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Sundance has become one of the most important venues for independent filmmaking. |
It’s
that time of year again; it’s Sundance time. Once again, the independent film
faithful are trekking to the winter ski resort town of Park City, Utah to see
what the best and brightest independent filmmakers have to offer at the 2003
Sundance Film Festival, which began January 16 and runs through January 26.
Begun
by actor Robert Redford in 1978 as a venue for those producers and directors
marginalized by the Hollywood movie system, Sundance has grown into an important
alternative showcase; and each year several films that premier at Sundance go on
to both critical and financial success.
So
renowned has the festival become, that some of Hollywood’s biggest names in
acting have become more comfortable seeking roles in independent films that
ultimately show at Sundance. This year, major actors including Morgan Freeman,
Billy Bob Thornton, Al Pacino, Kim Bassinger, Claire Danes, Dustin Hoffman,
James Woods, Jeff Bridges, Penelope Cruz, Danny Glover and Phillip Seymour
Hoffman join the throngs of lesser-known and unknown actors to provide a range
of noteworthy performances.
The
sheer volume of material at Sundance (125+ films) makes judging the films a
monumental task. Yet at the end of the two-week festival, only a handful of
works will be singled out for the coveted awards that often signal continued
success in wide release and video rental. Receiving awards is not what Sundance
is about, though. Sundance is, as Robert Redford says, about “opportunity”.
Some
of the films being given the opportunity to shine in 2003 include the following:
Comandante
Director:
Oliver Stone
USA,
2002, 93 min.
Why
this film is important: Fidel Castro is one of the most important figures of the
20th century. Having defied U.S. designs on hemispherical hegemony, he remains a
bulwark of revolutionary idealism. Noted and controversial director Oliver Stone
(J.F.K.) spent three days in Cuba obtaining some 30 hours of interviews with
Castro who spoke candidly, and at length about his life, his politics and his
legacy.
Legend
of Suryothai
Director:
Prince Chatrichalerm Yokal
USA,
2002, 142 min.
Why
this film is important: Most people would be hard pressed to find either
Thailand or Burma on a map, let alone identify a historical event related to
either of the two countries prior to the Vietnam War era. This film tells the
tale of Thai heroine Suryothai, the Queen who defended her kingdom against the
Burmese in 1548. For the mere fact that the history of this part of the world is
being brought to modern international cinema makes it important.
Unchained
Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives
Director:
Ed Bell, Thomas Lennon
USA,
2002, 73 min.
Why
this film is important: Chattel slavery is a blemish on the historical character
of the United States that will never go away. The disadvantages imposed on
slaves over the course of the institution’s 200+ years are just as great in
magnitude as the gains the nation made on the backs of free labor during this
period that allowed a superpower to be forged. The historical narratives of
these previously nameless, faceless, people who descended from Africans are
integral in understanding from whence the United States sprung and where the
nation is currently headed.
Tupac:
Resurrection
Director:
Lauren Lazen
USA,
2002, 115 min.
Why
this film is important: Before he died in hail of bullets while driving the
streets of Las Vegas, Tupac Shakur had become one of the few authentic voices of
Black youth in America. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Tupac was able to
capture both the true promise and undeniable perversity of urban life in the
1990s. The son of a Black Panther activist, Tupac had the potential to grow into
a musical force for social change. His ambition could be heard in his very own
words, and this film is unique in that Tupac himself, through documentary
footage and interviews, narrates it.
The
Education of Gore Vidal
Director:
Deborah Dickson
USA,
2002, 84 min.
Why
this film is important: Gore Vidal is simply one of the more important
independent literary voices of America today. He was one of the few to provide
alternative perspectives on the 9/11 tragedies in the early days of the crisis.
This film looks at the life and the man.
The
Murder of Emmett Till
Director:
Stanley Nelson
USA,
2002, 53 min.
Why
this film is important: The Civil Rights movement in the United States arguably
started with the brutal murder of Emmett Till. While visiting relatives in
Mississippi in the summer of 1955, the 14-year-old Chicago boy was accused of
whistling at white woman. The reaction to this alleged provocation was swift and
fierce. Till disappeared in the night and was later found horribly mutilated. At
the trial of the white men indicted for the murder, an all-white jury found them
innocent. It was a turning point in U.S. history.
State
of Denial
Director:
Elaine Epstein
USA,
2002, 86 min.
Why
this film is important: Put simply, AIDS threatens to kill Africa. With HIV
running rampant through African nations, ravaging already stressed populations,
there is the real possibility that some African countries could cease to exist
as we know them. State of Denial examines the crisis in South Africa.
The
Weather Underground
Director:
Sam Green, Bill Siegel
USA,
2003 92 min.
Why
this film is important: The image the United States projects of itself both
internally and abroad is one of strength and unity. And whenever dissent happens
in the United States, it is portrayed a loyal dissent fomented by citizens
seeking to better their nation. Very rarely do instances of violent, anarchic
opposition see light of day. This film explores a group called the Weathermen
who, in the early 19070s, planned an armed insurrection against the United
States government. But far from being the downtrodden and disenfranchised of
society, the Weathermen were largely white and upper middleclass.
Bend
It Like Bekham
Director:
Gurinder Chadha
Great
Britain/Germany, 2002, 112 min.
Why
this film is important: It may be a whimsical tale of a young Indian girl in
Britain with dreams of being a soccer star, but Bend it Like Bekham shows that
people from the subcontinent are thinking about more than just Bollywood dance
numbers.
The
Death of Klinghoffer
Director:
Penny Woolcock
Canada,
2002, 120 min.
Why
this film is important: It’s about Palestinians and it’s controversial. This
film is the screen adaptation of the 1991 opera of the same name. In its
theatrical form, it evoked a range of emotions from audiences and critics with
some labeling it as Zionist propaganda and others decrying it as too
pro-Palestinian. The film, as did the opera, deals with the Palestinian
hijacking of a cruise ship and the politics surrounding that event. Given the
tensions that exist today in Palestine, this film should cause a great deal of
controversy.
Iran,
Veiled Appearances
Director:
Thierry Michel
Belgium,
2002, 94 min.
Why
this film is important: It’s about Iran and it’s about Islam. This film
takes a rare look inside Iranian culture and looks at the divides and
controversies that seem to be always near the surface in that country these
days.
