2010 Sundance Film Festival

In her second time at the Sundance Film Festival, Rachel Perkins brings to the screen an adaptation of Jimmy Chi’s popular stage musical Bran Nue Dae, which was a national hit in Australia. It’s the summer of 1969, and with his evangelical mother pointing him toward the priesthood, earnest young Willie (Rocky McKenzie) attends a Catholic boarding school in Perth but, protesting its strict rules, runs away to his homeland. With Father Benedictus (Geoffrey Rush) in hot pursuit, he heads back to Broome, acquiring traveling companions along the way. With songs and dances rooted in traditional Aboriginal performance, blues, rock and roll, Hollywood musicals, and the rituals of the Roman Catholic Mass, Willie sings and dances his way back to his own land and inspires the people around him to find their own truth. The colors of Aboriginal Australia shimmer in this wonderfully exuberant film, giving viewers a joyful romp while simultaneously touching on Aboriginal history and politics in a way that leaves us all wanting to be Aborigines. Film Contact Laure Vaysse, Bankside Films Email: laure@bankside-films.com

Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is a U.S. citizen working as a contract driver in Iraq. After a swift and sudden attack on his convoy, he awakens to find himself buried alive inside a coffin with nothing more than a lighter, a cell phone, and little memory of how he ended up there. Faced with limited oxygen and unlimited panic, Paul finds himself in a tension-filled race against time to escape this claustrophobic deathtrap before it's too late. If the sheer logistics of this premise are enough to make your head hurt, rest assured that director Rodrigo Cortés tackles these issues with relative ease, aided a great deal by a superbly convincing performance by Reynolds, the lone on-screen actor in the film. The result is a gripping and suspenseful thriller that will leave you gasping for air until the very end. Film Contact Adrian Guerra Email: adrian@versusent.es

An examination of those who live amidst the complex rules, walls, soldiers, and permits that make up the Israel/Palestine bus system. Film Contact Yariv Mozer, Mozer Films Ltd. Phone: +972-52-2702000 Email: yariv@mozer-films.com

The cane toads are ba-a-a-ck! But this time those pesky varmints are coming at you in glorious 3-D. In 1988, filmmaker Mark Lewis had tongues wagging when he unleashed his celebrated documentary Cane Toads: An Unnatural History, exposing a bizarre biological blunder. Here, Lewis takes a giant leap forward as he revs up the technology, once again tracking the unstoppable march of the cane toad across the Australian continent. Reviled by many, adored by a few, the toad has gripped Australia's consciousness, achieving both cult and criminal status. Imported to save the sugar cane crop, the toad’s spread is considered one of Australia’s greatest environmental catastrophes. Yet for a world awakening to the daunting prospect that we have forever altered our ecosystem, this is a story of global implication. With its tongue not so firmly in its cheek, Cane Toads: The Conquest is a comic, yet provocative, journey of a species that has already invaded planet Earth. Film Contact Jeff Sakson, Participant Media Phone: (310) 550-5109 Email: jsakson@participantmedia.com

So says conventional wisdom. Some problems just can’t be fixed. Poverty, public education, global warming—they’re too entrenched to remedy. Tell that to microfinance pioneer and Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus (Grameen Bank, featured in To Catch A Dollar), education reformer Geoffrey Canada (Harlem Children’s Zone, featured in WAITING FOR SUPERMAN), environmental visionary Lester Brown (Earth Policy Institute, featured in Climate Refugees ), and moderator Sally Osberg (president and CEO of Skoll Foundation). Pioneers of the possible, each has implemented innovative, audacious projects to astonishing effect. You can fix the world; here’s how….

Vince gets way more than he bargains for when he dumps his girlfriend . . . again. Film Contact Jim Owen Phone: 020 7954 3810 Email: mail@jamesowen.tv

This portrait of Washington super lobbyist Jack Abramoff—from his early years as a gung-ho member of the GOP political machine to his final reckoning as a disgraced, imprisoned pariah—confirms the adage that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. A tale of international intrigue with Indian casinos, Russian spies, Chinese sweatshops, and a mob-style killing in Miami, this is the story of the way money corrupts our political process. Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney returns to Sundance, once again wielding the tools of his trade with the skill of a master. Following the ongoing indictments of federal officials and exposing favor trading in our nation's capital, Gibney illuminates the way our politicians' desperate need to get elected—and the millions of dollars it costs—may be undermining the basic principles of American democracy. Infuriating, yet undeniably fun to watch, CASINO JACK is a saga of greed and corruption with a cynical villain audiences will love to hate. Film Contact Magnolia Pictures Phone: (212) 924-6701

Documentary Spotlight Nev, a 24-year-old New York–based photographer, has no idea what he’s in for when Abby, an eight-year-old girl from rural Michigan, contacts him on MySpace, seeking permission to paint one of his photographs. When he receives her remarkable painting, Nev begins a friendship and correspondence with Abby’s family. But things really get interesting when he develops a cyber-romance with Abby’s attractive older sister, Megan, a musician and model. Prompted by some startling revelations about Megan, Nev and his buddies embark on a road trip in search of the truth. Catfish centers on a riveting mystery that is completely a product of our times, where social networking, mobile devices, and electronic communication so often replace face-to-face personal contact. Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman’s grounded documentary is a remarkable and powerful story of grace within a labyrinth of online intrigue. Film Contact Alana McElroy, 42West

Open to all Festival credential holders. Come join us for a special evening to celebrate music from composers and performers highlighted in this year’s films. Programming will be announced in January.