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Sundance Film Festival · 2016

Sundance Film Festival 2016

US Documentary Competition

The festival says: "Sixteen world-premiere American documentaries that illuminate the ideas, people, and events that shape the present day."

Programme

16 films · 5 reviews

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Audrie & Daisy

After two high school girls in different towns are sexually assaulted by boys they consider friends, online bullying leads each girl to attempt suicide. Tragically, one dies. Assault in the social media age is explored from the perspectives of the girls and boys involved, as well as their torn-apart communities.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk)

World premiere

The Bad Kids

At a remote Mojave Desert high school, extraordinary educators believe that empathy and life skills, more than academics, give at-risk students command of their own futures. This coming-of-age story watches education combat the crippling effects of poverty in the lives of these so-called 'bad kids'.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Keith Fulton, Lou Pepe)

World premiere

Gleason

At the age of 34, Steve Gleason, former NFL defensive back and New Orleans hero, was diagnosed with motor neuron disease. Doctors gave him two to five years to live. So that is what Steve chose to do: Live — both for his wife and newborn son and to help others with this disease.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Clay Tweel)

World premiere

Holy Hell

Just out of college, a young filmmaker joins a loving, secretive, and spiritual community led by a charismatic teacher in 1980s West Hollywood. Twenty years later, the group is shockingly torn apart. Told through two decades of the filmmaker’s archival materials, this is their story.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Undisclosed)

World premiere

How To Let Go Of The World (And Love All The Things Climate Can't Change)

Review preview for How To Let Go Of The World (And Love All The Things Climate Can't Change)

A sensitive and well-produced account of a complex situation.

Seph Shewell-Brockway · 3 out of 5
Climate change documentary.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Josh Fox; Writer: Josh Fox; Stars: Lester Brown, Ella Chou, Tim DeChristopher, Wu Di, Aria Doe, Josh Fox, Eriberto Gualinga, Franco Tulio Viteri Gualinga, Nina Gualinga, Ming Huang, Ausberto Mahua Jaba, Bri Jackson, Van Jones, Huayna Kapac, Elizabeth Kolbert)

Full review

World premiere

Jim

The public execution of American conflict journalist James Foley captured the world’s attention, but he was more than just a man in an orange jumpsuit. Seen through the lens of his close childhood friend, Jim moves from adrenaline-fueled front lines and devastated neighborhoods of Syria into the hands of ISIS.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Brian Oakes)

World premiere

Kate Plays Christine

Review preview for Kate Plays Christine

Robert Greene's intriguing semi-documentary explores the event through a process not dissimilar to Chubbuck's own.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
An actress prepares to play Christine Chubbuck, who died by suicide live on air in 1974.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Robert Greene; Writer: Robert Greene; Stars: Kate Lyn Shiel)

Full review

World premiere

Kiki

An insight into a safe space created and governed by LGBTQ youths of colour, who are demanding happiness and political power. The film is a coming-of-age story about agency, resilience, and the transformative art form of voguing.

(Country: US, Sweden; Year: 2016; Director: Sara Jordenö)

World premiere

Life, Animated

Review preview for Life, Animated

This is not about once upon a times or fairy tale endings but the challenges on the way and it stands as a testament to the love and determination of every member of the Suskind family.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
The story of an autistic man who was able to reconnect with his family via Disney films.

(Country: US, France; Year: 2015; Director: Roger Ross Williams; Writer: Ron Suskind)

Full review See: Article about the early bird highlights of DOC NYC 2016 , Article about the 2016 Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Awards

World premiere

Newtown

After joining the ranks of a growing club no one wants to belong to, the people of Newtown, Connecticut, weave an intimate story of resilience. This film traces the aftermath of the worst mass shooting of schoolchildren in American history as the traumatized community finds a new sense of purpose

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Kim A Snyder)

World premiere

Nuts!

The mostly true story of Dr John Romulus Brinkley, an eccentric genius who built an empire with his goat-testicle impotence cure and a million-watt radio station. Animated reenactments, interviews, archival footage, and one seriously unreliable narrator trace his rise from poverty to celebrity and influence in 1920s America.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Penny Lane; Writer: Thom Stylinski)

World premiere

Suited

Bindle & Keep, a Brooklyn tailoring company, makes custom suits for a growing legion of gender-nonconforming clients.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Jason Benjamin)

World premiere

Trapped

American abortion clinics are in a fight for survival. Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) laws are increasingly being passed by states that maintain they ensure women’s safety and health, but as clinics continue to shut their doors, opponents believe the real purpose of these laws is to outlaw abortion.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Dawn Porter)

World premiere

Uncle Howard

Howard Brookner's first film, Burroughs: The Movie, captured the cultural revolution of downtown New York City in the early '80s. Twenty-five years after his promising career was cut short by AIDS, his nephew sets out to discover Howard's never-before-seen films to create a cinematic elegy about his childhood idol.

(Country: UK, US, France, Germany, Czech Republic; Year: 2016; Director: Aaron Brookner; Writer: Aaron Brookner; Stars: Madonna, Jim Jarmusch, Andy Warhol, Sara Driver, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Howard Brookner, John Giorno, James Grauerholz, Patti Smith)

World premiere

Weiner

Review preview for Weiner

He seemingly lets the camera into almost every nook and cranny, so that a picture emerges of not only him but the media goldfish bowl people like him inhabit.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Documentary about mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg; Writer: Eli B Despres, Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg)

Full review

World premiere