NAME OF FESTIVAL: Sundance Film Festival
SINCE: 1978
WHERE: Park City, Utah, USA
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
The annual Sundance Film Festival, held in and around Park City, Utah, each January is widely considered the premier platform for American and international independent film. The Festival has introduced audiences to some of the most original stories of the last three decades including Reservoir Dogs, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, American Splendor, An Inconvenient Truth, Little Miss Sunshine, and The Cove.
Sundance Film Festival
LIFE AFTER BETH directed by Jeff Baena, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition will be released in the U.S. by A24. The release date of “LIFE AFTER BETH” is expected in late spring or early summer 2014. The Hollywood Reporter calls “Life After Beth” a “perfectly pitched debut that should benefit greatly from word of mouth and, especially given the top-flight comic talents surrounding lead Dane DeHaan, won’t appeal solely to fanboys at the box office.”
WHIPLASH
The Jury, Audience and other special awards of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival were announced on Saturday night at the feature film Awards Ceremony, hosted by Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, in Park City, Utah. WHIPLASH written and directed by Damien Chazelle was the big winner, winning the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and the Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic. WHIPLASH was acquired by Sony Pictures and is expected to be released this year.
Six independent films from the 2014 Sundance Film Festival will premiere exclusively on Sundance Channel internationally shortly after the festival this spring. THE DISOBEDIENT, LIAR’S DICE, MEMPHIS, THIS MAY BE THE LAST TIME, DRUNKTOWN’S FINEST and TO KILL A MAN have been acquired for the Sundance Channel.
Jennifer Kent’s psychological horror film THE BABADOOK which made its World Premiere in the Midnight Section at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival has been acquired by IFC Midnight for release in the U.S. The film, with a screenplay by Kent, stars actress Essie Davis in a breakout role as a single mother who must cope with her troubled son and the shadowy monster that has taken over their home.
FRANK, described as “an offbeat comedy” that just had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival will be released in the U.S. by Magnolia Pictures. Magnolia is eyeing a summer 2014 theatrical release for the film. Directed by Lenny Abrahamson (What Richard Did, Garage, Adam & Paul), the film was written by Jon Ronson (The Men Who Stare At Goats) and Peter Straughan (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy). FRANK stars Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gylenhaal, Scoot McNairy and Michael Fassbender as the titular character, a brilliant and eccentric musician who wears a giant fake head at all times.
Ira Sachs’ feature LOVE IS STRANGE which made its world premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, where it has been described as one of the most well received films by critics and audiences alike, will be released in the U.S. by Sony Pictures Classics. Academy Award® nominee John Lithgow and Alfred Molina star as a longtime couple who lose their New York City home shortly after getting married and as a result must live apart, relying on friends and family to make ends meet. The all-star cast of LOVE IS STRANGE also includes Academy Award® winner Marisa Tomei, Darren Burrows, Charlie Tahan and Cheyenne Jackson.
Jim Mickle’s COLD IN JULY which World Premiere this week in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section at the Sundance Film Festival will be released in Summer 2014 by IFC Film. The film, with a screenplay by Jim Mickle and Nick Damici, stars Michael C. Hall, Don Johnson, Sam Shepard, Vinessa Shaw, Nick Damici, and Wyatt Russell.
John Slattery’s directorial debut film, GOD’S POCKET, which made its world premiere this at the Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section, has been acquired by IFC Films for release in the U.S. GOD’S POCKET stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, Christina Hendricks, and John Turturro.
Craig Johnson’s drama THE SKELETON TWINS which premiered this week in the US Dramatic Competition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival has been jointly acquired by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions for release in the U.S. Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions are planning a theatrical release for the feature film in late summer 2014. Co-written by Johnson and Mark Heyman, the film stars Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Luke Wilson, and Ty Burrell.
The comedic horror film COOTIES, which premiered to a sold-out audience at midnight this past Saturday at the Sundance Film Festival, has been acquired by Lionsgate for release in U.S. COOTIES marks the feature film directorial debut for directors Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion. In COOTIES, a substitute teacher at a new school experiences the worst first day imaginable when he discovers that an outbreak of a mysterious virus is transforming the students into rampaging tykes.
Martha Stephens & Aaron Katz’s bawdy road trip comedy LAND HO!, which premiered on Sunday at the Sundance Film Festival was snapped up by Sony Pictures Classics for release. SPC plans to release the film nationwide in 2014. Starring Paul Eenhoorn (THIS IS MARTIN BONNER) and newcomer Earl Lynn Nelson, LAND HO! follows a pair of retirees who set off to Iceland in an attempt to reclaim their youth through Reykjavik nightclubs, trendy spas, and rugged campsites.
OF GOD AND DOGS
The jury prizes and honorable mentions in short filmmaking at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival were presented at a ceremony in Park City, Utah on Tuesday night. This year’s Short Film program is comprised of 66 short films selected from a record 8,161 submissions. The Short Film Grand Jury Prize was awarded to the Syrian film OF GOD AND DOGS. The 2014 Sundance Film Festival runs through January 26 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.