User Rating: / 2
PoorBest 

Boy Taika Waititi 2009 Categories: World Cinema Dramatic Competition, World Premiere, Comedy It’s 1984, and Michael Jackson is king—even in Waihau Bay, New Zealand. Here we meet Boy, an 11-year-old who lives on a farm with his gran, a goat, and his younger brother, Rocky (who thinks he has magic powers). Shortly after Gran leaves for a week, Boy’s father, Alamein, appears out of the blue. Having imagined a heroic version of his father during his absence, Boy comes face to face with the real version—an incompetent hoodlum who has returned to find a bag of money he buried years before. This is where the goat enters. Inspired by his Oscar-nominated short, Two Cars, One Night, Taika Waititi offers a charming, funny, and earnest coming-of-age story where everybody has some coming of age to do—particularly Alamein (affably played by Waititi himself). Never short on humor, Waititi’s story is ultimately about three boys (one grown) reconciling fantasy with reality.

Sundance Institute’s Native American & Indigenous Program is pleased to announce its line up for the Sundance Film Festival’s 2010 Native Forum.

The films in this line-up competed on a global scale against 10,000 film submissions to be programmed at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.  These films are either written, directed or produced by Native American, Maori, Aboriginal & Inuit filmmakers.

US DRAMATIC COMPETITON
The Dry Land (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Piers Williams)—A U.S. soldier returning home from war struggles to reconcile his experiences abroad with the life and family he left in Texas. Cast: America Ferrera, Wilmer Valderrama, Ethan Suplee, June Diane Raphael, Melissa Leo. World Premiere  Produced by Heather Rae (Cherokee) http://sundance.bside.com/2010/films/thedryland–sundance2010

WORLD CINEMA,
DRAMATIC COMPETITION
Boy / New Zealand (Director and screenwriter: Taika Waititi (Te Whanau Apanui)—When his father returns home after many years away, 11-year-old Boy and his little brother Rocky must reconcile reality with the fantasy dad they created in their imagination. Cast: Taika Waititi, James Rolleston, Te Aho Eketone. World Premiere Produced by Ainsley Gardiner (Te-Whānau a Apanui, Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāti Awa) & Cliff Curtis (Ngati Hauiti, Te Arawa) Co-Producer:  Merata Mita (Ngati Pikiao, Ngai te Rangi) http://sundance.bside.com/2010/films/boy–sundance2010

Nuummioq / Greenland (Directors: Otto Rosing and Torben Bech; Screenwriter: Torben Bech)—A young man’s journey through the exquisite natural landscape of Greenland allows him to piece together elements of his past and move on with his life. Cast: Lars Rosing, Angunnguaq Larsen, Julie Berthelsen, Morten Rose, Makka Kleist, Mariu Olsen. World Premiere  Produced by: Mikisoq H. Lynge (Inuit) http://sundance.bside.com/2010/films/nuummioq–sundance2010

SPOT LIGHT
Bran Nue Dae / Australia (Director: Rachel Perkins (Arrernte/Kalkadoon Nations); Screenwriters: Reg Cribb, Rachel Perkins, and Jimmy Chi)—In the summer of 1965, a young man is filled with the life of the idyllic old pearling port Broome – fishing, hanging out with his mates and his girl. Cast: Rocky McKenzie, Jessica Mauboy, Geoffrey Rush, Ernie Dingo. U.S. Premiere  http://sundance.bside.com/2010/films/brannuedae–sundance2010

PREMIERES
The Killer Inside Me / USA (Director: Michael Winterbottom; Screenwriter: John Curran)–Deputy Sheriff Lou Ford is a pillar of the community in his small Texan town; patient, polite and well liked, until he starts killing people. Cast: Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Simon Baker, Elias Koteas. World Premiere Executive Producer: Chad Burris (Chickasaw Nation)  http://sundance.bside.com/2010/films/thekillerinsideme–sundance2010

SHORTFILM COMPETITION
Shimásání / USA (Director and screenwriter: Blackhorse Lowe (Diné)) -- When Mary Jane finds a World Geography book that shows her an entirely new world, she must decide whether to maintain her traditional Navajo reservation lifestyle with her grandmother, or go out into the larger world.  Produced by: Heather Rae (Cherokee), Nanobah Becker (Diné) & Chad Burris (Chickasaw Nation) http://sundance.bside.com/2010/films/shimsn–sundance2010

Tungijuq / Canada (Directors: Paul Raphael and Félix Lajeunesse; Screenwriters: Félix Lajeunesse, Paul Raphaël, Tanya Tagaq (Inuit) and Stéphane Rituit) -- A thought-provoking meditation on the seal-hunt and what it means to the traditional way of life for the Inuit.  Executive Producer:  Zacharias Kunuk (Inuit)   http://sundance.bside.com/2010/films/tungijuq–sundance2010