Slamdance 2023 Documentaries - Silent Love and Starring Jerry As Himself

Welcome to day 8 of our Sundance/Slamdance Film Festival coverage! Along with our Park City Co-Host John Wildman of Films Gone Wild, we are sharing two award winning Slamdance documentaries that follow people with very complicated lives.

In Silent Love (winner of the Slamdance Grand Jury Honorable Mention for Documentary Feature Film), we follow Aga who, after the death of her mother, is raising her younger brother while keeping her relationship with a woman a secret in a small homophobic town in Poland. Director Marek Kozakiewicz discusses how he gained the trust of the women to tell their story, and how the film has helped to give them the confidence to be more open with their relationship.

In Starring Jerry as Himself (winner of the Slamdance Grand Jury Documentary Feature Film Award, Audience Award for Documentary Feature Film, and Acting Award), the genre lines become blurred between one part crime thriller, and one part documentary. Retiree and Chinese immigrant, Jerry Hsu, is joined by his family in retelling the story of how he was recruited by the Chinese police to be an undercover agent. We were joined by director Law Chen, Jerry, and his son/producer Jonathan Hsu, to discuss why they decided they needed to tell this story, how their family has grown closer throughout this process, and the complicated nature of filming real people playing themselves.