World Cinema Documentary Competition

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 coverage.

View other Sundance Film Festival Films by Strand: Independent Feature Competition: Documentary, Independent Feature Competition: Dramatic, International Short Films: Animation, International Short Films: Documentary, International Short Films: Dramatic, International Short Films: Experimental and Mixed Media, New Frontier, Park City At Midnight, Premieres, Spectrum: Documentary, Spectrum: Dramatic Spotlight, US Short Films: Animation, US Short Films: Documentary, US Short Films: Dramatic, US Short Films: Experimental, World Cinema Dramatic Competition

Alone In Four Walls and The Art Star And The Sudanese Twins

Alone In Four Walls (Allein In Vier Wänden)(Country: Germany; Director: Alexandra Westmeier; Writer: Alexandra Westmeier)
Inside a juvenile Russian reform school. Full Review

The Art Star And The Sudanese Twins(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. Full Review

Be Like Others(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.

A Complete History Of My Sexual Failures(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. Full Review See: Interview with Chris Waitt about A Complete History Of My Sexual Failures

Derek(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.

Man On Wire and In Prison My Whole Life

Dinner With The President(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.

Durakovo: The Village Of Fools (Durakovo: Le Village Des Fous)(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.

In Prison My Whole Life(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. Full Review See: Sundance Film Festival 2008: Day One Diary

Man On Wire(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. Full Review See: Sundance Film Festival 2008: Day Eight

Puujee(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.

Yasukuni and Dinner With The President

Recycle(Country: Jordan; Director: 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.

Stranded: I've Come From A Plane That Crashed On The Mountains(Country: France; Director: Gonzalo Arijon; Writer: Gonzalo Arijon)

Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma(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: Sundance Film Festival 2008: Day Eight

Up The Yangtze(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. Full Review See: Sundance Film Festival 2008: Day One Diary

The Women Of Brukman (Les Femmes De La Brukman)(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.

Yasukuni(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.

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