Stranger Than Rotterdam with Sara Driver is a short film screening at the Sundance Film Festival about one of independent film’s most celebrated directors and the circumstances surrounding one of his films. The animated short recounts how Sara Driver (the producer for Jarmusch’s sophomore film Stranger Than Paradise) had to smuggle a controversial movie across the Atlantic Ocean.
Any story that contains, The Rolling Stones, Dudley Do-Right, sex, and drugs has a pretty high chance for success. Told with puppets, Stranger Than Rotterdam is fast paced and fun. Driver is a great storyteller that will have anyone watching hinging on every word. Short films can be difficult to end, but this one finishes on an absolutely perfect note. It is filled with laughs from beginning to end.
You’ve Never Been Completely Honest is a surprisingly dark short film. Based on the recordings of Gene Church, it chronicles a four day training seminar in the 1970s.There have been plenty of gurus and timeshare courses that have been spoofed over the years. It sounds like this will be something similar. Instead, it details the physical and emotional abuse a group of men went through in order to receive further job training. It is a mix of animation and live action reenactments. The animated scenes showcase the most brutal and humiliating moments. It is a very interesting retelling, but be prepared for the inhumanity.
The Sundance Film Festival is online January 20- January 30. Tickets can be purchased and a full lineup can be found here.
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