Art Star and the Sudanese Twins, The

Aroview: With a genuinely compelling subject to draw confession from, this oddly-topical documentary – on the increasingly common adoption of African children by affluent Westerners – doubles as a portrait of an artist, centred on Vanessa Beecroft’s art practice vis-à-vis her obsession with a two Sudanese orphans.

Although able and informative as a behind-the-scenes look at the conceptual art world, New Zealander Brettkelly (filming in America and Sudan) finds her best material in the deluded, self-absorbed Beecroft, whose attempts to merge her art practice with third-world plight raises many complex, open-ended questions, as well as an providing unexpected glimpse into the mindset of those determined to adopt from abroad.

NZ International Film Festival 2008

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