and sexy, it plays with every cliché from 1970s film and television, with a few new ones thrown in for color."
This one is SURE to make it to the big screen. Guess why?
HUG
US Short Films
U.S.A., 2008, 16 mins., color
Brief Intro from Sundance.org: "When Asa, friend and manager, realizes musician Drew is off his meds, the cross-town drive to sign his contract becomes significantly more complicated."
Lulu and Jimi
Germany, 2007, 95 mins., color
Brief Intro from Sundance.org: "In 1950s Germany on a sunny afternoon in an amusement park, Lulu, a prized beauty from a well-heeled, white German family, meets Jimi, the impossibly handsome son of a damaged African American World War II veteran, and falls head over heels in love. Lulu's scheming mother, Gertrud, together with her secret lover, Schultz, the chauffeur, and a wicked old shrink, Von Oppeln, do all in their power to tear the two lovers apart, but the trio are only the first of many obstacles that will stand in the way of the couple's passion."
Here is a link to the online film guide to learn more about these and other films featured at The Sundance Film Festival
Photo Credit:
Sundance.org
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