Inequality for All

Last updated

Inequality for All
Inequalityforall.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jacob Kornbluth
Produced by
Narrated by Robert Reich
Cinematography
Edited by
Music byMarco D'Ambrosio
Production
company
72 Productions
Distributed by RADiUS-TWC
Release dates
  • January 19, 2013 (2013-01-19)(Sundance)
  • September 27, 2013 (2013-09-27)(United States)
Running time
89 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,205,079 [2]

Inequality for All is a 2013 documentary film directed by Jacob Kornbluth and narrated by American economist, author and professor Robert Reich. Based on Reich's 2010 book Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future, the film examines widening income inequality in the United States. Reich publicly argued about the issue for decades, and producing a film of his viewpoints was a "final frontier" for him. In addition to being a social issue documentary, Inequality for All is also partially a biopic regarding Reich's early life and his time as Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton's presidency. Warren Buffett and Nick Hanauer, two entrepreneurs and investors in the top 1%, are interviewed in the film, supporting Reich's belief in an economy that benefits all citizens, including those of the middle and lower classes.

Contents

As shown via a series of suspension bridge graphs, the income gap between middle-to-low-class Americans and the top 1% in the United States was at the same extreme highs in 1928 and 2007, two years that preceded economic crashes. Reich argues that inequality in capitalism is a necessary incentive for citizens to work harder, but at a low-enough level to where democracy is protected and it's in a "Virtuous cycle;" with high-enough wages and taxes, there will be more investments in government programs, a more college-educated population, and consumer spending creating more jobs. The United States economy was in this cycle in the 1940s and 1970s, but that changed starting in the late 1970s as a result of union-busting, tax cuts, deregulation, job outsourcing, and other changes in the system meant to increase Wall Street's profits; this resulted in a decline of average worker pay and an increased amount of average income for top-earners from 1978 to 2010.

Inequality for All premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in the Documentary Competition section that had several other political films in its line-up, including another film about income inequality. It won the festival's U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement in Filmmaking and was bought by RADiUS-TWC five days after its January 19 premiere. After months of running at several other festivals, the film was released to United States theaters by RADiUS on September 27, 2013 and grossed more than $1 million in just over a month, which was rare for an issue documentary. It received very high opinions from professional critics, who praised its easy-to-understand demonstration of a complicated topic and likable narrator; however, it also garnered criticism for what libertarian and right-leaning sources and publications deemed to be narrow-minded, unoriginal viewpoints and lack of credible opposing arguments.

Content

Warren Buffett KU Visit.jpg
Nick Hanauer Laura Flanders 2016.png
Two entrepreneurs, Warren Buffett (left) and Nick Hanauer (right) were interviewed in the film and they admitted for higher taxes and a system benefiting the middle class.

Robert Reich, author, professor at the University of California, Berkeley, official in three administrations, including United States Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton, narrates Inequality for All. Reich is a thinker on the topic of inequality, having spoken on the subject for nearly three decades. In a similar fashion to An Inconvenient Truth (2006), [3] the film is organized around a narrative framework of his "Wealth and Poverty" classes taught at Berkeley, with interviews of average Americans in the middle class barely getting by. [4] [5]

Two families are interviewed. One of them is Erika and Robert Vaclav, who raise two daughters on a single source of income of Erika working as a Costco clerk for $21.50 an hour; the couple are forced to live with other relatives after Robert was laid off as a Circuit City manager, and only have a $25 checking account. The other family interviewed is a Republican Mormon family that became pro-union after being laid off from a Calpine geothermal plant. [6] [7]

Inequality for All is also a biopic of Reich's life. [5] As a child, he was made fun-of for being short as a result of Fairbanks disease, and was protected by racial civil rights advocate Michael Schwerner from those who intimidated Reich. [8] The killing of Schwerner by the Ku Klux Klan, as well as Reich learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, inspired him to do what he could to change society for the better. [8] Reich also discusses his time as Secretary of Labor, where he regrets not doing enough to help fix the economic problems caused by previous administrations. [8]

A series of suspension bridge graphs show similarities between the economies of 1928 and 2007, two years that preceded economic crashes. [9] The economy boomed after World War II in a period of 1947 to 1977 Reich names "The Great Prosperity," when inequality was declining. [10] Then came president Ronald Reagan's union-busting efforts and cutting of taxes on the rich in the late 1970s and 1980s; [5] this, along with globalization, technology, job outsourcing, and Wall Street's desire to have their profits as high as possible, resulted in stagnant wages, stilted college attendance rate, and the ruining of manufacturing jobs that made the middle class. [5] [11] [10] In combatting this, the middle and working class took on several techniques that eventually became useless, such as working multiple jobs and longer hours, using houses as banks, and women entering the workforce. [11] An average male worker's annual pay went from $48,302 in 1978 to $33,751 in 2010, while the average pay of someone in the top one-percent grew at a higher rate, from $393,682 to $1.1 million. [12] Now, the 400 richest Americans now own more wealth than the bottom 150 million combined; and 42% of Americans born into poverty aren't out of it, compared to 30% of poor British citizens and 25% of the poor living in Denmark. [11]

Although not holding liable the problem on one partisan label (Republican or Democrat), [13] Reich's stance is left-leaning [14] where the only right-wing arguments presented are clips of The Daily Show mocking conservative politicians [15] and Bill O'Reilly labeling him a "communist." [10] Reich contests the existence of a true, ruleless "free market". He challenges the ideology in which those are the top are job-creators, given that 70% of the American economy is fueled by consumer spending. [11] The richest Americans don't use most of their money to invest in the production of goods, services, and jobs, but rather in speculation. [9] According to Reich, the economy works best when it's in a "Virtuous cycle," where there is more spending, taxes, government investments, college-educated citizens, and workers as a result of higher wages; the economy is currently the opposite of that, in a "vicious cycle." [9] Venture capitalist millionaire Nick Hanauer is interviewed in the film and supports this claim: "a person like me doesn’t buy 1,000 pillows. Even the richest person sleeps with only one or two. The most pro-business thing you can do is to help middle-class people thrive." [11] Reich also interviews Warren Buffett, where he wishes he would be taxed at a higher income tax. [15]

While Reich argues that inequality in capitalism is necessary for incentivizing people to work, he warns that too much inequality will cause a undemocratic system; this theme is presented in a conversation with Alan Simpson, where he suggests there will be a "government on the auction block" if inequality gets worse. [11] As Reich concludes Inequality for All under footage of Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party protests, "A lot of people feel the game is stacked against them, and losers in rigged games get angry. We are losing equal opportunity in America, our moral foundation stone." [11] The film's last lecture ends with advising his students to come up with solutions to the problem on their own [4] before dancing off the stage to the working-class anthem "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton. [10]

Production

This whole area of widening inequality in income, wealth and opportunity is rapidly getting out of control. It’s very important that people understand it. And it’s too easy to caricature—by the right, as essentially a problem of poor people not taking responsibility, and by the left, as essentially a matter of greedy CEOs and Wall Streeters. Those caricatures are both wrong. It’s systemic; it has to do with how we’ve organized society.

— Robert Reich when interviewed by The Nation [16]
Reich publicly speaking in 2011 about the economic issues facing the United States, many of which are also in Inequality for All.

Jacob Kornbluth grew up poor and lived in various suburban and urban areas around citizens of all political leanings. [17]

Reich and Kornbluth previously worked with each other on two-minute videos before Kornbluth pitched to Reich a film based on his book Aftershock (2010). [18] By the 2008 economic recession, Kornbluth noticed cynicism towards the political system from his peers, feeling as if they couldn't "participate" in the economy. [18] With his only knowledge of the American economy from conflicting mainstream media news stories, Kornbluth found himself to be the right learner of ideas from an expert in economics like Reich. [18] For Kornbluth, the similarities between the look of the suspension bridge and the graphs of concentrated wealth in 1928 and 2007 in the beginning of Aftershock was the "ah ha" moment that made him want to learn more about the topic. [18] Reich initially didn't see a reason for producing the film about economic inequality, [19] but after a decades-worth amount of previous failed attempts to get the problems about severe economic inequality in the public's mind, producing a film was a "sort of the last frontier for me." [16]

Inequality for All was first announced in a Deadline article published on January 26, 2012, its premise summarized as a "film about former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich's efforts to call national attention to the nation's gaping economic inequality"; director Kornbluth, cinematographer Svetlana Cvetko, editor Kim Roberts, producers Sebastian Dungan and Jen Chaiken, and production company 72 Productions were revealed to be working on the project. [20] Dungan and Chaiken started producing another project, Afternoon Delight , in the middle of working on Inequality for All in order to diversify and increase their output for higher profits; this tightened work hours for both films as they planned to submit them to the same Sundance Film Festival event. [21] [22]

60-days-worth of original footage was shot on RED Epic, Sony F300, Canon C300 and Canon EOS 5DS cameras for Inequality for All. [17] The amount of media compiled for the film (both original and archival) totaled 550 hours and more than ten terabytes. [17] Although Inequality for All features several interpretations from Reich, Kornbluth developed the movie by learning about economics himself first and measuring his understandings against Reich's: "You’d see him boil it down and in a deep way thoughtfully put it together, and it raised my admiration for his argument." [18] The most common disagreements between Kornbluth and Reich were the biographical aspects of the script; Kornbluth thought they would help the viewers emotionally connect with the material, while Reich they related too little to the main theme. [23] To keep Inequality for All non-partisan, solutions to the problem were left out of the film for the viewers to go to its official website (inequalityforall.com), which featured tips on what to do. [24] [25]

Release and promotion

A Q&A at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival held after the Inequality for All and featuring Reich (center) and Kornbluth (left). Sundance2013InequalityforAll.png
A Q&A at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival held after the Inequality for All and featuring Reich (center) and Kornbluth (left).

Inequality for All was one of 16 films in the Documentary Competition of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, which was the most political line-up in the category's history; opponents included another film about income equality ( 99%: The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film ), a movie regarding Citizens United v. FEC 's impact on the American political system ( Citizen Koch ), a film about four doctors performing late pregnancy termination ( After Tiller ), and two productions on the war on terror ( Dirty Wars and Manhunt: The Search for Bin Laden ). [26] It premiered at the festival in Park City, Utah's Prospector Square Park Theatre on January 19, 2013. [27]

Inequality for All was later screened at the San Francisco International Film Festival on May 4, 2013, [28] the LA Film Festival on June 23, 2013, [29] the Traverse City Film Festival on August 2, 2013, [30] Aspen Institute's Paepcke Auditorium on August 5, 2013, [31] and the 2013 Deauville American Film Festival. [32] Radius-TWC bought the distribution rights for $750,000 on January 23, 2013 with a plan for a theatrical release in summer 2013. [27] [33]

Around the time Inequality for All was released, Kornbluth ran a grass-roots promotion bringing labor unions, college students, and progressive organizations together to run screenings of the film and fight economic inequality. The film was also promoted with the "Save the Middle Class National Tour" that started on the 50th anniversary of the War on poverty in 2014. [12]

Upon the theatrical release, Reich discussed themes of Inequality for All via interviews on shows such as Marketplace , [34] PBS NewsHour , [35] CBS MoneyWatch , [36] Democracy Now! , [37] and Moyers & Company ; [38] and publications such as i am Rogue [39] Collider , [18] OpEdNews , [40] AARP , [41] Time , [42] and The Nation . [18] CNN also cited stats from the film in an October 2013 report about East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, which had the highest income inequality of all areas in the United States. [43]

On October 3, 2013, during a federal government shutdown, Landmark Theatres and Radius-TWC offered free tickets to federal and military workers to see Inequality for All at 13 Landmark theaters across the United States. [44]

After its U.S. run, Inequality for All was screened at Lipscomb University's Shamblin Theatre as part of the Nashville Film Festival and Nashville Public Television's HumanDocs Film Series on February 26, 2014. [45] It was later screened at the 2015 Tromsø International Film Festival. [46]

Reception

Box office

Inequality for All opened on September 27, 2013 to 28 theaters in the United States, and grossed a total of $140,000, with a $5,000 per-theater average, in its first week; the presidents of RADiUS explained that while it was a risky move to have an issue documentary open in such a high amount of theaters due to the genre's usual commercial difficulty, it exceeded expectations due to strong reviews and a popular contemporary topic. [47] Reaching the million-dollar mark in its fifth week, [48] a rare feat for a documentary at the time; [49] Inequality for All ended up being the tenth highest-grossing motion picture from the 2013 Sundance Festival with a domestic gross totaling around $1.2 million. [33]

Critical response

According to the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 62 professional reviews of Inequality for All were positive, and critics opined that "while it arrives in a glut of similarly themed documentaries, Inequality for All distinguishes itself with a compelling presentation of an important message, as well as much-needed splashes of wit." [50] It also has an average rating of 68 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 24 critical reviews. [51] Carole Cadwalladr of The Guardian labeled the film "a really astonishingly good movie that takes some big economic ideas and how these relate to the quality of everyday life as lived by most ordinary people." [19] Reviews labeled it essential viewing, [52] [53] "the Indianapolis 500 of wealth analyses," [15] and "intelligent, persuasive and accessible, a gentle but urgent clarion call to action." [54] Journalist Gregg Kilday and awards analyst Scott Feinberg considered Inequality for All a contender for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature; [55] [56] Feinberg specifically ranked it the 12th mostly-likely film of 151 long-listed documentaries to make it to the award's 15-movie shortlist for its An Inconvenient Truth-esque format, simple explanation of a complicated and serious subject, and for being the highest-grossing social issue documentary since Waiting for "Superman" (2010). [57] It ended up not making the shortlist, however. [58]

Inequality for All was heavily acclaimed for its easy-to-understand presentation of a complex topic, [15] [59] [60] with critics recommending the film for economics beginners. [9] [61] Marc Mohan of The Oregonian opined, "He has the gift of explaining complex ideas simply without dumbing them down, and the ability to firmly argue his point without becoming angry, strident or didactic." [13] Inequality for All's condensing of several topics into a 90-minute runtime was claimed successful by U.S. News & World Report journalist Danielle Kurtzleben, who summarized "the film manages to be exhaustive without being exhausting." [14] However, it was considered "rushed" by The Washington Post . [62] Critics reported being engaged with Reich's interpretations. [15] [60] [5] [3] [61] The Arizona Republic attributed this to its stylistic decision, such as its use of humor, television clips, and "graphics that look like an iPhone ad." [63] They also enjoyed Reich's narrative as a sound and uplifting take on an otherwise dour subject, [64] [11] avoiding the extremely negative tones that usually drove other documentaries of serious topics. [65] [66] The Los Angeles Times also highlighted the filmmaking craft, explaining that "Kornbluth, for his part, employs his skills as a dramatic feature director [...] to bring energy and vigor to the way this film is structured, making especially good use of lively animation and vivid charts." [11]

Reich's presence was positively commented on, The Christian Science Monitor stating that his comedic and upbeat demeanor "gives credence to the seriousness of his message. He’s all about fairness, and, in his demeanor, as well as in his presentation, he embodies that ideal." [67] As Corey Hall of Metro Times stated, "It helps that Reich himself is such an irresistible ball of charisma, endlessly engaging, whether enchanting his econ students at UC Berkeley or doing a buddy cop parody with Conan O’Brien." [68] "Reich is disarmingly likeable, with a penchant for self-deprecating jokes about being short [...] while burrowing into his subject with the rigour of a scholar," summarized Toronto Star critic Bruce DeMara. [54] "He’s dynamic, obviously bright and it only feels a little over-the-top when his students give him a standing ovation at the end. [...] Reich is naturally funny [and] apparently genuinely likes to be among people." [7] In the opinion of Slant Magazine writer Kalvin Henely, "Reich’s sleek presentation—his neat rhetoric and clean, simplified graphics that lucidly explain his ideas, along with a sense of humor about his diminutive height—makes him an effective, affable spokesman for the middle class." [69] The San Francisco Chronicle explained Inequality for All benefitted the most from a genuine narrator at its center, avoiding "condescending intellectual" attitudes typical of similar films in its genre: "[the film] depicts a man trying to change the world for the better, not merely preserving his own opinions for the approval of history." [70] IndieWire commended Reich's autobiographical moments for being "inspiring" and adding a "personally emotional" touch to a documentary about economics; [5] while the Orange County Register called them "so refreshingly, unselfconsciously personal that Reich is able to make frank admissions without a hint of over-emphasis." [71]

However, Inequality of All wasn't free of condemnation. Some critics disliked that its concepts were already common knowledge and in previous economy documentaries. [8] [1] [72] The A.V. Club felt Reich's self-deprecating humor and narratives about his time in office were unnecessary tangents and "advertisement[s]" of Reich as an economic expert. [3] Hall similarly dismissed the salesman essence of the film: "This is a curious case of liking the messenger, loving the message and yet still feeling as if you’re being too heavily sold, even if you want to by [sic] into the product." [68] Kurtzleben also thought the middle-class family interviews, while necessary, caused pacing problems, as they were slower than segments showcasing statistics and historical points at a faster rate. [14] A couple of fingers were also pointed at the segment discussing Reich's time as Secretary of Labor; RedEye reviewer Matt Pais found it a distraction from the main subject, [72] while Andrew Barker of Variety noticed that he "doesn’t mention Clinton’s substantial role in furthering the financial deregulation trends that would come back to bite the world economy in the ass a decade later." [73] Pais also noted other holes: "Nowhere do the filmmakers address how people have adapted. Have some opted not to have kids because they can't support families? How have some succeeded by skipping college and using their money in other ways?" [72] A lack of a real solution to wide inequality was also not fondly-received, [69] [62] [15] [74] although Simon Houpt was more sympathetic due to the United States' democracy being so "frozen." [59]

Partisan reception

The rejection of credible opposing viewpoints garnered mixed responses. [8] [13] [15] [75] While Mohan approved the script's non-partisan nature in not blaming a specific side, [13] Kurtzleben and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 's Duane Dudek suggested this didn't do much as Reich's arguments leaned liberal and would turn off conservative viewers and those who thought the economy's problems have nothing to do with inequality. [14] [76]

In fact, right-leaning sources panned Inequality for All. Pro-libertarian institution Liberty International and Senior Fellow of Adam Smith Institute Tim Worstall (a frequent critic of Reich) published articles debunking viewpoints in the film, [77] [78] and it was dismissed by the New York Post as a set of "misleading" statements. [79] Greg Beato, in an article about the rise of crowdfunded political causes published on the libertarian magazine Reason , found it ironic that Inequality for All, a motion picture criticizing the decreased power and opportunity of the middle class, was funded with Kickstarter, one of many "radically democratic platforms of alternative finance" on the internet. [80] The conservative Christian source MovieGuide threw many partisan labels at the film, calling it a "strong humanist worldview with very strong Romantic, politically correct propaganda that’s a Neo-Marxist, crypto communist, and socialist attack on American capitalism and a defense of the welfare state starring former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, a radical leftist, and though Reich says he’s really pro-capitalist, all of his attacks and solutions seem the opposite." [81]

The Daily Herald was more appreciative of only left-leaning viewpoints being portrayed: "A real journalistic approach to Reich's warnings of financial doom would destroy this doc's marketable good will -- and probably confuse viewers with too many voices." [75] Pais, on the other hand, opined the film should've blamed more groups of people than just Reagan, and that Reich's inability of doing this showed he "really doesn’t pay much attention to the people at all." [72] Barker, however, thought the film was fair to conservative viewpoints: "Reich engages the [Republican Mormon family] in debate with admirable civility and a lack of condescension, and the rest of the docu strives to follow suit (though fiscal conservatives will obviously disagree with many of the film’s arguments, it scarcely ever resorts to straw-man chicanery)." [73] Film industry academic and journalist Scott Mendelson also disagreed that the film had a liberal stance, but suggested it still wouldn't have swayed most conservative minds due to being in a market favoring explicitly partisan products like 2016: Obama’s America (2012) and No End In Sight (2007): "[RADiUS-TWC] hope[s] that the film will attract outside attention from those who follow these issues and/or discuss documentaries of this nature, and that interest will leak out into the mainstream news cycle and perhaps change a few hearts and minds by default." [82]

Accolades

List of accolades
AwardCategoryResultRef.
Cinema Eye Honors Outstanding Achievement in Graphic Design or AnimationNominated [83]
Los Angeles Times year-end listBest of 2013 (Betsy Sharkey)9 [84]
Houston Film Critics Society AwardsBest DocumentaryNominated [85]
Seattle International Film Festival Golden Space Needle AwardBest DocumentaryRunner-up [86]
Seattle Weekly year-end listBest Films of 201310 [87]
Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement in FilmmakingWon [88]
Traverse City Film Festival Audience AwardBest Documentary FilmWon [89]
Zurich Film Festival Golden EyeBest International Documentary FilmNominated [90]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Redford</span> American actor and filmmaker (born 1936)

Charles Robert Redford Jr. is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous accolades such as an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, as well as the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1996, the Academy Honorary Award in 2002, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2005, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016, and the Honorary César in 2019. He was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Reich</span> American academic, lawyer and political commentator (born 1946)

Robert Bernard Reich is an American professor, author, lawyer, and political commentator. He worked in the administrations of presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and served as Secretary of Labor from 1993 to 1997 in the cabinet of President Bill Clinton. He was also a member of President Barack Obama's economic transition advisory board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morgan Spurlock</span> American filmmaker (1970–2024)

Morgan Valentine Spurlock was an American documentary filmmaker, writer, and television producer. He directed 23 films and was the producer of nearly 70 films throughout his career. Spurlock received acclaim for directing the documentary Super Size Me (2004), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film. He produced What Would Jesus Buy? (2007) and directed Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden? (2008), POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (2011), Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope (2011), and One Direction: This Is Us (2013).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirby Dick</span> American film director, producer, and screenwriter

Kirby Bryan Dick is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best known for directing documentary films. He received Academy Award nominations for Best Documentary Feature for directing Twist of Faith (2005) and The Invisible War (2012). He has also received numerous awards from film festivals, including the Sundance Film Festival and Los Angeles Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryan Fogel</span> American dramatist

Bryan Fogel is an American film director, producer, author, playwright, speaker and human rights activist, best known for the 2017 documentary Icarus, which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 90th Academy Awards in 2018.

Andrew Swant is an American filmmaker best known for William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet, The Jeffrey Dahmer Files, and What What in the Butt.

<i>Man on Wire</i> 2008 documentary film directed by James Marsh

Man on Wire is a 2008 documentary film directed by James Marsh. The film chronicles Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center. It is based on Petit's 2002 book, To Reach the Clouds, released in paperback with the title Man on Wire. The title of the film is taken from the police report that led to the arrest of Petit, whose performance lasted for almost an hour. The film is crafted like a heist film, presenting rare footage of the preparations for the event and still photographs of the walk, alongside re-enactments and present-day interviews with the participants, including Barry Greenhouse, an insurance executive who served as the inside man.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sundance Film Festival</span> Annual film festival in the United States

The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival takes place every January in Park City, Utah; Salt Lake City, Utah; and at Sundance Resort, and acts as a showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. The festival consists of competitive sections for American and international dramatic and documentary films, both feature films and short films, and a group of out-of-competition sections, including NEXT, New Frontier, Spotlight, Midnight, Sundance Kids, From the Collection, Premieres, and Documentary Premieres. Many films premiering at Sundance have gone on to be nominated and win Oscars such as Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor in a Leading Role.

<i>The Queen of Versailles</i> 2012 American film

The Queen of Versailles is a 2012 American documentary film by Lauren Greenfield. The film depicts Jackie Siegel and David Siegel, owners of Westgate Resorts, and their family as they build their private residence—Versailles, one of the largest and most expensive single-family houses in the United States—and the crisis they face as the US economy declines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Ziering</span> American filmmaker

Amy Ziering is an American film producer and director. Mostly known for her work in documentary films, she is a regular collaborator of director Kirby Dick; they co-directed 2002's Derrida and 2020's On the Record, with Ziering also producing several of Dick's films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Sundance Film Festival</span> Film festival held from January 17, 2013 until January 27, 2013

The 2013 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 17, 2013, until January 27, 2013, in Park City, Utah, United States, with screenings in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ogden, Utah, and Sundance, Utah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Vogt-Roberts</span> American film director

Jordan Charles Vogt-Roberts is an American film director, film producer, screenwriter, and television director. His feature directorial debut, The Kings of Summer, screened at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. The film also won the Narrative Feature Audience Award at the 2013 Dallas International Film Festival. In 2017, Vogt-Roberts directed the MonsterVerse film Kong: Skull Island.

Jacob Kornbluth is the award-winning director of documentaries Inequality for All, and Saving Capitalism, and feature films Haiku Tunnel, Love & Taxes, and The Best Thief in the World. He was a producer on the TV show Years of Living Dangerously. His work on that show won a primetime Emmy. Jacob has had 3 films premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

Sebastian Dungan began his career in film at Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros.-based Witt-Thomas Films and is a producer with such credits as Transamerica and Afternoon Delight, and a principal partner of the independent film production company 72 Productions. He is a producer for Inequality for All with Robert Reich, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in the Documentary Competition section, and won a U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement in Filmmaking.

<i>Fed Up</i> (film) 2014 documentary film by Stephanie Soechting

Fed Up is a 2014 American documentary film directed, written and produced by Stephanie Soechtig. The film focuses on the causes of obesity in the US, presenting evidence showing large quantities of sugar in processed foods are an overlooked root of the problem, and points to the monied lobbying power of "Big Sugar" in blocking attempts to enact policies to address the issue.

<i>The One I Love</i> (film) 2014 film directed by Charlie McDowell

The One I Love is a 2014 American surreal comedy thriller film directed by Charlie McDowell and written by Justin Lader, starring Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2014. It was released on August 1, 2014, through video on demand, prior to a limited release on August 22, 2014, by RADiUS-TWC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie McDowell</span> American film director and screenwriter (born 1983)

Charles Malcolm McDowell is an American-British film director and screenwriter. McDowell made his directorial film debut with the romantic thriller The One I Love (2014). He has since written and directed the Netflix drama films The Discovery (2017) and Windfall (2022).

<i>American Factory</i> 2019 documentary film

American Factory is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, about Chinese company Fuyao's factory in Moraine, a city near Dayton, Ohio, that occupies Moraine Assembly, a shuttered General Motors plant. The film had its festival premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. It is distributed by Netflix and is the first film acquired by Barack and Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground Productions. It won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

<i>Time</i> (2020 film) 2020 American film

Time is a 2020 American documentary film produced and directed by Garrett Bradley. It follows Sibil Fox Richardson and her fight for the release of her husband, Rob, who was serving a 60-year prison sentence for engaging in an armed bank robbery.

<i>Boys State</i> (film) 2020 documentary film directed by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine

Boys State is a 2020 American documentary film directed and produced by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine. It follows a thousand teenage boys attending Boys State in Texas, coming to build a representative government from the ground up.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Bowles, Scott (September 26, 2013). "'Inequality for All' a rich portrait of middle class". USA Today . Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Inequality for All". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Dowd, A.A. (September 26, 2013). "Inequality For All". The A.V. Club . Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  4. 1 2 Jenkins, Mark (September 26, 2013). "For Richer And For Poorer, But What Of That Vanishing Middle?". NPR . Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Walsh, Katie (September 27, 2013). "Review: Hopeful & Inspiring Documentary 'Inequality For All' Featuring Robert Reich Champions The Middle Class". IndieWire . Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  6. ↑ Wloszczyna, Susan (September 27, 2013). "Inequality for All". RogerEbert.com . Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  7. 1 2 Martin, Philip (October 25, 2013). "Inequality for All". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette . Archived from the original on November 25, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Keough, Peter (September 26, 2013). "Robert Reich makes the case for 'Inequality'". The Boston Globe . Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Duralde, Alonso (September 26, 2013). "'Inequality for All' Review: Compelling 'Inconvenient Truth' on Economics". TheWrap . Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Walsh, Joan (September 26, 2013). "Reich fights the bullies: Watch this amazing documentary right away!". Salon . Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Turan, Kenneth (September 26, 2013). "Review: Robert Reich's economic lessons in 'Inequality for All'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  12. 1 2 vanden Heuvel, Katrina (September 10, 2013). "From 'Inequality for All,' a challenge to America". The Washington Post . Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Mohan, Marc (September 23, 2013). "'Inequality for All' review: It's the economy, stupid". The Oregonian . Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Kurtzleben, Danielle (September 27, 2013). "Review: Inequality (and Indignation) for All". U.S. News & World Report . Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Stone, Jay (December 2, 2013). "Movie review: Inequality For All shows how rich get richer". Canada.com . Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  16. 1 2 Ratner, Lizzy (October 2, 2013). "Seven Questions for Robert Reich". The Nation . Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  17. 1 2 3 "About the Film". Inequality for All. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Roberts, Sheila (September 27, 2013). "Robert Reich and Director Jacob Kornbluth Talk INEQUALITY FOR ALL, Making a Complex Subject Accessible, Future Collaborations, and More". Collider . Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  19. 1 2 Cadwalladr, Carole (February 2, 2013). "Inequality for All – another Inconvenient Truth?". The Guardian . Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  20. ↑ Brooks, Brian (January 26, 2012). "Jacob Kornbluth To Direct Robert Reich Documentary 'Inequality For All'". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on September 12, 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  21. ↑ Blair, Ian (December 5, 2012). "Dungan & Chaiken: Challenging each other for 'Afternoon Delight'". Variety . Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  22. ↑ Goldstein, Gregg (January 16, 2013). "Sundance: Filmmakers flex options". Variety. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  23. ↑ Brunwasser 2013, p. 1.
  24. ↑ Brunwasser 2013, p. 3.
  25. ↑ von Zumwalt, Nate (October 1, 2013). "5 Things You Should Know About Inequality For All". Sundance Institute . Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  26. ↑ Chang, Justin (November 28, 2012). "Sundance unveils 2013 competition lineup". Variety. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  27. 1 2 Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 23, 2013). "Sundance Update: Radius-TWC Buys 'Inequality For All'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  28. ↑ McNary, Dave (April 2, 2013). "San Francisco Film Festival Honors Philip Kaufman". Variety. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  29. ↑ Saito, Stephen (June 23, 2013). "L.A. Film Fest '13: Jacob Kornbluth & Robert Reich Level the Economic Playing Field With "Inequality for All"". The Moveable Fest. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Inequality for All". Traverse City Film Festival . Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  31. ↑ Lutz, Catherine (August 13, 2013). "Robert Reich Discusses New Documentary on Income Inequality". Aspen Institute . Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  32. ↑ Richford, Rhonda (July 19, 2013). "Deauville American Film Festival Adds to 2013 Lineup". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  33. 1 2 Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 16, 2014). "Sundance: A Look Back On How Last Year's Acquisitions Fared At The Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Film 'Inequality for All' takes on the income gap". Marketplace . September 26, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  35. ↑ Solman, Paul (October 15, 2013). "Why Robert Reich cares so passionately about economic inequality". PBS NewsHour . Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  36. ↑ Sherman, Erik (September 13, 2013). "Reich: Inequality approaching a tipping point". CBS MoneyWatch . Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  37. ↑ Goodman, Amy (September 13, 2013). "Inequality for All: Robert Reich Warns Record Income Gap Is Undermining Our Democracy". Democracy Now! . Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  38. ↑ "S2 E37: Inequality for All". Thirteen . September 19, 2013. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  39. ↑ "Exclusive Video: Economist Robert Reich and Filmmaker Jacob Kornbluth talk 'Inequality for All'". i am Rogue . Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  40. ↑ Brunwasser 2013, pp. 1–4.
  41. ↑ "Robert Reich vs. Income Inequality". AARP . August 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  42. ↑ Luscombe, Belinda (October 7, 2013). "10 Questions for Robert Reich". Time . Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  43. ↑ D. Sutter, John (October 30, 2013). "The most unequal place in America". CNN . Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  44. ↑ Yamato, Jen (October 3, 2013). "Shutdown Special: Landmark, Radius-TWC Offer Free 'Inequality For All' Tickets To Federal & Military Employees". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  45. ↑ Shoun-Smith, Janel (February 21, 2014). "Award-winning film on national economist screens Wednesday". Lipscomb University . Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  46. ↑ "Inequality for All". Tromsø International Film Festival . Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  47. ↑ Brooks, Brian (September 29, 2013). "Specialty Box Office: 'Metallica' Master Of Newcomers; Gandolfini's 'Enough Said' Expands Strong". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  48. ↑ Brooks, Brian (November 3, 2013). "Specialty Box Office: 'Dallas Buyers Club' Reigns In "Smart-House" Debut; Controversial 'Blue' Loses Steam". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  49. ↑ Feinberg, Scott (November 20, 2013). "Robert Reich on America's Widening Income Gap: It Must Be Talked About for 2016 (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  50. ↑ "Inequality For All (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  51. ↑ "Inequality for All Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  52. ↑ Neumaier, Joe (September 26, 2013). "Movie reviews: 'Morning,' 'Inequality for All'". New York Daily News . Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  53. ↑ Rea, Steven (September 27, 2013). "'Inequality for All,' must-see documentary on widening income gap". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  54. 1 2 DeMara, Bruce (October 31, 2013). "Reel Life: New documentaries focus on school rights, Toronto's punk past and American inequality". Toronto Star . Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  55. ↑ Feinberg, Scott (October 16, 2013). "Oscars: 7 Doc Contenders Cover Spectrum of American Socio-Political Issues (Analysis)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  56. ↑ Kilday, Gregg (November 15, 2013). "Best Documentary Oscar: 25 Potential Contenders". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  57. ↑ Feinberg, Scott (November 21, 2013). "Oscars: The 15 Documentaries Most Likely to Make the Shortlist". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  58. ↑ Gray, Tim (December 3, 2013). "Oscars: 15 Documentary Features Make Shortlist". Variety. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  59. 1 2 Houpt, Simon (November 1, 2013). "Inequality for All: A documentary that doesn't feel like homework". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  60. 1 2 Baumgarten, Marjorie (October 4, 2013). "Inequality for All". The Austin Chronicle . Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  61. 1 2 Adams, Sam (September 24, 2013). "Inequality for All: movie review". Time Out London . Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  62. 1 2 DeFore, John (September 25, 2013). "'Inequality for All' movie review". The Washington Post . Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  63. ↑ Lengel, Kerry (September 26, 2013). "'Inequality for All,' 4 stars". The Arizona Republic . Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  64. ↑ Rapold, Nicolas (September 26, 2013). "Chasm Between the Very Rich and Everybody Else". The New York Times . Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  65. ↑ Beifuss, John (October 17, 2013). "'Inequality for All' – A Review: Follow the Money; or Little Big Man On Campus (and Beyond)". The Commercial Appeal . Archived from the original on October 24, 2013. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  66. ↑ Vance, Kelly (September 25, 2013). "Inequality for All". East Bay Express . Archived from the original on December 3, 2017. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  67. ↑ Rainer, Peter. "'Inequality for All' is a compelling class lecture on the US economy". The Christian Science Monitor . Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  68. 1 2 Hall, Corey (October 5, 2013). "Film Review: Inequality for All". Metro Times . Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  69. 1 2 Henely, Kalvin (September 26, 2013). "Review: Inequality for All". Slant Magazine . Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  70. ↑ "'Inequality for All' movie review: Documentary makes economics likable". San Francisco Chronicle . October 2, 2013. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
  71. ↑ Sragow, Michael (October 2, 2013). "Reich a happy warrior for reform in 'Inequality for All'". Orange County Register . Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  72. 1 2 3 4 Pais, Matt (September 26, 2013). "'Inequality For All' review: Breaking news: Things are bad!". RedEye . Archived from the original on December 11, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  73. 1 2 Barker, Andrew (January 20, 2013). "Inequality for All". Variety. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  74. ↑ Ingram, Bruce (September 26, 2013). "'Inequality for All': Inconvenient truths about U.S. incomes". Chicago Sun-Times . Archived from the original on October 3, 2013. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  75. 1 2 Gire, Dann (September 26, 2013). "Reel Life: 'Inequality' doc tries to save the middle class". Daily Herald . Archived from the original on December 17, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  76. ↑ Dudek, Duane (October 24, 2013). "Robert Reich's 'Inequality for All' takes on income disparity". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Archived from the original on October 25, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  77. ↑ "10 Myths in the Movie 'Inequality for All'". Liberty International . July 10, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  78. ↑ Worstall, Tim (February 3, 2013). "Inequality For All: I Hope This Movie Is Better Than The Write Ups Of It". Forbes . Archived from the original on February 6, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  79. ↑ Smith, Kyle (March 10, 2020). "Inequality for All". New York Post . Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  80. ↑ Beato, Greg (January 20, 2014). "Kickstarting Utopia". Reason . Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  81. ↑ "Inequality for All". MovieGuide . Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  82. ↑ Mendelson, Scott (September 27, 2013). "Robert Reich's 'Inequality For All' And Documentaries That Preach To The Converted". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  83. ↑ "7th Annual Cinema Eye (2014)". Cinema Eye Honors . Archived from the original on September 6, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  84. ↑ Sharkey, Betsy (December 19, 2013). "Best of 2013: Betsy Sharkey picks 'Gravity,' 'American Hustle'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  85. ↑ Tapley, Kristopher (December 8, 2013). "2013 Houston Film Critics Society nominations". HitFix . Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  86. ↑ Kilday, Gregg (June 9, 2013). "'C.O.G.' Named Best New American Cinema at Seattle Film Festival". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  87. ↑ Miller, Brian (December 23, 2013). "Holiday Film Guide: Brian Miller's 10 Best Movies of 2013". Seattle Weekly . Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  88. ↑ "2013 Sundance Film Festival Announces Awards". Sundance Film Festival . January 26, 2013. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  89. ↑ "Traverse City Film Festival 2013 Awards!". Traverse City Film Festival . Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  90. ↑ "Inequality for All". Zurich Film Festival . Retrieved March 12, 2020.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.