Here are the 58 titles in the four competition programs at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival:
U.S. Dramatic
“Another Earth” • A woman’s fate intertwines with the discovery of a parallel universe in this science-fiction film. Directed by Mike Cahill and written by Cahill and Brit Marling (who plays the woman).
“Benavides Born” • A small-town girl (Corina Calderon) can’t afford to go to the University of Texas, unless she can score a scholarship by winning the state powerlifting championship. Directed by Amy Wendel, written by Daniel Meisel and Wendel.
“Circumstance” • Writer-director Maryam Keshavarz looks at Iran’s new generation, fighting for personal freedom, as seen through a teenage love triangle.
“Gun Hill Road” • Esai Morales stars as an ex-con who returns to the Bronx, to his estranged wife (Judy Reyes, from “Scrubs”) and his teenage son (Harmony Santana), who is discovering his sexual identity. Written and directed by Bronx native Rashaad Ernesto Green.
“Here” • An American cartographer (Ben Foster) is assigned to create an accurate satellite survey of Armenia, where he meets an Armenian expatriate and art photographer (Lubna Azabal). Directed by Braden King, who co-wrote with Dani Valent.
“Higher Ground” • Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga (“Up in the Air”) makes her directorial debut, starring as a mother who, out of frustration, turns to a fundamentalist community for answers. Based on Carolyn S. Briggs’ memoir This Dark World, the script is written by Briggs and Tim Metcalfe.
“Homework” • A teen romance about a class-cutting guy (Freddie Highmore) who meets a girl (Emma Roberts) who inspires him to “figure out who he really is.” Director-writer Gavin Wiesen’s cast includes Michael Angarano, Elizabeth Reaser (“Twilight”) and Blair Underwood.
“The Ledge” • Writer-director Matthew Chapman’s thriller centers on a man (Charlie Hunnam) who says he’ll jump off a ledge at noon, and the detective (Terrence Howard) who has to find out why the guy is being forced to do this. The cast includes Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson and Christopher Gorham.
“Like Crazy” • An American guy (“Star Trek’s” Anton Yelchin) and a British girl (“Winter’s Bone” star Jennifer Lawrence) fall for each other in college, then have to try to make their relationship work long-distance. Directed by Drake Doremus, and written by Doremus and Ben York Jones (who starred in Doremus’ 2010 Sundance film, “Douchebag”).
“Little Birds” • Juno Temple (“Greenberg”) and Kaye Pennebaker (“Fame”) play 15-year-old friends who test their friendship when one follows the other to Los Angeles. Written and directed by Elgin James, the movie also stars Leslie Mann and Kate Bosworth.
“The Loved Ones” • In writer-director Sam Levinson’s comedy, siblings are dragged into a chaotic family wedding by their overwrought mom. The cast includes Demi Moore, Kate Bosworth, Jeffrey DeMunn, Ellen Barkin, Ellen Burstyn and Thomas Haden Church.
“Martha Marcy May Marlene” • Writer-director Sean Durkin’s story of a damaged woman (Elizabeth Olsen) trying to rebuild her relationship with her family after leaving an abusive cult. The cast includes Brady Corbet, Hugh Dancy, John Hawkes and Sarah Paulson.
“On the Ice” • Inuit filmmaker Andrew Okpeaha MacLean expands his 2008 Sundance award-winning short film, about two teens trying to get away with murder on the Alaskan tundra.
“Pariah” • Writer-director Dee Rees expands her 2007 short film about a Bronx teen (Adepero Oduye) searching for sexual expression, and being forced to choose between losing her best friend and destroying her family.
“Take Shelter” • Michael Shannon plays a working-class family man who has terrifying dreams of an apocalyptic storm, which could signal something real or the start of an inherited mental illness. Written and directed by Jeff Nichols.
“Terri” • An alienated teen (Jacob Wysocki) is befriended by his school’s dreaded vice principal (John C. Reilly), in this story directed by Azazel Jacobs, and written by Patrick Dewitt and Jacobs.
U.S. Documentary
“Beats, Rhymes and Life” • Actor Michael Rapaport makes his directorial debut with this look at the influential hip-hop collective A Tribe Called Quest.
“Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey” • Director Constance Marks profiles Kevin Clash, the man who gives voice and heart to “Sesame Street’s” most beloved little red monster, Elmo.
“Buck” • A portrait of master horse trainer Buck Brannaman, whose non-violent methods inspired “The Horse Whisperer.” Directed by Cindy Meehl.
“Connected: An Autoblogography about Love, Death & Technology” • Combining documentary and narrative, director Tiffany Shlain explores the interconnectedness of humanity, nature, progress and morality in the first years of the 21st century. Written by Shlain, Ken Goldberg, Carlton Evans and Sawyer Steele.
“Crime After Crime” • Director Yoav Potash looks into the case of Debbie Peagler, sentenced to life in prison for killing the man who abused her and forced her into prostitution — and the two rookie attorneys who reopened the case and discovered hidden evidence and prosecutorial misconduct.
“Hot Coffee” • Trial lawyer-turned-filmmaker Susan Saladoff looks into the infamous case of the woman who sued McDonalds over scalding hot coffee — a case study in how corporate America has manipulated the civil justice system, and the media, for its own gain.
“How to Die in Oregon” • Director Peter D. Richardson introduces us to the people — terminally ill patients, their families and their doctors — who deal with physician-assisted suicide in Oregon, where it has been legal since 1994.
“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front” • Director Marshall Curry introduces Daniel McGowan, a member of ELF — a group called America’s “No. 1 domestic terrorist threat” by the FBI — who’s facing life in prison for arson against Oregon timber companies.
“The Last Mountain” • Robert Kennedy Jr. is one of the activists involved in the battle between a coal-mining corporation and a West Virginia community, fighting for the last great mountain in Appalachia. Bill Haney directed, and co-wrote with Peter Rhodes.
“Miss Representation” • Jennifer Siebel Newsom, actor and wife of soon-to-be California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, directs this look at portrayals of women in the mainstream media — and how those portrayals contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power. Among those interviewed: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, actors Jane Fonda, Geena Davis and Rosario Dawson, CBS anchorwoman Katie Couric and MSNBC host/commentator Rachel Maddow. Written by Newsom and Jessica Congdon.
“Page One: A Year Inside The New York Times” • Director Andrew Rossi (who co-wrote with Kate Novack) gets unprecedented access to The Times’ newsroom, following the paper through year of transformation in the media landscape.
“The Redemption of General Butt Naked” • Directors Eric Strauss and Daniele Anastasion profile Joseph Milton Blahyi, a brutal warlord in Liberia who converted to Christianity and now tries to atone for his past by serving as an evangelist.
“Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles” • Director Jon Foy digs into an urban mystery: Hundreds of cryptic tiled messages appearing in city streets across the United States and South America.
“Sing Your Song” • Filmmaker Susanne Rostock’s in-depth profile of singer, actor and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte.
“Troubadours” • Director Morgan Neville traces the careers of two singer-songwriters whose lives converged at L.A.’s Troubadour Club in the late ’60s and early ’70s: Carole King and James Taylor.
“We Were Here” • Director David Weissman (“The Cockettes,” Sundance 2002) reflects on the arrival of AIDS in San Francisco in the early 1980s, and the individuals who rose to the occasion during the first years of the disease’s spread.
World Dramatic
“Abraxas” • (Japan) A depressed Zen monk reaches back to his heavy-metal past, using music to revive his spirit. Directed by Dai Sako, written by Sako and Naoki Kato.
“All Your Dead Ones (Todos Tus Muertos)” • (Colombia) A peasant finds a pile of dead bodies in his cornfield, and then finds that authorities don’t want to deal with the problem on the eve of an election. Directed by Carlos Moreno, written by Alonso Torres and Moreno.
“The Cinema Hold Up (Asalto Al Cine)” • (Mexico) Four friends in Mexico’s Guerrero colony plot to rob a movie theater — each thinking the heist will solve their problems, but realizing it could jeopardize their friendship. Directed by Iria Gómez Concheiro, who co-wrote with Juan Pablo Gómez.
“A Few Days of Respite (Quelque Jours de Repit)” • (Algeria/France) Two gay men escape from Iran and seek sanctuary in a small French village, where they are helped by a lonely middle-aged woman. Written and directed by Amor Hakkar.
“The Guard” • (Ireland) Brendan Gleeson plays an eccentric cop in a small Irish town, who is drawn reluctantly into the action when a by-the-book FBI agent (Don Cheadle) arrives to investigate an international drug-smuggling ring. Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, whose brother Martin directed Gleeson in “In Bruges” (Sundance 2008).
“Happy, Happy (Sykt Lykkelig)” • (Norway) A homemaker (Agnes Kittelsen) tries to maintain her perfect, if sex-deprived, life when an attractive family moves in next door. Directed by Anne Sewitsky, screenplay by Ragnhild Tronvoll.
“Kinyarwanda” • (Rwanda/U.S.A.) Writer-director Alrick Brown tells the story, taken from survivors’ accounts, of Rwandans who gave refuge in mosques to Muslims and Christians hiding from the 1994 genocide.
“Lost Kisses (I baci mai dati)” • (Italy) When a 13-year-old girl in a Sicilian slum discovers she might be able to perform miracles, she becomes a local celebrity. Directed by Roberta Torre, who co-wrote with Laura Nuccilli.
“Mad Bastards” • (Australia) T.J., an urban street warrior, confronts Texas, a local cop in a frontier town in Australia’s Kimberley region, in a story that interweaves stories by real Kimberley residents and the music of The Pigram Brothers. Directed by Brendan Fletcher, who wrote with his stars, Dean Daley-Jones, Greg Tait and John Watson.
“Restoration (Boker Tov Adon Fidelman)” • (Israel) A restorer of antique furniture tries to keep his workshop going with the help of a mysterious apprentice, as his estranged son is trying to close the place down. Directed by Yossi Madmoni, written by Erez Kav-El.
“The Salesman (Le Vendeur)” • (Canada) Writer-director Sébastien Pilote tells of a car salesman trying to maintain the rules he has lived by to maintain his quota, despite hard times in his fading industrial hometown.
“Ticket to Paradise (Boleto al Paraiso)” • (Cuba) In Havana 1993, a teen girl on the run from her sexually abusive father meets a young rocker in an AIDS hospice. Directed by Gerardo Chijona Valdes, who co-wrote with Francisco Garcia Gonzalez and Maykel Rodriguez Ponjuan.
“Tyrannosaur” • (United Kingdom) Actor Paddy Considine (“In America,” “Red Riding”) directs and writes his first feature, starring Peter Mullan (“Red Riding,” “Boy A”) as Joseph, a man battling his own rage and self-destructive violence, who meets Hannah (Olivia Colman), a charity shop owner with a secret of her own. Eddie Marsan (“Sherlock Holmes”) also stars.
“Vampire” • (Japan/Canada) In writer-director Iwai Shunji’s horror drama, Simon (“Frozen’s” Kevin Zegers) works as a teacher and tends to his ailing mom — while hiding a secret, of hunting online for the girl who will ensure his survival. Keisha Castle-Hughes (“Whale Rider”), Rachel Leigh Cook and Kristin Kreuk (“Smallville”) also star.
World Documentary
“An African Election” • (Ghana/Switzerland) Director Jarreth Merz examines the 2008 presidential elections in Ghana, as the west African nation struggles to avoid civil war and create stability.
“The Bengali Detective” • (India/U.S.A./United Kingdom) Director Phil Cox follows Rajesh Bharti, an overweight and dance-obsessed private detective who investigates poisonings, adultery and the occasional murder in Kolkata, India.
“The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975” • (Sweden/U.S.A.) Combining undiscovered interviews by Swedish journalists with contemporary audio interviews, director Göran Olsson examines the Black Power movement in America during the late ’60s and early ’70s.
“Family Portrait in Black and White” • (Canada/Ukraine) director Julia Ivanova profiles Olga Nenya, who raises 16 black orphans in her Ukrainian town, whose residents are mostly blue-eyed Slavic blondes, and discovers the harsh truth about growing up as a biracial child in Eastern Europe.
“The Flaw” • (United Kingdom) Director David Sington (“In the Shadow of the Moon,” Sundance 2007 Audience Award winner) uses archival footage, animation and personal stories to dissect the failure of American financial institutions in 2008 — and the disparity between rich and poor in the land of the free.
“The Green Wave (Irans grüner Sommer)” • (Germany) Director Ali Samadi Ahadi uses animated blogs and tweets to tell of democracy in peril, and protestors being arrested, tortured and raped during Iran’s June 2009 elections.
“Hell and Back Again” • (U.S.A./United Kingdom) Director Danfung Dennis examines what modern “unconventional” warfare means, through the experiences Marine Sgt. Nathan Harris from the start of his 2009 Afghanistan tour to his return and rehabilitation in the United States.
“Knuckle” • (Ireland/United Kingdom) Director Ian Palmer dives into the secret and brutal world of Irish Traveler bare-knuckle fighting, following the history of violent feuds between rival clans.
“Position Among the Stars (Stand Van De Sterren)” • (The Netherlands) Director Leonard Retel Helmrich completes his trilogy on Indonesia, focusing on the effects of globalization on the nation’s society, through the experiences of a poor Christian woman living in Jakarta’s slums with her Muslim sons and teen granddaughter.
“Project Nim” • (United Kingdom) Director James Marsh, an Oscar winner for “Man on Wire,” tells of an experiment at Columbia University to teach a chimpanzee to communicate with sign language, nurturing him like a human child.
“Senna” • (United Kingdom) Director Asif Kapadia and writer Manish Pandey profile Brazilian Formula One racing legend Ayrton Senna, seeking glory and risking death with every race.
“Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure” • (Australia/U.S.A.) Director Matthew Bate tells how two friends accidentally created one of the world’s first “viral” sensations when they tape-recorded their violently noisy neighbors.
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