Sundance 2009: US Documentary Competition
The General by Natalia Almada
Art & Copy (Director: Doug Pray; screenwriter: Timothy J. Sexton)
Rare interviews with the most influential advertising creative minds of our age illustrate the wide-reaching effect advertising and creativity have on modern culture.
Boy Interrupted (Director: Dana Perry)
An intimate look at the life, mental illness and death of a young man told from the point of view of the filmmaker: his mother.
Chasing the Flame (Director: Greg Barker)
Examines the role of the United Nations and the international community through the life and experiences of Sergio Vieira de Mello, the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Human Rights, including interviews with those who knew and worked with him over the course of his extraordinary career.
The Cove (Director: Louie Psihoyos; screenwriter: Mark Monroe)
Dolphins are dying, whales are disappearing, and the oceans are growing sick. The horrors of a secret cove nestled off a small coastal village in Japan are revealed by a group of activists led by Ric O'Barry, the man behind Flipper.
Crude (Director: Joe Berlinger)
The inside story of the "Amazon Chernobyl" case in the rain forest of Ecuador, the world's largest oil-related environmental lawsuit.
Dirt the Movie (Directors: Bill Benenson, Gene Rosow)
The story of the relationship between humans and dirt humorously details how humans are rapidly destroying the last natural resource on Earth.
The General (El General) (Director: Natalia Almada)
As the great-granddaughter of Mexican President Plutarco Elias Calles, one of Mexico's most controversial revolutionary figures, filmmaker Natalia Almada paints an intimate portrait of Mexico.
Good Hair (Director: Jeff Stilson)
Comedian Chris Rock turns documentary filmmaker when he sets out to examine the culture of African-American hair and hairstyles.
Over the Hills and Far Away (Director: Michel Scott)
Chronicles the journey of the Isaacson family as they travel through Mongolia in search of a mysterious shaman they believe can heal their autistic son.
The Reckoning: The Battle for the International Criminal Court (Director: Pamela Yates)
A battle of monumental proportions unfolds as International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo faces down warlords, genocidal dictators and world superpowers in bringing perpetrators of crimes against humanity to justice.
Reporter (Director: Eric Daniel Metzgar)
Set in Africa, this documentary chronicles, in verite fashion, the haunting, physically grueling and shocking voyage of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof.
The September Issue (Director: R. J. Cutler)
With unprecedented access, R.J. Cutler and his crew shot for nine months as they captured Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour and her team preparing the 2007 Vogue September issue, widely accepted as the "fashion bible" for the year's trends.
Shouting Fire: Stories From the Edge of Free Speech (Director: Liz Garbus)
An exploration of the history and current state of free speech in America narrated by the filmmaker's father, First Amendment attorney Martin Garbus.
We Live in Public (Director: Ondi Timoner)
The story of the Internet's revolutionary impact on human interaction as told through the eyes of maverick Web pioneer Josh Harris and his transgressive art project that shocked New York.
When You're Strange (Director: Tom DiCillo)
The first feature documentary about the Doors enters the dark and dangerous world of one of America's most influential bands, using only footage shot between 1966 and 1971.
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe (Directors: Sarah Kunstler, Emily Kunstler)
With clients including Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and the Chicago 10, civil-rights attorney William Kunstler was one of the most famous lawyers of the 20th century. Filmmakers Emily and Sarah Kunstler explore their father's life, from movement hero to "the most hated lawyer in America."