“A Story That Plays With the Senses”: DP Lílis Soares on Mami Wata
Mami Wata, courtesy of Sundance Institute. A folkloric African water deity is the titular focus of Mami Wata, the Sundance-premiering film from writer-director C.J. “Fiery” Obasi. The revered Mama Efe (Rita Edochie) serves as the conduit between the inhabitants of…
Read more
“Many Moments Are Raw and Shot on Intuition”: DP Iris Ng on Twice Colonized
Twice Colonized, courtesy of Sundance Institute Twice Colonized, the documentary from filmmaker Lin Alluna, focuses on the life and activism of Aaju Peter, a Greenlandic Inuit who advocates for the human rights of Arctic Indigenous people like herself. As a…
Read more
“A Collaboration of Kindred Expression”: Editor Mark Bukdahl on Twice Colonized
Twice Colonized, courtesy of Sundance Institute Greenlandic Inuit activist and lawyer Aaju Peter is the subject of Twice Colonized, a documentary by filmmaker Lin Alluna. Through her work, she forces colonizing forces Denmark and Canada to pay for their crimes,…
Read more
“I Was Drawn to Harlem as a Character and How Gentrification Was Also an Antagonist”: DP Eric Yue on A Thousand and One
A.V. Rockwell’s feature debut A Thousand and One begins with Inez (Teyana Taylor) migrating between shelters during an intensely hot summer in ’90s-era New York City. Her 6-year-old son Terry is in foster care, and she makes the bold decision…
Read more
“Nothing Is Wasted in the Process of Documentary Editing”: Editor Jean Rheem on Bad Press
Bad Press, courtesy of Sundance Institute. When the 2015 Free Press Act is repealed, Angel Ellis and her colleagues at Mvskoke Media in Okmulgee, Oklahoma begin a long battle to offer transparent journalism for Muscogee Nation readers. Bad Press, directed…
Read more
“Choosing the Perfect Lens for Us Was the Bigger Challenge”: DP André Jäger on The Persian Version
The Persian Version, courtesy of Sundance Institute. When Leila’s (Layla Mohammadi) Iranian-American family gathers in New York City for her father’s heart transplant surgery, a secret that she’s been keeping is unceremoniously spilled. What she wasn’t expecting, however, is learning…
Read more
“We Initially Imagined It as a Rectangle That From the Left Starts Off Dark, Gray and Gloomy”: Editor Iva Radivojevic on King Coal
In Sundance NEXT selection King Coal, Elaine McMillion Sheldon employs a hybrid approach, blending contemporary imagery with archival material and poetic voiceover to explore the impact that coal — the substance and the industry — has had on Central Appalachia.…
Read more
“The Awkwardness in the Air is the Spirit We Want to Capture: The Accidental Getaway Driver Editor Yang-Hua Hu
The Accidental Getaway Driver, courtesy of Sundance Institute. Collateral meets The Desperate Hours against the backdrop of issues of Vietnamese immigration and assimilation in this Orange County-set thriller that marks the feature directorial debut of music video director Sing J. Lee.…
Read more
“Creative Storytelling Needs Rather Simple Tools”: Editors Tushar Prakash and Hendrik Mägar on Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, courtesy of Sundance Institute In Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, the hazy and intimate doc from Estonian director Anna Hints, a group of women bear body and soul for the camera as they engage in lengthy shvitzes and discuss…
Read more
“…Feminist Thought and Knowledge of Bodies With a Vulva Have Been Suppressed Over and Over Again”: Editor Eileen Meyer on The Disappearance of Shere Hite
The Disappearance Of Shere Hite, courtesy of Sundance Institute. Still one of the bestselling books of all time since its publication in 1976, The Hite Report offered a groundbreaking look at women’s sexual desires through anonymous survey responses. Despite its…
Read more
“I Consider Myself a Sensitive Person”: Editor Carolina Siraqyan on The Eternal Memory
The Eternal Memory, courtesy of Sundance Institute. The Eternal Memory, the latest from Chilean documentary filmmaker Maite Alberdi, follows a couple on a difficult journey after husband Augusto is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. They have been married for 25 years, and…
Read more
“The Best Tool for Capturing Human Behavior”: Editors Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aretryck on Fantastic Machine
Fantastic Machine, courtesy of Sundance Institute. Co-directors, cinematographers, producers and editors Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aretryck embark on a meticulous dissection of “image-making and a mapping of its movement through society” in Fantastic Machine, the duo’s documentary that utilizes…
Read more