Eye For Film >> Festivals >> Sundance >> 2008 >> World Cinema Documentary Competition

Sundance Film Festival 2008

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."

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

A Complete History Of My Sexual Failures A Complete History Of My Sexual Failures
A Complete History Of My Sexual Failures and The Art Star And The Sudanese Twins
Alone In Four Walls (Allein In Vier Wänden) (Country: Germany; Year: 2007; Director: Alexandra Westmeier; Writer: Alexandra Westmeier)
Inside a juvenile Russian reform school.
Full Review
The Art Star And The Sudanese Twins (Country: New Zealand; Year: 2007; Director: Pietra Brettkelly; Writer: Pietra Brettkelly) , Official Site
An artist's obssessive attempt to adopt twins in Darfur.
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; Year: 2008; Director: Chris Waitt; Writer: Chris Waitt and Henry Trotter; Stars: Chris Waitt) , Official Site , Trailer
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; Year: 2008; 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 Man On Wire
Man On Wire and In Prison My Whole Life
Dinner With The President (Country: Pakistan; Year: 2007; 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; Year: 2007; 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; Year: 2007; Director: Marc Evans; Writer: Marc Evans, William Francome; Stars: 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; Year: 2008; Director: James Marsh; Writer: James Marsh; Stars: Philippe Petit) , Official Site , Trailer
Documentary about tightrope walker Phillippe Petit's attempt to cross between the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
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.
Alone In Four Walls Alone In Four Walls
Alone In Four Walls and Up The Yangtze
Recycle (E'adat Khalq) (Country: Jordan, Netherlands; Year: 2008; Director: Mahmoud Al Massad; Writer: Al Massad) , Official Site
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; Year: 2007; Director: Yung Chang; Writer: Yung Chang; Stars: Jerry Chen Bo Yu, Cindy Yu Shui, the Yu Shui family) , Official Site
Documentary about the humanitarian impact of the Three Gorges Dam project.
Full Review See: Interview with Lixin Fan about Last Train Home
, 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 Yasukuni
Yasukuni and Dinner With The President
Yasukuni (Country: Japan; Director: Li Ying; Year: 2007; 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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