Sundance 2022 Preview: Hot Docs Seeking Distribution Deals Aim For A Repeat Of ‘Flee’

deadline.com:

In an ideal world, documentary filmmaker Alex Pritz would be bundled up in Park City, Utah right around now, preparing to unveil The Territory at the Sundance Film Festival.But with the festival forced to go virtual for the second straight year — a concession to the persistent Covid-19 pandemic – he must content himself with discussing the film over Zoom.

Whether Sundance unfolds online or in person, he insists, it remains the premier place to launch.“It’s just an insane dream come true to be able to put this film out at Sundance.

It’s the best festival in the world,” Pritz tells Deadline. “I couldn’t think of a better home, especially for a film like this that was made independently and with so much love and with such dedication from a huge group of people.”The Territory, playing in World Cinema Documentary competition, tells the dramatic story of efforts to protect a section of the Brazilian rainforest that is home to the indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people, whose territory faces constant invasion by land grabbing “settlers.” Sundance takes on critical importance for a film like Pritz’s, because it’s an acquisition title vying for attention, and a sale.“We are looking and hoping and eager and excited,” Pritz admits. “We’ve got big plans, but as of yet, no distribution.”Pritz and nonfiction filmmakers like him can take comfort in the experience of Flee, the documentary directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen that premiered at last year’s virtual edition of Sundance.

Neon acquired Flee during the festival and it has gone on to become one of the favorites for the Academy Award.Along with The Territory, these are some of the top acquisition documentaries that could make a big splash at Sundance:Nothing Compares [World Cinema