Jaunted

Amreeka:
Written and directed by a Sundance '07 alum ("Make a Wish"), Amreeka tells the story of a Palestinian woman and her son living in rural Illinois at the beginning of the Iraq War. Cherien Dabis tapped her own experiences as an Arab American growing up in Ohio during the first Gulf War, but despite the heavy subject matter she manages to bring levity to the story, shot in Canada and Ramallah.

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men:
Mr. Hair Flip himself, John Krasinski, writes, directs and stars in this adaptation of David Foster Wallace's 1999 short story collection about, well, hideous men. Julianne Nicholson plays heartbroken interviewer Sara Quinn, while Krasinski's real-life ex Rashida Jones also stars.

Paper Heart:
A sorta-documentary about love written by Nicholas Jasenovec and Charlyne Yi, we expect plenty of awkward laughs from this film about love--and Yi's boyfriend Michael Cera.

Prom Night in Mississippi:
It took a Canadian director to produce this documentary about Charleston High School's first racially integrated prom. Morgan Freeman helped bankroll the project.

Crude:
Documentary titan Joe Berlinger filmed in Ecuador's Amazon rain forest, Houston, London, New York and Washington, DC to get "the inside story of the 'Amazon Chernobyl,'" an ecological disaster caused by transnational oil companies operating in South America.

Related Stories:
· Sundance 2009 [Official Site]
· Sundance coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo from "Paper Heart": Slashfilm]

Where: Park City, UT, United States

Tags: Sundance 2009 / Film Festivals / John Krasinski / Michael Cera / Charlyne Yi / Joe Berlinger

by pbb