U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Presenting the world premieres of 16 nonfiction feature films, the U.S. Documentary Competition offers festivalgoers a first look at American films illuminating the ideas, people, and events that shape the present day.

A film still from Crime + Punishment by Stephen Maing, an official selection of the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

Bisbee ‘17

U.S.A.  //  An old mining town on the Arizona/Mexico border finally reckons with its darkest day: the deportation of 1200 immigrant miners exactly 100 years ago. Locals collaborate to stage recreations of their controversial past.

Crime + Punishment

U.S.A.  //  Over four years of unprecedented access, the story of a brave group of black and Latino whistleblower cops and one unrelenting private investigator who, amidst a landmark lawsuit, risk everything to expose illegal quota practices and their impact on young minorities.

Dark Money

U.S.A.  //  “Dark money” contributions, made possible by the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling, flood modern American elections – but Montana is showing Washington, D.C., how to solve the problem of unlimited anonymous money in politics.

The Devil We Know

U.S.A.  // Unraveling one of the biggest environmental scandals of our time, a group of citizens in West Virginia take on a powerful corporation after they discover it has knowingly been dumping a toxic chemical — now found in the blood of 99.7 percent of Americans — into the local drinking water supply. THE NEW CLIMATE

Hal

U.S.A.  //  Hal Ashby’s obsessive genius led to an unprecedented string of Oscar-winning classics, including Harold and Maude, Shampoo and Being There. But as contemporaries Coppola, Scorsese and Spielberg rose to blockbuster stardom in the 1980s, Ashby’s uncompromising nature played out as a cautionary tale of art versus commerce. World Premiere

Hale County This Morning, This Evening

U.S.A.  // Composed of intimate and unencumbered moments of people in a community in Alabama’s Black Belt, Hale County This Morning, This Evening offers an emotive impression of the Historic South.  Daniel Collins attends college in search of opportunity while Quincy Bryant becomes a father to an energetic son. Creating a poetic form that privileges the patiently observed interstices of their lives, RaMell Ross’ film trumpets the beauty of life and consequences of race, while simultaneously existing as a testament to dreaming – despite the odds.

Inventing Tomorrow

U.S.A.  //  Take a journey with young minds from around the globe as they prepare their projects for the largest convening of high school scientists in the world, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Watch these passionate innovators find the courage to face the planet‘s environmental threats while navigating adolescence. THE NEW CLIMATE

Kailash

U.S.A.  // As a young man, Kailash Satyarthi promised himself that he would end child slavery in his lifetime. In the decades since, he has rescued more than 80,000 children and built a global movement. This intimate and suspenseful film follows one man‘s journey to do what many believed was impossible. DAY ONE

Kusama – Infinity

U.S.A.  //  Now one of the world‘s most celebrated artists, Yayoi Kusama broke free of the rigid society in which she was raised, and overcame sexism, racism and mental illness to bring her artistic vision to the world stage. At 88 she lives in a mental hospital and continues to create art.

The Last Race

U.S.A.  //  A cinematic portrait of a small town stock car track and the tribe of drivers who call it home as they struggle to hold onto an American racing tradition. The avant-garde narrative explores the community and its conflicts through an intimate story that reveals the beauty, mystery and emotion of grassroots auto racing.

Minding the Gap

U.S.A.  //  Three young men bond together to escape volatile families in their Rust Belt hometown. As they face adult responsibilities, unexpected revelations threaten their decade-long friendship.

On Her Shoulders

U.S.A.  //  A Yazidi genocide and ISIS sexual slavery survivor, 23-year-old Nadia Murad is determined to tell the world her story. As her journey leads down paths of advocacy and fame, she becomes the voice of her people and their best hope to spur the world to action.

The Price of Everything

U.S.A .  //  With unprecedented access to pivotal artists and the white – hot market surrounding them, this film dives deep into the contemporary art world, holding a funhouse mirror up to our values and our times – where everything can be bought and sold.

Seeing Allred

U.S.A.  //  Gloria Allred overcame trauma and personal setbacks to become one of the nation‘s most famous women‘s rights attorneys. Now the feminist firebrand takes on two of the biggest adversaries of her career, Bill Cosby and Donald Trump, as sexual violence allegations grip the nation and keep her in the spotlight.

The Sentence

U.S.A.  //  Cindy Shank, mother of three, is serving a 15-year sentence in federal prison for her tangential involvement with a Michigan drug ring years earlier. This intimate portrait of mandatory minimum drug sentencing’s devastating consequences, captured by Cindy’s brother, follows her and her family over the course of 10 years.

Three Identical Strangers

U.S.A.  //  New York, 1980: three complete strangers accidentally discover that they’re identical triplets, separated at birth. The 19-year-olds’ joyous reunion catapults them to international fame, but also unlocks an extraordinary and disturbing secret that goes beyond their own lives — and could transform our understanding of human nature forever.