(Photo: Chris Reardon/Courtesy of Sundance Institute)

Griping about Sundance is a nasty pastime: When a film sells for eight figures, critics cry, “Sundance has sold out!” When a film doesn’t—and this year saw no Little Miss Sunshine—they moan, “Sundance is over.” But then, every December, these same critics inevitably slot a Sundance film or two on their top tens. It is, plain and simple, the ultimate showcase for American indies and docs. For proof, check out the second year of the Sundance Institute at BAM, May 31 to June 10. Chris Zalla’s Grand Jury Prize winner Padre Nuestro, a smart neo-noir about betrayal among illegal immigrants in Queens, screens June 9, with a talk by Zalla to follow. But also catch one of the four documentaries screening simultaneously on June 10, and then attend the all-star panel afterward with filmmakers Nick Broomfield, Barbara Kopple, Albert Maysles, and Raoul Peck—proof in itself that Sundance is as relevant as ever.

Related:

• Archive: “Movie Features”
• Articles by Logan Hill
• Table of Contents: June 4, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!