Babes by Pamela Adlon, co-written and starring Ilana Glazer, debuts in limited release with films by Hang Song-soo and Bertrand Bonello and docs on a controversial Venice Biennale, ground-breaking female clerics, and the Blue Angels Navy Squadron. A trio of festival favorites expand. While eyes now are on fare at Cannes — where Neon has been making high-profile moves — each week Stateside remains a test of indie film’s theatrical boundaries in a post-Covid, streaming-centric marketplace.
There have been notable hits. A24’s I Saw The TV Glow by Jane Schoenbrun is having a nice run so far as is Evil Does Not Exist — Sideshow/Janus Films’ second outing with Ryusuke Hamaguchi after Oscar-winning Drive My Car. (That 2021 Japanese film about a...
There have been notable hits. A24’s I Saw The TV Glow by Jane Schoenbrun is having a nice run so far as is Evil Does Not Exist — Sideshow/Janus Films’ second outing with Ryusuke Hamaguchi after Oscar-winning Drive My Car. (That 2021 Japanese film about a...
- 5/17/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Labs take place over two sessions at Sundance Resort, Utah, in July.
Sundance Institute has announced the eight projects selected for its annual Documentary Edit and Story Labs.
The Documentary Edit and Story Lab is centred on nurturing non-fiction storytellers during the later stages of post-production.
The selected projects are:
Always In Season (Us) Jacqueline Olive (director)
Charm City (Us) Marilyn Ness (director), Don Bernier (editor)
Facing The Dragon (Afghanistan/Us) Sedika Mojadidi (director), Sinead Kinnane (editor)
Freedom Fields (UK/Libya) Naziha Arebi (director), Alice Powell (editor)
Impeachment (Brazil) Petra Costa (director), Jordana Berg (editor)
The Infiltrators (Us) Cristina Ibarra (co-director/co-editor), Alex Rivera (co-director/co-editor)
People’s Republic Of Desire (China/Us)Hao Wu (director), Nanfu Wang (editor)
Warrior Women (Us) Christina D. King (co-director), Elizabeth Castle (co-director), Kristen Nutile (editor)
Overseen by documentary film programme director Tabitha Jackson and Labs director Kristin Feeley, each lab connects independent director and editor teams with seasoned documentary filmmakers...
Sundance Institute has announced the eight projects selected for its annual Documentary Edit and Story Labs.
The Documentary Edit and Story Lab is centred on nurturing non-fiction storytellers during the later stages of post-production.
The selected projects are:
Always In Season (Us) Jacqueline Olive (director)
Charm City (Us) Marilyn Ness (director), Don Bernier (editor)
Facing The Dragon (Afghanistan/Us) Sedika Mojadidi (director), Sinead Kinnane (editor)
Freedom Fields (UK/Libya) Naziha Arebi (director), Alice Powell (editor)
Impeachment (Brazil) Petra Costa (director), Jordana Berg (editor)
The Infiltrators (Us) Cristina Ibarra (co-director/co-editor), Alex Rivera (co-director/co-editor)
People’s Republic Of Desire (China/Us)Hao Wu (director), Nanfu Wang (editor)
Warrior Women (Us) Christina D. King (co-director), Elizabeth Castle (co-director), Kristen Nutile (editor)
Overseen by documentary film programme director Tabitha Jackson and Labs director Kristin Feeley, each lab connects independent director and editor teams with seasoned documentary filmmakers...
- 6/8/2017
- ScreenDaily
The Sundance Institute has announced the eight projects selected for its annual Documentary Edit and Story Lab, which will take place in two sessions at the Sundance Resort in Utah, including June 23 – July 1 and July 7 – 15. The Documentary Edit and Story Lab was designed to “create an incubation space for nonfiction storytellers to creatively interrogate their projects during the later stages of post-production. Among the breathtaking scenery of the Sundance Mountain Resort, filmmakers take advantage of the Lab’s creative environment to intensively explore story, dramatic structure and character development, centering their work around their own original motivation and intention.”
The Lab will be overseen by Documentary Film Program Director Tabitha Jackson and Labs Director Kristin Feeley, and will combine independent director and editor teams with world-renowned documentary filmmakers who serve as mentors and advisors. For the second year, the Lab will also host writers-in-residence Eric Hynes and Logan Hill, as...
The Lab will be overseen by Documentary Film Program Director Tabitha Jackson and Labs Director Kristin Feeley, and will combine independent director and editor teams with world-renowned documentary filmmakers who serve as mentors and advisors. For the second year, the Lab will also host writers-in-residence Eric Hynes and Logan Hill, as...
- 6/8/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
If Princess Kate wants to take Prince George and Princess Charlotte shopping, she’s in luck: Her favorite children’s store, Trotters, just opened up a new flagship location just a few blocks away from their London home, Kensington Palace.
The new flagship location is part store, part playground. It’s outfitted with a “ship” for the young customers so they will have something to play on as they get their shoes fitted. The ship, dubbed the “Jolly Trotter”, is a nod to another one of Kensington’s famous residents, Peter Pan. It sits at the center of the new...
The new flagship location is part store, part playground. It’s outfitted with a “ship” for the young customers so they will have something to play on as they get their shoes fitted. The ship, dubbed the “Jolly Trotter”, is a nod to another one of Kensington’s famous residents, Peter Pan. It sits at the center of the new...
- 3/6/2017
- by Simon Perry
- PEOPLE.com
Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.
Honors and Tributes
– The 28th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) will present the film “La La Land” with the Vanguard Award at its annual Film Awards Gala. The award is presented to the film’s cast and director recognizing its outstanding creative ensemble. Cast members Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone and director/writer Damien Chazelle are expected to attend.
The Film Awards Gala, hosted by Mart Hart, will be held Monday, January 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 2 – 16.
– The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has today that Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling will be presented with the 2017 Outstanding Performers of the Year award on Friday, February 3, 2017 for their remarkable performances in Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land.” This marks the first...
Honors and Tributes
– The 28th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) will present the film “La La Land” with the Vanguard Award at its annual Film Awards Gala. The award is presented to the film’s cast and director recognizing its outstanding creative ensemble. Cast members Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone and director/writer Damien Chazelle are expected to attend.
The Film Awards Gala, hosted by Mart Hart, will be held Monday, January 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs January 2 – 16.
– The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has today that Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling will be presented with the 2017 Outstanding Performers of the Year award on Friday, February 3, 2017 for their remarkable performances in Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land.” This marks the first...
- 11/24/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The 5th Annual Key West Film Festival has announced its official 2016 lineup, including the opening night film, “20th Century Women,” directed by Mike Mills and starring Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig and Billy Crudup. As part of the festival’s signature Critics Focus program, MTV’s Chief Film Critic Amy Nicholson will present and lead a conversation around the film, alongside David Fear, Senior Film/TV Editor of Rolling Stone.
Director of Programming Michael Tuckman said of Nicholson’s pick, “I could not be more thrilled with Amy Nicholson’s choice of ’20th Century Women’ to kick off our 5th Anniversary edition of festival. Annette Bening’s performance is Oscar-deserving and the rich depth of the balance of the leading cast is Altman-esque in its quality. Amy’s discussion after the film will bring a cunning critic’s eye to this fabulous film for audiences.”
Read More: ’20th Century...
Director of Programming Michael Tuckman said of Nicholson’s pick, “I could not be more thrilled with Amy Nicholson’s choice of ’20th Century Women’ to kick off our 5th Anniversary edition of festival. Annette Bening’s performance is Oscar-deserving and the rich depth of the balance of the leading cast is Altman-esque in its quality. Amy’s discussion after the film will bring a cunning critic’s eye to this fabulous film for audiences.”
Read More: ’20th Century...
- 10/19/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Cinema Eye has named 10 filmmakers and 20 films that have been voted as the top achievements in documentary filmmaking during the past 10 years. Founded in 2007 to “recognize and honor exemplary craft and innovation in nonfiction film,” Cinema Eye polled 110 members of the documentary community to determine the winning films and filmmakers just as the organization kicks off its tenth year.
Read More: Behind the Scenes of Cinema Eye’s Secret Field Trip for Nominees
Among the films chosen are Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The Act of Killing,” Laura Poitras’ Oscar-winning “Citizenfour” and Banksy’s “Exit Through the Gift Shop.” Poitras and Oppenheimer were both also named to the list of the top documentary filmmakers, joining Alex Gibney, Werner Herzog and Frederick Wiseman, who recently won an honorary Oscar and will be saluted at the annual Governors Awards on November 12.
“It’s fantastic that he is being recognized by the Academy for a...
Read More: Behind the Scenes of Cinema Eye’s Secret Field Trip for Nominees
Among the films chosen are Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The Act of Killing,” Laura Poitras’ Oscar-winning “Citizenfour” and Banksy’s “Exit Through the Gift Shop.” Poitras and Oppenheimer were both also named to the list of the top documentary filmmakers, joining Alex Gibney, Werner Herzog and Frederick Wiseman, who recently won an honorary Oscar and will be saluted at the annual Governors Awards on November 12.
“It’s fantastic that he is being recognized by the Academy for a...
- 9/21/2016
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Werner Herzog, Alex Gibney, Laura Poitras and Steve James are among the most important documentary filmmakers of the last decade, according to a list announced on Wednesday by Cinema Eye, a New York-based organization devoted to recognizing the best in non-fiction filmmaking. The 10 Filmmakers/20 Films project was launched by Cinema Eye to celebrate the organization’s first decade of existence. The other filmmakers who made the list of the top documentary filmmakers of the last 10 years are Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, Patricio Guzman, Kim Longinotto, Joshua Oppenheimer, Bill Ross and Turner Ross and Frederick Wiseman. The list was created.
- 9/21/2016
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Character actor Barry Jenner, best known for his pivotal role as Admiral William Ross on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and with credits including recurring roles on Dallas, Knott’s Landing, Family Matters and many others, died on August 9, his family has announced. He was 75. As news of his passing spread, Jenner’s Deep Space Nine colleague Armin Shimerman, who played the Ferengi bar owner Quark for the show’s entire run, expressed his shock and sadness on Twitter. My…...
- 8/10/2016
- Deadline TV
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Oscilloscope Laboratories has announced that it has acquired North American rights to Bill Ross and Turner Ross’s latest documentary featuring and produced by David Byrne, “Contemporary Color.” The film premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won awards for Best Documentary Cinematography and Best Documentary Editing.
The film’s camera operators included many well-known documentary directors and cinematographers, including Jarred Alterman, Sean Price Williams, Robert Greene, Amanda Rose Wilder, Jessica Oreck, Wyatt Garfield and Michael Palmieri. Oscilloscope will release the film in theaters in 2017 followed by a release across all ancillary platforms.
– Abramorama has acquired U.S. theatrical rights to Kim A. Snyder’s powerful documentary “Newtown,” which was produced by Itvs, while The Orchard will handle TV,...
– Oscilloscope Laboratories has announced that it has acquired North American rights to Bill Ross and Turner Ross’s latest documentary featuring and produced by David Byrne, “Contemporary Color.” The film premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won awards for Best Documentary Cinematography and Best Documentary Editing.
The film’s camera operators included many well-known documentary directors and cinematographers, including Jarred Alterman, Sean Price Williams, Robert Greene, Amanda Rose Wilder, Jessica Oreck, Wyatt Garfield and Michael Palmieri. Oscilloscope will release the film in theaters in 2017 followed by a release across all ancillary platforms.
– Abramorama has acquired U.S. theatrical rights to Kim A. Snyder’s powerful documentary “Newtown,” which was produced by Itvs, while The Orchard will handle TV,...
- 7/1/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Oscilloscope Laboratories has announced the purchase of the North American rights to Contemporay Color, the documentary about David Byrne's latest performance project. The film debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year.
Byrne's interest in color guard – an organized sport that involves groups of high school students executing coordinated movements while holding flags, rifles, and sabers – led to a 2015 show dubbed "Contemporary Color." Byrne recruited a number of musicians, including Dev Hynes, Nelly Furtado, and St. Vincent, to write original music for the project. Various color guard groups...
Byrne's interest in color guard – an organized sport that involves groups of high school students executing coordinated movements while holding flags, rifles, and sabers – led to a 2015 show dubbed "Contemporary Color." Byrne recruited a number of musicians, including Dev Hynes, Nelly Furtado, and St. Vincent, to write original music for the project. Various color guard groups...
- 6/30/2016
- Rollingstone.com
The New York-based distributor has bought North American rights to the ‘colour guard’ performance documentary produced by musician David Byrne.
New York-based distributor Oscilloscope Laboratories has bought North American rights to performance documentary Contemporary Color, produced by musician David Byrne.
The film premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Best Documentary Cinematography and Best Documentary Editing awards. Oscilloscope plans a Us theatrical release next year, with releases on all ancillary platforms to follow.
Directed by Bill Ross and Turner Ross, the film documents a 2015 event in Brooklyn in which performers including St Vincent, Nelly Furtado and Devonté Hynes collaborated with teams from across North America on ‘colour guard’ performances - synchronized dance routines involving flags, rifles and sabres.
The film was produced by the Department of Motion Pictures’ Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald with Byrne. Creative Artists Agency arranged financing and brokered the distribution deal.
New York-based distributor Oscilloscope Laboratories has bought North American rights to performance documentary Contemporary Color, produced by musician David Byrne.
The film premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, where it won the Best Documentary Cinematography and Best Documentary Editing awards. Oscilloscope plans a Us theatrical release next year, with releases on all ancillary platforms to follow.
Directed by Bill Ross and Turner Ross, the film documents a 2015 event in Brooklyn in which performers including St Vincent, Nelly Furtado and Devonté Hynes collaborated with teams from across North America on ‘colour guard’ performances - synchronized dance routines involving flags, rifles and sabres.
The film was produced by the Department of Motion Pictures’ Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald with Byrne. Creative Artists Agency arranged financing and brokered the distribution deal.
- 6/30/2016
- ScreenDaily
Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired North American rights to Bill Ross and Turner Ross's Contemporary Color, the documentary featuring and produced by Talking Heads frontman David Byrne that bowed this spring at the Tribeca Film Festival. A 2017 theatrical release is planned. The pic follows the summer 2015 live performance in Brooklyn organized by Byrne and staged at Barclays Center to celebrate the creativity of Color Guard: a series of synchronized dance routines…...
- 6/30/2016
- Deadline
Tribeca Film Festival wrapped this weekend and I want to hear a huge round of applause for Manuel Betancourt and Jason Adams who filed so many reports. The festival's main narrative competiton was juried by Anne Carey, Chris Nashawaty, and the actors James Le Gros, Mya Taylor and Jennifer Westfeldt. Additional juries handled documentaries, new directors, and international narrative features.
this Persona-riff won Best Actress for Mackenzie DavisFestival Winners Reviewed
Dean (Manuel) -Best Narrative Feature
The Fixer (Nathaniel) -Best Actor Dominic Rains
Always Shine (Jason) -Best Actress Mackenzie Davis
Women Who Kill (Jason) -Best Screenplay Ingrid Jungermann
Contemporary Color (Jason) - Documentary Cinematography Jarred Alterman and Documentary Editing Bill Ross
Madly (Manuel) - Actress in an International Feature Radhika Apte in "Clean Shaven," a segment in Madly
Other Films Reviewed
All We Had (Manuel)
Califórnia (Manuel)
Charro de Toluquilla (Manuel)
Detour (Jason)
Elvis & Nixon (Jason) *now in theaters*
Equals (Jason)
Everybody Knows.
this Persona-riff won Best Actress for Mackenzie DavisFestival Winners Reviewed
Dean (Manuel) -Best Narrative Feature
The Fixer (Nathaniel) -Best Actor Dominic Rains
Always Shine (Jason) -Best Actress Mackenzie Davis
Women Who Kill (Jason) -Best Screenplay Ingrid Jungermann
Contemporary Color (Jason) - Documentary Cinematography Jarred Alterman and Documentary Editing Bill Ross
Madly (Manuel) - Actress in an International Feature Radhika Apte in "Clean Shaven," a segment in Madly
Other Films Reviewed
All We Had (Manuel)
Califórnia (Manuel)
Charro de Toluquilla (Manuel)
Detour (Jason)
Elvis & Nixon (Jason) *now in theaters*
Equals (Jason)
Everybody Knows.
- 4/28/2016
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
David Byrne is all smiles as Bill Ross lV and Turner Ross' Contemporary Color captures two awards Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Contemporary Color, under Dp Jarred Alterman and with the Beastie Boys' Adam Horovitz, Devonté Hynes, Nelly Furtado, Nico Muhly, Ira Glass, St. Vincent, Money Mark, Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, providing some of the music to David Byrne's color guard extravaganza, has scored twice at this year's Tribeca Film Festival awards.
Us Narrative Competition winners
Dean, directed by Demteri Martin; Actor Dominic Rains in Ian Olds' The Fixer; Actress Mackenzie Davis in Sophia Takal's Always Shine; Cinematography - Michael Ragen for Justin Tipping's Kicks; Screenplay - Ingrid Jungermann for her Women Who Kill. The Nora Ephron Prize - Rachel Tunnard for Adult Life Skills; Albert Maysles Award - David Feige for Untouchable. Best New Narrative Director - Priscilla Anany for Children Of The Mountain.
Contemporary Color, under Dp Jarred Alterman and with the Beastie Boys' Adam Horovitz, Devonté Hynes, Nelly Furtado, Nico Muhly, Ira Glass, St. Vincent, Money Mark, Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe, providing some of the music to David Byrne's color guard extravaganza, has scored twice at this year's Tribeca Film Festival awards.
Us Narrative Competition winners
Dean, directed by Demteri Martin; Actor Dominic Rains in Ian Olds' The Fixer; Actress Mackenzie Davis in Sophia Takal's Always Shine; Cinematography - Michael Ragen for Justin Tipping's Kicks; Screenplay - Ingrid Jungermann for her Women Who Kill. The Nora Ephron Prize - Rachel Tunnard for Adult Life Skills; Albert Maysles Award - David Feige for Untouchable. Best New Narrative Director - Priscilla Anany for Children Of The Mountain.
- 4/23/2016
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The 15th annual Tribeca Film Festival juried awards ceremony on Thursday evening rewarded a wide roster of selections as organisers honoured separate Us and international narrative competition categories for the first time.
In the Us Narrative Feature Competition, the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature went to Dean (pictured) by Demteri Martin, who receives $20,000, sponsored by At&T, and the art award Waking Up In The Painted World by Stephen Hannock.
Best actress in a Us Narrative Feature Film went to Mackenzie Davis in Always Shine, while Dominic Rains of The Fixer earned the best actor award.
The best cinematography prize went to Michael Ragen for Kicks along with $50,000 in post-production services donated by Company 3. Screenplay honours and $2,500 sponsored by Freixenet Cava were awarded to Ingrid Jungermann for Women Who Kill.
In the International Narrative Feature Competition categories, Udi Aloni’s Junction 48 earned the best international narrative feature prize along with $20,000 sponsored by Netflix, and the...
In the Us Narrative Feature Competition, the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature went to Dean (pictured) by Demteri Martin, who receives $20,000, sponsored by At&T, and the art award Waking Up In The Painted World by Stephen Hannock.
Best actress in a Us Narrative Feature Film went to Mackenzie Davis in Always Shine, while Dominic Rains of The Fixer earned the best actor award.
The best cinematography prize went to Michael Ragen for Kicks along with $50,000 in post-production services donated by Company 3. Screenplay honours and $2,500 sponsored by Freixenet Cava were awarded to Ingrid Jungermann for Women Who Kill.
In the International Narrative Feature Competition categories, Udi Aloni’s Junction 48 earned the best international narrative feature prize along with $20,000 sponsored by Netflix, and the...
- 4/21/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Top brass at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival presented by At&T have announced selections in the Us Narrative, International Narrative and Documentary Competition strands.
The films comprise 55 out of 110 features that will play during the 15th edition of the New York festival from April 13-24. The festival will present features films in the Spotlight, Midnight, and Special Sections on March 8.
Also included in Wednesday’s announcement are the out-of-competition Viewpoints titles.
The world premiere of Bill Ross and Turner Ross’ Contemporary Color will open the World Documentary competition on April 14, while the world premiere of Kicks by Justin Tipping will open the Us Narrative competition.
The world premiere of Madly directed by Gael García Bernal, Mia Wasikowska, Sebastian Silva, Anurag Kashyap, Sion Sono, and Natasha Khan will open the International Narrative Competition. Viewpoints will open with the world premiere of Nerdland directed by Chris Prynoski.
One third of the festival’s feature films are directed by women...
The films comprise 55 out of 110 features that will play during the 15th edition of the New York festival from April 13-24. The festival will present features films in the Spotlight, Midnight, and Special Sections on March 8.
Also included in Wednesday’s announcement are the out-of-competition Viewpoints titles.
The world premiere of Bill Ross and Turner Ross’ Contemporary Color will open the World Documentary competition on April 14, while the world premiere of Kicks by Justin Tipping will open the Us Narrative competition.
The world premiere of Madly directed by Gael García Bernal, Mia Wasikowska, Sebastian Silva, Anurag Kashyap, Sion Sono, and Natasha Khan will open the International Narrative Competition. Viewpoints will open with the world premiere of Nerdland directed by Chris Prynoski.
One third of the festival’s feature films are directed by women...
- 3/2/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
With Sundance in the can, Berlin in the rearview, SXSW on the horizon, and Cannes looming off in the distance, tis the season for film festivals. And so, fittingly, today the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival announced its opening line-up, unveiling the slates for the U.S. Narrative, International Narrative, Viewpoints, and World Documentary Competition sections. 55 of the 101 feature-length titles were announced as part of the festival’s 15th edition, which runs from April 13 – 24. Read More: The 20 Best Film Festival Debuts Of 2015 So Far Instead of one opening night film, Tribeca has chosen to go with four openers in three announced sections. U.S. Narrative is lead by “Kicks,” the directorial debut of Justin Tipping; the World Doc section features the world premiere of “Contemporary Color,” directed by Bill Ross and Turner Ross and featuring musician/artist David Byrne; and the International Narrative competition will feature the world premiere of “Madly,” an.
- 3/2/2016
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
Netflix’s decision to make its library available worldwide means gems like this Us/Mexico border doc are now finally accessible in Britain
Earlier this month, Netflix announced it would be making its service available “worldwide” by expanding to 130 new territories. A week later, a further announcement revealed that the company would be cracking down on the use of proxy servers, which allow international subscribers to access the flagship Us Netflix service, a catalogue nearly twice the size of the UK’s offering and eight times that of South Korea’s. Experts, however, say that restricting proxy servers is next to impossible, and even Netflix admits that the best way to curb their use is to ensure that each of its regional catalogues is essentially the same, giving the people of Busan access to just as many lacklustre Nic Cage vehicles as their Ohioan counterparts.
With that in mind, the...
Earlier this month, Netflix announced it would be making its service available “worldwide” by expanding to 130 new territories. A week later, a further announcement revealed that the company would be cracking down on the use of proxy servers, which allow international subscribers to access the flagship Us Netflix service, a catalogue nearly twice the size of the UK’s offering and eight times that of South Korea’s. Experts, however, say that restricting proxy servers is next to impossible, and even Netflix admits that the best way to curb their use is to ensure that each of its regional catalogues is essentially the same, giving the people of Busan access to just as many lacklustre Nic Cage vehicles as their Ohioan counterparts.
With that in mind, the...
- 1/30/2016
- by Charlie Lyne
- The Guardian - Film News
If you see a movie for the first time and swear you've heard the score before, it may not be your imagination...
Last month, the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (Afm) sued six major studios for reusing film soundtracks in other films without paying the appropriate compensation. It's the kind of news that will make people roll their eyes. Ah yes, they'll say after seeing the headlines. Typical Hollywood. Not even the music's original any more.
But go beyond the headlines about reusing the same music too much and delve into the lawsuit and it reveals an interesting insight into the kind of situations where music does get repeated.
The lawsuit, it soon becomes evident, isn't about the use of music in itself (a quick browse through the soundtracks for the titles in question, such as This Means War or Argo, reveals that they have...
Last month, the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada (Afm) sued six major studios for reusing film soundtracks in other films without paying the appropriate compensation. It's the kind of news that will make people roll their eyes. Ah yes, they'll say after seeing the headlines. Typical Hollywood. Not even the music's original any more.
But go beyond the headlines about reusing the same music too much and delve into the lawsuit and it reveals an interesting insight into the kind of situations where music does get repeated.
The lawsuit, it soon becomes evident, isn't about the use of music in itself (a quick browse through the soundtracks for the titles in question, such as This Means War or Argo, reveals that they have...
- 6/9/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Can you believe it? Mel Gibson's Braveheart premiered 20 years ago today in the Us, fast becoming a box office hit, a multi-Oscar winner and genuine pop culture phenomenon.
To celebrate the '90s classic's big birthday, we dive into Braveheart trivia to find out who nearly took on the role of William Wallace, the role originally earmarked for Sean Connery and which celebs count the Gibson flick among their all-time favourites.
1. Randall Wallace came up with the idea for the film while on holiday in Scotland in 1983. Visiting Edinburgh Castle, he asked a tour guide to tell him the story behind the statues of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. The guide did just that, and the rest is movie history!
2. Terry Gilliam turned down the chance to direct Braveheart after being offered the role while he was working with Gibson on an abandoned film version of A Tale of Two Cities.
To celebrate the '90s classic's big birthday, we dive into Braveheart trivia to find out who nearly took on the role of William Wallace, the role originally earmarked for Sean Connery and which celebs count the Gibson flick among their all-time favourites.
1. Randall Wallace came up with the idea for the film while on holiday in Scotland in 1983. Visiting Edinburgh Castle, he asked a tour guide to tell him the story behind the statues of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. The guide did just that, and the rest is movie history!
2. Terry Gilliam turned down the chance to direct Braveheart after being offered the role while he was working with Gibson on an abandoned film version of A Tale of Two Cities.
- 5/24/2015
- Digital Spy
The winners of this year’s jury and special awards were revealed tonight [March 17] at the ceremony hosted by Vanessa Bayer.
SXSW has announced the winners of this year’s Jury and Special Awards.
Trey Edward Shults’ Krisha, expanded from his award-winning short of the same name, was named the Grand Jury winner of the Narrative Feature Competition, with Special Jury Recognition for Visual Excellence going to Creative Control director Benjamin Dickinson.
Grand Jury winner of the Documentary Feature Competition went to Scott Christopherson & Brad Barber’s Peace Officer, with Special Jury Recognition for Directing going to A Woman Like Me directors Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti.
Twinsters directors Samantha Futerman and Ryan Miyamoto were awarded Special Jury Recognition for Editing.
Kyle Buchanan, Wesley Morris and Krista Smith made up the Narrative Feature Competition jury, while the Documentary Feature Competition jury consisted of Tabitha Jackson, Jason Spingarn-Koff and Alison Willmore.
Short Film Jury Awards went to the likes...
SXSW has announced the winners of this year’s Jury and Special Awards.
Trey Edward Shults’ Krisha, expanded from his award-winning short of the same name, was named the Grand Jury winner of the Narrative Feature Competition, with Special Jury Recognition for Visual Excellence going to Creative Control director Benjamin Dickinson.
Grand Jury winner of the Documentary Feature Competition went to Scott Christopherson & Brad Barber’s Peace Officer, with Special Jury Recognition for Directing going to A Woman Like Me directors Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti.
Twinsters directors Samantha Futerman and Ryan Miyamoto were awarded Special Jury Recognition for Editing.
Kyle Buchanan, Wesley Morris and Krista Smith made up the Narrative Feature Competition jury, while the Documentary Feature Competition jury consisted of Tabitha Jackson, Jason Spingarn-Koff and Alison Willmore.
Short Film Jury Awards went to the likes...
- 3/18/2015
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
Though SXSW will carry on screening films through Saturday, the awards were presented tonight. Trey Edward Shults's Krisha wins the Narrative Feature Grand Jury Award, while Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber's Peace Officer takes the Documentary Feature Grand Jury Award. Among the other winners: Benjamin Dickinson's Creative Control, editor Jeff Consiglio for Samantha Futerman and Ryan Miyamoto's Twinsters, Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti for A Woman Like Me, Yvonne Kerékgyártó's Free Entry and Bill Ross and Turner Ross for Western. » - David Hudson...
- 3/18/2015
- Keyframe
Though SXSW will carry on screening films through Saturday, the awards were presented tonight. Trey Edward Shults's Krisha wins the Narrative Feature Grand Jury Award, while Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber's Peace Officer takes the Documentary Feature Grand Jury Award. Among the other winners: Benjamin Dickinson's Creative Control, editor Jeff Consiglio for Samantha Futerman and Ryan Miyamoto's Twinsters, Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti for A Woman Like Me, Yvonne Kerékgyártó's Free Entry and Bill Ross and Turner Ross for Western. » - David Hudson...
- 3/18/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
Though SXSW will carry on screening films through Saturday, the awards were presented tonight. Trey Edward Shults's Krisha wins the Narrative Feature Grand Jury Award, while Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber's Peace Officer takes the Documentary Feature Grand Jury Award. Among the other winners: Benjamin Dickinson's Creative Control, editor Jeff Consiglio for Samantha Futerman and Ryan Miyamoto's Twinsters, Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti for A Woman Like Me, Yvonne Kerékgyártó's Free Entry and Bill Ross and Turner Ross for Western. » - David Hudson...
- 3/18/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
Though SXSW will carry on screening films through Saturday, the awards were presented tonight. Trey Edward Shults's Krisha wins the Narrative Feature Grand Jury Award, while Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber's Peace Officer takes the Documentary Feature Grand Jury Award. Among the other winners: Benjamin Dickinson's Creative Control, editor Jeff Consiglio for Samantha Futerman and Ryan Miyamoto's Twinsters, Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti for A Woman Like Me, Yvonne Kerékgyártó's Free Entry and Bill Ross and Turner Ross for Western. » - David Hudson...
- 3/18/2015
- Keyframe
Alexander Skarsgård and Kristen Wiig in Marielle Heller's The Diary Of A Teenage Girl
Stevan Riley's Listen To Me Marlon, Simone Rapisarda Casanova's The Creation Of Meaning (La Creazione Di Significato), Lukas Valenta Rinner's Parabellum, and Goodnight Mommy directed by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz are films to look out for.
Bas Devos (Violet); Stéphane Lafleur (Tu Dors Nicole); Shim Sung-bo (Haemoo); Kornél Mundruczó (White God); Britni West (Tired Moonlight); Darhad Erdenibulag (K); Naji Abu Nowar (Theeb); Bill Ross and Turner Ross (Western); Yohei Suzuki (Ow); Nadav Lapid (The Kindergarten Teacher); Benjamin Crotty (Fort Buchanan); Laura Citarella and Verónica Llinás (Dog Lady); Salomé Alexi (Line Of Credit); Chaitanya Tamhane (Court); Sarah Leonor (The Great Man); Charles Poekel (Christmas, Again); Oscar Ruiz Navia (Los Hongos) are filmmakers scheduled to participate in post-screening Q&As.
The Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center's 44th...
Stevan Riley's Listen To Me Marlon, Simone Rapisarda Casanova's The Creation Of Meaning (La Creazione Di Significato), Lukas Valenta Rinner's Parabellum, and Goodnight Mommy directed by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz are films to look out for.
Bas Devos (Violet); Stéphane Lafleur (Tu Dors Nicole); Shim Sung-bo (Haemoo); Kornél Mundruczó (White God); Britni West (Tired Moonlight); Darhad Erdenibulag (K); Naji Abu Nowar (Theeb); Bill Ross and Turner Ross (Western); Yohei Suzuki (Ow); Nadav Lapid (The Kindergarten Teacher); Benjamin Crotty (Fort Buchanan); Laura Citarella and Verónica Llinás (Dog Lady); Salomé Alexi (Line Of Credit); Chaitanya Tamhane (Court); Sarah Leonor (The Great Man); Charles Poekel (Christmas, Again); Oscar Ruiz Navia (Los Hongos) are filmmakers scheduled to participate in post-screening Q&As.
The Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center's 44th...
- 3/15/2015
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Our overview of the previews of this year's SXSW includes links to the Austin Chronicle's profile of Jason Schwartzman, who stars in Bob Byington's 7 Chinese Brothers and Patrick Brice's The Overnight; Raoul Hernandez on Joe Nick Patoski's documentary Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove; Indiewire's interviews with Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti (A Woman Like Me) and Alison Bagnall (Funny Bunny); the Hollywood Reporter's chat with Amy Schumer about Trainwreck and her director and producer, Judd Apatow; the Guardian's talk with Julien Temple about The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson; and Sam Fragoso's conversation with Bill Ross and Turner Ross about Western. » - David Hudson...
- 3/13/2015
- Keyframe
Our overview of the previews of this year's SXSW includes links to the Austin Chronicle's profile of Jason Schwartzman, who stars in Bob Byington's 7 Chinese Brothers and Patrick Brice's The Overnight; Raoul Hernandez on Joe Nick Patoski's documentary Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove; Indiewire's interviews with Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti (A Woman Like Me) and Alison Bagnall (Funny Bunny); the Hollywood Reporter's chat with Amy Schumer about Trainwreck and her director and producer, Judd Apatow; the Guardian's talk with Julien Temple about The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson; and Sam Fragoso's conversation with Bill Ross and Turner Ross about Western. » - David Hudson...
- 3/13/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
Our overview of the previews of this year's SXSW includes links to the Austin Chronicle's profile of Jason Schwartzman, who stars in Bob Byington's 7 Chinese Brothers and Patrick Brice's The Overnight; Raoul Hernandez on Joe Nick Patoski's documentary Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove; Indiewire's interviews with Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti (A Woman Like Me) and Alison Bagnall (Funny Bunny); the Hollywood Reporter's chat with Amy Schumer about Trainwreck and her director and producer, Judd Apatow; the Guardian's talk with Julien Temple about The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson; and Sam Fragoso's conversation with Bill Ross and Turner Ross about Western. » - David Hudson...
- 3/13/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
Our overview of the previews of this year's SXSW includes links to the Austin Chronicle's profile of Jason Schwartzman, who stars in Bob Byington's 7 Chinese Brothers and Patrick Brice's The Overnight; Raoul Hernandez on Joe Nick Patoski's documentary Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove; Indiewire's interviews with Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti (A Woman Like Me) and Alison Bagnall (Funny Bunny); the Hollywood Reporter's chat with Amy Schumer about Trainwreck and her director and producer, Judd Apatow; the Guardian's talk with Julien Temple about The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson; and Sam Fragoso's conversation with Bill Ross and Turner Ross about Western. » - David Hudson...
- 3/13/2015
- Keyframe
The True/False Film Festival, now in its 11th year, opens today in Columbia, Missouri and runs through the weekend. Among the titles Filmmaker's Vadim Rizov looking forward to catching are Adirley Queirós’s White Out, Black In, "the French training-for-job-interviews documentary Rules of the Game and adopted-Roma-kids portrait Spartacus & Cassandra, both from Cannes sidebars" and "the Egyptian Revolution report I Am The People… Curatorial winnowing of international cinema is a thing the festival’s reliable at." The Columbia Daily Tribune's Amy Wilder talks with Brett Morgen about Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck. Aarik Danielsen talks with Bill Ross and Turner Ross about Western and argues that if "any one person could embody the spirit of True/False, it would probably be Robert Greene." » - David Hudson...
- 3/5/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
The True/False Film Festival, now in its 11th year, opens today in Columbia, Missouri and runs through the weekend. Among the titles Filmmaker's Vadim Rizov looking forward to catching are Adirley Queirós’s White Out, Black In, "the French training-for-job-interviews documentary Rules of the Game and adopted-Roma-kids portrait Spartacus & Cassandra, both from Cannes sidebars" and "the Egyptian Revolution report I Am The People… Curatorial winnowing of international cinema is a thing the festival’s reliable at." The Columbia Daily Tribune's Amy Wilder talks with Brett Morgen about Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck. Aarik Danielsen talks with Bill Ross and Turner Ross about Western and argues that if "any one person could embody the spirit of True/False, it would probably be Robert Greene." » - David Hudson...
- 3/5/2015
- Keyframe
Jordan M. Smith: Name me three of your favorite “2014 discoveries”…
Bill Ross: Richard Slotkin lectures on itunes. Terry Allen’s album “Juarez”. Dusty and Sweets McGee.
Smith: Tchoupitoulas seemed like a nod to the late documentary filmmaker Les Blank, chronicler of Americana of all shapes and sizes. You’ve mentioned that with Western you are also trying to approach the western genre of filmmaking through the lense of Americana. Did Blank, or any other artists/filmmakers influence you at anytime during the process?
B. Ross: Yes, Les’s spirit – both as a person, and as a filmmaker, has been an inspiration to us as documentary filmmakers, and as human beings. There’s a brief but great moment of him drinking a beer by his camera in his border film Chulas Fronteras. That said something to us. This isn’t just about making films its about life experience and being present in the moment.
Bill Ross: Richard Slotkin lectures on itunes. Terry Allen’s album “Juarez”. Dusty and Sweets McGee.
Smith: Tchoupitoulas seemed like a nod to the late documentary filmmaker Les Blank, chronicler of Americana of all shapes and sizes. You’ve mentioned that with Western you are also trying to approach the western genre of filmmaking through the lense of Americana. Did Blank, or any other artists/filmmakers influence you at anytime during the process?
B. Ross: Yes, Les’s spirit – both as a person, and as a filmmaker, has been an inspiration to us as documentary filmmakers, and as human beings. There’s a brief but great moment of him drinking a beer by his camera in his border film Chulas Fronteras. That said something to us. This isn’t just about making films its about life experience and being present in the moment.
- 2/6/2015
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Amy Schumer and Bill Hader in TrainwreckPhoto: Universal Pictures With Sundance just wrapping up and Berlin starting up in a few days, we are now immersed in the year-long barrage of film festivals. One such festival in South By Southwest. A few weeks back they announced the first seven films of their program, including the opening night film Brand: A Second Coming. Today, they have revealed the rest of the features to be shown in March (except for the midnight program), and some of it has me very excited. The bigger titles announced do not do much for me. Paul Feig's Spy, starring Melissa McCarthy, and the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart starrer Get Hard leave a lot to be desired in terms of anticipation, as does a work in progress cut of Judd Apatow's latest film Trainwreck. I'm guessing an Apatow work in progress is probably around three and a half hours.
- 2/3/2015
- by Mike Shutt
- Rope of Silicon
U.S Dramatic
Grand Jury Prize
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Alfonso Gomez-Rejon)
Audience Award
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Alfonso Gomez-Rejon)
Directing Award
The Witch (Robert Eggers, U.S./Canada)
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
The Stanford Prison Experiment (Tim Talbott)
Special Jury Award – Excellence in Cinematography
Diary of a Teenage Girl (Brandon Trost)
Special Jury Award – Excellence in Editing
Dope (Lee Haugen)
Special Jury Award – Collaborative Vision
Advantageous (Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang)
U.S. Documentary
Grand Jury Prize
The Wolfpack (Crystal Moselle)
Audience Award
Meru (Jimmy Chin, E. Chai Vasarhelyi)
Directing Award
Cartel Land (Matthew Heineman, U.S./Mexico)
Special Jury Award — Social Impact
3 1/2 Minutes (Marc Silver)
Special Jury Award – Verite Filmmaking
Western (Bill Ross, Turner Ross)
Special Jury Award – Break Out First Feature
(T)error (Lyric R. Cabral, David Felix Sutcliffe)
Special Jury Award – Cinematography
Cartel Land (Matthew Heineman, Matt Porwoll)
World Cinema Dramatic...
Grand Jury Prize
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Alfonso Gomez-Rejon)
Audience Award
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Alfonso Gomez-Rejon)
Directing Award
The Witch (Robert Eggers, U.S./Canada)
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
The Stanford Prison Experiment (Tim Talbott)
Special Jury Award – Excellence in Cinematography
Diary of a Teenage Girl (Brandon Trost)
Special Jury Award – Excellence in Editing
Dope (Lee Haugen)
Special Jury Award – Collaborative Vision
Advantageous (Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang)
U.S. Documentary
Grand Jury Prize
The Wolfpack (Crystal Moselle)
Audience Award
Meru (Jimmy Chin, E. Chai Vasarhelyi)
Directing Award
Cartel Land (Matthew Heineman, U.S./Mexico)
Special Jury Award — Social Impact
3 1/2 Minutes (Marc Silver)
Special Jury Award – Verite Filmmaking
Western (Bill Ross, Turner Ross)
Special Jury Award – Break Out First Feature
(T)error (Lyric R. Cabral, David Felix Sutcliffe)
Special Jury Award – Cinematography
Cartel Land (Matthew Heineman, Matt Porwoll)
World Cinema Dramatic...
- 2/1/2015
- by Notebook
- MUBI
Following in the footsteps of Fruitvale Station and Whiplash before it, the most talked about title in Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s Me and Earl and the Dying Girl claimed both the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and U.S. Dramatic Audience Award. Crystal Moselle’s audience favorite might not have claimed the Audience Award (Meru), but the family featured in The Wolfpack landed a much coveted U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize. Matthew Heineman’s unfathomably constructed Cartel Land landed to Jury Prizes in Best Director and Excellence in Cinematography. In stellar Next, the unique prize went to Josh Mond’s brilliant directorial debut James White. Here is the press release and all the winners.
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented by Gordon Quinn to:
The Wolfpack / U.S.A. (Director: Crystal Moselle)
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented by Edgar Wright to:
Me...
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented by Gordon Quinn to:
The Wolfpack / U.S.A. (Director: Crystal Moselle)
The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented by Edgar Wright to:
Me...
- 2/1/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
The 2015 Sundance Film Festival concluded on Saturday (January 31) night with a Tig Notaro-hosted award ceremony in which it seemed like nearly everything was given an award by one of the Festival's juries. "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl," directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, won both the Us Dramatic Jury Prize and Audience Prize, an increasingly less rare double. On the Us Documentary side, Crystal Moselle's "The Wolfpack" won the Grand Jury Prize, but "Meru" won the Audience Award. John Maclean's "Slow West" won the World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize, while Chad Garcia's "Russian Woodpecker" was the World Cinema Documentary Grand Prize winner. While "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" was one of the most buzzed-about titles in the Us Dramatic Competition, several other rave-winners picked up key prizes on Saturday night, including the Grand Jury Directing Award to Robert Eggers for "The Witch," the Waldo Salt...
- 2/1/2015
- by Daniel Fienberg
- Hitfix
Updated with details and quotes: The Sundance Film Festival awards ceremony tonight in Park City saw a dramatic dual decision and strong political voices to put a cap on a hot-deals festival. Like last year, when Whiplash took both the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award on its way to an Best Picture Oscar nomination, the much-sought Me And Earl And The Dying Girl took both this year.
“I want to dedicate this to all the young filmmakers in my hometown of Laredo, Texas,” said director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon onstage. Fox Searchlight and Indian Paintbrush teamed to land the pic earlier this week after frenzied bidding, with a 2015 release planned. The Jesse Andrews script follows Greg, who is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But...
“I want to dedicate this to all the young filmmakers in my hometown of Laredo, Texas,” said director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon onstage. Fox Searchlight and Indian Paintbrush teamed to land the pic earlier this week after frenzied bidding, with a 2015 release planned. The Jesse Andrews script follows Greg, who is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But...
- 2/1/2015
- by Dominic Patten and Patrick Hipes
- Deadline
Sundance: The 2015 festival approached the end on Saturday (January 31) as Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s Me And Earl And The Dying Girl capped a sensational 10 days by scooping both the Us grand jury prize and audience awards.Scroll down for full list of winners
Earlier in the week Fox Searchlight and Indian Paintbrush partnered on the acquisition of world rights.
Crystal Moselle’s The Wolfpack won the Us grand jury documentary award days after Magnolia Pictures moved for world rights.
In the World Cinema categories, John Maclean’s UK-New Zealand entry Slow West prevailed in the dramatic strand while there was joy for UK documentary winner The Russian Woodpecker by Chad Gracia.
Meru by Jimmy Chin and E Chai Vasarhelyi triumphed in the Us dramatic audience award. Robert Eggers was a highlight of the directing honours with the Us dramatic prize for The Witch while Kim Longinotto won World Cinema documentary for Dreamcatcher
The festival runs from January 22-February...
Earlier in the week Fox Searchlight and Indian Paintbrush partnered on the acquisition of world rights.
Crystal Moselle’s The Wolfpack won the Us grand jury documentary award days after Magnolia Pictures moved for world rights.
In the World Cinema categories, John Maclean’s UK-New Zealand entry Slow West prevailed in the dramatic strand while there was joy for UK documentary winner The Russian Woodpecker by Chad Gracia.
Meru by Jimmy Chin and E Chai Vasarhelyi triumphed in the Us dramatic audience award. Robert Eggers was a highlight of the directing honours with the Us dramatic prize for The Witch while Kim Longinotto won World Cinema documentary for Dreamcatcher
The festival runs from January 22-February...
- 1/31/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Sundance: The 2015 festival approached the end on Saturday (January 31) as Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s Me And Earl And The Dying Girl capped a sensational 10 days by scooping both the Us grand jury prize and audience awards.
Earlier in the week Fox Searchlight and Indian Paintbrush partnered on the acquisition of world rights.
Crystal Moselle’s The Wolfpack won the Us grand jury documentary award days after Magnolia Pictures moved for world rights.
In the World Cinema categories, John Maclean’s UK-New Zealand entry Slow West prevailed in the dramatic strand while there was joy for UK documentary winner The Russian Woodpecker by Chad Gracia.
Meru by Jimmy Chin and E Chai Vasarhelyi triumphed in the Us dramatic audience award. Robert Eggers was a highlight of the directing honours with the Us dramatic prize for The Witch while Kim Longinotto won World Cinema documentary for Dreamcatcher
The festival runs from January 22-February 1 and screened 123 feature-length and 60 short films selected...
Earlier in the week Fox Searchlight and Indian Paintbrush partnered on the acquisition of world rights.
Crystal Moselle’s The Wolfpack won the Us grand jury documentary award days after Magnolia Pictures moved for world rights.
In the World Cinema categories, John Maclean’s UK-New Zealand entry Slow West prevailed in the dramatic strand while there was joy for UK documentary winner The Russian Woodpecker by Chad Gracia.
Meru by Jimmy Chin and E Chai Vasarhelyi triumphed in the Us dramatic audience award. Robert Eggers was a highlight of the directing honours with the Us dramatic prize for The Witch while Kim Longinotto won World Cinema documentary for Dreamcatcher
The festival runs from January 22-February 1 and screened 123 feature-length and 60 short films selected...
- 1/31/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
From Robert Eggers's surprise breakout on the U.S. Dramatic Competition, The Witch, to Bill Ross and Turner Ross's poetic Western in the Documentary Competition, from Sean Baker's Tangerine, shot on a set of iPhones, in the Next program, to Alex Gibney's bombshell Documentary Premiere, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, we've been gathering overviews, film by film, of this year's Sundance Film Festival. And now, for your convenience, we've posted an index to the coverage of the coverage. » - David Hudson...
- 1/29/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
From Robert Eggers's surprise breakout on the U.S. Dramatic Competition, The Witch, to Bill Ross and Turner Ross's poetic Western in the Documentary Competition, from Sean Baker's Tangerine, shot on a set of iPhones, in the Next program, to Alex Gibney's bombshell Documentary Premiere, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, we've been gathering overviews, film by film, of this year's Sundance Film Festival. And now, for your convenience, we've posted an index to the coverage of the coverage. » - David Hudson...
- 1/29/2015
- Keyframe
"Brothers Bill Ross and Turner Ross return to the quick-paced, collage style documentary storytelling we’ve seen previously in Tchoupitoulas and 45365" with Western, "a tale of two cities," writes Monica Castillo at Movie Mezzanine. "One, Eagle Pass, lies north of the Rio Grande, a small Texan town with a big Latino population that specializes in the cattle industry. Her sister city south of the border, Piedras Negras, is similarly reliant on the cow trade—and just as sweet and sleepy when the movie begins. The two cities celebrate their mutual bond annually on the bridge that connects them. That is until the recent spike in Mexican cartel violence shows up on their doorstep." We're collecting more reviews. » - David Hudson...
- 1/29/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
"Brothers Bill Ross and Turner Ross return to the quick-paced, collage style documentary storytelling we’ve seen previously in Tchoupitoulas and 45365" with Western, "a tale of two cities," writes Monica Castillo at Movie Mezzanine. "One, Eagle Pass, lies north of the Rio Grande, a small Texan town with a big Latino population that specializes in the cattle industry. Her sister city south of the border, Piedras Negras, is similarly reliant on the cow trade—and just as sweet and sleepy when the movie begins. The two cities celebrate their mutual bond annually on the bridge that connects them. That is until the recent spike in Mexican cartel violence shows up on their doorstep." We're collecting more reviews. » - David Hudson...
- 1/29/2015
- Keyframe
Title: Western Directors: Bill Ross and Turner Ross This film’s title is misleading in a few ways. It is not a Western with cowboys riding through the Old West trying to reclaim land or love, as another Sundance selection, Slow West, is. Nor is it set in any true West Coast state. Instead, this documentary is all about Texas and the culture of one border town, Eagle Pass, which shares a close history and relationship with its Mexican sister city, Piedras Negras. The title refers to the Western sensibility present in Texas that defines it as a distinctly American place with a complicated connection to somewhere close by with a [ Read More ]
The post Western Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Western Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 1/28/2015
- by abe
- ShockYa
This year there are 127 feature-length films, representing 29 countries and 45 first-time filmmakers, including 19 in competition. 103 are world premieres.
You can gather these figures and look up contact information as it pertains to your job in this industry, or you can buy the Sundance by Numbers Report from SydneysBuzz and import an excel sheet of all relevant data with contact names, into your own database. If you are about to go to Sundance and need to know the publicist or if in the future, you are going to need a good publicist, or a producer rep, or a festival oriented international sales agents or U.S. distributor who will surely be on the festival circuit, you need this report now.
All titles are linked to contacts you will need for your particular line of work if you are a professional in the business.
There are 26 women directors ( ♀ ).
‧ U.S. Dramatic Competition: 5 of 16 are directed by women (36%).
‧ U.S. Documentary Competition: 7 of 16 are directed by women.
‧ World Cinema Dramatic Competition: 5 of 12 are directed by women.
‧ World Cinema Documentary Competition: 6 of 12 are directed by women.
‧ Next: 1 of 10 is directed by a woman.
‧ New Frontiers has Jenni Olson's "The Royal Road"
48% (62) of the films have international sales agents.
Ryan Kempe's Visit Films and Andrew Hurewitz' Film Sales Company both have 5 films.
3 films are being sold by Im Global, HanWay and Protagonist.
2 by Dogwoof, Epic, Films Distribution, The Match Factory, Trust Nordisk and Xyz and Annapurna.
1 film each are represented by the other sales agents:
Alpha Violet, Altitude Film Sales, Autlook, Cargo ,Content, Dreamcatchers, Film Factory Entertainment,Fortitude, Funny Balloons, Hyde Park International, K5 International, Kaleidoscope, Lotus Entertainment, Memento, Studiocanal, The Exchange, The Match Factory, The Solution, Voltage, Wild Bunch
14% (18) have U.S. distribution. Titles and links are in the report.
3 are with HBO
2 are with Roadside Attractions: "’71" and "Z for Zachariah"
The rest are each with:
Entertainment in Motion (airline)
Radius-twc
Universal Pictures
A&E/ Lifetime
Broad Green Pictures
Drafthouse Films
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Magnolia
Netflix
Sony Pictures Classics – "Wild Tales"
Strand Releasing – "Girlhood"
53% (68) have producer reps
Cinetic - 14
Submarine - 13
ICM - 10
Preferred Content - 8
Wme - 9
UTA -8
CAA - 7
Cassian Elwes - 2
Paradigm - 1
Publicists
Brigade - 9
Stategy - 7
Ryan Werner - 6
Prodigy - 6
David Magdael - 4
Acme - 4
Susan Norget - 4
Steven Rafael, Mj Pakos - 2
Bigtime - 2
Group 2050 - 2
Katleen McGinnis - 2 + 2 shorts
Jazo - 1
Dda - 1
Dish - 1
Sophie Gluck - 1
mPRm - 1
Sundance selected 7 films from Latin American (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico). Four are in official competitions - two for American cinema and two for international cinema - divided between fiction and documentary. Two coproductions with Mexico are in the U.S. Documentary Competition, "Cartel Land" by Matthew Heineman, and "Western" by Bill Ross and Turner Ross, two views on life and struggle in the border.
In the International Fiction Competition of 12 films, Brazil's "The Second Mother" ("Que hours ela volta?") by Anna Muylaert, a story about everyday relations between the employees and employers in a home upset by the visit of the nanny's daughter. Anna Muylawert participated in the Carte Blanche at Locarno dedicated to Brazilian cinema. In the Next secton, dedicated to innovative film is "H." a coproduction between the U.S. and Argentina directed by Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia. The film is a reinterpretation of Greek mythology, following two women named Helen whose lives are altered in the small town of Troy, New York. New Frontier Films will premier Colombia-Mexico coproduction "Liveforever", the adaptation of Carlos Moreno("Dog Eat Dog") of the cult novel by Andres Caicedo.
And finally, in the new Sundance Kids section, "The Games Maker", a coproduction between Argentina, Canada and Italy, will premiere.
To purchase the report visit Here...
You can gather these figures and look up contact information as it pertains to your job in this industry, or you can buy the Sundance by Numbers Report from SydneysBuzz and import an excel sheet of all relevant data with contact names, into your own database. If you are about to go to Sundance and need to know the publicist or if in the future, you are going to need a good publicist, or a producer rep, or a festival oriented international sales agents or U.S. distributor who will surely be on the festival circuit, you need this report now.
All titles are linked to contacts you will need for your particular line of work if you are a professional in the business.
There are 26 women directors ( ♀ ).
‧ U.S. Dramatic Competition: 5 of 16 are directed by women (36%).
‧ U.S. Documentary Competition: 7 of 16 are directed by women.
‧ World Cinema Dramatic Competition: 5 of 12 are directed by women.
‧ World Cinema Documentary Competition: 6 of 12 are directed by women.
‧ Next: 1 of 10 is directed by a woman.
‧ New Frontiers has Jenni Olson's "The Royal Road"
48% (62) of the films have international sales agents.
Ryan Kempe's Visit Films and Andrew Hurewitz' Film Sales Company both have 5 films.
3 films are being sold by Im Global, HanWay and Protagonist.
2 by Dogwoof, Epic, Films Distribution, The Match Factory, Trust Nordisk and Xyz and Annapurna.
1 film each are represented by the other sales agents:
Alpha Violet, Altitude Film Sales, Autlook, Cargo ,Content, Dreamcatchers, Film Factory Entertainment,Fortitude, Funny Balloons, Hyde Park International, K5 International, Kaleidoscope, Lotus Entertainment, Memento, Studiocanal, The Exchange, The Match Factory, The Solution, Voltage, Wild Bunch
14% (18) have U.S. distribution. Titles and links are in the report.
3 are with HBO
2 are with Roadside Attractions: "’71" and "Z for Zachariah"
The rest are each with:
Entertainment in Motion (airline)
Radius-twc
Universal Pictures
A&E/ Lifetime
Broad Green Pictures
Drafthouse Films
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Magnolia
Netflix
Sony Pictures Classics – "Wild Tales"
Strand Releasing – "Girlhood"
53% (68) have producer reps
Cinetic - 14
Submarine - 13
ICM - 10
Preferred Content - 8
Wme - 9
UTA -8
CAA - 7
Cassian Elwes - 2
Paradigm - 1
Publicists
Brigade - 9
Stategy - 7
Ryan Werner - 6
Prodigy - 6
David Magdael - 4
Acme - 4
Susan Norget - 4
Steven Rafael, Mj Pakos - 2
Bigtime - 2
Group 2050 - 2
Katleen McGinnis - 2 + 2 shorts
Jazo - 1
Dda - 1
Dish - 1
Sophie Gluck - 1
mPRm - 1
Sundance selected 7 films from Latin American (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico). Four are in official competitions - two for American cinema and two for international cinema - divided between fiction and documentary. Two coproductions with Mexico are in the U.S. Documentary Competition, "Cartel Land" by Matthew Heineman, and "Western" by Bill Ross and Turner Ross, two views on life and struggle in the border.
In the International Fiction Competition of 12 films, Brazil's "The Second Mother" ("Que hours ela volta?") by Anna Muylaert, a story about everyday relations between the employees and employers in a home upset by the visit of the nanny's daughter. Anna Muylawert participated in the Carte Blanche at Locarno dedicated to Brazilian cinema. In the Next secton, dedicated to innovative film is "H." a coproduction between the U.S. and Argentina directed by Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia. The film is a reinterpretation of Greek mythology, following two women named Helen whose lives are altered in the small town of Troy, New York. New Frontier Films will premier Colombia-Mexico coproduction "Liveforever", the adaptation of Carlos Moreno("Dog Eat Dog") of the cult novel by Andres Caicedo.
And finally, in the new Sundance Kids section, "The Games Maker", a coproduction between Argentina, Canada and Italy, will premiere.
To purchase the report visit Here...
- 1/20/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Everyone likes to cut corners, especially when it’s a job you’ve done a zillion times before. (I’ve tried re-submitting the same lists from a few months ago a bunch of times, but the editors keep noticing.) The same apparently applies to the music part of the movie-making business. It makes sense when you really think about it. 99% of viewers probably never even notice the music anyway. The whole point of movie music is to exist in the background, silently lurking, waiting for its chance to… wait, I’m confusing movie music with Jason Vorhees again. That’s been happening a lot lately. I probably need to see a doctor. 5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets The second Harry Potter film tried to be more or less a direct continuation of the first. Same director (Chris Columbus), same cast, same Dumbledore… but John Williams, he of Star Wars and Indiana Jones fame, couldn...
- 1/15/2015
- by Ashe Cantrell
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
John Nein was not always a Senior Programmer at the Sundance Film Festival — it’s only been eight years. When he began at Sundance in 2002 he was always watching movies of course. More than that, like John Cooper said, he just didn’t shut up when he was in the room; he was opinionated and spoke his opinions. He also always liked international cinema as he was born in Ireland and grew up in The Netherlands, Belgium and London where his father worked for international companies. When he was 12 he came to the U.S.
The programmers at Sundance do not have a strict formal assignment of areas they program; they see all the films of all the sections, but like his father, international was always of great interest. The same is true for myself, although out of the 118 feature films selected out of 4,105 feature length submissions, many of the U.S. films look great to me as well. For instance, I am so happy that Matt Sobel’s “ Take Me To The River ” which won the prize at Us in Progress this past November in Wroclaw, Poland at The American Film Festival is in the Next section.
John: This year on Day One, January 22, 2015, the Festival will feature one of each type of film shown at the Festival: one shorts program, a U.S. documentary, a U.S. dramatic, an international documentary and an international dramatic which will be the first ever Lithuanian film in Competition, a lesbian love story that is stylish and smartly directed by Alanté Kavaïté with two fantastic actors, Julija Steponaitytė and Aistė Diržiūtė. Actually " The Summer of Sangaile” is a coproduction of Lithuania, France, and Holland . I think Alanté lives in France.
There ares 29 countries represented and 45 first-time filmmakers.
Sydney: I know the Chileans love Sundance. Last year Alejandro Fernández Almendras said in our interview about “To Kill a Man” that Sundance is very important for Chile. I am also a longtime fan of Sebastian Silva since “The Maid”. Two years ago he had two films, “Crystal Fairy” and “Magic, Magic” in Sundance, so why is this Chilean film not in World Competition but in Next?
John: I’m glad Alejandro said that. Yes we like Chile too. They make many good films. But “Nasty Baby” by Sebastian Silva is a U.S. film, about people living in Brooklyn.
He lives in U.S. and has spent a lot of time here. He knows Brooklyn and yet his curiosity and his view of it is that of an outsider. He knows these people because he watches and listens so well. “
Sydney: “Bridesmaids” star and co-writer Kristen Wiig stars. A short promo of “Nasty Baby” was shown to buyers while it was in post-production in Cannes and Toronto. The Chilean production company of Juan de Dios Larrain and Pablo Larrain, Fabula, produced “No” as well as Sebastian’s later films. Papi Boye and Violaine Pichon’s production and international sales agent Versatile out of France along with the film’s international sales agent Funny Balloons — also based in France – helped finance this U.S. Production.
John: World Cinema is now 10 years old. Overall, the Competition sections have evolved over the years. We have a sense of emerging directors here. We have come of age.
All our films are of emerging filmmakers. Either first time directors or highly anticipated second or third features. Of all the festivals worldwide, Sundance has the strongest program of emerging talent. Watch these filmmakers over the next years. Like “Homesick” by Anna Sewitsky. Her previous film “Happy, Happy” showed at Sundance in 2011 and took the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema. “Happy, Happy” also became the Norwegian Official entry for the Academy Awards® .
Sydney: TrustNordisk sold “Happy, Happy” to more than 50 countries, so they must be poised to sell this one as well.
John: But not all the second and third films are from filmmakers whose first films were at Sundance, although Canada’s “ Chorus” director Francois Delisle showed “The Meteor” at Sundance two years ago.
And “Glassland”, was a very anticipated second film. The first film by director and screenwriter, Gerard Barrett, "Pilgrim Hill” won the Galway Film Festival and was very sought after and was signed with a U.S. agent then. “Sangaile" is also a second feature.
Look at the international films in the Premieres section and you will see some international filmmakers there, like “ Brooklyn” which is an immigrant story directed by John Crowley and written by Nick Hornby whose film “Wild” is now playing .
Sydney: I see from IMDbPro that Hanway has already sold Middle Eastern rights to Front Row Entertainment who must have pre-bought “Brooklyn” in Cannes or Toronto.
John: Of the 12 films in World Cinema the less expected films come from Turkey, “Ivy” by the talented director Tolga Karacelik. This is his second film. His first was “Toll Booth” which Global Initiative distributed in the U.S. The Dp on this was Nuri Bilge Ceylan (“Winter’s Sleep”)’s Dp on “Winter’s Sleep”, Gökhan Tiryaki. It is about guys stuck on a freighter whose company goes bankrupt. Power dynamics play out.
Sydney: Have there been Oscar nominated films in Sundance (Aside from “Whiplash” and “Boyhood”)?
John: Yes, “Man on Wire” was not last year but it was foreign. “Ida” was in Spotlight last year and maybe Sundance increased its visibility. Three others were in Sundance last year:
“To Kill a Man” is Chile’s submission, “Difret” which won the Audience Award is Ethiopia’s submission this year and “Liar’s Dice” from India was in World Competition last year. It is a very artful film. We knew it would do well with the critics, but it did extremely well with the audience too. A couple of films in Spotlight will probably be nominated next year. Watch for them.
Sydney : We haven’t even discussed the World documentaries.
John : Are there any that stand out for you?
Sydney: Yes, “Chuck Norris vs. Communism”, from U.K., Romania and Germany. Chuck Norris?
John: How interesting it is that something like Chuck Norris means something very different to others. It is a sign of cultural differences between us. Chuck Norris shows how independent films built a community of counter culture against an authoritarian government.
Sydney: I also notice that there are six docs from the U.K. Out of 12 films.
John: Yes we noticed and discussed that. U.K. really supports documentary filmmaking. Great work is coming out of the U.K. And many of the films are about different countries, so it doesn’t fit so simply into a U.K. pigeon hole.
Sydney : Yes I see “Chuck Norris” is about Romania, “Dreamcatcher” is about teenage prostitution, “How to Change the World” is about Greenpeace, “Listen to Me Marlon” is about a famous U.S. actor, “The Russian Woodpecker” is about a Ukrainian survivor of Chernobyl.
Thank you John for your insights. I think we have a lot to look at here. Thank you for taking this time to talk with me. See you at Sundance!
For a full list thus far of Sundance films, see below.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Advantageous / U.S.A. (Director: Jennifer Phang, Screenwriters: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang) — In a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter, Jules, do all they can to hold on to their joy, despite the instability surfacing in their world. Cast: Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Kim.
The Bronze / U.S.A. (Director: Bryan Buckley, Screenwriters: Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch) — In 2004, Hope Ann Greggory became an American hero after winning the bronze medal for the women's gymnastics team. Today, she's still living in her small hometown, washed-up and embittered. Stuck in the past, Hope must reassess her life when a promising young gymnast threatens her local celebrity status.Cast: Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Stan, Haley Lu Richardson, Cecily Strong. Day One Film
The D Train / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel) — With his 20th reunion looming, Dan can’t shake his high school insecurities. In a misguided mission to prove he's changed, Dan rekindles a friendship with the popular guy from his class and is left scrambling to protect more than just his reputation when a wild night takes an unexpected turn. Cast: Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor, Mike White, Kyle Bornheimer.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Marielle Heller) — Minnie Goetze is a 15-year-old aspiring comic-book artist, coming of age in the haze of the 1970s in San Francisco. Insatiably curious about the world around her, Minnie is a pretty typical teenage girl. Oh, except that she's sleeping with her mother's boyfriend. Cast: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni, Kristen Wiig.
Dope / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Rick Famuyiwa) — Malcolm is carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles while juggling college applications, academic interviews, and the Sat. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself. Cast: Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Blake Anderson, Zoë Kravitz, A$AP Rocky.
I Smile Back / U.S.A. (Director: Adam Salky, Screenwriters: Amy Koppelman, Paige Dylan) — All is not right in suburbia. Laney Brooks, a wife and mother on the edge, has stopped taking her meds, substituting recreational drugs and the wrong men. With the destruction of her family looming, Laney makes a last, desperate attempt at redemption. Cast: Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Thomas Sadoski, Mia Barron, Terry Kinney, Chris Sarandon.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl / U.S.A. (Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Screenwriter: Jesse Andrews) — Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia. Cast: Thomas Mann, Rj Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon.
The Overnight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Patrick Brice) — Alex, Emily, and their son, Rj, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family "playdate" becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on. Cast: Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, Judith Godrèche.
People, Places, Things / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: James C. Strouse) — Will Henry is a newly single graphic novelist balancing being a parent to his young twin daughters and teaching a classroom full of college students, all the while trying to navigate the rich complexities of new love and letting go of the woman who left him. Cast: Jemaine Clement, Regina Hall, Stephanie Allynne, Jessica Williams, Gia Gadsby, Aundrea Gadsby.
Results / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — Two mismatched personal trainers' lives are upended by the actions of a new, wealthy client. Cast: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Kevin Corrigan, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Michael Hall, Brooklyn Decker.
Songs My Brothers Taught Me / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Chloé Zhao) — This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home. Cast: John Reddy, Jashaun St. John, Irene Bedard, Taysha Fuller, Travis Lone Hill, Eléonore Hendricks.
The Stanford Prison Experiment / U.S.A. (Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Screenwriter: Tim Talbott) — This film is based on the actual events that took place in 1971 when Stanford professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo created what became one of the most shocking and famous social experiments of all time. Cast: Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Michael Angarano, Tye Sheridan, Johnny Simmons, Olivia Thirlby.
Stockholm, Pennsylvania / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Nikole Beckwith) — A young woman is returned home to her biological parents after living with her abductor for 17 years. Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cynthia Nixon, Jason Isaacs, David Warshofsky.
Unexpected / U.S.A. (Director: Kris Swanberg, Screenwriters: Kris Swanberg, Megan Mercier) — When Samantha Abbott begins her final semester teaching science at a Chicago high school, she faces some unexpected news: she's pregnant. Soon after, Samantha learns that one of her favorite students, Jasmine, has landed in a similar situation. Unexpected follows the two women as they embark on an unlikely friendship. Cast: Cobie Smulders, Anders Holm, Gail Bean, Elizabeth McGovern.
The Witch / U.S.A., Canada (Director and screenwriter: Robert Eggers) — New England in the 1630s: William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life with five children, homesteading on the edge of an impassable wilderness. When their newborn son vanishes and crops fail, the family turns on one another. Beyond their worst fears, a supernatural evil lurks in the nearby wood. Cast: Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Lucas Dawson, Ellie Grainger.
Z for Zachariah / U.S.A. (Director: Craig Zobel, Screenwriter: Nissar Modi) — In a post-apocalyptic world, a young woman who believes she is the last human on Earth meets a dying scientist searching for survivors. Their relationship becomes tenuous when another survivor appears. As the two men compete for the woman's affection, their primal urges begin to reveal their true nature. Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine.
U.S. Documentary Competition
Sixteen world-premiere American documentaries that illuminate the ideas, people, and events that shape the present day.
3½ Minutes / U.S.A. (Director: Marc Silver) — On November 23, 2012, unarmed 17-year-old Jordan Russell Davis was shot at a Jacksonville gas station by Michael David Dunn. 3½ Minutes explores the aftermath of Jordan's tragic death, the latent and often unseen effects of racism, and the contradictions of the American criminal justice system.
Being Evel / U.S.A. (Director: Daniel Junge) — An unprecedented, candid portrait of American icon Robert "Evel" Knievel and his legacy.
Best of Enemies / U.S.A. (Directors: Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon) — Best of Enemies is a behind-the-scenes account of the explosive 1968 televised debates between the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr., and their rancorous disagreements about politics, God, and sex.
Call Me Lucky / U.S.A. (Director: Bobcat Goldthwait) — Barry Crimmins was a volatile but brilliant bar comic who became an honored peace activist and influential political satirist. Famous comedians and others build a picture of a man who underwent an incredible transformation.
Cartel Land / U.S.A., Mexico (Director: Matthew Heineman) — In this classic Western set in the 21st century, vigilantes on both sides of the border fight the vicious Mexican drug cartels. With unprecedented access, this character-driven film provokes deep questions about lawlessness, the breakdown of order, and whether citizens should fight violence with violence.
City of Gold / U.S.A. (Director: Laura Gabbert) — Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jonathan Gold casts his light upon a vibrant and growing cultural movement in which he plays the dual roles of high-low priest and culinary geographer of his beloved Los Angeles.
Finders Keepers / U.S.A. (Directors: Bryan Carberry, Clay Tweel) — Recovering addict and amputee John Wood finds himself in a stranger-than-fiction battle to reclaim his mummified leg from Southern entrepreneur Shannon Whisnant, who found it in a grill he bought at an auction and believes it to therefore be his rightful property.
Hot Girls Wanted / U.S.A. (Directors: Jill Bauer, Ronna Gradus) — Hot Girls Wanted is a first-ever look at the realities inside the world of the amateur porn industry and the steady stream of 18- and 19-year-old girls entering into it.
How to Dance in Ohio / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandra Shiva) — In Columbus, Ohio, a group of teenagers and young adults on the autism spectrum prepare for an iconic American rite of passage — a spring formal. They spend 12 weeks practicing their social skills at a local nightclub in preparation for the dance.
Larry Kramer in Love and Anger / U.S.A. (Director: Jean Carlomusto) — Author, activist, and playwright Larry Kramer is one of the most important and controversial figures in contemporary gay America, a political firebrand who gave voice to the outrage and grief that inspired gay men and lesbians to fight for their lives. At 78, this complicated man still commands our attention.
Meru / U.S.A. (Directors: Jimmy Chin, E. Chai Vasarhelyi) — Three elite mountain climbers sacrifice everything but their friendship as they struggle through heartbreaking loss and nature’s harshest elements to attempt the never-before-completed Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru, the most coveted first ascent in the dangerous game of Himalayan big wall climbing.
Racing Extinction / U.S.A. (Director: Louie Psihoyos) — Academy Award-winner Louie Psihoyos (The Cove) assembles a unique team to show the world never-before-seen images that expose issues surrounding endangered species and mass extinction. Whether infiltrating notorious black markets or exploring humans' effect on the environment, Racing Extinction will change the way you see the world.
(T)Error / U.S.A. (Directors: Lyric R. Cabral, David Felix Sutcliffe) — (T)Error is the first film to document on camera a covert counterterrorism sting as it unfolds. Through the perspective of *******, a 63-year-old Black revolutionary turned FBI informant, viewers are given an unprecedented glimpse of the government’s counterterrorism tactics, and the murky justifications behind them.
Welcome to Leith / U.S.A. (Directors: Michael Beach Nichols, Christopher K. Walker) — A white supremacist attempts to take over a small town in North Dakota.
Western / U.S.A., Mexico (Directors: Bill Ross, Turner Ross) — For generations, all that distinguished Eagle Pass, Texas, from Piedras Negras, Mexico, was the Rio Grande. But when darkness descends upon these harmonious border towns, a cowboy and lawman face a new reality that threatens their way of life. Western portrays timeless American figures in the grip of unforgiving change.
The Wolfpack / U.S.A. (Director: Crystal Moselle) — Six bright teenage brothers have spent their entire lives locked away from society in a Manhattan housing project. All they know of the outside is gleaned from the movies they watch obsessively (and recreate meticulously). Yet as adolescence looms, they dream of escape, ever more urgently, into the beckoning world.
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
Twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.
Chlorine / Italy (Director: Lamberto Sanfelice, Screenwriters: Lamberto Sanfelice, Elisa Amoruso) — Jenny, 17, dreams of becoming a synchronized swimmer. Family events turn her life upside down and she is forced move to a remote area to look after her ill father and younger brother. It won't be long before Jenny starts pursuing her dreams again. Cast: Sara Serraiocco, Ivan Franek, Giorgio Colangeli, Anatol Sassi, Piera Degli Esposti, Andrea Vergoni. World Premiere
Chorus / Canada (Director and screenwriter: François Delisle) — A separated couple meet again after 10 years when the body of their missing son is found. Amid the guilt of losing a loved one, they hesitantly move toward affirmation of life, acceptance of death, and even the possibility of reconciliation. Cast: Sébastien Ricard, Fanny Mallette, Pierre Curzi, Genevieve Bujold. World Premiere
Glassland / Ireland (Director and screenwriter: Gerard Barrett) — In a desperate attempt to reunite his broken family, a young taxi driver becomes entangled in the criminal underworld. Cast: Jack Reynor, Toni Collette, Will Poulter, Michael Smiley. International Premiere
Homesick / Norway (Director: Anne Sewitsky, Screenwriters: Ragnhild Tronvoll, Anne Sewitsky) — When Charlotte, 27, meets her brother Henrik, 35, for the first time, two people who don't know what a normal family is begin an encounter without boundaries. How does sibling love manifest itself if you have never experienced it before?Cast: Ine Marie Wilmann, Simon J. Berger, Anneke von der Lippe, Silje Storstein, Oddgeir Thune, Kari Onstad. World Premiere. Isa: TrustNordisk
Ivy / Turkey (Director and screenwriter: Tolga Karaçelik) — Sarmasik is sailing to Egypt when the ship's owner goes bankrupt. The crew learns there is a lien on the ship, and key crew members must stay on board. Ivy is the story of these six men trapped on the ship for days. Cast: Nadir Sarıbacak, Özgür Emre Yıldırım, Hakan Karsak, Kadir Çermik, Osman Alkaş, Seyithan Özdemiroğlu. World Premiere
Partisan / Australia (Director: Ariel Kleiman, Screenwriters: Ariel Kleiman, Sarah Cyngler) — Alexander is like any other kid: playful, curious and naive. He is also a trained assassin. Raised in a hidden paradise, Alexander has grown up seeing the world filtered through his father, Gregori. As Alexander begins to think for himself, creeping fears take shape, and Gregori's idyllic world unravels. Cast: Vincent Cassel, Jeremy Chabriel, Florence Mezzara. World Premiere
Princess / Israel (Director and screenwriter: Tali Shalom Ezer) — While her mother is away from home, 12-year-old Adar’s role-playing games with her stepfather move into dangerous territory. Seeking an escape, Adar finds Alan, an ethereal boy that accompanies her on a dark journey between reality and fantasy. Cast: Keren Mor, Shira Haas, Ori Pfeffer, Adar Zohar Hanetz. International Premiere
The Second Mother / Brazil (Director and screenwriter: Anna Muylaert) — Having left her daughter, Jessica, to be raised by relatives in the north of Brazil, Val works as a loving nanny in São Paulo. When Jessica arrives for a visit 13 years later, she confronts her mother's slave-like attitude and everyone in the house is affected by her unexpected behavior. Cast: Regina Casé, Michel Joelsas, Camila Márdila, Karine Teles, Lourenço Mutarelli. World Premiere
Slow West / New Zealand (Director: John Maclean, Screenwriters: John Maclean, Michael Lesslie) — Set at the end of the nineteenth century, 16-year-old Jay Cavendish journeys across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves. He is joined by Silas, a mysterious traveler, and hotly pursued by an outlaw along the way. Cast: Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Rory McCann, Ben Mendelsohn, Brooke Williams, Caren Pistorius. World Premiere
Strangerland / Australia, Ireland (Director: Kim Farrant, Screenwriters: Fiona Seres, Michael Kinirons) — When Catherine and Matthew Parker's two teenage kids disappear into the remote Australian desert, the couple's relationship is pushed to the brink as they confront the mystery of their children's fate. Cast: Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes, Hugo Weaving, Lisa Flanagan, Meyne Wyatt, Maddison Brown. World Premiere
The Summer of Sangaile / Lithuania, France, Holland (Director and screenwriter: Alanté Kavaïté) — Seventeen-year-old Sangaile is fascinated by stunt planes. She meets a girl her age at the summer aeronautical show, nearby her parents’ lakeside villa. Sangaile allows Auste to discover her most intimate secret and in the process finds in her teenage love, the only person that truly encourages her to fly. Cast: Julija Steponaitytė, Aistė Diržiūtė. World Premiere. Isa: Films Distribution.
Umrika / India (Director and screenwriter: Prashant Nair) — When a young village boy discovers that his brother, long believed to be in America, has actually gone missing, he begins to invent letters on his behalf to save their mother from heartbreak, all the while searching for him. Cast: Suraj Sharma, Tony Revolori, Smita Tambe, Adil Hussain, Rajesh Tailang, Prateik Babbar. World Premiere
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary international filmmakers working today.
The Amina Profile / Canada (Director: Sophie Deraspe) — During the Arab revolution, a love story between two women — a Canadian and a Syrian American — turns into an international sociopolitical thriller spotlighting media excesses and the thin line between truth and falsehood on the Internet. World Premiere
Censored Voices / Israel, Germany (Director: Mor Loushy) — One week after the 1967 Six-Day War, renowned author Amos Oz and editor Avraham Shapira recorded intimate conversations with soldiers returning from the battlefield. The Israeli army censored the recordings, allowing only a fragment of the conversations to be published. Censored Voices reveals these recordings for the first time. World Premiere
The Chinese Mayor / China (Director: Hao Zhou) — Mayor Geng Yanbo is determined to transform the coal-mining center of Datong, in China’s Shanxi province, into a tourism haven showcasing clean energy. In order to achieve that, however, he has to relocate 500,000 residences to make way for the restoration of the ancient city. World Premiere
Chuck Norris vs Communism / United Kingdom, Romania, Germany (Director: Ilinca Calugareanu) — In 1980s Romania, thousands of Western films smashed through the Iron Curtain, opening a window to the free world for those who dared to look. A black market VHS racketeer and courageous female translator brought the magic of film to the masses and sowed the seeds of a revolution. World Premiere. Producers Rep: UTA
Dark Horse / United Kingdom (Director: Louise Osmond) — Dark Horse is the inspirational true story of a group of friends from a workingman's club who decide to take on the elite "sport of kings" and breed themselves a racehorse. World Premiere
Dreamcatcher / United Kingdom (Director: Kim Longinotto) — Dreamcatcher takes us into a hidden world seen through the eyes of one of its survivors, Brenda Myers-Powell. A former teenage prostitute, Brenda defied the odds to become a powerful advocate for change in her community. With warmth and humor, Brenda gives hope to those who have none. World Premiere
How to Change the World / United Kingdom, Canada (Director: Jerry Rothwell) — In 1971, a group of friends sails into a nuclear test zone, and their protest captures the world’s imagination. Using rare, archival footage that brings their extraordinary world to life, How to Change the World is the story of the pioneers who founded Greenpeace and defined the modern green movement. World Premiere. Day One Film
Listen to Me Marlon / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Stevan Riley, Co-writer: Peter Ettedgui) — With exclusive access to previously unheard audio archives, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career and extraordinary life away from the stage and screen, the film fully explores the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely in Marlon’s own voice. World Premiere
Pervert Park / Sweden, Denmark (Directors: Frida Barkfors, Lasse Barkfors) — Pervert Park follows the everyday lives of sex offenders in a Florida trailer park as they struggle to reintegrate into society, and try to understand who they are and how to break the cycle of sex crimes being committed. International Premiere
The Russian Woodpecker / United Kingdom (Director: Chad Gracia) — A Ukrainian victim of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster discovers a dark secret and must decide whether to risk his life by revealing it, amid growing clouds of revolution and war. World Premiere
Sembene! / U.S.A., Senegal (Directors: Samba Gadjigo, Jason Silverman) — In 1952, Ousmane Sembene, a Senegalese dockworker and fifth-grade dropout, began dreaming an impossible dream: to become the storyteller for a new Africa. This true story celebrates how the “father of African cinema,” against enormous odds, fought a monumental, 50-year-long battle to give Africans a voice. World Premiere
The Visit / Denmark, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Norway (Director: Michael Madsen) — “This film documents an event that has never taken place…” With unprecedented access to the United Nations' Office for Outer Space Affairs, leading space scientists and space agencies, The Visit explores humans' first encounter with alien intelligent life and thereby humanity itself. "Our scenario begins with the arrival. Your arrival." World Premiere
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Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling populate this program. Digital technology paired with unfettered creativity promises that the films in this section will shape a “greater” next wave in American cinema. Presented by Adobe.
Bob and the Trees / U.S.A., France (Director: Diego Ongaro, Screenwriters: Diego Ongaro, Courtney Maum, Sasha Statman-Weil) — Bob, a 50-year-old logger in rural Massachusetts with a soft spot for golf and gangsta rap, is struggling to make ends meet in a changed economy. When his beloved cow is wounded and a job goes awry, Bob begins to heed the instincts of his ever-darkening self. Cast: Bob Tarasuk, Matt Gallagher, Polly MacIntyre, Winthrop Barrett, Nathaniel Gregory. World Premiere
Christmas, Again / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Charles Poekel) — A heartbroken Christmas tree salesman returns to New York, hoping to put the past year behind him. He spends the season living in a trailer and working the night shift, until a mysterious woman and some colorful customers rescue him from self-destruction. Cast: Kentucker Audley, Hannah Gross, Jason Shelton, Oona Roche. North American Premiere
Cronies / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Larnell) — Twenty-two-year-old Louis doesn’t know whether his childhood friendship with Jack will last beyond today. Cast: George Sample III, Zurich Buckner, Brian Kowalski. World Premiere
Entertainment / U.S.A. (Director: Rick Alverson, Screenwriters: Rick Alverson, Gregg Turkington, Tim Heidecker) — En route to meeting with his estranged daughter, in an attempt to revive his dwindling career, a broken, aging comedian plays a string of dead-end shows in the Mojave Desert. Cast: Gregg Turkington, John C. Reilly, Tye Sheridan, Michael Cera, Amy Seimetz, Lotte Verbeek. World Premiere
H. / U.S.A., Argentina (Directors and screenwriters: Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia) — Two women, each named Helen, find their lives spinning out of control after a meteor allegedly explodes over their city of Troy, New York. Cast: Robin Bartlett, Rebecca Dayan, Will Janowitz, Julian Gamble, Roger Robinson. World Premiere
James White / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Josh Mond) — A young New Yorker struggles to take control of his reckless, self-destructive behavior in the face of momentous family challenges. Cast: Chris Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, Makenzie Leigh, David Call. World Premiere
Nasty Baby / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sebastian Silva) — A gay couple try to have a baby with the help of their best friend, Polly. The trio navigates the idea of creating life while confronted by unexpected harassment from a neighborhood man called The Bishop. As their clashes grow increasingly aggressive, odds are someone is getting hurt. Cast: Sebastian Silva, Tunde Adebimpe, Kristin Wiig, Reg E. Cathey, Mark Margolis, Denis O'Hare. World Premiere
The Strongest Man / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kenny Riches) — An anxiety-ridden Cuban man who fancies himself the strongest man in the world attempts to recover his most prized possession, a stolen bicycle. On his quest, he finds and loses much more. Cast: Robert Lorie, Paul Chamberlain, Ashly Burch, Patrick Fugit, Lisa Banes. World Premiere
" Take Me To The River " / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Matt Sobel) — A naive California teen plans to remain above the fray at his Nebraskan family reunion, but a strange encounter places him at the center of a long-buried family secret.Cast: Logan Miller, Robin Weigert, Josh Hamilton, Richard Schiff, Ursula Parker, Azura Skye. World Premiere. Producer rep: Cinetic Media
Tangerine / U.S.A. (Director: Sean Baker, Screenwriters: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch) — A working girl tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart. Cast: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, Mickey O'Hagan, Alla Tumanyan, James Ransone. World Premiere
Spotlight
Regardless of where these films have played throughout the world, the Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love.
6 Desires: Dh Lawrence and Sardinia / United Kingdom, Italy (Director: Mark Cousins) — In winter 1921, Dh Lawrence and his wife journeyed to Sardinia, and he chronicled their experiences in Sea and Sardinia. Now, Mark Cousins retraces Lawrence’s footsteps. The film is conceived partly as a letter to Lawrence — or “Bert” — a detail that’s typical of the film’s inviting sense of conversational intimacy.International Premiere
'71 / United Kingdom (Director: Yann Demange, Screenwriter: Gregory Burke) — ‘71 takes place over a single night in the life of a young British soldier accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, he must survive the night alone and find his way to safety. Cast: Jack O'Connell, Paul Anderson, Richard Dormer, Sean Harris, Barry Keoghan, Martin McCann.
99 Homes / U.S.A. (Director: Ramin Bahrani, Screenwriters: Ramin Bahrani, Amir Naderi, Bahareh Azimi) — A father struggles to get back the home that his family was evicted from by working for the greedy real-estate broker who's the source of his frustration. Cast: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern, Tim Guinee, Cullen Moss, J.D. Evermore.
Aloft / Spain, France, Canada (Director and screenwriter: Claudia Llosa) — Aloft tells the story of a struggling mother, Nana, and her evolution to becoming a renowned healer. When a young artist tracks down Nana's son 20 years after she abandoned him, she sets in motion an encounter between the two that will bring the meaning of their lives into question. Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Cillian Murphy, Mélanie Laurent, William Shimell. North American Premiere
Eden / France (Director: Mia Hansen-løve, Screenwriters: Mia Hansen-løve, Sven Hansen-løve) — Mia Hansen-løve's electronic-dance-music epic follows the rise and fall of a DJ (based on her brother, Sven, a contemporary of Daft Punk) who gets into the rave scene in 1994 and spends the next 20 years navigating the French club scene. Cast: Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne, Greta Gerwig, Brady Corbet, Arsinee Khanjian, Vincent Macaigne.
Girlhood / France (Director and screenwriter: Céline Sciamma) — Oppressed by her family, dead-end school prospects, and the boys law in the neighborhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of free-spirited girls. She changes her name and dress, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping to find a way to freedom. Cast: Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré, Idrissa Diabaté, Simina Soumaré.
The Tribe / Ukraine (Director and screenwriter: Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy) — Set at a Ukrainian boarding school for the deaf, the film’s narrative unfolds purely through sign language without the need for employing subtitles or voiceover, resulting in a unique, never-before-seen cinematic experience that engages the audience on a new level. Cast: Grigoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova, Rosa Babiy, Alexander Dsiadevich.
White God / Hungary (Director: Kornél Mundruczó, Screenwriters: Kata Wéber, Kornél Mundruczó, Viktória Petrányi) — When young Lili is forced to give up her beloved dog, Hagen, because its mixed-breed heritage is deemed “unfit” by The State, she and the dog begin a dangerous journey back toward each other. Cast: Zsófia Psotta, Sandor Zsótér, Szabolcs Thuróczy, Lili Monori, László Gálffi, Lili Horváth. U.S. Premiere
Wild Tales / Argentina, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Damián Szifrón) — Inequality, injustice, and the demands of the world cause stress and depression for many people. Some of them, however, explode. This is a movie about those people. Vulnerable in the face of an unpredictable reality, the characters of Wild Tales cross the thin line dividing civilization and barbarism. Cast: Ricardo Darín, Julieta Zyberberg, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Darío Grandinetti, Erica Rivas, Oscar Martínez.
Park City At Midnight
From horror flicks to comedies to works that defy any genre, these unruly films will keep you edge-seated and wide awake.
Cop Car / U.S.A. (Director: Jon Watts, Screenwriters: Christopher D. Ford, Jon Watts) — Two 10-year-old boys steal an abandoned cop car. Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Shea Whigham, Camryn Manheim. World Premiere
The Hallow / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Corin Hardy, Screenwriters: Corin Hardy, Felipe Marino) — When a London-based conservationist is sent to Ireland to survey an area of ancient forest believed by the superstitious locals to be hallowed ground, he unwittingly disturbs a horde of terrifying beings and must fight to protect his family. Cast: Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton, Michael Smiley. World Premiere
Hellions / Canada (Director: Bruce McDonald, Screenwriter: Pascal Trottier) — Teenage Dora Vogel must survive a Halloween night from hell when malevolent trick-or-treaters come knocking at her door. Cast: Chloe Rose, Robert Patrick, Rossif Sutherland, Rachel Wilson, Peter DaCunha, Luke Bilyk. World Premiere
It Follows / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Robert Mitchell) — After a strange sexual encounter, a teenager finds herself haunted by nightmarish visions and the inescapable sense that something is after her. Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe.
Knock Knock / U.S.A. (Director: Eli Roth, Screenwriters: Eli Roth, Nicolas Lopez, Guillermo Amoedo) — Two beautiful young girls walk into a married man's life and turn a wild fantasy into his worst nightmare. Cast: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana De Armas, Aaron Burns, Ignacia Allamand, Colleen Camp. World Premiere
The Nightmare / U.S.A. (Director: Rodney Ascher) — A documentary-horror film exploring the phenomenon of sleep paralysis through the eyes of eight people. They (and a surprisingly large number of others) often find themselves trapped between the sleeping and awake realms, unable to move but aware of their surroundings while subject to disturbing sights and sounds. World Premiere
Reversal / U.S.A. (Director: J.M Cravioto, Screenwriters: Rock Shaink, Keith Kjornes) — A gritty psychological thriller about a young woman chained in a basement of a sexual predator and manages to escape. However, right when she has a chance for freedom, she unravels a hard truth and decides to turn the tables on her captor. Cast: Tina Ivlev, Richard Tyson, Bianca Malinowski. World Premiere
Turbo Kid / Canada, New Zealand (Directors: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell, Screenwriters: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell) — In a post-apocalyptic future, The Kid, an orphaned outcast, meets a mysterious girl. They become friends until Zeus, the sadistic leader of the Wasteland, kidnaps her. The Kid must face his fears, and journey to rid the Wasteland of evil and save the girl. Cast: Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Aaron Jeffery, Edwin Wright. World Premiere
New Frontier Films
The Forbidden Room / Canada (Directors: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Screenwriters: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Robert Kotyk) — A submarine crew, a feared pack of forest bandits, a famous surgeon, and a battalion of child soldiers all get more than they bargained for as they wend their way toward progressive ideas on life and love. Cast: Geraldine Chaplin, Caroline Dhavernas, Roy Dupuis, Udo Kier, Charlotte Rampling, Karine Vanasse. World Premiere
Liveforever / Colombia, Mexico (Director: Carlos Moreno, Screenwriters: Alberto Ferreras, Alonso Torres, Carlos Moreno) — Driven by the music and dancing she finds along the way, a teenager leaves home willing to try anything her provocative and tolerant city has to offer, even if she burns out in the process. Inspired by the best-selling novel "Que viva la música" by Andres Caicedo. Cast: Paulina Davila, Alejandra Avila, Luis Arrieta, Juan Pablo Barragan, Nelson Camayo, Christian Tappan. World Premiere
The Royal Road / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jenni Olson) — This cinematic essay, a defense of remembering, offers up a primer on the Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, butch identity and Alfred Hitchcock'sVertigo — all against a contemplative backdrop of 16mm urban California landscapes. Cast: Jenni Olson, Tony Kushner. World Premiere
Sam Klemke's Time Machine / Australia (Director: Matthew Bate) — Sam Klemke has filmed and narrated 50 years of his life, creating a strange and intimate portrait of what it means to be human. World Premiere
Station to Station / U.S.A. (Director: Doug Aitken) — Station to Station is composed of 60 individual one-minute films featuring different artists, musicians, places, and perspectives. This revolutionary feature-length film reveals a larger narrative about modern creativity. World Premiere
Things of the Aimless Wanderer / Rwanda, United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Kivu Ruhorahoza) — A white man meets a black girl, then she disappears. The white man tries to understand what happened to her while also trying to finish a travelogue. Things of the Aimless Wanderer is a film about the sensitive topic of relations between “locals” and Westerners, about paranoia, mistrust, and misunderstandings. Cast: Justin Mullikin, Grace Nikuze, Ramadhan Bizimana, Eliane Umuhire, Wesley Ruzibiza, Matt Ray Brown. World Premiere
New Frontier Installations
1979 Revolution Game
Artists: Navid Khonsari, Vassiliki Khonsari
1979 Revolution Game presents an innovative approach to non-fiction storytelling. Designed to engage players with an immersive "on the ground" experience of the Iranian Revolution, the game integrates an emotionally impactful narrative with interactive moral choices and intuitive touchscreen gameplay while remaining true to history.
Assent
Artist: Oscar Raby
This immersive documentary uses virtual reality technology to put the user in the footsteps of Director Oscar Raby's father, who in 1973 was a 22-year-old army officer stationed in the north of Chile, on the day when the Caravan of Death came to his regiment.
Birdly
Artist: Max Rheiner
Flying is one of the oldest dreams of humankind. Birdly is an experiment to capture this dream, to simulate the experience of being a bird from a first-person perspective. This embodiment is conducted through a full-body virtual reality setup.
Dérive
Artist: François Quévillon
This interactive installation uses the audience’s body motions and positions to explore 3-D reconstructions of urban and natural spaces that are transformed according to live environmental data, including meteorological and astronomical phenomena.
Evolution of Verse
Artist: Chris Milk
Chris Milk, working with visual effects powerhouse Digital Domain and virtual reality production company Vrse.works, has created this photo-realistic CGI-rendered 3-D virtual reality film that takes the viewer on a journey from beginning to new beginning.
Kaiju Fury!
Artist: Ian Hunter
A dark energy experiment leads to a devastating attack by monstrous Kaiju, and you are standing at ground zero — all in 360-degree, stereoscopic 3-D cinematic virtual reality. You will "be there" as the beasts lay waste to a crumbling city and humanity makes its last stand. Cast: Susie Abromeit, Bill Lippincott, Daniel Martin, Brian Dodge, Vincient Chiantelli.
Paradise
Artist: Pleix
Paradise is certainly not paradisiacal if you look at it through our eyes. But neither is it totally devoid of humor, melancholy and absurdity. Perhaps it is first and foremost life as it is, and then a touch exaggerated in the digital overdrive.
Perspective; Chapter I: The Party
Artists: Rose Troche, Morris May
A young college woman attends a party with the intention of shedding her "shy girl" persona. At the same party, a young man is after a similar reinvention. They meet, drink, and misinterpreted signals turn into things that cannot be undone. Virtual reality simulators let viewers experience both characters. Cast: Tabitha Morella, Caleb Thomas, Zachary Zagoria, Anna Grace Barlow.
Possibilia
Artists: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
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The programmers at Sundance do not have a strict formal assignment of areas they program; they see all the films of all the sections, but like his father, international was always of great interest. The same is true for myself, although out of the 118 feature films selected out of 4,105 feature length submissions, many of the U.S. films look great to me as well. For instance, I am so happy that Matt Sobel’s “ Take Me To The River ” which won the prize at Us in Progress this past November in Wroclaw, Poland at The American Film Festival is in the Next section.
John: This year on Day One, January 22, 2015, the Festival will feature one of each type of film shown at the Festival: one shorts program, a U.S. documentary, a U.S. dramatic, an international documentary and an international dramatic which will be the first ever Lithuanian film in Competition, a lesbian love story that is stylish and smartly directed by Alanté Kavaïté with two fantastic actors, Julija Steponaitytė and Aistė Diržiūtė. Actually " The Summer of Sangaile” is a coproduction of Lithuania, France, and Holland . I think Alanté lives in France.
There ares 29 countries represented and 45 first-time filmmakers.
Sydney: I know the Chileans love Sundance. Last year Alejandro Fernández Almendras said in our interview about “To Kill a Man” that Sundance is very important for Chile. I am also a longtime fan of Sebastian Silva since “The Maid”. Two years ago he had two films, “Crystal Fairy” and “Magic, Magic” in Sundance, so why is this Chilean film not in World Competition but in Next?
John: I’m glad Alejandro said that. Yes we like Chile too. They make many good films. But “Nasty Baby” by Sebastian Silva is a U.S. film, about people living in Brooklyn.
He lives in U.S. and has spent a lot of time here. He knows Brooklyn and yet his curiosity and his view of it is that of an outsider. He knows these people because he watches and listens so well. “
Sydney: “Bridesmaids” star and co-writer Kristen Wiig stars. A short promo of “Nasty Baby” was shown to buyers while it was in post-production in Cannes and Toronto. The Chilean production company of Juan de Dios Larrain and Pablo Larrain, Fabula, produced “No” as well as Sebastian’s later films. Papi Boye and Violaine Pichon’s production and international sales agent Versatile out of France along with the film’s international sales agent Funny Balloons — also based in France – helped finance this U.S. Production.
John: World Cinema is now 10 years old. Overall, the Competition sections have evolved over the years. We have a sense of emerging directors here. We have come of age.
All our films are of emerging filmmakers. Either first time directors or highly anticipated second or third features. Of all the festivals worldwide, Sundance has the strongest program of emerging talent. Watch these filmmakers over the next years. Like “Homesick” by Anna Sewitsky. Her previous film “Happy, Happy” showed at Sundance in 2011 and took the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema. “Happy, Happy” also became the Norwegian Official entry for the Academy Awards® .
Sydney: TrustNordisk sold “Happy, Happy” to more than 50 countries, so they must be poised to sell this one as well.
John: But not all the second and third films are from filmmakers whose first films were at Sundance, although Canada’s “ Chorus” director Francois Delisle showed “The Meteor” at Sundance two years ago.
And “Glassland”, was a very anticipated second film. The first film by director and screenwriter, Gerard Barrett, "Pilgrim Hill” won the Galway Film Festival and was very sought after and was signed with a U.S. agent then. “Sangaile" is also a second feature.
Look at the international films in the Premieres section and you will see some international filmmakers there, like “ Brooklyn” which is an immigrant story directed by John Crowley and written by Nick Hornby whose film “Wild” is now playing .
Sydney: I see from IMDbPro that Hanway has already sold Middle Eastern rights to Front Row Entertainment who must have pre-bought “Brooklyn” in Cannes or Toronto.
John: Of the 12 films in World Cinema the less expected films come from Turkey, “Ivy” by the talented director Tolga Karacelik. This is his second film. His first was “Toll Booth” which Global Initiative distributed in the U.S. The Dp on this was Nuri Bilge Ceylan (“Winter’s Sleep”)’s Dp on “Winter’s Sleep”, Gökhan Tiryaki. It is about guys stuck on a freighter whose company goes bankrupt. Power dynamics play out.
Sydney: Have there been Oscar nominated films in Sundance (Aside from “Whiplash” and “Boyhood”)?
John: Yes, “Man on Wire” was not last year but it was foreign. “Ida” was in Spotlight last year and maybe Sundance increased its visibility. Three others were in Sundance last year:
“To Kill a Man” is Chile’s submission, “Difret” which won the Audience Award is Ethiopia’s submission this year and “Liar’s Dice” from India was in World Competition last year. It is a very artful film. We knew it would do well with the critics, but it did extremely well with the audience too. A couple of films in Spotlight will probably be nominated next year. Watch for them.
Sydney : We haven’t even discussed the World documentaries.
John : Are there any that stand out for you?
Sydney: Yes, “Chuck Norris vs. Communism”, from U.K., Romania and Germany. Chuck Norris?
John: How interesting it is that something like Chuck Norris means something very different to others. It is a sign of cultural differences between us. Chuck Norris shows how independent films built a community of counter culture against an authoritarian government.
Sydney: I also notice that there are six docs from the U.K. Out of 12 films.
John: Yes we noticed and discussed that. U.K. really supports documentary filmmaking. Great work is coming out of the U.K. And many of the films are about different countries, so it doesn’t fit so simply into a U.K. pigeon hole.
Sydney : Yes I see “Chuck Norris” is about Romania, “Dreamcatcher” is about teenage prostitution, “How to Change the World” is about Greenpeace, “Listen to Me Marlon” is about a famous U.S. actor, “The Russian Woodpecker” is about a Ukrainian survivor of Chernobyl.
Thank you John for your insights. I think we have a lot to look at here. Thank you for taking this time to talk with me. See you at Sundance!
For a full list thus far of Sundance films, see below.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Advantageous / U.S.A. (Director: Jennifer Phang, Screenwriters: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang) — In a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter, Jules, do all they can to hold on to their joy, despite the instability surfacing in their world. Cast: Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Kim.
The Bronze / U.S.A. (Director: Bryan Buckley, Screenwriters: Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch) — In 2004, Hope Ann Greggory became an American hero after winning the bronze medal for the women's gymnastics team. Today, she's still living in her small hometown, washed-up and embittered. Stuck in the past, Hope must reassess her life when a promising young gymnast threatens her local celebrity status.Cast: Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Stan, Haley Lu Richardson, Cecily Strong. Day One Film
The D Train / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel) — With his 20th reunion looming, Dan can’t shake his high school insecurities. In a misguided mission to prove he's changed, Dan rekindles a friendship with the popular guy from his class and is left scrambling to protect more than just his reputation when a wild night takes an unexpected turn. Cast: Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor, Mike White, Kyle Bornheimer.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Marielle Heller) — Minnie Goetze is a 15-year-old aspiring comic-book artist, coming of age in the haze of the 1970s in San Francisco. Insatiably curious about the world around her, Minnie is a pretty typical teenage girl. Oh, except that she's sleeping with her mother's boyfriend. Cast: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni, Kristen Wiig.
Dope / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Rick Famuyiwa) — Malcolm is carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles while juggling college applications, academic interviews, and the Sat. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself. Cast: Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Blake Anderson, Zoë Kravitz, A$AP Rocky.
I Smile Back / U.S.A. (Director: Adam Salky, Screenwriters: Amy Koppelman, Paige Dylan) — All is not right in suburbia. Laney Brooks, a wife and mother on the edge, has stopped taking her meds, substituting recreational drugs and the wrong men. With the destruction of her family looming, Laney makes a last, desperate attempt at redemption. Cast: Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Thomas Sadoski, Mia Barron, Terry Kinney, Chris Sarandon.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl / U.S.A. (Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Screenwriter: Jesse Andrews) — Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia. Cast: Thomas Mann, Rj Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon.
The Overnight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Patrick Brice) — Alex, Emily, and their son, Rj, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family "playdate" becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on. Cast: Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, Judith Godrèche.
People, Places, Things / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: James C. Strouse) — Will Henry is a newly single graphic novelist balancing being a parent to his young twin daughters and teaching a classroom full of college students, all the while trying to navigate the rich complexities of new love and letting go of the woman who left him. Cast: Jemaine Clement, Regina Hall, Stephanie Allynne, Jessica Williams, Gia Gadsby, Aundrea Gadsby.
Results / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — Two mismatched personal trainers' lives are upended by the actions of a new, wealthy client. Cast: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Kevin Corrigan, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Michael Hall, Brooklyn Decker.
Songs My Brothers Taught Me / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Chloé Zhao) — This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home. Cast: John Reddy, Jashaun St. John, Irene Bedard, Taysha Fuller, Travis Lone Hill, Eléonore Hendricks.
The Stanford Prison Experiment / U.S.A. (Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Screenwriter: Tim Talbott) — This film is based on the actual events that took place in 1971 when Stanford professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo created what became one of the most shocking and famous social experiments of all time. Cast: Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Michael Angarano, Tye Sheridan, Johnny Simmons, Olivia Thirlby.
Stockholm, Pennsylvania / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Nikole Beckwith) — A young woman is returned home to her biological parents after living with her abductor for 17 years. Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cynthia Nixon, Jason Isaacs, David Warshofsky.
Unexpected / U.S.A. (Director: Kris Swanberg, Screenwriters: Kris Swanberg, Megan Mercier) — When Samantha Abbott begins her final semester teaching science at a Chicago high school, she faces some unexpected news: she's pregnant. Soon after, Samantha learns that one of her favorite students, Jasmine, has landed in a similar situation. Unexpected follows the two women as they embark on an unlikely friendship. Cast: Cobie Smulders, Anders Holm, Gail Bean, Elizabeth McGovern.
The Witch / U.S.A., Canada (Director and screenwriter: Robert Eggers) — New England in the 1630s: William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life with five children, homesteading on the edge of an impassable wilderness. When their newborn son vanishes and crops fail, the family turns on one another. Beyond their worst fears, a supernatural evil lurks in the nearby wood. Cast: Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Lucas Dawson, Ellie Grainger.
Z for Zachariah / U.S.A. (Director: Craig Zobel, Screenwriter: Nissar Modi) — In a post-apocalyptic world, a young woman who believes she is the last human on Earth meets a dying scientist searching for survivors. Their relationship becomes tenuous when another survivor appears. As the two men compete for the woman's affection, their primal urges begin to reveal their true nature. Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine.
U.S. Documentary Competition
Sixteen world-premiere American documentaries that illuminate the ideas, people, and events that shape the present day.
3½ Minutes / U.S.A. (Director: Marc Silver) — On November 23, 2012, unarmed 17-year-old Jordan Russell Davis was shot at a Jacksonville gas station by Michael David Dunn. 3½ Minutes explores the aftermath of Jordan's tragic death, the latent and often unseen effects of racism, and the contradictions of the American criminal justice system.
Being Evel / U.S.A. (Director: Daniel Junge) — An unprecedented, candid portrait of American icon Robert "Evel" Knievel and his legacy.
Best of Enemies / U.S.A. (Directors: Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon) — Best of Enemies is a behind-the-scenes account of the explosive 1968 televised debates between the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr., and their rancorous disagreements about politics, God, and sex.
Call Me Lucky / U.S.A. (Director: Bobcat Goldthwait) — Barry Crimmins was a volatile but brilliant bar comic who became an honored peace activist and influential political satirist. Famous comedians and others build a picture of a man who underwent an incredible transformation.
Cartel Land / U.S.A., Mexico (Director: Matthew Heineman) — In this classic Western set in the 21st century, vigilantes on both sides of the border fight the vicious Mexican drug cartels. With unprecedented access, this character-driven film provokes deep questions about lawlessness, the breakdown of order, and whether citizens should fight violence with violence.
City of Gold / U.S.A. (Director: Laura Gabbert) — Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jonathan Gold casts his light upon a vibrant and growing cultural movement in which he plays the dual roles of high-low priest and culinary geographer of his beloved Los Angeles.
Finders Keepers / U.S.A. (Directors: Bryan Carberry, Clay Tweel) — Recovering addict and amputee John Wood finds himself in a stranger-than-fiction battle to reclaim his mummified leg from Southern entrepreneur Shannon Whisnant, who found it in a grill he bought at an auction and believes it to therefore be his rightful property.
Hot Girls Wanted / U.S.A. (Directors: Jill Bauer, Ronna Gradus) — Hot Girls Wanted is a first-ever look at the realities inside the world of the amateur porn industry and the steady stream of 18- and 19-year-old girls entering into it.
How to Dance in Ohio / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandra Shiva) — In Columbus, Ohio, a group of teenagers and young adults on the autism spectrum prepare for an iconic American rite of passage — a spring formal. They spend 12 weeks practicing their social skills at a local nightclub in preparation for the dance.
Larry Kramer in Love and Anger / U.S.A. (Director: Jean Carlomusto) — Author, activist, and playwright Larry Kramer is one of the most important and controversial figures in contemporary gay America, a political firebrand who gave voice to the outrage and grief that inspired gay men and lesbians to fight for their lives. At 78, this complicated man still commands our attention.
Meru / U.S.A. (Directors: Jimmy Chin, E. Chai Vasarhelyi) — Three elite mountain climbers sacrifice everything but their friendship as they struggle through heartbreaking loss and nature’s harshest elements to attempt the never-before-completed Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru, the most coveted first ascent in the dangerous game of Himalayan big wall climbing.
Racing Extinction / U.S.A. (Director: Louie Psihoyos) — Academy Award-winner Louie Psihoyos (The Cove) assembles a unique team to show the world never-before-seen images that expose issues surrounding endangered species and mass extinction. Whether infiltrating notorious black markets or exploring humans' effect on the environment, Racing Extinction will change the way you see the world.
(T)Error / U.S.A. (Directors: Lyric R. Cabral, David Felix Sutcliffe) — (T)Error is the first film to document on camera a covert counterterrorism sting as it unfolds. Through the perspective of *******, a 63-year-old Black revolutionary turned FBI informant, viewers are given an unprecedented glimpse of the government’s counterterrorism tactics, and the murky justifications behind them.
Welcome to Leith / U.S.A. (Directors: Michael Beach Nichols, Christopher K. Walker) — A white supremacist attempts to take over a small town in North Dakota.
Western / U.S.A., Mexico (Directors: Bill Ross, Turner Ross) — For generations, all that distinguished Eagle Pass, Texas, from Piedras Negras, Mexico, was the Rio Grande. But when darkness descends upon these harmonious border towns, a cowboy and lawman face a new reality that threatens their way of life. Western portrays timeless American figures in the grip of unforgiving change.
The Wolfpack / U.S.A. (Director: Crystal Moselle) — Six bright teenage brothers have spent their entire lives locked away from society in a Manhattan housing project. All they know of the outside is gleaned from the movies they watch obsessively (and recreate meticulously). Yet as adolescence looms, they dream of escape, ever more urgently, into the beckoning world.
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
Twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.
Chlorine / Italy (Director: Lamberto Sanfelice, Screenwriters: Lamberto Sanfelice, Elisa Amoruso) — Jenny, 17, dreams of becoming a synchronized swimmer. Family events turn her life upside down and she is forced move to a remote area to look after her ill father and younger brother. It won't be long before Jenny starts pursuing her dreams again. Cast: Sara Serraiocco, Ivan Franek, Giorgio Colangeli, Anatol Sassi, Piera Degli Esposti, Andrea Vergoni. World Premiere
Chorus / Canada (Director and screenwriter: François Delisle) — A separated couple meet again after 10 years when the body of their missing son is found. Amid the guilt of losing a loved one, they hesitantly move toward affirmation of life, acceptance of death, and even the possibility of reconciliation. Cast: Sébastien Ricard, Fanny Mallette, Pierre Curzi, Genevieve Bujold. World Premiere
Glassland / Ireland (Director and screenwriter: Gerard Barrett) — In a desperate attempt to reunite his broken family, a young taxi driver becomes entangled in the criminal underworld. Cast: Jack Reynor, Toni Collette, Will Poulter, Michael Smiley. International Premiere
Homesick / Norway (Director: Anne Sewitsky, Screenwriters: Ragnhild Tronvoll, Anne Sewitsky) — When Charlotte, 27, meets her brother Henrik, 35, for the first time, two people who don't know what a normal family is begin an encounter without boundaries. How does sibling love manifest itself if you have never experienced it before?Cast: Ine Marie Wilmann, Simon J. Berger, Anneke von der Lippe, Silje Storstein, Oddgeir Thune, Kari Onstad. World Premiere. Isa: TrustNordisk
Ivy / Turkey (Director and screenwriter: Tolga Karaçelik) — Sarmasik is sailing to Egypt when the ship's owner goes bankrupt. The crew learns there is a lien on the ship, and key crew members must stay on board. Ivy is the story of these six men trapped on the ship for days. Cast: Nadir Sarıbacak, Özgür Emre Yıldırım, Hakan Karsak, Kadir Çermik, Osman Alkaş, Seyithan Özdemiroğlu. World Premiere
Partisan / Australia (Director: Ariel Kleiman, Screenwriters: Ariel Kleiman, Sarah Cyngler) — Alexander is like any other kid: playful, curious and naive. He is also a trained assassin. Raised in a hidden paradise, Alexander has grown up seeing the world filtered through his father, Gregori. As Alexander begins to think for himself, creeping fears take shape, and Gregori's idyllic world unravels. Cast: Vincent Cassel, Jeremy Chabriel, Florence Mezzara. World Premiere
Princess / Israel (Director and screenwriter: Tali Shalom Ezer) — While her mother is away from home, 12-year-old Adar’s role-playing games with her stepfather move into dangerous territory. Seeking an escape, Adar finds Alan, an ethereal boy that accompanies her on a dark journey between reality and fantasy. Cast: Keren Mor, Shira Haas, Ori Pfeffer, Adar Zohar Hanetz. International Premiere
The Second Mother / Brazil (Director and screenwriter: Anna Muylaert) — Having left her daughter, Jessica, to be raised by relatives in the north of Brazil, Val works as a loving nanny in São Paulo. When Jessica arrives for a visit 13 years later, she confronts her mother's slave-like attitude and everyone in the house is affected by her unexpected behavior. Cast: Regina Casé, Michel Joelsas, Camila Márdila, Karine Teles, Lourenço Mutarelli. World Premiere
Slow West / New Zealand (Director: John Maclean, Screenwriters: John Maclean, Michael Lesslie) — Set at the end of the nineteenth century, 16-year-old Jay Cavendish journeys across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves. He is joined by Silas, a mysterious traveler, and hotly pursued by an outlaw along the way. Cast: Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Rory McCann, Ben Mendelsohn, Brooke Williams, Caren Pistorius. World Premiere
Strangerland / Australia, Ireland (Director: Kim Farrant, Screenwriters: Fiona Seres, Michael Kinirons) — When Catherine and Matthew Parker's two teenage kids disappear into the remote Australian desert, the couple's relationship is pushed to the brink as they confront the mystery of their children's fate. Cast: Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes, Hugo Weaving, Lisa Flanagan, Meyne Wyatt, Maddison Brown. World Premiere
The Summer of Sangaile / Lithuania, France, Holland (Director and screenwriter: Alanté Kavaïté) — Seventeen-year-old Sangaile is fascinated by stunt planes. She meets a girl her age at the summer aeronautical show, nearby her parents’ lakeside villa. Sangaile allows Auste to discover her most intimate secret and in the process finds in her teenage love, the only person that truly encourages her to fly. Cast: Julija Steponaitytė, Aistė Diržiūtė. World Premiere. Isa: Films Distribution.
Umrika / India (Director and screenwriter: Prashant Nair) — When a young village boy discovers that his brother, long believed to be in America, has actually gone missing, he begins to invent letters on his behalf to save their mother from heartbreak, all the while searching for him. Cast: Suraj Sharma, Tony Revolori, Smita Tambe, Adil Hussain, Rajesh Tailang, Prateik Babbar. World Premiere
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary international filmmakers working today.
The Amina Profile / Canada (Director: Sophie Deraspe) — During the Arab revolution, a love story between two women — a Canadian and a Syrian American — turns into an international sociopolitical thriller spotlighting media excesses and the thin line between truth and falsehood on the Internet. World Premiere
Censored Voices / Israel, Germany (Director: Mor Loushy) — One week after the 1967 Six-Day War, renowned author Amos Oz and editor Avraham Shapira recorded intimate conversations with soldiers returning from the battlefield. The Israeli army censored the recordings, allowing only a fragment of the conversations to be published. Censored Voices reveals these recordings for the first time. World Premiere
The Chinese Mayor / China (Director: Hao Zhou) — Mayor Geng Yanbo is determined to transform the coal-mining center of Datong, in China’s Shanxi province, into a tourism haven showcasing clean energy. In order to achieve that, however, he has to relocate 500,000 residences to make way for the restoration of the ancient city. World Premiere
Chuck Norris vs Communism / United Kingdom, Romania, Germany (Director: Ilinca Calugareanu) — In 1980s Romania, thousands of Western films smashed through the Iron Curtain, opening a window to the free world for those who dared to look. A black market VHS racketeer and courageous female translator brought the magic of film to the masses and sowed the seeds of a revolution. World Premiere. Producers Rep: UTA
Dark Horse / United Kingdom (Director: Louise Osmond) — Dark Horse is the inspirational true story of a group of friends from a workingman's club who decide to take on the elite "sport of kings" and breed themselves a racehorse. World Premiere
Dreamcatcher / United Kingdom (Director: Kim Longinotto) — Dreamcatcher takes us into a hidden world seen through the eyes of one of its survivors, Brenda Myers-Powell. A former teenage prostitute, Brenda defied the odds to become a powerful advocate for change in her community. With warmth and humor, Brenda gives hope to those who have none. World Premiere
How to Change the World / United Kingdom, Canada (Director: Jerry Rothwell) — In 1971, a group of friends sails into a nuclear test zone, and their protest captures the world’s imagination. Using rare, archival footage that brings their extraordinary world to life, How to Change the World is the story of the pioneers who founded Greenpeace and defined the modern green movement. World Premiere. Day One Film
Listen to Me Marlon / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Stevan Riley, Co-writer: Peter Ettedgui) — With exclusive access to previously unheard audio archives, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career and extraordinary life away from the stage and screen, the film fully explores the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely in Marlon’s own voice. World Premiere
Pervert Park / Sweden, Denmark (Directors: Frida Barkfors, Lasse Barkfors) — Pervert Park follows the everyday lives of sex offenders in a Florida trailer park as they struggle to reintegrate into society, and try to understand who they are and how to break the cycle of sex crimes being committed. International Premiere
The Russian Woodpecker / United Kingdom (Director: Chad Gracia) — A Ukrainian victim of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster discovers a dark secret and must decide whether to risk his life by revealing it, amid growing clouds of revolution and war. World Premiere
Sembene! / U.S.A., Senegal (Directors: Samba Gadjigo, Jason Silverman) — In 1952, Ousmane Sembene, a Senegalese dockworker and fifth-grade dropout, began dreaming an impossible dream: to become the storyteller for a new Africa. This true story celebrates how the “father of African cinema,” against enormous odds, fought a monumental, 50-year-long battle to give Africans a voice. World Premiere
The Visit / Denmark, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Norway (Director: Michael Madsen) — “This film documents an event that has never taken place…” With unprecedented access to the United Nations' Office for Outer Space Affairs, leading space scientists and space agencies, The Visit explores humans' first encounter with alien intelligent life and thereby humanity itself. "Our scenario begins with the arrival. Your arrival." World Premiere
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Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling populate this program. Digital technology paired with unfettered creativity promises that the films in this section will shape a “greater” next wave in American cinema. Presented by Adobe.
Bob and the Trees / U.S.A., France (Director: Diego Ongaro, Screenwriters: Diego Ongaro, Courtney Maum, Sasha Statman-Weil) — Bob, a 50-year-old logger in rural Massachusetts with a soft spot for golf and gangsta rap, is struggling to make ends meet in a changed economy. When his beloved cow is wounded and a job goes awry, Bob begins to heed the instincts of his ever-darkening self. Cast: Bob Tarasuk, Matt Gallagher, Polly MacIntyre, Winthrop Barrett, Nathaniel Gregory. World Premiere
Christmas, Again / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Charles Poekel) — A heartbroken Christmas tree salesman returns to New York, hoping to put the past year behind him. He spends the season living in a trailer and working the night shift, until a mysterious woman and some colorful customers rescue him from self-destruction. Cast: Kentucker Audley, Hannah Gross, Jason Shelton, Oona Roche. North American Premiere
Cronies / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Larnell) — Twenty-two-year-old Louis doesn’t know whether his childhood friendship with Jack will last beyond today. Cast: George Sample III, Zurich Buckner, Brian Kowalski. World Premiere
Entertainment / U.S.A. (Director: Rick Alverson, Screenwriters: Rick Alverson, Gregg Turkington, Tim Heidecker) — En route to meeting with his estranged daughter, in an attempt to revive his dwindling career, a broken, aging comedian plays a string of dead-end shows in the Mojave Desert. Cast: Gregg Turkington, John C. Reilly, Tye Sheridan, Michael Cera, Amy Seimetz, Lotte Verbeek. World Premiere
H. / U.S.A., Argentina (Directors and screenwriters: Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia) — Two women, each named Helen, find their lives spinning out of control after a meteor allegedly explodes over their city of Troy, New York. Cast: Robin Bartlett, Rebecca Dayan, Will Janowitz, Julian Gamble, Roger Robinson. World Premiere
James White / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Josh Mond) — A young New Yorker struggles to take control of his reckless, self-destructive behavior in the face of momentous family challenges. Cast: Chris Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, Makenzie Leigh, David Call. World Premiere
Nasty Baby / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sebastian Silva) — A gay couple try to have a baby with the help of their best friend, Polly. The trio navigates the idea of creating life while confronted by unexpected harassment from a neighborhood man called The Bishop. As their clashes grow increasingly aggressive, odds are someone is getting hurt. Cast: Sebastian Silva, Tunde Adebimpe, Kristin Wiig, Reg E. Cathey, Mark Margolis, Denis O'Hare. World Premiere
The Strongest Man / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kenny Riches) — An anxiety-ridden Cuban man who fancies himself the strongest man in the world attempts to recover his most prized possession, a stolen bicycle. On his quest, he finds and loses much more. Cast: Robert Lorie, Paul Chamberlain, Ashly Burch, Patrick Fugit, Lisa Banes. World Premiere
" Take Me To The River " / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Matt Sobel) — A naive California teen plans to remain above the fray at his Nebraskan family reunion, but a strange encounter places him at the center of a long-buried family secret.Cast: Logan Miller, Robin Weigert, Josh Hamilton, Richard Schiff, Ursula Parker, Azura Skye. World Premiere. Producer rep: Cinetic Media
Tangerine / U.S.A. (Director: Sean Baker, Screenwriters: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch) — A working girl tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart. Cast: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, Mickey O'Hagan, Alla Tumanyan, James Ransone. World Premiere
Spotlight
Regardless of where these films have played throughout the world, the Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love.
6 Desires: Dh Lawrence and Sardinia / United Kingdom, Italy (Director: Mark Cousins) — In winter 1921, Dh Lawrence and his wife journeyed to Sardinia, and he chronicled their experiences in Sea and Sardinia. Now, Mark Cousins retraces Lawrence’s footsteps. The film is conceived partly as a letter to Lawrence — or “Bert” — a detail that’s typical of the film’s inviting sense of conversational intimacy.International Premiere
'71 / United Kingdom (Director: Yann Demange, Screenwriter: Gregory Burke) — ‘71 takes place over a single night in the life of a young British soldier accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, he must survive the night alone and find his way to safety. Cast: Jack O'Connell, Paul Anderson, Richard Dormer, Sean Harris, Barry Keoghan, Martin McCann.
99 Homes / U.S.A. (Director: Ramin Bahrani, Screenwriters: Ramin Bahrani, Amir Naderi, Bahareh Azimi) — A father struggles to get back the home that his family was evicted from by working for the greedy real-estate broker who's the source of his frustration. Cast: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern, Tim Guinee, Cullen Moss, J.D. Evermore.
Aloft / Spain, France, Canada (Director and screenwriter: Claudia Llosa) — Aloft tells the story of a struggling mother, Nana, and her evolution to becoming a renowned healer. When a young artist tracks down Nana's son 20 years after she abandoned him, she sets in motion an encounter between the two that will bring the meaning of their lives into question. Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Cillian Murphy, Mélanie Laurent, William Shimell. North American Premiere
Eden / France (Director: Mia Hansen-løve, Screenwriters: Mia Hansen-løve, Sven Hansen-løve) — Mia Hansen-løve's electronic-dance-music epic follows the rise and fall of a DJ (based on her brother, Sven, a contemporary of Daft Punk) who gets into the rave scene in 1994 and spends the next 20 years navigating the French club scene. Cast: Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne, Greta Gerwig, Brady Corbet, Arsinee Khanjian, Vincent Macaigne.
Girlhood / France (Director and screenwriter: Céline Sciamma) — Oppressed by her family, dead-end school prospects, and the boys law in the neighborhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of free-spirited girls. She changes her name and dress, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping to find a way to freedom. Cast: Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré, Idrissa Diabaté, Simina Soumaré.
The Tribe / Ukraine (Director and screenwriter: Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy) — Set at a Ukrainian boarding school for the deaf, the film’s narrative unfolds purely through sign language without the need for employing subtitles or voiceover, resulting in a unique, never-before-seen cinematic experience that engages the audience on a new level. Cast: Grigoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova, Rosa Babiy, Alexander Dsiadevich.
White God / Hungary (Director: Kornél Mundruczó, Screenwriters: Kata Wéber, Kornél Mundruczó, Viktória Petrányi) — When young Lili is forced to give up her beloved dog, Hagen, because its mixed-breed heritage is deemed “unfit” by The State, she and the dog begin a dangerous journey back toward each other. Cast: Zsófia Psotta, Sandor Zsótér, Szabolcs Thuróczy, Lili Monori, László Gálffi, Lili Horváth. U.S. Premiere
Wild Tales / Argentina, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Damián Szifrón) — Inequality, injustice, and the demands of the world cause stress and depression for many people. Some of them, however, explode. This is a movie about those people. Vulnerable in the face of an unpredictable reality, the characters of Wild Tales cross the thin line dividing civilization and barbarism. Cast: Ricardo Darín, Julieta Zyberberg, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Darío Grandinetti, Erica Rivas, Oscar Martínez.
Park City At Midnight
From horror flicks to comedies to works that defy any genre, these unruly films will keep you edge-seated and wide awake.
Cop Car / U.S.A. (Director: Jon Watts, Screenwriters: Christopher D. Ford, Jon Watts) — Two 10-year-old boys steal an abandoned cop car. Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Shea Whigham, Camryn Manheim. World Premiere
The Hallow / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Corin Hardy, Screenwriters: Corin Hardy, Felipe Marino) — When a London-based conservationist is sent to Ireland to survey an area of ancient forest believed by the superstitious locals to be hallowed ground, he unwittingly disturbs a horde of terrifying beings and must fight to protect his family. Cast: Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton, Michael Smiley. World Premiere
Hellions / Canada (Director: Bruce McDonald, Screenwriter: Pascal Trottier) — Teenage Dora Vogel must survive a Halloween night from hell when malevolent trick-or-treaters come knocking at her door. Cast: Chloe Rose, Robert Patrick, Rossif Sutherland, Rachel Wilson, Peter DaCunha, Luke Bilyk. World Premiere
It Follows / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Robert Mitchell) — After a strange sexual encounter, a teenager finds herself haunted by nightmarish visions and the inescapable sense that something is after her. Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe.
Knock Knock / U.S.A. (Director: Eli Roth, Screenwriters: Eli Roth, Nicolas Lopez, Guillermo Amoedo) — Two beautiful young girls walk into a married man's life and turn a wild fantasy into his worst nightmare. Cast: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana De Armas, Aaron Burns, Ignacia Allamand, Colleen Camp. World Premiere
The Nightmare / U.S.A. (Director: Rodney Ascher) — A documentary-horror film exploring the phenomenon of sleep paralysis through the eyes of eight people. They (and a surprisingly large number of others) often find themselves trapped between the sleeping and awake realms, unable to move but aware of their surroundings while subject to disturbing sights and sounds. World Premiere
Reversal / U.S.A. (Director: J.M Cravioto, Screenwriters: Rock Shaink, Keith Kjornes) — A gritty psychological thriller about a young woman chained in a basement of a sexual predator and manages to escape. However, right when she has a chance for freedom, she unravels a hard truth and decides to turn the tables on her captor. Cast: Tina Ivlev, Richard Tyson, Bianca Malinowski. World Premiere
Turbo Kid / Canada, New Zealand (Directors: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell, Screenwriters: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell) — In a post-apocalyptic future, The Kid, an orphaned outcast, meets a mysterious girl. They become friends until Zeus, the sadistic leader of the Wasteland, kidnaps her. The Kid must face his fears, and journey to rid the Wasteland of evil and save the girl. Cast: Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Aaron Jeffery, Edwin Wright. World Premiere
New Frontier Films
The Forbidden Room / Canada (Directors: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Screenwriters: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Robert Kotyk) — A submarine crew, a feared pack of forest bandits, a famous surgeon, and a battalion of child soldiers all get more than they bargained for as they wend their way toward progressive ideas on life and love. Cast: Geraldine Chaplin, Caroline Dhavernas, Roy Dupuis, Udo Kier, Charlotte Rampling, Karine Vanasse. World Premiere
Liveforever / Colombia, Mexico (Director: Carlos Moreno, Screenwriters: Alberto Ferreras, Alonso Torres, Carlos Moreno) — Driven by the music and dancing she finds along the way, a teenager leaves home willing to try anything her provocative and tolerant city has to offer, even if she burns out in the process. Inspired by the best-selling novel "Que viva la música" by Andres Caicedo. Cast: Paulina Davila, Alejandra Avila, Luis Arrieta, Juan Pablo Barragan, Nelson Camayo, Christian Tappan. World Premiere
The Royal Road / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jenni Olson) — This cinematic essay, a defense of remembering, offers up a primer on the Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, butch identity and Alfred Hitchcock'sVertigo — all against a contemplative backdrop of 16mm urban California landscapes. Cast: Jenni Olson, Tony Kushner. World Premiere
Sam Klemke's Time Machine / Australia (Director: Matthew Bate) — Sam Klemke has filmed and narrated 50 years of his life, creating a strange and intimate portrait of what it means to be human. World Premiere
Station to Station / U.S.A. (Director: Doug Aitken) — Station to Station is composed of 60 individual one-minute films featuring different artists, musicians, places, and perspectives. This revolutionary feature-length film reveals a larger narrative about modern creativity. World Premiere
Things of the Aimless Wanderer / Rwanda, United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Kivu Ruhorahoza) — A white man meets a black girl, then she disappears. The white man tries to understand what happened to her while also trying to finish a travelogue. Things of the Aimless Wanderer is a film about the sensitive topic of relations between “locals” and Westerners, about paranoia, mistrust, and misunderstandings. Cast: Justin Mullikin, Grace Nikuze, Ramadhan Bizimana, Eliane Umuhire, Wesley Ruzibiza, Matt Ray Brown. World Premiere
New Frontier Installations
1979 Revolution Game
Artists: Navid Khonsari, Vassiliki Khonsari
1979 Revolution Game presents an innovative approach to non-fiction storytelling. Designed to engage players with an immersive "on the ground" experience of the Iranian Revolution, the game integrates an emotionally impactful narrative with interactive moral choices and intuitive touchscreen gameplay while remaining true to history.
Assent
Artist: Oscar Raby
This immersive documentary uses virtual reality technology to put the user in the footsteps of Director Oscar Raby's father, who in 1973 was a 22-year-old army officer stationed in the north of Chile, on the day when the Caravan of Death came to his regiment.
Birdly
Artist: Max Rheiner
Flying is one of the oldest dreams of humankind. Birdly is an experiment to capture this dream, to simulate the experience of being a bird from a first-person perspective. This embodiment is conducted through a full-body virtual reality setup.
Dérive
Artist: François Quévillon
This interactive installation uses the audience’s body motions and positions to explore 3-D reconstructions of urban and natural spaces that are transformed according to live environmental data, including meteorological and astronomical phenomena.
Evolution of Verse
Artist: Chris Milk
Chris Milk, working with visual effects powerhouse Digital Domain and virtual reality production company Vrse.works, has created this photo-realistic CGI-rendered 3-D virtual reality film that takes the viewer on a journey from beginning to new beginning.
Kaiju Fury!
Artist: Ian Hunter
A dark energy experiment leads to a devastating attack by monstrous Kaiju, and you are standing at ground zero — all in 360-degree, stereoscopic 3-D cinematic virtual reality. You will "be there" as the beasts lay waste to a crumbling city and humanity makes its last stand. Cast: Susie Abromeit, Bill Lippincott, Daniel Martin, Brian Dodge, Vincient Chiantelli.
Paradise
Artist: Pleix
Paradise is certainly not paradisiacal if you look at it through our eyes. But neither is it totally devoid of humor, melancholy and absurdity. Perhaps it is first and foremost life as it is, and then a touch exaggerated in the digital overdrive.
Perspective; Chapter I: The Party
Artists: Rose Troche, Morris May
A young college woman attends a party with the intention of shedding her "shy girl" persona. At the same party, a young man is after a similar reinvention. They meet, drink, and misinterpreted signals turn into things that cannot be undone. Virtual reality simulators let viewers experience both characters. Cast: Tabitha Morella, Caleb Thomas, Zachary Zagoria, Anna Grace Barlow.
Possibilia
Artists: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
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- 12/6/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
The competition movie line-up has been revealed for the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, which runs from January 22nd to February 1st 2015. Below the announcement video you'll find the U.S. and World Competition categories, as well as the Next section.
Out of the 12,166 submissions that the festival received this year only 185 were selected. It looks like there are going to be a lot of great films this year. I always enjoy going to Sundance because you never know what film gems are just waiting to be seen.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Presenting the world premieres of 16 narrative feature films, the Dramatic Competition offers Festivalgoers a first look at groundbreaking new voices in American independent film.
Advantageous / U.S.A. (Director: Jennifer Phang, Screenwriters: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang) — In a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter, Jules, do all they can to hold on to their joy,...
Out of the 12,166 submissions that the festival received this year only 185 were selected. It looks like there are going to be a lot of great films this year. I always enjoy going to Sundance because you never know what film gems are just waiting to be seen.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Presenting the world premieres of 16 narrative feature films, the Dramatic Competition offers Festivalgoers a first look at groundbreaking new voices in American independent film.
Advantageous / U.S.A. (Director: Jennifer Phang, Screenwriters: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang) — In a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter, Jules, do all they can to hold on to their joy,...
- 12/4/2014
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
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