Eye For Film >> Festivals >> Sundance >> 2011 >> Documentary Premieres

With the expanding impact and popularity of documentaries in our world today, Documentary Premieres is a new section for 2011 that furthers the Institute’s commitment to this important form of storytelling by showcasing films on big subjects and new works by master filmmakers. Each is a world premiere.

View other Sundance Film Festival Films by strand: From The Collection, Native Showcase, New Frontier, NEXT (<=>), Park City At Midnight, Premieres, Spotlight, US Documentary Competition, US Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition

Bobby Fischer Against The World and POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Becoming Chaz (Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato; Stars: Chaz Bono, Cher)

Born with a female anatomy, the child of musicians Sonny and Cher, Chaz Bono is now transitioning to live as a man, and he discusses his experiences in this very personal documentary.

Full Review

World Premiere

Bobby Fischer Against The World (Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Liz Garbus; Stars: Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky)

A documentary portrait of the brilliant chess champion who gradually lost his mind.

Full Review

World Premiere

Granito (Granito: How To Nail A Dictator) (Country: US, Guatemala, Spain; Year: 2010; Director: Pamela Yates)

Documentary charting the Mayan people's fight for justice in Guatemala and the key role played by documentarian Pamela Yates.

Full Review

World Premiere

The Interrupters (Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Steve James; Writer: Alex Kotlowitz), Official Site

A story of ex-gang members who are now protecting their communities from the violence they themselves once employed.

Full Review

World Premiere

POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (Country: United States; Year: 2011; Director: Morgan Spurlock; Stars: Morgan Spurlock)

The filmmaker sets out to finance a documentary about product placement in the movies by making his own product placement deals with major companies.

Full Review See: Article about Sheffield DocFest and Morgan Spurlock

World Premiere

Becoming Chaz and The Interrupters

Reagan (Country: US, UK; Year: 2011; Director: Eugene Jarecki)

The enigmatic career of one of the revered architects of the modern world – icon, screen star, and two-term president Ronald Reagan.

World Premiere

Rebirth (Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Jim Whitaker)

Weaving together five stories of individuals whose lives were profoundly altered by the 9/11 attack with unprecedented time-lapse footage of Ground Zero composed over ten years, what emerges is a chronicle of grief’s evolution and a nation healing.

World Premiere

These Amazing Shadows (Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Paul Mariano, Kurt Norton; Writer: Paul Mariano, Kurt Norton; Stars: Christopher Nolan, Tim Roth, Debbie Reynolds, Rob Reiner, John Waters, Peter Coyote, George Takei, John Lasseter, John Singleton, Caleb Deschanel, Paul Schrader, Gale Anne Hurd, Amy Heckerling, Wayne Wang, James Schamus), Official Site

The history and importance of the National Film Registry unfolds in a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself.

World Premiere