Slamdance Film Festival

Dennis Rodman’s Big Bang in Pyongyang, directed by Colin Offland

The Slamdance Film Festival earlier today unveiled its narrative and documentary competition lineups for the upcoming festival taking place January 23 to 29, 2015.  The Slamdance feature competition is limited to films made with budgets under $1 million and made by first-time directors. Films include Dennis Rodman’s Big Bang in Pyongyang, directed by Colin Offland, described as “an intimate behind the scenes look at Dennis Rodman’s unlikely friendship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and the staging of the most controversial game of basketball the world has never seen.”

NARRATIVE FEATURES PROGRAM

Across the Sea – Directors & Screenwriters: Nisan Dağ, Esra Saydam
(Turkey/USA) North American Premiere
Young, beautiful and pregnant, Damla has to confront her first love in a Turkish summer town before she can fully embrace her new life in New York.
Cast: Damla Sönmez, Jacob Fishel, Ahmet Rıfat Şungar, Hakan Karsak, Brittany Angley

Asco – Director: Ale Paschoalini; Screenwriters: Ale Paschoalini, Rafael Baliu
(Brazil) World Premiere
Needs and desires are simplified in this experimental, black and white portrayal of the poisonous destruction of a broken heart.
Cast: Guto Nogueira, Sol Faganello, Acauã Sol, Danielle Rosa, Ligia Franchini, El Alberto

Body – Directors & Screenwriters: Dan Berk, Robert Olsen
(USA) World Premiere
After three twenty-something girls break into a mansion and inadvertently murder the groundskeeper, they slowly self-destruct as they decide what to do with the dead body in the living room.
Cast: Helen Rogers, Alexandra Turshen, Lauren Molina, Larry Fessenden

Clinger – Director: Michael Steves; Screenwriters: Michael Steves, Gabi Chennisi Duncombe, Bubba Fish
(USA) World Premiere
When her possessive high school boyfriend dies in a gruesome accident, Fern Petersen’s life is thrown into turmoil.  Things go from bad to worse when he returns as a love-sick ghost to kill her so they can be together for eternity.
Cast: Vincent Martella, Jennifer Laporte, Julia Aks, Lisa Wilcox, Debbie Rochon

Darkness on the Edge of Town – Director & Screenwriter: Patrick Ryan
(Ireland) US Premiere
A troubled teenage sharpshooter decides to avenge the death of her estranged sister after she is found murdered in a public bathroom.
Cast: Emma Eliza Regan, Brian Gleeson, Maura Foley, Emma Willis, Sam Monaghan

Diamond Tongues – Director: Brian Robertson, Pavan Moondi; Screenwriter: Pavan Moondi
(Canada) World Premiere
Edith Welland is an actress. Things haven’t been going very well. When her ex-boyfriend becomes an actor on a whim and almost immediately books a leading role, Edith decides if she’s going to get ahead, she’ll need to get ruthless.
Cast: Leah Goldstein, Nick Flanagan, Leah Wildman, Adam Gurfinkel, Noah R. Taylor

High Performance – Director & Screenwriter: Johanna Moder
(Austria) US Premiere
Rudi wears a suit, Daniel rides a bike, and they are both interested in Nora for very different reasons; the story of two grown up brothers who still know how to hurt each other.
Cast: Marcel Mohab, Manuel Rubey, Katharina Pizzera

Ratter – Director & Screenwriter: Branden Kramer
(USA) World Premiere
Emma is being watched by a stalker who has hacked into all of her personal technology – laptop, cell phone, and other web connected devices – to record her most intimate moments. Eventually the video feeds aren’t enough and the stalker moves from the virtual to the physical.
Cast: Ashley Benson, Matt McGorry, Rebecca Naomi Jones, John Anderson, Kaili Vernoff

They Look Like People – Director & Screenwriter: Perry Blackshear
(USA) World Premiere
Suspecting that those around him are actually malevolent shape-shifters, a troubled young man questions whether to protect his only friend from an impending war, or from himself.
Cast: MacLeod Andrews, Evan Dumouchel, Margaret Drake, Mick Casale, Elena Greenlee

Tired Moonlight – Director & Screenwriter: Britni West
(USA) World Premiere
Drifting between small-town gossip and dreams of the outside world, two middled aged womens’ lives are slowly upended as they start caring for a young girl and a ramblin’ man from the past rolls through their small town.
Cast: Alex Karpovsky, Liz Randall, Paul Dickinson, Hillary Berg, RainLeigh Vick

Wendell and the Lemon – Director & Screenwriter: Lawrence Krauser
(USA)
A young man finds a lemon on the sidewalk, takes it home, and becomes inordinately fond of it. Complications ensue.
Cast: Todd d’Amour, Rebecca Hart, Jay Smith, Lia Aprile, Danton Stone

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES PROGRAM

20 Years of Madness – Director: Jeremy Royce
(USA) World Premiere
Twenty years after the success of a 90s cult TV show, 30 Minutes of Madness, founder Jerry White Jr. brings the rag tag team of misfits back together to film one final episode – only to find the majority of his cast now suffer from a variety of personal struggles.
Cast: Jerry White Jr., Joe Hornacek, John Ryan, Jesus Rivera, Matt Zaleski

Alberi che Camminano – Director: Mattia Colombo; Screenwriters: Erri De Luca, Mattia Colombo
(Italy) US Premiere
A meditative look at the two distinct lives of trees and their deep relationship with human beings.

Dennis Rodman’s Big Bang in Pyongyang – Director: Colin Offland; Screenwriter: Matt Baker
(UK) World Premiere
An intimate behind the scenes look at Dennis Rodman’s unlikely friendship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and the staging of the most controversial game of basketball the world has never seen.

I Am Thor – Director: Ryan Wise
(USA) World Premiere
Before Chris Hemsworth, there was Jon Mikl Thor – the original hammer-wielding, steel bending, brick smashing rock star of the 70s band THOR. But does he still have the magic to thunder a comeback?
Cast: Jon Mikl Thor, Rusty Hamilton, Mike Favata, Steve Price, Keith Zazzi

My Fathers, My Mother and Me – Director: Paul-Julien Robert
(Austria) North American Premiere
Twenty years after leaving the Austrian commune where he was raised, Paul-Julien Robert embarks on a personal journey to confront what went wrong and explore ideas of family.

On Her Own – Director & Screenwriter: Morgan Schmidt-Feng
(USA) World Premiere
A woman and her family try to save their 5th generation family farm during the Great Recession.

The Resurrection of Jake the Snake – Director: Steve Yu
(USA) World Premiere
Legendary wrestler Jake “The Snake” Roberts charts his personal and professional comeback while battling crippling addictions.
Cast: Jake Roberts, Dallas Page, Chris Jericho, Steve Austin, Adam Copeland

Sweet Micky For President – Director: Ben Patterson
(USA) World Premiere
With the help of Pras Michel of the Fugees, presidential candidate Michel Martelly, aka Sweet Micky, campaigns against all odds in Haiti’s third ever democratic election.
Cast: Pras Michel, Michel Martelly, Wyclef Jean

via Variety | image via Twitter

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Joe Manganiello’s documentary LA BARE that premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival has been acquired by Main Street Films for a planned Summer 2014 release in the U.S.  The Magic Mike star’s directorial debut gives an insider’s look at the history, the lives and the culture of the most popular male strip club in the world, La Bare Dallas.

Since the birth of the male review in the late 1970s, the greatest male strippers in the world can all be traced back to one club… La Bare Dallas. LA BARE gives you a behind the curtains look at the lives, loves, laughs, and loss of the current crop of dancers as well as the man that’s been going strong for over three decades since the club’s inception, Randy “Master Blaster” Ricks. Slamdance Film Festival

“I was immediately impressed by Main Street’s excitement, vision, resources and character,” said the pic’s director Joe Manganiello.  “I got that sense in my gut right away that this was the right company to help launch 3:59’s flagship film La Bare, as well as form a strong partnership for future projects.”

The deal is mid-six figures for North American and Chinese rights and said to include a theatrical guaranty and commitment for a minimum 20-market US release to take place in Summer 2014. 

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COPENHAGEN, directed by Mark Raso was voted Audience Award for Narrative Feature.

The 20th Slamdance Film Festival announced the feature film and short film recipients of this year’s awards in the Audience, Jury, and Sponsored Award Categories. KIDNAPPED FOR CHRIST, directed by Kate S. Logan was voted winner of the Audience Award for Documentary Feature, and COPENHAGEN, directed by Mark Raso was voted Audience Award for Narrative Feature.  The Jury went with REZETA, directed by Fernando Frias De La Parra for winner of Jury Award for Narrative Feature, and ELLIOT, directed by Matthew Bauckman and Jaret Belliveau for winner of Jury Award for Documentary Feature.

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Audience Award for Documentary Feature: KIDNAPPED FOR CHRIST, dir. by Kate S. Logan. American teenagers are taken from their homes in the middle of the night and shipped to an Evangelical reform school in The Dominican Republic. The school psychologically disorients them through culture shock and isolation, to re-build them into ideal Christian adults. One such student is David, who gets forcibly enrolled in the program after coming out to his parents. The struggles David’s community face to secure his freedom reveal how far the school will go to prevent its students from leaving.

Audience Award for Narrative Feature: COPENHAGEN, dir. by Mark Raso. After weeks of traveling through Europe, the immature William finds himself in Copenhagen, the place of his father’s birth. He befriends the youthful Effy, who works in William’s hotel as part of an internship program, and they set off to find William’s last living relative. Effy’s mix of youthful exuberance and wisdom challenges William unlike any woman ever has. As the attraction builds, he must come to grips with destabilizing elements of his family’s sordid past.

JURY AWARDS – NARRATIVE
This year’s Slamdance Narrative Jury Prizes were selected by the esteemed panel of industry members Tom Hall, Katie Mustard, and Matt Harrison.

Jury Award for Narrative Feature: REZETA, dir. by Fernando Frias De La Parra. Rezeta, a 21-year-old model born in Kosovo, arrives in Mexico City after living off of her beauty in many different countries. Soon she meets Alex, the guy in charge of cleaning her trailer during her first commercial gig in Mexico. Their friendship unfolds naturally, but after two failed attempts at dating stereotypical Mexican males Rezeta becomes romantically interested in Alex. This is the story of their complicated love.

The award winner was granted $3,500 in legal services from Pierce Law Group, and $5,000 in film from Kodak.

Jury Special Mention for Original Vision: I PLAY WITH THE PHRASE EACH OTHER, dir. by Jay Alvarez. The first feature film composed entirely of cell phone calls. Jake, a young neurotic, is persuaded to leave his small home town and move to the city to live with Sean, a fanatical poet who survives by swindling inexperienced Craigslist customers. When Jake arrives, Sean has disappeared, and as he struggles to secure a job and a place to stay, Jake discovers a nocturnal world of neon poverty in which his friend is thriving.

JURY AWARDS – DOCUMENTARY
This year’s Slamdance Documentary Jury Prizes were selected by the esteemed panel of industry members Tim League, Monteith McCollum, and Herb Stratford.

Jury Award for Documentary Feature: ELLIOT, dir. by Matthew Bauckman and Jaret Belliveau. The bizarre story of Elliot “White Lightning” Scott, who plans on becoming Canada’s first action hero with his low-budget karate epic, Blood Fight.This surreal documentary captures two years in the lives of a passionate amateur filmmaker, his supportive partner Linda Lum, and their cast and crew of outrageous dreamers – all striving to achieve success.

The award winner was granted $3,500 in legal services from Pierce Law Group, and $5,000 in film from Kodak.

Jury Special Mention for Most Compelling Personal Journey:HUNTINGTON’S DANCE, dir. by Chris Furbee. The story of one man’s reckoning with his family’s brutal, hereditary disease: Huntington’s Disease. This first person account brings the viewer intimately into their
lives. We see his denial, his mother’s death, his grappling with being tested and his eventual diagnosis. His path from caretaker, to victim to activist is tracked in a unique diary fashion over the course of 18 years.

Jury Award for Documentary Short: GLASS EYES OF LOCUST BAYOU, dir. by Simon Mercer. Arkansas-based film-maker Phil Chambliss documents rural life through a blurred and tangled haze; his films straddle fact and fiction, good and evil, documenting a dark and strange version of Americana.

Jury Special Mention for Cinematography in a Documentary Short:WHITE EARTH, dir. by J. Christian Jensen. Thousand of desperate souls flock to America’s Northern Plains seeking work in the oil fields. A tale of three children and an immigrant mother who brave a cruel winter and explore themes of innocence, home and the American Dream.

JURY AWARDS – SHORT FILMS
The below Short Film Jury Prizes were selected by the esteemed panel of industry members Andrew Edison, Lise Raven, and David Greenspan.

Jury Award for Narrative Short: DAYBREAK, dir. by Ian Lagarde. Growing tension in a group of friends leads to quiet violence and destruction as the children enter adolescence.

Jury Special Mention for Narrative Short: THE WAY, dir. by Max Ksjonda. A neglected teenager makes a bet with his friends that leads him on a dangerous trip to another city.
Jury Award for Animation Short: THE PATH OF WIND, dir. by Kim Ju-im. A human office chair unravels its legs and goes on a wildly imaginative psychedelic vision quest filled with both terror and beauty, leading to transformation into a musical instrument of liberation.

The below Short Film Jury Prizes were selected by the esteemed panel of industry members Skizz Cyzyk, Jacques Thelemaque, and Kendall & Joey Shanks.

Jury Award for Experimental Short: REAL ETHEREAL, dir. by Evan Mann. An otherworldly journey through a fantastical metaphysical realm saturated with mystery and transition.

Jury Award for Anarchy Short: WAWD AHP, dir. by Steve Girard. A man raps, cuts his head off, and has sex with it. There is also a cartoon.

SPECIAL AWARDS

Spirit of Slamdance Award: THE GREGGS, dir. by Bruce Bundy, Nigel DeFriez, Rob Malone, Kira Pearson, Alex Mechanik, Jessie Levandov, Jonathan Rosenblit. The esoteric and secluded group responsible for the creation of the world’s standardized tests must find a way to adapt when their way of life is threatened by dissent within their ranks.
The award winner was granted a MovieMagic Software Bundle from Entertainment Partners.

Blackmagic Design Cinematography Award: SOMETIMES I DREAM I’M FLYING, dir. by Aneta Popiel-Machnicka. Weronika is a young, outstandingly talented dancer. Since she was ten years old ballet has been her entire life, day in day out, striving for excellence. Weronika’s private life, pain, loneliness and exhaustion remain somewhere in the background, brushed aside, until she suffers a serious injury just two days before a performance that is vital to her career, at the Berlin Opera.
The award winner was granted a Blackmagic Cinema Camera from Blackmagic Design, and a 4-week accessory rental package from Abelcine.

Slamdance Trailer Competition Grand Prize, presented by MixBit: LOVE STEAKS, dir. by Jakob Lass. A luxury hotel. Steaks frizzle, muffintops getting massaged. Clemens (rare) joins the wellness area as a rookie. Lara (well-done) needs to assert herself in the kitchen pack. The elevator brings the two of them together. Hanging in dependence. They encounter each other, until they clash. He – a masseur. She – a cook. A couple of punches.

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Slamdance Studios, the distribution arm of the Slamdance Film Festival,  in partnership with Virgil Films, has acquired the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival Grand Jury winner BIBLE QUIZ, directed by Nicole Teeny, for release in the U.S.  Beginning in March of 2014, Slamdance Studios and Virgil Films will begin the limited US theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles, and will play across the country in cooperation with Alamo Drafthouse theaters in Houston, Kalamazoo, Lubbock, and Austin. Slamdance Studios will also partner with Virgil Films & Entertainment on the VOD and DVD release. 

BIBLE QUIZ follows seventeen-year-old Mikayla as she memorizes thousands of Bible verses on her quest to win the National Bible Quiz Championship and the heart of JP, her quiz team captain. This John Hughes-eque documentary explores coming of age in the midst of faith, doubt, fierce competition, and teen love.

BIBLE QUIZ, directed by Nicole Teeny, toured the US in 2013 as part of Slamdance’s wildly successful On The Road series, which has expanded to now include:

03/26 New York, NY
04/03 Los Angeles, CA
04/10 Kansas City, MO
04/18 Austin, TX
05/08 Detroit, MI
06/25 Minneapolis, MN
07/17 San Francisco, CA
08/09 Salt Lake City, UT

Nicole Teeny, the film’s director, states, “debuting BIBLE QUIZ at Slamdance was life changing, and we’re incredibly excited to have audiences around the country connect with our film.”

“As we’ve worked with Nicole at the festival as well as part of our On The Road series we feel that she is a great emerging filmmaking talent and her film will find an even bigger audience,” explains Peter Baxter, president of Slamdance Film Festival and Studios.

http://youtu.be/2TPyVBpX4Ew

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The Slamdance Film Festival, which will run concurrently with the Sundance Film Festival, January 17 to 23, 2014 in Park City, Utah, announced their Jury members for the 20th Anniversary. The jury will determine the Slamdance Grand Jury Awards for Narrative Feature, Documentary Feature, and Short Film categories. These awards will be presented on January 23rd during the Awards Ceremony.

JURORS FOR THE 2014 SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL:

Tom Hall is the Director of The Sarasota Film Festival in Sarasota, FL. Previously, Hall held the position of Artistic Director and Director of Programming at the Sarasota Film Festival (2005 – 2010) and Programming Director at newportFILM in Newport, RI (2009-present). In addition, Hall was Programmer for The Nantucket Film Festival in Nantucket, MA (2002-2005), as well as a former Director of New Media for Bravo/The Independent Film Channel (1997-2000). He has also worked in the Industry and Guest Services Offices at The Hamptons International Film Festival (2002-2003). In January of 2010, Tom was named one of Spring Board Media’s 20 under 40 in Film. Tom has directed short films for Bob Mould’s Carnival of Light and Sound Tour and was an inaugural member of the indieWIRE blogging community with his blog, The Back Row Manifesto, which is now a standalone website. A graduate of the University of Michigan (’94), Hall resides in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and two sons.

Matt Harrison’s feature film Kicked In The Head was Executive Produced by Martin Scorsese, released theatrically by Universal and premiered as an official selection at Cannes. His network and cable television directing credits include Sex And The City for HBO. Matt’s feature film Rhythm Thief won a Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. He recently completed his new comedy My Little Hollywood and is now preparing his sixth feature film. The production division of Harrison’s company Film Crash produced the feature film Big Heart City starring Seymour Cassel (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) and Shawn Andrews (Dazed And Confused). Matt currently teaches film at UCLA Extension and has taught graduate film at CalArts. He has lectured at New York University Tisch, AFI, São Paulo School of Film in Brazil, Syracuse University, and The New School For Social Research.

Katie Mustard has overseen the production of 32 feature films, 20 short films, three feature documentaries, and dozens of commercials. In 2013, Katie produced the documentary The Console Wars, and the narrative features We’ll Never Have Paris by Simon Helberg; Paul Bettany’s directorial debut Shelter, andThe World Made Straight. Katie has her ninth film premiere at Sundance this year with Appropriate Behavior. Other Sundance premieres include Restless City, The Missing Person, The Greatest, Special, The Son of No One, and Night Catches Uswhich went onto be nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. Katie also produced Made In China (winner Best Feature at SXSW Film Festival 2009), Natalie Portman’s short film Eve, A Case of You, and In The Morning, which screened at over 50 film festivals and before the US Congress on Human Rights.

Tim League is the Alamo Drafthouse CEO and Founder. League graduated from Rice University in 1992 with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Art/Art History. After a two-year stint at Shell Oil, Tim left engineering to enter the theater business. In 1997, Tim and his wife Karrie founded the Alamo Drafthouse where Tim remains CEO today. League also co-founded Fantastic Fest, the largest genre film festival in the United States, and recently launched Drafthouse Films, a distribution label committed to releasing provocative, visionary, and artfully unusual films from around the world. The Alamo is expanding nationwide to New York, San Francisco, and Dallas, with many more locations on the horizon.

Herb Stratford is the Programming Director at the Napa Valley Film Festival. He also serves as a film critic in Tucson, Arizona with a weekly presence in print, on radio, and on television. Additionally, he is a Criticwire critic on IndieWire and a freelance writer and artist. Prior to all this, he restored a 1,200-seat 1929 art deco movie palace in Tucson – The Fox Tucson Theatre. He lives in Tucson, Arizona and Napa, CA when not in Park City.

Monteith McCollum is an inter-media artist working in film, sound, and sculpture.  His films have screened at festivals and museums, including The Museum of Modern Art, Hirshhorn, Wexner Center for the Arts, and various festivals, including SXSW, Slamdance, Hot Docs, and Amsterdam & Osnabruck European Media Arts Festival. His films have garnered dozens of festival awards, including an IFP Truer Than Fiction Spirit Award. His first feature Hybridpremiered at Slamdance in 2001 and was broadcast on PBS’s series P.O.V. and ARTE France. His short Lawn also aired on P.O.V as well, and received top prizes at the Los Angeles Film Festival among others. His recent feature A Different Pathpremiered at South by Southwest in 2010 and was an International Documentary Association Nominee for the Pare Lorentz Award.

Andrew Edison (Writer/Actor/Director) is a young Austin-based filmmaker. His first feature, Bindlestiffs won the Audience Award at the 2012 Slamdance Film Festival and went on to be picked up by Kevin Smith as the first acquisition under his Smodcast distribution label. You can check out the film on Netflix Instant Watch, iTunes, and Amazon. Edison is currently working on his sophomore effort, as well as developing studio comedies. He lives in the Slackerwood Hills with his French bulldog, Pee Wee. 

David Greenspan is an editor and director for ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy. David has a BA from Harvard and an MFA from the University of Southern California. His USC graduate film, Bean Cake, won the 2001 Cannes Palme d’Or for shorts. His featureMall Cop premiered at Slamdance 2005 and will be released this March.
 
Lise Raven is a Writer/Director/Producer. Raven’s first feature film, Low, was one of the founding Slamdance Film Festival films, after which she wrote and directed three films for the Showtime Cable network. In 2000, Raven moved to Berlin, Germany after being awarded the DAAD Berliner Künstlerprogramm Artist Residency in Film. Raven’s feature film project Snipe received development funding from the Irish Film Board. Lise was selected to develop Snipe at the prestigious Moonstone Director’s Lab in Drymen, Scotland. Raven is also an Assistant Professor at Drexel University Department of Cinema and Television. Raven’s feature film Kinderwald is playing out of competition as the Closing Night Film of the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival.
 
Jacques Thelemaque is a writer-director, who, in 1993, co-founded Filmmakers Alliance, and in 2004, FA Productions, of which he is co-president. He is the former Chief Community Officer at Withoutabox.com. Jacques has written and directed numerous short films, including Transaction, which played at the Sundance Film Festival, and won the Grand Prix du Jury Award in the Labo Competition at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. Thelemaque wrote, directed and produced the feature film The Dogwalker, as well as producing five other feature films. He has been a juror, guest lecturer, or invited speaker for many film schools, film festivals, film organizations, workshops, and other film-related events. He has been a programming associate for the Los Angeles Film Festival since 2011.

Kendall Shanks (formally Kendall Music) is a self-taught artist and filmmaker out of Chapel Hill, NC. Kendall specializes in art and set design. In 2012, Kendall created the characters for the stop motion film Wiggle Room. Wiggle Room would go on to win the 42nd annual USA Film Festival and be one of 56 animated shorts films in contention for an Oscar nomination in 2012. She currently is the production designer for the Shanks FX web series and is in-charge of developing the content for each episode. “If you’re making an experimental film, the Shanks FX series is essentially the bible.” NoFilmSchool (Nov 2013).

Joey Shanks had his short film Sci-Fly screen at Slamdance in 2013, where he also proposed to his now wife Kendall Shanks during the Q&A’s at their last screening. Shanks is a filmmaker who optimizes the DIY approach to making movies. His web series Shanks FX is produced by PBS Digital Studios and gives an in-depth look at how his signature visual effects are achieved. Shanks FX has been featured by IndieWire, NoFilmSchool, USA Today, Colossal, Gizmodo, Geek Magazine, and has received two Vimeo Staff picks.

Skizz Cyzyk has held positions at MicroCineFest, Maryland Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, and has served on juries and advisory boards at many other festivals. This is his 18th year as a Slamdance projectionist, 11th year on the Slamdance advisory board, and 7th non-consecutive year on the Slamdance jury. A filmmaker since 1983, his films include Hit & Stay, Freaks In Love, Little Castles, Managers Corner, and music videos for Beach House and Young Fresh Fellows. He also performs music with Go Pills, The Jennifers, Garage Sale, Half Japanese, and Mink Stole & Her Wonderful Band.

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 Bill Plympton’s CHEATIN

The Slamdance Film Festival revealed the films in the Special Screenings, Beyond and Shorts programs for the 20th Festival season taking place from January 17th to 23rd, 2014 in Park City, Utah at the Treasure Mountain Inn.  The festival also announced the premiere of the DIY documentary, which follows the historical development of the Do- It-Yourself indie film movement. In addition, Slamdance alumni films will open the festival with Bill Plympton’s “CHEATIN’,” and will close the festival with Lise Raven’s “KINDERWALD.”

SPECIAL SCREENINGS PROGRAM

FEATURES

Cheatin’ – Director: Bill Plympton
(USA) North American Premiere
A newlywed wife proves the depth of her love by becoming her cheating husband’s mistresses.

Kinderwald – Director: Lise Raven; Screenwriters: Lise Raven, Frank Bru?ckner
(USA, Germany) North American Premiere
Two little boys vanish into the mountains in 1854, and their return becomes a mysterious and brutal test of their mother’s faith.
Cast: Emily Behr, Frank Bru?ckner, Max Cove, Brian McCann

La Bare – Director: Joe Manganiello
(USA) World Premiere
An insider’s look at the history, the lives and the culture of the greatest male strip club in the world, La Bare Dallas.

Waiting for Mamu – Directors: Thomas Morgan, Francois Caillaud, Dan Chen
(USA)
Pushpa Basnet has dedicated her life to ensuring no child spends life in prison. Cast: Pushpa Basnet

SHORTS

DIY – Directors: Peter Baxter, Ben Hethcoat, Eric Ekman
(USA) World Premiere
DIY explores the development of the do-it-yourself indie film movement with filmmakers who have shaped it. Filmmakers include Benh Zeitlin, Chris Nolan, Rian Johnson, Marc Forster, Nina Menkes and Oren Peli.

La Mime – Director & Screenwriter: Marjorie Cohen
(USA) World Premiere
Two mimes make a connection through a battle that bends reality. Cast: Ekaterina Pirogovskaya, Jean-Louis Darville

Somewhere In The Valley – Director & Screenwriter: David Greenspan
(USA) World Premiere
A man has sex with his neighbor’s wife 72 times, but it’s okay because his neighbor paid him to do it.
Cast: Jill Bartlett, Craig Cackowski, Robert Dassie, Jean Villepique

Zoe Rising – Director & Screenwriter: Paul Rachman
(USA) World Premiere
A haunting, poetic look back at the childhood of the late New York screenwriter and actress Zoe Tamerlis Lund, through the fading memories of her surviving mother, sculptor Barbara Lekberg. Cast: Barbara Lekberg, Zoe Lund

BEYOND PROGRAM

Crimes Against Humanity – Director: Jerzy Rose; Screenwriters: Halle Butler & Jerzy Rose
(USA)
A sweet and trusting young woman is repeatedly injured in bizarre accidents, but her overconfident boyfriend is far from sympathetic – he’s busy playing power games at the university where he works.
Cast: Mike Lopez, Lyra Hill, Ted Tremper, Adam Paul, Buki Bodunrin, Tommy Heffron

Forever Not Alone – Directors: Monja Art, Caroline Bobek
(Austria) North American Premiere
An astonishingly up-close and intimate look at the deep bonds of friendship amongst a group of adolescent girls, as one of them prepares to move away.

Love Steaks – Director: Jakob Lass; Screenwriters: Jakob Lass, Nico Woche, Ines Schiller, Timon Schaeppi
(Germany) US Premiere
A shy massage therapist and a rebellious kitchen worker at a luxury hotel develop a bond that turns into a complicated, bittersweet anti-romance.
Cast: Lana Cooper, Franz Rogowski

Three Night Stand – Director & Screenwriter: Pat Kiely
(Canada) US Premiere
Carl’s plan to reconnect with Sue is compromised when he discovers that his former girlfriend is running the ski lodge where they’re vacationing.
Cast: Sam Huntington, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Meaghan Rath, Jonathan Cherry

Who Took Johnny – Directors: David Beilinson, Suki Hawley, Michael Galinsky
(USA) World Premiere
On September 5, 1982, Johnny Gosch, 12, disappeared while preparing to deliver newspapers in West Des Moines, Iowa. For the next 30 years his mother Noreen devoted her life to finding out what happened.
Cast: Noreen Gosch, John Walsh

NARRATIVE SHORTS PROGRAM

Anacos – Director & Screenwriter: Xacio Ban?o
(Spain)
An old woman’s life is examined and reassembled by her son, who looks back on the many different stages she has passed through.
Cast: Mabel Rivera, Fernando Mora?n, Xose? Barato

Beat – Director & Screenwriter: Aneil Karia
(UK)
A man finds his withdrawal from the chaos and loneliness of the city challenged by a visceral inner force.
Cast: Ben Whishaw, Henry Garrett, Kieron Jecchinis, Chelsea Fitzgerald

Bradford-Halifax-London – Director & Screenwriter: Francis Lee
(UK) US Premiere
An irate father and pregnant mother argue vigorously after catching the 10:22 train from Bradford to London, with their sullen teenage daughter and the entire train car as audience. Cast: Katy Cavanagh, Paul Barnhill, Kirsty Armstrong, Martin Preston

Daybreak – Director & Screenwriter: Ian Lagarde
(Canada) US Premiere
Growing tension in a group of friends leads to quiet violence and destruction as the children enter adolescence.
Cast: Alexander Fitchev, Emilie Senecal

Eidos – Director & Screenwriter: Louis D’Arpa
(USA)
A blind sculptor attempts to capture his aging mother’s essence in an art piece. Cast: Robin Martin, Pascal Yen-Pfister, Rachel Rear

First Baptist – Directors: Nedra McClyde, Jamund Washington; Screenwriter: Nedra McClyde (USA) World Premiere
A young Southern Baptist choir soloist fights for the right for his place in both the choir and in his community.
Cast: Isaiah Johnson, Willie Teacher, Celestine Rae, Chike Johnson

Grand Morelos – Director & Screenwriter: Marco Coppola
(USA)
An old street musician’s depression is shaken when an unexpected friend inspires him to examine what he wants most out of life.
Cast: Anthony Govine, Maria Mercedes Morales, Thomas Kaufman
The Greggs – Directors: Bruce Bundy, Nigel DeFriez, Rob Malone, Kira Pearson, Alex Mechanik, Jessie Levandov,

Jonathan Rosenblit; Screenwriter: Bruce Bundy
(USA) World Premiere
The esoteric and secluded group responsible for the creation of the world’s standardized tests must find a way to adapt when their way of life is threatened by dissent within their ranks. Cast: Bruce Bundy, Nigel DeFriez, Kira Pearson, Rob Malone

I Love You So Much – Director & Screenwriter: Leah Shore
(USA) World Premiere
A man and woman express their affection for each other in increasingly bizarre and animated ways.
Cast: Jarret Kerr

Keep A Tidy Soul – Director & Screenwriter: Joshua Moore
(USA)
A young woman abruptly loses her soul and does everything she can think of to find it again. Cast: Claire McConnell, Naomi Lila

Kuhani – Director & Screenwriter: Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine
(Uganda, USA) North American Premiere
A conflicted African priest wrestles with his conscience.
Cast: Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, Irene Sanga, Anania Ngoliga, Abiodun Ojora

Little Secret – Director & Screenwriter: Martin Krejci
(Czech Republic)
When his little white lie has unexpected large-scale consequences, an injured boy struggles to reach an understanding with his mother about how he was hurt.
Cast: Adam Misik, Klara Cibulkova, Jenovefa Bokova

Love Letter – Director & Screenwriter: Lindsey Martin
(USA)
A little girl attempts to make sense out of her parents’ divorce, with only scraps of their life together and her imagination to help her.
Cast: Molly McQuoid, Martina Plag

Marla – Director & Screenwriter: Nick King
(Australia)
After encountering a man curious about her rare medical condition, a woman risks exploring new aspects of her sexuality.
Cast: Eddie Ritchard, Dale March, Lani Tupu

Meet My Rapist – Director & Screenwriter: Jessie Kahnweiler
(USA) World Premiere
After accidentally bumping into him at the farmers’ market, Jessie is forced to confront the effect her rapist has had on her life.
Cast: Jessie Kahnweiler, Trenton Willey, Lori Alan, Amanda Foreman

Milk and Blood – Director: Markus Englmair; Screenwriters: Markus Englmair, Ugla Hauksdo?ttir
(USA, Iceland) World Premiere
Father and son respond violently to each other and their own frustrations with the scope of their lives as dairy farmers.
Cast: Hannes O?li A?gu?stsson, Guðmundur O?lafsson, Kjartan Bjargmundsson

Mother Corn – Director: Guillermo Lecuona; Screenwriter: Tera Hollingsworth-Lecuona
(USA, Mexico)
A Triqui Indian teen wrestles spiritual visions that awaken appreciation for her grandmother and culture.
Cast: Luz Mariana Santiago, Maria Concepcio?n Bautista Diaz, Tera Hollingsworth-Lecuona

Moving – Director & Screenwriter: Marc Horowitz
(USA) World Premiere
A series of peripheral conversations between two workers on the job raises more questions than answers.
Cast: Marc Horowitz, Chris Duce

Not Funny – Director & Screenwriter: Carlos Violade? Guerrero
(Spain)
When a woman turns the tables on her prankster husband, they are both forced to live with the serious consequences of a practical joke.
Cast: Mercedes Bernal, Andre?s Berlanga

Odyssea – Director: Morrisa Maltz; Screenwriter: Jeffrey Paul King
(USA) World Premiere
A young woman returns to her idyllic hometown and undertakes a private venture that involves both real and imagined inhabitants from her past.
Cast: Amy Ferguson, Natasha Warner, Beth Grant, Michael Chieffo

Off Ground – Director: Boudewijn Koole; Screenwriters: Boudewijn Koole, Jakop Ahlbom (The Netherlands)
A slender woman of 50 and a 12-year-old boy act as a single unit with one flowing movement, until suddenly they let go of each other.
Cast: Louise Lecavalier, Antoine Masson

Old Moon – Director & Screenwriter: Raisa Bonnet
(Puerto Rico) North American Premiere
A visit from her son-in-law and granddaughter causes Elsa, living deep in the mountains, to make a silent and dramatic decision.
Cast: Mari?a Vela?zquez, Julio Ramos, Laura Cristina Cardona

One Please – Director & Screenwriter: Jesse Burks
(USA) World Premiere
The perfect suburb has a rather gory method of currency when it comes to children’s treats. Cast: Michael Berryman, Sailor Holland, Catherine Burks, Langston Thompson

Pink & Baby Blue – Director & Screenwriter: Catrin Hedstro?m
(USA) World Premiere
A transgendered woman decides between using the men’s restroom or the ladies’ restroom. Cast: Alexander Leonn, Emelie Berman, Carmen LoBue, Travis Stroessenreuther

Pui – Director & Screenwriter: Rujiroj Thanasankittiwat
(Thailand) World Premiere
A mother’s attempt to discourage her daughter from acting like the neighborhood boys is successful, but only on the surface.
Cast: Parida Manomaiphibul, Putaranun Chotiprapa, Nattapum Thabthim

Trauma – Director & Screenwriter: Ethan Young
(USA) World Premiere
Proving that there’s nothing menacing in the attic of her childhood home is the only thing standing between Isabelle and freedom, but even with her doctor’s insistence, something still seems amiss.
Cast: Allyn Morse, Michael T. Francis, Charlie Ellis

The Voice Thief – Director & Screenwriter: Adan Jodorowsky
(USA, France) US Premiere
When an opera singer loses her voice, her husband embarks on an odyssey through Miami’s dark underworld to recover it through supernatural means.
Cast: Asia Argento, Cristobal Jodorowsky, Helene Nymann, Jean Yves Thual

The Walk – Director & Screenwriter: Mihaela Popescu
(Romania) North American Premiere
An old solitary woman feels the urge to go outside and feel alive again. Cast: Valeria Seciu, Sergiu Costache

The Way – Director: Max Ksjonda; Screenwriters: Max Ksjonda, Ivan Timshyn
(Ukraine)
A neglected teenager makes a bet with his friends that leads him on a dangerous trip to another city.
Cast: Evgeniy Gerasymenko, Evgeniy Efremov, Svitlana Shtanko, Victor Glushkov

We Keep On Dancing – Director: Jessica Barclay Lawton; Screenwriter: Rhys Mitchell
(Australia)
Alan, a sensitive sculptor and grieving widower, connects with an aggressive mechanic in a rather unusual way.
Cast: William Gluth, John Brumpton, Rhys Mitchell

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS PROGRAM

The Chaperone 3D – Directors & Screenwriters: Fraser Munden, Neil Rathbone
(Canada) US Premiere
The story of a lone teacher who is chaperoning a middle school dance in 1970s Montreal when it is invaded by a menacing motorcycle gang.
Cast: Ralph Whims, Stefan Czernatowicz, Fred Nguyen, Yue Qi

Glass Eyes of Locust Bayou – Director: Simon Mercer
(Canada, UK)
Bayou-based filmmaker Phil Chambliss makes movies which blur the line between good and evil in rural Arkansas.
Cast: Phil Chambliss

Jim Morris: Lifelong Fitness – Director: Ryan Vance
(USA) World Premiere
A former Mr. America and Mr. USA, amongst other impressive titles, Jim Morris is a 77-year-old vegan bodybuilder who continues to work today as a personal trainer in Venice, California.
Cast: Jim Morris, Paul Lubowicki, John Lewis, John Balik

Methel Island – Director: Meg Smaker
(USA) World Premiere
A meditation on the ravaging effects of meth in a small island community in the Sacramento Delta.

Pablo’s Villa – Director: Matthew Salleh
(Australia)
Twenty-three years after the picturesque holiday town Villa Epecuen was submerged in front of Pablo’s eyes, the modern-day Atlantis re-emerges from the sea, preserving both his memories and his home.
Cast: Pablo Novak

Punches & Pedicures – Director: Ash Brandon
(USA)
An ex-Vietnamese gangster escapes to Defiance, Ohio where he now runs his own nail salon by day and trains at-risk youth in the brutal sport of Mixed Martial Arts by night.
Cast: Victor Pham, Corey “KoKo” Simmons

What I Hate About Myself – Directors: Ben Mullinkosson, Bobby Moser
(China)
A local Chinese TV station pairs with a cosmetic surgery sponsor for a contest in which the winner receives free surgery in the hope of looking more “Western.”

White Earth – Director: J. Christian Jensen
(USA) World Premiere
Three kids and an immigrant mother offer a glimpse into their lives in this poetic and poignant portrait of North Dakota’s oil boom.
Cast: James McClellan, Leevi Meyer, Elena Guadalupe Loaiza, Flor Loaiza

ANIMATION SHORTS PROGRAM

Another – Director: Sean Buckelew; Screenwriters: Sean Buckelew, Kevin Buckelew, Michelle Yu
(USA) US Premiere
A dreamlike narrative in which an intruding bear kills a family man and attempts to assume his role; mother and son try to adapt to the uneasy situation, but the threat of violence lingers. Cast: Ian McDuffie

Butler, Woman, Man – Director: Michael Langan
(France)
A French cha?teau becomes a magical place of gliding servants and shifting physical spaces, creating a fascinating sense of displacement as a man becomes a butler, becomes a woman, becomes a man.
Cast: Fabrice David, Amandine Bre?he?ret, Eric Larzat

Lord I: The Records Keeper – Director & Screenwriter: Lori Damiano
(USA)
A colorful and mystical odyssey, dense and playfully-drawn: a woman weighed down by books and surrounded by her own mental projections attempts to find peace in the present moment.

The Path of Wind – Director & Screenwriter: Kim Ju-im
(South Korea) North American Premiere
A human office chair unravels its legs and goes on a wildly imaginative psychedelic vision quest filled with both terror and beauty, leading to a transformation into a musical instrument of liberation.

Salmon Deadly Sins – Director: Steven Vander Meer
(USA) World Premiere
Dreamy, gorgeously morphing fish imagery inspired by the seven deadly sins merges with floating anagrams, the entire piece hand-drawn on a series of 3×5 index cards.

A Tongue Silent Like Your Words – Director: Vita Weichen Hsu
(Taiwan, USA) World Premiere
Two bodies grasp and entwine in an elegant and bizarre animated pencil drawing, intercut with evocative imagery of combat and escape.

U U – Director: Yu Yu
(UK) US Premiere
A humorous story of a man gazing into a mirror and discovering all of the pairs on his body; the thought that he could be not one, but two people takes him on a journey through the world of flesh and back to his origins.

Unicorn Blood – Director: Alberto Vazquez; Screenwriters: Alberto Vazquez, Pedro Rivero
(Spain)
Two squabbling teddy bears who must kill to maintain their cuteness hunt in a hallucinatory wilderness for their favorite prey.

EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS PROGRAM

Between Regularity and Irregularity – Director: Masahiro Tsutani
(Japan) US Premiere
An overwhelming experience of pleasure forms when the timing of improvised sounds deviates slightly from the timing one expects.

Bird Shit – Director: Caleb Wood
(USA)
A study of birds through an arrangement of photos of bird shit.

The Coral Reef Are Dreaming Again – Director & Screenwriter: Lucas Leyva
(USA) World Premiere
Two corals living in the underwater remains of Miami share their dreams of the city’s former inhabitants.
Cast: Geraldo Pilatti, Fungia sp. stony coral, Epicystis crucifer anemones

Flower – Director: Naoko Tasaka
(USA)
A quiet audio narrative about a hungry bear hypnotically collides with bold and evocative natural and geometric imagery.
Cast: Lew Palter

R/B/G – Director: Alejandro Pen?a
(USA) World Premiere
An assaultive freakout of planetary catastrophe embedded into television signals. Cast: Maui Gaona, Brandon Burgman, Idea Steele, Joey Casseb

Ravel – Director: Gazelle Samizay
(USA) World Premiere
A woman traverses a multi-planar desert landscape in search of psychological release.

Real Etheral – Director: Evan Mann
(USA) World Premiere
An otherworldly journey through a fantastical metaphysical realm saturated with mystery and transition.
Cast: Deborah Mann, Evan Mann

Rough Trade – Director & Screenwriter: Drew Lint
(Canada)
An impressionist and assaultive character transformation of a young street hustler into a branded member of a leather cult.
Cast: Matt O’Connor

Those People of the South – Director: Ashley Christopher Leach
(USA) World Premiere
A three-part examination and deconstruction of the filmmaker’s eccentric and troubling family utilizing a variety of home recordings.

ANARCHY SHORTS PROGRAM

After Arcadia – Directors & Screenwriters: Joe Tippett, Robert Brice
(UK) World Premiere
A lone scientist wracked with guilt over his part in the accidental extermination of humanity is hoping to rewrite history and erase his past mistakes.
Cast: Adam Bacon, Ben Challen

C#ckfight – Director: Julian Yuri Rodriguez; Screenwriters: Julian Yuri Rodriguez, Ariel Castro
(USA)
A deconstructed adaptation of “Dante’s Inferno,” taking place at a bath salt-fueled fighting ring in Miami’s underworld.
Cast: Nassie Shahoulian, Badara Ndiaye

Der Nachtmahr – Director & Screenwriter: Akiz Ikon
(Germany) North American Premiere
An indulgent teenage girl discovers her self through the disgusting creature that visits her at night.
Cast: Carolyn Genzkow, Kim Gordon, Sina Tkotsch, Wilson Gonzalez Ochsenknecht

OVO – Director: Mihai Wilson; Screenwriters: Mihai Wilson, Marcella Moser, Davide Di Saro
(Canada) US Premiere
Stranded, starving and facing certain death, three intergalactic criminals encounter an ominous harbinger of change for the fate of the universe.
Cast: Kazumichi Nakashima, Stacy Lundeen, Ron Stone, Marie-France Tessier

Wawd Ahp – Director & Screenwriter: Steve Girard
(USA) World Premiere
The filmmaker’s rap manifesto and a collection of animated sea creatures come to a grisly head. Cast: Steve Girard

Welcome – Director: Rachel Ruizhen Ho
(USA) World Premiere
A beautiful boy emerges to find himself awash in a scene that may or may not be welcoming. Cast: Julian Petschek, Masa Fox, Chelsey Sullivan, Zane Johnson

White Hot Grid – Director: Jess Iglehart
(USA) World Premiere
A false article of 1980s futurism, rattled apart by multiple generations of dubbing. Cast: Rachel Ho

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The Slamdance Film Festival taking place from January 17th to 23rd, 2014 in Park City, Utah, announced their Narrative and Documentary Feature Film Competition programs for its 20th Festival season. From over 5,000 submissions, the lineup includes 10 narrative and 8 documentary films, including 11 World Premieres, 4 North American, and 1 US Premiere. All competition films are feature film directorial debuts with budgets of less than $1 million and without US distribution.

NARRATIVE FEATURES PROGRAM

Copenhagen – Director & Screenwriter: Mark Raso
(USA, Canada, Denmark) World Premiere
A charming scoundrel visiting the city of his father’s birth, William is drawn to his impromptu guide Effy – wise, spontaneous, and half his age.
Cast: Gethin Anthony, Frederikke Dahl Hansen, Sebastian Armesto, Tamzin Merchant

Goldberg & Eisenberg – Director & Screenwriter: Oren Carmi
(Israel)
A lonely computer programmer finds his life disrupted by a boorish thug who becomes dangerously obsessed in this darkly absurd drama.
Cast: Yitzhak Laor, Yahav Gal, Roni Dotan

I Play With The Phrase Each Other – Director & Screenwriter: Jay Alvarez
(USA) North American Premiere
Young city dwellers with lyrical musings and a sliding sense of entitlement hold court in this film comprised entirely of cell phone conversations.
Cast: Jay Alvarez, Will Hand, Megan Kopp, Alexander Fraser

I Put A Hit On You – Directors & Screenwriters: Dane Clark, Linsey Stewart
(Canada) World Premiere
A broken-hearted woman teams up with her ex-boyfriend to try and stop the hitman she accidentally hired to kill him.
Cast: Aaron Ashmore, Sara Canning

My Blind Heart – Director & Screenwriter: Peter Brunner
(Austria) North American Premiere
Suffering from an incurable disease, a young man rebels against his body and the expectations forced upon him in this black and white expressionist film.
Cast: Christos Haas, Jana McKinnon, Susanne Lothar, Robert Schmiedt, Georg Friedrich

The Republic of Rick – Director: Mario Kyprianou; Screenwriters: Mario Kyprianou, Becky Leigh
(USA) World Premiere
In this politic satire, a self-proclaimed President of the Republic of Texas rallies to lead a paranoid militia for Texas’s independence in the late 1990s.
Cast: Dave Abed, Angie Gregory, Lori Jean Wilson

Rezeta – Director & Screenwriter: Fernando Frias de la Parra
(Mexico) US Premiere
A jet-setting model leads a freewheeling and spontaneous life in Mexico City that starts to change when she falls in love with an unexpected young artist.
Cast: Rezeta Veliu, Roger Mendoza, Paulina Davila, Sebastian Cordova

Rover – Director & Screenwriter: Tony Blahd
(USA) World Premiere
A dispirited cult awaits the sign to off themselves when their leader fakes a prophecy instructing them to make a movie and share their story with the world.
Cast: Liam Torres, Jonathan Randell Silver, Steve Siddell, Natalie Thomas

The Sublime and Beautiful – Director & Screenwriter: Blake Robbins
(USA) World Premiere
David and Kelly descend into a complicated hell of grief but they take very different paths to make things right after losing their children to a drunk driver.
Cast: Blake Robbins, Laura Kirk, Matthew Del Negro, Armin Shimerman

Wizard’s Way – Director & Screenwriter: Metal Man
(UK) North American Premiere
A champion online fantasy video game player, his encouraging best friend, and two ambitious would-be filmmakers who decide to capture it all for posterity.
Cast: Chris Killen, Joe Stretch, Kristian Scott, Socrates Adams-Florou, Sadie Frost

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES PROGRAM

Elliot – Directors & Screenwriters: Matthew Bauckman, Jaret Belliveau
(Canada) World Premiere
The bizarre story of Elliot Scott, his supportive partner Linda Lum, and their cast and crew of outrageous dreamers all striving to achieve success.
Cast: Elliot Scott, Blake Zwicker, Linda Lum

Glena – Director & Screenwriter: Allan Luebke
(USA) World Premiere
Glena Avila is a single mother in her 30′s who is fighting to become a professional Mixed Martial Artist.
Cast: Glena Avila, Stormy Back, Ron Andersen

Huntington’s Dance – Director: Chris Furbee
(USA) World Premiere
Told through 20 years of home movie footage, Huntington’s Dance is a personal and devastatingly raw look at how hereditary disease can shatter a family and a future. Cast: Chris Furbee, Rosemary Shockey, Gene Furbee

Kidnapped For Christ – Director: Kate S. Logan; Screenwriters: Yada Zamora, Kate S. Logan (USA, Dominican Republic) World Premiere
The personal stories of American teenagers who are taken from their homes and sent to an Evangelical Christian reform school located in The Dominican Republic.
Cast: David Wernsman, Tai Matheiu, Elizabeth Engle

Little Hope Was Arson – Director: Theo Love
(USA)
January 2010: In the buckle of the Bible Belt, 10 churches burn to the ground igniting the largest criminal investigation in East Texas history.

Skanks – Director: David McMahon
(USA) World Premiere
A community theatre in Birmingham, Alabama mounts a gender-bending new musical titled “Skanks In A One Horse Town.”

Sometimes I Dream I’m Flying – Director & Screenwriter: Aneta Popiel-Machnicka (Poland) North American Premiere
The poignant story of a young dancer preparing to perform at the Berlin Opera and the serious injury that threatens her lifelong dream.
Cast: Weronika Frodyma, Anna Linnik, Sergey Basalayev

Vanishing Pearls: The Oystermen of Pointe à la Hache – Director & Screenwriter: Nailah Jefferson
(USA) World Premiere
In Pointe à la Hache, Louisiana, the residents of this ruined fishing community continue dealing with the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, one of the worst man-made environmental disasters in US history.
Cast: Byron Encalade, Stanley Encalde, Kenneth Feinberg

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 [caption id="attachment_3137" align="alignnone" width="550"]The Bitter Buddha, Steven Feinartz[/caption]

Gravitas Ventures will release three “raucous Slamdance films” from 2013 Slamdance Film Festival in the next three months: Steven Feinartz’s documentary The Bitter Buddha, Michael Urie’s comedy He’s Way More Famous Than You and Peter Baxter’s documentary Wild In The Streets. 

First up debuting in select theatres on February 15, 2013 and on VOD on February 19th is The Bitter Buddha, Steven Feinartz’s perceptive look at alt-comic genius Eddie Pepitone. Though often revered as a “comic’s comic”, Eddie Pepitone is a man at war with himself. And he has the scars to prove it. The Bitter Buddha takes the viewer backstage in the alternative comedy scene to reveal one of its most undervalued treasures. This portrait of a comedian looks at Pepitone’s off beat humor and lifestyle as he battles the world around him. Stand-up comedy, original animation and interviews with Patton Oswalt, Sarah Silverman, Zach Galifianakis and others provide insight into this beloved career comedian known as ”the guitarist that all the other guitarists go to see.”

On April 23, 2013 director Peter Baxter and narrator Sean Bean unveil what is described as “one of the most remarkable and violent sports documentaries ever made”. In Wild In The Streets, toward the end of winter on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday the people of Ashbourne, England gather in the center of their town to renew the longest running sports rivalry on earth. The game is called Shrovetide Football and originates from two medieval communities living opposite the river Henmore. Today, they are known as the Up’ards and Down’ards. Each team consists of hundreds if not thousands of people. The field of play…the town itself. There is no referee and few rules. Each game begins at 2pm and ends at 10pm. The ball cannot be carried in motorized transport. Cemeteries, churchyards and memorials are out of bounds. Under no circumstances is manslaughter to be tolerated.

And finally, Gravitas Ventures has nabbed the “hilarious” comedy He’s Way More Famous Than You directed by Michael Urie which premiered in dramatic competition at Slamdance. Plans are to take the film out on VOD April 8, 2013 followed by a theatrical run on May 10, 2013. When once-up-and-coming indie film starlet Halley Feiffer loses her boyfriend, her agent and her career in one fell swoop she finally realizes that something has got to change…she has to become WAY MORE FAMOUS! Armed with a stolen script and two pitchers of sangria, Halley enlists the help of her brother Ryan and his boyfriend to make a movie, starring herself (of course), and any A-list celebrity she can land. She will stop at nothing, even if it means hurting the only people who truly care about her.

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