No Asian American features at Sundance - by Greg Pak
12.03 - Posted by Editor
12/03/02 - No Asian American features at Sundance
Last night the 2003 Sundance Film Festival announced the film lineup for four of its key sections. An initial examination reveals no fiction or documentary features from Asian American filmmakers. This comes as a disappointment after last year's Sundance Film Festival, which presented six Asian American features, including Justin Lin's "Better Luck Tomorrow" and Bertha Pan's "Face." (For a great analysis of last year's lineup from FAAIM honcho Ben Kim, visit http://www.naatanet.org/forumarchive/reviews/sundance2002.html ).
However, Asian Americans may derive some solace from the screen presence of South Asian American actress Sarita Choudhury in "Rhythm of the Saints," a Sundance Dramatic Competition feature by Sarah Rogacki. Indiewire.com lists the synopsis as: "A street-smart New York girl fights back from danger in her own home with the help of her best friends."
Tonight Sundance will post more of its program -- we're keeping our fingers crossed for Asian American short filmmakers. And next week the Slamdance Film Festival, which unspools in Park City, Utah, at the same time as the Sundance Film Festival, will announce its selections. Slamdance has a good history of screening Asian American work, including shorts by Kimi Takesue and features like Chris Chan Lee's "Yellow" and Anurag Mehta's "American Chai."
Good luck to all!
See below for the lineup for the Sundance Film Festival Documentary Competition, Dramatic Competition, American Spectrum, and American Showcase sections.
2003 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
BROTHER OUTSIDER: THE LIFE OF BAYARD RUSTIN Directed by Nancy Kates & Bennett Singer
BUKOWSKI: BORN INTO THIS Directed by John Dullaghan
CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS Directed by Andrew Jarecki
A CERTAIN KIND OF DEATH Directed by Blue Hadaegh & Grover Babcock
A DECADE UNDER THE INFLUENCE Directed by Richard LaGravenese & Ted Demme
THE EDUCATION OF GORE VIDAL Directed by Deborah Dickson
THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL Directed by Stanley Nelson
MY FLESH AND BLOOD Directed by Jonathan Karsh
THE PILL Directed by Chana Gazit & David Steward
ROBERT CAPA: IN LOVE AND WAR Directed by Anne Makepeace
THE SAME RIVER TWICE Directed by Robb Moss
STATE OF DENIAL Directed by Elaine Epstein
STEVIE Directed by Steve James
TOM DOWD & THE LANGUAGE OF MUSIC Directed by Mark Moormann
THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND Directed by Sam Green & Bill Siegel
WHAT I WANT MY WORDS TO DO TO YOU Created by: Judith Katz, Madeleine Gavin, and Gary Sunshine
DRAMATIC COMPETITION
ALL THE REAL GIRLS Directed by David Gordon Green
AMERICAN SPLENDOR Directed by Shari Springer & Robert Pulcini
CAMP Directed by Todd Graff
THE COOLER Directed by Wayne Kramer
DIE MOMMIE DIE Directed by Mark Rucker
DOPAMINE Directed by Mark Decena
THE MUDGE BOY Directed by Michael Burke
PARTY MONSTER Directed by Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato
PIECES OF APRIL Directed by Peter Hedges
QUATTRO NOZA Directed by Joey Curtis
RHYTHM OF THE SAINTS Directed by Sarah Rogacki
THE STATION AGENT Directed by Tom McCarthy
THE TECHNICAL WRITER Directed by Scott Saunders
THIRTEEN Directed by Catherine Hardwicke
THE UNITED STATES OF LELAND Directed by Matthew Ryan Hoge
WHAT ALICE FOUND Directed by A. Dean Bell
AMERICAN SPECTRUM
THE BEAT Directed by Brandon Sonnier
BOOKIES Directed by Mark Illsley
BORN RICH Directed by Jamie Johnson
THE BOYS OF 2nd STREET PARK Directed by Dan Klores & Ron Berger
CIVIL BRAND Directed by Neema Barnette
CRY FUNNY HAPPY Directed by Sam Neave
DETECTIVE FICTION Directed by Patrick Coyle
A FOREIGN AFFAIR Directed by Helmut Schleppi
LOVE AND DIANE Directed by Jennifer Dworkin
MILK AND HONEY Directed by Joe Maggio
WHITE OF WINTER Directed by Robert Saitzyk
AMERICAN SHOWCASE
BUFFALO SOILDERS Directed by Gregor Jordan
CITY OF GHOSTS Directed by Matt Dillon
LAUREL CANYON Directed by Lisa Cholodenko
THE MALDONADO MIRACLE Directed by Salma Hayek
NORMAL Directed by Jane Anderson
RAISING VICTOR VARGAS Directed by Peter Sollett
