Exclusive: In a competitive situation, Topic Studios has secured the rights to Amanda Montell’s book Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism for adaptation as a television docuseries.
Published by Harper Wave in June of 2021, Montell’s second book, following Wordslut, dissects how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power.
The docuseries will be a powerful and timely deep dive into how cults maintain their power, per producers. According to Montell, whose own father escaped from a cult as a teenager, “we’ve been thinking about cults in completely the wrong way. While there have long been dark, dangerous cults (such as the Manson Family), fanatical groups actually fall along a spectrum, from Heaven’s Gate all the way to SoulCycle and Taylor Swift stans. Using an incisive, compelling and often funny tone, Cultish will unpack what cult influence looks,...
Published by Harper Wave in June of 2021, Montell’s second book, following Wordslut, dissects how cultish groups from Jonestown and Scientology to SoulCycle and social media gurus use language as the ultimate form of power.
The docuseries will be a powerful and timely deep dive into how cults maintain their power, per producers. According to Montell, whose own father escaped from a cult as a teenager, “we’ve been thinking about cults in completely the wrong way. While there have long been dark, dangerous cults (such as the Manson Family), fanatical groups actually fall along a spectrum, from Heaven’s Gate all the way to SoulCycle and Taylor Swift stans. Using an incisive, compelling and often funny tone, Cultish will unpack what cult influence looks,...
- 11/15/2022
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
“The Exorcist” and “The French Connection” auteur William Friedkin is gearing up to direct his first film in five years, an adaptation of the play “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,” and “24” star Kiefer Sutherland is in talks to star in the film, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.
Sutherland would play Lt. Commander Queeg in the film, which is an adaptation of the two-act play by Herman Wouk, itself based on Wouk’s own Pulitzer Prize-winning novel from 1951 “The Caine Mutiny.” And the screenplay for Friedkin’s film is in fact from Wouk himself, a 50-year-old draft based on the original source material, with Friedkin making revisions.
“The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” in particular only shows the court martial scene from the larger story, and it puts the audience in the position of the jury as we only know what’s said in the trial, none of the events that led to the mutiny.
Sutherland would play Lt. Commander Queeg in the film, which is an adaptation of the two-act play by Herman Wouk, itself based on Wouk’s own Pulitzer Prize-winning novel from 1951 “The Caine Mutiny.” And the screenplay for Friedkin’s film is in fact from Wouk himself, a 50-year-old draft based on the original source material, with Friedkin making revisions.
“The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial” in particular only shows the court martial scene from the larger story, and it puts the audience in the position of the jury as we only know what’s said in the trial, none of the events that led to the mutiny.
- 8/29/2022
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Exclusive: William Friedkin has been plenty selective in the films he directs, but the heralded helmer of The French Connection, The Exorcist, To Live and Die in L.A. and others has found both a script and a star he could not resist.
Kiefer Sutherland will star as Lt. Commander Queeg in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, using a 50-year-old play script written by Herman Wouk from his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. It is being plotted for a January start, and casting is just getting underway. Annabelle Dunne and Matt Parker are producing. Sutherland’s deal is being finalized.
“I’ve looked at a lot of scripts in the last 10 years, and I haven’t seen anything I really wanted to do,” said Friedkin, who most recently directed 2011’s stylish noir drama Killer Joe starring Matthew McConaughey. “But I think about it a lot, and it occurred to me that could be...
Kiefer Sutherland will star as Lt. Commander Queeg in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, using a 50-year-old play script written by Herman Wouk from his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. It is being plotted for a January start, and casting is just getting underway. Annabelle Dunne and Matt Parker are producing. Sutherland’s deal is being finalized.
“I’ve looked at a lot of scripts in the last 10 years, and I haven’t seen anything I really wanted to do,” said Friedkin, who most recently directed 2011’s stylish noir drama Killer Joe starring Matthew McConaughey. “But I think about it a lot, and it occurred to me that could be...
- 8/29/2022
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
From TorontoFilm.Net here is the Toronto Film Production Update for December 2017 including "Blood and Water", "Decoy", "Falling Water" and a whole lot more:
Anne Season 2
TV Series
CBC/Netflix
Prod.: John Calvert
Oct 2/17 - Mar 20/18
Blood And Water Season 3
TV Series
Breakthrough Entertainment
Prod.: Paula J. Smith
Dir.: Felipe Rodriguez
Nov 15 - Dec 8/17
Decoy
Feature
Decoy Pictures Inc.
Prod.: Andrew Gunn, Michael Bien, Angela Donald
Dir.: Allan Ungar
Nov 1 - Dec 7/17
Designated Survivor
Season 2
TV Series
Designated 1 Ltd.
Prod.: Llewellyn Wells
Dir.: Various
Jul 4/17 - Mar 31/18 Tbc
Falling Water Season 2
TV Series
Gep Falling Water Inc.
Prod.: Terry Gould
Dir.: various
Aug 20 - Mar 20/18
Franklin
Feature
New Line Productions Inc. / Jellystone Films Inc.
Prod.: Peter Safran
Dir.: David F. Sandberg
Feb 5 - May 8/18
Freebirds
TV Series
Warner Bros. TV / Berlanti Entertainment
Prod.: Robert Ortiz
Dir.: John Fawcett,...
Anne Season 2
TV Series
CBC/Netflix
Prod.: John Calvert
Oct 2/17 - Mar 20/18
Blood And Water Season 3
TV Series
Breakthrough Entertainment
Prod.: Paula J. Smith
Dir.: Felipe Rodriguez
Nov 15 - Dec 8/17
Decoy
Feature
Decoy Pictures Inc.
Prod.: Andrew Gunn, Michael Bien, Angela Donald
Dir.: Allan Ungar
Nov 1 - Dec 7/17
Designated Survivor
Season 2
TV Series
Designated 1 Ltd.
Prod.: Llewellyn Wells
Dir.: Various
Jul 4/17 - Mar 31/18 Tbc
Falling Water Season 2
TV Series
Gep Falling Water Inc.
Prod.: Terry Gould
Dir.: various
Aug 20 - Mar 20/18
Franklin
Feature
New Line Productions Inc. / Jellystone Films Inc.
Prod.: Peter Safran
Dir.: David F. Sandberg
Feb 5 - May 8/18
Freebirds
TV Series
Warner Bros. TV / Berlanti Entertainment
Prod.: Robert Ortiz
Dir.: John Fawcett,...
- 11/30/2017
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
From TorontoFilm.Net here is the Toronto Film Production Update for November 2017 including "Locke and Key", "Titans", "Umbrella Academy" and a whole lot more:
Anne- Season 2
TV Series
CBC/Netflix
Prod.: John Calvert
Dir.: Various
Oct 2/17 - Mar 20/18
Baroness Von Sketch Show- Season 3
TV Series
Frantic Films
Prod.: Graham Ludlow, Jeff Peeler
Dir.: Jeremy Lalonde, Jordan Canning
Aug 21 - Nov 10/17
Cardinal: By The Time You Read This- Season 3
TV Series – Mini
eOne
Prod.: Jessica Daniel
Dir.: Daniel Grou
Sep 19 - Nov 24/17
Decoy
Feature
Decoy Pictures Inc.
Prod.: Andrew Gunn, Michael Bien, Angela Donald
Dir.: Allan Ungar
Nov 1 - Dec 7/17
Designated Survivor- Season 2
TV Series
Designated 1 Ltd.
Prod.: Llewellyn Wells
Dir.: Various
Jul 4/17 - Mar 31/18
Dino Dana- Season 3
TV Series
Sinking Ship Entertainment
Prod.: Eric Beldowski
Dir: Various
Aug 1 – Nov 17/17
Falling Water- Season 2
TV Series
Gep Falling Water Inc.
Anne- Season 2
TV Series
CBC/Netflix
Prod.: John Calvert
Dir.: Various
Oct 2/17 - Mar 20/18
Baroness Von Sketch Show- Season 3
TV Series
Frantic Films
Prod.: Graham Ludlow, Jeff Peeler
Dir.: Jeremy Lalonde, Jordan Canning
Aug 21 - Nov 10/17
Cardinal: By The Time You Read This- Season 3
TV Series – Mini
eOne
Prod.: Jessica Daniel
Dir.: Daniel Grou
Sep 19 - Nov 24/17
Decoy
Feature
Decoy Pictures Inc.
Prod.: Andrew Gunn, Michael Bien, Angela Donald
Dir.: Allan Ungar
Nov 1 - Dec 7/17
Designated Survivor- Season 2
TV Series
Designated 1 Ltd.
Prod.: Llewellyn Wells
Dir.: Various
Jul 4/17 - Mar 31/18
Dino Dana- Season 3
TV Series
Sinking Ship Entertainment
Prod.: Eric Beldowski
Dir: Various
Aug 1 – Nov 17/17
Falling Water- Season 2
TV Series
Gep Falling Water Inc.
- 11/2/2017
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
In what might be considered somewhat shocking, the creators of South Park, Matt Parker and Trey Stone have “backed off” of political comedy. While the series is definitely representing Donald Trump in its own way, Stone and Parker have made the conscious decision to not make fun of the current political landscape. At least, for now. In a recent interview with Australian news show 7.30, here’s what the two had to say: “It’s tricky now because satire has become reality,” Parker told 7.30. It’s really hard to make fun of and in the last season of South Park, which just
South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone Say Donald Trump is Too Hard to Satirize...
South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone Say Donald Trump is Too Hard to Satirize...
- 2/2/2017
- by Nat Berman
- TVovermind.com
The partners are collaborating on the theatrical and home entertainment release of Approaching The Unknown starring Mark Strong.
Vertical Entertainment, the Santa Monica-based distributor run by Rich Goldberg and Mitch Budin, will handle Us theatrical distribution starting on June 3.
In keeping with Vertical’s broader distribution philosophy, Approaching The Unknown will go out day-and-date digitally and on VOD via Paramount Home Media Distribution.
Paramount will handle other Us ancillary platforms and worldwide distribution excluding Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Middle East, and South Africa.
2014 Sundance Institute / Nhk Award-winner Mark Elijah Rosenberg wrote and directed the story about a lone astronaut on a mission to Mars forced to make life-changing choices.
Luke Wilson, Sanaa Lathan, Anders Danielsen Lie and Charles Baker round out the key cast on the sci-fi.
Approaching The Unknown is a Tiderock Media and 3311 Productions presentation of a Department Of Motion Pictures / Loveless production in association with Hinkson Entertainment.
Josh Penn, [link...
Vertical Entertainment, the Santa Monica-based distributor run by Rich Goldberg and Mitch Budin, will handle Us theatrical distribution starting on June 3.
In keeping with Vertical’s broader distribution philosophy, Approaching The Unknown will go out day-and-date digitally and on VOD via Paramount Home Media Distribution.
Paramount will handle other Us ancillary platforms and worldwide distribution excluding Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Middle East, and South Africa.
2014 Sundance Institute / Nhk Award-winner Mark Elijah Rosenberg wrote and directed the story about a lone astronaut on a mission to Mars forced to make life-changing choices.
Luke Wilson, Sanaa Lathan, Anders Danielsen Lie and Charles Baker round out the key cast on the sci-fi.
Approaching The Unknown is a Tiderock Media and 3311 Productions presentation of a Department Of Motion Pictures / Loveless production in association with Hinkson Entertainment.
Josh Penn, [link...
- 4/21/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Naturally the post production process can be a lengthier one when latticeworking critical sci-fi elements with technical aspects. As is the nature with our set of predictions, sometimes we jump the gun. No updates have been made in the interim, but Mark Elijah Rosenberg‘s debut should logically be ready to dock in 2016. Starring Mark Strong, Sanaa Lathan, Charles Baker and Bettina Skye, Ad Inexplorata received support from Indian Paintbrush Fellowship (2011), Creative Producing Summit (2011), Creative Producing Feature Film Lab (2011), 2011 June Screenwriters Lab (2011), 2012 Screenplay Reading Series (2012) and coin from the San Francisco Film Society and it received the Sundance Nhk Filmmaker Award (2014).
Gist: Captain William D. Stanaforth (Strong), is a Nasa pilot alone on a one-way mission toward the unknown. Faced with mechanical problems, physical suffering from long distance space travel, and the mental obstacles of a journey into the unknown, the trip begins to take its toll on the ship…...
Gist: Captain William D. Stanaforth (Strong), is a Nasa pilot alone on a one-way mission toward the unknown. Faced with mechanical problems, physical suffering from long distance space travel, and the mental obstacles of a journey into the unknown, the trip begins to take its toll on the ship…...
- 11/23/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Maris Curran’s Five Nights in Maine, starring David Oyelowo, also among selection.
Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi) has unveiled the 15 projects selected for the 12th annual Tribeca All Access (Taa) programme.
The programme supports film-makers from statistically underrepresented communities and will grant support for each of the projects, as well as offer year-round support, guidance and resources to help the film-makers complete them.
Taa film-makers are also welcomed into the Taa Alumni programme which supports their present and future work. This year will see Taa and Taa Alumni award a total of $200,000 in grant money.
The projects include Haifaa Al Mansour’s Be Safe I Love You and Maris Curran’s Five Nights in Maine, starring David Oyelowo.
Alongside the Taa programme, Tfi has also selected two members of the Lgbt film-making community as special fellows to attend its annual market during Tribeca Film Festival: writer/director Ingrid Jungermann for Women Who Kill and writer/director [link=nm...
Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi) has unveiled the 15 projects selected for the 12th annual Tribeca All Access (Taa) programme.
The programme supports film-makers from statistically underrepresented communities and will grant support for each of the projects, as well as offer year-round support, guidance and resources to help the film-makers complete them.
Taa film-makers are also welcomed into the Taa Alumni programme which supports their present and future work. This year will see Taa and Taa Alumni award a total of $200,000 in grant money.
The projects include Haifaa Al Mansour’s Be Safe I Love You and Maris Curran’s Five Nights in Maine, starring David Oyelowo.
Alongside the Taa programme, Tfi has also selected two members of the Lgbt film-making community as special fellows to attend its annual market during Tribeca Film Festival: writer/director Ingrid Jungermann for Women Who Kill and writer/director [link=nm...
- 3/19/2015
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
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
tt3694760 autoPossibil...
- 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
Today the first wave of titles playing at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival were announced and while the majority of the titles are new to me the names in front of the camera most certainly are not as you'll see the likes of Michael Fassbender, Nicole Kidman, Saoirse Ronan, Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Jack Black, James Marsden, Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Jemaine Clement, Sarah Silverman, Toni Collette, Vincent Cassell and many, many more among the titles featured. I have collected several photos from many of the films playing the festival, which will take place from January 22 - February 1 in Utah next year. Today's selection includes the U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition and Next program. I'll be adding a few more pictures soon enough, but for now, have a look and see what stands out.
- 12/3/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Titles such as Eskil Vogt’s Blind and David Wnendt’s Wetlands landed the most acclaim and Alejandro Fernandez Almendras’ To Kill a Man won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize in the dozen offerings. This year we have John Maclean’s Slow West (starring Michael Fassbender), previous Sundance winner Anne Sewitsky returning with Homesick, and the highly anticipated title from Ariel Kleiman in the Vincent Cassel starrer, Partisan and a Nicole Kidman vehicle in Kim Farrant’s Strangerland (see pic above). Here are the dirty dozen from all corners of the world:
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,...
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,...
- 12/3/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
America’s hottest and most eagerly anticipated film festival is nearly upon us! Running January 22 to February 1, 2015 in Park City, Utah, the annual Sundance Film Festival has launched its initial lineup of in-competition films in the Dramatic, World Cinema, Documentary and Next slates. In all, 66 films were announced in this initial lineup, with the Premieres and Documentary Premieres arriving December 8 and the Short Film slate arriving December 9.
Among the lineup, as always, are some intriguing prospects. The Us Dramatic Competition features films starring stars such as Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine (Z for Zachariah), Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor (The D Train), Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni, Kristen Wiig (The Diary of a Teenage Girl), Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman (The Overnight), and Sarah Silverman (I Smile Back), among many others, and new films from recently hot directors including Alfonso-Gomez Rejon, Andrew Bujalski, and Craig Zobel.
Among the lineup, as always, are some intriguing prospects. The Us Dramatic Competition features films starring stars such as Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine (Z for Zachariah), Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor (The D Train), Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni, Kristen Wiig (The Diary of a Teenage Girl), Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman (The Overnight), and Sarah Silverman (I Smile Back), among many others, and new films from recently hot directors including Alfonso-Gomez Rejon, Andrew Bujalski, and Craig Zobel.
- 12/3/2014
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
New films from Nicole Kidman, Michael Fassbender, Louie Psihoyos and Sebastian Silva are featured in the festival’s line-up of Us and world competition strands and the Next programme.
Sundance Film Festival director John Cooper and head of programming Trevor Groth have unleashed their first volley of films in what will be a 118-strong line-up overall culled from 12,166 submissions. Of these, 103 features are world premieres. The festival will run January 22 to February 1.
Us Dramatic Competition includes Craig Zobel’s post-apocalytpic tale Z For Zachariah starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Chris Pine; Jack Black in comedy The D Train; and Kristen Wiig in the 1970s San Francisco-set coming-of-age story The Diary Of A Teenage Girl.
Other likely highlights are Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s The Stanford Prison Experiment starring Billy Crudup and Ezra Miller; and Saoirse Ronan in Stockholm, Pennsylvania, about a young woman who returns to live with her parents after she is freed from her abductor of 17 years...
Sundance Film Festival director John Cooper and head of programming Trevor Groth have unleashed their first volley of films in what will be a 118-strong line-up overall culled from 12,166 submissions. Of these, 103 features are world premieres. The festival will run January 22 to February 1.
Us Dramatic Competition includes Craig Zobel’s post-apocalytpic tale Z For Zachariah starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Chris Pine; Jack Black in comedy The D Train; and Kristen Wiig in the 1970s San Francisco-set coming-of-age story The Diary Of A Teenage Girl.
Other likely highlights are Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s The Stanford Prison Experiment starring Billy Crudup and Ezra Miller; and Saoirse Ronan in Stockholm, Pennsylvania, about a young woman who returns to live with her parents after she is freed from her abductor of 17 years...
- 12/3/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Sundance Institute announced the first wave of selections for the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and the world cinema dramatic competition features a number of familiar faces. Most notably, Michael Fassbender in "Slow West," Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes and Hugo Weaving in "Strangerland" and Jack Reynor, Toni Collette and Will Poulter in "Glassland." Ten of this year's selections are world premieres featuring films from Italy, Turkey, Norway, Brazil and India. Some might question why there are four English language movies among the mix representing Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, but we'll give the programmers the benefit of the doubt for now. Sundance's world cinema slate has grown in stature although the English language pictures tend to resonate the most. "The Guard," "Animal Kingdom," "Four Lions," "Bronson," "An Education" and "Once" all screened in this category. Check out the 2015 slate on the next page. World Cinema Dramatic Competition "Chlorine" Italy Director: Lamberto Sanfelice,...
- 12/3/2014
- by Gregory Ellwood
- Hitfix
Maris Curran’s directorial debut might be a longshot for Sundance….at least for the 2015 edition. The drama which has its character set wrestle with isolation, grief and loss went into production late summer in the titular north-eastern state with a cast comprised of Dianne Wiest, Rosie Perez and career-year actor David Oyelowo toplining with a supporting players in the shape of Teyonah Parris, Stephen Henderson and Hani Furstenberg (seek her out in Julia Loktev’s The Loneliest Planet). Five Nights in Maine has found early supporters from the likes of San Francisco Film Society/Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grant, Cinereach and found some tender loving care from Kickstarter back in 2011. If the project is sprinter speed force in the post-production phase then we might not have to wait until 2016.
Gist: This follows Sherwin (Oyelowo), a man reeling from the tragic loss of his wife, travels to rural Maine to...
Gist: This follows Sherwin (Oyelowo), a man reeling from the tragic loss of his wife, travels to rural Maine to...
- 11/12/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
An instrumental and influential American independent film promoter/curator/supporter/taste-maker in the business, Rooftop Films creator and artistic director Mark Elijah Rosenberg (pictured above) moves from open air cinema, to open space possibilities. While the current outer space talk is the Nolan Imax film, I’m more excited about the prospects for Ad Inexplorata: Toward the Unknown, which has been welcomed by the Sundance folks with open arms: landing support via the Indian Paintbrush Fellowship (2011), Creative Producing Summit (2011), Creative Producing Feature Film Lab (2011), 2011 June Screenwriters Lab (2011), 2012 Screenplay Reading Series (2012) and finally some coin from the San Francisco Film Society before landing the Sundance Nhk Filmmaker Award (2014). Production began earlier this year with Mark Strong toplining. Supporting players include Sanaa Lathan, Charles Baker and Bettina Skye.
Gist: Captain William D. Stanaforth (Strong), is a Nasa pilot alone on a one-way mission toward the unknown. Faced with mechanical problems, physical...
Gist: Captain William D. Stanaforth (Strong), is a Nasa pilot alone on a one-way mission toward the unknown. Faced with mechanical problems, physical...
- 11/11/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
A project whose Kickstarter campaign we featured on this site in 2011, looks to be getting back on track, but with what looks like a fresh team behind the camera, as well as a new cast. When we first mentioned it 3 years ago, producer Nekisa Cooper (Pariah) and cinematographer Bradford Young (Mississippi Damned, Restless City, Mother Of George, Middle of Nowhere) were both attached to the project, written and to be directed by Maris Curran. Curran is still the writer and director of the film - titled Five Nights in Maine - but Carly Hugo and Matt Parker are now listed as producers, alongside Curran and David Oyelowo’s Yoruba Saxon...
- 5/8/2014
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
Dianne Wiest and Rosie Perez have joined David Oyelowo in the upcoming Five Nights In Maine. CAA represents Us sales.
Maris Curran will direct from her screenplay about a widower who travels to Maine to seek answers about his wife’s death from his mother-in-law, herself struggling with guilt.
Teyonah Parris, Stephen Henderson and Hani Furstenberg round out the key cast.
Carly Hugo and Matt Parker of New York-based Loveless will produce alongside Curran and Oyelowo’s La-based production company Yoruba Saxon Productions.
Five Nights In Maine was recently awarded the San Francisco Film Society/Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grant and received a Cinereach grant.
Curran is represented by Mosaic, Oyelowo by CAA, Inphenate, Hamilton-Hodell and Schreck, Rose, Dapello.
Wiest is represented by ICM Partners, while Perez is handled by Silver Lining Entertainment and Stone, Meyer, Genow, Smelkinson and Binder.
Parris is represented by Apa, Vanguard Management and Fox Rothschild. Henderson is represented...
Maris Curran will direct from her screenplay about a widower who travels to Maine to seek answers about his wife’s death from his mother-in-law, herself struggling with guilt.
Teyonah Parris, Stephen Henderson and Hani Furstenberg round out the key cast.
Carly Hugo and Matt Parker of New York-based Loveless will produce alongside Curran and Oyelowo’s La-based production company Yoruba Saxon Productions.
Five Nights In Maine was recently awarded the San Francisco Film Society/Kenneth Rainin Foundation Filmmaking Grant and received a Cinereach grant.
Curran is represented by Mosaic, Oyelowo by CAA, Inphenate, Hamilton-Hodell and Schreck, Rose, Dapello.
Wiest is represented by ICM Partners, while Perez is handled by Silver Lining Entertainment and Stone, Meyer, Genow, Smelkinson and Binder.
Parris is represented by Apa, Vanguard Management and Fox Rothschild. Henderson is represented...
- 5/8/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Bozo The Clown
Wagner Moura ("Elysium") is set to play one of the Brazilian versions of beloved children's TV personality Bozo the Clown in a new film about the character to be directed by "Elite Squad" editor Daniel Rezende.
Moura will most likely play actor Arlindo Barreto, the most famous Brazilian Bozo, who became a cocaine addict and ultimately a pentecostal preacher. [Source: Omelete]
Secrets and Lies
Juliette Lewis has scored the starring role in ABC's U.S. adaptation of the Australian drama mini-series "Secrets and Lies". Lewis plays Andrea Cornell, the formidable detective conducting the investigation.
Ryan Phillippe stars a loving father who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of the 4-year-old son of his neighbor when he finds the body whilst out for a jog. [Source: The Live Feed]
The Best of Me
Luke Bracey ("G.I. Joe: Retaliation") has joined the cast of the Nicholas Sparks adaptation "The Best Of Me" at Relativity.
Wagner Moura ("Elysium") is set to play one of the Brazilian versions of beloved children's TV personality Bozo the Clown in a new film about the character to be directed by "Elite Squad" editor Daniel Rezende.
Moura will most likely play actor Arlindo Barreto, the most famous Brazilian Bozo, who became a cocaine addict and ultimately a pentecostal preacher. [Source: Omelete]
Secrets and Lies
Juliette Lewis has scored the starring role in ABC's U.S. adaptation of the Australian drama mini-series "Secrets and Lies". Lewis plays Andrea Cornell, the formidable detective conducting the investigation.
Ryan Phillippe stars a loving father who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of the 4-year-old son of his neighbor when he finds the body whilst out for a jog. [Source: The Live Feed]
The Best of Me
Luke Bracey ("G.I. Joe: Retaliation") has joined the cast of the Nicholas Sparks adaptation "The Best Of Me" at Relativity.
- 2/13/2014
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Sanaa Lathan will star opposite Mark Strong in an indie sci-fi movie titled Ad Inexplorata, to be written and directed by Mark Elijah Rosenberg, and produced by Beasts of the Southern Wild producers Josh Penn and Matt Parker. In the film, Strong will play a Nasa pilot who's on a one-way mission to Mars, while Lathan will play the Captain of one of four ships making the same trip. The project, which was developed at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, is Strong's feature directorial debut. The filmmaker, who also happens to be founder of Rooftop Films, won the 2014 Sundance Institute/Nhk Award - an honor that supports filmmakers considered visionary, on their next...
- 2/13/2014
- by Natasha Greeves
- ShadowAndAct
Ad Inexplorata
Mark Strong ("Low Winter Sun") is set to join Mark Elijah Rosenberg's "Ad Inexplorata" with filming to begin in 2014.
Strong plays a Nasa pilot alone on a one-way mission to Mars. Josh Penn, Matthew Parker, Thomas B. Fore and Jason Michael Berman will produce. [Source: Deadline]
Hackers
Callan McAuliffe ("I Am Number Four," "Kite") and Lorraine Nicholson have joined the cast of Akan Satayev's $5 million Canadian indie film "Hackers".
McAuliffe an ambitious teen techhead member of a secret Internet criminal network called DarkWeb. Nicholson plays one of the fellow members of the network. Filming begins at the end of this month in Toronto, NYC, Dubai and Thailand. [Source: Deadline]
Baseballissimo
"Good Neighbors" director Jacob Tierney and actor Jay Baruchel are re-teaming for the indie dramedy "Baseballissimo" at A71 Productions and Gefilter Productions. Baruchel and Jesse Chabot penned the script based on the novel by Dave Bidini.
Baruchel plays a young...
Mark Strong ("Low Winter Sun") is set to join Mark Elijah Rosenberg's "Ad Inexplorata" with filming to begin in 2014.
Strong plays a Nasa pilot alone on a one-way mission to Mars. Josh Penn, Matthew Parker, Thomas B. Fore and Jason Michael Berman will produce. [Source: Deadline]
Hackers
Callan McAuliffe ("I Am Number Four," "Kite") and Lorraine Nicholson have joined the cast of Akan Satayev's $5 million Canadian indie film "Hackers".
McAuliffe an ambitious teen techhead member of a secret Internet criminal network called DarkWeb. Nicholson plays one of the fellow members of the network. Filming begins at the end of this month in Toronto, NYC, Dubai and Thailand. [Source: Deadline]
Baseballissimo
"Good Neighbors" director Jacob Tierney and actor Jay Baruchel are re-teaming for the indie dramedy "Baseballissimo" at A71 Productions and Gefilter Productions. Baruchel and Jesse Chabot penned the script based on the novel by Dave Bidini.
Baruchel plays a young...
- 11/11/2013
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Exclusive: Low Winter Sun star Mark Strong will team with writer-director Mark Elijah Rosenberg for Ad Inexplorata, a film that will start production in 2014. Strong plays a Nasa pilot alone on a one-way mission to Mars. Im Global has signed on to sell foreign. Project came together at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab. Rosenberg described Strong as “such a smart and intense actor who is going to bring hypnotic power to the film.” Such a project gets some currency off the remarkable grosses of the two-hander Gravity. Court 13′s Josh Penn produces with Loveless’s Matthew Parker and TideRock’s Thomas B. Fore and Jason Michael Berman. Strong’s repped by CAA and Markham, Froggart And Irwin. Wme Global reps TideRock and CAA reps Rosenberg.
- 11/8/2013
- by MIKE FLEMING JR
- Deadline
Watch the trailer for Oscilloscope Laboratories' Mother of George starring Danai Gurira, Isaach De Bankole, Yaya DaCosta Alafia, Tony Okungbowa, Bukky Ajayi and Angelique Kidjo. Andrew Dosunmu directs from the script by Darci Picoult. The film's produced by Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy of Parts & Labor, Matt Parker and Carly Hugo along with Picoult, Chris Maybach, Saemi Kim and Okungbowa. Mother of George features stunning work by acclaimed cinematographer Bradford Young (Aint Them Bodies Saints) and premiered to critical acclaim at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. The film makes its New York premiere at the Bam Cinemafest before opening theatrically in mid-September.
- 8/8/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Writer/filmmaker Nora Ephron will be the subject of a documentary that's currently being developed by HBO. The project, "Everything Is Copy," promises to deliver "an intimate portrait" of the acclaimed writer/director, who died last June at age 71 of pneumonia brought on by acute myeloid leukemia. Also read: Nora Ephron's Son Explains Mother's Decision to Keep Quiet About Illness Ephron's son, Jacob Bernstein, is directing and co-producing the project, with Nick Hooker co-directing. Matt Parker and Carly Hugo ("Bachelorette," "Higher Ground") are producing, with "Vanity Fair" editor Graydon Carter serving as executive producer/producer. Bernstein,...
- 4/5/2013
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
Oscilloscope Laboratories picked up its first film of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival Saturday by grabbing North American rights to Andrew Dosunmu’s “Mother of George.” The drama premiered in the U.S. dramatic competition of the festival. Danai Gurira and Isaach De Bankolé star in the story of a Brooklyn woman who struggles with getting pregnant after marrying a local restaurant owner. Yaya Alafia and Tony Okungbowa co-star. Darci Picoult wrote the screenplay. Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy of Parts & Labor produced along with Matt Parker & Carly Hugo, Picoult, Chris Maybach, Saemi Kim and Okungbowa. Executive producers include Saerom Kim of Maybach Film Productions; Ron Simons of SimonSays Entertainment; Jerry Tankersley, Laura Bernieri & Joseph Sorrentino of Fried Alligator Films; and Rhea Scott & Fady Salamé. “We couldn’t be more excited to be releasing ‘Mother of George’ — it is exactly...
- 1/27/2013
- by Jay A. Fernandez and Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
#5. Interior. Leather Bar
Who: While everyone may be familiar with actor/director James Franco, they not be as aware of the filmmaker he’s paired with to direct Interior. Leather Bar, Travis Mathews. With a background in documentary, Mathews professes to use this and his Masters in Counseling Psychology to make films that focus on gay men and intimacy. He already has a series of short films about gay men and bedrooms and a well received 2012 feature film, I Want Your Love to his name.
What: His pairing with Franco on a project aims to recreate the lost 40 minutes of footage that William Friedkin was forced to cut from his controversial 1980 film Cruising.
Where: Franco’s interview also features a clip, while Franco’s co-director posted the trailer on his vimeo channel.
When: Shot in Los Angeles, CA over the course of a day in July, 2012, produced by RabbitBandini Productions...
Who: While everyone may be familiar with actor/director James Franco, they not be as aware of the filmmaker he’s paired with to direct Interior. Leather Bar, Travis Mathews. With a background in documentary, Mathews professes to use this and his Masters in Counseling Psychology to make films that focus on gay men and intimacy. He already has a series of short films about gay men and bedrooms and a well received 2012 feature film, I Want Your Love to his name.
What: His pairing with Franco on a project aims to recreate the lost 40 minutes of footage that William Friedkin was forced to cut from his controversial 1980 film Cruising.
Where: Franco’s interview also features a clip, while Franco’s co-director posted the trailer on his vimeo channel.
When: Shot in Los Angeles, CA over the course of a day in July, 2012, produced by RabbitBandini Productions...
- 1/17/2013
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Mother of George
Director: Andrew Dosunmu
Writer(s): Darci Picoult
Producer(s): Cunningham & Maybach Films’ Patrick Cunningham and Chris Maybach, Parts and Labor’s Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, Carly Hugo and Matthew Parker
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Tony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi
I considered myself a fan of Andrew Dosunmu’s work precisely about ten minutes into his debut feature, Restless City. Workshopped at the 2005 Directors and Screenwriters Labs, it’s been a long time coming for what is his sophomore feature, Mother of George. Examining the interconnectedness between family and home both past and present, I’m thinking that his second collaboration with cinematographer Bradford Young might offer a better visual and narrative balance and a rich tapestry highlighting the immigrant experience. Auteur cinema’s Isaach De Bankolé toplines alongside Danai Gurira.
Gist: Co-written with Darci Picoult,...
Director: Andrew Dosunmu
Writer(s): Darci Picoult
Producer(s): Cunningham & Maybach Films’ Patrick Cunningham and Chris Maybach, Parts and Labor’s Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy, Carly Hugo and Matthew Parker
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Tony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi
I considered myself a fan of Andrew Dosunmu’s work precisely about ten minutes into his debut feature, Restless City. Workshopped at the 2005 Directors and Screenwriters Labs, it’s been a long time coming for what is his sophomore feature, Mother of George. Examining the interconnectedness between family and home both past and present, I’m thinking that his second collaboration with cinematographer Bradford Young might offer a better visual and narrative balance and a rich tapestry highlighting the immigrant experience. Auteur cinema’s Isaach De Bankolé toplines alongside Danai Gurira.
Gist: Co-written with Darci Picoult,...
- 1/12/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
With all the support Andrew Dosunmu’s Ma’ George received from the Sundance Institute, I think it’s time for the delivery. Known in the labs/formerly titled as “Mother of George,” this 2005 Directors Lab, 2005 January Screenwriters Lab, 2006 Annenberg Film Fellowship Grant and more recently, 2012 Cinereach Project at Sundance Institute Grant recipient technically would have been Dosunmu’s feature fiction debut project, but Restless City (Sundance ’11) came to fruition and ended up being a bijou in the Next section at the fest, and after showcasing that film last year (including the AFI Fest – where we sat down with the helmer), financing and a cast (including Isaach De Bankolé) firmly in place meant that production began and is now firmly in post-production phase. Dosunmu’s savvy Restless City cinematographer Bradford Young once again helps with the cityscape lensing with the Red, and Danai Gurira (Restless City) and drop dead gorgeous Yaya DaCosta...
- 11/20/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
The African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement has acquired U.S. theatrical rights to Restless City, which had its world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The film will receive a theatrical release April 27. Directed by Andrew Dosunmu, Restless City tells the story of an African immigrant with a passion for music surviving on the fringes of New York City. Sy Alassane, Nicole Grey, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa and Babs Olusanmokun star. Eugene Gussenhoven wrote the screenplay. Sundance Review: 'Restless City' Is a Stunning Look at New York's West African Immigrant Community Katie Mustard and Matthew Parker produced
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read more...
- 3/2/2012
- by Jay A. Fernandez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"Restless City," a 2011 Sundance Film Festival selection, has been acquired for theatrical release by the African-American Film Festival Releasing Movement. Directed by Andrew Dosunmu, "Restless City" is the story "of an African immigrant surviving on the fringes of New York City where music is his passion, life is a hustle, and falling in love is his greatest risk." The film is slated for release April 27. Prior Affrm titles are "Kinyarwanda" and "I Will Follow." Participant Media and Affrm will release the Sundance 2012 title "Middle of Nowhere" later this year. "Restless City" is directed by Andrew Dosunmu, from a screenplay by Eugene Gussenhoven. Katie Mustard and Matthew Parker produce, with executive producers Audra Alexxi Jones, Munu Elifituri, David Raymond and Tony Okungbowa. The film stars Sy Alassane, Nicole Grey, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa and Babs...
- 3/2/2012
- by Indiewire
- Indiewire
#39. Ma' George Director: Andrew DosunmuWriter: Darci PicoultProducers: The Group Entertainment's Carly Hugo and Matthew Parker(Restless City) along with Parts and Labor's Jay Van Hoy and Lars KnudsenDistributor: Rights Available The Gist: Mosa, a 31 year-old African woman having just arrived in from Africa for her wedding, finds herself in the middle of Brooklyn already engaged to marry fellow African, Lebo. Both struggle to define their relationship in modern terms, and resolve the gaps between African tradition and American life...(more) Cast: Yaya DaCosta, Isaach De Bankolé and Danai Gurira List Worthy Reasons...: Dosunmu has been workshopping this project since 2005 (he was invited to the Sundance labs with it) but got delayed (here is our sit-down with the Dosunmu) and then the filmmaker with a photography background and a true knack for capturing city life made the indie budgeted gem Restless City (released on the festival circuit at fests such as Sundance,...
- 1/7/2012
- IONCINEMA.com
Making her directorial debut on a film, thesp Vera Farmiga (Up in The Air, The Departed) has herself lifted to higher ground. Drama that shared a title of a popular Stevie Wonder song signifies the search for one’s spiritual nature, for God, and for where one belongs. Farmiga as well plays a woman named Corrine Miller who struggles with doubts about her marriage with Ethan (Joshua Leonard), their small community of fundamentalist Christians, its views about God, and her role as mother of three small children. At one point she eventually leaves them all to find herself. Farmiga also co-wrote the script with Carolyn S. Briggs inspired by her memoir This Dark World.
In exclusive interview with Fandango the Academy Award-nominated actress revealed she was encouraged to direct Higher Ground by her husband and the producers Carly Hugo and Matt Parker who had been on board at least for several years in the development.
In exclusive interview with Fandango the Academy Award-nominated actress revealed she was encouraged to direct Higher Ground by her husband and the producers Carly Hugo and Matt Parker who had been on board at least for several years in the development.
- 7/7/2011
- by Nick Martin
- Filmofilia
#40. Restless City - Andrew Dosunmu I falsely predicted that Restless City would be ready for last year's edition. The reason for this may have to do with the fact that Andrew Dosunmu appears to have a lot going on. A filmmaker whose entry into film was via photography, Dosunmu is a creative director for album covers, music video director for some big names in the music world, hence why this project dates back to 2005, when he workshopped what can be categorized as a drama with a strong music element at the Sundance screenwriting and directing labs. Written by Eugene M. Gussenhoven, the project follows a West African immigrant as he struggles to make ends meet and achieve his dream of becoming a musician in New York City. Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Mohamed Dione, Osas Ighodaro and Lenore Thomas star. Look for this to be featured in the Dramatic Competition...and...
- 11/5/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
#16. Higher Ground - Vera Farmiga Last year, Sundance welcomed Mark Ruffalo and Philip Seymour Hoffman's directorial debuts for a world premiere launch (Sympathy for Delicious and Jack Goes Boating respectively), seems fitting they'll do the same for an actress whose career got a major jump start at the fest with her brilliant perf in Down to the Bone. Shot this summer, it would be a "miracle" if Vera Farmiga's debut, an adaption of Carolyn Briggs' memoir This Dark World is somehow completed: juggling two new babies one called Higher Ground, the other one in a literal sense of the word. Scripted by Briggs and Tim Metcalfe, featuring Farmiga, Donna Murphy, John Hawkes, Dagmara Dominczyk and Joshua Leonard, and lensed by Debra Granik's Dp Michael McDonough, this follows outsider Corinne Walkers’ (Farmiga) journey from childhood to motherhood. Growing up, Corinne faces many challenges. A traumatic loss is...
- 11/3/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Olympia Dukakis, Virginia Madsen, Aidan Quinn and Zosia Mamet have all joined the cast of the fantasy/teen romance tale "The Art of Love" at Bcdf Pictures says The Hollywood Reporter
Dukakis and Madsen will play the sole descendants of an ancient line of goddess worshippers who sell art from a shop run by Madsen's husband (Quinn). Their teenage daughter Rhea (Mamet) soon falls for a young poetry-loving man (Sam Underwood) and starts to develop magical powers of her own. Nat Wolff and Jee Young Han also star.
Maggie Greenwald ("Songcatcher") directs from a script by Peter Hutching, Christina Mengert and Claude Dal Farra. Dal Farra, Carly Hugo, Matt Parker, Brice Dal Farra and Lauren Munsch are producing. Shooting kicks off this week in Woodstock, New York.
Dukakis and Madsen will play the sole descendants of an ancient line of goddess worshippers who sell art from a shop run by Madsen's husband (Quinn). Their teenage daughter Rhea (Mamet) soon falls for a young poetry-loving man (Sam Underwood) and starts to develop magical powers of her own. Nat Wolff and Jee Young Han also star.
Maggie Greenwald ("Songcatcher") directs from a script by Peter Hutching, Christina Mengert and Claude Dal Farra. Dal Farra, Carly Hugo, Matt Parker, Brice Dal Farra and Lauren Munsch are producing. Shooting kicks off this week in Woodstock, New York.
- 10/13/2010
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
At the beginning of every month, Ioncinema.com's "Tracking Shot" features about a half-dozen projects that are moments away from lensing and that we feel are worth signaling out. This June, we are keeping tabs on the newly announced docu-comedy project from Morgan Spurlock who'll be chasing nerd core of comic book fans at Comic-con this year. Jack and Diane seems to be going ahead this month with casting officially in place and announced during the Cannes film festival, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo will begin filming his latest thriller with two big name talents on board and only one 11 year-old girl left to cast. - At the beginning of every month, Ioncinema.com's "Tracking Shot" features about a half-dozen projects that are moments away from lensing and that we feel are worth signaling out. This June, we are keeping tabs on the newly announced docu-comedy project from Morgan Spurlock who'll be...
- 6/3/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
At the beginning of every month, Ioncinema.com's "Tracking Shot" features about a half-dozen projects that are moments away from lensing and that we feel are worth signaling out. This June, we are keeping tabs on the newly announced docu-comedy project from Morgan Spurlock who'll be chasing the nerd core at Comic-con this year. Bradley Rust Gray must be all smiles now that casting is complete for his long gestating project -- casting is now officially in place. Announced during the Cannes film festival, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo will begin filming his latest thriller with two big name talents on board and only one 11 year-old girl left to cast. We have Vera Farmiga's directorial debut in the works - basing herself on Carolyn Briggs' memoir This Dark World which is thematically touching upon some items explored in Paul Thomas Anderson's scientology project -- the status of the project should be known fairly soon,...
- 6/1/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
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