SUNDANCE was a snowy and hectic as ever this year, and in keeping with the mood of the times, the events was dominated by controversy.
The iconic film festival in Park City, Utah is always full of Hollywood movers and shakers (and plenty more wannabes) wandering up and down Main Street. But instead of talk of percentages and back end points you are more likely to hear conversations like “I know there’s a raw juice bar up this way somewhere” or “North face sponsored my trip here, dude” or “Are you going to Tao tonight? I hear Diplo is playing.”
Sundance is indeed a film festival, but you are likely to run into a ton of people who are not there to see films. For them it’s all about the parties. And trust me when I say I hit my fair share but I was definitely there to see films too. In fact in three days I fit in a whopping 14 movies. The standouts for me in the narrative section were ADAM by director Rhys Ernst and SHARE by Pippa Bianco. Bianco’s film tells the story of a high school girl who wakes up on her front lawn after a night of partying with her friends and can’t remember how she got home. Cut to a few days later when she receives a ton of messages from her friends showing graphic footage the ordeal she suffered the night before. Starring newcomer and stand-out Rhinaane Barreto as Mandy, this movie sheds light on how a simple fun night out can turn sinister real fast and how it effects everyone, including friends, teachers and family members.
“Adam” stars newcomer Nicholas Alexander as a 16-year old who spends the summer with his lesbian sister in New York City in the mid 2000s and who happens upon a relationship with a bisexual girl who mistakes him for a trans boy. This indie comedy is an eye-opening account into the transgender lives and explores how not telling the whole truth can land you in hot water.
Speaking of lies, one of my favorite documentaries was The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, which documents the story of young entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, a company which raised huge sums from investors by promising to revolutionize blood testing, only to come crashing down when it emerged the company’s ‘groundbreaking technology’ was essentially fiction. Holmes has been charged by the SEC with a “massive fraud”, involving more than $700 million, as has former president Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. The two raised money from investors “through an elaborate, years-long fraud in which they exaggerated or made false statements about the company’s technology, business, and financial performance.”
The first thing you notice about Elizabeth is her lack of blinking. She can literally look at you for five minutes without blinking. Interviews with former employees and journalists tell the cautionary tale of how trying to ‘fake it till you make it’ can have very serious repercussions.
But the hottest ticket by far was the controversial documentary, “Leaving Neverland”, a disturbing four hour documentary that can be seen on HBO and Channel 4 in the UK in March and is bound to cause some worldwide upset, not only for survivors of abuse, but also from the diehard fans of Michael Jackson. The screening had heavy security, including sniffer dogs and metal detectors. And we were advised going in that there are many graphic and upsetting moments and that if anyone needed to leave there would counsellors waiting outside. Now that’s a first.
Two of Jackson’s principal accusers, Wade Robson, 36 and Jimmy Safechuck share heartfelt, convincing stories of their encounters with the self-styled King of Pop, from being discovered right through to being dumped by him, when he found younger “replacements”. To say this film left an impression is an understatement. I was a huge Michael Jackson fan and when he went to trial a year before he died, I, like many others, thought his accuser was simply looking for a payday. But as these now grown men shared their gut-wrenching stories I was filled with an overwhelming sadness. Talk about innocence lost. As I posted my experience on Instagram, floods of MJ-Lovers (his army) came to his defense and called me names, much like those Russian bots who came after me for announcing my support for Hillary Clinton during the last election. They were having none of it, tearing down my feelings and my take-away from the film. I almost found this more disturbing than the film itself. These people haven’t even seen the doc and were out for blood. Given the emotional impact of this film, it seems unlikely that Jackson’s legacy will emerge unscathed. Once it airs worldwide it’s doubtful the his supporters will be able to keep up with the outrage. For my part, I am determined to keep him off my radio and will be “leaving him alone” – and his music – for good.
The film put something of a damper on the rest of my trip and stirred dormant feelings I had for my own suffering as a child. On a brighter note there is now far more support for abused kids than ever before, especially from the organization RAINN.org, which helps other victims of abuse, and has both a hotline to information on counselors in your area. I hope after seeing the doc you are all armed with Kleenex and the hotline’s number, which is 1800-656-HOPE
Till next time
Craig
