By Douglas Holtz-Eakin
The young drop coverage to avoid higher premiums
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
With "The Imposter," director Bart Layton takes a non-fiction subject _ the disappearance of a 13-year-old boy and the emergence of a man who claims to be him years later _ and depicts it with all the tension, twists and turns of a gripping mystery. He accomplishes much of this feat through clever use of reenactments _ a tactic the great Errol Morris used to revolutionize documentaries decades ago.
James Marsh won the documentary prize Saturday at the Directors Guild of America Awards for "Project Nim," his chronicle of the triumphs and trials of a chimpanzee that was raised like a human child.
Independent films that may have been years in the making get their first audiences at this week's Sundance Film Festival. That could also mean careers in the making for unknown directors and actors whose movies connect with the right crowds.
Martin Scorsese isn't just nominated for a Directors Guild Award for "Hugo," but also for his documentary "George Harrison: Living in the Material World."
It'll be a busy shopping season at next month's Sundance Film Festival, whose star-studded premieres are up for grabs by potential theatrical distributors.
Acclaimed documentaries from Werner Herzog, Errol Morris, Morgan Spurlock and Steve James have missed out on a shot at the Academy Awards.
That's a very good time to start the year with a whole variety of new films, which Sundance brings together and curates rather well," said James Marsh, who returns to the festival for the third time with his Northern Ireland drama "Shadow Dancer," featuring Clive Owen and Andrea Riseborough.
We know it's a place that careers can get made and films get noticed," said Mr. Marsh, whose Academy Award-winning "Man on Wire" premiered at the festival in 2008 and won Sundance's top honor for world-cinema documentaries.
