Eye For Film >> Festivals >> Sundance >> 2006 >> Independent Feature Film Competition: Documentary

Featuring 16 factual films from US independent filmmakers. Both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award went to God Grew Tired Of Us. The Directing Award went to James Longley for Iraq In Fragments. Special Jury Prizes were given to American Blackout and TV Junkie.

View other Sundance Film Festival Films by strand: Frontier, Independent Feature Film Competition: Dramatic, Park City At Midnight, Premieres, Spectrum, Sundance Collection, World Cinema Competition: Documentary, World Cinema Competition: Dramatic

Iraq In Fragments and An Unreasonable Man

American Blackout (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Ian Inaba; Stars: Cynthia McKinney)

A stylish hard hitting documentary that recounts the fascinating career of Representative Cynthia McKinney and the suppression of the black vote historically and during the recent Presidential elections in Florida and Ohio.

World Premiere

An Unreasonable Man (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Henriette Mantel, Steve Skrovan; Stars: Ralph Nader, Pat Buchanan, Howard Zinn, Andrew Egendorf, Robert Fellmeth)

Documentary about the rise and fall of presidential candidate Ralph Nader

Full Review

World Premiere

Crossing Arizona (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Joseph Mathew; Writer: Laurie MacMillan)

A balanced, far-reaching look at a range of human stories unfolding in the midst of Arizona’s illegal immigration crisis.

See: Sundance Film Festival 2006: Day 3

World Premiere

God Grew Tired Of Us: The Story of Lost Boys Of Sudan (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Christopher Dillon Quinn, Tommy Walker; Writer: Christopher Dillon Quinn; Stars: Panther Bior, John Bul Dau, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Abol Pach )

Four boys from Sudan embark on a journey to America after years of wandering Sub-Saharan Africa in search of safety.

World Premiere

The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Patricia Foulkrod; Writer: Patricia Foulkrod; Stars: Robert Acosta, Kelly Dougherty, Patricia Foulkrod, Nickie Huze, Sean Huze, Denver Jones, Joyce Lucey, Kevin Lucey, Jackie Massey, Jimmy Massey, Herold Noel)

Reveals how the military trains our soldiers for war, the reality of combat in Iraq and the effects of this war on our soldiers coming home.

World Premiere

Wide Awake and 'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris

Iraq In Fragments (Country: US/Iraq; Year: 2006; Director: James Longley)

Observations from an occupied country in the shadow of death.

Full Review

World Premiere

A Lion In The House (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Steven Bogner, Julia Reichert)

Five diverse families - each with a child fighting cancer - navigate the ups and downs of treatment over six years, while maintaining hope in this complex portrait of human resilience.

World Premiere

Small Town Gay Bar (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Malcolm Ingram; Writer: Malcolm Ingram; Stars: Jim Bishop, Bill Curtis, Rick Gladish, Fred Phelps, Charles Smith, Justin Williams)

A voyage to the deep South to tell a tale of the struggle for community and expression in the face of ignorance, hypocrisy and oppression.

World Premiere

So Much So Fast (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Steven Ascher, Jeanne Jordan; Writer: Steven Ascher, Jeanne Jordan; Stars: Robert Bonazoli, Benjamin Heywood, Jamie Heywood, John Heywood, Melinda Marsh Heywood, Peggy Heywood, Stephen Heywood, Wendy Stacy Heywood, Ken Thompson, , )

A black-humored cliffhanger of romance, guerrilla science and the redefinition of time. When Stephen Heywood finds out he has ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), his brother Jamie becomes obsessed with finding a cure and the woman who’s falling in love with Stephen has a decision to make.

World Premiere

Thin (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Lauren Greenfield; Stars: Shelly Guillory, Alisa Williams, Polly Williams)

With unprecedented access and an unflinching eye, Thin documents four women struggling with anorexia and bulimia at a residential facility for the treatment of eating disorders in South Florida.

World Premiere

'Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris ('Tis Autumn the Search for Jackie Paris) (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Raymond De Felitta; Writer: Raymond De Felitta; Stars: Jackie Paris, Anne Marie Moss, Peter Bogdanovich, Harlan Ellison, James Moody, Mark Murphy, Barry Newman, Nick Tosches, Billy Vera, Frank Whaley,)

Documentary about "the greatest voice you never heard".

Full Review

World Premiere

The Trials Of Darryl Hunt (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg; Writer: Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg)

The wrongful conviction of a black man for a white woman’s rape and murder offers a provocative, haunting examination of a fear - based, racially - biased community and criminal justice system.

World Premiere

TV Junkie (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Michael Cain, Matt Radecki; Stars: Rick Kirkham, Tom Brokaw, James Brown, George Bush, Chuck Dalakis, Bill O'Reilly, Dan Rather)

From the time he was born Rick knew he had a special purpose. If he could only record it he might be able to figure out what it is. 46 years, 5000 hours of video and over 3000 photos later he may have figured it out.

World Premiere

Wide Awake (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Alan Berliner; Writer: Alan Berliner; Stars: Alan Berliner, William C. Dement)

Film-maker Alan Berliner explores his own insomnia.

Full Review See: Sundance Film Festival 2006: Day 2

World Premiere

Wordplay (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Patrick Creadon; Writer: Patrick Creadon, Christine O'Malley; Stars: Will Shortz, Merl Reagle, Tyler Hinman, Norman Payne, Al Sanders, Ellen Ripstein, Jon Delfin, Jon Stewart, Ken Burns, Amy Ray, Emily Saliers)

An in-depth look at The New York Times crossword puzzle and its editor Will Shortz, and the wonderfully unique and loyal fan base he has built and nurtured during his 12-year tenure at the paper.

World Premiere

The World According To Sesame Street (Country: US; Year: 2006; Director: Linda Goldstein Knowlton, Linda Hawkins; Writer: Eric Martin, Charlie Pearson, Lois Vossen; Stars: Edward G. Christie, Terrence Howard)

A behind-the-scenes look at the unexpected dynamics of adapting the most-watched children’s television show for audiences in some of the world’s political hotspots and incorporating locally relevant themes.

World Premiere