Small pix with big ideas

Sundance Film Festival announces its lineup

By TODD MCCARTHY

'Angry Monk: Reflections on Tibet' from Swiss helmer Luc Shaedler is among the 118 features set to screen at Sundance in January.

Sundance Film Festival 2006

"This year's festival is as 'independent' as it's ever been," Sundance Film Festival director Geoffrey Gilmore said, describing the lineup of the 2006 edition set to unspool Jan. 19-29 in Park City, Utah. "There can be no confusion between the films we're showing and anything the studios would have even considered making."

Generalizing about the 120 feature programs that this year include 85 world premieres, Gilmore said the films are "relevant, authentic, original, edgy. Some may be smaller films than people are used to. They may or may not appeal to everybody, but the risk-taking involved is considerable. A lot of stuff was from out of the blue that just came over the transom."

Directors of the U.S. competition titles are largely unknown except comic actor Bob Goldthwait, repped by the dark comedy "Stay"; thesp Joey Lauren Adams, making her helming debut with the personal drama "Come Early Morning," starring Ashley Judd; and vet distribution exec Jeff Lipsky, who got behind the camera to make the long-arc relationship study "Flannel Pajamas."

Fest programming director John Cooper added that, despite the reduced scale in some cases, there are many films "with bigger ideas. It's like the independents are reclaiming their territory. There were a lot of surprises this year. There were so many films from people I'd never heard of, and lots of new actors I'd never seen before."

As usual, however, there are competition entries toplining familiar names, including "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints," starring Robert Downey Jr. and Rosario Dawson; "Half Nelson," with Ryan Gosling; "The Hawk Is Dying," featuring Michael Pitt, Paul Giamatti and Michelle Williams; and "Stephanie Daley," with Tilda Swinton and Amber Tamblyn.

Once again, the number of submissions Sundance fielded increased dramatically: Fest organizers evaluated 3,148 features, up from 2,613 last year. Of this year's crop, 1,764 were U.S. productions and 1,384 were international efforts, while last year there were 1,385 domestic and 1,228 foreign submissions. Of the 118 features to be presented (there are also two compilation programs), 78 are of U.S. origin. Forty-eight of the films are by first-time directors.

Assessing various trends evident in the selection, Gilmore noted 32 female directors are represented "all through the festival," and not primarily in documentaries, where women have tended to figure more prominently. Also, "We had 15 films submitted to us about Iraq, and we ultimately picked three -- two documentaries from the U.S. and one international," he revealed.

"We have a lot of films on immigration and migration, and a lot of films about artists and music. There are really great films on punk/new wave and hip-hip that go beyond what's been done before, and the same thing goes for the several films on the environment," Gilmore added. "What we're seeing now in documentaries are comprehensive works on their subjects."

Gilmore and Cooper said they watched "an awful lot" of low-budget, often deadpan comedies, a handful of which made it into the lineup. An odd mini-genre even emerged, courtesy of three films about sleep deprivation and related issues of creativity and productivity.

Going into Sundance's second stanza with an international competition, Gilmore said he's "encouraged by the jump we've seen in the international arena. We thought it might take two to three years to get our international competition up to a certain level, but it's made a big jump this year. There are a couple of international films that are as good as anything in the entire festival."

The international doc selection has been expanded from 12 to 16 titles this year, bringing it up to the numerical level of the three other competitive sections. The Spectrum lineup has been expanded to 24 features, while the Premieres category has been reduced to 17 from a high of about 24 in the past.

"When we evaluated last year's festival, we knew we didn't want to expand the program any more than we had," Gilmore explained. "We knew one of the biggest problems we had was that the Spectrum was too limited and not as useful as it should be. We also thought that the Premieres category was misunderstood as a place where 'big' films with names and distributors were placed somehow in front or above the others."

Result was the expansion of Spectrum and the reduction of Premieres, although the latter probably will grow as a result of a couple of "add-on" late-in-fest entries still to be finalized.

None of the domestic competition entries has a U.S. distributor at this stage.

Sundance is breaking its lineup announcements into three parts this year. Following are the selections for the dramatic and documentary competitions in both the U.S. and world sections. Programs for the Spectrum, Frontier and Midnight categories will be released Wednesday and the Premieres entries will be unveiled Thursday.

DRAMATIC COMPETITION

• "Come Early Morning," the directorial debut of Joey Lauren Adams ("Chasing Amy"), for which she also wrote the script, about a woman, played by Ashley Judd, trying to escape cycles of addictions and self-destructive behavior.

• "Flannel Pajamas," written and directed by vet distribution exec Jeff Lipsky, a very New York account of the courtship and marriage of a couple, played by Julianne Nicholson and Justin Kirk.

• "Forgiven," writer-director Paul Fitzgerald's drama revolving around moral choices faced by a small-town district attorney (Fitzgerald) who, when on the verge of commencing a campaign for the U.S. Senate, learns that the governor has exonerated a death-row inmate he'd prosecuted five years earlier.

• "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints," writer-director Dito Montiel's autobiographical, literary account of how he escaped the crime-riddled world of 1980s Astoria, N.Y. Pic stars Robert Downey Jr., Rosario Dawson, Chazz Palminteri and Dianne Wiest.

• "Half Nelson," directed by Ryan Fleck and written by Anna Boden and Fleck, centering on a crack-addicted inner-city junior high schoolteacher (Ryan Gosling) and his friendship with one of his students.

• "The Hawk Is Dying," directed by Julian Goldberger ("Trans") and written by Harry Crews (who penned the novel) and Goldberger, with Michael Pitt, Paul Giamatti and Michelle Williams starring in a tale of a Gainesville, Fla., man who tries to alter his life as an auto upholsterer by training a wild, red-tailed hawk.

• "In Between Days," directed by So Yong Kim, who co-wrote with Bradley Rust Gray, an intimate drama about two Korean-Americans trying to work out their relationships with one another and their adopted country.

• "Puccini for Beginners," a New York screwball comedy from writer-director Maria Maggenti ("The Incredible Adventures of Two Girls in Love") revolving around a woman emerging from a lesbian relationship who separately becomes involved with a man and a woman, toplining Justin Kirk, Gretchen Mol and Elizabeth Reaser.

• "Quinceanera," written and directed by Richard Glatzer ("Grief") and Wash Westmoreland, concerning two disaffected Latinos coming of age in an Echo Park district of Los Angeles that's becoming gentrified largely by gays.

• "Right at Your Door," writer-director Chris Gorak's low-budget disaster film about the effort of a couple (Mary McCormack, Rory Cochrane) to negotiate the panic and chaos in Los Angeles after multiple dirty bombs explode in the city.

• "Sherrybaby," written and directed by Laurie Collyer ("Nuyorican Dreams"), an examination of the difficulties facing a convict (Maggie Gyllenhaal) upon her release into the real world.

• "Somebodies," writer-director-star Hadjii's small-town comedy about a black college student moving toward adulthood surrounded by a large assortment of eccentric characters.

• "Stay," writer-director Bob Goldthwait's dark comedy about how the revelation of a past sexual indiscretion utterly alters the dynamic of a young couple, featuring Melinda Paige Hamilton and Bryce Johnson.

• "Steel City," written and directed by Brian Jun, which looks at how two brothers in a small Midwestern town deal with their father's incarceration for the killing of a woman.

• "Stephanie Daley," written and directed by Hilary Brougher ("The Sticky Finger of Time"), a drama about a seven-months-pregnant forensic psychologist (Tilda Swinton) who investigates a teenager's (Amber Tamblyn) denial of having committed infanticide.

• "Wristcutters: A Love Story," a quirky high-concept comedy directed by Goran Dukic, who co-wrote with Etgar Kerett, about a man who, after having committed suicide, finds himself in a desert filled with fellow suicides, with Patrick Fugit, Shannon Sossamon, Shea Whigharn, Tom Waits and John Hawkes.

DOCU COMPETITION

• "American Blackout," Ian Inaba's assessment of the career of U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney of Georgia and the purported suppression of the black vote historically and in the 2004 election in Florida and Ohio.

• "Crossing Arizona," Joseph Mathew's mosaic of human stories enmeshed in Arizona's illegal immigration crisis.

• "God Grew Tired of Us," Christopher Quinn and Tom Walker's account of the culture shock that hits four Sudanese boys who come to the U.S. after surviving for years in Sub-Sarahan Africa.

• "Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends," Patricia Foulkrod's study of the experiences of soldiers during military training, in the midst of combat in Iraq and upon their return to the U.S.

• "Iraq in Fragments," James Longley's three-chapter look at Iraqis under conditions of war, occupation and ethnic tension.

• "A Lion in the House," directors Steven Bogner and Julia Reichert's 3½-hour look at five families dealing with cancer-stricken children.

• "Small Town Gay Bar," Malcolm Ingram's analysis of conflicts and opposing standards in a community in the deep South.

• "So Much So Fast," Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan's multifaceted examination of the repercussions of a man's having been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).

• "Thin," Lauren Greenfield's up-close look at four women dealing with anorexia and bulimia at an eating-disorders treatment center.

• " 'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris," Raymond De Felitta's investigation into the relationship between artist and audience as seen through the mysterious life and career of jazz singer Jackie Paris.

• "The Trials of Darryl Hunt," Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg's probe into racial bias in the criminal justice system, growing out of a wrongful conviction of a black man for a white woman's rape and murder.

• "TV Junkie," Michael Cain's presentation of a TV personality's entire life over 46 years as culled from 5,000 hours of video and more than 3,000 photographs.

• "An Unreasonable Man," Henriette Mantel and Stephen Skrovan's nearly three-hour overview of the career of Ralph Nader.

• "Wide Awake," Alan Berliner's self-portrait as an insomniac, recounting the pros and cons of sleeplessness.

• "Wordplay," Patrick Creadon's portrait of the New York Times' celebrated crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz, his work and his fans.

• "The World According to Sesame Street," Linda Goldstein Knowlton and Linda Hawkins Costigan's inside look at how the perennial children's show is adapted for international consumption, particularly in some of the world's political hot spots.

WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION

• "13 (Tzameti)" (France), writer-director Gela Babluani's intense drama about the dire consequences suffered by a man who follows instructions left for someone else.

• "Allegro" (Denmark), directed by Christoffer Boe and written by Boe and Mikael Wulff, a look at an amnesiac pianist who reconnects with his forgotten past upon returning to Copenhagen.

• "The Aura" (Argentina), writer-director Fabian Bielinsky's twisty drama about a taxidermist's dream of pulling off the perfect robbery.

• "The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros" (Philippines), directed by Auraeus Solito and written by Michiko Yamamoto, which examines how a young man's loyalty to his criminal family in the Manila slums is altered by his friendship with an upstanding policeman.

• "Eve & the Fire Horse" (Canada), writer-director Julia Kwan's look at the wild mix of religious, ethical and superstitious doctrines that come to play in the lives of two young Chinese immigrant sisters in Vancouver.

• "Grbavica" (Bosnia-Herzegovina), writer-director Jasmila Zbanic's drama about a mother-and-daughter struggle to survive in the wake of the Balkan war. World premiere.

• "The House of Sand" (Brazil) directed by Andrucha Waddington and written by Elena Soarez, a drama about three generations of women surviving in the dunes of Brazil.

• "Kiss Me Not on the Eyes" (Lebanon), writer-director Jocelyne Saab's study of an educated Egyptian woman's struggle to maintain her artistic integrity and social independence in modern Cairo.

• "Little Red Flowers" (China), directed by Zhang Yuan and written by Ning Dai and Zhang, a parable about the need to fit in at a post-revolutionary Chinese orphanage. World premiere.

• "Madeinusa" (Peru), writer-director Claudia Llosa's account of how a girl's life in a remote Peruvian mountain village is changed with the arrival of a geologist from Lima. World premiere.

• "No. 2" (New Zealand), writer-director Toa Fraser's look at how a young woman enlivens her family with South Pacific heat and passion. World premiere.

• "One Last Dance" (Singapore), writer-director Max Makowski's genre exercise about a hit man hired to kill some kidnappers, a list of which includes the hit man himself. World premiere.

• "The Peter Pan Formula" (South Korea), writer-director Cho Chang-Ho's study of the premature independence of an adolescent boy who is drawn to an older woman while his mother lies comatose.

• "Princesas" (Spain), writer-director Fernando Leon de Aranca's story of two close women friends struggling in the city.

• "Solo Dios sabe" (Brazil/Mexico), directed by Carlos Bolado and written by Bolado and Diane Weipert, about events that ensue from the meeting of a young Brazilian art student and a Mexican journalist in Tijuana. World premiere.

• "Son of Man" (South Africa), directed by Mark Dornford-May and written by Dornford-May, Andiswa Kedama and Pauline Malefane, a translation of Jesus' story to a modern South Africa, made by the Dimpho di Kopane theater ensemble responsible for "U-Carmen e-Khayelitsha." World premiere.

WORLD CINEMA DOCU COMPETITION

• "5 Days" (Israel), in which director Yoav Shamir employed seven crews and exclusive access to the Israeli Defense Forces and the general in charge to document the evacuation of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and the area's turnover to the Palestinians.

• "Angry Monk: Reflections on Tibet" (Switzerland), Luc Schaedler's portrait of rebel monk Gendun Choephel, which contrasts old and new views of Tibet.

• "Black Gold" (U.K.), Marc Francis and Nick Francis' revelation of the international coffee trade as charted by the journey from a struggling Ethiopian grower's farm to the consumer. World premiere.

• "By the Ways: A Journey With William Eggleston" (France), Cedric Laty and Vincent Gerard's consideration of the character and work of the photographer.

• "Dear Pyongyang" (Japan), Yang Yonghi's look at a Korean-Japanese girl's exploration of her father's family-endangering political loyalty to North Korea.

• "The Giant Buddhas" (Switzerland), Christian Frei's film essay on the implications of the Taliban's infamous destruction of the celebrated Buddha statues in Afghanistan.

• "Glastonbury" (U.K.), Julien Temple's coverage of the annual Glastonbury Festival, which documents the spirit of social changes over the past three decades. World premiere.

• "I for India" (U.K./Germany/Italy), Sandhya Suri's account of migration and belonging across four decades as related through Super 8 films and audio letters sent between India and England. World premiere.

• "In the Pit" (Mexico), Juan Carlos Rulfo's look at workers building a second deck on a Mexico City freeway. World premiere.

• "Into Great Silence" (Germany), Philip Groening's nearly silent meditation on the monastic life inside the Grande Chartreuse, the home of the Carthusian Order.

• "KZ" (U.K.), Rex Bloomstein's examination of how the German concentration camp town of Mauthausen has dealt with its past.

• "No One" (Mexico), Tin Dirdamal's account of a Central American immigrant's nightmarish crossing of Mexico on her way to the United States.

• "The Short Life of Jose Antonio Gutierrez" (Germany), Heidi Specogna's revelation of the true story of the first U.S. soldier to die in Iraq, a Guatemalan street child attracted to the U.S. military as a way of obtaining a green card.

• "Songbirds" (U.K.), Brian Hill's documentation of women in England's Downview Prison, who create a musical in which they sing about their lives and crimes.

• "Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst" (Australia), Gillian Armstrong's portrait of the flamboyant designer whose success has peaked with her exotic wallpaper prints. World premiere.

• "Viva Zapatero!" (Italy), Sabina Guzzanti's irreverent study of Italian censorship under Berlusconi in comparison with that elsewhere in Europe.