Sundance Film Festivalorganisers unveiled the Premieres, American Spectrum, Park City At Midnight,Frontier and Special Screenings strands today (30), announcing that the worldpremiere of Don Roos' highly stylised take on life, love and family HappyEndings will be the opening nightfeature at Park City on Jan 20, while Gaby Dellal's drama On A Clear Day will be the opening night feature in Salt Lake Citythe following day.
George C Wolfe's boardinghouse drama Lackawanna Blues isthe Centerpiece Premiere, while elsewhere the newly announced sections bristlewith invention and include work by such acclaimed talent as Thomas Vinterberg,Rebecca Miller, Park Chan-Wook, Michael Winterbottom and John Maybury.
A packed Premieres strandincludes world premieres for Vinterberg's Dear Wendy, about a gang of gun-loving children and scripted byLars von Trier; Rebecca Miller'sPacific island commune drama The Ballad Of Jack And Rose; Hal Hartley's comedy sci-fi The Girl From Monday; John Maybury's psychothriller The Jacket starring Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley; FentonBailey and Randy Barbato's documentary Inside Deep Throat; Richard Shepard's The Matador starring Pierce Brosnan as a world-weary assassin;the relationship drama Loverboydirected by Kevin Bacon; Andy Flickman's arch musical comedy Reefer Madness; Michael Hoffman's 1986 baseball World Seriesfeature Game 6, scripted by DonDeLillo; and Dave McKean's fantasy tale Mirromask, written by the acclaimed fantasy writer NeilGaiman.
Festival director GeoffGilmore paid tribute to the range of work on offer, highlighting HappyEndings as one of the most inventivepictures he had seen and singling out Hans W Geissendorfer's "Bergmanesque"Finland-set drama Snowland,Matthew Vaughan's UK crime tale Layer Cake, and Stephen Chow's romp Kung-Fu Hustle, among others. "We approach the Festival with a verybroad idea of what independent film is, and work to create a platform thatpresents the full spectrum of independent cinema - from higher profile filmsthat screen in competition and in Premieres to the more edgy, experimentalfilms in Frontier and in Midnights," Gilmore added. "This festival always isabout filmmakers trying to do new things with the medium and helping to pushindependent film forward aesthetically and artistically."
The non-competitive AmericanSpectrum entries, which are eligible for the Audience Award, include JayDuplass' The Puffy Chair, about aman's cross-country mission to deliver a giant purple Lazy Boy to his father; Adrienne Weiss' Love,Ludlow about a young temp's dominantolder brother; Alice Wu's Saving Face, which centres on a Chinese-American lesbian and her traditionalistmother; and David LaChapelle's documentary Rize, which chronicles a South Los Angeles dance movementwith roots in clowning and street youth culture. Park City At Midnight containsMichael Winterbottom's sexually explicit Nine Songs; the US premiere of Park Chan-Wook's South Koreanhit Old Boy, about a man who mustfind his former kidnapper within five days; Three... Extremes, a pan-Asian horror collaboration by three directorsincluding Japan's prolific enfant terrible Takashi Miike; and Crispin Glover'sdarkly surreal What Is It'
Among titles playing in theFrontier section are: Jenni Olson's tale of a butch lesbian's journey ofself-discovery in The Joy Of Life;Kyle Henry's Room, about amiddle-aged woman from Texas haunted by psychic visions; and Reynold Reynold's Sugar, which centres on a one-room apartment that acts asa portal to a nightmare world. Special screenings include Don Argott'sdocumentary Rock School, inspiredby the hit comedy School Of Rock; Steve James' Reel Paradise, about the world's most remote cinema in Fiji; andFrederick Wiseman's documentary The Garden, about New York City's Madison Square Garden. The two SundanceCollection features this year are Barbara Kopple's 1976 miners' strikedocumentary Harlan County, U.S.A.,and Jim Jarmusch's 1986 feature Stranger Than Paradise, about a New York hipster who is visited by his16-year-old Hungarian cousin.
The short films selectionwill be announced Dec 6.
PREMIERES
3-Iron
South Korea
Dir: Kim Ki-duk. Scr: Kim Ki-duk
A transient young man breaks into empty homes to experience vacationingresidents' lives for a few days. US Premiere.
The Ballad Of Jack And Rose
USA
Dir/scr: Rebecca Miller
A father and daughter isolated on a secluded Pacific island commune grapplewith the limits of family and sexuality. World Premiere.
The Chumscrubber
USA
Dir: Arie Posin. Scr: Arie Posin and Zach Stanford
A dark and satirical story about life crumbling in the midst of seeminglyidyllic suburbia. World Premiere.
Dear Wendy
Denmark/Germany/France/UK
Dir: Thomas Vinterberg. Scr: Lars von Trier
A young boy in a nameless, timeless American town establishes a gang of youthfulmisfits united by their love of guns. World Premiere
Drum
South Africa
Dir: Zola Maseko. Scr: Jason Filardi
A hot-shot journalist is swept up in a movement to challenge Apartheid in 1950sSouth Africa. US Premiere.
Game 6
USA
Dir: Michael Hoffman. Scr: DonDeLillo
Combining real and fictional events and centered on the historic 1986 baseballWorld Series, this is a day-in-the-life snapshot of a playwright who skips hisown opening night to watch the momentous game. World Premiere.
The Girl from Monday
USA
Dir/scr: Hal Hartley
A comic drama about a time in the near future when citizens are happy to beproperty traded on the stock exchange. World Premiere.
Happy Endings
USA
Dir/scr: Don Roos
Weaving multiple storylines, this picture offers a witty take on love, family,and the sheer unpredictability of life itself. World Premiere. Opening Night, ParkCity.
Heights
USA
Dir: Chris Terrio. Scr: Amy Fox andChris Terrio
In one 24-hour period, five New Yorkers are challenged to choose their owndestinies before the sun comes up the next day. World Premiere.
Inside Deep Throat
USA
Dirs: Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato
More than 30 years after Deep Throat's provocative debut, this documentary examines the social legacy of oneof the most profitable films of all-time. World Premiere.
The Jacket
USA
Dir: John Maybury. Scr: MassyTadjedin
A military veteran travels into the future, where he witnesses his own deathand he is left with questions that could save the lives of those he loves.World Premiere.
Kung Fu Hustle
Hong Kong/China
Dir: Stephen Chow. Scr: Tsang Kan Cheong, Chow, and Chan Man Keung
A wannabe gangster in 1940s China aspires to join the notorious "Axe Gang",while an obnoxious landlady and her apparently frail husband exhibitextraordinary powers in defending their turf. US Premiere.
Lackawanna Blues
USA
Dire: George C Wolfe. Scr: Ruben Santiago-Hudson
In a story infused with rhythm and blues, a young boy's life is shaped by loveand the stories of the cast of characters in the boarding house where he lives.World Premiere.
Layer Cake
UK
Dir: Matthew Vaughn. Scr J J Connolly
A successful cocaine dealer on the verge of retirement is lured back into business by a love interestand an international drug ring. North American Premiere.
Loverboy
USA
Dir: Kevin Bacon. Scr: HannahShakespeare
A neglected daughter becomes a possessive mother in an emotional journey intothe heart and mind of a woman who loved too much. World Premiere.
Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School
USA
Dir: Randall Miller. Scr: Randall Miller and Jody Savin
A widower's life is turned upside-down when he embarks on a journey to find adying man's long-lost love. World Premiere.
The Matador
USA
Dir/scr: Richard Shepard
When a globetrotting hitman and a crestfallen businessman meet in a hotel barin Mexico City, their encounter draws them together in a way neither expected.World Premiere.
Mirrormask
UK
Dir: Dave McKean. Scr: Neil Gaiman
In a fantasyland of opposing kingdoms, a 15-year-old girl must find the fabledMirrormask in order to save her kingdom and return home. World Premiere.
Mysterious Skin
USA
Dir/scr: Gregg Araki
A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross pathsand together discover a horrible truth.US Premiere.
Nine Lives
USA
Dir/scr: Rodrigo Garcia
Nine women deal with the travails and disappointments of life. World Premiere.
Reefer Madness
USA
Dir: Andy Fickman. Scr: Dan Studney and Kevin Murphy
A tongue-in-cheek musical comedy adaptation of the classic 1936 anti-marijuanapropaganda film. World Premiere.
Rory O'Shea Was Here
UK
Dir: Damien O'Donnell. Scr: Jeffrey Caine
When the kinetic Rory moves into a home for the disabled, he changes the lifeof a young man with cerebral palsy and encourages him to experience life outsidethe confines of the system. North American Premiere.
Snowland
Germany
Dir/scr: Hans W Geissendorfer
In the snowy landscape of Finland, a newly-widowed writer discovers the tracesof a bygone love story and finds a way back to her own life. World Premiere.
Upside of Anger
USA
Dir/scr: Mike Binder
When her husband unexpectedly disappears, a sharp-witted suburban wife and herdaughters juggle their mother's romantic dilemmas and shifting family dynamics.World Premiere.
AMERICAN SPECTRUM
212
Dir/scr: Anthony Ng
Living in matchbox apartments and working mundane jobs, three sets of urbanitesstruggle to connect with each other in New York City. World Premiere.
5th World
Dir/scr: Blackhorse Lowe
Andrei and Aria, two young Navajos, hitchhike through their ancestral lands ona journey home. World Premiere.
Duane Hopwood
Dir/scr: Matt Mulhern
Set in Atlantic around the Thanksgiving holiday, a recently divorced casino pitboss feeds his depression with alcoholism. When an Irish bartender, two quirkyneighbours, and an aspiring comedian come along, he is given a new promise offamily and love. World Premiere.
High School Record
Dir/scr: Ben Wolfinsohn
A portrait of four exceptional and at times painfully awkward 17-year-olds asthey struggle through their senior year. World Premiere.
Love, Ludlow
Dir: Adrienne Weiss. Scr: DavidPaterson
Myra is a no-nonsense young temp from Queens whose home life is dominated byher eccentric brother Ludlow. When Myra agrees to date the charming butvulnerable Reggie it seems that things could change. World Premiere.
Mitchellville
Dir/scr: John D Harkrider
The story of the relationship between two very different men: Gabriel, ahandsome, ambitious, 34-year-old corporate lawyer, and Ken, a talented, aging,classical musician.
The Motel
Dir/scr: Michael Kang
Ernest Chin, a chubby Chinese kid, works at his family's sleazy motel where hemeets Sam Kim, a charismatic but troubled man who teaches him a few lifelessons. World Premiere.
The Puffy Chair
Dir: Jay Duplass. Scr: Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass
Josh Sagers drives cross-country on a mission to deliver his father's birthdaygift a giant purple Lazy Boy.World Premiere.
Rize
Dir: David LaChapelle
Documentary charting a dance movement rising out of South Los Angeles withroots in clowning and street youth culture. World Premiere.
The Salon
Dir/scr: Mark Brown.
A day in the life of a beauty shop, where a woman finds romance as shestruggles to save her business from the Department of Water and Power. WorldPremiere.
Saving Face
Dir/scr: Alice Wu
A Chinese-American lesbian and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to gopublic with secret loves that clash against cultural expectations. US Premiere.
Steal Me
Dir/scr: Melissa Painter
Jake is a 15-year-old kleptomaniac with a mother fixation who finds his wayinto the small town family of his dreams. World Premiere.
Swimmers
Dir/scr: Doug Sadler
After an accident in a small Maryland fishing town, 11-year-old Emma forms anintense friendship with a volatile woman and begins to question the nature ofthe adults around her. World Premiere.
The Talent Given Us
Dir/scr: Andrew Wagner
A retired New York City couple drives across the country to reconnect withtheir reclusive son in Los Angeles while their two unmarried, thirtysomethingdaughters tag along.
This Revolution
Dir/scr: Stephen Marshall
In this politically charged homage to Medium Cool (1969), a jaded warphotographer is sent on assignment to cover the protests on the streets of the2004 Republican National Convention in New York City. World Premiere.
PARK CITY AT MIDNIGHT
9 Songs
USA
Dir/scr: Michael Winterbottom
In between attending rock concerts, two lovers meet for intense sexualencounters. US Premiere.
Dirty Love
USA
Dir: John Asher. Scr: Jenny McCarthy
A jilted photographer sets off on a mission to get back at her philanderingmodel boyfriend and along the way discovers that not all love is created equal.World Premiere.
Hard Candy
USA
Dir: David Slade. Scr: Brian Nelson
A provocative drama about the surprising consequences when a 32-year-old mantakes home a 14-year-old girl he meets on the internet. World Premiere.
Matando Cabos
Mexico
Dir/scr: Alejandro Lozano
A dark, offbeat comedy about a group of Mexico City teens embroiled in akidnapping involving a retired wrestling legend and a parrot. US Premiere.
Old Boy
South Korea
Dir: Park Chan-Wook. Scr: Park Chan-Wook, Hwang Jo-yun and Lim Jun-hyeong
After being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, Oh Dae-Su is released, onlyto discover that he must find his captor in five days. US Premiere.
Strangers With Candy
USA
Dir: Paul Dinello. Scr: Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello and Stephen Colbert
A prequel to the critically acclaimed television series featuring Jerri Blank,centering on a 46 year-old ex-junkie and ex-con who returns to high school in abid to start her life anew. World Premiere.
Three...extremes
Hong Kong-South Korea-Japan
Dirs: Fruit Chan, Park Chan-Wook and Takashi Miike. Scr: Lilian Lee, ParkChan-Wook and Haruko Fukushima
An Asian cross-cultural trilogy of horror films from accomplished independentdirectors. US Premiere.
What is it'
USA
Dir/scr: Crispin Glover
This bewildering, unnerving, surreal, and darkly comic film depicts thestruggles of a young man who faces villains and demons on multipleplanes. World Premiere
FRONTIER
Film Actions V
USA
Dir: Luke Savisky
Projection performance artist Luke Savisky, known for conjuring moving imagesin unusual places (bodies through windows, feet in ceiling corners, anddisembodied legs in thin air), unveils his newest creations. World Premiere.
The Joy Of Life
Dir/Scr: Jenni Olson
An unconventional exploration of the history of the Golden Gate Bridge as asuicide landmark, and the story of a butch lesbian who traverses San Franciscoin search of self-discovery. World Premiere.
Room
USA
Dir/scr: Kyle Henry
An over-worked, middle-aged Texas woman haunted by psychic visions is compelledto travel to New York in search of the chapel-like room she imagines. WorldPremiere.
Sugar
Dirs: Reynold Reynolds and Patrick Jolley. Scr: Reynold Reynolds, PatrickJolley and Samara Golden
When a young woman rents a shabby one-room apartment, she unwittingly opens adoor to visions, nightmares, haunted memories, and revenge. World Premiere.
Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2
USA
Dir/scr: William Greaves
In 1968 Central Park a director shot scenes of a young couple whose marriagewas falling apart. Thirty-five years later the three reunite as the directorrelentlessly pursues the ever-elusive symbiopsychotaxiplasmic moment. WorldPremiere.
Tropic Of Cancer
Mexico
Dir: Eugenio Polgovsky
At the height of the Tropic of Cancer in the desert of San Luis Potosi, Mexico,various families survive by hunting animals which they then sell on thefreeway. US Premiere.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Ballets Russes
USA
Dir: Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller
An intimate portrait of a group of pioneering artists
The Emperor's Journey
France
Dir: Luc Jacquet
An epic story of penguins traveling hundreds of miles across treacherousAntarctic ice floes in their heroic struggle for survival. World Premiere.
The Garden
USA
Dir: Frederick Wiseman
Documentary film about Madison Square Garden. World Premiere.
The Protocols Of Zion
USA
Dir: Marc Levin
Filmmaker Marc Levin sets out to understand and challenge those who believe theJews were responsible for the 9/11 terror attacks. World Premiere.
Reel Paradise
USA
Dir: Steve James
Indie film guru John Pierson takes his family to Fiji for one year to run theworld's most remote movie theatre. World Premiere.
Rock School
USA
Dir: Don Argott
At the real-life School of Rock a group of misfit kids get in touch with theirinner rock stars.
Green Bush
Australia
Dir: Warwick Thornton
A Thousand Roads
USA
Dir: Chris Eyre
Weaving together the complex lives of different characters, these two shortfilms offer stunning visual depictions of how modern radio can build communityin far-flung locations.
SUNDANCE COLLECTION
Harlan County, U.S.A.
USA
Dir: Barbara Kopple
This documentary focuses on the 1973 coal miners' strike against the BrooksideMine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky. (1976).
Stranger Than Paradise
USA
Dir/scr: Jim Jarmusch
A self-styled New York hipster is paid a surprise and quite unwelcome visit byhis pretty 16-year-old Hungarian cousin. The relationship between the twoexiles progresses from initial hostility to indifference to a strange mutualaffection. (1984).
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