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Festivals >> Sundance >> 2008 >> World Cinema Documentary Competition


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The 16 films in the world cinema documentary competition, selected from 620 submissions represent eight countries including Pakistan, Jordan, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and Canada. "The range of human experience is played out in these engaging stories about the artistic process, the cost of conflict, faith and nationalism, and the triumph of personal spirit."

Read our full 2008 Sundance Film Festival .


A Complete History Of My Sexual FailuresYasukuni
(Country: Germany; Director: Alexandra Westmeier; Writer: Alexandra Westmeier)
Inside a juvenile Russian reform school.

(Country: New Zealand; Director: Pietra Brettkelly; Writer: 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.

(Country: UK; Director: Tanaz Eshaghian)
An intimate and unflinching look at life in Iran, seen through the lens of those living at its fringes. A provocative look at a generation of young Iranian men choosing to undergo sex change surgery.

(Country: UK; Director: Chris Waitt; Writer: Chris Waitt and Henry Trotter; Cast: Chris Waitt)
Does what it says on the tin - a personal documentary about a subject for which most blokes will have sympathy. Plus read our with director Chris Waitt See: ,

(Country: UK; Director: Isaac Julien)
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.

In Prison My Whole LifeMan On Wire
(Country: Pakistan; Director: Sabiha Sumar, Sachithanandam Sathananthan; Writer: Sabiha Sumar, 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.

(Country: France; Director: Nino Kirtad; Writer: Nino Kirtad)
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.

(Country: UK, US; Director: Marc Evans; Writer: Marc Evans, William Francome; Cast: William Francome, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Boots, Noam Chomsky, Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, Steve Earle, William Francome, Russell Simmons, Alice Walker, Howard Zinn,)
Documentary about questions that hang over the conviction of Death Row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal. See:

(Country: UK; Director: James Marsh; Writer: James Marsh; Cast: Philippe Petit)
On August 7, 1974, New York gasped as French daredevil Philippe Petit walked a tightrope between the Twin Towers—without a safety net. Peppered with humor and awe, this stunning portrait of an artist of reckless daring and impish charm is sure to leave viewers spellbound. See: ,

(Country: Japan; Director: Kazuya Yamada; Writer: 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.

Up The YangtzeDinner With The President
(Country: Jordan, Netherlands; Director: Mahmoud Al Massad; Writer: 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.

(Country: France; Director: Gonzalo Arijon; Writer: Gonzalo Arijon)

(Country: 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. See:

(Country: Canada; Director: Yung Chang; Writer: Yung Chang; Cast: Jerry Chen Bo Yu, Cindy Yu Shui, the Yu Shui family)
Documentary about the humanitarian impact of the Three Gorges Dam project. See: ,

(Country: Canada; Director: Isaac Isitan; Writer: 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.

(Country: Japan; Director: Li Ying; Writer: Li Ying)
A 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.


News & Features Repo

Jean-Pierre Améris talks about his comedy Romantics Anonymous.

Michel Hazanavicius, the Dardennes and others on cinematic and fairy tale influences.

McQueen, Fassbender, Cronenberg, Durkin, Olsen, Payne talk about clothes and authenticity

Scottish and Icelandic shorts lead the pack.

Events include a rare screening of The Blue Angel
Playing Now! Italian Film Festival - Giovanna's Father


Cinema with a Latin flavour.
Running in London from May 1.

Running from April 29.

Line up now in for the festival which runs in April.

Archive australian film fest - global haywire

Highlights of 2007-2008.

Running until March 18.

Highlights of 2007-2008.

Highlights of 2006-2008.

Archive of festival coverage.

Reviews from 2007-2008.

Coverage of the 2008-2009 festival.
Daily diary and reviews from 2005-2008.

Coverage of the international festival.
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