- Slamdance Film Festival 2006: Among the titles screening at next year’s Sundance alternative are Larry Clark’s comedy Wassup Rockers, Erica Dunton’s romance Find Love, and Bob Hercules and Cheri Pugh’s documentary Forgiving Dr. Mengele.
Slamdance Film Festival 2006: Titles include Larry Clark’s skater comedy Wassup Rockers, the documentary Forgiving Dr. Mengele
The 2006 Slamdance Film Festival will be held from Jan. 19–27 in Park City, Utah.
Larry Clark’s Beverly Hills-set comedy Wassup Rockers will be the Opening Night presentation, while Van Fischer’s Neo Ned – about a neo-Nazi (Jeremy Renner) in love with a black woman (Gabrielle Union) who claims Adolf Hitler’s soul lives inside her – will be another one of Slamdance’s Special Screenings.
Among the narrative features in competition are:
- Erica Dunton’s Find Love, about two strangers who unexpectedly find, what else, love. In the cast: Christian Camargo and Alexie Gilmore.
- Todd Rohal’s The Guatemalan Handshake, the story – that should bring to mind Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’Avventura – of a mysterious disappearance following a massive power outage, and how that affects those who are left without answers. In the cast: Katy Haywood, Ken Byrnes, and Will Oldham.
- Elliott Lester’s Love Is the Drug, which revolves around a deadly adolescent love triangle. In the cast: John Patrick Amedori, Lizzy Caplan, and D.J. Cotrona.
Among the documentary features in competition are:
- Bob Hercules and Cheri Pugh’s Forgiving Dr. Mengele, about the controversy surrounding Auschwitz concentration camp survivor Eva Mozes Kor’s decision to forgive murderous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele,* who died in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in February 1979.
- Chris Sheridan and Patty Kim’s Abduction, the tale of a 13-year-old Japanese girl kidnapped by North Korean spies.
- Sam Wainwright Douglas and Paul Lovelace’s The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose, about the psychedelic folk rock group Holy Modal Rounders.
* On the big screen, the Nazi doctor was notably played by Gregory Peck in Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1978 thriller The Boys from Brazil and, in fictionalized form, by Laurence Olivier in John Schlesinger’s 1976 thriller Marathon Man.
Below is a partial list of next year’s Slamdance Film Festival lineup. Brief plot synopses via the Slamdance festival’s press release.
Slamdance Film Festival 2006 lineup (partial list)
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
The Call of Cthulhu (United States)
Director: Andrew Leman.
HP Lovecraft’s celebrated tale of supernatural horror brought to life as a 1920s silent film.Find Love (United States)
Direction & Screenplay: Erica Dunton.
Two strangers find love when looking for it was the last thing on their minds.The Guatemalan Handshake (United States)
Direction & Screenplay: Todd Rohal.
In the confusion following a massive power outage, an awkward demolition derby driver vanishes – leaving behind his friends, family and pregnant girlfriend to solve the mystery.Liebeskind (Germany)
Direction & Screenplay: Jeanette Wagner.
After five years a father and daughter reunite, only to find that their new-found relationship is less than perfect.Love Is the Drug (United States)
Director: Elliott Lester.
A love triangle among recent high school graduates proves deadly.The Other Side (United States)
Direction & Screenplay: Greg Bishop.
Samuel North escapes from Hell to track down the person who murdered him, but the Netherworld sends a team of Reapers to bring him back.We Go Way Back (United States)
Direction & Screenplay: Lynn Shelton.
Adolescence has left 23-year-old actress Kate robbed of her bearings and her boundaries. Can a surreal confrontation with her 13-year-old self redeem her? A sly and tender depiction of one young woman’s journey of self-rediscovery.DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
Abduction (United States)
Directors: Chris Sheridan & Patty Kim.
Screenplay: Patty Kim.
The haunting story of a 13-year-old Japanese girl kidnapped by North Korean spies. Produced by Jane Campion.Do You Remember Me? (Germany)
Direction & Screenplay: Alexander Heuken & Michaela Liechtenstein.
The story of a Thai mother who is forced to choose between keeping her youngest daughter, or giving her away to save the child’s life.Forgiving Dr. Mengele (United States)
Director: Bob Hercules & Cheri Pugh.
The story of Auschwitz concentration camp survivor Eva Mozes Kor whose controversial decision to forgive notorious Nazi Josef Mengele doctor who performed cruel genetic experiments on her and her sister, caused a firestorm of criticism.The Holy Modal Rounders: Bound to Lose (United States)
Directors: Sam Wainwright Douglas & Paul Lovelace.
After 40 years of unpredictable live shows, drug addictions, and breakdowns, psychedelic folk rock legends, the Holy Modal Rounders survived one of the strangest careers in music. With appearances by former Rounders drummer, playwright/actor Sam Shepard; Dennis Hopper, John Sebastian of The Lovin Spoonfuls; Peter Tork of The Monkees and others.SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Neo Ned (United States)
Director: Van Fischer.
An Aryan Brother (Jeremy Renner) falls in love with a black girl (Gabrielle Union) who claims the soul of Hitler is trapped inside her. Also with Sally Kirkland, Cary Elwes, Steve Railsback.Wassup Rockers (United States)
Director: Larry Clark.
A group of East Los Angeles Latino Rocker Skateboarder teens skate through the wilds of Beverly Hills on a journey that changes their lives forever. Opening Night Film.
“Slamdance Film Festival 2006: Forgiving Dr. Mengele” notes
Slamdance Film Festival website.
Eva Mozes Kor Forgiving Dr. Mengele image: Media Process Group.
“Slamdance Film Festival 2006: Forgiving Dr. Mengele” last modified in November 2025.