A UK film is among those chosen by the Sundance Institute to receive cash from its spring documentary grants.
Jerry Rothwell, who co-directed Deep Water - about the disastrous 1968 round-the-world yacht race - will receive production and post-production funding for Donor 150. The documentary, produced by RedBird productions, looks at the long-term consequences for sperm donor Jeffrey Harrison, who hit the headlines after he responded to an appeal from six US teenagers, conceived by artificial insemination, looking for their biological father.
Eighteen feature-length documentary films, chosen from 750 filmmakers in 111 countries, will receive a total of $500,000 (£335,000) in support. In addition to financial assistance, all of the filmmakers are eligible for a range of year-round creative support services from Sundance Institute, including creative labs, work-in-progress screenings, and documentary activity at the Sundance Creative Producing Summit and Sundance Film Festival.
Selected filmmakers follow international stories ranging from young leaders in South Africa’s Shack Dweller’s Movement to the presidential campaign that might change the future of politics in Colombia, to the moving story of a Palestinian and an Israeli who form the bonds of friendship.
Director of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Programme Cara Mertes said: "Sundance Institute salutes the filmmakers from 111 countries who submitted proposals in this round; we had an incredibly high quality applicant pool,"
"The result is a new resurgence of nonfiction filmmaking on the world stage, and we look forward to welcoming the new grantees into the fold.”
The full list of grant recipients is below.
Development
Detroit Hustles Harder
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (US)
Can Motor City rise from its ashes? There is a growing feeling that as Detroit goes, so goes the nation. This film tells the dramatic story of a city and its most innovative people who refuse to leave the building, even as the flames are rising.
Politics Not As Usual
Margarita Martinez (Colombia)
Antanas Mockus goes on the campaign trail in a bid for the Colombian presidency. Mockus' candidacy is a grassroots, socially networked movement of a new kind, and his campaign may hold keys to the future of South American politics.
The Path (working title)
Senain Kheshgi (US)
In a coming-of-age story, a Pakistani teenage girl grows up during one of the most violent periods of her country's history.
Production And Post-production
The Anderson Monarchs
Eugene Martin (US)
Girls at an inner-city soccer club transcend race, poverty, crime and stereotypes to successfully play the game they love.
Better This World
Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega (US)
Two childhood friends from Midland, Texas set out to prove the strength of their political convictions to themselves and their mentor: a revolutionary activist turned FBI informant.
Dear Mandela
Dara Kell and Christopher Nizza (US/South Africa)
In the year leading up to the 2010 football World Cup, three young leaders in South Africa’s Shack Dwellers Movement resist mass eviction while putting Nelson Mandela's promise of a "better life for all" to the test.
Donor 150
Jerry Rothwell (UK)
The filmmaker weaves together a twenty-first century tale of identity and genetic inheritance to reveal what may perhaps be the family of the future.
Girl Model (working title)
Ashley Sabin and David Redmon (US)
First-hand accounts of the modeling industry by scouts, agencies and a 13-year-old model reveal a complex supply chain between Siberia and Japan.
Granito
Pamela Yates (US)
A classic documentary film deeply intertwined with Guatemala's turbulent history is revisited decades later, and proves to be a crucial player in a present-day case against genocide.
Pit No. 8
Marianna Kaat (Estonia/Ukraine)
Set in the heart of a once-thriving Ukrainian coal mining region now overcome with poverty, the film is a timely portrait of parents and teenagers trying to earn a living in abandoned coal pits.
Shenandoah, PA
David Turnley (US)
In Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, four of the town’s star, white football players are charged with beating to death Luis Ramirez, an undocumented Mexican immigrant. A Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer turns his eye towards creating a deeply felt portrait of a community on trial.
The Interrupters
Steve James (US)
Using an innovative approach to breaking cycles of violence in inner cities, former gang leaders and ex-cons in Chicago's toughest neighborhoods take a stand to “interrupt” shootings and protect their communities from the violence they themselves once employed.
The Law In These Parts
Ra'anan Alexandrowicz (Israel)
Using interviews, archival footage and deep historical research, this film explores the formal legal mechanisms of Israel's 40-year military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
The Mosuo Sisters
Marlo Poras and Yu Ying Wu Chou (US/China)
When they lose the only jobs they’ve ever known, two spirited daughters from China’s last remaining matrilineal ethnic minority are thrust into the worldwide economic downturn.
The Undocumented
Marco Williams (US)
The skyrocketing number of deaths of illegal immigrants along the Arizona border is viewed through multiple prisms in light of the state’s proposed new immigration law.
Turkey Creek
Leah Mahan (US)
Settled by emancipated slaves in the 1860s, Turkey Creek is surrounded today by an airport, a Wal-Mart, two highways and an industrial canal that threaten the historic Mississippi community and its fragile wetlands. When the twin disasters of Hurricane Katrina and the BP spill devastate the Gulf Coast, residents join with other endangered coastal communities in the fight of their lives—and for a sustainable future for us all.
Within The Eye Of The Storm
Shelley Hermon (Israel)
After Bassam, a Palestinian, and Rami, an Israeli, each experience personal tragedy, the two men turn from enemies to brothers.
Discretionary
Losing Sacred Ground
Christopher McLeod (US)
Eight compelling stories of indigenous people resisting the destruction of their culture and lands, exploring climate change, biodiversity loss and sacred site destruction.
Documentary proposals are accepted twice a year. The film selection is juried by creative film professionals and human rights experts. The next postmarked deadline is July 7, 2010. For more information see: www.sundance.org/documentary.
