We had an smidgen of an idea that the Real to Reel section might be especially strong this year, but with the likes of Frederick Wiseman, Rithy Panh, Jonathan Demme, Werner Herzog, Jessica Yu, Alex Gibney, Joe Berlinger, Ron Fricke, Nick Broomfield and Michael Glawogger, we're now beginning to think that Thom Powers' section has not only outclassed Toronto's sister event Hot Docs, but just about any other doc-related film festival.
Protagonist didn’t pick up any prizes at the fest, but it remains one of my favorite docs viewed during the more than 25 films I saw at Sundance. Apparently the folks at IFC Films and Netflix's Red Envelope Entertainment label are moments away from closing a deal on the pic from filmmaker Jessica Yu.
What do an ‘ex-gay’ evangelist, a martial arts student, a former German terrorist, and a one-time career bank robber all have in common? This is the question filmmaker Jessica Yu both poses and answers in her new feature length documentary Protagonist, competing in the Independent Film Documentary competition at Sundance.