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"Why We Fight" Tops BOT; "Brokeback Mountain" Continues Climb

Sony Classics' political documentary "Why We Fight" debuted at number one on the Jan. 20-22nd weekend indieWIRE Box Office Tracker (iWBOT), while Focus Features' "Brokeback Mountain" continued to prove a veritable Mount Everest among platform-released art/specialty films. Films are ranked on iWBOT a...

PARK CITY '06 CRITIC'S DIARY: "Sleep," "Wristcutters," "Illusionist" Refreshing Sci-fi/Fantasy; "Rat

Fantasy and science fiction have broadened the scope of this week's Sundance premieres, in a welcome departure from the gritty personal realism that is the festival's stock in trade. Most radical of these is the surrealist amour fou of Michel Gondry's warmly received love story "The Science of Sleep...

PARK CITY '06 BUZZ DAILY: Park City Gets Political; ITVS, Cinetic, and Gen Art Parties Host Throwdow

Some Sundance filmgoers exiting the Holiday Village Cinema in Park City Monday evening appeared glossy-eyed following the screening of Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg's gripping competition doc "The Trials of Darryl Hunt." The film chronicles the story of North Carolinian Darryl Hunt, a black man who...

Colleagues and Collaboration

PARK CITY '06: Brian Hill: "Although the prison authorities were very supportive...filming schedules

Every day through the end of the Sundance Film Festival, including weekends, indieWIRE will be publishing two interviews with Sundance '06 competition filmmakers. Sixty filmmakers were given the opportunity to participate in an e-mail interview, and each was sent the same questions.

Internet Extension of Sundance

Recent years have seen a marked rise in the amount of content posted on the internet to showcase short films, podcasting, and blogging related to the Sundance Film Festival. Sundance Institute Online has posted over 50 of the short film entries on its website for the general public to view, in an ef...

Questions Raised About Social Impact of Films

At a panel discussion on Saturday for the Sundance Film Festival, founder Robert Redford commented on the social and political roles of film in the world today. "I don't know how much films actually impact social movements," he said. But it's definitely worth at least trying to make a statement, he ...

"Stay" Stuns Sundance Audiences

Bob Goldthwaite's "raw, original, and edifying" film "Stay" (as described by Sundance) has been shocking festival audiences since the weekend. The heartwarming but highly eccentric story centers on a girl whose fiancee walks out on her when she reveals a past secret that even she can't understand. "...

BBC Acquires "This Film Is Not Yet Rated"

The Independent Film Channel has announced that the BBC has acquired British broadcasting rights to Oscar-nominated director Kirby Dick's documentary "This Film Is Not Yet Rated". The film critically examines the Motion Picture Association of America's role in assigning film ratings, and investigates, among other things, why sex and violence receive such discordant treatment, and why the ratings are so secret. "Kirby's film makes a globally universal statement against censorship and about the importance of artistic freedom," said IFC Executive Vice President/General Manager Evan Shapiro in today's announcement. "We're extremely pleased that U...