AllMovie

The "star" in the title of Pietra Brettkelly's The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins refers to controversial conceptual artist Vanessa Beecroft, who gained much publicity from staging tableaux of nude female models in aesthetically rough locations; the "twins" of the title are two babies from Sudan, whom Beecroft desperately wants to adopt. Cameras rolling, Brettkelly follows Beecroft over a difficult 16-month period that witnesses her fighting to convince both the family of the two babies, the orphanage that holds the children, and the Sudanese government, to open the doors for her to legally adopt these children. If Beecroft succeeds, it will make her the first individual in history to legally take children out of this impoverished and beleaguered country. Throughout the film, Brettkelly witnesses Beecroft at her most candid moments; in addition to offering glimpses of the adoption struggle, the film incorporates revealing glimpses of Beecroft's creative processes, conversations with her parents, who expostulate at length on her difficult childhood, and revealing talks with the artist herself.