September 22, 2011

THE SOUND OF MUMBAI: A MUSICAL

Co-presented by HBO Documentary Films. The Sound of Music is delightfully reinterpreted in this poignant chronicle of Mumbai slum children who are selected to perform the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein musical at the city’s elite performing arts center. Director Sarah McCarthy brings new meaning to songs like “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” as the children find inspiration in the music […]

September 22, 2011

HAPPY PEOPLE: A YEAR IN THE TAIGA

As Werner Herzog demonstrated in Grizzly Man, he has a talent for reinterpreting another filmmaker’s footage. Now in Happy People, he takes on the work of Russian director Dmitry Vasyukov, following Siberian fur trappers through four seasons as they carry out traditions that have lasted for centuries. Herzog condenses the film from four hours and adds narration to […]

September 22, 2011

FIRST POSITION

2011 AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER Ballet students, ages 9-19, travel to New York City from all over the world to compete for awards and scholarships in the Youth America Grand Prix. New York-based director Bess Kargman follows six students from diverse backgrounds in the US, Italy, Colombia, and Sierra Leone as they strive to achieve their dreams. Even if […]

September 22, 2011

THE ISLAND PRESIDENT

SPOTLIGHT GALA and AWARDS PRESENTATION The archipelago nation of the Maldives, off India’s coast, looks like paradise. But the country risks being submerged underwater before the end of the century unless climate change is reversed. That sets a clear mission for the charismatic President Mohamed Nasheed, who fought a dictatorship to be elected at age […]