We here at Collider are happy to debut a new clip from the documentary The Ambassador.  The darkly comic doc blurs the line between straight documentary and “mockumentary”, as director Mads Brügger has developed a new style of documentary filmmaking that he calls performative journalism.  The film exposes the corrupt business of selling diplomatic titles to exploit the lucrative and limited resources of war torn, third world nations, but it does so by creating a caricature of a corrupt diplomat and throwing him into real situations with hidden cameras.  This clip provides a glimpse at how Brügger pulls this off as we see a “diplomat” stumble through a speech at a public event in the Central African Republic.

Hit the jump to watch the clip.  The Ambassador is currently available VOD and is playing in select theaters.

[This is a re-post of my review from the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.  The Ambassador opens today in limited release and VOD.]

Documentaries are not objective. They are always presenting a truth in a certain light and in a way we’re being conned into viewing the world under the guise of objectivity. “It’s out of my control!” says the documentary filmmaker. “Even I don’t know what will happen next!” Mads Brügger‘s gonzo documentary The Ambassador is a film where everyone is conning everyone and the audience may be the biggest mark. Brügger puts himself into the position of a criminal in order to expose criminal activity, but we’re left to wonder how much he’s staged. For some documentaries, that may be unimportant and simply a narrative device to prove a larger point. But for The Ambassador, the film turns on whether or not we’re being played. If we aren’t, then the movie is a stunning expose on a vast web of corruption. But if we are being conned, then the film is a stunning piece of exploitation on a global scale done for the sake of Brügger’s ego rather than journalism. And if the truth lies somewhere in between, isn’t it based on a lie?

Been a busy past few days, has it not?  Jock released his eagerly-anticipated Dark Knight Rises AP’s, Gallery1988’s long-running Breaking Bad series came to an explosive finish (offering up a brand-new Ken Taylor screenprint and an amazing gallery show), and LtD Art Gallery announced a new video-game based art show debuting at the end of the month.  Oh, and Mondo just announced a kick-ass new poster for one of the year’s best documentaries, The Ambassador.

Wanna know more?  Sure ya do.  Meet me after the jump, my fellow Limited Paper enthusiasts.

One of the breakout films of this year’s Sundance Film Festival was the indie comedy Safety Not Guaranteed.   That film is currently playing in select theaters (watch the trailer here), and the filmmakers behind Safety are lining up a follow-up project that’s not entirely dissimilar genre-wise.  Deadline reports that Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly are set to write an original script that Trevorrow will direct called The Ambassador.  Here’s the logline:

“The film is set in the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs, which not only monitors the universe for signs of life, but is prepared to represent humanity if and when aliens arrive on earth. A shy, low-ranking staffer unwittingly makes first contact when he meets a mysterious beautiful woman and must risk more than his job when they are threatened by forces of this world and beyond.”

Hit the jump for more on this sci-fi follow-up.

Like I did last year, I had a great time at the Sundance Film Festival.  It’s tough to complain about weather conditions or getting around when you have the privilege to watch and discover new movies all day.  Even better, plenty of Sundance 2012 films turned out to be pretty damn good.  For me, there weren’t any quite as excellent as Martha Marcy May Marlene or Project Nim from last year, but those movies set an incredibly high bar.  Many of my peers felt they saw something truly special with Beasts of the Southern Wild and I can understand the love even if it didn’t hit me with as much emotional impact.  Most of my peers also loved Liberal Arts and Sleepwalk With Me, and I’m sorry I missed those.  But all in all, the festival ran as smoothly as last year, the volunteers (especially those in the press tent) were awesome, and it’s always a joy to hang out with people from other movie websites.

Hit the jump for my festival scorecard where you can see an organized list of my ratings for the movies I saw (although I highly encourage you to read the full review rather than just glance at a letter).  While this is my wrap-up, Steve will be posting his Sundance interviews throughout the week so keep an eye out for those.

Documentaries are not objective.  They are always presenting a truth in a certain light and in a way we’re being conned into viewing the world under the guise of objectivity.  “It’s out of my control!” says the documentary filmmaker. “Even I don’t know what will happen next!”  Mads Brügger’s gonzo documentary The Ambassador is a film where everyone is conning everyone and the audience may be the biggest mark.  Brügger puts himself into the position of a criminal in order to expose criminal activity, but we’re left to wonder how much he’s staged.  For some documentaries, that may be unimportant and simply a narrative device to prove a larger point.  But for The Ambassador, the film turns on whether or not we’re being played.  If we aren’t, then the movie is a stunning expose on a vast web of corruption.  But if we are being conned, then the film is a stunning piece of exploitation on a global scale done for the sake of Brügger’s ego rather than journalism.  And if the truth lies somewhere in between, isn’t it based on a lie?

I had a blast at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and I can’t wait to go again next year.  Today, Sundance announced their In-Competition line-ups for 2012 and already I’m trying to plan out how I’m going to see all of them (which is impossible, but it’s nice to dream).  The U.S. Dramatic Competition features For Ellen, Nobody Walks, Safety Not Guaranteed, Smashed, and more.  There are also some interesting-sounding films in the U.S. Documentary Competition including Finding North, The Invisible War, and The Other Dream Team.

Hit the jump to check out the full press release, which includes the in-competition line-ups for U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, and World Cinema Documentary Competition.  The 2012 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 19 – 29th.