2015 Sundance NEXT FEST will present the Los Angeles premieres of six films from the 2015 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah at The Theatre at Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles August 7-9. Five films screen at the Theatre at Ace Hotel, paired with either a special music performance that embodies a shared artistic sensibility or with a special conversation between the filmmakers and the luminaries who inspired them and who will be announced later this summer.
On August 2, the weekend before the festival, things kick off with the Los Angeles premiere of Cop Car (pictured above) with Cinespia at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. In Cop Car, Kevin Bacon plays a small-town Sheriff setting out to find the boys who have taken his car on a dangerous joyride. The outdoor screening under the stars will feature food trucks and a themed Cinespia Photo Booth. All ticket proceeds go to the non-profit Sundance Institute.
To celebrate the announcement of the lineup, Sundance NEXT FEST is co-hosting a special screening tonight of Tangerine (pictured above) at the Theatre at Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles, cohosted by Magnolia Pictures, Outfest and Ace Hotel DTLA. Tangerine, a breakout at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, is a rip-roaring comedy that follows a working girl tearing through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart. The screening will be followed by a special DJ set by Little Boots.
Cop Car / U.S.A. (Director: Jon Watts, Screenwriters: Jon Watts, Christopher D. Ford) — A small-town Sheriff sets out to find the boys who have taken his car on a dangerous joyride. Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Shea Whigham, Camryn Manheim. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE
Mistress America / U.S.A. (Director: Noah Baumbach, Screenwriters: Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig) — Tracy is a lonely college freshman in New York, having neither the exciting university experience nor the glamorous metropolitan lifestyle she envisioned. But when she is taken in by her soon-to-be stepsister, Brooke – a resident of Times Square and adventurous gal about town – she is rescued from her disappointment and seduced by Brooke’s alluringly mad schemes. Cast: Greta Gerwig, Lola Kirke. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE
Sky Ferreira —Sky Ferreira has quickly established herself as one of today’s most exciting new faces in music, film and fashion. She first signed to Capitol Records at the early age of 15 where she eventually wrote & executive produced her critically acclaimed debut album, Night Time, My Time. As an actress, she has worked with many independent filmmakers including Eli Roth, Liza Johnson & Matthew Porterfield. Sky is currently recording her highly anticipated new album,Masochism.
Finders Keepers / U.S.A. (Directors: Bryan Carberry, Clay Tweel) — Recovering addict and amputee John Wood finds himself in a stranger-than-fiction battle to reclaim his mummified leg from Southern entrepreneur Shannon Whisnant, who found it in a grill he bought at an auction and believes it, therefore, to be his rightful property. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE
Entertainment / U.S.A. (Director: Rick Alverson, Screenwriters: Rick Alverson, Gregg Turkington, Tim Heidecker) — In an attempt to revive his dwindling career and reunite with his estranged daughter, a broken, aging comedian plays a string of dead-end shows in the California desert.Cast: Gregg Turkington, John C. Reilly, Tye Sheridan, Michael Cera, Amy Seimetz, Lotte Verbeek.LOS ANGELES PREMIERE
Sharon Van Etten — Singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten writes from free-flowing emotional honesty and vulnerability, creating a bond with the listener that few contemporary musicians can match. Following her 2012 break-through Tramp, last year’s follow up Are We There and her new EP I Don’t Want to Let You Down, Van Etten finds herself in full stride, writing, producing and performing.
Cronies / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael J. Larnell) — Twenty-two-year-old Louis doesn’t know whether his childhood friendship with Jack will last beyond today. Cast: George Sample III, Zurich Buckner, Brian Kowalski. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE
Turbo Kid / Canada, New Zealand (Directors and screenwriters: Anouk Whissell, François Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell) — Set in a post apocalyptic year of 1997, this nostalgic tribute to ’80s action-adventure films follows an orphaned teenager who goes on an adventure to save his female-robot companion from the hands of the evil warlord who controls the only water supply. Cast: Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Aaron Jeffery, Edwin Wright. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE
Neon Indian vs. Toro Y Moi ’80s-inspired DJ battle — Neon Indian, the brainchild of Alan Palomo, is defined by a unique electro-mangled sound which has attracted fans and opening slots before acts like Massive Attack, The Flaming Lips, Phoenix and Chromeo. Toro Y Moi, the guise of Chaz Bundick, channels a wide swath of stylistic influences into his electronics-incorporating music and cites Big Star, Talking Heads and Todd Rundgren as some of his inspirations.
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Magnolia Pictures and the Duplass Brothers are launching an Oscar campaign for TANGERINE stars Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor, reports Variety. This will reportedly be the first awards season push for transgender actress by a movie distributor in Hollywood history. Rodriguez will be pushed as Lead Actress and Taylor as Supporting. They plan on bids for screenwriting and cinematography for the film as well.
TANGERINE directed by Sean Baker, was released earlier this Summer via Magnolia Pictures, and earned a lot of well deserved attention for not only featuring transgender actresses in prominent roles, but also for its technical feat – it was shot on an iPhone 5s. The film follows a prostitute, who’s just released from prison, and headed to Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart.
Mark Duplass points out that AMPAS is behind the various TV academies in terms of recognizing trans actors; he tells Variety, “Jay and I are new to the Academy, so we’re just figuring this whole thing out. One thing that has become apparent to us as we look at this stuff, it seems that the TV Academy has embraced what’s happening in the trans movement with ‘Transparent’ and ‘Orange is the New Black.’ We feel that the film Academy is a little behind on that front.”
This TANGERINE campaign offers a vital counterpoint to “Oscar bait” campaigns in which straight, cisgender, white actors portray trans characters. Mark Duplass tells Variety of this counterpoint, “This is the time for it. We’re in the middle of a civil rights movement.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALSwWTb88ZU
TANGERINE director Sean Baker, cast members James Ransone (TV’s “The Wire”), Mya Taylor, Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, along with special surprise guests are all set to celebrate their hit film TANGERINE at the 45th Annual NYC Pride March on Sunday, April 28th. Later that evening, TANGERINE will make its New York debut as the closing night film of BAMcinemaFEST.
TANGERINE premiered at Sundance to critical acclaim and will hit theaters on July 10th
Shot on the iPhone 5s, the stars of the film, Taylor and Rodriguez, are trans actresses playing trans characters.
About the TANGERINE float, Baker says, “We’re excited, honored and ‘proud’ to be part of NYC Pride! Party time!”
At NYC Pride, the cast and crew of TANGERINE will celebrate trans pride, a movement that is getting its overdue public acknowledgment. Spinning on the float will be trans DJ Mursi Layne.
Jere Keys of NYC Pride says of TANGERINE’s participation, “We’re thrilled to have TANGERINE join with over 350 groups who will be marching in this historic year, especially as the film further highlights the amazing diversity of people and issues represented by NYC Pride.”
The first March was held in 1970 and has since become an annual civil rights demonstration. Over the years its purpose has broadened to include recognition of the fight against AIDS and to remember those we have lost to illness, violence and neglect. Magnolia Pictures and cast and crew of TANGERINE are proud to help this tradition endure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALSwWTb88ZU
Image: Actors Mya Taylor, James Ransone and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez; Photo Courtesy of OUT