Last Sundance links

Just two more bits of Sundancana, and then I'll (hopefully) go back to regular blogging. First: on Netscape, a look at three overlooked Sundance gems, including On The Road With Judas, pictured above. Then, Ryan asked me to do a festival recap for Cinematical, and I spat back a list of five films that are likely to survive the transition from Park City to the real world.

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Sundance Stories on Netscape

With just a couple of days left in the Fest, and my work all but done (I may have one more film-specific feature, then I'll do a fest wrap-up after the Awards on Saturday night), here's a look at the stuff I've cranked out thus far. I'll update this post with links to any further stories.

• Above: An interview with Daniel Kerslake and Bishop Gene Robinson, director and star of the documentary For The Bible Tells Me So.
• My feature on Ghosts of Abu Ghraib is (predictably) drawing a good deal of hate mail from the Netscape faithful. I always say I'd rather get a death threat than no reaction at all; today, I'm starting to think that's a really fucking stupid thing to always say.
• A report from a press event held in concert with the premiere of Charles Ferguson's devastating Iraq documentary No End In Sight.
• Zoo director Robinson Devor explains his attraction to the deceased zoophile at the center of his film: "This was a guy who was a conservative man at one point, and those ideas started breaking down for him. I think that 9/11 triggered a lot of it. But he was [also] in the center of one of the most secretive military complexes. Meanwhile, he listened to a lot of left-wing radio, he questioned everything our government was involved in, and he was ethically conflicted about his job and the money he was making. That's the core fascination for me."
• Blah blah blah Grace is Gone, blah blah blah Harvey Weinstein...
• Lynn Hershman-Leeson's Strange Culture was my early favorite film of the festival; it's fallen to the bottom of my Top Five, but it's still a fascinating story and essential viewing for anyone worried about the Bush administration's offenses against the First Amendment.

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Strange Culture on Netscape

My first story from Sundance 2007 is now live on Netscape :
The Work of Art in the Age of Post-9/11 Paranoia: Lynn Hershman Leeson's Strange Culture

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Vlogging Sundance

Subscribe to Sundance Channel on YouTube

Jesus Christ, these two have come a long way in two years. Their intro to their daily Sundance vlog plays like a recap of the past 750 days or so, so watch it if you need to catch up.

I'm going to be doing some vloggy stuff from Sundance, too, for Netscape, as well as 7-8 features on highly-politically-charged films at the Fest. In addition, I've got a couple of freelance assignments in the works, and right now it also looks like I'll be doing a festival rumor/gossip post once a day on Cinematical. I've been kind of trying to distance myself from my little Frankenstien for the past few months -- the fact that publicists still send me pitches for a site I haven't run for almost a year makes me feel just fabulous about my identity -- but Ryan Stewart, the incoming EIC over there, asked me to lend a hand, and I couldn't say no. Well, I probably could have, but I like screening-line gossip as much as the next girl, so I didn't.

I leave tomorrow. Shit - I better finish packing.

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Morning Links, 12-14-06

• Keith Uhlich posts a question at The House Next Door and gives me a twofer: "What movies have you walked out of?" A judge has decided that he needs to see Alpha Dog, the ONLY film I walked out of at Sundance 2006, before he decides whether or not to let it open. Let's hope he's an astute critic...
• Via Matt Dentler: Premiere has re-launched their website, adding a bloggy news page. Looks good so far; into the RSS it goes.
• What could possibly embarrass Yoko Ono?
• I'm looking for a place where I can write long-form-ish reviews. Online or print, doesn't matter. Don't care about the pay. If you have any suggestions, please email me at karina AT vidiocydotcom.

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Sundance in Second Life

It took me all day, but I finally finished a write-up on Sundance Channel's just-announced excursion into Second Life. Read the whole thing here. In summary: for the niche that already cares about films like Four Eyed Monsters and already dabbles in things like Second Life, this is a dream come true. But seen on a larger scale, corporate entertainment companies have a long way to go when it comes to integrating themselves in the virtual world.

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Andrew Bujalski joins Bruce Weber, Pipilotti Rist at Cinemart

Variety has a bit on this year's Cinemart lineup at Rotterdam. Bujalski will be there, competing for co-production assistance with Bruce Weber's "Robert Mitchum tribute, Nice Girls Don't Stay for Breakfast, a work-in-progress that has already been shot," and Swiss video artist Pipilotti Rist feature debut, Pepperminta. Sounds it'll be a great place to be; fortunately or unfortunately, I'll be in Park City for most of it.

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Leonsis on Nanking

Ted Leonsis, outgoing Vice Chairman of the company I work for, produced a documentary called Nanking which will be screening in competition at Sundance. He blogs about it here.

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Sundance Competition Slate

Highlights on first glance. I don't know why,but I'm drawn to the ghost movies this year...

Documentary Competition

Chasing Ghosts (Director: Lincoln Ruchti)—Twin Galaxies Arcade, Iowa, 1982: the birthplace of mankind's obsession with video games. The fate of this world lies in the hands (literally) of a few unlikely heroes: They are the Original Video Game World Champions and the arcade is their battleground.

Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (Director: Rory Kennedy)—This inside look at the abuses that occurred at the infamous Iraqi prison in the fall of 2003 uses direct, personal narratives of perpetrators, witnesses, and victims to probe the effects of the abuses on all involved. World Premiere.

Girl 27 (Director: David Stenn)—When underage dancer Patricia Douglas is raped at a wild MGM stag party in 1937, she makes headlines and legal history, and then disappears. GIRL 27 follows author-screenwriter David Stenn as he investigates one of Hollywood's most notorious scandals. World Premiere.

Zoo (Director: Robinson Devor)—A humanizing look at the life and bizarre death of a seemingly normal Seattle family man who met his untimely end after an unusual encounter with a horse. World Premiere.

Dramatic Comp

Rocket Science (Director and Screenwriter: Jeffrey Blitz)—A 15-year-old boy from New Jersey with a stuttering problem falls in love with the star of the debate team and finds himself suddenly immersed in the ultra-competitive world of debating. World Premiere.

Snow Angels (Director: David Gordon Green; Screenwriter: Stewart O'Nan)—A drama that interweaves the life of a teenager with his former baby-sitter, her estranged husband, and their daughter. World Premiere.

Teeth (Director and Screenwriter: Mitchell Lichtenstein)—Still a stranger to her own body, a high school student discovers she has a “physical advantage” when she becomes the object of male violence. World Premiere.

World Documentary

The Future is Unwritten Ireland/UK ( Director: Julien Temple)—An invitation from Joe Strummer, the Punk Rock Warlord himself, to journey beyond the myth to the heart and voice of a generation. His life, our times, his music. World Premiere.

A Very British Gangster / UK (Director: Donal MacIntyre)—Given his many contradictions, Dominic Noonan, head of one of Britain’s biggest crime families, is a man who defies stereotypes. This close up look at his life, from gun trials to the murder of his brother on the streets of Manchester, reveals a community struggling with poverty, violence and drugs. World Premiere.

World Dramatic

Ghosts UK (Director: Nick Broomfield; Screenwriters: Nick Broomfield, Jez Lewis)—Based on a true story, GHOSTS is the tragic account of an illegal Chinese immigrant woman as she struggles relentlessly for a better life in the U.K. North American Premiere.

Once Ireland (Director and Screenwriter: John Carney)—ONCE is a modern-day musical set on the streets of Dublin. Featuring Glen Hansard and his Irish band “The Frames”, ONCE tells the story of a busker and an immigrant during an eventful week as they write, rehearse and record songs that reveal their unique love story. North American Premiere.

More to come tomorrow, apparently...

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Sundance spelunking.

On Wednesdays, I get up at 5:30 am and work until noon-ish, and then have the afternoon off. Usually, I use part of the afternoon to take a nap, and today I'm really going to need one if I'm going to make it to the Indiewire anniversary party tonight. But, instead, I'm sitting here refreshing my Gmail and Bloglines over and over again, because today the Sundance Film Festival is supposed to send out their official press release announcing their 2007 competition slate. Of course, the lucky filmmakers have already been notified, so here I sit, searching blogs, hoping something will leak. So far, this is all I've found:

Security Cases, which examines the political activities of Palestinians incarcerated in Israel, will join a select club of other films to screen at the prestigious Colorado film festival. A co-production between French TV channel Arte and Israel's New Fund for Film and Television, Shimon Dotan's latest project focuses on three Palestinians in custody because of terrorist activities aimed against Israel.

Spotted anything else? Let me know.
Update: The press release has arrived. I'll write up a new post shortly.

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Jeff Lipsky, writer/director of Flannel Pajamas, writes at indieWIRE about the real-life relationship that inspired the picture. It's a movie I'd like to see again, especially after reading the backstory, which includes a dose of Lipsky's indie film mogul history that didn't make it into the film.

The article mirrors what I remember of the picture: it's full of lovely anecdotes punctuated by uncomfortable nakedness. The emotional impact of Flannel Pajamas is undeniable, but I was unprepared to assess it critically when I saw it at Sundance. I was about six weeks into my current relationship; I walked out of the screening around 11pm after a long day of seeing films and, time difference be damned, dialed my boyfriend in New York. I said something along the lines of, "Honey, let's never break up, okay?" He responded, "Okay." Thus, I'm almost afraid to confront the movie again -- considering that it served as a kind of catalyst for my current happiness, I wouldn't want to revisit it with clear eyes and decide it's for whatever reason not that great.

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