Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

The competition films for Sundance 2008 have been announced. For this festival, 121 feature-length films were selected representing 25 countries with 55 first-time filmmakers, including 32 in competition. These films were selected from 3,624 feature film submissions (2,021 U.S. and 1,603 international) as compared with last year when there were 1,852 U.S. and 1,435 international submissions.

Festival films screen in nine sections: Documentary Competition, Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, Spectrum, New Frontier, Park City at Midnight, and from the Sundance Collection. Feature films selected for the Premieres, Spectrum, Park City at Midnight, and New Frontier categories will be announced Thursday, November 29. The Short Film program will be announced on Wednesday, December 5. Films screening in The Sundance Collection will be announced on Wednesday, December 12.

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This year’s 16 films were selected from 1,068 submissions.

AMERICAN SON
Director: Neil Abramson; Screenwriter: Eric Schmid — Before being deployed for active duty, a young Marine takes a four-day Thanksgiving leave to return home to Bakersfield, California. There he meets a young woman, tries to connect with old friends, and confronts his volatile home life. Cast: Nick Cannon, Melonie Diaz, Matt O’Leary, Jay Hernandez, Tom Sizemore, Chi McBride.

ANYWHERE, U.S.A.
Director: Anthony (Chusy) Haney-Jardine; Screenwriters: Anthony (Chusy) Haney-Jardine, Jennifer Macdonald — Told in three segments ranging from satirical to tragic, the film is a wildly original look at American manners, prejudices, and family dynamics. Cast: Perla Haney-Jardine.

BALLAST
Director and Screenwriter: Lance Hammer — A riveting, lyrical portrait of an emotionally frayed family whose lives are torn asunder by a tragic act in a small Mississippi Delta town. Cast: Michael J. Smith Sr., Jim Myron Ross, Tarra Riggs, Johnny McPhail.

CHOKE
Director and Screenwriter: Clark Gregg —An adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s (Fight Club) novel, CHOKE is the sardonic story about mother and son relationship, fear of aging, sexual addiction, and the dark side of historical theme parks. Cast: Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly MacDonald, Brad Henke.

DOWNLOADING NANCY
Director: Johan Renck; Screenwriters: Pamela Cuming, Lee Ross —The tale of an unhappy wife whose online search for someone to put her out of her misery results in a torturous love affair. Cast: Maria Bello, Jason Patric, Rufus Sewell, Amy Brenneman.

FROZEN RIVER
Director and Screenwriter: Courtney Hunt —Set in rural upstate New York on a Mohawk Reservation bordering Canada, a mother left to care for her teenage son finds herself lured into the world of illegal immigrant smuggling. Cast: Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Charlie McDermott, Michael O’Keefe, Mark Boone, Jr.

GOOD DICK
Director and Screenwriter: Marianna Palka —The tale of a lonely girl drawn from her isolated life and solitary apartment by a doting young video store clerk who strives to capture her affections. Cast: Jason Ritter, Marianna Palka, Tom Arnold, Mark Webber, Martin Starr, Eric Edelstein.

THE LAST WORD
Director and Screenwriter: Geoff Haley —An off-beat romantic comedy about a solitary writer who makes his living composing other people’s suicide notes. After meeting the sister of a recently deceased client, he finds his reclusive life and secret career upended by an unusual romance. Cast: Winona Ryder, Wes Bentley, Ray Romano.

THE MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH
Director and Screenwriter: Rawson Marshall Thurber — Based on Michael Chabon’s novel, the film chronicles the defining summer of a recent college graduate who crosses his gangster father and explores love, sexuality, and the enigmas surrounding his life and his city. Cast: Jon Foster, Peter Sarsgaard, Rawson Marshall Thurber, Sienna Miller, Mena Suvari, Nick Nolte.

NORTH STARR
Director and Screenwriter: Matthew Stanton —After witnessing the brutal murder of his best friend, a young African American man flees the badlands of Houston and finds himself in Trublin, a backward, racially intolerant town where he meets an unlikely kindred spirit who takes him under his wing. Cast: Jerome Hawkins, Matthew Stanton, Chris Sullivan, Isaac Lamb, Zach Johnson, Wayne Campbell.

PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND
Director and Screenwriter: Daniel Barnz — Confounded by her clashes with the seemingly rule-obsessed world, a little girl takes her already dysfunctional family down the rabbit hole when she seeks enlightenment from her unconventional drama teacher.
Cast: Elle Fanning, Felicity Huffman, Patricia Clarkson, Bill Pullman, Campbell Scott, Peter Gerety.

PRETTY BIRD
Director and Screenwriter: Paul Schneider — A comic tale of three would-be entrepreneurs who set out to invent a rocket belt. The clash of their mismatched personalities soon dissolves the business into a morass of recriminations, retaliations, kidnapping, and murder in this parable of American dreams and delusions. Cast: Billy Crudup, Paul Giamatti, Kristen Wiig, David Hornsby.

SLEEP DEALER
Director: Alex Rivera; Screenwriters: Alex Rivera, David Riker — Set in a near-future, militarized world marked by closed borders, virtual labor and a global digital network that joins minds and experiences, three strangers risk their lives to connect with each other and break the barriers of technology. Cast: Luis Fernando Peña, Leonor Varela, Jacob Vargas.

SUGAR
Directors and Screenwriters: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck —Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who last teamed up for HALF NELSON, chronicle the journey of Dominican baseball star Miguel “Sugar” Santos recruited from his native country to play in the U.S. minor leagues. Cast: Algenis Perez Soto.

SUNSHINE CLEANING
Director: Christine Jeffs; Screenwriter: Megan Holley — —Struck by financial hardship, an ambitiousmother and her unmotivated sister become entrepreneurs in the field of biohazard removal and crime scene clean-up. Cast: Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Steve Zahn, Alan Arkin.

THE WACKNESS
Director and Screenwriter: Jonathan Levine — During a sweltering New York summer, a troubled teenage drug dealer trades pot for therapy sessions with a drug-addled psychiatrist, and in the process falls for the doctor’s daughter. Cast: Josh Peck, Ben Kingsley, Famke Janssen, Olivia Thirlby, Mary Kate Olsen, Method Man.

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This year’s 16 films were selected from a record 953 submissions.

AN AMERICAN SOLDIER
Director and Screenwriter: Edet Belzberg — An exploration of army recruitment in the United States told through the story of Louisiana Sergeant, First Class Clay Usie, one of the most successful recruiters in the history of the U.S. Army.

AMERICAN TEEN
Director and Screenwriter: Nanette Burstein — This cinema vérité chronicles four seniors at an Indiana high school and yields a surprising snapshot of Midwestern life.

BIGGER, STRONGER, FASTER*
Director: Christopher Bell; Screenwriters: Christopher Bell, Alexander Buono, Tamsin Rawady — A filmmaker explores America’s win-at-all-cost culture by examining his two brothers’ steroids use…and his own.

FIELDS OF FUEL
Director and Screenwriter: Josh Tickell — America is addicted to oil and it is time for an intervention. Enter Josh Tickell, a man with a plan and a Veggie Van, who is taking on big oil, big government, and big soy to find solutions in places few people have looked.

FLOW: FOR LOVE OF WATER
Director: Irena Salina — Water is the very essence of life, sustaining every being on the planet. FLOW confronts the disturbing reality that our crucial resource is dwindling and greed just may be the cause.

GONZO: THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. HUNTER S. THOMPSON
Director: Alex Gibney —Fueled by a raging libido, Wild Turkey, and superhuman doses of drugs, Thompson was a true “free lance,” goring sacred cows with impunity, hilarity, and a steel-eyed conviction for writing wrongs.

THE GREATEST SILENCE: RAPE IN THE CONGO
Director and Screenwriter: Lisa F. Jackson — Jackson travels to remote villages in the war zones of the Congo to meet rape survivors, providing a piercing, intimate look into the struggle of their lives.

I.O.U.S.A.
Director: Patrick Creadon — Few are aware that America may be on the brink of a financial meltdown. I.O.U.S.A. explores the country’s shocking current fiscal condition and ways to avoid a national economic disaster.

NERAKHOON (THE BETRAYAL)
Director: Ellen Kuras; Co-Director: Thavisouk Phrasavath; Screenwriters: Ellen Kuras, Thavisouk Phrasavath — The story of a family forced to emigrate from Laos after the chaos of the secret air war waged by the U.S. during the Vietnam War.

THE ORDER OF MYTHS
Director: Margaret Brown — In 2007 Mobile, Alabama, Mardi Gras is celebrated…and complicated. Following a cast of characters, parades, and parties across an enduring color line, we see that beneath the surface of pageantry lies something else altogether.

PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE
Director and Screenwriter: Steven Sebring — An intimate portrait of music icon Patti Smith that mirrors the essence of the artist herself.

ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED
Director: Marina Zenovich; Screenwriters: Marina Zenovich, Joe Bini, P.G. Morgan — The film explores the public scandal and private tragedy which led to legendary director Roman Polanski’s sudden flight from the United States.

SECRECY
Directors: Peter Galison, Robb Moss — Amidst the American hunger for instantaneous news and up-to-date “facts,” this unflinching film uncovers the vast, invisible world of government secrecy.

SLINGSHOT HIP HOP
Director: Jackie Reem Salloum —The voice of a new generation rocks and rhymes as Palestinian rappers form alternative voices of resistance within the Israeli-Palestinian struggle.

TRACES OF THE TRADE: A STORY FROM THE DEEP NORTH
Director: Katrina Browne; Co-Directors: Alla Kovgan, Jude Ray; Screenwriters: Katrina Browne, Alla Kovgan — History finally gets rewritten as descendants of the largest slave-trading family in early America face their past, and present, as they explore their violent heritage across oceans and continents.

TROUBLE THE WATER
Directors: Tia Lessin, Carl Deal — An aspiring rap artist and her streetwise husband, armed with a video camera, show what survival is all about when they are trapped in New Orleans by deadly floodwaters, and seize a chance for a new beginning.

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This year’s 16 selections from 983 submissions represent 17 countries.

ABSURDISTAN || Germany
Director: Veit Helmer; Screenwriters: Veit Helmer, Zaza Buadze, Gordan Mihic, Ahmet Golbol — This inventive and allegorical comedy centers on two childhood sweethearts who seem destined for one another until the women of their isolated village, angered by male indifference toward the water shortage, go on a sex strike that threatens the young couple’s first night of love. Cast: Maximilian Mauff, Kristyna Mlérova.

BLUE EYELIDS (PÁRPADOS AZULES) || Mexico
Director: Ernesto Contreras; Screenwriter: Carlos Contreras)– When Marina wins a beach getaway trip for two, her desperate search for someone to take with her leads to a complicated relationship and the revelation that she might be better off on her own. Cast: Cecilia Suàrez, Enrique Arreola, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Tiaré Scanda, Luisa Huertas.

CAPTAIN ABU RAED || Jordan
Director and Screenwriter: Amin Matalqa — An aging airport janitor who is mistaken for an airline pilot by a group of poor neighborhood children weaves fantastical stories to offer hope for a sad, and sometimes unchangeable, reality. Cast: Nadim Sawalha, Hussein Al-Sous, Rana Sultan, Uday Al-Qiddissi, Ghandi Saber.

THE DRUMMER (JIN. GWU) || Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany
Director and Screenwriter: Kenneth Bi — A young man transforms from a reckless youth and gangster into a mature adult through the inspiration of Zen drumming. Cast: Jaycee Chan, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Josie Ho, Roy Cheung, Lee Sinje, Kenneth Tsang.

I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A GANGSTER || France
Director and Screenwriter: Samuel Benchetrit — Told in four vignettes, this existential comedy relates the exploits of four aspiring criminals who hope to improve their lot, but find that they might not have what it takes for a life of crime. Cast: Sergi López, Jean Rochefort, Alain Bashung, Anna Mouglalis.

JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY (KÆRLIGHED PÅ FILM) || Denmark
Director and Screenwriter: Ole Borendal) —Jonas’s quiet life as a suburban family man takes an unexpected twist when he causes a car crash that leaves a young woman with amnesia. When he is mistaken for her boyfriend, Jonas’s decision to play the role gradually unravels his life. Cast: Anders W. Berthelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Charlotte Fich, Dejan Cukic, Ewa Fröling.

KING OF PING PONG (PING PONGKINGEN) || Sweden
Director: Jens Jonsson; Screenwriters: Jens Jonsson, Hans Gunnarson) An ostracized and bullied teenage boy who excels only in ping pong descends into an acrimonious struggle with his younger, more popular brother when the truth about their family history and their father surfaces over the course of their spring break. Cast: Georgi Staykov, Ann-Sofie Normi, Frederik Nilsson, Jerry Johansson.

MÁNCORA || Spain ||Peru
Director: Ricardo de Montreuil; Screenwriter: Oscar Torres)– A young man mourning the death of his father sets out with his estranged stepsister and her arrogant husband for adventures in the lush, picturesque beach town of Máncora, Peru.

MEGANE (GLASSES) || Japan
Director and Screenwriter: Naoko Ogigami)–Taeko’s southern vacation becomes a life-changing experience when she discovers a unique beach community unified by surprising and perhaps odd traditions in this comedic film. Cast: Satomi Kobayashi, Mikako Ichikawa, Ryo Kase, Ken Mitsuishi, Masako Motai.

MERMAID (RUSALKA) || Russia
Director and Screenwriter: Anna Melikyan) – The fanciful tale of an introverted little girl who grows up believing she has the power to make wishes come true. She must reconcile this belief with reality when, as a young woman, she journeys to Moscow and grapples with love, modernity and materialism. Cast: Masha Shalaeva, Evgeniy Ciganov, Maria Sokolova, Nastya Doncova.

PERRO COME PERRO (DOG EAT DOG) || Colombia
Director: Carlos Moreno; Screenwriters: Alonso Torres, Carlos Moreno) – In the crime world of Colombia, there is an unwritten code. When Víctor and Eusebio, two hoods who bungle a shake-down job, break that code, they unwittingly sign their own death sentence. Cast: Marlon Moreno, Oscar Borda, Alvaro Rodríguez, Blas Jaramillo, Paulina Rivas.

RIPRENDIMI (GOOD MORNING HEARTACHE) || Italy
Director: Anna Negri; Screenwriters: Anna Negri, Giovanna Mori) – A modern young couple with a new baby are forced to deal with the almost comedic pain of breaking up while being the subject of a documentary that quickly crosses professional lines into their private lives. Cast: Alba Rohrwacher, Marco Foschi, Valentina Lodovini, Stefano Fresi, Alessandro Averone.

STRANGERS || Israel
Directors and Screenwriters: Erez Tadmor, Guy Nattiv — An Israeli man and a Palestinian woman meet serendipitously during the carefree atmosphere of the World Cup finals in Germany, drawing them out of the stark reality of their lives and into a passionate affair. Cast: Liron Levo, Lubna Azabal, Dominique Lollia, Patrick Albenque, Abdallah el Akal, Roger Dumas.

UNDER THE BOMBS (SOUS LES BOMBES) || Lebanon
Director: Philippe Aractingi; Screenwriters: Philippe Aractingi,Michel Léviant — In the wake of Israel’s 2006 bombardment of Lebanon, a determined woman finds her way into the country convincing a taxi cab driver to take a risky journey through the scarred region in search of her sister and her son. Cast: Nada Abou Farhat, Georges Khabbaz, Bshara Atallah, and Rawia Elchab.

THE WAVE (DIE WELLE) || Germany
Director: Dennis Gansel; Screenwriters: Dennis Gansel and Peter Thorwarth —A high school teacher’s unusual experiment to demonstrate to his students what life is like under a dictatorship spins horribly out of control when he forms a social unit with a life of its own. Cast: Juergen Vogel, Frederick Lau, Max Riemelt, Jennifer Ulrich, Christiane Paul.

THE WIND AND THE WATER (BURWA DII EBO) || Panama
Directors and Screenwriters: A collective collaboration)– A young indigenous teen seeking his fortune in Panama City struggles to acclimate to chaotic urban life, where he becomes enamored with a girl from a wealthy, assimilated family. Later, he encounters his crush once again–but this time the landscape and tradition define their interaction.

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The 16 films selected from 620 submissions represent 8 countries.

ALONE IN FOUR WALLS (ALLEIN IN VIER WÄNDEN) || Germany
Director and Screenwriter: Alexandra Westmeier —Adolescent boys struggle to grow up in a home for delinquents in rural Russia where life behind bars may be better than the release to freedom.

THE ART STAR AND THE SUDANESE TWINS || New Zealand
Director and Screenwriter: Pietra Brettkelly — Vanessa Beecroft is obsessively determined to adopt Sudanese twin orphans. Her consuming passion drives her marriage to a breaking point and fuels her controversial art, raising troubling questions about exploitation, culture clash, and the imposition of the West on Africa.

BE LIKE OTHERS || United Kingdom
Director: Tanaz Eshaghian — An intimate and unflinching look at life in Iran, seen through the lens of those living at its fringes, BE LIKE OTHERS is a provocative look at a generation of young Iranian men choosing to undergo sex change surgery.

A COMPLETE HISTORY OF MY SEXUAL FAILURES || United Kingdom
Director: Chris Waitt; Screenwriters: Chris Waitt and Henry Trotter)–Chris is a useless boyfriend. Determined to find out why, he consults his ex-girlfriends, medical practitioners, producers, and mother to find out how women really see him. Has this journey made him potential boyfriend material or is he staring a life of loneliness square in the face?

DEREK || United Kingdom
Director: Isaac Julien — A film involving two courageous and innovative artists—one the subject and one the filmmaker—provides a cinematic journey that illuminates the work and enduring importance of the late Derek Jarman.

DINNER WITH THE PRESIDENT ||Pakistan
Directors and Screenwriters: Sabiha Sumar and Sachithanandam Sathananthan — From on-the-street interviews to audiences with religious leaders to dinner with the President of Pakistan, the film takes the temperature of a culture on issues from politics to women’s rights.

DURAKOVO: THE VILLAGE OF FOOLS || France
Director and Screenwriter: Nino Kirtadze — Russian nationalism percolates in a castle outside Moscow, where Mikhail Morozov rules autonomously over young initiates, laying the groundwork for a rapidly growing right-wing movement.

IN PRISON MY WHOLE LIFE || United Kingdom
Director: Marc Evans; Screenwriters: Marc Evans, William Francome — A curious young filmmaker attempts to understand the true story behind award-winning journalist Mumia Abu Jamal’s death row sentence, and comes to startling realizations about American history and its justice system. With William Francome, Noam Chomsky, Alice Walker, Mos Def, Smoof , Snoop Dogg, Angela Davis .

MAN ON WIRE || United Kingdom
Director and Screenwriter: James Marsh —In 1974, Philippe Petit, a young Frenchman, dances on a wire suspended between New York’s Twin Towers. Consequently, Philippe is arrested and thrown into jail for what would become known as “the artistic crime of the century.”

pUUJEE || Japan
Director and Screenwriter: Kazuya Yamada — Against the backdrop of a magnificent but harsh natural landscape, a Japanese photojournalist encounters puujee, a young girl who tames wild horses on the Mongolian plains.

RECYCLE || Jordan
Director and Screenwriter: Al Massad — A Jordanian family man living in the hometown of Muslim leader Al-Zarqawi struggles to support his family and define his identity in a tense political climate.

STRANDED: I’VE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED ON THE MOUNTAINS || France
Director and Screenwriter: Gonzalo Arijon — For the first time ever, survivors of the famous 1974 Andes plane crash tell in their own words their harrowing story of survival.

TRIAGE: DR. JAMES ORBINSKI’S HUMANITARIAN DILEMMA || Canada
Director: Patrick Reed — Acclaimed doctor James Orbinski, former head of Doctors Without Borders, returns to Africa to confront the harsh reality of conditions there and explores what it means to be a humanitarian.

UP THE YANGTZE || Canada
Director and Screenwriter: Yung Chang —At the edge of the Yangtze River, not far from the Three Gorges Dam, young men and women take up employment on a cruise ship, where they confront rising waters and a radically changing China.

THE WOMEN OF BRUKMAN (LES FEMMES DE LA BRUKMAN) || Canada
Director and Screenwriter: Isaac Isitan —Amidst Argentina’s financial collapse, workers take over a Buenos Aires men’s clothing factory and continue producing clothing on a self-management model. As the formerly poor become business managers, their lives are changed forever.

YASUKUNI || Japan
Director and Screenwriter: Li Ying —Controversy abounds as Japanese officials honor the deceased at the legendary Yasukuni shrine, where swords used to kill Chinese soldiers were famously forged. Few know about the shrine’s eerie past and the mysterious sword inside. Cast: Kariya Naoji, Sugawara Ryuken,Gaojin Sumei.

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The 2008 Independent Spirit Awards were announced and the Todd Haynes film I’M NOT THERE led the nominations. With films like POISON and SWOON under his belt, Haynes has enduring Indie Cred. Some of the other films and folks on the list are a little harder to understand. Best Male Lead nominees Phillip Seymour Hoffman (THE SAVAGES), Don Cheadle (TALK TO ME) and tony Leung (LUST, CAUTION) are fairly mainstream guys. In the Best Female and Supporting Female Leads we’ve got Angelina Jolie (A MIGHTY HEART), Cate Blanchett (I’M NOT THERE), Marisa Tomei (BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD) and Jennifer Jason Leigh (MARGOT AT THE WEDDING). In the Best Film category we’ve got the Brad Pitt produced A MIGHTY HEART, the John Malkovich produced JUNO and the Kathleen Kennedy THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY.

It is an impressive list of names, a significant group of projects. I’m of two minds on the Spirit Award Announcement. On the one hand, it’s great to see creative talents like Hoffman and Blanchett committing their talents to riskier projects. When actors, directors and producers of this caliber get involved with independent films, those films have an exponentially improved chance of being successful. So, that’s a good thing, right? Well, there’s the other hand to consider.

It’s never been easier to make an independent film. The hard production costs have fallen because of digital advances. Digital production workflow brings filmmaking into the realm of possibility for the determined filmmaker. So, the question is, if you’ve got an amazing idea and you make a terrific film, does it have the chance to see the light of day if it’s going up against these other guys? According the distributors I’ve talked to, the major consideration for a film’s success? The caliber of the cast. Guess they already figured that out at IFC.

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I am not certain how I missed this in my upbringing in Wisconsin but somehow I failed to learn that the U.S. has already had a gay president. A friend in Colorado sent information on another script we’re working on and said something flip about a friend being related to the live-in partner of America’s First Gay President. What?!? I was referred to dozens of sites and was shocked to discover that JAMES BUCHANAN, the president prior to Abraham Lincoln was likely our first gay president.

Later, Senator King (the man who lived with Buchanan for decades including while he was in the White House) was elected to the Vice Presidency with Franklin Pierce. That would make King the first gay Vice President.

According to , an art project on the U.S. Presidents by Alex Forman, “Buchanan was a gentle, diplomatic person, religiously fatalistic in his approach to life. He stood six feet tall and was a heavy man. Buchanan “sometimes acts like an old maid,” said James Polk. Buchanan enjoyed a 20-year intimate friendship with Senator William Rufus de Vane King. They shared quarters in Washington, DC for sixteen years. When King died in 1853, Buchanan wrote, “I am now ’solitary and alone,’ having no companion in the house with me. I have gone a wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any one of them.” He referred to King as “Aunt Nancy.” Buchanan was the only bachelor President. In 1866, Buchanan published the first Presidential memoir.”

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You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, “I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.” You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 - 1962)
U.S. Diplomat, Reformer & Former First Lady

I think that somehow, we learn who we really are and then live with that decision.
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 - 1962)
U.S. Diplomat, Reformer & Former First Lady

Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 - 1962)
U.S. Diplomat, Reformer & Former First Lady

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I love Coen Brothers movies. They’re just so quirky and original. This evening, I watched FARGO for about the 900th time. It never ceases to surprise or delight me. It is well written, well directed, well acted. I first saw the movie with my nephew Jason. Like me, he grew up in Wisconsin. When Margie (Frances McDormand) sees the “Tan Ciera, tan Ciera” and goes to investigate, there was a distinctive sound. Jason leaned over and whispered, “Wood chipper.” I love the wood chipper scene. I always wonder if it hurt when “Pancakes” hit Frances McDormand with the log. (I don’t know if I ever knew the grumpy, pancake-house-loving character’s name.) It didn’t look like it was planned. For Christmas last year, I got a hat like the one Pancakes wears in the wood chipper scene. I love that hat. I look like a total goober in it but it sure keeps me warm. Sometimes, it’s the simple things that make life enjoyable. A good movie and a warm hat.

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It’s my sister Roxie’s birthday today. In our family, Thanksgiving is all wrapped up with Roxie’s birthday and deer hunting (a very, very important rite of passage for boys in Wisconsin). There were a number of years that her birthday fell right on the holiday. I was always grousing because my birthday was so close to Christmas but at least it never landed right on it. In this photo, Roxie is the one in the holiday-appropriate orange. Kim and Kevin, the twins, are in the middle. They were born 10 1/2 months after Roxie. For a month and one-half (from October 5 until November 23), all three of the “Little Kids” are the same age. They’re not so little any more (okay, Kim is only 4′10″ so she is pretty little) but they’ll always be younger than Sandy and me.

Last spring, the family gathered in Arizona for spring break. Pamela Jo got inspired and made us take family photos. We all complained and grumped about it but now, I can honestly say that we’re all dang glad she forced us to do it. There were 19 of us (parental units, five sibling families). Quite a group to manage. It was surprisingly painless. So, the photo above is from the spring gathering.

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Depending on which history book you read, today we are celebrating the 386th Thanksgiving. Some books put it in 1619, some in 1620, most in 1621. Some say it never occurred at all. There wasn’t that much written in colonial times and most that was written was from the patriarchal, white, male point of view. To be certain, most of human HIStory is from that particular point of view. Whatever the historical truth, we ended up with a holiday that makes eating an endurance activity.

It’s funny how history can get in the way. Ignorance is bliss. As children, we were taught that the Pilgrims and Puritans came to the New World in search of religious freedom. As a child, I thought that meant religious freedom for all when, in fact, they were looking for a place where they could ensure that EVERYONE lived and worshipped in the exact same way.

I would have been a lousy Puritan. Puritans had mandatory church attendance. Only members of the Puritan church could earn the right to vote (in 1634, only 11% of the total colonial population had the right to vote). Puritans had greater business freedom and opportunity. They made the laws. All Puritans except women, of course. Puritan women were the property of their husbands. They had no right to vote, no right to speak in public, no right to own property, no say in her own life. In fact, if a women ran away from a brutal husband, she would be arrested for stealing her body and her clothing from the man.

The more I read about the colonial period, the angrier I got. I started to resent that they made us wear Pilgrim hats and buckle shoes in grade school. The very symbols of Puritan oppression. So, I guess one of the things I am most thankful for is that the world has changed significantly since then. I am thankful for the separation of church and state. I am grateful for the advances in women’s rights. It isn’t perfect but it’s better than it was. I could do a rant about the inequity of salaries, the glass ceiling, the number of single women with children who live in poverty. YOU can be thankful that I’ll let that go for today.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

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Friedrich Nietzsche said, “To predict the behavior of ordinary people in advance, you only have to assume that they will always try to escape a disagreeable situation with the smallest possible expenditure of intelligence.” Obviously, documentary filmmakers are NOT ordinary people. Documentary filmmakers enter some of the most disagreeable situations willingly, repeatedly and fiercely to bring greater understanding to complex issues and difficult topics. A few days ago, I posted an entry about the films that were awarded grants from the Sundance Documentary Grant fund. The first two on the list caught my eye.

I first became aware of Anne Makepeace at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. She wrote, produced and directed the documentary ROBERT CAPA: IN LOVE AND WAR. The documentary was about the famed war photographer. You see, Nancy Schreiber was the cinematographer. I still love, love, love her work in SHADOW MAGIC. It was a gorgeous film. So that put Anne Makepeace on my radar. I noticed on the Sundance documentary summary that she’s doing a new film that I find very interesting. Her next film is AS NATAYUNEAN — WE STILL LIVE HERE (US). It’s about Jessie Little Doe Baird, of the Wampanoag nation, and how she revives a silenced indigenous language that was out of use for more than 150 years. The Wampanoag lived in and around Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Makepeace has a nice website with a summary of all of her film projects. She does quite a bit for PBS. She’s a filmmaker worth tracking.

The connection for me is that we are currently working on a script that intersects with the Wampanoag nation!! How crazy is that? Like I ever thought I would say that … “we’re working a project about the Wampanoag nation.” A friend of mine once said that there are just certain stories that are waiting to be told and one can know it’s time when the topic shows up in multiple places … an esoteric, positive-thinking, creative sort of human, she said “You just have to catch the vibe and ride the wave.” So, right now, it seems that we are “in the groove.”

Because of my experience in Zambia last year, I was also very interested in the Marc and Nick Francis film CHINESE SAFARI (UK). According to the Sundance description, Lusaka, Zambia is home to one of Africa’s largest Chinatowns and is at the crossroads of China’s strategic expansion into Africa. I belong to a message board of Zambians in Atlanta and there’s been a very lively discussion on the board in the last few weeks about their concern over Zambians losing jobs to Chinese workers. Apparently the time is right for that story, it’s showing up in three different places already.

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Sundance Institute announced the Opening Night Film for its 2008 Sundance Film Festival is IN BRUGES, written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker and award-winning playwright, Martin McDonagh. McDonagh’s first foray into filmmaking was with the short film, SIX SHOOTER, also starring Gleeson, which won the Academy Award for best live-action short film in 2006. (A short clip of that film can be viewed on YouTube.

“In many ways IN BRUGES is a quintessential Sundance film—it’s brutal, philosophical, funny, and totally original,” said Geoffrey Gilmore, Director, Sundance Film Festival. “Martin McDonagh is a masterful storyteller, a tremendously gifted playwright and provocative risk-taker and we are thrilled to showcase his feature-length directorial debut.” The film stars Ralph Fiennes, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, IN BRUGES tells the twisted tale of two London hit men ordered to take a forced vacation in Bruges, Belgium, and how their subsequent time in exile goes awry.

The 2008 Sundance Film Festival runs January 17-27, 2008 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Sundance, Utah.

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Jodie Foster and Meg Ryan share the same birthday … but one year apart … want to guess who is older? Meg Ryan was born in 1961, Jodie Foster was born in 1962. Why do I know this? At one time or another, I’ve written projects with one or the other of them in mind.

Ryan used to have PRUFROCK PRODUCTIONS. While her production company was active, I queried them about the Pauline story. They expressed an interest. It was an incredibly exciting day. I thought the role was ideal for Ryan … the story of an actress who was a spy and ended up being honored by the President for her service. It was a cool story.

Foster used to have EGG PRODUCTIONS. I always hoped to develop a project she liked and wanted to do. The truth is that they both have a million people coming at them with projects. Getting through to either of them and having them take on a project would be a miracle and a half. They have both dissolved their production companies since then. Like production companies, birthdays come and go. And, as actresses over 40 (46 and 45, respectively), the roles get scarcer and scarcer.

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Today, the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program announced 30 film projects to receive a record number of financial grants from the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund. Out of 300 applications from more than 25 countries, the feature-length documentary films selected will receive a total of nearly $750,000 in support. The Sundance Documentary Film Program supports U.S. and international documentary filmmakers who explore the critical issues of our times with highly crafted storytelling and stylistic innovation.

PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT

Anne Makepeace AS NATAYUNEAN-WE STILL LIVE HERE (US) Jessie Little Doe, of the Wampanoag nation, revives a silenced indigenous language that was out of use for more than 150 years.

Marc Francis and Nick Francis CHINESE SAFARI (UK) Lusaka, Zambia is home to one of Africa’s largest Chinatowns and is at the crossroads of China’s strategic expansion into Africa.

Pamela Yates GRANITO (US) Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchu accuses Guatemala’s ex-dictator, General Rios Montt, of genocide and uses the 1982 classic documentary film, When the Mountains Tremble, as forensic evidence to bring a case against him.

Albert Maysles HANDHELD AND FROM THE HEART (US) Albert Maysles returns to his Boston roots and reconnects with old friends, resulting in an autobiographical film reflecting on a 50-year love affair with documentary.

Thierry Michel KATANGA, MINING BUSINESS (Belgium) Key players in a new, industrial revolution in Katanga (Democratic Republic of the Congo) struggle against a war being waged by ruthless multinational corporations.

Julianna Brannum LADONNA HARRIS: INDIAN 101 (US) Comanche activist LaDonna Harris conveys a unique vision of leadership to a new generation of indigenous professionals.

Özgür Dogan and Orhan Eskiköy ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL (Turkey) A year in the life of a Turkish school teacher in a remote town in Turkey. With a Kurdish class that can’t speak Turkish, and the teacher who can’t speak Kurdish, both are alien in the same land.

Rachel Libert SEMPER FI: ALWAYS FAITHFUL (US) Two retired Marines lead the fight for justice for U.S. soldiers exposed to dangerous toxic chemicals while stationed at Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in North Carolina.

Andrew Okpeaha MacLean SWALLOWED BY THE SEA (US) In a small Inuit village on the remote barrier island of Shishmaref, Alaska, residents struggle with the devastating effects of erosion due to global climate change.

Carvin Eison and Christine Christopher UMBRA: EMERGING FROM THE SHADOWS (US) In Jena, Louisiana, nooses swing from the schoolyard oak tree and six black high school students are persecuted in ways that eerily evoke the past. The story illuminates the entrenched culture of racially motivated violence in America.

Will Sankhla WE HAVE NO ORDERS TO SAVE YOU (US/India) The youngest survivors of the 2002 Gujarati riots in India move into adulthood, facing choices that will affect their future and the future of pluralism in India.

Rachael Turner and Alison Quirk WHERE WOMEN RULE (UK) In the first women-only village in Kenya, women learn to thrive after entrenched violence and male domination.

PROJECTS IN PRODUCTION/POST-PRODUCTION

Tin Dirdamal AGUA (Mexico) In Cochabamba, Bolivia, four people connected to the first “water war” of the 21st century shed light on – and perhaps foreshadow – wars to come.

Fredrik Gertten BANANAS (Sweden) Nicaraguan banana farmers take multi-national banana industrialists to court over the use of banned pesticides in an historic case.

Miao Wang BEIJING TAXI (China/US) Three Beijing taxi drivers connect a morphing cityscape with citizen tales in the midst of dizzying change accelerated by the 2008 Olympic Games.

Frederick Wiseman BOXING GYM (US) In a community boxing gym in Austin, TX, the controlled use of violence is taught to men, women, and children of all social classes, races, ages, and ethnicities.

Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt BRANDON AND THE CLIFFORD TWINS (US) Three young Lakotas on the Pine Ridge reservation are swept into a high-stakes tribal election that hangs on sovereignty, representation, and abortion politics.

Terry Jones, Laure Sullivan and Paul Wilson CASINO NATION (US) After a long and bloody struggle, the Seneca Nation of Indians is now in the casino business, and the tribe is changing forever. Casino Nation follows the conflicts the tribe faces as big money flows into this small sovereign nation.

Isaac Julien DEREK JARMAN (UK) A creative portrait of influential English filmmaker and fine artist, Derek Jarman.

Andres Habegger FINAL IMAGE (Argentina) Leonardo Henrichsen, an Argentinean cameraman, films his own murder during an attempted military coup in Chile in June 1973. The history of a continent unfolds through the images made by one man.

NC Heikin KIMJONGILIA (France/US) Survivors of North Korean concentration camps share wrenching, first-hand testimonies.

Margarita Martinez Escallon and Miguel Salazar PEACEFUL WARRIORS (Colombia) Amidst long-standing guerilla warfare throughout southern Colombia, the indigenous Nasa community strives to maintain their ideals of non-violent resistance.

Deann Borshay Liem PRECIOUS OBJECTS OF DESIRE (US) Swapped with another girl by her South Korean orphanage prior to adoption by an American couple, the filmmaker searches for her namesake and roots.

Annie Goldson AN ISLAND CALLING(New Zealand) The double murder of a gay couple in Fiji in 2001 reveals the social and political fractures in the postcolonial landscape of the Pacific.

Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers TEAM LIONESS (US) A group of female soldiers who went to Iraq as mechanics, supply clerks, and engineers, return home a year later as part of America’s first generation of female combat veterans.

Jerret Engle THE KITCHEN WARRIORS (US/South Africa) Students in a township-run South African cooking school struggle to reshape their lives and pursue culinary careers.

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