Music Takes Center Stage at 2014 Sundance Film Festival

‘A Celebration of Music in Film’ Event on January 19 Headlined by Talent from Low Down:  A tribute to jazz legend Joe Albany featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea, composer Ohad Talmor with a reading by Elle Fanning; The Fela! Band and Rae Spoon Also to Perform

Belle & Sebastian set for Festival’s Music Café on January 20, presented by Airbnb and Sundance Institute

Sundance Institute has highlighted the roster of music performances to take place at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, including talent from Low Down – featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea, composer Ohad Talmor and and a reading by Elle Fanning – who will perform at the ‘A Celebration of Music in Film’ event on January 19, 8:00 p.m. MT, at Sundance House Presented by HP at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Also at the event will be The Fela! Band, performing music from the film Finding Fela, which honors the music of legend Fela Kuti, creator of Afrobeat music, and critically acclaimed artist Rae Spoon from the documentary-musical My Prairie Home. The event is hosted by the Sundance Institute Film Music Program.

Peter Golub, Director of the Sundance Institute Film Music Program and producer of ‘A Celebration of Music in Film,’ said, “All year round we work with composers and filmmakers, giving them a chance to think, experiment, and work with mentors on what happens when one puts film and music together. Our Sunday night ‘Celebration’  puts a spotlight on the crucial role that music plays in filmmaking by presenting the most exciting music from this year’s slate of films.”

Tracy McKnight, music supervisor and co-programmer of ‘A Celebration of Music in Film,’ said, “We’re thrilled to be showcasing such an incredible line up of talent for our 15th anniversary show! From jazz to afrobeat to singer/songwriters, all of the music featured in each of these amazing films is an incredible part of our evening. We could not be more excited and honored to give music the center stage on this special night.”

The event is open to all Festival credential holders (21 and older); A limited number of spots on the guest list will be given away via Twitter @sundancefestnow.

Festival’s Music Café and Airbnb to Host Belle & Sebastian on January 20
Indie pop act Belle & Sebastian will play a live show on Monday, January 20 at 9:30 p.m. at the Festival’s Music Café, in connection with band member Stuart Murdoch’s film God Help The Girl, which will have its world premiere at the 2014 Festival. The concert is presented by Festival sponsor Airbnb and Sundance Institute, and the after-party and DJ set will be held at the Airbnb Haus.

Murdoch said, “On behalf of the group and myself, I’d like to say how excited we are to be playing a short concert at the bequest of the Sundance Film Festival. In Park City, in Utah, in the snow. Did i say how excited we were? I’m like, vibrating.”

The musical starring Emily Browning, Olly Alexander and Hannah Murray, was written and directed by Murdoch and produced by Barry Mendel. The other members of Belle & Sebastian assisted in making the music and film in various capacities. Tickets and more info can be obtained by emailing belleandsebastianatsundance@gmail.com.

Additional Music Programming by ASCAP, KCRW and BMI
Additional musical components of the Festival include daytime performances programmed by ASCAP (Jan 17-24) and three nights (January 17-19) of live musical performances hosted again by LA public radio station KCRW, and presented by Acura, at the Festival’s Music Café. BMI will also host a roundtable discussion about “Music & Film: The Creative Process,” (January 22, 11:00 a.m. MT at Sundance House Presented by HP) as well as their annual Music Showcase: BMI Snowball Produced by BMI (January 22, 8:00 p.m. MT at Sundance House Presented by HP).

Sundance Institute Film Music Program
With the goal of nurturing the development of music in film, the Film Music Program connects composers and directors, giving them first-hand experience of the collaborative process. At the Sundance Film Festival, the program raises the profile of music in film through a series of concerts and panels. Year round, whether through international collaborations or through direct consultations with filmmakers, the Film Music Program is committed to enhancing the role of music in film. The Film Music Program is made possible by generous support from Time Warner Foundation and The Film Music Foundation.www.sundance.org/filmmusic

Sundance Institute Announces Jury Members for 2014 Sundance Film Festival

Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally to Host Feature Film Awards Ceremony, Livestreamed on January 25 at sundance.org/live

Sundance Institute announced the members of the six juries awarding prizes at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, January 16-26 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. Short Film Awards will be announced at a ceremony on January 21 at Park City’s Jupiter Bowl. Feature film awards will be announced at a separate ceremony on January 25 in Park City, hosted by husband-and-wife duo Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally and livestreamed at www.sundance.org/live. Offerman headlines the film Nick Offerman: American Ham in the Festival’s Premieres section. Mullally voices a character in the English-language version of Ernest and Celestine, which will have its world premiere in the Festival’s new Sundance Kids section.

U.S. DOCUMENTARY JURY

Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is a Grammy Award–winning singer/songwriter and international recording artist. She has made eight studio albums since her multiplatinum debut in 1988, includingTracy Chapman, Crossroads, Matters of the Heart, New Beginning, Telling Stories, Let it Rain, Where You Live, and Our Bright Future. In 2008, Chapman made her theatre debut composing the music for a new production of Athol Fugard’s classic 1961 play Blood Knot, which opened at San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theatre. She has toured extensively in the last 25 years in the United States and abroad and has appeared frequently to support social and humanitarian causes, including for the Amnesty International Human Rights Now! tour, the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute, and concerts for Tibetan Freedom, Farm Aid, the Special Olympics, and amfAR.

Charlotte Cook
Charlotte Cooke is the director of programming at Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival. She was previously head of film programming and training at the Frontline Club in London, an organization dedicated to championing independent journalism and freedom of expression. Cook has worked with the BBC’s Storyville, the Channel 4 BritDoc Foundation’s Puma Catalyst Awards, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival, where she curated the Conflict|Reportage program. She has also written extensively for a number of different publications and was the main photographic researcher for the launch of London’s The Times online archive project. In addition to her programming activities, Cook advises organizations on media literacy, specializes in investigative journalism on international conflict, and has an academic background in the role technology plays for the media.

Kahane Cooperman
Kahane Cooperman is the producer of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. She has been with the show since its inception in 1996, moving from field producer to senior producer, supervising producer and then coexecutive producer from 2005 to 2013. For her work, she has received ten Primetime Emmy Awards and two Peabodys. Cooperman began her career in documentaries at Maysles Films in New York City. She has produced and directed several documentaries, including the short Cool Water, which premiered at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival, and Making Dazed about Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused, which was acquired by the Criterion Collection. Kahane also produced the feature doc Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam, directed by Nick Broomfield. Currently, Cooperman is producing two independent docs, Going Pro and Judee Sill and is on the advisory board of the Montclair Film Festival. She holds an MFA in film from Columbia University.

Morgan Neville
Morgan Neville is an award-winning filmmaker who has spent 20 years working as a cultural documentarian. Neville has been nominated for three Grammys for his music films: Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story, Muddy Waters Can’t Be Satisfied, and Johnny Cash’s America.His other films include Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues, The Cool School, and Troubadours,which screened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Through his company, Tremolo Productions, Neville has also produced films such as The Rolling Stones’ Crossfire Hurricane,Pearl Jam Twenty, The Night James Brown Saved Boston, and Beauty Is Embarrassing. His most recent film is 20 Feet from Stardom, which premiered on Day One of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and went on to become the top-grossing documentary of the year.

Sundance Institute Announces Films in Spotlight, Park City at Midnight and New ‘Sundance Kids’ Section for 2014 Sundance Film Festival 30th Anniversary of the Sundance Film Festival

In the run-up to the 2014 edition, The Sundance Institute www.sundance.org) announced the films selected to screen in the 2014 Sundance Film Festival (www.sundance.org/festival) out-of-competition sections Spotlight, Park City at Midnight. The Festival takes place January 16-26 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

Trevor Groth, Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival, said, “The films in the sections announced today round out our 2014 Sundance Film Festival program and further reflect the depth and diversity of modern independent filmmaking that will satisfy everyone from festival fledglings to fanatics.”

SPOTLIGHT

Regardless of where these films have played throughout the world, the Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love.

Jeremy Saulnier, Blue Ruin, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Blue Ruin, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Blue Ruin, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Blue Ruin, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Blue Ruin / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jeremy Saulnier) — A mysterious outsider’s quiet life turns upside down when he returns to his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. Proving to be an amateur assassin, he winds up in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family. Cast: Macon Blair, Amy Hargreaves, Sidné Anderson, Devin Ratray, Kevin Kolack.

The Double, Sundance Film Festival 2014

The Double, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Richard Ayoade, The Double, Sundance Film Festival 2014

The Double / United Kingdom (Director: Richard Ayoade, Screenwriter: Avi Korine) — Jesse Eisenberg plays Simon, a timid and isolated man who is overlooked at work. When James, a new coworker arrives, he upsets the balance because he is both Simon’s physical double and his opposite: confident and good with women. Then James slowly starts taking over Simon’s life. Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Mia Wasikowska, Wallace Shawn, Noah Taylor, Cathy Moriarty, James Fox.

Ida, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Ida, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Ida, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Ida, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Ida, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Director: Pawel Pawlikowski, Ida, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Ida / Poland (Director: Pawel Pawlikowski, Screenwriters: Pawel Pawlikowski, Rebecca Lenkiewicz) — Anna, a young novitiate nun in 1960s Poland, is on the verge of taking her vows when she discovers a dark family secret dating back to the years of the Nazi occupation. Cast: Agata Kulesza, Agata Trzebuchowska, Dawid Ogrodnik.

Director Steven Knight, Locke, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Locke, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Locke / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Steven Knight) — Locke is a feat of dynamic storytelling from Academy Award–nominated writer/director Steven Knight, anchored by Tom Hardy’s fantastic performance. Unfolding in real time, the film is a gripping story of choices, consequences, and a man who risks everything he holds dear to do the right thing. Cast: Tom Hardy, Ruth Wilson, Olivia Colman, Andrew Scott, Tom Holland, Bill Milner.

ERIC BOGOSIAN TO NARRATE ALEX ROSS PERRY’S “LISTEN UP PHILIP” AT 2014 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

ERIC BOGOSIAN has signed on to narrate ALEX ROSS PERRY’S “LISTEN UP PHILIP” (” STARRING JASON SCHWARTZMAN, ELISABETH MOSS, JONATHAN PRYCE and KRYSTEN RITTER), which will have its world premiere at the upcoming 2014 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL.

ERIC BOGOSIAN

Following up his critically acclaimed “THE COLOR WHEEL“, Ross Perry has scripted a complex, intimate and highly idiosyncratic comedy filled with New Yorkers living their lives somewhere between individuality and isolation. Jason Schwartzman leads an impressive cast including Elisabeth Moss, Jonathan Pryce and Krysten Ritter, balancing Perry’s quick-witted dialogue and their characters’ painful, personal truths.  The film switches perspectives as seasons and attitudes change, offering a literary look into the lives of these individuals and the triumph of reality over the human spirit.

“LISTEN UP PHILIP” AT 2014 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

“LISTEN UP PHILIP” was produced by KATIE STERN & JOSHUA Blum from WASHINGTON SQUARE FILMS (the company’s follow-up film to the acclaimed “ALL IS LOST”) and TOBY HALBROOKS, JAMES M. JOHNSTON & DAVID LOWERY from SAILOR BEAR (the team behind last year’s Sundance hit “AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS”).  JOHN SLOSS’ CINETIC MEDIA will be handling the domestic sale of the film.

“Ever since I first saw “The Magnificent Ambersons”, I have dreamt of directing a film with a narrator. Throughout the process of making “Listen Up Philip”, probably the question I got asked the most was ‘who is going to narrate it?’ I knew what kind of diction I needed: a New York voice for my New York movie.  Intelligent, cynical, nonjudgmental. Eric Bogosian is that voice and hearing him read the words finally made the film click for me in the way I always imagined it”, said director Alex Ross Perry.

“Alex’s movie is bitter, honest and very funny.  I felt right at home in the world he created”, said Eric Bogosian.

Bogosian is best known as a playwright, novelist and actor. He is currently completing a non-fiction book documenting “NEMESIS”, a conspiracy that targeted and assassinated Turkish leaders responsible for the Armenian genocide. (To be published by Little, Brown in 2015)

He wrote and starred in the play, “TALK RADIO” (NYSF – 1987; Broadway with Liev Schreiber- 2007). For this work he was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and the Tony award. For his film adaptation of the play, Bogosian received the BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL “SILVER BEAR.” His six solo performances Off-Broadway between 1980 and 2000, (including “DRINKING IN AMERICA”, “SEX, DRUGS, ROCK & ROLL” and “WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE”) received three Obie awards. In addition to “Talk Radio”, Bogosian has written a number of full-length plays including “subUrbia” (LCT, Second Stage, also adapted to film), “Griller” (Goodman), “Red Angel” (Williamstown Theater Festival), “Humpty Dumpty” (The McCarter), 1+1 (New York Stage and Film).  He is also the author of three novels, “MALL”, “WASTED BEAUTY” and “PERFORATED HEART” and a novella, “NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND.”

As an actor, Bogosian has appeared in numerous films and television programs, starring in Robert Altman’s “The Caine Mutiny Court Martial”, Oliver Stone’s “Talk Radio”, as Travis Dane in “UNDER SIEGE II”, as Eddie Nash in “WONDERLAND” and as Captain Danny Ross in sixty episodes of “LAW & ORDER: CI.” In 2010, he starred on Broadway in “TIME STANDS STILL” with Laura Linney.

In January 2013, Theater Communications Group published the full collection of Bogosian’s monologues, titled “100 (MONOLOGUES).” Bogosian lives in New York with his wife, director Jo Bonney.

Sundance Institute Announces Films and Installations for 2014 Edition of New Frontier at the Sundance Film Festival

FEATURING U.S. PREMIERE OF DOUG AITKEN’S THE SOURCE (EVOLVING)

KLIP COLLECTIVE SHOWCASES FESTIVAL’S 30-YEAR LEGACY WITH 3D-MAPPING PROJECTIONS

NEW LOCATION, EXPANDED OFFERINGS MARK 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL The films and installations to be featured in the 2014 edition of New Frontier at the Sundance Film Festival, as announced by the Sundance Institute, includes the U.S. premiere of The Source (evolving) by renowned artist Doug Aitken and a 3D projection-mapping project by Klip Collective. The 2014 Sundance Film Festival takes place January 16-26 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

New Frontier champions films that expand, experiment with, and explode traditional storytelling. Recognizing the crossroads of film, art, and media technology as a hotbed for cinematic innovation, New Frontier is also a venue showcasing media installations, multimedia performances, transmedia experiences, and panel discussions that explore the expansion of cinema culture in today’s rapidly changing media landscape.

Most of the installations will be housed at a new, 5,000-square-foot location at the Gateway in Park City, which is adjacent to Main Street; Doug Aitken’s The Source (evolving) and the Klip Collective exterior projections on the Egyptian Theatre will be in nearby locations along the Main Street corridor. Admission to all New Frontier installations is free.

“This year’s expanded ‘New Frontier’ allows artists to continue pushing the boundaries in telling their stories,” said Robert Redford, President & Founder of Sundance Institute. “In addition, this expanded work helps us mark the 30th anniversary of the Sundance Film Festival,” he added.

Shari Frilot, Sundance Film Festival Senior Programmer and curator of the exhibition, said, “As human and machine, biological and media experiences blur and hybridize, the distinctions between them are also becoming irrelevant. The digital and the organic integrally constitute a new primordial pool. What does creativity and storytelling look like if we revel in this new way of being?”

U.S. PREMIERE OF DOUG AITKEN’S SITE-SPECIFIC FILM INSTALLATION THE SOURCE (EVOLVING) The 2014 edition of New Frontier at the Sundance Film Festival will host the U.S. premiere of The Source (evolving) by renowned artist Doug Aitken.The Source (evolving) is a series of filmed conversations about creativity in the 21st Century in which Aitken conducts short candid conversations with groundbreaking pioneers in different artistic disciplines.

The piece creates a fast and rhythmic kaleidoscope of dialogues with the creative individuals who are shaping modern culture. The conversations are grounded by two questions: where does the creative idea start, and what is the journey to the finished creation? The Source (evolving) is filmed on location in unique and diverse destinations throughout the world and premiered at the Tate Liverpool last year. The Source (evolving) will be housed in the Pavilion, a new 2,000-square-feet, stand-alone, circular structure to be custom-built by the Festival in a location adjacent to Park City’s Main Street. The architecture was created in collaboration with David Adjaye. Six-channel video projections of The Source (evolving) span the entire width of the structure’s interior and are also visible from the outside, wrapping the structure’s exterior.

For the Festival, Aitken will develop an accompanying interactive website for The Source (evolving). The website will connect audiences not attending the Festival with the work and serve as a living archive that Aitken will continue to populate with interviews in the years to come. Currently, the interviewees include William Eggleston, Ryan Trecartin, Thomas Demand, Richard Phillips, Lucky Dragons, Paolo Soleri, Jack Pierson, James Murphy, Stephen Shore, Jacques Herzog, Philippe Parreno, Liz Diller, Jack White, Mike Kelley, Devendra Banhart, Beck, David Adjaye, Tilda Swinton, Alice Waters, Aaron Koblin, Liz Glynn, Theaster Gates, and James Turrell.

Aitken said, “The Source (evolving) examines the entire process of creation, not just the finished result, and speaking directly with the creators whose work has the ability to steer culture in a significant way, The Source (evolving) takes viewers on a fast-moving road trip through the modern landscape of creativity.”

As such, The Sundance Film Festival, with its legacy of discovering inspired independent artists and attracting audiences curious about the creative process, is the perfect platform to host the U.S. premiere of The Source (evolving). Aitken’s work was last featured at the Sundance Film Festival in the 2008 edition of New Frontier, where he presented a special single-channel version of Sleepwalkers, his groundbreaking MoMA installation that transformed an entire block of Manhattan into an expansive cinematic experience as he covered the museum’s exteriors walls with projections. The U.S. premiere of The Source (evolving) at the Festival is made possible by a generous contribution from The Maurice Marciano Family Foundation.

KLIP COLLECTIVE EXTERIOR PROJECTIONS ON EGYPTIAN THEATRE

KLIP COLLECTIVE EXTERIOR PROJECTIONS ON EGYPTIAN THEATRE – “What’s He Projecting In There,” (Photo Credit: Pier Nicola D’Amico)

KLIP COLLECTIVE EXTERIOR PROJECTIONS ON EGYPTIAN THEATRE – “What’s He Projecting In There,” (Photo Credit: Pier Nicola D’Amico)

KLIP COLLECTIVE EXTERIOR PROJECTIONS ON EGYPTIAN THEATRE – “What’s He Projecting In There,” (Photo Credit: Pier Nicola D’Amico)

Sundance Institute Announces Films In Out-Of-Competition Premieres And Documentary Premieres For 2014 Sundance Film Festival

The list of the films selected to screen in the Out-of-Competition Premieres and Documentary Premieres sections of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival was announced by the Sundance Institute. The 2014 Sundance Film Festival will be held January 16-26 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “The Premieres and Documentary Premieres sections of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival feature new work from many established independent filmmakers who began their careers at our Festival years ago, which allows us to reflect on the impact, legacy and growth of the independent film movement over the past 30 years.”

Trevor Groth, Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival, added, “In many of the films selected for our 2014 Sundance Film Festival, we see fascinating characters and subjects throughout. Whether portrayed by recognized actors taking on more challenging and diverse roles, or in the stranger-than-fiction reality of our documentaries, we look forward to sharing these incredible stories with audiences at our Festival.”

Out-of-Competition PREMIERES
A showcase of world premieres of some of the most highly anticipated dramatic films of the coming year. Presented by Entertainment Weekly.

Calvary, Sundance Film Festival 2014 (Photo Credit: Jonathan Hession)

Calvary / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: John Michael McDonagh) — Calvary is a blackly comedic drama about a priest tormented by his community. Father James is a good man intent on making the world a better place. When his life is threatened one day during confession, he finds he has to battle the dark forces closing in around him. Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Aidan Gillen, Dylan Moran, Marie-Josée Croze.

Director Lenny Abrahams

Frank (Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Fassbender Domhnall Gleeson), Sundance Film Festival 2014 (Photo Credit: Lorey Sebastian)

Frank / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Lenny Abrahamson, Screenwriters: Jon Ronson, Peter Straughan) — Frank is an offbeat comedy about a wannabe musician who finds himself out of his depth when he joins an avant garde rock band led by the enigmatic Frank—a musical genius who hides himself inside a large fake head. Cast: Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Scoot McNairy.

(Photo Credit: Sabrina Lantos)

(Photo Credit: Sabrina Lantos)

(Photo Credit: Sabrina Lantos)

(Photo Credit: Sabrina Lantos)

(Photo Credit: Sabrina Lantos)

(Photo Credit: Sabrina Lantos)

Hits / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Cross) — A small town in upstate New York is populated by people who wallow in unrealistic expectations. There, fame, delusion, earnestness, and recklessness meet, shake hands, and disrupt the lives around them. Cast: Meredith Hagner, Matt Walsh, James Adomian, Jake Cherry Derek Waters, Wyatt Cenac.

Director Mike Cahill (Photo Credit: Jelena Vukotic)

I Origins Director Mike Cahill (Photo Credit: Jelena Vukotic)

I Origins, Sundance Film Festival 2014 (Photo Credit: Jelena Vukotic)

I Origins, Sundance Film Festival 2014 (Photo Credit: Jelena Vukotic)

I Origins, Sundance Film Festival 2014 (Photo Credit: Jelena Vukotic)

I Origins, Sundance Film Festival 2014 (Photo Credit: Jelena Vukotic)

I Origins / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Mike Cahill) — A molecular biologist and his lab partner uncover startling evidence that could fundamentally change society as we know it and cause them to question their once-certain beliefs in science and spirituality. Cast: Michael Pitt, Brit Marling, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Steven Yeun, Archie Panjabi.

Laggies Director Lynn Shelton (Photo by Barbara Kinney/Laggies Pictures LLC)

Laggies -Chloe Moretz and Keira Knightley (Photo by Barbara Kinney – Laggies Pictures LLC)

Laggies/ U.S.A. (Director: Lynn Shelton, Screenwriter: Andrea Seigel) — Laggies is a coming of age story about a 28-year-old woman stuck in permanent adolescence. Unable to find her career calling, still hanging out with the same friends, and living with her high school boyfriend, Megan must finally navigate her own future when an unexpected marriage proposal sends her into a panic. Cast: Keira Knightley, Sam Rockwell, Chloë Grace Moretz, Ellie Kemper, Jeff Garlin, Mark Webber.

Sundance Institute to Present New “Sundance Kids” Section in Collaboration with Utah Film Center at 2014 Sundance Film Festival

NEW YOUTH-ORIENTED CATEGORY WILL FEATURE ONE WORLD PREMIERE AND ONE U.S. PREMIERE

The Sundance Institute (www.sundance.org) has announced today a new section for younger audiences called “Sundance Kids” for the 2014 Sundance Film Festival (www.sundance.org/festival). Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2014, the Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most groundbreaking films of the past three decades, including Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Little Miss Sunshine, An Education, sex, lies, and videotape, Reservoir Dogs, The Cove, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An Inconvenient Truth, Precious, and Napoleon Dynamite, and through its New Frontier Initiative, has showcased the cinematic works of media artists including Isaac Julien, Doug Aitken, Pierre Huyghe, Jennifer Steinkamp, and Matthew Barney. The Festival is a program of the non-profit Sundance Institute®.

Co-Director Benjamin Renner, Ernest and Celestine (Photo Credit: Andrzej Radka)

Co-Director Stephane Aubier, Ernest and Celestine (Photo Credit: Andrzej Radka)

Co-Director Vincent Patar, Ernest and Celestine (Photo Credit: Andrzej Radka)

Programmed in partnership with the Utah Film Center’s Tumbleweeds Program, the inaugural “Sundance Kids” section features the World Premiere of the English-language version of the acclaimed Ernest and Celestine (Directors: Benjamin Renner, Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar) and the U.S. Premiere of Zip & Zap and the Marble Gang (Director: Oskar Santos), and will be part of the 2014 Festival, running from January 16-26 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

Ernest and Celestine / France, Belgium, Luxembourg (Directors: Benjamin Renner, Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Screenwriter: Daniel Pennac)

Ernest and Celestine / France, Belgium, Luxembourg (Directors: Benjamin Renner, Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Screenwriter: Daniel Pennac)

Ernest and Celestine / France, Belgium, Luxembourg (Directors: Benjamin Renner, Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Screenwriter: Daniel Pennac)

Ernest and Celestine / France, Belgium, Luxembourg (Directors: Benjamin Renner, Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Screenwriter: Daniel Pennac) – Unlike her fellow mice, Celestine is an artist and a dreamer. When she nearly ends up as breakfast for a bear named Ernest, the two form an unlikely bond that is quickly challenged by their respective communities.  Cast: Forest Whitaker, Mackenzie Foy, Lauren Bacall, Paul Giamatti, William H. Macy, Megan Mullally. Recommended for ages 5+.

Zip and Zap and the Marble Gang director Oskar Santos (photo credit – Jose Haro)

Zip & Zap and the Marble Gang / Spain (Director: Oskar Santos, Screenwriters: Francisco Roncal, Jorge Lara, Oskar Santos) – Zip and Zap are punished by being sent to a re-education center. Guided by intelligence, they uncover a mysterious secret hidden deep within the school and end up having the most exciting adventure of their lives. Cast: Javier Gutiérrez, Daniel Cerezo, Raúl Rivas, Claudia Vega, Marcos Ruiz, Fran García. Recommended for ages 9+.

Zip and Zap and the Marble Gang – Javier Gutirrez (Photo Credit – Jose Haro)

Zip and Zap and the Marble Gang – Daniel Cerezo, Ral Rivas, Claudia Vega, Marcos Ruz, and Fran Garca (Photo Credit – Jose Haro)

Zip and Zap and the Marble Gang – Daniel Cerezo, Ral Rivas, Claudia Vega, Marcos Ruz, and Fran Garca (Photo Credit – Jose Haro)

Zip and Zap and the Marble Gang – Daniel Cerezo and Ral Rivas (Photo Credit – Jose Haro)

Zip and Zap and the Marble Gang – Daniel Cerezo and Ral Rivas (Photo Credit – Jose Haro)

The Utah Film Center brings the world of film to local audiences through free community screenings and discussions, outreach programs, and visiting artists and professionals. Emphasizing social content and artistic excellence, they present the best documentary, independent, and dramatic cinema year-round and collaborate with various educational and community organizations to promote a diversity of ideas, to provide forums for underrepresented groups, and to develop new audiences for film. Movie screenings take place in Salt Lake City, Kamas, Lehi (coming soon), Logan, Moab, Ogden, Orem, Park City, and more coming soon.

The 2014 Tumbleweeds Film Festival for Children and Youth runs March, 14-16 at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center and the City Library in Salt Lake City.  The Utah Film Center’s Tumbleweeds program is generously sponsored by the Sorenson Legacy Foundation, George S. and Delores Doré Eccles Foundation, Art Works for Kids and Zions Bank.  The annual Tumbleweeds Film Festival is the only film festival in the Intermountain West that presents films specifically for children and youth.

“The addition of Sundance Kids allows us to engage younger audiences around the power of independent film,” said Trevor Groth, Director of Programming. “We are excited to collaborate with Tumbleweeds and The Utah Film Center in presenting Sundance Kids.”

“This unique collaboration between the Utah Film Center and Sundance Institute is a great opportunity to elevate the profile of international and independent films for kids,” said Patrick Hubley, Artistic Director of the Utah Film Center and Founder of Tumbleweeds. “We launched our Tumbleweeds programming four years ago with the goal of fostering the next generation of filmmakers and film fans, and we hope this programming will inspire the creativity and imaginations of young film-goers not only in Utah but across the country.”

Visit www.sundance.org/festival for more information about screening dates, times and locations.

Sundance Institute Announces Films in Contention in the U.S. and World Competitions, NEXT Section for the 2014 Sundance Film Festival

30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL WILL FEATURE 118 FEATURE-LENGTH FILMS The Sundance Institute has announced the films selected for the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions and the out-of-competition NEXT <=> (Wave) Section of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, January 16-26 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. Celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2014, the Sundance Film Festival (www.sundance.org/festival) has introduced global audiences to some of the most groundbreaking films of the past three decades, including Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Little Miss Sunshine, An Education, sex, lies, and videotape, Reservoir Dogs, The Cove, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An Inconvenient Truth, Precious, and Napoleon Dynamite, and through its New Frontier initiative, has showcased the cinematic works of media artists including Isaac Julien, Doug Aitken, Pierre Huyghe, Jennifer Steinkamp, and Matthew Barney.

Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, the Sundance Institute (www.sundance.org) is a global, nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to nurturing artistic expression in film and theater, and to supporting intercultural dialogue between artists and audiences. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to unite, inform and inspire, regardless of geo-political, social, religious or cultural differences. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival and its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, film composers, playwrights and theatre artists, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as the ones previously mention and including Sin Nombre, Spring Awakening, Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Light in the Piazza and Angels in America.

Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, “We are energized by the rich diversity of voices, characters and places represented in the films selected for our 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Independent filmmakers continue to engage us with stories from worlds both intimately familiar and unknown.” For the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, 118 feature-length films were selected, representing 37 countries and 54 first-time filmmakers, including 34 in competition. These films were selected from 12,218 submissions (72 more than for 2013), including 4,057 feature-length films and 8,161 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 2,014 were from the U.S. and 2,043 were international. 97 feature films at the Festival will be world premieres. In addition to those announced, the Festival presents feature-length films in the Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, New Frontier, Premieres and Documentary Premieres sections. Those announcements, as well as selections for the Short Film section and new Sundance Kids section of films for younger audiences, are forthcoming.

John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “The films selected for our 2014 Festival show that filmmakers are empowered and emboldened by the 30-year legacy of the independent film movement. The confidence to play with the medium and to surprise audiences indicates the vital role independent film has come to serve in the cultural landscape.”

On Day One, January 16, 2014, the Festival will screen one film from each of the four Competition sections, as well as one shorts program. A selection of films from the 2014 Festival will be among those presented at other Sundance Institute programs throughout the year, including the Sundance London film and music festival, April 25-27 at The O2, and the NEXT WEEKEND summer film festival in Los Angeles.

Robert Redford, President & Founder of Sundance Institute said, “That the Festival has evolved and grown as it has over the past 30 years is a credit to both our audiences and our artists, who continue to find ways to take risks and open our minds to the power of story. This year’s films and artists promise to do the same.”

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.

Camp X-Ray, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Camp X-Ray / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Peter Sattler) — A young woman is stationed as a guard in Guantanamo Bay, where she forms an unlikely friendship with one of the detainees. Cast: Kristen Stewart, Payman Maadi, Lane Garrison, J.J. Soria, John Carroll Lynch.

Cold in July, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Cold in July / U.S.A. (Director: Jim Mickle, Screenwriters: Jim Mickle, Nick Damici) — After killing a home intruder, a small town Texas man’s life unravels into a dark underworld of corruption and violence. Cast: Michael C. Hall, Don Johnson, Sam Shepard, Vinessa Shaw, Nick Damici, Wyatt Russell. Dear White People/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Justin Simien) — Four black students attend an Ivy League college where a riot breaks out over an “African American” themed party thrown by white students. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the film explores racial identity in postracial America while weaving a story about forging one’s unique path in the world. Cast: Tyler Williams, Tessa Thompson, Teyonah Parris, Brandon Bell.

Justin Simien, Director, Dear White People, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Dear White People, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Dear White People, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Dear White People, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Dear White People, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Dear White People, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Dear White People, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Dear White People/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Justin Simien) — Four black students attend an Ivy League college where a riot breaks out over an “African American” themed party thrown by white students. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the film explores racial identity in postracial America while weaving a story about forging one’s unique path in the world. Cast: Tyler Williams, Tessa Thompson, Teyonah Parris, Brandon Bell.

Fishing Without Nets, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Fishing Without Nets, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Fishing Without Nets, Sundance Film Festival 2014

Fishing Without Nets / U.S.A., Somalia, Kenya (Director: Cutter Hodierne, Screenwriters: Cutter Hodierne, John Hibey, David Burkman) — A story of pirates in Somalia told from the perspective of a struggling, young Somali fisherman. Cast: Abdikani Muktar, Abdi Siad, Abduwhali Faarah, Abdikhadir Hassan, Reda Kateb, Idil Ibrahim.

God’s Pocket – Philip Seymour Hoffman and Eddie Marsan (Photo credit: Lance Acord)

God’s Pocket – Christina Hendricks (Photo credit: Lance Acord)

God’s Pocket – Philip Seymour Hoffman and John Turturro (Photo credit: Lance Acord)

God’s Pocket/ U.S.A. (Director: John Slattery, Screenwriters: John Slattery, Alex Metcalf) — When Mickey’s stepson Leon is killed in a construction “accident,” Mickey tries to bury the bad news with the body. But when the boy’s mother demands the truth, Mickey finds himself stuck between a body he can’t bury, a wife he can’t please, and a debt he can’t pay. Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, Christina Hendricks, John Turturro.

2014 Sundance Film Festival Announces 20th Anniversary of Hoop Dreams as ‘From the Collection’ Screening

The Sundance Institute has announced that the newly restored Hoop Dreams (1994) will screen in the From the Collection Program at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, 20 years after the film made its world premiere at the 1994 Festival. The recently completed restoration represents the collaborative effort of Sundance Institute, UCLA Film & Television Archive, the Academy Film Archive and Kartemquin Films. Filmmakers Steve James, Peter Gilbert and Frederick Marx and subject Arthur Agee are expected to participate in an extended Q&A immediately following the January 20 screening. The 2014 Festival will be January 16-26 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

“Hoop Dreams completely changed the way we experience documentary films and the stories they tell. And that profound impact is still being felt 20 years later,” said John Nein, Senior Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival. “People assume that these seminal films will stay safe on their own, when in fact we really need to take a proactive approach to safeguarding them. We are proud to be part of the film’s history and, through its restoration, its future as well.”

Filmed over five years, with unprecedented access, Hoop Dreams, directed by Steve James, chronicles the lives of Arthur Agee and William Gates, two inner-city teenagers from Chicago. Through their skills on the basketball court they struggle to escape their surroundings and realize their dreams of making it to the NBA. It won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 1994 Sundance Film Festival. Despite its length (171 minutes) and unlikely commercial prospects, it received high critical and popular acclaim, became an Academy Award nominee for Best Film Editing and was added to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 2005

Director Steve James, Hoop Dreams, Sundance Film Festival 2014

The late Roger Ebert was famously an early advocate for this film and said in an October 1994 review, “A film like Hoop Dreams is what the movies are for. It takes us, shakes us, and make us think in new ways about the world around us. It gives us the impression of having touched life itself… It is one of the great movie-going experiences of my lifetime.”

Arthur Agee in Hoop Dreams (Photo Credit: Kartemquin Films & Sundance Film Fesival 2014)

Hoop Dreams was shot primarily on analog Beta SP videotape, so the image was cropped and transferred for its commercial release. Working from multiple elements, including standard definition video masters and a 35mm film print, the project team created a new uncropped, high definition digital master that better represents the pictorial quality of the original videography. Digitally remastered at Modern VideoFilm with sound restoration by Audio Mechanics, this version allows future audiences to see the film as conceived by its filmmakers.

The Sundance Collection at UCLA (The Collection) is a film preservation partnership established in 1997. The Collection is specifically devoted to the preservation of independent documentaries, narratives and short films supported by Sundance Institute and has grown to nearly 2,300 holdings representing 1,800 titles, including recent additions such as El Mariachi, Winter’s Bone, Paris is Burning, Johnny Suede, Working Girls, Crumb, Groove, Better This World, The Oath and Paris, Texas. Titles are generously donated by individual filmmakers, distributors and studios.