Discovering and developing talent is what they do, and judging by the high quality level of docs they are able to support and then showcase at the snowy Park City fest it makes all the sense in the world that the SUNDANCE INSTITUTE DOCUMENTARY FILM PROGRAM would find it advantageous to want split the atom as many times possible and fork over what I imagine is some Ben Franklins that will be well spent. Its folks like me who get to sink their teeth into these films every trip back to Sundance.
This year, 25 feature-length docs and their filmmakers will receive financial grants from the fund – many of these filmmakers are familiar names to those who know more than a thing or two about contemporary doc films. Here is the list of recipients provided below.
Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, $10,000
HOWL (US)
Using animation to explore Howl , the poetic masterpiece by Allen Ginsberg, the film documents the cultural circumstances that gave birth to it and its impact on American culture. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman have received two Academy Awards®, multiple Emmy Awards and three Peabody Awards. Their celebrated work includes THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK and COMMON THREADS: STORIES FROM THE QUILT. Their film PARAGRAPH 175 won the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival.
Christopher McLeod, $10,000
LOSING SACRED GROUND (US)
Indigenous people around the world fight to save traditional sacred sites from resource extraction, industrial development and tourism. Christopher McLeod has produced four award-winning documentaries for broadcast on national television: IN THE LIGHT OF REVERENCE, THE FOUR CORNERS: A NATIONAL SACRIFICE AREA?, DOWNWIND/DOWNSTREAM and POISON IN THE ROCKIES.
Caveh Zahedi, $7,500
THE PRIME MINISTER, THE SHAH, THE AYATOLLAH AND I (US)
This personal essay film explores growing up Iranian American at a time when the United States and Iran went from being allies to being enemies. Caveh Zahedi's previous work includes A LITTLE STIFF, I DON’T HATE LAS VEGAS ANYMORE, IN THE BATHTUB OF THE WORLD, and I AM A SEX ADDICT.
Jean-Marie Teno, $10,000
THE FO AND I (Cameroon/France)
Set in the Bandjoun Kingdom of Cameroon, the filmmaker explores complex power struggles in a society still reeling from 100 years of colonial rule. Jean-Marie Teno documents power and injustice in his native Cameroon. His previous films, including AFRIQUE, JE TE PLUMERAIS and LE MALENTENDU COLONIAL, have screened and been broadcast around the world.
Susan Stern, $10,000
OUR OIL (US)
This experimental documentary tells of Nigerians and Americans amidst the poverty, corruption and violence of oil production in Nigeria, one of America’s top oil suppliers. Susan Stern's most recent film, THE SELFMADE MAN, was nominated for two national Emmy awards. Her film BARBIE NATION: AN UNAUTHORIZED TOUR is used as a teaching tool at colleges and universities.
Fredrik Gertten, $10,000
POISON IN A BANANA REPUBLIC (Sweden)
Banana plantation workers in Nicaragua have cancer, possibly because of exposure to pesticides. Now they march and open an historic lawsuit against companies that spray crops with banned pesticides. Fredrik Gertten (AN ORDINARY FAMILY) has made over 15 films that have been shown on television and at film festivals around the world.
James Longley, $10,000
UNTITLED IRAN PROJECT (US)
This film explores the contemporary reality of Iran from the point of view of a young person. James Longley is a 2007 Academy Award® nominee for his previous film, IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS, winner of the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.
Peter Raymont, $30,000
A PROMISE TO THE DEAD: THE EXILE JOURNEY OF ARIEL DORFMAN (Canada)
This film is an exploration of exile, memory, longing, and democracy as seen through the experiences of renowned writer and playwright Ariel Dorfman. Peter Raymont is the recipient of 35 international awards including the Canadian Genie for best documentary for THE WORLD IS WATCHING. His recent film SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL won the World Documentary Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.
Susan Motamed and Melanie Judd, $30,000
ADOPT ME, MICHAEL JORDAN (US)
This child's eye view of international adoption follows five orphaned Ethiopian friends from their orphanage in Addis Ababa to wildly different American families. Susan Motamed produced ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM, which premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Melanie Judd produced DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT, which premiered as part of Director's Fortnight at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
Sandhya Suri, $35,000
DEVI (UK/INDIA)
The changing face of HIV/AIDS in India is seen through the eyes of three women in this documentary. Sandhya Suri’s first feature-length documentary film, I FOR INDIA, screened at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Her short film SAFAR, screened at a range of international festivals and won several awards, including Cinema du Reél (Jury Honorable Mention) at the Munich International Documentary Festival; it was also named the best short film at the British Film Institute's 2002 Imagine Asia Festival.
Sabiha Sumar, $15,000
DINNER WITH THE PRESIDENT (PAKISTAN)
General Pervez Musharraf’s 1999 coup in Pakistan and the filmmaker's identity as a Pakistani woman drives her search for democracy in Pakistan and her exploration of the role of women in society and in politics. Born in Karachi, Sabiha Sumar's films have won worldwide acclaim. Her recent work, RAFINA was developed at the Sundance Institute Screenwriter’s Lab and was invited to Cinemart at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Jehane Noujaim, $30,000
EGYPT: WE SEE YOU (US)
Three women journalists offer a behind-the-scenes look at the pro-democracy movement in Egypt today. Jehane Noujaim is an Egyptian-American film director best known for CONTROL ROOM, which premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, and STARTUP.COM which premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.
Natalia Almada, $30,000
EL GENERAL (US/MEXICO)
The great-granddaughter of one of Mexico's most controversial presidents, General Plutarco Elias Calles, inherited a conflicting history that illuminates injustices prevailing since the Revolution of 1910. Natalia Almada's debut feature documentary AL OTRO LADO (TO THE OTHER SIDE) was broadcast on P.O.V. in 2006. Almada is a recipient of a Renew Media Fellowship (formerly Rockefeller Fellowship).
Dee Rees, $30,000
EVENTUAL SALVATION (US)
Having barely escaped with her life over a decade ago, the filmmaker's 80-year old grandmother returns to Monrovia, Liberia to rebuild her life and community. Dee Rees' previous film, PARIAH was awarded the 2007 Spike Lee Post-Production fellowship and a grant from the National Board of Review.
Andres Habegger, $20,000
FINAL IMAGE (ARGENTINA)
A Swedish-Argentinean cameraman filmed his own murder in Chile during the coup, creating one of the most famous film sequences in documentary history. His family tries to uncover the events that led to his death. Andres Habeggar has directed several documentaries, including HISTORIAS COTIDIANAS about the children of abductees, which was nominated for the Silver Condor Award by the Argentinean Film Critics Association.
Landon Van Soest, $25,000
GOOD FORTUNE (US)
Intimate portraits of individual Africans illuminate the massive, international efforts to alleviate poverty, which may in fact undermine the very communities they aim to benefit. Landon Van Soest's previous film, WALKING THE LINE, won several awards for production and human rights advocacy. He is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship in the Creative and Performing Arts.
Supriyo Sen, $15,000
HOPE DIES LAST IN WAR (INDIA)
Fifty-four Indian P.O.W.s have languishedin Pakistani jails since the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war. This saga follows three generations of their families, struggling to get the soldiers back. Supriyo Sen has produced and directed five documentaries on issues related to the environment and human rights, which have won numerous international awards.
Kasim Abid, $45,000
MY BAGHDAD FAMILY (UK/IRAQ)
A family in Baghdad grapples with massive changes in their lives after the end of Saddam's rule. Will their dreams of a new life gradually turn into a nightmare? Kasim Abid is an Iraqi-born film director whose work explores the complex and painful theme of exile. His previous films, AMID THE ALIEN CORN and IRAQI WOMEN: VOICES FROM EXILE screened on Channel 4 in the UK.
James Rutenbeck, $25,000
SCENES FROM A PARISH (US)
In a hard-pressed city north of Boston, nine Catholics face obstacles that threaten to break apart the fellowship they seek. James Rutenbeck's films have screened at the Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery, Flaherty Film Seminar, as well as at numerous national and international festivals.
Gary Weimberg and Catherine Ryan, $30,000
SOLDIERS OF CONSCIENCE (US)
Eight US soldiers today face the hardest decision of their lives: to kill or not to kill. SOLDIERS OF CONSCIENCE is a film about war, peace, and the transformative power of the human conscience. Veteran documentary filmmaker Gary Weimberg has two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement for his editing work on the films LOYALTY AND BETRAYAL: THE STORY OF THE AMERICAN MOB and EARTH AND THE AMERICAN DREAM, which also won a Special Jury Prize at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival. Catherine Ryan won Best Work of a Non-Latin American Director on a Latin America Subject – Documentary at Havana Film Festival for directing THE DOUBLE LIFE OF ERNESTO GOMEZ-GOMEZ.
Edet Belzberg and Alan Oxman, $35,000
THE ARMY RECRUITER (US)
A top recruiter for the U.S. Army shepherds a group of young people through enlistment, boot camp and combat. Edet Belzberg is a 2001 Academy Award® nominee for her previous film CHILDREN UNDERGROUND which won a Special Jury Prize at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. Alan Oxman was the co-editor of UNZIPPED, winner of the Documentary Audience Award at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival.
Kirby Dick, $50,000
THE GLASS CLOSET (US)
THE GLASS CLOSET examines the rise of anti-gay legislation and the forces that benefit politically from promoting public policies that deny rights to gay and lesbian citizens. Kirby Dick is an Academy Award® nominated director whose films include THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED, TWIST OF FAITH, DERRIDA, and the internationally acclaimed SICK: THE LIFE & DEATH OF BOB FLANAGAN, SUPERMASOCHIST.
Katrina Browne, $45,000
TRACES OF THE TRADE (US)
Filmmaker Katrina Browne and nine members of her family journey to Rhode Island, Ghana and Cuba, retracing the routes taken by their New England ancestors who were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. Katrina Browne designed the community outreach efforts for the film adaptation of Anna Deavere Smith's work TWILIGHT: LOS ANGELES. This is Browne's debut as a producer and director.
Mai Iskander, $30,000
WE ARE THE ZABALLEEN (US/EGYPT)
The film explores the trials of the Zaballeen, Egypt's 60,000 indigenous garbage collectors, who struggle to save their jobs as Egypt modernizes its waste disposal system. Mai Iskander is a cinematographer and WE ARE THE ZABALLEEN is her debut as a director and producer.
Christopher Wong, $25,000
WHATEVER IT TAKES (US)
An Asian American rookie principal leads teachers and students to give 100 South Bronx students a new life. WHATEVER IT TAKES is Christopher Wong's debut as director and producer.
