Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

Every year at Sundance, there are a few films that initially create confusion for those of us who study the guide in preparation for ticket selection. Often, these films have similar titles and, just as often, they have wildly different themes. Last year, THE PUFFY CHAIR was about a father’s recliner while THE GREEN CHAIR was wild sexual romp. Disappointment awaited anyone who confused the titles. Herewith are the confusing couplets of Sundance 2006.

After a 19-hour day on the set, assistant cameraman Brent Hershman fell asleep behind the wheel, crashed and died. In WHO NEEDS SLEEP?, cinematographer Haskell Wexler directs a film about the deadly combination of long work hours and sleep deficit. An indictment of corporate greed built on the backs of people desperate for a “prestigious” movie career, this film is in the Spectrum category.

WIDE AWAKE is Alan Berliner’s personal documentary about his lifelong struggle with insomnia. The camera reveals the impact of Berliner’s obsessive manias and chronic activity on his life and the lives of those around him. Like artist Frida Kahlo, Berliner is part of the growing cinematic trend of becoming the subject of one’s own art (there’s even a panel discussion on the trend at the Filmmaker Lodge on Friday, 27 Jan). This film is in the Documentary Competition.

In the Premiere category, Gael Garcia Bernal is a man at risk of losing his real life to his more-satisfying dream existence in THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP. Unlike the sleep-deprived subjects of the documentaries, the character in this dramatic narrative exposes the danger of wanting too much sleep.

THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS casts Tim Robbins as an injured, temporarily-blinded oil rig worker who is nursed back to health by Sarah Polley. Robbins floods his sightless existence with a stream of dialogue while Polley quietly guides him to recovery. In the Premiere category, the film discloses human interdependence within the context of silence and speech.

New York Times crosswords editor, Will Shortz, is the subject of a documentary competition entitled WORDPLAY. Along with the biography of Shortz, the film looks at puzzle creation and the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament. While competition is at the heart of the tournament, the film reveals the community of word lovers at play.

WORDPLAY is preceded by Andrew Blubaugh’s short HELLO, THANKS. A film instructor, Blubaugh was nominated for a Rockefeller Media Fellowship in 2005. The subject of his film becomes increasingly enamored with the words of his personal advertisement.