Notable Documentaries at Sundance
editDocumentaries at the Sundance Film Festival have been known to explore issues based on the environment, civil rights, as well as popular culture.[1] Some of the best and most notable documentaries at Sundance tend to stimulate the viewer to ask themselves questions about how the world is today and invoke change.[2] Below is a list of recent documentaries shown at the Sundance Film Festival that do just that.
Hooligan Sparrow is the story of Ye Haiyan; a human rights activist in China.[3] This film takes the viewer through a journey of Ye Haiyan as she tries to get justice for six girls who have been kidnapped by their school principal and made them preform sex for money.[3] This documentary, Hooligan Sparrow, is brave to put in one word considering not only was Ye Haiyan in danger the entire time of shooting the documentary, but also the filmmaker herself, Nanfu Wang.[3]
This documentary follows the life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg starting in her college years going into her life as supreme court justice.[4] Film makers Julie Cohen and Betsy West sit down and interview not only Ginsburg herself, but also people such as her children, husband, and grandchildren.[5] Scenes range from her daily life such as Ginsburg's famous work out routine to Ginburg being shown memes and cartoons made in her image.[4]
This documentary takes you inside the police force where corruption takes place and hidden quotas for arrests and citations influence good and not so good police officers.[4] Film maker Stephen T. Maing takes the viewer through two story lines; one being about a boy being sent to Rikers Island for more than a year for a crime he did not commit and also through the eyes of ex police officer, Manuel Gomez.[6]
Aquarela takes you on a journey through ice and water on this planet.[7] Film maker Victor Kossakovsky uses this documentary to follow rescue crews in order to help people who are in danger on icy paths.[8] This documentary is also shot in 96 fps meaning it has excellent visuals as well as fast pace tragic events taking place like cars falling through ice.[7]
In the documentary, director Garrert Bradley takes the viewer down a rabbit hole of the past and present life of wife and mother Sibil Fox Richardson.[9] Sibil, a former getaway driver in a armed robbery, takes a plea deal and is out of prison in less than three years on parole.[10] Her husband, Robert Richard is then sentenced to 60 years without parole for that same robbery.[10] This documentary combines the home shot footage of Sibil Fox Richardson (aka Fox Rich), her six children, and her husband along with original footage of the Robert Richard's court case.[9]
This particular documentary by film maker Shalini Kantayya dispenses how artificial intelligence can be biased towards different genders and races.[11] This documentary features a plethora of AI experts, but most importantly Joy Buolamwini:a researcher at MIT.[10] Buolamwini, after finding software that wouldn't work for African Americans or even female faces, creates the Algorithmic Justice League in order to fix this issue in unjust software.[10]
Reference
edit- ^ "The best new documentaries from the 2020 Sundance Film Festival". Little White Lies. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
- ^ Kohn, Eric; Kohn, Eric (2020-01-27). "Sundance 2020: Some of Its Best Documentaries Will Change the Way Stories Are Told". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
- ^ a b c Rich, B.Ruby. "Sundance 2016: Uplifting, Tragic, Always Disruptive" (PDF).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c Rich, B.Ruby. "The Scales of Justice: Sundance 2018" (PDF).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Times, Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles. "Review: The documentary 'RBG' shows the formidable soft power of Ruth Bader Ginsburg". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Henderson, Odie. "Crime + Punishment movie review (2018) | Roger Ebert". https://www.rogerebert.com/. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
{{cite web}}: External link in|website= - ^ a b Rich, B.Ruby. "Sundance 2019: Infiltrating the Scene" (PDF).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Aquarela review – cracking climate crisis documentary". the Guardian. 2019-12-11. Retrieved 2020-11-27.
- ^ a b "Time review – poetic documentary about a family torn apart by prison". the Guardian. 2020-10-18. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
- ^ a b c d Rich, B.Ruby. "Perfect Vision: Sundance 2020" (PDF).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Trenholm, Richard. "Eye-opening documentary Coded Bias, streaming now, faces up to racist technology". CNET. Retrieved 2020-11-28.