Now that Sundance has announced the complete lineup of 118 films showing at the upcoming film festival, those of us who aren’t lucky enough to make it to Park City can read about some of the films we might get a chance to see someday.
Looking over the list of competing and non-competing films, there are dozens that look promising – by description alone at least.
A complete list is available HERE. These are some of the films that caught our attention:
In-Competition
U.S. Drama
Big Fan (Director and Screenwriter: Robert Siegel) – The world of a parking garage attendant who happens to be the New York Giants’ biggest fan is turned upside down after an altercation with his favorite player. Cast: Patton Oswalt, Michael Rapaport, Kevin Corrigan, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Matt Servitto. World Premiere
Cold Souls (Director and Screenwrtier: Sophie Barthes) – In the midst of an existential crisis, a famous American actor explores soul extraction as a relief from the burdens of daily life. Cast: Paul Giamatti, David Strathairn, Dina Korzun, Emily Watson, Lauren Ambrose, Katheryn Winnick. World Premiere
U.S. Documentary
Art & Copy (Director: Doug Pray; Screenwriter: Timothy J. Sexton) – Rare interviews with the most influential advertising creative minds of our age illustrate the wide-reaching effect advertising and creativity have on modern culture. World Premiere
Reporter (Director: Eric Daniel Metzgar) – Set in Africa, this documentary chronicles, in verité fashion, the haunting, physically grueling and shocking voyage of Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist, Nicholas D. Kristof. World Premiere.
We Live in Public (Director and Screenwriter: Ondi Timoner) – We Live in Public is the story of the Internet’s revolutionary impact on human interaction as told through the eyes of maverick web pioneer, Josh Harris and his transgressive art project that shocked New York. World Premiere
World Cinema Drama
An Education/UK (Director: Lone Scherfig; Screenwriter: Nick Hornby) – In the early 60s, a sharp 16-year-old with sights set on Oxford meets a handsome older man whose sophistication enraptures and sidetracks both her and her parents. Cast: Peter Sarsgaard, Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina, Emma Thompson. World Premiere
Five Minutes of Heaven /UK / (Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel; Screenwriter: Guy Hibbert) – Two men from the same town but from different sides of the Irish political divide discover that the past is never dead – in fact it isn’t even past. Cast: Liam Neeson, James Nesbitt, Anamaria Marinca. World Premiere
Zion and His Brother (Zion Ve-Achiv)/ France / Israel (Director and Screenwriter: Eran Merav) – The disappearance of a young boy sends a wedge between two teenage brothers whose loyalty had been unshakeable, in this gritty story of a working class Tel Aviv single-parent family. Cast: Reuven Badalov, Ronit Elkabetz, Tzahi Grad. World Premiere
World Cinema Documentary
Big River Man/ USA (Director: John Maringouin) – An overweight, wine-swilling Slovenian world-record-holding endurance swimmer resolves to brave the mighty Amazon – in nothing but a Speedo®. World Premiere
Burma VJ/Denmark (Director: Anders Ostergaard) – In September 2007, Burmese journalists risking life imprisonment to report from inside their sealed-off country are suddenly thrown onto the global stage as their pocket camera images of the Saffron Revolution make headlines everywhere. U.S. Premiere
Out of competition
Premieres
Adventureland / USA (Director and Screenwriter: Greg Mottola)—In 1987, a recent college graduate takes a nowhere job at his local amusement park and discovers the job is perfect preparation for the real world. Cast: Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader. World Premiere
I Love You Philip Morris / USA (Directors and Screenwriters: Glenn Ficarra and John Requa)—The true story about con artist and imposter Steven Jay Russell, a married father whose exploits land him in the Texas criminal justice system. Based on the novel by Houston Chronicle crime reporter Steve McVicker. Cast: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro. World Premiere
Spectrum Drama
The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle / USA (Director and Screenwriter: David Russo)—After losing his high-paying job, Dory takes a gig as a night janitor in order to pay rent. Alone late at night inside a market research firm, he discovers something worse than his new job cleaning toilets – a conniving corporate executive has made him the subject of a bizarre experiment. Cast: Marshall Allman, Vince Vieluf, Natasha Lyonne, Tania Raymonde, Tygh Runyan. World Premiere
Spectrum Documentary
The Yes Men Fix the World / France/ USA (Directors: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno and Kurt Engfehr)—A pair of notorious troublemakers sneak into corporate events disguised as captains of industry, then use their momentary authority to expose the biggest criminals on the planet. Cast: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno. World Premiere
No Impact Man / USA (Directors: Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein)—The documentary follows the Beavan family as they abandon their high consumption Fifth Avenue lifestyle in an attempt to make a no- net environmental impact for the course of one year. Cast: Michelle Conlin, Colin Beavan. World Premiere
Frontier
Lunch Break/Exit / USA (Director: Sharon Lockhart)—Lunch Break and Exit yield from Lockhart’s timely new film and photographic series about the bleak state of U.S. labor. In Lunch Break, a single tracking shot through a long corridor where workers take their lunch hour at the massive shipyard, Bath Iron Works in Maine, reveals how 42 workers spend their lunch break. In Exit, the frame constantly fills with teaming workers each day as they head for home after a long day’s work.
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