Two films premiering at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Documentary Feature Film Competition, El General by Natalia Almada and William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe by Sarah and Emily Kunstler, will have their national broadcast premieres on POV
“We’re delighted to present the broadcast premieres of two films that look at larger-than-life figures who were loved and reviled during their lives and after their deaths,” said Simon Kilmurry, Executive Director, American Documentary | POV, who noted that last year’s Sundance selection, The Betrayal: Nerakhoon by Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath, will premiere on POV in 2009. “We’re also glad to welcome Natalia Almada back to POV with El General, another splendid film about her native Mexico; her film Al Otro Lado, about the intersection of drug traffickers and musicians along the border, premiered on POV in 2006 to wide acclaim.”
Make sure to check our feed over the next 10 days because we’ll be providing roundups of the best Sundance ’09 coverage around the Web, as well as exclusive interviews, videos and images of the filmmakers and fans converging on Park City, Utah. And this year, POV staffers Chris White and Yance Ford will also be twittering from the festival.
FILM DESCRIPTIONS & SCREENINGS
El General
(Director: Natalia Almada)
Past and present collide as award-winning filmmaker Natalia Almada brings to life audio recordings she inherited about her great-grandfather Plutarco Elias Calles, a revolutionary general who became Mexico’s president in 1924. In his time, Calles was called “El Bolshevique” and “El Jefe Maximo” (the foremost chief). Today, he is remembered as “el Quema-Curas” (priest-burner) and as a dictator who ruled through puppet presidents until he was exiled in 1936. Through Almada’s grandmother’s recordings, El General moves between memories of a daughter grappling with history’s portrait of her father and the weight of his legacy on the country today. The film is a co-production of Altamura Films and ITVS in association with Latino Public Broadcasting. (Mexico/U.S.A., 2008, 83 mins.)
Screenings
- Sunday, Jan. 18, 12:00 noon, Temple Theatre, Park City
- Sunday, Jan. 18, 10:30p.m., Holiday Village, Cinemas 1, Park City — Press and Industry
- Monday, Jan. 19, 9:00 a.m., Egyptian Theatre, Park City
- Tuesday, Jan. 20, 6:00 p.m., Screening Room, Sundance Resort
- Wednesday, Jan. 21, 6:45 p.m., Broadway Centre Cinemas V, Salt Lake City
- Thursday, Jan. 22, 6:00 p.m., Temple Theatre, Park City
- Friday, Jan. 23, 12:15 p.m., Holiday Village Cinema IV, Park City
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe
(Directors: Sarah Kunstler and Emily Kunstler)
With clients including Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and the Chicago Seven, the late civil rights attorney William Kunstler was one of the most famous and controversial lawyers of the 20th century. He represented civil rights and anti-war activists, as well as accused terrorists and murderers. In William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe, filmmakers Emily and Sarah Kunstler explore their father’s life, from middle-class family man to movement lawyer to “the most hated lawyer in America.” The film is a co-production of Disturbing the Universe LLC and ITVS, with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). (U.S.A., 2009, 90 mins.)
Screenings
- Friday, Jan. 16, 12:00 noon, Temple Theatre, Park City
- Friday, Jan. 16, 8:00 p.m., Holiday Village I, Park City — Press and Industry
- Saturday, Jan. 17, 2:30 p.m., Holiday Village Cinema III, Park City
- Sunday, Jan. 18, 6:00 p.m., Screening Room, Sundance Resort
- Monday, Jan. 19, 6:45 p.m., Broadway Centre Cinemas V, Salt Lake City
- Wednesday, Jan. 21, 9:15 a.m., Holiday Village Cinema IV, Park City
- Friday, Jan. 23, 8:30 p.m., Holiday Village Cinema III, Park City
Find out more about the acquisitions in the AmDoc press release.