Sundance Report, Day 2

Sundance Day 2 Report

The snow is starting to Fall in Park City, and early favorites are beginning to emerge among the films that have screened to date. Somebodies, the coming of age story of a young black man in Athens, Georgia is threatening to become the breakthrough film of the festival. The film, written, directed and starring Georgia-native Hadjii has the social message of Do the Right Thing in the midst of a side-splitting comedy. The film is a low-budget triumph, and undoubtedly will be screening across the country soon.

Another film getting a lot of attention is Jew-Boy. Jew Boy is the story of the son of a rabbi who falls apart once his father dies. The film is programmed with a short called Be Quiet that takes the viewer along with a Palestinian father and his son as they pass through Israeli checkpoints on the way to their day. It's impossible to watch the film without a pit in your stomach.

Thanks for the comments on yesterday's post; I'll try to cover the films you've asked about. The film that chronicles Vice President Al Gore's global warming speech and tour, An Inconvenient Truth, premieres later in Sundance. The presentation, if you've had the chance to see it live, is one of the best distillations of the reasons for action on climate change. Jeff Skoll's Participant Productions financed the film and will be actively promoting it in the year to come. Huffington Post regular constributor Laurie David executive produced the film.

I was pleased to see a comment about Ha Ha Ha America, because the film deserves conversation. I'll fill out the description a bit and I encourage you to watch it yourself. The short film by a creative writing graduate student has a stereotypical Chinese voice addressing the "Wendy's-Eating" American public and thanking Americans for their help in making the emerging global economic superpower. While artfully done, there were mixed audience reactions to the sarcastic Chinese voice. Your comments are welcome. You can view the short here.

Another short that you may enjoy is Josh and Max. Here's a link to watch this seven minute short.

One of the big stories in this year's Sundance is the continued growth of the music documentary. The Glastonbury documentary premieres follows the growth, since the 1970's, of one of the most important music festivals in the world. Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out, is produced by the band itself, which gives a rare inside look at one of the most important bands of the 1980's.

Finally, there is rising anticipation for American Blackout, the GNN Film helmed by Ian Inaba that chronicles Cynthia McKinney's 2004 experiences as a way of telling the story of America's dysfunctional voting system. Stay tuned for the review after the premiere.
I'll be posting more updates at www.ironweedfilms.com as well.

The marathon continues.