A TAXI DRIVER[/caption]
Fantasia will close its 2017 edition with the International Premiere of A TAXI DRIVER, by director Jang Hoon. On May 18th, 1980, one of the darkest chapters in South Korea’s recent history began. Protesting against Chun Doo-hwan’s dictatorship, hundreds of citizens of Gwangju, particularly students, were beaten, arrested or killed by the army who was hiding behind a well-orchestrated propaganda campaign blinding the entire nation. So when struggling single-father Man-seob decides to take a German journalist from Seoul to Gwangju in his taxi to clear off his debts, he has no idea how dangerous their journey will be. Director Jang Hoon has established himself as one of the most talented and versatile Korean filmmakers with award winning films like ROUGH CUT and THE FRONT LINE. Reteaming with Hoon after the action thriller THE SECRET REUNION, legendary actor Song Kang-ho (THE HOST, SNOWPIERCER) delivers one of the strongest performances of his career in this unforgettable historical drama.
The Fantasia Film Festival announced the remainder of its mammoth 2017 film lineup, in addition to its juries and special events.
A tense, nocturnal odyssey of poor decision-making that escalates to a nearly unbearable pitch, the Safdie brothers’ Cannes Competition sensation GOOD TIME is a high-wire exercise in intensity, starring Robert Pattinson in a career-best performance. Tipping their hats to ’70s thrillers, the Safdies’ new film also builds beautifully on their previous effort, HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT – here’s another maddeningly bleak vision of New York City’s underbelly, nonetheless beaming with humanity and authenticity. North American Premiere. Directors in Attendance.
Directed by David Leitch (JOHN WICK, the upcoming DEADPOOL 2), ATOMIC BLONDE, screening in the Action! section, is a blistering blend of sleek action, gritty sexuality, and dazzling neon-drenched style with a cast that includes Charlize Theron, John Goodman, Til Schweiger, and Sofia Boutella. The film boasts one thrilling fight sequence in particular – set in a stairwell and with no cuts – that has already entered the annals of action film history. Official Selection: SXSW 2017. Special Screening.
Fantasia’s Camera Lucida section is back! Dedicated to the most original and singular visions, at the outer edges of genre cinema, it will close this year’s selection with the World Premiere of Robert Morin’s LE PROBLÈME D’INFILTRATION (INFILTRATION), also screening during the festival’s closing night on August 2, 2017. An experimental film and formal experiment only Morin could have made, LE PROBLÈME D’INFILTRATION (INFILTRATION) is a unique, angst-ridden portrait composed of a series of distinctive, surrealistic long takes, that brilliantly convey the existential crisis and downward spiral of Dr. Louis Richard (Christian Bégin), a plastic surgeon specializing in burn victims. A bold film that simultaneously evokes German Expressionist art and avant-garde video. See below for the rest of the Camera Lucida line-up. Director, Cast, and Crew in Attendance.
The big-screen return of one of Polish Cinema’s national treasures, Agnieszka Holland (EUROPA EUROPA, THE SECRET GARDEN), still such a vibrant filmmaker at nearly 70 years of age, SPOOR took home a richly deserved award at the Berlinale earlier this year. Unconventional, poetic and beguiling, it is a genuinely radical film – some have even called it dangerous – that is one part fantastical murder mystery, one part eco-thriller. A retired teacher who speaks truth to power to protect the region’s wildlife finds herself at the center of a surreal series of happenings, with hunters and authority figures found murdered, various animal tracks near the bodies. Could the animals be having their revenge? One of the most subversive genre works we’ve seen in years. North American Premiere.
Following the 2015 International Premiere of Sion Sono’s Red Light District-set yakuza/talent agency action-drama film SHINJUKU SWAN, Fantasia will unveil the International Premiere of its sequel, SHINJUKU SWAN II! Reuniting maverick filmmaker Sion Sono (TAG, LOVE EXPOSURE, the upcoming Amazon series TOKYO VAMPIRE HOTEL) with superstar Go Ayano (RAGE, LUPIN THE THIRD), this sequel adapts the arc “Yokohama Kingdom” from Ken Wakui’s popular seinen manga series of the same name, and finds the titular, energetic talent scout going head-to-head with a rival Yokohama agency, led by boss Taki (the one and only Tadanobu Asano of SURVIVE STYLE 5+, JOURNEY TO THE SHORE, and ICHI THE KILLER)! International Premiere.
Fantasia audiences may best remember him from THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD (aka TURKISH STAR WARS), but to international audiences, Cüneyt Arkın is a legendary icon whose career spanned 50 glorious years and nearly 300 films. He’s done every conceivable genre from grand historical epics and martial arts to romantic comedies, westerns, and hard-boiled crime flicks. He’s played an Ottoman warrior, cop, heartbreaker, pirate, and even a Turkish Davy Crockett. Over his five decades in cinema, the incredible Arkın was his country’s Jackie Chan – acting, writing, directing, and performing his own stunts!
Fantasia will present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Mr Arkın, and will celebrate his extraordinary career with special repertory screenings of THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD, Çetin İnanç’s WILD BLOOD (aka the Turkish FIRST BLOOD!), and the ninjasploitation head-exploder DEATH WARRIOR.
These events, in addition to the World Premiere screening of Emir Mavitan’s NOMAD and a free outdoor projection of Ceyda Torun’s documentary sensation KEDI are presented with the support of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Luchador films hold a special place in Fantasia-goers hearts. In the early editions of the festival, screenings of numerous luchador films were held in front of sold out crowds at the 900-seat Imperial Theater. This year marks a very special occasion, as the fest will be graced by one of lucha libre’s most famous heroes, the legendary Mil Máscaras. With Blue Demon and El Santo, this legendary masked wrestler was part of a trio of athletes who, in the 60’s and early 70’s, turned this unique brand of Mexican superhero film into a worldwide phenomenon.
Mil Máscaras will be awarded a Fantasia Lifetime Achievement Award for his extraordinary career as a Mexican film icon and one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. The award will be presented before the presentation of a double bill of two features starring Mil Máscaras: 1972’s LAS MOMIAS DE GUANAJUATO, arguably the most famous luchador film of all time (co-starring El Santo and Blue Demon), and AZTEC REVENGE, Aaron Crozier’s recently-produced American feature from writer Jeffrey Uhlmann, who will be in attendance.
A sensation on the 2017 festival circuit – first unveiled at Sundance, then swerving by SXSW, and recently closing the prestigious Director’s Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) section of the Cannes Film Festival – PATTI CAKE$ now stops at Fantasia for its Canadian Premiere! Starring the amazing newcomer Danielle Macdonald in the lead role of Patricia Dumbrowski, a.k.a. Killa P, a.k.a. Patti Cake$, this is a first feature film from acclaimed music video director Geremy Jasper. Reminiscent of films like LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, 8 MILE, and 2016 Fantasia discovery SOME FREAKS, PATTI CAKE$ is a brilliant cult classic in the making; an empowering outsider story told with unparalleled heart and conviction. Canadian Premiere.
Following a mysterious car crash, a man with no memory of his past becomes inexplicably lethal to anyone in his path. His bizarre death force only appears to be neutralized when in the very close vicinity of Jane, a woman who suffers a similarly clouded memory. Together, they’ll try to recall their past and understand the tie that that seems to bind them. But they can’t ever be more than 50 feet apart or people will die. Directed by SANS DESSEIN filmmakers Caroline Labrèche and Steeve Léonard, RADIUS is the latest project seeing the light because of Frontières, Fantasia’s international co-production market. It’s our pleasure to present the World Premiere of this unique Quebec-made genre work. Directors in Attendance.
Beloved director Takashi Miike (AUDITION, ICHI THE KILLER) may have received a Lifetime Achievement Award at last year’s edition of Fantasia, but he won’t stop delivering over the top crowd pleasers! Reteaming with screenwriter Kankuro Kudo, who also directed last year’s Audience Award winner TOO YOUNG TO DIE!, Miike delivers a crazier and funnier sequel to THE MOLE SONG: SECRET AGENT REIJI loaded with unambiguous sex jokes, strange action scenes, crotch injuries and gorgeous set pieces. Actor Toma Ikuta (THE TOP SECRET: MURDER IN MIND) delivers an incredible physical performance in the role of the libidinous mole Reiji who is now tracked down by the police, the yakuza boss he work for, and a lethal Chinese gang. Miike is back in all his mischievous glory with the Canadian Premiere of THE MOLE SONG: HONG KONG CAPRICCIO!
During one of his many Asian adventures, Patrick (François Arnaud), a visual artist who specializes in Chinese art, encounters a mysterious man who makes him discover his latent gift for time travel. Stunningly directed and compellingly intimate, ORIGAMI is a UFO on the landscape of Quebec cinema that succeeds in applying sci-fi genre markers to a primarily human story. World Premiere. Directors in Attendance.
Fantasia will be presenting the World Premieres of Jenna Cavelle’s BLOOD HEIST – about DIY filmmakers who simultaneously commit a star-crossed armed robbery and shoot a vérité film of it – and Melanie Aitkenhead’s BLOOD RIDE – which depicts the violence and avenging of a ferocious female biker gang lead by Pollyanna McIntosh – as a special rip-roaring indie double bill. Both femme-made, revivalist – nay, revisionist – exploitation films were spearheaded by producer/co-star James Franco and producers Vince Jolivette (SPRING BREAKERS) and Jay Davis. Get ready for blood… and more blood! World Premieres.
After slaying Sundance at its debut and knocking out Cannes (where it had its European Premiere in Director’s Fortnight), BUSHWICK will be making its first Canadian stand at Fantasia 2017! The couldn’t-be-more-timely sophomore feature from directors Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott (Fantasia 2015’s COOTIES) sees Bushwick, New York erupt into a war zone as Southern nationalist militia forces attack the city. Starring Dave Bautista and Brittany Snow, BUSHWICK almost never stops moving, as Murnion and Milott employ long, fluid takes (shot on real Brooklyn locations) that follow its characters from one hoped-for sanctuary to the next, punctuated by bursts of startling, caught-on-the-fly violence. Canadian Premiere.
To reward himself for his new teaching gig in Sapporo, 29-year-old Manabu decides to celebrate New Year’s Eve with a little treat at a local sex club. On the verge of… climaxing, he’s struck by a brain hemorrhage and ends up buck naked at the hospital surrounded by his worried family who want to know how this happened. Based on the autobiographical manga from Manabu Nakagawa, ALMOST COMING, ALMOST DYING is a funny and endearing independent film from first time filmmaker Toshimasa Kobayashi. With its witty dialogues delivering family interactions worthy of WHAT A WONDERFUL FAMILY! and its creepy bat-wielding giant teddy bear (?!?), Kobayashi perfectly transposes the blend of everyday life situations and weird creativity that made Nakagawa’s manga so popular. International Premiere.
As part of the closing night events, Fantasia will be showcasing the first public screening of Synapse Films’ long anticipated 4K restoration of Dario Argento’s SUSPIRIA, just in time for its 40th anniversary. A Grand Guignol fairy tale from the darkest recesses of creative brilliance, SUSPIRIA remains one of the most visually and sonically breathtaking genre works in the history of film, its complex aesthetics all but impossible to reproduce with accuracy on any non-Technicolor – let alone non-photochemical – medium to date. For the past three years, Synapse Films have been working on the definitive restoration of Argento’s masterpiece, with the full cooperation, supervision and approval of its celebrated cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, who spared no effort to accurately reproduce the film’s original IB Technicolor visuals. With all the love and obsession that this extraordinary film commands, SUSPIRIA has been restored from the fully uncut, original 35mm Italian camera negative and will be presented with the legendary 4.0 discrete sound mix not heard since its 1977 theatrical release.
Bushwick
Lucy emerges from a Brooklyn subway to find that her neighborhood is under attack by black-clad military soldiers. An ex-Marine corpsman, Stupe, reluctantly helps her fight for survival through a civil war, as Texas attempts to secede from the United States of America.
Directed by Cary Murnion, Jonathan Millot
Starring Dave Bautista, Brittany Snow, Angelic Zambrana, Jeremie Harris, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Arturo Castro
Genre(s) Crime Film
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Fantasia Film Festival Announces Final Lineup, Closes with Jang Hoon’s A TAXI DRIVER
[caption id="attachment_22990" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] A TAXI DRIVER[/caption]
Fantasia will close its 2017 edition with the International Premiere of A TAXI DRIVER, by director Jang Hoon. On May 18th, 1980, one of the darkest chapters in South Korea’s recent history began. Protesting against Chun Doo-hwan’s dictatorship, hundreds of citizens of Gwangju, particularly students, were beaten, arrested or killed by the army who was hiding behind a well-orchestrated propaganda campaign blinding the entire nation. So when struggling single-father Man-seob decides to take a German journalist from Seoul to Gwangju in his taxi to clear off his debts, he has no idea how dangerous their journey will be. Director Jang Hoon has established himself as one of the most talented and versatile Korean filmmakers with award winning films like ROUGH CUT and THE FRONT LINE. Reteaming with Hoon after the action thriller THE SECRET REUNION, legendary actor Song Kang-ho (THE HOST, SNOWPIERCER) delivers one of the strongest performances of his career in this unforgettable historical drama.
The Fantasia Film Festival announced the remainder of its mammoth 2017 film lineup, in addition to its juries and special events.
A tense, nocturnal odyssey of poor decision-making that escalates to a nearly unbearable pitch, the Safdie brothers’ Cannes Competition sensation GOOD TIME is a high-wire exercise in intensity, starring Robert Pattinson in a career-best performance. Tipping their hats to ’70s thrillers, the Safdies’ new film also builds beautifully on their previous effort, HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT – here’s another maddeningly bleak vision of New York City’s underbelly, nonetheless beaming with humanity and authenticity. North American Premiere. Directors in Attendance.
Directed by David Leitch (JOHN WICK, the upcoming DEADPOOL 2), ATOMIC BLONDE, screening in the Action! section, is a blistering blend of sleek action, gritty sexuality, and dazzling neon-drenched style with a cast that includes Charlize Theron, John Goodman, Til Schweiger, and Sofia Boutella. The film boasts one thrilling fight sequence in particular – set in a stairwell and with no cuts – that has already entered the annals of action film history. Official Selection: SXSW 2017. Special Screening.
Fantasia’s Camera Lucida section is back! Dedicated to the most original and singular visions, at the outer edges of genre cinema, it will close this year’s selection with the World Premiere of Robert Morin’s LE PROBLÈME D’INFILTRATION (INFILTRATION), also screening during the festival’s closing night on August 2, 2017. An experimental film and formal experiment only Morin could have made, LE PROBLÈME D’INFILTRATION (INFILTRATION) is a unique, angst-ridden portrait composed of a series of distinctive, surrealistic long takes, that brilliantly convey the existential crisis and downward spiral of Dr. Louis Richard (Christian Bégin), a plastic surgeon specializing in burn victims. A bold film that simultaneously evokes German Expressionist art and avant-garde video. See below for the rest of the Camera Lucida line-up. Director, Cast, and Crew in Attendance.
The big-screen return of one of Polish Cinema’s national treasures, Agnieszka Holland (EUROPA EUROPA, THE SECRET GARDEN), still such a vibrant filmmaker at nearly 70 years of age, SPOOR took home a richly deserved award at the Berlinale earlier this year. Unconventional, poetic and beguiling, it is a genuinely radical film – some have even called it dangerous – that is one part fantastical murder mystery, one part eco-thriller. A retired teacher who speaks truth to power to protect the region’s wildlife finds herself at the center of a surreal series of happenings, with hunters and authority figures found murdered, various animal tracks near the bodies. Could the animals be having their revenge? One of the most subversive genre works we’ve seen in years. North American Premiere.
Following the 2015 International Premiere of Sion Sono’s Red Light District-set yakuza/talent agency action-drama film SHINJUKU SWAN, Fantasia will unveil the International Premiere of its sequel, SHINJUKU SWAN II! Reuniting maverick filmmaker Sion Sono (TAG, LOVE EXPOSURE, the upcoming Amazon series TOKYO VAMPIRE HOTEL) with superstar Go Ayano (RAGE, LUPIN THE THIRD), this sequel adapts the arc “Yokohama Kingdom” from Ken Wakui’s popular seinen manga series of the same name, and finds the titular, energetic talent scout going head-to-head with a rival Yokohama agency, led by boss Taki (the one and only Tadanobu Asano of SURVIVE STYLE 5+, JOURNEY TO THE SHORE, and ICHI THE KILLER)! International Premiere.
Fantasia audiences may best remember him from THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD (aka TURKISH STAR WARS), but to international audiences, Cüneyt Arkın is a legendary icon whose career spanned 50 glorious years and nearly 300 films. He’s done every conceivable genre from grand historical epics and martial arts to romantic comedies, westerns, and hard-boiled crime flicks. He’s played an Ottoman warrior, cop, heartbreaker, pirate, and even a Turkish Davy Crockett. Over his five decades in cinema, the incredible Arkın was his country’s Jackie Chan – acting, writing, directing, and performing his own stunts!
Fantasia will present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Mr Arkın, and will celebrate his extraordinary career with special repertory screenings of THE MAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD, Çetin İnanç’s WILD BLOOD (aka the Turkish FIRST BLOOD!), and the ninjasploitation head-exploder DEATH WARRIOR.
These events, in addition to the World Premiere screening of Emir Mavitan’s NOMAD and a free outdoor projection of Ceyda Torun’s documentary sensation KEDI are presented with the support of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Luchador films hold a special place in Fantasia-goers hearts. In the early editions of the festival, screenings of numerous luchador films were held in front of sold out crowds at the 900-seat Imperial Theater. This year marks a very special occasion, as the fest will be graced by one of lucha libre’s most famous heroes, the legendary Mil Máscaras. With Blue Demon and El Santo, this legendary masked wrestler was part of a trio of athletes who, in the 60’s and early 70’s, turned this unique brand of Mexican superhero film into a worldwide phenomenon.
Mil Máscaras will be awarded a Fantasia Lifetime Achievement Award for his extraordinary career as a Mexican film icon and one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. The award will be presented before the presentation of a double bill of two features starring Mil Máscaras: 1972’s LAS MOMIAS DE GUANAJUATO, arguably the most famous luchador film of all time (co-starring El Santo and Blue Demon), and AZTEC REVENGE, Aaron Crozier’s recently-produced American feature from writer Jeffrey Uhlmann, who will be in attendance.
A sensation on the 2017 festival circuit – first unveiled at Sundance, then swerving by SXSW, and recently closing the prestigious Director’s Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) section of the Cannes Film Festival – PATTI CAKE$ now stops at Fantasia for its Canadian Premiere! Starring the amazing newcomer Danielle Macdonald in the lead role of Patricia Dumbrowski, a.k.a. Killa P, a.k.a. Patti Cake$, this is a first feature film from acclaimed music video director Geremy Jasper. Reminiscent of films like LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, 8 MILE, and 2016 Fantasia discovery SOME FREAKS, PATTI CAKE$ is a brilliant cult classic in the making; an empowering outsider story told with unparalleled heart and conviction. Canadian Premiere.
Following a mysterious car crash, a man with no memory of his past becomes inexplicably lethal to anyone in his path. His bizarre death force only appears to be neutralized when in the very close vicinity of Jane, a woman who suffers a similarly clouded memory. Together, they’ll try to recall their past and understand the tie that that seems to bind them. But they can’t ever be more than 50 feet apart or people will die. Directed by SANS DESSEIN filmmakers Caroline Labrèche and Steeve Léonard, RADIUS is the latest project seeing the light because of Frontières, Fantasia’s international co-production market. It’s our pleasure to present the World Premiere of this unique Quebec-made genre work. Directors in Attendance.
Beloved director Takashi Miike (AUDITION, ICHI THE KILLER) may have received a Lifetime Achievement Award at last year’s edition of Fantasia, but he won’t stop delivering over the top crowd pleasers! Reteaming with screenwriter Kankuro Kudo, who also directed last year’s Audience Award winner TOO YOUNG TO DIE!, Miike delivers a crazier and funnier sequel to THE MOLE SONG: SECRET AGENT REIJI loaded with unambiguous sex jokes, strange action scenes, crotch injuries and gorgeous set pieces. Actor Toma Ikuta (THE TOP SECRET: MURDER IN MIND) delivers an incredible physical performance in the role of the libidinous mole Reiji who is now tracked down by the police, the yakuza boss he work for, and a lethal Chinese gang. Miike is back in all his mischievous glory with the Canadian Premiere of THE MOLE SONG: HONG KONG CAPRICCIO!
During one of his many Asian adventures, Patrick (François Arnaud), a visual artist who specializes in Chinese art, encounters a mysterious man who makes him discover his latent gift for time travel. Stunningly directed and compellingly intimate, ORIGAMI is a UFO on the landscape of Quebec cinema that succeeds in applying sci-fi genre markers to a primarily human story. World Premiere. Directors in Attendance.
Fantasia will be presenting the World Premieres of Jenna Cavelle’s BLOOD HEIST – about DIY filmmakers who simultaneously commit a star-crossed armed robbery and shoot a vérité film of it – and Melanie Aitkenhead’s BLOOD RIDE – which depicts the violence and avenging of a ferocious female biker gang lead by Pollyanna McIntosh – as a special rip-roaring indie double bill. Both femme-made, revivalist – nay, revisionist – exploitation films were spearheaded by producer/co-star James Franco and producers Vince Jolivette (SPRING BREAKERS) and Jay Davis. Get ready for blood… and more blood! World Premieres.
After slaying Sundance at its debut and knocking out Cannes (where it had its European Premiere in Director’s Fortnight), BUSHWICK will be making its first Canadian stand at Fantasia 2017! The couldn’t-be-more-timely sophomore feature from directors Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott (Fantasia 2015’s COOTIES) sees Bushwick, New York erupt into a war zone as Southern nationalist militia forces attack the city. Starring Dave Bautista and Brittany Snow, BUSHWICK almost never stops moving, as Murnion and Milott employ long, fluid takes (shot on real Brooklyn locations) that follow its characters from one hoped-for sanctuary to the next, punctuated by bursts of startling, caught-on-the-fly violence. Canadian Premiere.
To reward himself for his new teaching gig in Sapporo, 29-year-old Manabu decides to celebrate New Year’s Eve with a little treat at a local sex club. On the verge of… climaxing, he’s struck by a brain hemorrhage and ends up buck naked at the hospital surrounded by his worried family who want to know how this happened. Based on the autobiographical manga from Manabu Nakagawa, ALMOST COMING, ALMOST DYING is a funny and endearing independent film from first time filmmaker Toshimasa Kobayashi. With its witty dialogues delivering family interactions worthy of WHAT A WONDERFUL FAMILY! and its creepy bat-wielding giant teddy bear (?!?), Kobayashi perfectly transposes the blend of everyday life situations and weird creativity that made Nakagawa’s manga so popular. International Premiere.
As part of the closing night events, Fantasia will be showcasing the first public screening of Synapse Films’ long anticipated 4K restoration of Dario Argento’s SUSPIRIA, just in time for its 40th anniversary. A Grand Guignol fairy tale from the darkest recesses of creative brilliance, SUSPIRIA remains one of the most visually and sonically breathtaking genre works in the history of film, its complex aesthetics all but impossible to reproduce with accuracy on any non-Technicolor – let alone non-photochemical – medium to date. For the past three years, Synapse Films have been working on the definitive restoration of Argento’s masterpiece, with the full cooperation, supervision and approval of its celebrated cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, who spared no effort to accurately reproduce the film’s original IB Technicolor visuals. With all the love and obsession that this extraordinary film commands, SUSPIRIA has been restored from the fully uncut, original 35mm Italian camera negative and will be presented with the legendary 4.0 discrete sound mix not heard since its 1977 theatrical release.
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2017 Sundance Film Festival: London Unveils Lineup of 14 Feature, 15 Short Films + Special Events
[caption id="attachment_22056" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Sundance Film Festival: London at Picturehouse Central[/caption]
The 2017 Sundance Film Festival: London, taking place June1 to 4 at Picturehouse Central will present 14 feature films direct from this year’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The festival will open with the International premiere of Miguel Arteta’s Beatriz at Dinner, and it will close four days later with the UK premiere of David Lowery’s critically acclaimed A Ghost Story, starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara.
The 2017 festival will also include a short film program with 15 shorts, including a strand dedicated to new UK shorts. For the first time, the program will include a “Surprise Film” screening which promises festivalgoers an exclusive chance to catch an audience hit from this year’s festival in Park City. Additionally, the Sundance Film Festival: London will introduce an Audience Favorite award for 2017, giving festivalgoers the chance to vote for their favorite features, with the winner announced at the close of the festival.
The Special Events program comprises three panel events and an “In Conversation” event with renowned guests, providing incredible insights into the filmmaking process. The “Independent Film Trumps Reality” panel will examine independent filmmaking in the current political climate, involving directors at the festival whose films have gained a new level of currency in the age of Trump, while the “On Collaboration: Documentary Practices and Process” panel (presented by Dropbox) will explore the themes of diversity, accessibility and progress in documentary, and the short filmmaker panel “Art vs. Stepping Stone” (presented in association with London Short Film Festival) will pose the question, “Are shorts simply a stepping stone or do they sustain a filmmaker throughout a career?” Acclaimed director David Lowery, whose highly anticipated film A Ghost Story will close the festival, will participate in an “In Conversation” event (presented in association with Empire magazine) which will be followed by a special screening of his earlier feature, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.
FEATURE FILM PROGRAM
Beatriz at Dinner (Director: Miguel Arteta, Screenwriter: Mike White) – Beatriz, an immigrant from a poor town in Mexico, has drawn on her innate kindness to build a career as a health practitioner. Doug Strutt is a cutthroat, self-satisfied billionaire. When these two opposites meet at a dinner party, their worlds collide and neither will ever be the same. Principal cast: Salma Hayek, John Lithgow, Chloë Sevigny, Amy Landecker, Jay Duplass, Connie Britton International premiere The Big Sick (Director: Michael Showalter, Screenwriters: Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani) – Based on the real-life courtship: Pakistan-born comedian Kumail and grad student Emily fall in love, but they struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail must navigate the crisis with her parents and the emotional tug-of-war between his family and his heart. Principal cast: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Anupam Kher International premiere Bitch (Director/Screenwriter: Marianna Palka) – A woman snaps under crushing life pressures and assumes the psyche of a vicious dog. Her philandering, absentee husband is forced to become reacquainted with his four children and sister-in-law as they attempt to keep the family together during this bizarre crisis. Principal cast: Jason Ritter, Jaime King, Marianna Palka, Brighton Sharbino, Rio Mangini, Kingston Foster International premiere Bushwick (Directors: Cary Murnion, Jonathan Millot, Screenwriters: Nick Damici, Graham Reznick) – Lucy emerges from a Brooklyn subway to find that her neighborhood is under attack by black-clad military soldiers. An ex-Marine corpsman, Stupe, reluctantly helps her fight for survival through a civil war, as Texas attempts to secede from the United States of America. Principal cast: Dave Bautista, Brittany Snow, Angelic Zambrana, Jeremie Harris, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Arturo Castro UK premiere Chasing Coral (Director: Jeff Orlowski) – Coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. A team of divers, photographers, and scientists set out on a thrilling ocean adventure to discover why and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world. (Documentary) Special preview screening Winner of the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary Crown Heights (Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin) – When Colin Warner is wrongfully convicted of murder, his best friend, Carl King, devotes his life to proving Colin’s innocence. Adapted from This American Life, this is the incredible true story of their harrowing quest for justice. Principal cast: Lakeith Stanfield, Nnamdi Asomugha, Natalie Paul, Bill Camp, Nestor Carbonell, Amari Cheatom International premiere Winner of Audience Award: US Dramatic Dina (Directors: Dan Sickles, Antonio Santini) – An eccentric suburban woman and a Walmart door greeter navigate their evolving relationship in this unconventional love story. (Documentary) Special preview screening Winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary A Ghost Story (Director/screenwriter: David Lowery) – This is the story of a ghost and the house he haunts. Principal cast: Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Will Oldham, Sonia Acevedo, Rob Zabrecky, Liz Franke UK premiere Icarus (Director: Bryan Fogel) – When Bryan Fogel sets out to uncover the truth about doping in sports, a chance meeting with a Russian scientist transforms his story from a personal experiment into a geopolitical thriller involving dirty urine, unexplained death, and Olympic Gold—exposing the biggest scandal in sports history. (Documentary) UK premiere Winner of U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: The Orwell Award The Incredible Jessica James (Director/Screenwriter: Jim Strouse) – Jessica James, an aspiring NYC playwright, is struggling to get over a recent breakup. She sees a light at the end of the tunnel when she meets the recently divorced Boone. Together, they discover how to make it through the tough times while realizing they like each other—a lot. Principal cast: Jessica Williams, Chris O’Dowd, Lakeith Stanfield, Noël Wells European premiere Marjorie Prime (Director/Screenwriter: Michael Almereyda) – In the near future—a time of artificial intelligence—86-year-old Marjorie has a handsome new companion who looks like her deceased husband and is programmed to feed the story of her life back to her. What would we remember, and what would we forget, if given the chance? Principal cast: Jon Hamm, Geena Davis, Lois Smith, Tim Robbins UK premiere Winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize Walking Out (Directors/Screenwriters: Alex Smith, Adam Smith) – A teenager journeys to Montana to hunt big game with his estranged father. The two struggle to connect, until a brutal encounter in the heart of the wilderness changes everything. Principal cast: Matt Bomer, Josh Wiggins, Bill Pullman, Alex Neustaedter, Lily Gladstone European premiere Wilson (Director: Craig Johnson, Screenwriter: Daniel Clowes) – Wilson, a lonely, neurotic, and hilariously honest middle-aged misanthrope, reunites with his estranged wife and gets a shot at happiness when he learns he has a teenage daughter he has never met. In his uniquely outrageous and slightly twisted way, he sets out to connect with her. Principal cast: Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern, Judy Greer, Cheryl Hines UK premiere SURPRISE FILM! – For the first time this year the Sundance Film Festival: London will feature a surprise film. We can’t say too much, but it was a favourite among audiences in Utah, and with just one screening this will be among the hottest of the hot tickets. The title will be revealed only when the opening credits roll. Don’t miss out.SHORT FILM PROGRAM
2017 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour – A 95-minute theatrical program of seven short films selected from this year’s Festival, which over the course of its more than 30-year history has been widely considered the premier showcase for short films and the launch pad for many now-prominent independent filmmakers. Including fiction, documentary and animation from around the world, the 2017 program gives a taste to what the Festival offers. From laugh-out-loud fun to contemplative thoughts about the world we live in, audiences will encounter a variety of emotions and exciting filmmaking. 5 Films About Technology (Director/Screenwriter: Peter Huang) – Take a satirical look at the dumber side of technology. And the Whole Sky Fit in the Dead Cow’s Eye (Director/Screenwriter: Francisca Alegria) – Emeteria is visited by the ghost of her patrón, Teodoro. She believes he has come to take her to the afterlife—but he has more devastating news. Winner of the Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction Come Swim (Director/Screenwriter: Kristen Stewart) – This is a diptych of one man’s day, half impressionist and half realist portraits. Lucia, Before And After (Director/Screenwriter: Anu Valia) – After traveling 200 miles, a young woman waits out Texas’s state-mandated 24-hour waiting period before her abortion can proceed. Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction Night Shift (Director/Screenwriter: Marshall Tyler) – Get a glimpse into a day in the life of a bathroom attendant in a Los Angeles nightclub. Pussy (Director/Screenwriter: Renata Gasiorowska) – Alone at home one evening, a young girl decides to have a solo pleasure session—but not everything goes according to plan. Ten Meter Tower (Co-Directors: Maximilien Van Aertryck, Axel Danielson) – People who have never been up a 10-meter diving tower must choose whether to jump or climb down in this entertaining study of people in a vulnerable position. UK Shorts – A showcase of visionary new shorts from the UK. A wild ride through fiction, documentary and animation, discovering some of the exciting new filmmaking talent in the country. Dawn of the Deaf (Director/Screenwriter: Rob Savage) – When a strange sound wipes out the hearing population, a small group of deaf people must band together to survive. Dear Mr. Shakespeare (Director: Shola Amoo, Screenwriter: Phoebe Boswell) – An exploration of Shakespeare’s intentions when writing Othello explores the play’s racial themes in historical and contemporary settings, and draws wider parallels between immigration and blackness in the UK today. Fish Story (Director/Screenwriter: Charlie Lyne) – Behind a fishy tale lies this search for the truth. In the Hills (Director/Screenwriter: Hamid Ahmadi) – Shahram is a young immigrant who lives in the idyllic countryside of the Cotswolds in England. To integrate into the new society, he chooses a rather radical approach. Mother (Director/Screenwriter: Leo Leigh) – In the aftermath of his mother’s death, Edwin reaches out to his extended family for support. Robot & Scarecrow (Director: Kibwe Tavares, Screenwriters: Kibwe Tavares and Ursula Rani Sarma) – A fairy tale set against the backdrop of a heady summer music festival, where a robot and a scarecrow meet and fall in love. Tough (Director: Jennifer Zheng) – New light is shed on childhood cultural misunderstandings when a Chinese mother and her British-born daughter speak as adults for the first time. Some things can only be understood with maturity. White Riot: London (Director: Rubika Shah, Screenwriters: Ed Gibbs, Rubika Shah) – 1977, immigration divides Britain. What happens when a punk fanzine challenges the status quo?SPECIAL EVENTS
Sundance Film Festival: London Docs Panel – On Collaboration: Documentary Practices and Process The Sundance Film Festival sets the bar extremely high for its documentary presentations, providing a showcase for some of the most diverse, cutting-edge and challenging works while reflecting something of a state of the art for this exciting and rapidly evolving medium. Our Sundance Film Festival: London selections Chasing Coral, Dina and Icarus are richly different films but are united in their presentation of hard-hitting issues in a fresh and open fashion. This panel, featuring directors from those films and British artist and filmmaker Jeanie Finlay, will ask the filmmakers to detail their working practices and the role of collaboration in their work whilst exploring themes of diversity, accessibility and progress in documentary. Panelists to include: Alice Tynan -EMEA Corporate Marketing Manager at Dropbox (Moderator); Jeff Orlowski – Director of Chasing Coral; Bryan Fogel – Director of Icarus; Jeanie Finlay – Orion: The Man Who Would Be King, The Great Hip Hop Hoax. INDEPENDENT FILM TRUMPS REALITY – re-evaluating films in the current political climate and where filmmaking will go from here… This year’s Sundance Film Festival straddled one of the most important shifts in modern American and world history, with the Festival kicking off under an Obama presidency and closing under President Trump. Understandably, Trump talk was unavoidable in Park City and whilst the films screening were developed and made before the election, many have gained a new level of currency in the age of Trump. Panelists: John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival; Miguel Arteta, Director of Beatriz at Dinner; Jeff Orlowski, Director of Chasing Coral; Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott, Directors of Bushwick; Wendy Mitchell, Film Programme Manager, British Council and Contributing Editor, Screen International. Art vs. Stepping Stone – An Argument: Sundance Meets London Presented in association with LSFF (London Short Film Festival) Sundance and LSFF host a short filmmaker discussion about straddling the worlds of the auteur and the commercial. Are shorts simply a stepping stone or do they sustain a filmmaker throughout a career? With a focus on two women filmmakers, each one working in those potentially opposing areas, we hope for a heated debate and a fascinating discussion. Hosted by Mike Plante (Sundance) and Philip Ilson (London Short Film Festival & BFI London Film Festival). I Get Overwhelmed: From Saints to Ghosts, David Lowery in Conversation Presented in association with Empire Magazine Since his striking, Malick-infused 2013 Sundance Film Festival debut Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, Wisconsin-born filmmaker David Lowery has become something of a wunderkind of the U.S. filmmaking scene. His big-budget Disney production Pete’s Dragon (2016) along with this year’s Sundance selection A Ghost Story have both been greeted with rapturous reviews, praising the director’s ability to tackle complex human emotions and diverse genres with a real sense of grace and romanticism. His editing work on films like Shane Carruth’s Upstream Colour (2013) and writing on acclaimed indie The Yellow Birds (2017) also demonstrate a talent that is at once multi-faceted and poised with a singular, unique vision. We screen both Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and A Ghost Story this year and welcome David for a career interview which will explore his meteoric rise to filmmaking stardom. This “In Conversation” event will be accompanied by a special screening of: Ain’t Them Bodies Saints – David Lowery burst onto the scene in 2013 with this rapturous, Malick-infused period piece about two lovers separated by a run-in with the law.