The world premieres of 16 American narrative feature films.
Beasts of the Southern Wild / U.S.A. (Director: Benh Zeitlin, Screenwriters: Benh Zeitlin, Lucy Alibar) — Waters gonna rise up, wild animals gonna rerun from the grave, and everything south of the levee is goin’ under, in this tale of a six year old named Hushpuppy, who lives with her daddy at the edge of the world. Cast: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry.
The Comedy / U.S.A. (Director: Rick Alverson, Screenwriters: Rick Alverson, Robert Donne, Colm O’Leary) — Indifferent even to the prospects of inheriting his father’s estate, Swanson whiles away his days with a group of aging Brooklyn hipsters, engaging in small acts of recreational cruelty and pacified boredom. Cast: Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Kate Lyn Sheil, Alexia Rassmusen, Gregg Turkington.
The End of Love / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Mark Webber) — A young father unravels following the loss of the mother of his child. Cast: Mark Webber, Shannyn Sossamon, Michael Cera, Jason Ritter, Amanda Seyfried, Frankie Shaw.
Filly Brown / U.S.A. (Directors: Youssef Delara, Michael D. Olmos, Screenwriter: Youssef Delara) — A Hip Hop-driven drama about a Mexican girl who rises to fame and consciousness as she copes with the incarceration of her mother through music. Cast: Lou Diamond Phillips, Gina Rodriguez, Jenni Rivera, Edward James Olmos.
The First Time / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jonathan Kasdan) — Two high schoolers meet at a party. Over the course of a weekend, things turn magical, romantic, complicated and funny, as they discover what it’s like to fall in love for the first time. Cast: Brittany Robertson, Dylan O’Brien, Craig Roberts, James Frecheville, Victoria Justice.
For Ellen / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: So Yong Kim) — A struggling musician takes an overnight long-distance drive in order to fight his estranged wife for custody of their young daughter. Cast: Paul Dano, Jon Heder, Jena Malone, Margarita Levieva, Shay Mandigo.
Hello I Must Be Going / U.S.A. (Director: Todd Louiso, Screenwriter: Sarah Koskoff) — Divorced, childless, demoralized and condemned to move back in with her parents at the age of 35, Amy Minsky’s prospects look bleak – until the unexpected attention of a teenage boy changes everything. Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Blythe Danner, Christopher Abbott, John Rubinstein, Julie White.
Keep the Lights On / U.S.A. (Director: Ira Sachs, Screenwriters: Ira Sachs, Mauricio Zacharias) — An autobiographically inspired story of a passionate long-term relationship between two men driven by addiction and secrets but bound by love and hopefulness. Cast: Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth, Julianne Nicholson, Souleymane Sy Savane, Paprika Steen.
LUV / U.S.A. (Director: Sheldon Candis, Screenwriters: Sheldon Candis, Justin Wilson) — An orphaned 11-year-old boy is forced to face the unpleasant truth about his beloved uncle during one harrowing day in the streets of Baltimore. Cast: Common, Michael Rainey Jr., Dennis Haysbert, Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton.
Middle Of Nowhere / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ava DuVernay) — When her husband is incarcerated, an African-American woman struggles to maintain her marriage and her identity. Cast: Emayatzy Corinealdi, David Oyelowo, Omari Hardwick, Lorraine Touissant, Edwina Findley.
Nobody Walks / U.S.A. (Director: Ry Russo-Young, Screenwriters: Lena Dunham, Ry Russo-Young) — Martine, a young artist from New York, is invited into the home of a hip, liberal LA family for a week. Her presence unravels the family’s carefully maintained status quo, and a mess of sexual and emotional entanglements ensues. Cast: John Krasinski, Olivia Thirlby, Rosemarie DeWitt, India Ennenga, Justin Kirk.
Safety Not Guaranteed / U.S.A. (Director: Colin Trevorrow, Screenwriter: Derek Connolly) — A trio of magazine employees investigate a classified ad seeking a partner for time travel. One employee develops feelings for the paranoid but compelling loner and seeks to discover what he’s really up to. Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni.
Save the Date / U.S.A. (Director: Michael Mohan, Screenwriters: Jeffrey Brown, Egan Reich, Michael Mohan) — As her sister Beth prepares to get married, Sarah finds herself caught up in an intense post- breakup rebound. The two fumble through the redefined emotional landscape of modern day relationships, forced to relearn how to love and be loved. Cast: Lizzy Caplan, Alison Brie, Martin Starr, Geoffrey Arend, Mark Webber.
Simon Killer / France, U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Antonio Campos) — A recent college graduate goes to Paris after breaking up with his girlfriend of 5 years. Once there, he falls in love with a young prostitute and their fateful journey begins. Cast: Brady Corbet, Mati Diop, Constance Rousseau, Michael Abiteboul, Solo.
Smashed / U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Susan Burke, James Ponsoldt) — Kate and Charlie are a young married couple whose bond is built on a mutual love of music, laughter and… drinking. When Kate decides to get sober, her new lifestyle brings troubling issues to the surface and calls into question her relationship with Charlie. Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Paul, Octavia Spencer, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally.
The Surrogate / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ben Lewin) — Mark O’Brien, a 36-year-old poet and journalist with an iron lung, decides he no longer wishes to be a virgin. With the help of his therapist and the guidance of his priest, he contacts a professional sex surrogate to take him on a journey to manhood. Cast: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy.
The world premieres of 16 American documentary films.
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry / U.S.A., China (Director: Alison Klayman) — Renowned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has garnered international attention as much for his ambitious artwork as his political provocations and increasingly public clashes with the Chinese government.
The Atomic States of America / U.S.A. (Directors: Don Argott, Sheena M. Joyce) — In 2010, the United States announced construction of the first new nuclear power plant in more than 32 years. A year later, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Fukushima Power Plant in Japan sparking a fierce debate in the U.S. over the safety and viability of nuclear power.
Chasing Ice / U.S.A. (Director: Jeff Orlowski) — Science, spectacle and human passion mix in this stunningly cinematic portrait as National Geographic photographer James Balog captures time-lapse photography of glaciers over several years providing tangible visual evidence of climate change.
DETROPIA / U.S.A. (Directors: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady) — The woes of Detroit are emblematic of the collapse of the U.S. manufacturing base. This is the dramatic story of a city and its people who refuse to leave the building, even as the flames are rising.
ESCAPE FIRE: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare / U.S.A. (Directors: Matthew Heineman, Susan Froemke) — What can be done to save our broken medical system? Powerful forces are trying to maintain the status quo in a profit-driven medical industry, but a movement to bring innovative methods of prevention and healing is finally gaining ground – potentially saving the health of a nation.
Finding North / U.S.A. (Directors: Kristi Jacobson, Lori Silverbush) — A crisis of hunger looms in America and is not limited to the poverty stricken and uneducated. Can a return to policies of the 1970s save our future?
The House I Live In / U.S.A. (Director: Eugene Jarecki) — For over 40 years, the War on Drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests, made America the world’s largest jailer and damaged poor communities at home and abroad. Yet, drugs are cheaper, purer and more available today than ever. Where did we go wrong and what is the path toward healing?
How to Survive a Plague / U.S.A. (Director: David France) — The untold story of the intensive efforts that turned AIDS into a manageable condition – and the improbable group of (mostly HIV-positive) young men and women whose amazing resilience broke through a time of rampant death and political indifference.
The Invisible War / U.S.A. (Director: Kirby Dick) — An investigative and powerfully emotional examination of the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the U.S. military, the institutions that cover up its existence and the profound personal and social consequences that arise from it.
Marina Abramović The Artist is Present / U.S.A. (Director: Matthew Akers) — Marina Abramović prepares for a major retrospective of her work at The Museum of Modern Art in New York hoping to finally silence four decades of skeptics who proclaim: ‘But why is this art?’
ME at the ZOO / U.S.A. (Directors: Chris Moukarbel, Valerie Veatch) — With 270 million hits to date, Chris Crocker, an uncanny young video blogger from small town Tennessee, is considered the Internet’s first rebel folk hero and at the same time one of its most controversial personalities.
The Other Dream Team / Lithuania, U.S.A. (Director: Marius Markevicius) — The 1992 Lithuanian National Basketball Team went from the clutches of Communism to the Summer Olympics in Barcelona – a testament to the powerful role of sports as a catalyst for cultural identity.
The Queen of Versailles / U.S.A. (Director: Lauren Greenfield) — Jackie and David were triumphantly constructing the biggest house in America – a sprawling, 90,000-square-foot palace inspired by Versailles – when their timeshare empire falters due to the economic crisis. Their rags-to-riches-to-rags story reveals the innate virtues and flaws of the American Dream.
Slavery By Another Name / U.S.A. (Director: Sam Pollard) — As slavery came to an end with Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, a new system of involuntary servitude took its place with shocking force, brutalizing, terrorizing and ultimately circumscribing the lives of hundreds of thousands of African Americans well into the 20th century.
Love Free or Die: How the Bishop of New Hampshire is Changing the World / U.S.A. (Director: Macky Alston) — One man whose two defining passions are in conflict: An openly gay bishop refuses to leave the Church or the man he loves.
We’re Not Broke / U.S.A. (Directors: Karin Hayes, Victoria Bruce) — As American lawmakers slash budgets and lay off employees, leaving many people scrambling to survive, multibillion-dollar corporations are concealing colossal profits overseas to avoid paying U.S. income tax. Fed-up Americans are taking their frustration to the streets.
Fourteen films from emerging filmmaking talents offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.
4 Suns / Czech Republic (Director and screenwriter: Bohdan Sláma) — Immature Fogi attempts to straighten up and accept his responsibilities as a new husband and father, as well as role model to his troubled son from a previous relationship, but finds himself unable to change his nature, leaving him to watch haplessly as his family begins to crumble. Cast: Jaroslav Plesl, Aňa Geislerová, Karel Roden, Jiří Mádl, Klára Melíšková. World Premiere
About the Pink Sky / Japan (Director and screenwriter: Keiichi Kobayashi) — A high school girl finds a wallet full of money and tracks down its owner, leading to unexpected consequences for the girl and her friends. Cast: Ai Ikeda, Ena Koshino, Reiko Fujiwara, Tsubasa Takayama, Hakusyu Togetsuan. International Premiere
Can / Turkey (Director and screenwriter: Rasit Celikezer) — A young married couple live happily in Istanbul, but their decision to illegally procure a child threatens their future together. Cast: Selen Ucer, Serdar Orcin, Berkan Demirbag, Erkan Avci. World Premiere
Father’s Chair (A Cadeira do Pai) / Brazil (Director: Luciano Moura, Screenwriters: Elena Soarez, Luciano Moura) — Following the trail of his runaway teen son, Theo confronts his own identity as a son, a father and a man along the way. Cast: Wagner Moura, Mariana Lima, Lima Duarte, Bras Antunes. . World Premiere
L / Greece (Director: Babis Makridis, Screenwriters: Efthimis Filippou, Babis Makridis) — A man who lives in his car gets caught up in the undeclared war between motorcycle riders and car drivers. Cast: Aris Servetalis, Makis Papadimitriou, Lefteris Mathaios, Nota Tserniafski, Stavros Raptis. World Premiere
The Last Elvis (El Ultimo Elvis) / Argentina (Director: Armando Bo, Screenwriters: Nicolás Giacobone and Armando Bo) — A Buenos Aires Elvis impersonator who believes that he is the reincarnation of the King struggles to shake free from reality and live his musical dream. Cast: John McInerny, Griselda Siciliani, Margarita Lopez. World Premiere
Madrid, 1987 / Spain (Director and screenwriter: David Trueba) — The balance of power and desire constantly shifts during the meeting of an older journalist and a young student, of two generations completely foreign to one another. Cast: José Sacristán, María Valverde, Ramon Fontserè. International Premiere
My Brother the Devil / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Sally El Hosaini) — A pair of British Arab brothers trying to get by in gangland London learn the extraordinary courage it takes to be yourself. Cast: James Floyd, Saïd Taghmaoui, Fady Elsayed. World Premiere
Teddy Bear / Denmark (Director: Mads Matthiesen, Screenwriters: Mads Matthiesen, Martin Pieter Zandvliet) — Dennis, a painfully shy 38-year-old bodybuilder who lives with his mother, sets off to Thailand in search of love. Cast: Kim Kold, Elsebeth Steentoft, Lamaiporn Sangmanee Hougaard, David Winters, Allan Mogensen. World Premiere
Valley of Saints / India, U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Musa Syeed) — Gulzar plans to run away from the war and poverty surrounding his village in Kashmir with his best friend, but a beautiful young woman researching the dying lake leads him to contemplate a different future Cast: Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, Mohammed Afzal Sofi, Neelofar Hamid. World Premiere
Violeta Went to Heaven (Violeta se Fue a Los Cielos) / Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Spain (Director: Andrés Wood, Screenwriters: Eliseo Altunaga, Rodrigo Bazaes, Guillermo Calderón, Andrés Wood) — A portrait of famed Chilean singer and folklorist Violeta Parra filled with her musical work, her memories, her loves and her hopes. Cast: Francisca Gavilán, Thomas Durand, Luis Machín, Gabriela Aguilera, Roberto Farías. International Premiere
Wish You Were Here / Australia (Director: Kieran Darcy-Smith, Screenwriters: Felicity Price, Kieran Darcy-Smith) — Four friends embark on a carefree holiday, but only three return home. Who knows what happened on that fateful night? Cast: Joel Edgerton, Teresa Palmer, Felicity Price, Antony Starr. World Premiere.
WRONG / France (Director and screenwriter: Quentin Dupieux) — Dolph searches for his lost dog, but through encounters with a nympho pizza-delivery girl, a jogging neighbor seeking the absolute, and a mysterious righter of wrongs, he may eventually lose his mind… and his identity. Cast: Jack Plotnick, Eric Judor, Alexis Dziena, Steve Little, William Fichtner. World Premiere
Young & Wild / Chile (Director: Marialy Rivas, Screenwriters: Marialy Rivas, Camila Gutiérrez, Pedro Peirano) — 17-year-old Daniela, raised in the bosom of a strict Evangelical family and recently unmasked as a fornicator by her shocked parents, struggles to find her own path to spiritual harmony. Cast: Alicia Rodríguez, Aline Kuppenheim, María Gracia Omegna, Felipe Pinto. World Premiere
Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary filmmakers working today.
1⁄2 REVOLUTION / Denmark, Egypt (Directors: Omar Shargawi, Karim El Hakim) — In January 2011, two filmmakers captured the reality of the Egyptian revolution as it occurred out of view from the world’s media in the alleyways and streets away from the square – and in the process were arrested by the secret police. North American Premiere
5 Broken Cameras / Palestine, Israel, France (Directors: Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi) — A Palestinian journalist chronicles his village’s resistance to a separation barrier being erected on their land and in the process captures his young son’s lens on the world. International Premiere
THE AMBASSADOR / Denmark (Director: Mads Brügger) — What happens when a very white European man buys his way into being a diplomat in one of Central Africa’s most failed nations? Welcome to the bizarre and hidden world of African diplomacy, where gin and tonics flow and diamond hustlers and corrupt politicians run free. North American Premiere
BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS!* / Sweden (Director: Fredrik Gertten) — The behind-the-scenes story of a full-scale attack on freedom of speech. When Dole set its sights on the WG Film production Bananas!* in May 2009, confusion was the method, aggression was the tactic and media control was the story. North American Premiere
China Heavyweight / Canada, China (Director: Yung Chang) — In central China, where a coach recruits poor rural teenagers and turns them into Western-style boxing champions, the top students face dramatic choices as they graduate – should they fight for the collective good or for themselves? A metaphor for the choices everyone in the New China faces now. World Premiere
Gypsy Davy / Israel, U.S.A., Spain (Director: Rachel Leah Jones) — How does a white boy with Alabama roots become a Flamenco guitarist in Andalusian boots? A tale of self-invention and the pursuit of happiness, regardless of the cost to others. International Premiere
The Imposter / United Kingdom (Director: Bart Layton) — In 1994 a 13-year-old boy disappears from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three and a half years later he is found alive thousands of miles away in Spain with a shocking story of kidnap and torture. But all is not what it seems in this tale that is truly stranger than fiction. World Premiere
Indie Game: The Movie / Canada (Directors: Lisanne Pajot, James Swirsky) — Follow the dramatic journeys of indie game developers as they create games and release those works, and themselves, to the world. World Premiere
The Law in These Parts / Israel (Director: Ra’anan Alexandrowicz) — Israel’s 43-year military legal system in the Occupied Palestinian Territories unfolds through provocative interviews with the system’s architects and historical footage showing the enactment of these laws upon the Palestinian population. International Premiere
Payback / Canada (Director: Jennifer Baichwal) — Based on Margaret Atwood’s best-selling book, Payback explores how debt is a central organizing principle in our lives – influencing relationships, societies, governing structures and the very fate of this planet. World Premiere
Putin’s Kiss / Denmark (Director: Lise Birk Pedersen) — 19-year-old Marsha is a model spokesperson in a strongly nationalistic Russian youth movement that aims to protect the country from its enemies. When she starts recognizing the organization’s flaws, she must take a stand for or against it. North American Premiere
Searching for Sugar Man / Sweden, United Kingdom (Director: Malik Bendjelloul) — Rodriguez was the greatest ‘70s US rock icon who never was. Hailed as the greatest recording artist of his generation he disappeared into oblivion – rising again from the ashes in a completely different context many miles away. World Premiere.
In the marine world, there is a special group of fish that survive by cleaning the dead skin and parasites off other fish. Wrasses, cichlids, catfish, and gobies are among the better known marine cleaner fishes. The film industry has its own Film Gobies.
Gobie Cleaning Up
The Film Gobies are, in fact, an industry of their very own. The amount of money and time spent trying to break into the industry must rival the amount actually spent making movies. Everybody has an idea. Everybody has a script. Everybody is looking for an edge.
Last night, I got to thinking about how crazy it would be if every industry had a Gobie industry like the Film Gobies. In Wisconsin (where I grew up), I would have been seeing seminars like “How to Make Your Cornfield Stand Out from the Rest!” I could have gone to a workshop on “Negotiating a Better Market Price for Your Milk.” I might have even been able to go to an intensive on “Getting a Better Grain Broker to Maximize Your Profits.” Maybe there would be better pricing for farm goods if such workshops were available. Maybe farming would be a respected and sought after job. Now that I’m thinking about it, maybe the Gobies are performing a valuable service! Maybe they’re keeping the fringe element busy while they’re building their skills while simultaneously elevating the overall skill level of the general pool. Maybe everybody needs a Gobie.
This entire business is rush, rush, rush followed by lots of waiting. Waiting for people to read it. Waiting for people to pass it on to the next person. Waiting for financing. The entire film business model is completely illogical (to quote Mr. Spock) but if there’s a better way to do it, no one is aware of it. Maybe it’s working with creative types. Filmmaking is group art. It’s hard enough to keep one artist on track much less a cast and crew of a hundred or so. Long, long time ago, in the moviemaking dark ages, Studios took over filmmaking and tried to make it run more like a factory. And that’s exactly what they churned out, cookie cutter movies with few sparks and even less artistry. So, now, we all struggle within this crazy system, trying to get something — trying to get anything — made. The people that figure it out often do quite well. They make film after film (hence the reason we’re so excited to be attached to two accomplished producers).
This week, we’re starting the rewrite on our second feature script. The most important thing I’ve learned in the last 2.4 years, keep writing. Do not stop to wait and see if the deal turns out. Don’t wait for who’s reading it to get back to you. You’ll go bonkers. Absolutely bonkers. 
Instead, keep working on creating great material. That way, you’ve got something more than a blank stare to offer if they say, “Hmmmm, I like the writing but I don’t know if I can find the financing for this. What else have you got?
On a personal note. My son proposed to his girlfriend, Jamie, over Thanksgiving. He got down on his knee in a park in Barcelona, Spain, and asked her to marry him. She said yes. They’re thinking next spring since he’s working on a film in Costa Rica this spring. More waiting.
It has been so long since I’ve blogged, I barely remember how to do it. Decided to get back to it again because I finally have things to talk about. A little over two years ago, I moved to the coast and it has been a tad grueling. The economy hasn’t been helping the industry much and the competition is fierce! Let me just that NO ONE is sitting around waiting to see what you might be writing. The reality is that everyone has a dozen scripts (or more) sitting in their offices and at their homes … a dozen scripts they already don’t want to read. The news that you have one ready is rarely welcome news.
I’ve been really lucky in that I’ve had super talented, super supportive readers (a former Development Exec and a current Assistant to a studio head) who have been really to read what I’ve got and pass it on.
And, now, I’ve almost got something in development with a couple of terrific producers. A few more details to iron out but the work is already getting into some really amazing hands. In the past, whenever I heard the word “Development,” it was always followed by the word “Hell.” Everything may end up there. This business is known for deals collapsing, talent becoming unavailable as the deal progress, and challenges in production.
If it were easy, I guess everybody would be doing it … believe me, this is NOT easy. But it is the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.
I used to blog about teaching visual media, animation and filmmaking from the teacher’s perspective. Now, I’m blogging from a different vantage point in the industry. Let’s see how it goes.
Sundance Streaming Live events can be found here! You can see everything from the Shorts Awards Ceremony at the Jupiter Bowl (that’s right, at the bowling alley) to events at the major venues. They’ve got links to lots of other interviews and conferences.
Choke
Diarchy
The External World
Participant Media has picked up North American rights to the dramatic competition film CIRCUMSTANCE. The film is about a wealthy Iranian family that struggles to contain a teenager’s growing sexual rebellion and her brother’s dangerous obsession. Cast: Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy, Reza Sixo Safai, Soheil Parsa, Nasrin Pakkho.
Paradigm Motion Picture Finance Group repped the filmmakers in the deal.
One of the Sundance Sections that doesn’t usually get as much attention is the World Cinema. This year, Philip Cox saw his World Dramatic Cinema competition film, THE BENGALI DETECTIVE, be acquired for worldwide remake rights by Fox Searchlight. The Bengali Detective stars chubby, dance-obsessed private-detective Rajesh Ji and his motley band of helpers as they tackle poisonings, adultery and the occasional murder on the frenzied streets of Kolkata.
In the last two days, Searchlight has also purchased rights to the dark competition drama MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE for about $2 million and worldwide rights to the high school comedy HOMEWORK for a little more than $3 million.
PARK CITY, UTAH – My beloved HEROES anti-hero, Zachary Quinto (the wicked Sylar), has helped carry the Sundance Premiere MARGIN CALL to the first major deal of the festival! The Lionsgate imprint Roadside will distribute and director J. C. Chandor’s inked deal includes two more pictures through Warner Brothers. Way to come out of the gate!!
The deal was negotiated by UTA and Cassian Elwes (who Exec Produced) from a script that was on the 2010 Black List. The film is based on the final 24 hours at Lehman Brothers. Zachary Quinto’s Before the Door Pictures helped finance the film (talk about put your money where your mouth is!), along with Michael Benaroya and Joe Jenckes and Taggart Pictures.
It joins the two early documentary sales (BECOMING CHAZ to OWN and Morgan Spurlock’s THE GREATEST STORY EVER SOLD) which were made early in the festival.
MARGIN CALL Catalog Detail
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: J.C. Chandor U.S.A., 2010, 109 min.
Set in the high-stakes world of the financial industry, Margin Call is a thriller entangling the key players at an investment firm during one perilous 24-hour period in the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis. When entry-level analyst Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto) unlocks information that could prove to be the downfall of the firm, a roller-coaster ride ensues as decisions both financial and moral catapult the lives of all involved to the brink of disaster. Expanding the parameters of genre, Margin Call is a riveting examination of the human components of a subject too often relegated to partisan issues of black
and white.
Propelled by a stellar cast that includes Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, and Demi Moore, writer/director JC Chandor’s enthralling first feature is a stark and bravely authentic portrayal of the financial industry and its denizens as they confront the decisions that shape our global future.
ExP: Cassian Elwes, Laura Rister, Josh Blum Pr: Neal Dodson, Zachary Quinto, Corey Moosa, Michael Benaroya, Robert Ogden Barnum, Joe Jenckes Ci: Frank DeMarco Ed: Pete Beaudreau Mu: Nathan Larson Principal Cast: Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Demi Moore, Stanley Tucci
PARK CITY, UTAH – Producer Christine Vachon is a golden film goddess and by keeping track of her, one keeps track of the indie film work AND break-out film hits and stars. She (and Ted Hope) sat down to interview Elizabeth Olsen (sister of the infamous Olsen twins). She stars in TWO Sundance films (she has, in fact, only been in three films in her entire career — this gal is white hot). The films are MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE and SILENT HOUSE. It’s a wonderful interview with Sundance veterans and a Sundance newbie.
MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE Detail
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER: Sean Durkin U.S.A., 2011, 110 min.
Haunted by painful memories and suffering from increasing anxiety, Martha escapes an abusive cult and returns home to live with her older sister, Lucy, and Lucy’s husband, Ted. With no other family to lean on, Martha tries desperately to assimilate into Ted and Lucy’s upper-middle-class lifestyle. But nightmares of the cult that brainwashed her into living
as Marcy May prevent her from connecting with the only people who may be able to save her. As Martha’s isolation grows, her severe paranoia escalates. Ultimately, she descends into a dizzying state of panic as the growing fear that she is being hunted grips her every move.
Giving a breakout performance as Martha (Marcy May), Elizabeth Olsen, sister of the famous Olsen twins, exhibits a depth of character reminiscent of a young Maggie Gyllenhaal. A stunning follow-up to his short Mary Last Seen, a 2010 Cannes award-winner, writer/director Sean Durkin’s chilling first feature puts him on the map as a filmmaker to watch.
ExP: Ted Hope, Matt Palmieri, Alexander Schepsman, Saemi Kim, Saerom Kim Pr: Josh Mond, Antonio Campos, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach CoP: Andrew Corkin Ci: Jody Lee Lipes Ed: Zac Stuart-Pontier PrD: Chad Keith Principal Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Brady Corbet, Hugh Dancy, John Hawkes, Sarah Paulson
SILENT HOUSE Detail (which was added late to the festival) Filmmakers Chris Kentis and Laura Lau return to the Sundance Film Festival with their latest feature, Silent House, which will have its world premiere in the out-of-competition Park City at Midnight section.
Following OPEN WATER, which screened at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, filmmaking duo Chris Kentis and Laura Lau once again confront the face of fear in this enthralling psychological thriller. Impressively captured with a continuous camera shot, SILENT HOUSE tracks the growing panic of its enigmatic lead, Elizabeth Olsen, who’s trapped in an unnerving nightmare. Never ones to be limited by a challenging production, Kentis and Lau mastermind a truly unique horror experience with immediate intimacy and unsettling terror.
Directors: Chris Kentis & Laura Lau; Screenwriter: Laura Lau – A hauntingly choreographed descent into madness based on the Uruguayan film La Casa Muda. Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Adam Trese, Eric Sheffer Stevens, Julia Taylor Ross, Haley Murphy, Adam Barnett. World Premiere
This is the FIRST year that ALL of the Sundance Film Festival’s competition sections kicked off the 10-day celebration, with films from the U.S. AND World Cinema Dramatic AND Documentary competitions, ALONG with one program of shorts. Last year, Festival Director john Cooper broke from tradition by opening the Festival with more than one film screening on Day One; this year, Day One extended its global reach by including international films and shorts to Thursday’s nights offerings.
The opening nights films were:
U.S. DRAMATIC: Pariah (Director and screenwriter: Dee Rees) – When forced to choose between losing her best friend or destroying her family, a Bronx teenager juggles conflicting identities and endures heartbreak in a desperate search for sexual expression. Cast: Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Kim Wayans, Charles Parnell, Aasha Davis. According to Variety: “Vivid photography, true-to-life moments and a wonderful lead performance compensate for some first-timer missteps in debutante writer-director Dee Rees’ “Pariah,” a low-budget coming-out and coming-of-age piece set in the predominantly black neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Pic will surely strike a chord with fests, and an especially resonant one for those with an LGBT bent.” Read the Variety review.
U.S. DOCUMENTARY: Sing Your Song (A film by Susanne Rostock) – Most people know the lasting legacy of Harry Belafonte, the entertainer; this film unearths his significant contribution to and his leadership in the civil rights movement in America and to social justice globally. When reviewed in Variety, John Anderson said the film would be a natural fit for PBS or cable. Read the Variety review. The Hollywood Reporter was kinder, saying, “with the enthusiasm of a revival meeting at the screening of Susanne Rostock’s “Sing Your Song,” which views the extraordinary career of entertainer Harry Belafonte through the prism of his tireless social activism. Full Hollywood Reporter review here.
WORLD DRAMATIC: The Guard / Ireland (Director and screenwriter: John Michael McDonagh) – A small-town cop in Ireland has a confrontational personality, a subversive sense of humor, a fondness for prostitutes and absolutely no interest whatsoever in the international drug-smuggling ring that has brought a straight-laced FBI agent to his door. However, a surreal chain of events pulls him into the action. 
Cast: Don Cheadle, Brendan Gleeson, Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, Dominique McElligot. Variety’s review was mixed (“A crusty jewel of a performance by Brendan Gleeson goes a long way toward enlivening an otherwise routine tale of murder, blackmail, drug trafficking and rural police corruption in “The Guard.” Rudely funny and faintly melancholic, both qualities stemming from the atmospheric backdrop of Ireland’s west coast, screenwriter John Michael McDonagh’s directorial debut is a stylish lark whose many disparate elements somehow manage to go down as smoothly as Guinness. Casting of Don Cheadle in a buddy-cop role opposite Gleeson should translate into a healthy theatrical profile abroad, though some of the caustic rogues-with-brogues dialogue would benefit from subtitles.) Variety review.
WORLD DOCUMENTARY: Project Nim / United Kingdom (Director: James Marsh) – From the Oscar-winning team behind Man on Wire comes the story of Nim, the chimpanzee who was taught to communicate with language as he was raised and nurtured like a human child. 
According to Variety: “Researchers may have taught a chimp named Nim to communicate via sign language back in the mid-’70s, but it was humans who learned the most from the experiment, as detailed in director James Marsh’s “Project Nim.” A provocative and surprisingly emotional saga that ranges from wrenching to downright hilarious as it spans more than a quarter-century of unpredictable twists, “Nim” reaches far beyond mere scientific curiosity to become compelling human drama. Marsh’s impressive post-Oscar follow-up (acquired by HBO just before Sundance) has strong theatrical potential, raising big questions about ethics, parenting strategies and what separates man from animal.” Variety review.
Shorts Program One
Deeper Than Yesterday Director: Ariel Kleiman Australia, 2009, 20 Min., Color
The External World Director: David Oreilly Germany/Ireland, 2010, 15 Min., Color & B/W
Fight For Your Right Revisited Director: Adam Yauch U.S.A., 2011, 2o Min., Color
The Strange Ones Directors: Christopher Radcliff, Lauren Wolkstein U.S.A., 2011, 15 Min., Color
The Terrys Directors: Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim U.S.A., 2010, 15 Min., Color
Worst Enemy Director: Lake Bell U.S.A., 2010, 13 Min., Color
This is the comprehensive list of the films premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The Premiere films are NOT in competition. They tend to have bigger budgets and more well known talent. They are often films made by returning Sundance alums. (They also give you a clue as to the celebrity sightings you may have in Park City … especially for the first screening! Study the cast lists.)
DRAMATIC PREMIERES
Cedar Rapids / U.S.A. (Director: Miguel Arteta; Screenwriter: Phil Johnston) – A wholesome and naive small-town Wisconsin man travels to big city Cedar Rapids, Iowa to represent his company at a regional insurance conference. Cast: Ed Helms, John C Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Alia Shawkat, Sigourney Weaver.
The Convincer / U.S.A. (Director: Jill Sprecher; Screenwriters: Jill Sprecher & Karen Sprecher) – An insurance salesman, caught in a caper involving a rare musical instrument, sets off a series of dramatic consequences. Cast: Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Billy Crudup, David Harbour.
The Details / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jacob Aaron Estes) – When a family of hungry raccoons begin feasting on the worms living under the sod of a young couple’s backyard, the pest problem sets off a wild and absurd chain reaction of anxiety, infidelity, organ donation and other assorted mayhem. Cast: Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney, Ray Liotta, Dennis Haysbert, Kerry Washington.
The Devil’s Double / Belgium (Director: Lee Tamahori; Screenwriter: Michael Thomas) – An extraordinary chapter in recent history providing a chilling vision of the House of Saddam comes to life through the eyes of the man who knew too much. Cast: Dominic Cooper, Ludivine Sagnier, Mimoun Oaissa, Raad Rawi, Philip Quast.
I Melt with You / Canada, U.S.A. (Director: Mark Pellington; Screenwriter: Glenn Porter, based on the story by Glenn Porter and Mark Pellington) – Four friends gather every year to celebrate their friendship. This year they are unexpectedly forced to confront a forgotten promise they made 25 years earlier. As they examine choices they’ve made, they realize that what they said they would do with their lives and what they have done are entirely different. Cast: Thomas Jane, Jeremy Piven, Rob Lowe, Christian McKay, Carla Gugino.
Life in a Day / United Kingdom (Director: Kevin Macdonald) – Life in a Day is a historic global experiment to create the world’s largest user-generated feature film. On July 24, 2010, professional and amateur filmmakers captured a glimpse of their lives on camera and uploaded the footage to YouTube, serving as a time capsule for future generations.
Margin Call / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: JC Chandor) – Over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis, the key people at an investment bank struggle to decide how to handle an emergency business situation while examining the personal and moral implications of every action they take. Cast: Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Demi Moore, and Stanley Tucci.
The Music Never Stopped (Director: Jim Kohlberg; Screenwriters: Gwyn Lurie and Gary Marks, based on the story “The Last Hippie” by Oliver Sacks) – A father struggles to bond with his estranged son who suffers a brain tumor that prevents him from forming new memories. He learns to embrace his son’s choices and to try to connect with him through the power of music. Cast: J.K. Simmons, Julia Ormond, Cara Seymour, Lou Taylor Pucci, Mia Maestro.
My Idiot Brother / U.S.A. (Director: Jesse Peretz; Screenwriters: Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall) – After serving time being conned into selling pot, Ned successively moves in with each of his three sisters as he tries to get back on his feet. His best intentions quickly bring the family to the cusp of chaos and ultimately the brink of clarity. Cast: Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer.
Perfect Sense / United Kingdom (Director: David Mackenzie; Screenwriter: Kim Fupz Aakeson) – A poetic and magnetic love story about two people who start to fall in love just as the world begins to fall apart. Cast: Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, Ewen Bremner, Stephen Dillane, Denis Lawson and Connie Nielsen.
Red State / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kevin Smith) – A group of misfits encounter extreme fundamentalism in Middle America. Cast: Michael Parks, Michael Angarano, Kyle Gallner, John Goodman, Melissa Leo.
Salvation Boulevard / U.S.A. (Director: George Ratliff; Screenwriters: Doug Max Stone and George Ratliff, based on the novel by Larry Beinhart) – An evangelical preacher who has captivated a city with his charm frames an ex-hippie for a crime he did not commit. Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear, Marisa Tomei.
The Son of No One / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Dito Montiel) – Two men in post-9/11 New York are forced to relive two murders they committed as young boys. Their lives start to unravel by the threat of the revelation of these shocking and personal secrets. Cast: Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Tracy Morgan, Ray Liotta, Juliette Binoche. CLOSING NIGHT FILM
Win Win / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Tom McCarthy, based on the story by Tom McCarthy and Joe Tiboni) – When a disheartened attorney moonlighting as a high school wrestling coach stumbles across a star athlete, things seem to be looking up. That is, until the boy’s mother shows up fresh from rehab and flat broke, threatening to derail everything. Cast: Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale, Jeffrey Tambor.
DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES
Becoming Chaz / U.S.A. (Directors: Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato) – Born biologically female, Chastity Bono invites the viewer into a deeply personal journey as he transitions from female to male, embracing his true self, which is Chaz.
Bobby Fischer Against the World / U.S.A. (Director: Liz Garbus) – The drama of late chess-master Bobby Fischer’s career was undeniable,as he careened from troubled childhood, to World Champion and Cold War icon, to a fugitive on the run.
Granito / U.S.A. (Director: Pamela Yates) – A documentary film intertwines with Guatemala’s turbulent history and emerges as an active player in a nation’s struggle to heal itself and serve up justice.
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold / U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Spurlock) – A documentary about branding, advertising and product placement is financed and made possible by branding, advertising and product placement.
The Interrupters / U.S.A. (Director: Steve James) – From the award-winning director of Hoop Dreams comes a story of ex-gang members who are now protecting their communities from the violence they themselves once employed.
Reagan / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Eugene Jarecki) – Reagan examines the enigmatic career of one of the revered architects of the modern world – icon, screen star, and two-term president Ronald Reagan.
Rebirth / U.S.A. (Director: Jim Whitaker) – Weaving together five stories of individuals whose lives were profoundly altered by the 9/11 attack with unprecedented time-lapse footage of Ground Zero composed over ten years, what emerges is a chronicle of grief’s evolution and a nation healing.
These Amazing Shadows / U.S.A. (Directors: Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton) – The history and importance of the National Film Registry unfolds in a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself.
Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions has snapped up the North American rights to Morgan Spurlock’s documentary THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD. The documentary is about the world of product placement and was one of the titles with a good deal of heat leading up to the fest. The film will go through Sony Pictures Classics with the distribution planning for an April launch. The deal was negotiated by SPWA’s Scott Shooman and Micheal Helfand of CAA.
I loved Spurlock’s SUPERSIZE ME which was at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. (I still have my poster with the little fat Ronald McDonald.) The guy totally knows how to market his product and get people interested in what he’s making. Undoubtedly, he brought a unique understanding to the concept of the underbelly of selling that infuses filmmaking. Like SUPERSIZE, I’m sure THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD will be rabidly consumed by documentary film lovers.
