During a photo shoot of nude women in Sudan, conceptual artist Vanessa Beecroft became obsessed with adopting two orphaned babies despite the objection of her husband and Congolese authorities. The Art Star is Kiwi filmmaker Pietra Brettkelly's nonfiction account of Beecroft's trip back to Africa during a 16-month campaign to adopt the children. "Provocative result is not a straightforward artist's profile, political commentary or domestic drama, but a poetic fusion of the three" (Variety). Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary at Sundance.

Pietra Brettkelly---New Zealand---2007---98 mins.

• IndiePix
• Release date: 10/27/2009