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SORTED
TYPE: Documentary
GENRE: Documentary
STATUS: Production
LOGLINE
A young Bangladeshi woman takes her uncertain future into her own hands to change the destiny of her family, her country, and the planet.
SYNOPSIS
Nousheen is a modern young woman living in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She spends too much time online, speaks four languages, and wants to change the world. But she is not sure if her world has a future. Everyday Nousheen sees evidence of our changing world. She is on the front lines of climate change.
SORTED is the story of a remarkable young woman looking for answers. This is not just another climate change documentary with isolated polar bears stranded on ice floes. This is a story of a real person, with hope for a real future, exploring the world she lives in and coming to realize there is no perfect solution. But there is always hope.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
The issue of climate change is a mess. Confusing information and scary images bombard us, and the truth seems buried in politics and sound bites. 'SORTED' is a bold, clarifying, and human story approach to the most urgent issue of our time. Most documentaries on climate change rely on fear to create drama. I believe that fear does not motivate people, but rather makes people passive or behave based on our worst instincts. It is time for a new kind of story about climate change. An human story that centers on solutions, connections and beauty. SIX years ago I was lucky enough to meet Nousheen Zoarder, a young women who lives in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Nousheen lives in the most vulnerable city in the world to climate change (Maplecroft Climate Vulnerability Index 2014). In her I found a person with passion, determination and intelligence. A person who will not sit back and let events seemingly out of her control direct her destiny. She embodies the future. A future we must protect. Together we know both sides of this issue - I am from the developed West, and she from a developing country. I think we have found a profound, moving, and ultimately entertaining story to tell, and we invite you to come with us on what we know will be an incredible journey.
KEY CREW
Kurt Norton - Co-Director/Co-Producer
After a successful career working as a licensed Private Investigator specializing on death penalty cases Kurt switched paths to focus on documentary filmmaking. He produced and shot the award winning ALSO RAN in 2006, a film exploring the sometimes eccentric and always interesting characters running in the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election. He co-directed and co-produced THESE AMAZING SHADOWS in 2011, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, picked up distribution through IFC, and had multiple broadcasts on the PBS series Independent Lens; produced BEING GEORGE CLOONEY, a lively look into the world of the audio dubbing of Hollywood movies for the international market (2016 – Netflix Worldwide); produced THE DEEP SKY (2017) a narrative feature, and co-directed FACES OF GENOCIDE, a documentary short subject (2018).
Christine O'Malley - Producer
Christine was Associate Producer for the Academy Award-nominated ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE in 2004, then moved on to produce and co-write WORDPLAY (Sundance 2006), which was nominated for a Critics' Choice Award and a National Board of Review award for Best Documentary of 2006. I.O.U.S.A., O'Malley & Creadon's second documentary, was called "the most unexpectedly frightening film at Sundance" by the New York Times. She produced THE BIG UNEASY (2010), JIM: THE JAMES FOLEY STORY (2016), CATHOLICS VS. CONVICTS (2016), HESBURGH (2018), and SKI BUM: THE WARREN MILLER STORY (2019).
Paul Mariano - Producer
A former criminal defense attorney, Paul made his directorial debut in 2006's Also Ran, a documentary about his own and others' bid for the governorship after Gray Davis's 2003 California recall, winning the award for Best Political Documentary at the Atlanta Docufest. His short film documentary Faces of Genocide opened the International Citizens' Tribunal on Sudan in 2006, and was also shown at the Sarajevo Biennial Meeting of the International Association of Genocide Scholars in 2007. He co-directed and co-produced These Amazing Shadows with Kurt Norton in 2011. He is currently in production on Being George Clooney a look into the world of the audio dubbing of Hollywood films for the international market.
Doug Blush - Supervising Editor
Doug is an award-winning editor whose credits include the 2012 Academy Award Best Documentary nominee THE INVISIBLE WAR and the 2013 Academy Award winner for Best Documentary 20 FEET FROM STARDOM. Other documentary work include WORDPLAY (2006), OUTRAGE (2009), THESE AMAZING SHADOWS (2011), THE HUNTING GROUND (2015 – Academy Award nominee), ICARUS (2018 – Academy Award winner).
Frazer Bradshaw - Director of Photography
Frazer has shot hundreds of films, commercials, documentaries, and music videos over the years, with his work screening at Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, and New York Film Festivals. He made his directorial debut in 2009 with EVERYTHING STRANGE AND NEW, which was hailed by critics and won awards at the San Francisco International Film Festival (FIPRESCI Prize) and the Munich Film Festival (CineVision Award). He shot part of (and appeared with his daughter Hattie in) Focus Feature's theatrical hit BABIES (2010), THESE AMAZING SHADOWS (2011), and shot John Corey's LOST IN THE FOG (2008), and Jamie Meltzer’s INFORMANT (2013), THE DEEP SKY (2017), and COLLISIONS (2018).
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Nousheen Zoarder - Co-Director/Co-Producer
NOUSHEEN gained a law degree from Dhaka University in 2018, was editor of the Law Review, speaks four languages (Bangla, English, French, Hindi), was the Bangladesh delegate to an international Youth environmental conference, was selected as a Queen’s Young Leader (a program sponsored by the Queen of England), and has extensive experience working with grassroots environmental groups.
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