New Zealand documentary filmmaker Pietra Brettkelly has produced a vivid portrait of a flaky, if not downright neurotic, Italian-British-American performance artist (Vanessa Beecroft) who expends an obsessive, inhuman amount of time and excruciating effort trying to adopt two Sudanese twin children uprooted by war and other atrocities in Darfur Region(south-west Sudan).

Brettkelly reveals New York-based Beecroft as yet another of those well-heeled white women (see Angelina Jolie, Madonna) who feel compelled to 'save' children when their own biological children back home are being raised in relative luxury by a succession of nannies and other caregivers. In this film, the viewer can either feel repulsed by Beecroft or harbour sympathy for her questionable motives. Even Beecroft's husband is at odds with her.

At two years old, Beecroft's mother, who is herself unstable, abandons her marriage and takes her child back to Italy to be raised. Decades later, Beecroft's British father admits to not understanding his daughter and her quest to bring Sudanese children to an unlikely place -- the art world of far-off New York City. He suggests that Beecroft is more interested in serving her own emotional 'needs' while ignoring the source of the problem -- there are hundreds of thousands of other parentless children in disastrous Darfur.

Beecroft doesn't seem to really understand the huge cultural differences that exist in Darfur, nor does she seem to understand the many years of savage war and loss of life (about 600,000) that have devastated that region. She instead insists on only seeing two 'adorable' children who need to be 'saved' by her.

This is a powerful film that lets emotions linger on its sleeve. As outstanding documentary filmmakers tend to do, Brettkelly lets you make up your own mind about Beecroft, based on the cinematic evidence she provides.

The documentary is a form of non-fiction storytelling that aims to present factual information, insights, and perspectives on real-world subjects, events, issues, or people. Documentaries can cover a wide range of topics, including history, science, culture, social issues, nature, biographies, and more.

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Vanessa Beecroft is obsessively determined to adopt Sudanese twin orphans. Her consuming passion drives her marriage to a breaking point and fuels her controversial art, raising troubling questions about exploitation, culture clash, and the imposition of the West on Africa.

The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins (2008)

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Pietra Brettkelly at an event for The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins (2008)

Pietra Brettkelly and Vanessa Beecroft at an event for The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins (2008)

The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins

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