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Sundance Film Festival · 2012

Sundance Film Festival 2012

US Documentary Competition

The world premieres of 16 American documentary films.

Programme

16 films · 9 reviews

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Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

Review preview for Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

Weiwei is such a fascinating subject that even a documentary that never seems to stray into the experimental is compelling, but white text on a black screen does not a revolution make.

Andrew Robertson · 3 out of 5
Renowned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has garnered international attention as much for his ambitious artwork as his political provocations and increasingly public clashes with the Chinese government.

(Country: US, China; Year: 2011; Director: Alison Klayman; Stars: Changwei Gu, Ai Weiwei, Evan Osnos, Ying Gao, Tehching Hsieh, Huang Hung, Zuzhou Zuoxiao, Yanping Liu, Danqing Chen, Inserk Yang) , Official site

Full review

World premiere

The Atomic States Of America

In 2010, the United States announced construction of the first new nuclear power plant in more than 32 years. A year later, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Fukushima Power Plant in Japan sparking a fierce debate in the US over the safety and viability of nuclear power.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Don Argott, Sheena M. Joyce)

World premiere

Chasing Ice

Review preview for Chasing Ice

The arguments are persuasive, and Balog is a charismatic presence at all times.

Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
Time-lapse photography of glaciers over several years providing tangible visual evidence of climate change.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Jeff Orlowski; Writer: Mark Monroe; Stars: James Balog, Svavar Jonatansson, Adam LeWinter, Jeff Orlowski) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

World premiere

Detropia

The woes of Detroit are emblematic of the collapse of the US manufacturing base. This is the dramatic story of a city and its people who refuse to leave the building, even as the flames are rising.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady) , Official site

World premiere

Escape Fire: The Fight To Rescue American Healthcare

What can be done to save our broken medical system? Powerful forces are trying to maintain the status quo in a profit-driven medical industry, but a movement to bring innovative methods of prevention and healing is finally gaining ground – potentially saving the health of a nation.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Susan Frömke, Matthew Heineman) , Official site

World premiere

Finding North (A Place At The Table)

Review preview for Finding North

Filmmakers Jacobson and Silverbush keep it fast and straightforward.

Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
Documentary examining the hunger crisis threatening America.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Kristi Jacobson, Lori Silverbush)

Full review

World premiere

The House I Live In

Review preview for The House I Live In

Jarecki, as always, does a good job of presenting a huge amount of information in bite-size chunks.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Does the War on Drugs do more harm than good?

(Country: Netherlands, UK, Germany, Japan, Australia, US; Year: 2012; Director: Eugene Jarecki; Writer: Eugene Jarecki, Christopher St John; Stars: Eugene Jarecki, Nannie Jeter, Betty Chism, Dennis Whidbee, Elzie Hooks, Robert Wilson, David Simon, Michael Correa, Gabor Mate, Charles Bowden, Mark W Bennet, Maurice Haltiwanger, Jim K McGough, Eric Franklin, Don Walker) , Official site

Full review

World premiere

The Invisible War

Review preview for The Invisible War

That the Pentagon has, since the making of this documentary, revamped its rules to try to improve things - in particular, offering immediate transfers for those who allege abuse - is testimony to the power of Dick's work

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Probe into rape in the US military.

(Year: 2012; Director: Kirby Dick) , Official site

Full review

World premiere

Love Free Or Die: How The Bishop Of New Hampshire Is Changing The World

One man whose two defining passions are in conflict: An openly gay bishop refuses to leave the Church or the man he loves.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Macky Alston) , Official site

World premiere

Marina Abramović The Artist Is Present (Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present)

Review preview for Marina Abramović The Artist Is Present

Matthew Akers’ all-seeing documentary cleverly mimics the form of the museum’s retrospective by saving the most revealing facts about Abramovic until professional and personal context is established.

Sophie Monks Kaufman · 5 out of 5
Marina Abramović prepares for a major retrospective of her work at The Museum of Modern Art in New York hoping to finally silence four decades of skeptics who proclaim: 'But why is this art?'

(Country: USA; Year: 2011; Director: Matthew Akers; Stars: Marina Abramovic, Ulay) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

Me at the Zoo

With 270 million hits to date, Chris Crocker, an uncanny young video blogger from small town Tennessee, is considered the Internet's first rebel folk hero and at the same time one of its most controversial personalities.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Chris Moukarbel, Valerie Veatch; Stars: Chris Crocker) , Official site

World premiere

The Other Dream Team

Review preview for The Other Dream Team

A real slam dunk.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
The 1992 Lithuanian National Basketball Team went from the clutches of Communism to the Summer Olympics in Barcelona – a testament to the powerful role of sports as a catalyst for cultural identity.

(Country: Lithuania, US; Year: 2012; Director: Marius A. Markevicius; Writer: Marius A Markevicius, Jon Weinbach; Stars: Jim Lampley, Bill Walton, Greg Speirs, Mickey Hart, Arvydas Sabonis, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Dan Majerle, David Stern, Charles Smith, Jonas Valanciunas, Chris Mullin, Mitch Richmond, David Remnick, Vytautas Landsbergis, P.J. Carlesimo) , Official site

Full review

World premiere

The Queen Of Versailles

Review preview for The Queen Of Versailles

While in some ways the collapsing of the Siegels' wealth may seem like commeuppance for their excessiveness, Greenfield has painted such a human portrait that Jackie, in particular, remains sympathetic, even when she is adding to her own tragedy.

Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
Snapshot of the effect of the mortgage crisis on billionnaire 'Timeshare King' David Siegel and his family.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Lauren Greenfield)

Full review See: Sundance Day One: The Queen Of Versailles, Wish You Were Here

World premiere. Day one film

Slavery By Another Name

As slavery came to an end with Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, a new system of involuntary servitude took its place with shocking force, brutalising, terrorising and ultimately circumscribing the lives of hundreds of thousands of African Americans well into the 20th century.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Samuel D Pollard; Writer: Sheila Curran Bernard; Stars: Turron Kofi Alleyne, Tyler Hollinger, Tom Martin, Shane Guilbeau, Douglas A. Blackmon, David Levering Lewis) , Official site

World premiere

We're Not Broke

As American lawmakers slash budgets and lay off employees, leaving many people scrambling to survive, multibillion-dollar corporations are concealing colossal profits overseas to avoid paying US income tax. Fed-up Americans are taking their frustration to the streets.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Victoria Bruce, Karin Hayes; Writer: Victoria Bruce, Karin Hayes) , Official site

World premiere