"Are you willing to take risks?" Big World Pictures has revealed an official US trailer for an indie thriller titled Disco Boy, marking the narrative feature debut of an Italian filmmaker named Giacomo Abbruzzese. This premiered at the 2023 Berlin Film Festival earlier this year to mostly positive reviews, and layer played at the New Directors/New Films Festival in NYC. The film stars acclaimed German actor Franz Rogowski as a Belarusian immigrant haunted by his actions as a mercenary in the French Foreign Legion. After fleeing Belarus, he joins the French Foreign Legion and goes through hell at boot camp to make it out as a soldier & gain his French citizenship. It also stars Morr Ndiaye, Laetitia Ky, Leon Lucev, Robert Wieckiewicz, and Matteo Olivetti. Disco Boy will open at The Quad in New York City on February 2nd, and at Laemmle Theaters in LA on February 9th. The "ambitious film is a jarring,...
- 12/13/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
There’s an air of sad desperation that hangs over Working Class Goes to Hell. Things have been rough in this unnamed Serbian town since a fire at the May Day Factory killed nine people. And while the town’s wealthy elite, including a shady bar owner, organized crime boss Snowman, and even the corrupt mayor are all prospering, the titular working class are struggling to get by.
The film opens with Ceca (Tamara Krcunovic), an unofficial labour organizer, leading a protest outside the factory owner’s office. He’s plotting to open a new eco-incinerator that will supposedly bring jobs, prosperity, and attention to the region, but it’s clear that wealth won’t trickle down to those who need it.
In the meantime, the residents get by working shifts at the local tavern, becoming de facto sex workers at a new hotel, or engaging in long shot schemes...
The film opens with Ceca (Tamara Krcunovic), an unofficial labour organizer, leading a protest outside the factory owner’s office. He’s plotting to open a new eco-incinerator that will supposedly bring jobs, prosperity, and attention to the region, but it’s clear that wealth won’t trickle down to those who need it.
In the meantime, the residents get by working shifts at the local tavern, becoming de facto sex workers at a new hotel, or engaging in long shot schemes...
- 9/15/2023
- by Joe Lipsett
- bloody-disgusting.com
"There's no turning back now." Something new from Serbia! TIFF has unveiled a festival promo trailer for a Serbian horror dark comedy called Working Class Goes To Hell, the second feature film by director Mladen Djordjevic. Sounds like something wacky and funny and weird and crazy. Here is the quick TIFF intro: "A small-town labor union turns to the dark arts for empowerment against the corrupt forces in their community in Mladen Đorđević’s timely and disturbing socio-horror satire." Essentially it's about a group of workers from a factory that has closed who decide to reach out to the supernatural in a struggle for personal dignity. They, of course, unleash mostly just madness. "One is reminded that sometimes the only salvation for the working class, besides solidarity, is a sharp sense of humor." The cast features Tamara Krcunovic, Leon Lucev, Ivan Djordjevic, Mirsad Tuka, Szilvia Krizsan, Lidija Kordic, and Momo Picuric.
- 9/5/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Germany-based sales agent Patra Spanou Film has acquired rights to “Working Class Goes to Hell,” which will world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival’s Midnight Madness strand.
Directed by Mladen Đorđević (“The Life and Death of a Porno Gang”), the film follows a group of ex-workers, who, after losing their loved ones, jobs, and dignity to a tragic factory fire and corrupt privatization, seek hope and justice in the supernatural.
The cast includes Tamara Krcunovic (“Humidity”), Leon Lucev (“The Load”), Momo Picuric, Ivan Djordjevic, Lidija Kordic, Mirsad Tuka, Szilvia Krizsan and Tomislav Trifunovic.
“Working Class Goes to Hell,” previously titled “Labour Day,” is supported by Film Center Serbia, Bulgarian National Film Centre, Greek Film Centre, Film Centre of Montenegro, Croatian Audiovisual Centre and Eurimages. The film is produced by Milan Stojanovic (Sense Production), Mladen Djordjevic (Banda), Martichka Bozhilova and Neda Milanova (Agitprop), Maria Drandaki (Homemade Films), Ivan Marinovic...
Directed by Mladen Đorđević (“The Life and Death of a Porno Gang”), the film follows a group of ex-workers, who, after losing their loved ones, jobs, and dignity to a tragic factory fire and corrupt privatization, seek hope and justice in the supernatural.
The cast includes Tamara Krcunovic (“Humidity”), Leon Lucev (“The Load”), Momo Picuric, Ivan Djordjevic, Lidija Kordic, Mirsad Tuka, Szilvia Krizsan and Tomislav Trifunovic.
“Working Class Goes to Hell,” previously titled “Labour Day,” is supported by Film Center Serbia, Bulgarian National Film Centre, Greek Film Centre, Film Centre of Montenegro, Croatian Audiovisual Centre and Eurimages. The film is produced by Milan Stojanovic (Sense Production), Mladen Djordjevic (Banda), Martichka Bozhilova and Neda Milanova (Agitprop), Maria Drandaki (Homemade Films), Ivan Marinovic...
- 9/4/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Danger Zone
Director: Vita Maria Drygas
Producer: Vita Żelakeviciute
Production companies: Drygas Film Production
Sales: Dogwoof
Documentary is a journey to places devastated by military conflicts, seen through the eyes of thrill-seeking tourists.
Delegation
(Generation 14plus)
Director: Asaf Saban
Cast: Yoav Bavly, Neomi Harari, Leib Lev Levin, Ezra Dagan, Alma Dishy
Producers: Agnieszka Dziedzic, Yoav Roeh, Aurit Zamir, Roshanak Behesht Nedjad
Production companies: Koi Studio, Gum Films, In Good Co.
Sales: New Europe Film Sales
Three Israeli friends visit Holocaust sites in Poland before their stints in the army, and deal with love, friendship and politics.
Disco Boy
(Competition)
Director: Giacomo Abbruzzese
Cast: Franz Rogowski, Morr Ndiaye, Laëtitia Ky, Leon Lučev
Producers: Lionel Massol, Pauline Seigland
Production companies: Films Grand Huit, Dugong Films, Panache Productions, La Compagnie Cinématographique, Donten & Lacroix, Division
Sales: Charades
Aleksei reaches Paris to enlist in the French Foreign Legion, which allows any foreigner, even undocumented, to be granted a French passport.
Director: Vita Maria Drygas
Producer: Vita Żelakeviciute
Production companies: Drygas Film Production
Sales: Dogwoof
Documentary is a journey to places devastated by military conflicts, seen through the eyes of thrill-seeking tourists.
Delegation
(Generation 14plus)
Director: Asaf Saban
Cast: Yoav Bavly, Neomi Harari, Leib Lev Levin, Ezra Dagan, Alma Dishy
Producers: Agnieszka Dziedzic, Yoav Roeh, Aurit Zamir, Roshanak Behesht Nedjad
Production companies: Koi Studio, Gum Films, In Good Co.
Sales: New Europe Film Sales
Three Israeli friends visit Holocaust sites in Poland before their stints in the army, and deal with love, friendship and politics.
Disco Boy
(Competition)
Director: Giacomo Abbruzzese
Cast: Franz Rogowski, Morr Ndiaye, Laëtitia Ky, Leon Lučev
Producers: Lionel Massol, Pauline Seigland
Production companies: Films Grand Huit, Dugong Films, Panache Productions, La Compagnie Cinématographique, Donten & Lacroix, Division
Sales: Charades
Aleksei reaches Paris to enlist in the French Foreign Legion, which allows any foreigner, even undocumented, to be granted a French passport.
- 2/19/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlin Film Festival on Monday unveiled the titles selected for its official competition as well as its sidebar Encounters competitive section.
A total of 18 films have been selected for the international competition with highlights including Christian Petzold’s latest film Roter Himmel (Afire), Margarethe von Trotta directing Phantom Thread star Vicky Krieps in Ingeborg Bachmann — Journey Into the Desert, and Philippe Garrel returns with a new feature titled The Plough.
Scroll down for the full lineup.
This morning the festival also revealed an extra special screening: Actor and filmmaker Sean Penn will debut a documentary titled Superpower, a film shot in Ukraine last year at the outbreak of Russia’s invasion and follows president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Berlin Film Festival takes place February 16-26.
Organizers have already announced more than 100 titles across sidebars spanning Panorama, Forum, and Berlinale Special. The festival had initially done a good job of increasing...
A total of 18 films have been selected for the international competition with highlights including Christian Petzold’s latest film Roter Himmel (Afire), Margarethe von Trotta directing Phantom Thread star Vicky Krieps in Ingeborg Bachmann — Journey Into the Desert, and Philippe Garrel returns with a new feature titled The Plough.
Scroll down for the full lineup.
This morning the festival also revealed an extra special screening: Actor and filmmaker Sean Penn will debut a documentary titled Superpower, a film shot in Ukraine last year at the outbreak of Russia’s invasion and follows president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Berlin Film Festival takes place February 16-26.
Organizers have already announced more than 100 titles across sidebars spanning Panorama, Forum, and Berlinale Special. The festival had initially done a good job of increasing...
- 1/23/2023
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Disco Boy
A project that received backing in the shape of a Cinefondation residency and an Arte Development Prize at the Arcs Film Festival’s Village of Coproductions, Italian filmmaker Giacomo Abbruzzese worked in the short form before graduating to this feature debut. Filmed in France and in Poland, Disco Boy was filmed in September of 2021. This depicts the painful journey of moving to an uncertain destination. Franz Rogowski, Morr N’Diaye, Laetitia Ky, Leon Lucev, Matteo Olivetti, Robert Wieckiewcz and Mutamba Kalonji star. Films Grand Huit’s Lionel Massol and Pauline Seigland produced the project. Hélène Louvart is the cinematographer here.…...
A project that received backing in the shape of a Cinefondation residency and an Arte Development Prize at the Arcs Film Festival’s Village of Coproductions, Italian filmmaker Giacomo Abbruzzese worked in the short form before graduating to this feature debut. Filmed in France and in Poland, Disco Boy was filmed in September of 2021. This depicts the painful journey of moving to an uncertain destination. Franz Rogowski, Morr N’Diaye, Laetitia Ky, Leon Lucev, Matteo Olivetti, Robert Wieckiewcz and Mutamba Kalonji star. Films Grand Huit’s Lionel Massol and Pauline Seigland produced the project. Hélène Louvart is the cinematographer here.…...
- 1/13/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Mother, the Bulgarian submission for this year’s International Feature Film Oscar race, has been deemed ineligible by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The film’s director, Zornitsa Sophia, announced the decision on social media this week.
Academy sources confirmed to Deadline that Mother has been rejected due to more than 50 of the spoken dialogue track being in the English language.
In her post, Zornitsa Sophia, whose 2004 film Mila From Mars was Bulgaria’s Oscar entry that year, explained that Mother‘s producing team had reached out to the Academy asking for clarification of the eligibility rule, which stipulates that “the recording of the original dialogue track as well as the completed picture must be predominantly (more than 50) in a language or languages other than English.”
She said that the Academy’s response was that eligibility is determined by timing the duration of the English and non-English dialogue,...
Academy sources confirmed to Deadline that Mother has been rejected due to more than 50 of the spoken dialogue track being in the English language.
In her post, Zornitsa Sophia, whose 2004 film Mila From Mars was Bulgaria’s Oscar entry that year, explained that Mother‘s producing team had reached out to the Academy asking for clarification of the eligibility rule, which stipulates that “the recording of the original dialogue track as well as the completed picture must be predominantly (more than 50) in a language or languages other than English.”
She said that the Academy’s response was that eligibility is determined by timing the duration of the English and non-English dialogue,...
- 9/21/2022
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Before we highlight this week’s picks, I want to give a special shout-out to our newly-launched Twitter account for Michael Snydel’s podcast Intermission. He’s sharing daily, well-curated streaming recommendations, so be sure to give it a follow!
Beast (Baltasar Kormakur)
There’s no better form of getting over a dead parent or spouse than combatting a killer animal. At least that’s the thesis of The Shallows, Crawl, and now Beast. Arriving in the coveted late-August B-movie spot (basically the January doldrums for slightly cooler people), Beast is a lean and likably earnest, if slightly unremarkable, creature feature. The newest from director Baltasar Kormakur––who has not quite graduated to the IP blockbuster class while his contemporary Jaume Collet-Serra...
Before we highlight this week’s picks, I want to give a special shout-out to our newly-launched Twitter account for Michael Snydel’s podcast Intermission. He’s sharing daily, well-curated streaming recommendations, so be sure to give it a follow!
Beast (Baltasar Kormakur)
There’s no better form of getting over a dead parent or spouse than combatting a killer animal. At least that’s the thesis of The Shallows, Crawl, and now Beast. Arriving in the coveted late-August B-movie spot (basically the January doldrums for slightly cooler people), Beast is a lean and likably earnest, if slightly unremarkable, creature feature. The newest from director Baltasar Kormakur––who has not quite graduated to the IP blockbuster class while his contemporary Jaume Collet-Serra...
- 9/9/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Click here to read the full article.
As the stunning Murina opens, a blue expanse of water fills the frame like a painterly abstraction. Two divers drift into view, otherworldly in their masks and flippers and seemingly united in their spear-fishing mission. Once they’re back in the sunlight, though, their moray-eel prey dying in a pail between them on the boat, the man and his 17-year-old daughter are not in harmony. They might even be mortal enemies.
With an exceptional quartet of lead actors and a potent immersion in the Croatian island locale — you can practically smell the salt air and sea — Murina draws the viewer straight into its emotional undertow. Director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic and her co-writer, Frank Graziano, have constructed a taut story bristling with unease, and one that looks head-on at conflict. The father-daughter power struggle between Ante (Leon Lučev) and Julija (Gracija Filipović) is right...
As the stunning Murina opens, a blue expanse of water fills the frame like a painterly abstraction. Two divers drift into view, otherworldly in their masks and flippers and seemingly united in their spear-fishing mission. Once they’re back in the sunlight, though, their moray-eel prey dying in a pail between them on the boat, the man and his 17-year-old daughter are not in harmony. They might even be mortal enemies.
With an exceptional quartet of lead actors and a potent immersion in the Croatian island locale — you can practically smell the salt air and sea — Murina draws the viewer straight into its emotional undertow. Director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic and her co-writer, Frank Graziano, have constructed a taut story bristling with unease, and one that looks head-on at conflict. The father-daughter power struggle between Ante (Leon Lučev) and Julija (Gracija Filipović) is right...
- 7/15/2022
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This review was adapted from a piece that ran on “Murina” when the film premiered in Cannes in July 2021.
The last few weeks in the United States have lent resonance to a current in international films that’s been growing over the past couple of years – stories of young women trying to find places for themselves in environments that afford them little or no agency in their own lives. The films have nothing to do with Roe v. Wade, but from the recent Cannes period drama “Corsage” (a royal woman chafing under physical and societal constraints) to the unsettling Costa Rican film “Clara Sola” (which puts a mystical spin on the awakening of female power) the movies can feel timely to viewers that see their own boundaries narrowing.
First-time Croatian director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s “Murina,” which won the Camera d’Or as the best first film at Cannes in 2021 and comes to U.
The last few weeks in the United States have lent resonance to a current in international films that’s been growing over the past couple of years – stories of young women trying to find places for themselves in environments that afford them little or no agency in their own lives. The films have nothing to do with Roe v. Wade, but from the recent Cannes period drama “Corsage” (a royal woman chafing under physical and societal constraints) to the unsettling Costa Rican film “Clara Sola” (which puts a mystical spin on the awakening of female power) the movies can feel timely to viewers that see their own boundaries narrowing.
First-time Croatian director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s “Murina,” which won the Camera d’Or as the best first film at Cannes in 2021 and comes to U.
- 7/14/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s debut feature, Murina, is set on a Croatian island, where the adolescent protagonist Julija (Gracija Filipovic) usually fishes underwater with her father Ante (Leon Lucev). The fact that Julija usually observes the young people who have fun near her indicates an entire world is out there, waiting to be explored. Once the wealthy Javier (Cliff Curtis) – an old acquaintance of Ante and his wife Nela (Danica Curcic) – makes his appearance as he might invest in land, the main family’s reality surfaces. Ante’s repressive actions towards the women in his life become more nasty. Javier and Nela are evidently...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 7/13/2022
- Screen Anarchy
Last year at Cannes, writer-director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović won the Caméra d’Or for “Murina,” a tempestuous psychodrama set along Croatia’s shimmering Dalmatian coast. Now out in select U.S. theaters and expanding across July, the film follows 17-year-old Julija (Gracija Filipovic), whose deep-seated desire to flee her abusive father (Leon Lucev) and acquiescent mother (Danica Curcic) suddenly surges to the surface when a family friend (Cliff Curtis) comes to visit, offering her a rare chance to escape their remote-island abode.
Continue reading ‘Murina’ Director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović Talks Fearless Filmmaking & Fearing The Sea [Interview] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Murina’ Director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović Talks Fearless Filmmaking & Fearing The Sea [Interview] at The Playlist.
- 7/11/2022
- by Isaac Feldberg
- The Playlist
The nation’s fourth-largest cinema chain is testing a new subscription program called MovieFlex+ that includes a curated set of small and mid-sized films each week for no extra charge.
“We can’t live off just blockbusters,” chairman and CEO Greg Marcus tells Deadline. “We cannot just live off dinner. We need breakfast and lunch too.”
The launch of the 14.99 monthly service comes as the box office renaissance for wide-release studio franchises is clear, but whether that’s trickling down to smaller films less so. At issue is the long-term health of a theatrical ecosystem with breadth and depth of product.
Marcus began testing MovieFlex+ in two markets in January along with a general subscription plan, also new, called MovieFlex for 9.99 a month that offers one free film of choice. Both programs have deals on concessions and other perks. At two Columbus theaters, Crossroads and Pickering, where both programs are available,...
“We can’t live off just blockbusters,” chairman and CEO Greg Marcus tells Deadline. “We cannot just live off dinner. We need breakfast and lunch too.”
The launch of the 14.99 monthly service comes as the box office renaissance for wide-release studio franchises is clear, but whether that’s trickling down to smaller films less so. At issue is the long-term health of a theatrical ecosystem with breadth and depth of product.
Marcus began testing MovieFlex+ in two markets in January along with a general subscription plan, also new, called MovieFlex for 9.99 a month that offers one free film of choice. Both programs have deals on concessions and other perks. At two Columbus theaters, Crossroads and Pickering, where both programs are available,...
- 7/8/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s career is off to quite a start: the filmmaker made her feature debut with “Murina,” which won the Camera d’Or upon its 2021 Cannes premiere. But while it’s a distinctly feminine film, Kusijanović’s coming-of-age drama isn’t your typical “woman film,” as Kusijanović told IndieWire. And that may be its greatest asset — and a look at what’s to come for the rising star.
The lushly voyeuristic “carnal” family drama centers on 17-year-old diver and eel fisherwoman Julija (Gracija Filipović) as she struggles to slip out of the dictatorial grasp of her father Ante (Leon Lucev) and stifled mother Nela (Danica Curcic). When wealthy family friend Javier (Cliff Curtis) comes to town for a business investment, Julija sees a way out — no matter the cost.
Set along Croatia’s Adriatic coast, “Murina” features cinematography by “The Lost Daughter” and “Never Rarely Sometimes Always...
The lushly voyeuristic “carnal” family drama centers on 17-year-old diver and eel fisherwoman Julija (Gracija Filipović) as she struggles to slip out of the dictatorial grasp of her father Ante (Leon Lucev) and stifled mother Nela (Danica Curcic). When wealthy family friend Javier (Cliff Curtis) comes to town for a business investment, Julija sees a way out — no matter the cost.
Set along Croatia’s Adriatic coast, “Murina” features cinematography by “The Lost Daughter” and “Never Rarely Sometimes Always...
- 7/8/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
"He forgets about us the moment he boards the plane." Kino Lorber has revealed another new official US trailer for the worth watching Croatian film Murina, now opening in July in the US in just a few months. I highly recommend seeing this when it opens, worth it on the big screen. It initially premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival playing in Director's Fortnight, winner of the Golden Camera award. A Croatian teen tries to replace her controlling father with a wealthy foreigner on a weekend trip to the Adriatic Sea, causing turmoil. She hopes it will help her escape her life at home for something more, but it doesn't go as planned. Starring Gracija Filipovic as Julija, Danica Curcic, Leon Lucev, Cliff Curtis, and Jonas Smulders. I saw this film during TIFF last year and it's fantastic. Excellent cinematography and a riveting story about this young woman fighting back against her misogynistic father.
- 5/31/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
An eel will eat its own skin to survive. So what would a teenage girl — a similarly slippery force of nature — be willing to do for her freedom?
Director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović helms the coming-of-age story and 2021 Cannes Camera d’Or winner “Murina,” which opens in select theaters July 8, as distributed stateside by Kino Lorber. Executive-produced by Martin Scorsese and featuring cinematography by “The Lost Daughter” and “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” director of photography Hélène Louvart, the lush family drama is a captivating Croatian tale of mother-daughter jealousies, outdated patriarchal powers, and adolescent angst. Watch the trailer for the film, exclusively on IndieWire, below.
“Murina,” which translates to eel, takes place along Croatia’s Adriatic coast and hones in on 17-year-old diver and eel fisherwoman Julija (Gracija Filipović) as she grapples with her suffocating father Ante (Leon Lucev) and stifled mother Nela (Danica Curcic). When wealthy family friend Javier (Cliff Curtis...
Director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović helms the coming-of-age story and 2021 Cannes Camera d’Or winner “Murina,” which opens in select theaters July 8, as distributed stateside by Kino Lorber. Executive-produced by Martin Scorsese and featuring cinematography by “The Lost Daughter” and “Never Rarely Sometimes Always” director of photography Hélène Louvart, the lush family drama is a captivating Croatian tale of mother-daughter jealousies, outdated patriarchal powers, and adolescent angst. Watch the trailer for the film, exclusively on IndieWire, below.
“Murina,” which translates to eel, takes place along Croatia’s Adriatic coast and hones in on 17-year-old diver and eel fisherwoman Julija (Gracija Filipović) as she grapples with her suffocating father Ante (Leon Lucev) and stifled mother Nela (Danica Curcic). When wealthy family friend Javier (Cliff Curtis...
- 5/31/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
It’s no mean feat to win the coveted Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, but that’s precisely what Mulina, by debutant writer/director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic, managed to do last year. At times a gripping psychological drama, set against a slice of the laid-back Adriatic lifestyle, this movie is a worthy recipient.
And yet the big irony is that the theme of this movie is ultimately about broadening horizons, something it doesn’t quite manage to do itself.
Julija (Gracija Filipovic) is a young girl who’s unhappier than your average teen. Things have gone somewhat south for her since her mother (Danica Curcic) remarried, and her ultra-strict stepfather (Leon Lucev) arived on the scene, making life on an idyllic Croatian island unbearable for both mother and daughter at times. Enter Javier (Cliff Curtis), a genial and well-travelled friend of the family, who unwittingly puts some spice back in their lives.
And yet the big irony is that the theme of this movie is ultimately about broadening horizons, something it doesn’t quite manage to do itself.
Julija (Gracija Filipovic) is a young girl who’s unhappier than your average teen. Things have gone somewhat south for her since her mother (Danica Curcic) remarried, and her ultra-strict stepfather (Leon Lucev) arived on the scene, making life on an idyllic Croatian island unbearable for both mother and daughter at times. Enter Javier (Cliff Curtis), a genial and well-travelled friend of the family, who unwittingly puts some spice back in their lives.
- 4/8/2022
- by Dan Green
- The Cultural Post
This confident debut is set on the rocky Adriatic coast where a spear fisher plays a dangerous game with his wife, daughter and a dodgy land deal
There is a lot about emotional tension and teen yearning and the semi-official sexiness of swimming costumes in this confident directorial debut from Croatian film-maker Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic, though I wondered about some beautifully shot visual cliches.
Julija (Gracija Filipovic) is the teenage daughter of Ante (Leon Lucev), an aggressively insecure man whom she has to help, diving underwater with him while he makes a living on the rocky Adriatic coastline spear-fishing moray eels (the “murina” of the title). She is reasonably close to her mum Nela (Danica Curcic) but otherwise unhappily proud and self-contained. Her father is jittery with excitement because his old friend Javi (Cliff Curtis) is coming to visit: a super-rich alpha male who may be interested in buying some...
There is a lot about emotional tension and teen yearning and the semi-official sexiness of swimming costumes in this confident directorial debut from Croatian film-maker Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic, though I wondered about some beautifully shot visual cliches.
Julija (Gracija Filipovic) is the teenage daughter of Ante (Leon Lucev), an aggressively insecure man whom she has to help, diving underwater with him while he makes a living on the rocky Adriatic coastline spear-fishing moray eels (the “murina” of the title). She is reasonably close to her mum Nela (Danica Curcic) but otherwise unhappily proud and self-contained. Her father is jittery with excitement because his old friend Javi (Cliff Curtis) is coming to visit: a super-rich alpha male who may be interested in buying some...
- 4/6/2022
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
"What secrets are you hiding?" Modern Films UK has revealed an official trailer for Murina, an excellent film from Croatia marking the feature directorial debut of Croatian filmmaker Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic. This initially premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival playing in the Director's Fortnight sidebar. A teenage girl decides to replace her controlling father with his wealthy foreign friend during a weekend trip to the Adriatic Sea, causing turmoil. She hopes that this will help her escape her life at home for something more, but it doesn't go as planned. I saw this film at the Toronto Film Festival last year and Loved it. It's absolutely gorgeous - not only the cinematography (including some great underwater scenes) but the story about a young woman pushing back against her traditionalist parents and figuring out her own way in this modern world. I can't recommend it enough. Starring Gracija Filipovic, Danica Curcic,...
- 3/28/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Now in its 11th edition, the Museum of the Moving Image’s First Look festival brings together a varied, eclectic lineup of cinema from all corners of the world––including a number of films still seeking distribution, making the series perhaps one of your only chances to see these works on the big screen.
With the five-day festival kicking off Wednesday, March 16, we’ve gathered seven essential films to check out. Beginning this Friday, March 11, MoMI will also present Second Look, which looks back at selections from the past decade of the festival.
Babi Yar. Context (Sergei Loznitsa)
One of two new archival documentaries from Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa screening at First Look, Babi Yar. Context revisits the horrific September 1941 massacre of 33,771 Jews that took place outside Kyiv. Casting an unflinching eye in its assembly of footage, the Cannes prizewinner examines factors leading up to the atrocity as Nazis took...
With the five-day festival kicking off Wednesday, March 16, we’ve gathered seven essential films to check out. Beginning this Friday, March 11, MoMI will also present Second Look, which looks back at selections from the past decade of the festival.
Babi Yar. Context (Sergei Loznitsa)
One of two new archival documentaries from Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa screening at First Look, Babi Yar. Context revisits the horrific September 1941 massacre of 33,771 Jews that took place outside Kyiv. Casting an unflinching eye in its assembly of footage, the Cannes prizewinner examines factors leading up to the atrocity as Nazis took...
- 3/10/2022
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
Tereza sleeps alone in bed near the opening of “Tereza37,” Danilo Serbedzija’s placidly paced Croatian drama with edges both witty and shrewdly dark. It’s an image that stands as a fitting visual foreword to Serbedzija’s film, as Tereza is often solitary at home despite being married; her husband is regularly absent, gone out to the sea frequently on his unspecified aquatic job. Then the scene’s significance grows as Tereza rolls over, revealing her blood-soaked undergarments and sheets that Serbedzija’s matter-of-fact camera captures with unsentimental directness. Soon after she cleans it all up in a series of routine, Jeanne Dielman-esque moves, we realize that Tereza just had her fourth miscarriage, but wants to keep trying to conceive in a desperate pursuit of motherhood.
Perceptively written by Croatia’s prolific screen and stage actress Lana Barić — she also plays the titular character here with a thoughtful...
Perceptively written by Croatia’s prolific screen and stage actress Lana Barić — she also plays the titular character here with a thoughtful...
- 11/17/2021
- by Tomris Laffly
- Variety Film + TV
One of the hottest under-the-radar titles to emerge out of the 2021 Cannes Film Festival was Dubrovnik-born filmmaker Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s feature debut “Murina.” The film came to the Directors’ Fortnight with the imprimatur of executive producer Martin Scorsese and came out winning the Camera d’Or, the festival’s top prize for a first feature. With those recommendations, it’s baffling to find about a young woman’s blossoming sexuality under the spell of her mother’s old flame.
“Murina” sticks to familiarly opaque arthouse beats despite a dazzling symphonic opening sequence. And what an arresting sequence that opening is: In the capable hands of cinematographer Hélène Louvart, the film fades into an underwater shot of a rippling, cyan Mediterranean surface. It’s set to a stir of strings(from composers Evgueni and Sacha Galperine) that build toward a moment that feels like a cinematic overture. We then see two people,...
“Murina” sticks to familiarly opaque arthouse beats despite a dazzling symphonic opening sequence. And what an arresting sequence that opening is: In the capable hands of cinematographer Hélène Louvart, the film fades into an underwater shot of a rippling, cyan Mediterranean surface. It’s set to a stir of strings(from composers Evgueni and Sacha Galperine) that build toward a moment that feels like a cinematic overture. We then see two people,...
- 9/13/2021
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
We often forget that exotic locales aren’t an escape for those living here. While co-eds dock ashore for sun, sex, and fun, families merely wake up early to go spearfishing so they have dinner that night. The psychological toll of constantly looking out your window at happy faces while dealing with the futility of teenage living under a domineering father with few (if any) opportunities to leave must be daunting. So when Julija (Gracija Filipovic) exits the water to see her father’s (Leon Lucev’s Ante) rich friend from a past life (Cliff Curtis’ Javi) has arrived, she wonders about the possibilities he brings. Ante and her mother (Danica Curcic’s Nela) hope to sell him land. Julija hopes he’ll save her.
And why shouldn’t she? Julija sees the way Javi looks at her mother (and the way she looks back). She also senses the jealousy...
And why shouldn’t she? Julija sees the way Javi looks at her mother (and the way she looks back). She also senses the jealousy...
- 9/13/2021
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
The film is executive produced by Martin Scorsese.
Modern Films has acquired UK-Ireland distribution rights to Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s Camera d’Or-winning Murina from The Match Factory.
The distributor is planning for a theatrical release in spring 2022, followed by a rollout across Modern’s virtual cinema platform Modern On Demand.
Murina played in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes last month and is about a family living on a seemingly idyllic Croatian island, who are fixated on the idea of selling up and reversing their past mistakes.
The cast includes Cliff Curtis, Leon Lucev, Danica Curcic and Gracija Filipovic. It is...
Modern Films has acquired UK-Ireland distribution rights to Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s Camera d’Or-winning Murina from The Match Factory.
The distributor is planning for a theatrical release in spring 2022, followed by a rollout across Modern’s virtual cinema platform Modern On Demand.
Murina played in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes last month and is about a family living on a seemingly idyllic Croatian island, who are fixated on the idea of selling up and reversing their past mistakes.
The cast includes Cliff Curtis, Leon Lucev, Danica Curcic and Gracija Filipovic. It is...
- 8/10/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
If Patricia Highsmith had ever written a coming-of-age story set on the rocky, clear-watered Croatian coastline, it might have looked a lot like Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s bright, brooding debut, “Murina,” which quietly, with a sinister Adriatic sparkle, makes the compelling case that .
As at home in the water as out of it — in fact the sea is maybe her refuge from more dangerous currents of life on land — Julija (Gracija Filipovic) is the lithe, surly teenage daughter of beautiful, unhappy, trapped Nela (Danica Curcic). The major source of tension in the family is Julija’s controlling, domineering father, Ante (Leon Lucev), the extent of whose abusiveness is hard to gauge, but who certainly expects submission and obedience of his womenfolk, and who diminishes Julija and scorns any ambitions she might have for anything but the future he has planned for her. Julija is beginning to bristle under his despotic...
As at home in the water as out of it — in fact the sea is maybe her refuge from more dangerous currents of life on land — Julija (Gracija Filipovic) is the lithe, surly teenage daughter of beautiful, unhappy, trapped Nela (Danica Curcic). The major source of tension in the family is Julija’s controlling, domineering father, Ante (Leon Lucev), the extent of whose abusiveness is hard to gauge, but who certainly expects submission and obedience of his womenfolk, and who diminishes Julija and scorns any ambitions she might have for anything but the future he has planned for her. Julija is beginning to bristle under his despotic...
- 7/30/2021
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
The winner of the Caméra d’Or for the best debut feature at Cannes this year was the maritime Murina, a coming-of-age drama of slow-motion escape from Croatian writer-director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic. Premiering in Directors’ Fortnight, the sun-baked film tracks teenaged Julija (Gracija Filipivoc) as she slowly but surely pushes for autonomy from her grumpy father, Ante (Leon Lucev), who runs their family like an impatient captain. A visit from a longtime friend, bekhaki’d and comfortable businessman Javier (Cliff Curtis), sets thoughts spinning for Julija and her youthful mother, Nela (Danica Curcic), as Ante frantically schemes to sell land. Kusijanovic brilliantly […]
The post “We Had to Combine Three Different Islands”: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic on Cannes Caméra d’Or-Winner Murina first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “We Had to Combine Three Different Islands”: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic on Cannes Caméra d’Or-Winner Murina first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 7/26/2021
- by Nicolas Rapold
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The winner of the Caméra d’Or for the best debut feature at Cannes this year was the maritime Murina, a coming-of-age drama of slow-motion escape from Croatian writer-director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic. Premiering in Directors’ Fortnight, the sun-baked film tracks teenaged Julija (Gracija Filipivoc) as she slowly but surely pushes for autonomy from her grumpy father, Ante (Leon Lucev), who runs their family like an impatient captain. A visit from a longtime friend, bekhaki’d and comfortable businessman Javier (Cliff Curtis), sets thoughts spinning for Julija and her youthful mother, Nela (Danica Curcic), as Ante frantically schemes to sell land. Kusijanovic brilliantly […]
The post “We Had to Combine Three Different Islands”: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic on Cannes Caméra d’Or-Winner Murina first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post “We Had to Combine Three Different Islands”: Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic on Cannes Caméra d’Or-Winner Murina first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 7/26/2021
- by Nicolas Rapold
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
A Croatian teen comes of age in Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic’s Murina, showing in Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. Executive Produced by Martin Scorsese, it stars Gracija Filipovic as Julija, who lives on a remote island with her mother Nela (Danica Curcic) and father Ante (Leon Lucev). Her quiet existence is enlivened by the arrival of wealthy, charming Javier (Cliff Curtis), apparently an old flame of her mother’s who is involved in a business deal with her father. Angered by her father’s controlling behavior, Julija is drawn to Javier, and it’s not clear if she sees him as a father figure or a romantic prospect, one of several questions that lend tension to the tale.
Murina is a gorgeous-looking film that makes full use of its location by the glistening sea, which becomes a character in itself. Julija is almost always in a bathing suit,...
Murina is a gorgeous-looking film that makes full use of its location by the glistening sea, which becomes a character in itself. Julija is almost always in a bathing suit,...
- 7/13/2021
- by Anna Smith
- Deadline Film + TV
One of the intriguing aspects of any film festival is the way conversations can develop between films that may have been made in completely different circumstances and countries — how themes can cut across regions and genres and a multifaceted dialogue can spring up even if none of the filmmakers knew they were getting into it.
At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, one of the conversations that has developed is about young women trying to find a place for themselves in environments that afford them little or no agency in their own lives. We’ve seen that theme given a mystical spin in the Costa Rican drama “Clara Sola” and a naturalistic one in the African film “Lingui, the Sacred Bonds.” It’s even surfaced in Charlotte Gainsbourg’s documentary about her mother, Jane Birkin, “Jane by Charlotte,” in Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir Part II” and in Joachim Trier...
At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, one of the conversations that has developed is about young women trying to find a place for themselves in environments that afford them little or no agency in their own lives. We’ve seen that theme given a mystical spin in the Costa Rican drama “Clara Sola” and a naturalistic one in the African film “Lingui, the Sacred Bonds.” It’s even surfaced in Charlotte Gainsbourg’s documentary about her mother, Jane Birkin, “Jane by Charlotte,” in Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir Part II” and in Joachim Trier...
- 7/10/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
In an industry which is still largely grappling at putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to empowering female film directors, there will always be something encouraging about seeing a first-time female director debut her work at an international film festival. But when you meet writer-director Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, it’s hard to think that her name won’t be one that we continue to see in the director’s chair for years to come. The Croatian helmer, who has spent a chunk of her adult years in New York, is touching down on the Croisette for the first time with her debut feature Murina, which is premiering in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the festival tomorrow.
The concept for Murina was largely inspired by Kusijanović’s short film Into The Blue, which was a huge hit on the international festival circuit, nabbing prizes in Berlin and Sarajevo.
The concept for Murina was largely inspired by Kusijanović’s short film Into The Blue, which was a huge hit on the international festival circuit, nabbing prizes in Berlin and Sarajevo.
- 7/9/2021
- by Diana Lodderhose
- Deadline Film + TV
“Bad Blood,” an ambitious new Serbian feature film and TV series, has become the first project from the Sarajevo Film Festival’s CineLink Drama co-financing forum to go into production since the event’s establishment in 2016.
Set in the Ottoman Empire of the 19th century, “Bad Blood” is based on the works of renowned Serbian writer Borisav Stankovic and a script written by Yugoslav filmmaker Voja Nanovic in the early 1970s while he was living in New York City and working for ABC Studios as an editor. Belgrade-based This and That Productions is producing.
Spanning four decades in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire, the series chronicles an era beset by major political change and turmoil, when peasants began rising up in strength to the detriment of wealthy merchant families. It follows Trifun, the wealthy leader of the Christian minority, who, while trying to preserve his wealth and power,...
Set in the Ottoman Empire of the 19th century, “Bad Blood” is based on the works of renowned Serbian writer Borisav Stankovic and a script written by Yugoslav filmmaker Voja Nanovic in the early 1970s while he was living in New York City and working for ABC Studios as an editor. Belgrade-based This and That Productions is producing.
Spanning four decades in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire, the series chronicles an era beset by major political change and turmoil, when peasants began rising up in strength to the detriment of wealthy merchant families. It follows Trifun, the wealthy leader of the Christian minority, who, while trying to preserve his wealth and power,...
- 8/20/2020
- by Ed Meza
- Variety Film + TV
It’s 1999 during the Nato bombings of what was then Yugoslavia. Vlada (Leon Lucev) is an ordinary man, earning money for his family by driving a truck from Kosovo to Belgrade. We don’t know what’s in his vehicle, but it’s soon apparent that the load is as symbolic as it is physical.
This is the setup of Serbian writer-director Ognjen Glavonic’s first feature, The Load, screening in the World Cinema section of The Hong Kong International Film Festival. For Glavonic, who was 14 during the 1999 bombings, the film is about what one generation passes to ...
This is the setup of Serbian writer-director Ognjen Glavonic’s first feature, The Load, screening in the World Cinema section of The Hong Kong International Film Festival. For Glavonic, who was 14 during the 1999 bombings, the film is about what one generation passes to ...
It’s 1999 during the Nato bombings of what was then Yugoslavia. Vlada (Leon Lucev) is an ordinary man, earning money for his family by driving a truck from Kosovo to Belgrade. We don’t know what’s in his vehicle, but it’s soon apparent that the load is as symbolic as it is physical.
This is the setup of Serbian writer-director Ognjen Glavonic’s first feature, The Load, screening in the World Cinema section of The Hong Kong International Film Festival. For Glavonic, who was 14 during the 1999 bombings, the film is about what one generation passes to ...
This is the setup of Serbian writer-director Ognjen Glavonic’s first feature, The Load, screening in the World Cinema section of The Hong Kong International Film Festival. For Glavonic, who was 14 during the 1999 bombings, the film is about what one generation passes to ...
Post Yugoslav War drama is Alen Drljevic’s debut feature.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has submitted Alen Drljevic’s Men Don’t Cry into contention for this year’s best foreign language film Academy Award.
The film premiered at Karlovy Vary - where Picture Tree International boarded international rights - and played at Sarajevo Film Festival this week where it won the Youth Audience Award.
It also won the Special Jury Award and Europa Cinema Award in Karlovy Vary.
Director Drljevic’s debut feature counts an all-star Balkan cast including Leon Lucev, Boris Isakovic and Emir Hadzihafizbegovic.
The film, set two decades after the war ended in Yugoslavia, follows a diverse group of veterans who gather at a remote mountain hotel to undergo group therapy.
Watch the Men Don’t Cry trailer below or on mobile Here.
Bosnia and Herzegovina has submitted Alen Drljevic’s Men Don’t Cry into contention for this year’s best foreign language film Academy Award.
The film premiered at Karlovy Vary - where Picture Tree International boarded international rights - and played at Sarajevo Film Festival this week where it won the Youth Audience Award.
It also won the Special Jury Award and Europa Cinema Award in Karlovy Vary.
Director Drljevic’s debut feature counts an all-star Balkan cast including Leon Lucev, Boris Isakovic and Emir Hadzihafizbegovic.
The film, set two decades after the war ended in Yugoslavia, follows a diverse group of veterans who gather at a remote mountain hotel to undergo group therapy.
Watch the Men Don’t Cry trailer below or on mobile Here.
- 8/18/2017
- by tom.grater@screendaily.com (Tom Grater)
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: German seller lands Special Jury Award winner produced by Jasmila Zbanic.
German sales outfit Picture Tree International has boarded international rights to Yugoslav wars drama Men Don’t Cry, which this weekend scored the Special Jury Award and Europa Cinema Award in Karlovy Vary.
Picture Tree acquired the film from producers Damir Ibrahimovic, Jasmila Zbanic and Rebekka Garrido.
Director Alen Drljevic’s debut feature (Drljevic was a first Ad on a trio of Zbanic’s films) features an all-star Balkan male acting team including Leon Lucev, Boris Isakovic and Emir Hadzihafizbegovic.
The film, set two decades after the war ended in Yugoslavia, follows a diverse group of veterans who gather at a remote mountain hotel to undergo group therapy.
Watch the trailer below or on mobile Here.
Emotions are highly charged as old enmities and hostilities emerge, but the participants gradually learn to overcome their deep divisions.
The well-received film is now gearing up for at...
German sales outfit Picture Tree International has boarded international rights to Yugoslav wars drama Men Don’t Cry, which this weekend scored the Special Jury Award and Europa Cinema Award in Karlovy Vary.
Picture Tree acquired the film from producers Damir Ibrahimovic, Jasmila Zbanic and Rebekka Garrido.
Director Alen Drljevic’s debut feature (Drljevic was a first Ad on a trio of Zbanic’s films) features an all-star Balkan male acting team including Leon Lucev, Boris Isakovic and Emir Hadzihafizbegovic.
The film, set two decades after the war ended in Yugoslavia, follows a diverse group of veterans who gather at a remote mountain hotel to undergo group therapy.
Watch the trailer below or on mobile Here.
Emotions are highly charged as old enmities and hostilities emerge, but the participants gradually learn to overcome their deep divisions.
The well-received film is now gearing up for at...
- 7/11/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival has unveiled its 2015 line-up which includes films representing 54 countries, 23 world premieres and 53 U.S. premieres. The U.S. premiere of Niki Caro’s McFarland USA will close out the 30th fest. Based on the 1987 true story and starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello, the film follows novice runners from McFarland, an economically challenged town in California’s farm-rich Central Valley, as they give their all to build a cross-country team under the direction of Coach Jim White (Costner), a newcomer to their predominantly Latino high school. The unlikely band of runners overcomes the odds to forge not only a championship cross-country team but an enduring legacy as well.
The festival runs from January 27-February 7.
Below is the list of World and U.S. Premiere films followed by the list of titles by sidebar categories.
World Premieres
A Better You, USA
Directed by Matt Walsh
Cast: Brian Huskey,...
The festival runs from January 27-February 7.
Below is the list of World and U.S. Premiere films followed by the list of titles by sidebar categories.
World Premieres
A Better You, USA
Directed by Matt Walsh
Cast: Brian Huskey,...
- 1/8/2015
- by The Deadline Team
- Deadline
A self-acknowledged "showcase for Academy Award frontrunners," the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is often overlooked for the actual films that earn it festival status. An amalgamation of international discoveries and ’merica’s circuit highlights, the Sbiff curates a week of best-of-the-best to pair with their star-praising. The 2015 edition offers another expansive selection, bookended by two films that aren’t on any radars just yet. Sbiff will open with "Desert Dancer," producer Richard Raymond’s directorial debut. Starring Reece Ritchie and Frieda Pinto, the drama follows a group of friends who wave off the harsh political climate of Iran’s 2009 presidential election in favor of forming a dance team, picking up moves from Michael Jackson, Gene Kelly and Rudolf Nureyev thanks to the magic of YouTube. The festival will close with "McFarland, USA," starring Kevin Costner and Maria Bello. Telling the 1987 true story of a Latino high school’s underdog cross-country team,...
- 1/8/2015
- by Matt Patches
- Hitfix
Love Island
Director: Jasmila Zbanic
Writers: Aleksandar Hemon, Jasmila Zbanic
Producers: Deblokada Produkcija, Komplizen Film, Okofilm Productions, Ziva Produkcija
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Ariane Labed, Franco Nero, Ada Condeescu, Leon Lucev
We’re ecstatic to see Bosnian director Jasmila Zbanic working so frequently. 2013 saw the premiere of For Those Who Can Tell No Tales in Toronto, and now she’s already wrapping up her fifth film, Love Island. Zbanic has assembled a rather intriguing cast, including Greek actress Ariane Labed, winner of the Best Actress award in Venice 2010 for Attenberg (she’s also appeared in Lanthimos’ Alps and Linklater’s Before Midnight) and Romanian actress Ada Condeescu from Loverboy and If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle. And oh, yeah, Franco Nero. The project received some bad news back in 2011 when it was rejected by the Cinema Fund of the Ministry of Culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina because...
Director: Jasmila Zbanic
Writers: Aleksandar Hemon, Jasmila Zbanic
Producers: Deblokada Produkcija, Komplizen Film, Okofilm Productions, Ziva Produkcija
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Ariane Labed, Franco Nero, Ada Condeescu, Leon Lucev
We’re ecstatic to see Bosnian director Jasmila Zbanic working so frequently. 2013 saw the premiere of For Those Who Can Tell No Tales in Toronto, and now she’s already wrapping up her fifth film, Love Island. Zbanic has assembled a rather intriguing cast, including Greek actress Ariane Labed, winner of the Best Actress award in Venice 2010 for Attenberg (she’s also appeared in Lanthimos’ Alps and Linklater’s Before Midnight) and Romanian actress Ada Condeescu from Loverboy and If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle. And oh, yeah, Franco Nero. The project received some bad news back in 2011 when it was rejected by the Cinema Fund of the Ministry of Culture of Bosnia and Herzegovina because...
- 2/7/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Circles, Serbia's Submission for the Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. U.S. : None Yet . International Sales Agent: Memento Films International (Mfi)
The end is often only the beginning. As irrefutably definitive as death is, its occurrence fabricates a tangent in other people’s lives that forever alters their destiny. Those involved in the event, the survivors or perpetrators, are left behind to grapple with the grudges, conflicts, and uncertainties that were aroused from that single fateful moment. Unknowingly, the deceased becomes the absolute protagonist of the stories that go on long after the last breath. Masterfully elaborated Srdan Golubovic’s Circles concocts a plot that doesn’t ask what would have happened to these characters’ lives if the hero wouldn’t have carried out his benevolent deed, but instead delves into the long-term repercussions of such irreversible act.
Intertwining three different stories in locations distant from each other, the film opens in 1993 as Marko (Vuk Kostic), a soldier in the Bosnian war, is returning home for the weekend to the mostly Muslim populated town of Trebinje in Serbia. While hanging out with his old pal Nabobs (Nebojsa Glogovac) he sees a pack of fellow Serbian soldiers harassing the Muslim shopkeeper Haris (Leon Lucev). Peacefully trying to prevent this from happening, Marko is beaten to death. Over a decade later all of those affected by the incident find themselves still dealing with the consequences. His elderly father, Ranko (Aleksandar Bercek), spends his days rebuilding a church on top of a mountain in Bosnia Herzegovina. Unexpectedly, his ability to forgive is tested when confronted with teenager Bogdan (Nikola Rakocevic), the child of one of his son’s killers who wants to work for him.
Given a second chance, Haris, who is eternally grateful for Marko’s sacrifice, now married and with two daughters, resides in Germany and feels responsible for helping Nada (Hristina Popovic), his savior’s former fiancé. Falling into alcoholism to cope with the grief of losing Marko, she has made her fair share of terrible choices and has come to ask him for refuge as she is running away with her son trying to escape her abusive husband. Even more morally challenging is Nabobs' predicament. Living in Belgrade now, the practicing surgeon is faced with the news that he has to operate on Todor (Boris Isakovic), Marko’s prime killer and save his life even though the latter shows no remorse for the brutal murder.
Superbly layered, the narrative is intricate and deeply affecting. Each of the participants in this fragmented tale about the ramifications of a single instant is presented with a unique opportunity to find closure and to transform the seemingly irreparable hatred into redemptive kindness. It takes a more courageous heart to fight darkness with hope than to give in to senseless revenge. In order to mitigate the pain produced by Marko’s death, Ranko must allow himself to see Bogdan for who he is, and not render him as evil based on his father's cruelty. By the same token, Haris’ commitment to repay his debt pushes him to put himself at risk to protect someone else, just as Marko selflessly did for him simply because it is the correct thing to do. Similarly troubled, Nabobs searches for a minute trace of remorse in his enemy in order to save himself giving into his rage. Needless to say, the entire cast entrances the viewer with dazzling performances coming out of the innermost preoccupations and torturing emotions which their characters endure.
Like the ripples on water after hit by a stone, the entire story revolves around a man whose is on screen for minimal time, yet, his absence sets in motion powerful concentric waves. Furthermore, although the film contains heavy philosophical themes, it is grounded on visceral humanity and impulses which run the risk of eradicating rationality when something unjustifiable takes place. Shot with arresting and straight forward beauty, the backgrounds serve as canvases against which the flawed players struggle with their conscience. Nothing short of a masterpiece, Golubović’s latest effort Circles is a boldly poetic work of art about the healing power of reconciliation.
Read Sydney Levine's Interview with director Srdan Golubović during the Sundance Film Festival Here
Read more about all the 76 Best Foreign Language Film Submission for the 2014 Academy Awards...
The end is often only the beginning. As irrefutably definitive as death is, its occurrence fabricates a tangent in other people’s lives that forever alters their destiny. Those involved in the event, the survivors or perpetrators, are left behind to grapple with the grudges, conflicts, and uncertainties that were aroused from that single fateful moment. Unknowingly, the deceased becomes the absolute protagonist of the stories that go on long after the last breath. Masterfully elaborated Srdan Golubovic’s Circles concocts a plot that doesn’t ask what would have happened to these characters’ lives if the hero wouldn’t have carried out his benevolent deed, but instead delves into the long-term repercussions of such irreversible act.
Intertwining three different stories in locations distant from each other, the film opens in 1993 as Marko (Vuk Kostic), a soldier in the Bosnian war, is returning home for the weekend to the mostly Muslim populated town of Trebinje in Serbia. While hanging out with his old pal Nabobs (Nebojsa Glogovac) he sees a pack of fellow Serbian soldiers harassing the Muslim shopkeeper Haris (Leon Lucev). Peacefully trying to prevent this from happening, Marko is beaten to death. Over a decade later all of those affected by the incident find themselves still dealing with the consequences. His elderly father, Ranko (Aleksandar Bercek), spends his days rebuilding a church on top of a mountain in Bosnia Herzegovina. Unexpectedly, his ability to forgive is tested when confronted with teenager Bogdan (Nikola Rakocevic), the child of one of his son’s killers who wants to work for him.
Given a second chance, Haris, who is eternally grateful for Marko’s sacrifice, now married and with two daughters, resides in Germany and feels responsible for helping Nada (Hristina Popovic), his savior’s former fiancé. Falling into alcoholism to cope with the grief of losing Marko, she has made her fair share of terrible choices and has come to ask him for refuge as she is running away with her son trying to escape her abusive husband. Even more morally challenging is Nabobs' predicament. Living in Belgrade now, the practicing surgeon is faced with the news that he has to operate on Todor (Boris Isakovic), Marko’s prime killer and save his life even though the latter shows no remorse for the brutal murder.
Superbly layered, the narrative is intricate and deeply affecting. Each of the participants in this fragmented tale about the ramifications of a single instant is presented with a unique opportunity to find closure and to transform the seemingly irreparable hatred into redemptive kindness. It takes a more courageous heart to fight darkness with hope than to give in to senseless revenge. In order to mitigate the pain produced by Marko’s death, Ranko must allow himself to see Bogdan for who he is, and not render him as evil based on his father's cruelty. By the same token, Haris’ commitment to repay his debt pushes him to put himself at risk to protect someone else, just as Marko selflessly did for him simply because it is the correct thing to do. Similarly troubled, Nabobs searches for a minute trace of remorse in his enemy in order to save himself giving into his rage. Needless to say, the entire cast entrances the viewer with dazzling performances coming out of the innermost preoccupations and torturing emotions which their characters endure.
Like the ripples on water after hit by a stone, the entire story revolves around a man whose is on screen for minimal time, yet, his absence sets in motion powerful concentric waves. Furthermore, although the film contains heavy philosophical themes, it is grounded on visceral humanity and impulses which run the risk of eradicating rationality when something unjustifiable takes place. Shot with arresting and straight forward beauty, the backgrounds serve as canvases against which the flawed players struggle with their conscience. Nothing short of a masterpiece, Golubović’s latest effort Circles is a boldly poetic work of art about the healing power of reconciliation.
Read Sydney Levine's Interview with director Srdan Golubović during the Sundance Film Festival Here
Read more about all the 76 Best Foreign Language Film Submission for the 2014 Academy Awards...
- 11/29/2013
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
I had planned to see Circles (Serbia, directed by Srdan Golubovic) because my visits over the past 2 years to Romania, Poland, Lithuania and Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo) have increased my interest in Central and Eastern Europe where the people are looking up (vs. in Western Europe where they are looking down). Now it has been submitted for the Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and so I reprint my interview here which I did during Sundance earlier this year.
Sarajevo itself is especially remarkable as the only place in Europe where there has been a war since I was born. From 1991 to 1999 Serbia was involved in the Yugoslav Wars - the war in Slovenia, the war in Croatia, the war in Bosnia and the war in Kosovo. During this period, Slobodan Milošević was the authoritarian leader of Serbia, which was in turn part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This was was a war between people who spoke a common language but were split along religious lines, the Serbs being Eastern Orthodox and the Bosnians, Kosovians and Croations being Muslim.
The country known as Yugoslavia had been unified from 1918 to 1991-- first under a king as The Kingdom of Yugoslavia until 1941 and then as the Social Republic of Yugoslavia. Even as the Social Republic of Yugoslavia, it was a country more liberal then the other communist countries. It was a socialist republic open to west; its people could travel, the people had good jobs, it was more an example of socialism than of communism. Its geographical location was also at a true crossroad between east and west, formerly Ottomon and Muslim and at the same time very Eastern Orthodox and Catholic.
When the Ussr collapsed, Sarajevo, situated in the break-off nation Bosnia and Herzogovina was surrounded by Christian Serbs who bombarded the cities of the nation which they saw more as Muslim than as Christian in order to annex the land.
My dear Berlin friend, Geno Lechner from Berlin asked me to see it because she is in it. She plays the German wife of the protagonist. And my good friend Mickey Cottrell, of Inclusive PR is the publicist for Circles from the time it was in Sundance 2013's World Dramatic Competition and has also asked me to revise and repost what I wrote in Sundance.
So here it is:
Circles ripples out as a stone dropped in a placid lake, concentrically creating moral complexities for a group of people as their story strands emerge from one fateful moment.
Marco, a Serbian soldier on leave from the Serbo-Croatian War in 1993, returns to his Bosnian hometown. When three fellow soldiers accost Haris, a Muslim kiosk vendor, Marco intervenes, and it costs him his life.
Twelve years later, the war is over but the wounds remain open. Marco's father is rebuilding a church when the son of one of Marco's killers appears looking for work. Meanwhile, in Belgrade, Marco's friend Nabobs, a renowned surgeon, debates whether or not to operate on another of Marco's killers. And in Germany, Haris, now married with a family (Geno Lechner and her two daughters) strives to repay his debt to Marco's widow who arrives at his door seeking refuge.
John Nein, Sundance Senior Programmer says, "Srdan Golubovic's third feature employs a multifaceted, yet simple, structure that contemplates revenge, redemption, and reconciliation. Aware of how easily hatred and violence can create life-shattering ripples, he looks at the consequences of moral courage and asks whether a heroic act can generate ripples of another kind."
Circles was financed with funds from Serbia, Germany, France, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its international sales agent is Memento. Circles also screened in the Berlin Film Festival's Forum.
It is very important for the film’s director, Srdan Golubovic, that Circles receive wide distribution. It is based upon the true story of Srdjan Aleksic, a Serbian soldier who saved the life of his neighbor. When Golubovic read the story some years ago, he was against the war but on the sidelines watching, occasionally demonstrating against it, but not a part of it. He chose not to remake the story of the man then but to make it contemporary in order to close the book of his own private feelings about the war.
The man is universal in that he is saving a man, not "an enemy". The escaped man moved into a German world, which at the time looked very much like his own world, sparse, unattractively Soviet in style. However, he found his fortune there and created a life. The actor, Aleksandar Bercek, says that when he met the real Srdjan Aleksic, he said to him, "Now I am walking; it could have been different. I could have been lying down." You will see in a Google search that the memory of Srdjan is very much alive today. The real man's grave is visited yearly by the survivor he saved and by all the former Yugoslavians in the area of Serbia, Bosnia, Herzogovina, Croatia and Slovenia. He has received a posthumous medal of honor and has streets named after him in several cities.
This is one of the rare films which unites everybody; it is about forgiveness and reconciliation. And as such it deserves very wide distribution. And as a work of heroic art, it deserves to be seen by many people. We hope you will visit Memento during Berlin and place your orders. For those of you who are not distributors going to market to acquire films, we hope you will have a chance to see this film in your local theaters or homes.
Srdan Golubovic’s earlier film from 2007, The Trap, garnered great acclaim and was Serbia’s submission for an Academy Award nomination.
When director Srdan Golubovic and producer Jelena Mitrovic and I spoke during Sundance, they spoke of what a great surprise Sundance was to them. They found the people very warm. The audiences were totally open, very curious and emotionally connected. It is very rare for Srdan to find an audience that is not afraid to ask questions and eager to talk about the film. And, unlike at most film festivals, at Sundance, they saw the programmers every day and were always able to speak to them. As there were not too many films in competition — 12 in World Cinema section as opposed to 16 last year — the attention they received from the Sundance personnel and volunteers was very special.
Read the praise received by The Hollywood Reporter
Further information:
Serbian with English subtitles, 2012, 112 minutes, color, Serbia/Germany/France/Croatia/Slovenia, World Dramatic Competiton at Sundance, Forum at the Berlinale
Cast and Credits
Director: Srdan Golubovic
Screenwriters: Srdjan Koljevic, Melina Pota Koljevic
Producers: Jelena Mitrovic, Alexander Ris, Emilie Georges, Boris T. Matic, Danijel Hocevar
Cinematographer: Alexsander Ilic
Production Designer: Goran Joksimovic
Composer: Mario Schneider
Sound Designer: Julij Zornik
Costume Designer: Ljiljana Petrovic
Principal Cast: Aleksandar Bercek, Leon Lucev, Nebojsa Glogovac, Hristina Popovic, Geno Lechner, Nikola Rakocevic, Vuk Kostic...
Sarajevo itself is especially remarkable as the only place in Europe where there has been a war since I was born. From 1991 to 1999 Serbia was involved in the Yugoslav Wars - the war in Slovenia, the war in Croatia, the war in Bosnia and the war in Kosovo. During this period, Slobodan Milošević was the authoritarian leader of Serbia, which was in turn part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This was was a war between people who spoke a common language but were split along religious lines, the Serbs being Eastern Orthodox and the Bosnians, Kosovians and Croations being Muslim.
The country known as Yugoslavia had been unified from 1918 to 1991-- first under a king as The Kingdom of Yugoslavia until 1941 and then as the Social Republic of Yugoslavia. Even as the Social Republic of Yugoslavia, it was a country more liberal then the other communist countries. It was a socialist republic open to west; its people could travel, the people had good jobs, it was more an example of socialism than of communism. Its geographical location was also at a true crossroad between east and west, formerly Ottomon and Muslim and at the same time very Eastern Orthodox and Catholic.
When the Ussr collapsed, Sarajevo, situated in the break-off nation Bosnia and Herzogovina was surrounded by Christian Serbs who bombarded the cities of the nation which they saw more as Muslim than as Christian in order to annex the land.
My dear Berlin friend, Geno Lechner from Berlin asked me to see it because she is in it. She plays the German wife of the protagonist. And my good friend Mickey Cottrell, of Inclusive PR is the publicist for Circles from the time it was in Sundance 2013's World Dramatic Competition and has also asked me to revise and repost what I wrote in Sundance.
So here it is:
Circles ripples out as a stone dropped in a placid lake, concentrically creating moral complexities for a group of people as their story strands emerge from one fateful moment.
Marco, a Serbian soldier on leave from the Serbo-Croatian War in 1993, returns to his Bosnian hometown. When three fellow soldiers accost Haris, a Muslim kiosk vendor, Marco intervenes, and it costs him his life.
Twelve years later, the war is over but the wounds remain open. Marco's father is rebuilding a church when the son of one of Marco's killers appears looking for work. Meanwhile, in Belgrade, Marco's friend Nabobs, a renowned surgeon, debates whether or not to operate on another of Marco's killers. And in Germany, Haris, now married with a family (Geno Lechner and her two daughters) strives to repay his debt to Marco's widow who arrives at his door seeking refuge.
John Nein, Sundance Senior Programmer says, "Srdan Golubovic's third feature employs a multifaceted, yet simple, structure that contemplates revenge, redemption, and reconciliation. Aware of how easily hatred and violence can create life-shattering ripples, he looks at the consequences of moral courage and asks whether a heroic act can generate ripples of another kind."
Circles was financed with funds from Serbia, Germany, France, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its international sales agent is Memento. Circles also screened in the Berlin Film Festival's Forum.
It is very important for the film’s director, Srdan Golubovic, that Circles receive wide distribution. It is based upon the true story of Srdjan Aleksic, a Serbian soldier who saved the life of his neighbor. When Golubovic read the story some years ago, he was against the war but on the sidelines watching, occasionally demonstrating against it, but not a part of it. He chose not to remake the story of the man then but to make it contemporary in order to close the book of his own private feelings about the war.
The man is universal in that he is saving a man, not "an enemy". The escaped man moved into a German world, which at the time looked very much like his own world, sparse, unattractively Soviet in style. However, he found his fortune there and created a life. The actor, Aleksandar Bercek, says that when he met the real Srdjan Aleksic, he said to him, "Now I am walking; it could have been different. I could have been lying down." You will see in a Google search that the memory of Srdjan is very much alive today. The real man's grave is visited yearly by the survivor he saved and by all the former Yugoslavians in the area of Serbia, Bosnia, Herzogovina, Croatia and Slovenia. He has received a posthumous medal of honor and has streets named after him in several cities.
This is one of the rare films which unites everybody; it is about forgiveness and reconciliation. And as such it deserves very wide distribution. And as a work of heroic art, it deserves to be seen by many people. We hope you will visit Memento during Berlin and place your orders. For those of you who are not distributors going to market to acquire films, we hope you will have a chance to see this film in your local theaters or homes.
Srdan Golubovic’s earlier film from 2007, The Trap, garnered great acclaim and was Serbia’s submission for an Academy Award nomination.
When director Srdan Golubovic and producer Jelena Mitrovic and I spoke during Sundance, they spoke of what a great surprise Sundance was to them. They found the people very warm. The audiences were totally open, very curious and emotionally connected. It is very rare for Srdan to find an audience that is not afraid to ask questions and eager to talk about the film. And, unlike at most film festivals, at Sundance, they saw the programmers every day and were always able to speak to them. As there were not too many films in competition — 12 in World Cinema section as opposed to 16 last year — the attention they received from the Sundance personnel and volunteers was very special.
Read the praise received by The Hollywood Reporter
Further information:
Serbian with English subtitles, 2012, 112 minutes, color, Serbia/Germany/France/Croatia/Slovenia, World Dramatic Competiton at Sundance, Forum at the Berlinale
Cast and Credits
Director: Srdan Golubovic
Screenwriters: Srdjan Koljevic, Melina Pota Koljevic
Producers: Jelena Mitrovic, Alexander Ris, Emilie Georges, Boris T. Matic, Danijel Hocevar
Cinematographer: Alexsander Ilic
Production Designer: Goran Joksimovic
Composer: Mario Schneider
Sound Designer: Julij Zornik
Costume Designer: Ljiljana Petrovic
Principal Cast: Aleksandar Bercek, Leon Lucev, Nebojsa Glogovac, Hristina Popovic, Geno Lechner, Nikola Rakocevic, Vuk Kostic...
- 11/21/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Films from Russia, Kosovo and Serbia were the main winners at this year’s FilmFestival Cottbus and its parallel East-West co-production market Connecting Cottbus.
Russian director Aleksandr Veledinsky’s The Geographer Drank His Globe Away has continued its successful international festival career by picking up the Main Prize at Germany’s Cottbus festival with a cash award of €20,000.
The International Competition Jury praised Veledinsky’s “exquisite mastery of his craft and great playfulness” in its motivation.
Handled internationally by Moscow-based Ant!pode Sales & Distribution, The Geographer Drank His Globe Away was released theatrically on almost 500 screens in Russia last Thursday (Nov 7) as well as in the Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Forthcoming festival invitations include the Black Nights Festival in Tallinn and festivals in Tromsø and Göteborg.
Winning the festival’s Main Prize also gives Veledinsky and his producers the opportunity to return to Cottbus next year as part of Connecting Cottbus’ Special Pitch Award for them to...
Russian director Aleksandr Veledinsky’s The Geographer Drank His Globe Away has continued its successful international festival career by picking up the Main Prize at Germany’s Cottbus festival with a cash award of €20,000.
The International Competition Jury praised Veledinsky’s “exquisite mastery of his craft and great playfulness” in its motivation.
Handled internationally by Moscow-based Ant!pode Sales & Distribution, The Geographer Drank His Globe Away was released theatrically on almost 500 screens in Russia last Thursday (Nov 7) as well as in the Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Forthcoming festival invitations include the Black Nights Festival in Tallinn and festivals in Tromsø and Göteborg.
Winning the festival’s Main Prize also gives Veledinsky and his producers the opportunity to return to Cottbus next year as part of Connecting Cottbus’ Special Pitch Award for them to...
- 11/11/2013
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Cowboys wins audience award, Hush also wins multiple prizes.
The 60th Pula Film Festival – the country’s national film festival — comes to a close today celebrating a particularly strong year for Croatian film. Co-production Circles and Croatian national production A Stranger [pictured] each won a slew of top prizes.
Croatian filmmaking is having something of a boom time at the moment, both in terms of number of productions and their international appeal – both Circles and A Stranger played in Berlin’s Forum, and Dual and The Priest’s Children were buzzy titles in Karlovy Vary earlier this month.
Pula presented a record 24 titles in its competitions for national films and minority co-productions. The healthy levels of production are in part due to support from the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, but also seeing local broadcasters backing films for the first time in 9 years — such as festival opening comedy Handymen (Majstori) by Dalibor Matanic.
Of course...
The 60th Pula Film Festival – the country’s national film festival — comes to a close today celebrating a particularly strong year for Croatian film. Co-production Circles and Croatian national production A Stranger [pictured] each won a slew of top prizes.
Croatian filmmaking is having something of a boom time at the moment, both in terms of number of productions and their international appeal – both Circles and A Stranger played in Berlin’s Forum, and Dual and The Priest’s Children were buzzy titles in Karlovy Vary earlier this month.
Pula presented a record 24 titles in its competitions for national films and minority co-productions. The healthy levels of production are in part due to support from the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, but also seeing local broadcasters backing films for the first time in 9 years — such as festival opening comedy Handymen (Majstori) by Dalibor Matanic.
Of course...
- 7/28/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Fruitvale became the first Sundance film to win the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for U.S. Dramatic film since Precious in 2009. First-time director Ryan Coogler was inspired to write the film after 22-year-old Oscar Grant was shot in the back and killed by Oakland transit police on New Year’s Day morning 2009. Fruitvale tells the story of Grant’s last 24 hours alive, as he attempts to become a better father, a better boyfriend, and a better son and friend. “It’s about human beings and how we treat each other,” said Coogler, “how we treat people that...
- 1/27/2013
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside Movies
Circles In the Sand: Golubovic’s Intersecting Triptych Spins Right Round
“When you throw a stone in water, something happens,” mutters one of the main players in Serbian filmmaker Srdan Golubovic’s third feature, Circles, one of many on the nose instances that bludgeons away the narrative’s first act subtleties as it fluctuates between three separate storylines that coalesce into an ungainly whole. A followup to his successful 2007 noir tinged The Trap, Golubovic’s latest isn’t without out its merits, but like its predecessor in the director’s filmography, suffers greatly from borrowing stylistically from one too many similarly themed ventures.
Beginning in 1993 Trebinje Bosnia, Marco (Vuk Kostic), a Serbian soldier on leave, returns home to see his lady love. Visiting with his close friend, Nabobs (Nebojsa Glogovac), Marco witness a trio of soldiers, led by Todor (Boris Isakovic) beating an innocent Muslim shopkeeper, Haris (Leon Lucev) in the street.
“When you throw a stone in water, something happens,” mutters one of the main players in Serbian filmmaker Srdan Golubovic’s third feature, Circles, one of many on the nose instances that bludgeons away the narrative’s first act subtleties as it fluctuates between three separate storylines that coalesce into an ungainly whole. A followup to his successful 2007 noir tinged The Trap, Golubovic’s latest isn’t without out its merits, but like its predecessor in the director’s filmography, suffers greatly from borrowing stylistically from one too many similarly themed ventures.
Beginning in 1993 Trebinje Bosnia, Marco (Vuk Kostic), a Serbian soldier on leave, returns home to see his lady love. Visiting with his close friend, Nabobs (Nebojsa Glogovac), Marco witness a trio of soldiers, led by Todor (Boris Isakovic) beating an innocent Muslim shopkeeper, Haris (Leon Lucev) in the street.
- 1/19/2013
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Robert Redford, President & Founder of Sundance Institute said, “Every great film starts with an idea, and it is a testament to artists that they continually find new ideas, new stories, new points of view and new ways of sharing them, year after year. We look forward to hearing from these artists not just through their words and images onscreen but also through the larger dialogue they create with audiences at our Festival and beyond.”
John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “The films, both documentary and narrative, selected for our 2013 Festival have a particular immediacy and fearlessness to them showing us that independent film is as vibrant, creative and relevant as ever. Filmmakers are telling raw, powerful stories that are sure to create new energy in audiences and communities across the globe in the months to come.”
For the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, 113 feature-length films were selected, representing 32 countries and 51 first-time filmmakers, including 27 in competition. These films were selected from 12,146 submissions (429 more than for 2012), including 4,044 feature-length films and 8,102 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 2,070 were from the U.S. and 1,974 were international. 98 feature films at the Festival will be world premieres.
In addition, the Festival presents feature-length films in the Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, New Frontier, Premieres and Documentary Premieres sections. Those announcements, as well as selections for the Short Film section, are forthcoming.
On Day One, January 17, 2013, the Festival will screen one narrative film and one documentary from both the U.S. and World Cinema competitions, as well as one shorts program.
A selection of films from the 2013 Festival will also be presented at the second Sundance London film and music festival, April 25-28 at The O2.
Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, “Each year at this time we look forward with great anticipation and excitement to the discovery of new voices at the Sundance Film Festival. The Festival continues to reflect the spirit of innovation and creativity in independent cinema, not only in the stories themselves but also in how the films are produced and making their way to audiences.”
U.S. Dramatic Competition
The world premieres of 16 American narrative feature films.
Afternoon Delight/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway) — In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch.
Ain't Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine.
Austenland/ U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Jerusha Hess, Screenwriters: Jerusha Hess, Shannon Hale) — Thirtysomething, single Jane is obsessed with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice. On a trip to an English resort, her fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman become more real than she ever imagined.Cast: Keri Russell, Jj Feild, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, Georgia King, James Callis.
C.O.G./ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kyle Patrick Alvarez) — In the first ever film adaptation of David Sedaris' work, a cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path. Cast: Jonathan Groff, Denis O'Hare, Corey Stoll, Dean Stockwell, Casey Wilson, Troian Bellisario.
Concussion / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Stacie Passon) — After a blow to the head, Abby decides she can't do it anymore. Her life just can't be only about the house, the kids and the wife. She needs more: she needs to be Eleanor.Cast: Robin Weigert, Maggie Siff, Johnathan Tchaikovsky, Julie Fain Lawrence, Emily Kinney, Laila Robins.
Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Francesca Gregorini) — Emanuel, a troubled girl, becomes preoccupied with her mysterious, new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother. In offering to babysit her newborn, Emanuel unwittingly enters a fragile, fictional world, of which she becomes the gatekeeper. Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Jessica Biel, Alfred Molina, Frances O'Connor, Jimmi Simpson, Aneurin Barnard.
Fruitvale/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Coogler) — The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O'Reilly, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray.
In a World.../ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lake Bell) — An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation. Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed.
Kill Your Darlings/ U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen.
The Lifeguard / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Liz W. Garcia) — A former valedictorian quits her reporter job in New York and returns to the place she last felt happy: her childhood home in Connecticut. She gets work as a lifeguard and starts a dangerous relationship with a troubled teenager. Cast: Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, Martin Starr, Alex Shaffer, Amy Madigan, David Lambert.
May in the Summer/ U.S.A., Qatar, Jordan (Director and screenwriter: Cherien Dabis) — A bride-to-be is forced to reevaluate her life when she reunites with her family in Jordan and finds herself confronted with the aftermath of her parents’ divorce. Cast: Cherien Dabis, Hiam Abbass, Bill Pullman, Alia Shawkat, Nadine Malouf, Alexander Siddig. Day One Film
Mother of George / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Dosunmu, Screenwriter: Darci Picoult) — A story about a woman willing to do anything and risk everything for her marriage.Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi.
The Spectacular Now/ U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber) — Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to "save." As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and "saving" and corrupting become inextricably blurred. Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler.
Touchy Feely/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother's foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.”Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais.
Toy's House/ U.S.A. (Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Screenwriter: Chris Galletta) — Three unhappy teenage boys flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny. Or at least that’s the plan. Cast: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie.
Upstream Color/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shane Carruth) — A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins.
U.S. Documentary Competition
The world premieres of 16 American documentary films.
99% - The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film/ U.S.A. (Directors: Audrey Ewell, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read, Nina Kristic) — The Occupy movement erupted in September 2011, propelling economic inequality into the spotlight. In an unprecedented collaboration, filmmakers across America tell its story, digging into big picture issues as organizers, analysts, participants and critics reveal how it happened and why.
After Tiller/ U.S.A. (Directors: Martha Shane, Lana Wilson) — Since the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in 2009, only four doctors in the country provide late-term abortions. With unprecedented access, After Tiller goes inside the lives of these physicians working at the center of the storm.
American Promise / U.S.A. (Directors: Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson) — This intimate documentary follows the 12-year journey of two African-American families pursuing the promise of opportunity through the education of their sons.
Blackfish/ U.S.A. (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite) — Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer.Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.
Blood Brother/ U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find.
Citizen Koch/ U.S.A. (Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin) — Wisconsin – birthplace of the Republican Party, government unions, “cheeseheads” and Paul Ryan – becomes a test market in the campaign to buy Democracy, and ground zero in the battle for the future of the Gop.
Cutie and the Boxer/ U.S.A. (Director: Zachary Heinzerling) — This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.
Dirty Wars/ U.S.A. (Director: Richard Rowley) — Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill chases down the truth behind America’s covert wars.
Gideon's Army / U.S.A. (Director: Dawn Porter) — Gideon’s Army follows three young, committed Public Defenders who are dedicated to working for the people society would rather forget. Long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads are so common that even the most committed often give up.
God Loves Uganda/ U.S.A. (Director: Roger Ross Williams) — A powerful exploration of the evangelical campaign to infuse African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right. The film follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting “sexual immorality” and missionaries trying to convince Ugandans to follow biblical law.
The Good Life/ U.S.A. (Directors: Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine) — Dr. Leslie Gordon and Dr. Scott Berns fight to save their only son from Progeria, a rare and fatal disease for which there is no treatment or cure. In less than a decade, their work has led to significant advances.
Inequality for All/ U.S.A. (Director: Jacob Kornbluth) — In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic-policy expert Robert Reich distills the topic of widening income inequality, and addresses the question of what effects this increasing gap has on our economy and our democracy.
Manhunt/ U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Greg Barker) — This espionage tale goes inside the CIA’s long conflict against Al Qaeda, as revealed by the remarkable women and men whose secret war against Osama bin Laden started nearly a decade before most of us even knew his name.
Narco Cultura / U.S.A. (Director: Shaul Schwarz) — An examination of Mexican drug cartels’ influence in pop culture on both sides of the border as experienced by an La narcocorrido singer dreaming of stardom and a Juarez crime scene investigator on the front line of Mexico’s Drug War.
Twenty Feet From Stardom/ U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Neville) — Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead – until now. Day One Film
Valentine Road / U.S.A. (Director: Marta Cunningham) — In 2008, eighth-grader Brandon McInerney shot classmate Larry King at point blank range. Unraveling this tragedy from point of impact, the film reveals the heartbreaking circumstances that led to the shocking crime as well as its startling aftermath.
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
Twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.
Circles/ Serbia, Germany, France, Croatia, Slovenia (Director: Srdan Golubovic, Screenwriters: Srdjan Koljevic, Melina Pota Koljevic) — Five people are affected by a tragic heroic act. Twenty years later, all of them will confront the past through their own crises. Will they overcome guilt, frustration and their urge for revenge? Will they do the right thing, at all costs? Cast: Aleksandar Bercek, Leon Lucev, Nebojsa Glogovac, Hristina Popovic, Nikola Rakocevic, Vuk Kostic. World Premiere
Crystal Fairy / Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva) — Jamie invites a stranger to join a road trip to Chile. The woman’s free and esoteric nature clashes with Jamie’s acidic, self-absorbed personality as they head into the desert for a Mescaline-fueled psychedelic trip. Cast: Michael Cera, Gabby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva, Agustín Silva. World Premiere. Day One Film
The Future/ Chile, Germany, Italy, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Alicia Scherson) — When their parents die, Bianca starts to smoke and Tomas is still a virgin. The orphans explore the dangerous streets of adulthood until Bianca finds Maciste, a retired Mr. Universe, and enters his dark mansion in search of a future. Cast: Manuela Martelli, Rutger Hauer, Luigi Ciardo, Nicolas Vaporidis, Alessandro Giallocosta. World Premiere
Houston/ Germany (Director and screenwriter: Bastian Günther) — Clemens Trunschka is a corporate headhunter and an alcoholic. Drinking increasingly isolates him from his life and leads him away from reality. While searching for a CEO candidate in Houston, his addiction submerges him into his own darkness. Cast: Ulrich Tukur, Garret Dillahunt, Wolfram Koch, Jenny Schily, Jason Douglas, Jens Münchow. World Premiere
Jiseul / South Korea (Director and screenwriter: Muel O) — In 1948, as the Korean government ordered the Communists’ eviction to Jeju Island, the military invaded a calm and peaceful village. Townsfolk took sanctuary in a cave and debated moving to a higher mountain. Cast: Min-chul Sung, Jung-won Yang, Young-soon Oh, Soon-dong Park, Suk-bum Moon, Kyung-sub Jang. International Premiere
Lasting / Poland, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Jacek Borcuch) — An emotional love story about two Polish students who fall in love with each other while working summer jobs in Spain. An unexpected nightmare interrupts their carefree time in the heavenly landscape and throws their lives into chaos. Cast: Jakub Gierszal, Magdalena Berus, Angela Molina. World Premiere
Metro Manila / United Kingdom, Philippines (Director: Sean Ellis, Screenwriters: Sean Ellis, Frank E. Flowers) — Seeking a better life, Oscar and his family move from the poverty-stricken rice fields to the big city of Manila, where they fall victim to various inhabitants whose manipulative ways are a daily part of city survival. Cast: Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, Althea Vega. World Premiere
Shopping / New Zealand (Directors: Mark Albiston, Louis Sutherland, Screenwriters: Louis Sutherland, Mark Albiston) — New Zealand, 1981: Seduced by a charismatic career criminal, teenager Willie must choose where his loyalty lies – with a family of shoplifters or his own blood. Cast: Kevin Paulo, Julian Dennison, Jacek Koman, Alistair Browning. World Premiere
Soldate Jeannette/ Austria (Director: Daniel Hoesl) — Fanni has had enough of money and leaves to buy a tent. Anna has had enough of pigs and leaves a needle in the hay. Cars crash and money burns to shape their mutual journey toward a rising liberty. Cast: Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg, Christina Reichsthaler, Josef Kleindienst, Aurelia Burckhardt, Julia Schranz, Ines Rössl. World Premiere
There Will Come a Day/ Italy, France (Director: Giorgio Diritti, Screenwriters: Giorgio Diritti, Fredo Valla, Tania Pedroni) — Painful issues push Augusta, a young Italian woman, to doubt the certainties on which she has built her existence. On a small boat in the immensity of the Amazon rain forest, she faces the adventure of searching for herself. Cast: Jasmine Trinca, Anne Alvaro, Pia Engleberth. World Premiere
Wajma (An Afghan Love Story)/ Afghanistan (Director and screenwriter: Barmak Akram) — A young man in Kabul seduces a girl. When she tells him she’s pregnant, he questions having taken her virginity. Then her father arrives, and a timeless, archaic violence erupts – possibly leading to a crime, and even a sacrifice. Cast: Wajma Bahar, Mustafa Abdulsatar, Haji Gul, Breshna Bahar. World Premiere
What They Don't Talk About When They Talk About Love/ Indonesia (Director and screenwriter: Mouly Surya) — Mouly Surya’s film explores the odds of love and deception among the blind, the deaf and the unlucky sighted people at a high school for the visually impaired. Cast: Nicholas Saputra, Ayushita Nugraha, Karina Salim, Anggun Priambodo, Lupita Jennifer. World Premiere
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary filmmakers working today.
Fallen City / China (Director: Qi Zhao) — Fallen City spans four years to reveal how three families who survived the 2008 Sichuan earthquake to embark on a journey searching for hope, purpose, identity, and to rebuild their lives in a new China torn between tradition and modernity. North American Premiere
Fire in the Blood/ India (Director: Dylan Mohan Gray) — In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Western governments and pharmaceutical companies blocked low-cost antiretroviral drugs from reaching AIDS-stricken Africa, causing 10 million or more unnecessary deaths. An improbable group of people decided to fight back. North American Premiere
Google and the World Brain/ Spain, United Kingdom (Director: Ben Lewis) — In the most ambitious project ever conceived on the Internet, Google has been scanning the world's books for 10 years. They said the intention was to build a giant digital library, but that involved scanning millions of copyrighted works. World Premiere
The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear/ Georgia, Germany (Director: Tinatin Gurchiani) — A film director casting a 15-23-year-old protagonist visits villages and cities to meet people who answer her call. She follows those who prove to be interesting enough through various dramatic and funny situations. North American Premiere
The Moo Man/ United Kingdom (Directors: Andy Heathcote, Heike Bachelier) — A year in the life of heroic farmer Steve, scene stealing Ida (queen of the herd), and a supporting cast of 55 cows. When Ida falls ill, Steve’s optimism is challenged and their whole way of life is at stake. World Premiere
Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer / Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? World Premiere
A River Changes Course/ Cambodia, U.S.A. (Director: Kalyanee Mam) — Three young Cambodians struggle to overcome the crushing effects of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt in this devastatingly beautiful story of a country reeling from the tragedies of war and rushing to keep pace with a rapidly expanding world. World Premiere
Salma/ United Kingdom, India (Director: Kim Longinotto) — When Salma, a young girl in South India, reached puberty, her parents locked her away. Millions of girls all over the world share the same fate. Twenty-five years later, Salma has fought her way back to the outside world. World Premiere
The Square (El Midan) / Egypt, U.S.A. (Director: Jehane Noujaim) — What does it mean to risk your life for your ideals? How far will five revolutionaries go in defending their beliefs in the fight for their nation? World Premiere
The Stuart Hall Project/ United Kingdom (Director: John Akomfrah) — Antinuclear campaigner, New Left activist and founding father of Cultural Studies, this documentary interweaves 70 years of Stuart Hall’s film, radio and television appearances, and material from his private archive to document a memorable life and construct a portrait of Britain’s foremost radical intellectual. World Premiere
The Summit / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers' code, he might still be alive.International Premiere
Who is Dayani Cristal?/ United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere. Day One Film
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Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling. Digital technology paired with unfettered creativity proves the films selected in this section will inform a “greater” next wave in American cinema.
Blue Caprice/ U.S.A. (Director: Alexandre Moors, Screenwriters: R.F.I Porto, Alexandre Moors) — An abandoned boy is lured to America and drawn into the shadow of a dangerous father figure in this film inspired by the real life events that led to the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks. Cast: Isaiah Washington, Tequan Richmond, Joey Lauren Adams, Tim Blake Nelson, Cassandra Freeman, Leo Fitzpatrick.
Computer Chess /U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — An existential comedy about the brilliant men who taught machines to play chess – back when the machines seemed clumsy and we seemed smart. Cast: Patrick Riester, Myles Paige, James Curry, Robin Schwartz, Gerald Peary, Wiley Wiggins.
Escape from Tomorrow/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Randy Moore) — A postmodern, surreal voyage into the bowels of "family" entertainment; an epic battle begins when an unemployed, middle-aged father loses his sanity during a close encounter with two teenage girls on holiday. Cast: Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Annet Mahendru, Danielle Safady, Alison Lees-Taylor.
I Used to Be Darker/ U.S.A. (Director: Matthew Porterfield, Screenwriters: Amy Belk, Matthew Porterfield) — A runaway seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore, only to find their marriage ending and her cousin in crisis. In the days that follow, the family struggles to let go while searching for things to sustain them. Cast: Deragh Campbell, Hannah Gross, Kim Taylor, Ned Oldham, Geoff Grace, Nick Petr.
It Felt Like Love / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Eliza Hittman) — On the outskirts of Brooklyn, a 14-year-old girl’s sexual quest takes a dangerous turn when she pursues an older guy and tests the boundaries between obsession and love.Cast: Gina Piersanti, Giovanna Salimeni, Ronen Rubinstein, Jesse Cordasco, Nick Rosen, Case Prime.
Milkshake/ U.S.A. (Director: David Andalman, Screenwriters: David Andalman, Mariko Munro) — In mid-1990's America, we follow the tragic sex life of Jolie Jolson, a wannabe thug (and great-great-grandson of legendary vaudevillian Al Jolson) in suburban DC as he strives to become something he can never be – black. Cast: Tyler Ross, Shareeka Epps, Georgia Ford, Eshan Bay, Leo Fitzpatrick, Danny Burstein.
Newlyweeds/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shaka King) — A Brooklyn repo man and his globetrotting girlfriend forge an unlikely romance. But what should be a match made in stoner heaven turns into a love triangle gone awry in this dark coming-of-age comedy about dependency. Cast: Amari Cheatom, Trae Harris, Tone Tank, Colman Domingo, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Adrian Martinez.
Pit Stop/ U.S.A. (Director: Yen Tan, Screenwriters: Yen Tan, David Lowery) — Two working-class gay men in a small Texas town and a love that isn't quite out of reach. Cast: Bill Heck, Marcus DeAnda, Amy Seimetz, John Merriman, Alfredo Maduro, Corby Sullivan.
A Teacher/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Hannah Fidell) — A popular young teacher in a wealthy suburban Texas high school has an affair with one of her students. Her life begins to unravel as the relationship comes to an end. Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Will Brittain, Jennifer Prediger, Jonny Mars, Julie Phillips, Chris Dubeck.
This is Martin Bonner/ U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse.
The Sundance Film Festival®
A program of the non-profit Sundance Institute®, the Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most ground-breaking films of the past two decades, including sex, lies, and videotape, Maria Full of Grace, The Cove, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An Inconvenient Truth, Precious, Trouble the Water, and Napoleon Dynamite, and through its New Frontier initiative, has showcased the cinematic works of media artists including Isaac Julien, Doug Aitken, Pierre Huyghe, Jennifer Steinkamp, and Matthew Barney. The 2013 Sundance Film Festival® sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Hp, Acura, Sundance Channel and Chase Sapphire PreferredSM; Leadership Sponsors – Directv, Entertainment Weekly, Focus Forward, a partnership between Ge and Cinelan, Southwest Airlines, Sprint and YouTube; Sustaining Sponsors – Adobe, Canada Goose, Canon U.S.A., Inc., CÎRoc Ultra Premium Vodka, FilterForGood®, a partnership between Brita® and Nalgene®, Hilton HHonors and Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Intel Corporation, L'Oréal Paris, Recycled Paper Greetings, Stella Artois® and Time Warner Inc. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development, and the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations will defray costs associated with the 10-day Festival and the nonprofit Sundance Institute's year-round programs for independent film and theatre artists. www.sundance.org/festival
Sundance Institute
Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is a global, nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to nurturing artistic expression in film and theater, and to supporting intercultural dialogue between artists and audiences. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to unite, inform and inspire, regardless of geo-political, social, religious or cultural differences. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival and its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, film composers, playwrights and theatre artists, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Amreeka, An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening, Light in the Piazza and Angels in America. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “The films, both documentary and narrative, selected for our 2013 Festival have a particular immediacy and fearlessness to them showing us that independent film is as vibrant, creative and relevant as ever. Filmmakers are telling raw, powerful stories that are sure to create new energy in audiences and communities across the globe in the months to come.”
For the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, 113 feature-length films were selected, representing 32 countries and 51 first-time filmmakers, including 27 in competition. These films were selected from 12,146 submissions (429 more than for 2012), including 4,044 feature-length films and 8,102 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 2,070 were from the U.S. and 1,974 were international. 98 feature films at the Festival will be world premieres.
In addition, the Festival presents feature-length films in the Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, New Frontier, Premieres and Documentary Premieres sections. Those announcements, as well as selections for the Short Film section, are forthcoming.
On Day One, January 17, 2013, the Festival will screen one narrative film and one documentary from both the U.S. and World Cinema competitions, as well as one shorts program.
A selection of films from the 2013 Festival will also be presented at the second Sundance London film and music festival, April 25-28 at The O2.
Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, “Each year at this time we look forward with great anticipation and excitement to the discovery of new voices at the Sundance Film Festival. The Festival continues to reflect the spirit of innovation and creativity in independent cinema, not only in the stories themselves but also in how the films are produced and making their way to audiences.”
U.S. Dramatic Competition
The world premieres of 16 American narrative feature films.
Afternoon Delight/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway) — In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch.
Ain't Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine.
Austenland/ U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Jerusha Hess, Screenwriters: Jerusha Hess, Shannon Hale) — Thirtysomething, single Jane is obsessed with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice. On a trip to an English resort, her fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman become more real than she ever imagined.Cast: Keri Russell, Jj Feild, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, Georgia King, James Callis.
C.O.G./ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kyle Patrick Alvarez) — In the first ever film adaptation of David Sedaris' work, a cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path. Cast: Jonathan Groff, Denis O'Hare, Corey Stoll, Dean Stockwell, Casey Wilson, Troian Bellisario.
Concussion / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Stacie Passon) — After a blow to the head, Abby decides she can't do it anymore. Her life just can't be only about the house, the kids and the wife. She needs more: she needs to be Eleanor.Cast: Robin Weigert, Maggie Siff, Johnathan Tchaikovsky, Julie Fain Lawrence, Emily Kinney, Laila Robins.
Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Francesca Gregorini) — Emanuel, a troubled girl, becomes preoccupied with her mysterious, new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother. In offering to babysit her newborn, Emanuel unwittingly enters a fragile, fictional world, of which she becomes the gatekeeper. Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Jessica Biel, Alfred Molina, Frances O'Connor, Jimmi Simpson, Aneurin Barnard.
Fruitvale/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Coogler) — The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O'Reilly, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray.
In a World.../ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lake Bell) — An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation. Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed.
Kill Your Darlings/ U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen.
The Lifeguard / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Liz W. Garcia) — A former valedictorian quits her reporter job in New York and returns to the place she last felt happy: her childhood home in Connecticut. She gets work as a lifeguard and starts a dangerous relationship with a troubled teenager. Cast: Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, Martin Starr, Alex Shaffer, Amy Madigan, David Lambert.
May in the Summer/ U.S.A., Qatar, Jordan (Director and screenwriter: Cherien Dabis) — A bride-to-be is forced to reevaluate her life when she reunites with her family in Jordan and finds herself confronted with the aftermath of her parents’ divorce. Cast: Cherien Dabis, Hiam Abbass, Bill Pullman, Alia Shawkat, Nadine Malouf, Alexander Siddig. Day One Film
Mother of George / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Dosunmu, Screenwriter: Darci Picoult) — A story about a woman willing to do anything and risk everything for her marriage.Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi.
The Spectacular Now/ U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber) — Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to "save." As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and "saving" and corrupting become inextricably blurred. Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler.
Touchy Feely/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother's foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.”Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais.
Toy's House/ U.S.A. (Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Screenwriter: Chris Galletta) — Three unhappy teenage boys flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny. Or at least that’s the plan. Cast: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie.
Upstream Color/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shane Carruth) — A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins.
U.S. Documentary Competition
The world premieres of 16 American documentary films.
99% - The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film/ U.S.A. (Directors: Audrey Ewell, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read, Nina Kristic) — The Occupy movement erupted in September 2011, propelling economic inequality into the spotlight. In an unprecedented collaboration, filmmakers across America tell its story, digging into big picture issues as organizers, analysts, participants and critics reveal how it happened and why.
After Tiller/ U.S.A. (Directors: Martha Shane, Lana Wilson) — Since the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in 2009, only four doctors in the country provide late-term abortions. With unprecedented access, After Tiller goes inside the lives of these physicians working at the center of the storm.
American Promise / U.S.A. (Directors: Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson) — This intimate documentary follows the 12-year journey of two African-American families pursuing the promise of opportunity through the education of their sons.
Blackfish/ U.S.A. (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite) — Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer.Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.
Blood Brother/ U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find.
Citizen Koch/ U.S.A. (Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin) — Wisconsin – birthplace of the Republican Party, government unions, “cheeseheads” and Paul Ryan – becomes a test market in the campaign to buy Democracy, and ground zero in the battle for the future of the Gop.
Cutie and the Boxer/ U.S.A. (Director: Zachary Heinzerling) — This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.
Dirty Wars/ U.S.A. (Director: Richard Rowley) — Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill chases down the truth behind America’s covert wars.
Gideon's Army / U.S.A. (Director: Dawn Porter) — Gideon’s Army follows three young, committed Public Defenders who are dedicated to working for the people society would rather forget. Long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads are so common that even the most committed often give up.
God Loves Uganda/ U.S.A. (Director: Roger Ross Williams) — A powerful exploration of the evangelical campaign to infuse African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right. The film follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting “sexual immorality” and missionaries trying to convince Ugandans to follow biblical law.
The Good Life/ U.S.A. (Directors: Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine) — Dr. Leslie Gordon and Dr. Scott Berns fight to save their only son from Progeria, a rare and fatal disease for which there is no treatment or cure. In less than a decade, their work has led to significant advances.
Inequality for All/ U.S.A. (Director: Jacob Kornbluth) — In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic-policy expert Robert Reich distills the topic of widening income inequality, and addresses the question of what effects this increasing gap has on our economy and our democracy.
Manhunt/ U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Greg Barker) — This espionage tale goes inside the CIA’s long conflict against Al Qaeda, as revealed by the remarkable women and men whose secret war against Osama bin Laden started nearly a decade before most of us even knew his name.
Narco Cultura / U.S.A. (Director: Shaul Schwarz) — An examination of Mexican drug cartels’ influence in pop culture on both sides of the border as experienced by an La narcocorrido singer dreaming of stardom and a Juarez crime scene investigator on the front line of Mexico’s Drug War.
Twenty Feet From Stardom/ U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Neville) — Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead – until now. Day One Film
Valentine Road / U.S.A. (Director: Marta Cunningham) — In 2008, eighth-grader Brandon McInerney shot classmate Larry King at point blank range. Unraveling this tragedy from point of impact, the film reveals the heartbreaking circumstances that led to the shocking crime as well as its startling aftermath.
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
Twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.
Circles/ Serbia, Germany, France, Croatia, Slovenia (Director: Srdan Golubovic, Screenwriters: Srdjan Koljevic, Melina Pota Koljevic) — Five people are affected by a tragic heroic act. Twenty years later, all of them will confront the past through their own crises. Will they overcome guilt, frustration and their urge for revenge? Will they do the right thing, at all costs? Cast: Aleksandar Bercek, Leon Lucev, Nebojsa Glogovac, Hristina Popovic, Nikola Rakocevic, Vuk Kostic. World Premiere
Crystal Fairy / Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva) — Jamie invites a stranger to join a road trip to Chile. The woman’s free and esoteric nature clashes with Jamie’s acidic, self-absorbed personality as they head into the desert for a Mescaline-fueled psychedelic trip. Cast: Michael Cera, Gabby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva, Agustín Silva. World Premiere. Day One Film
The Future/ Chile, Germany, Italy, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Alicia Scherson) — When their parents die, Bianca starts to smoke and Tomas is still a virgin. The orphans explore the dangerous streets of adulthood until Bianca finds Maciste, a retired Mr. Universe, and enters his dark mansion in search of a future. Cast: Manuela Martelli, Rutger Hauer, Luigi Ciardo, Nicolas Vaporidis, Alessandro Giallocosta. World Premiere
Houston/ Germany (Director and screenwriter: Bastian Günther) — Clemens Trunschka is a corporate headhunter and an alcoholic. Drinking increasingly isolates him from his life and leads him away from reality. While searching for a CEO candidate in Houston, his addiction submerges him into his own darkness. Cast: Ulrich Tukur, Garret Dillahunt, Wolfram Koch, Jenny Schily, Jason Douglas, Jens Münchow. World Premiere
Jiseul / South Korea (Director and screenwriter: Muel O) — In 1948, as the Korean government ordered the Communists’ eviction to Jeju Island, the military invaded a calm and peaceful village. Townsfolk took sanctuary in a cave and debated moving to a higher mountain. Cast: Min-chul Sung, Jung-won Yang, Young-soon Oh, Soon-dong Park, Suk-bum Moon, Kyung-sub Jang. International Premiere
Lasting / Poland, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Jacek Borcuch) — An emotional love story about two Polish students who fall in love with each other while working summer jobs in Spain. An unexpected nightmare interrupts their carefree time in the heavenly landscape and throws their lives into chaos. Cast: Jakub Gierszal, Magdalena Berus, Angela Molina. World Premiere
Metro Manila / United Kingdom, Philippines (Director: Sean Ellis, Screenwriters: Sean Ellis, Frank E. Flowers) — Seeking a better life, Oscar and his family move from the poverty-stricken rice fields to the big city of Manila, where they fall victim to various inhabitants whose manipulative ways are a daily part of city survival. Cast: Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, Althea Vega. World Premiere
Shopping / New Zealand (Directors: Mark Albiston, Louis Sutherland, Screenwriters: Louis Sutherland, Mark Albiston) — New Zealand, 1981: Seduced by a charismatic career criminal, teenager Willie must choose where his loyalty lies – with a family of shoplifters or his own blood. Cast: Kevin Paulo, Julian Dennison, Jacek Koman, Alistair Browning. World Premiere
Soldate Jeannette/ Austria (Director: Daniel Hoesl) — Fanni has had enough of money and leaves to buy a tent. Anna has had enough of pigs and leaves a needle in the hay. Cars crash and money burns to shape their mutual journey toward a rising liberty. Cast: Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg, Christina Reichsthaler, Josef Kleindienst, Aurelia Burckhardt, Julia Schranz, Ines Rössl. World Premiere
There Will Come a Day/ Italy, France (Director: Giorgio Diritti, Screenwriters: Giorgio Diritti, Fredo Valla, Tania Pedroni) — Painful issues push Augusta, a young Italian woman, to doubt the certainties on which she has built her existence. On a small boat in the immensity of the Amazon rain forest, she faces the adventure of searching for herself. Cast: Jasmine Trinca, Anne Alvaro, Pia Engleberth. World Premiere
Wajma (An Afghan Love Story)/ Afghanistan (Director and screenwriter: Barmak Akram) — A young man in Kabul seduces a girl. When she tells him she’s pregnant, he questions having taken her virginity. Then her father arrives, and a timeless, archaic violence erupts – possibly leading to a crime, and even a sacrifice. Cast: Wajma Bahar, Mustafa Abdulsatar, Haji Gul, Breshna Bahar. World Premiere
What They Don't Talk About When They Talk About Love/ Indonesia (Director and screenwriter: Mouly Surya) — Mouly Surya’s film explores the odds of love and deception among the blind, the deaf and the unlucky sighted people at a high school for the visually impaired. Cast: Nicholas Saputra, Ayushita Nugraha, Karina Salim, Anggun Priambodo, Lupita Jennifer. World Premiere
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary filmmakers working today.
Fallen City / China (Director: Qi Zhao) — Fallen City spans four years to reveal how three families who survived the 2008 Sichuan earthquake to embark on a journey searching for hope, purpose, identity, and to rebuild their lives in a new China torn between tradition and modernity. North American Premiere
Fire in the Blood/ India (Director: Dylan Mohan Gray) — In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Western governments and pharmaceutical companies blocked low-cost antiretroviral drugs from reaching AIDS-stricken Africa, causing 10 million or more unnecessary deaths. An improbable group of people decided to fight back. North American Premiere
Google and the World Brain/ Spain, United Kingdom (Director: Ben Lewis) — In the most ambitious project ever conceived on the Internet, Google has been scanning the world's books for 10 years. They said the intention was to build a giant digital library, but that involved scanning millions of copyrighted works. World Premiere
The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear/ Georgia, Germany (Director: Tinatin Gurchiani) — A film director casting a 15-23-year-old protagonist visits villages and cities to meet people who answer her call. She follows those who prove to be interesting enough through various dramatic and funny situations. North American Premiere
The Moo Man/ United Kingdom (Directors: Andy Heathcote, Heike Bachelier) — A year in the life of heroic farmer Steve, scene stealing Ida (queen of the herd), and a supporting cast of 55 cows. When Ida falls ill, Steve’s optimism is challenged and their whole way of life is at stake. World Premiere
Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer / Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? World Premiere
A River Changes Course/ Cambodia, U.S.A. (Director: Kalyanee Mam) — Three young Cambodians struggle to overcome the crushing effects of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt in this devastatingly beautiful story of a country reeling from the tragedies of war and rushing to keep pace with a rapidly expanding world. World Premiere
Salma/ United Kingdom, India (Director: Kim Longinotto) — When Salma, a young girl in South India, reached puberty, her parents locked her away. Millions of girls all over the world share the same fate. Twenty-five years later, Salma has fought her way back to the outside world. World Premiere
The Square (El Midan) / Egypt, U.S.A. (Director: Jehane Noujaim) — What does it mean to risk your life for your ideals? How far will five revolutionaries go in defending their beliefs in the fight for their nation? World Premiere
The Stuart Hall Project/ United Kingdom (Director: John Akomfrah) — Antinuclear campaigner, New Left activist and founding father of Cultural Studies, this documentary interweaves 70 years of Stuart Hall’s film, radio and television appearances, and material from his private archive to document a memorable life and construct a portrait of Britain’s foremost radical intellectual. World Premiere
The Summit / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers' code, he might still be alive.International Premiere
Who is Dayani Cristal?/ United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere. Day One Film
Next <=>
Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling. Digital technology paired with unfettered creativity proves the films selected in this section will inform a “greater” next wave in American cinema.
Blue Caprice/ U.S.A. (Director: Alexandre Moors, Screenwriters: R.F.I Porto, Alexandre Moors) — An abandoned boy is lured to America and drawn into the shadow of a dangerous father figure in this film inspired by the real life events that led to the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks. Cast: Isaiah Washington, Tequan Richmond, Joey Lauren Adams, Tim Blake Nelson, Cassandra Freeman, Leo Fitzpatrick.
Computer Chess /U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — An existential comedy about the brilliant men who taught machines to play chess – back when the machines seemed clumsy and we seemed smart. Cast: Patrick Riester, Myles Paige, James Curry, Robin Schwartz, Gerald Peary, Wiley Wiggins.
Escape from Tomorrow/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Randy Moore) — A postmodern, surreal voyage into the bowels of "family" entertainment; an epic battle begins when an unemployed, middle-aged father loses his sanity during a close encounter with two teenage girls on holiday. Cast: Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Annet Mahendru, Danielle Safady, Alison Lees-Taylor.
I Used to Be Darker/ U.S.A. (Director: Matthew Porterfield, Screenwriters: Amy Belk, Matthew Porterfield) — A runaway seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore, only to find their marriage ending and her cousin in crisis. In the days that follow, the family struggles to let go while searching for things to sustain them. Cast: Deragh Campbell, Hannah Gross, Kim Taylor, Ned Oldham, Geoff Grace, Nick Petr.
It Felt Like Love / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Eliza Hittman) — On the outskirts of Brooklyn, a 14-year-old girl’s sexual quest takes a dangerous turn when she pursues an older guy and tests the boundaries between obsession and love.Cast: Gina Piersanti, Giovanna Salimeni, Ronen Rubinstein, Jesse Cordasco, Nick Rosen, Case Prime.
Milkshake/ U.S.A. (Director: David Andalman, Screenwriters: David Andalman, Mariko Munro) — In mid-1990's America, we follow the tragic sex life of Jolie Jolson, a wannabe thug (and great-great-grandson of legendary vaudevillian Al Jolson) in suburban DC as he strives to become something he can never be – black. Cast: Tyler Ross, Shareeka Epps, Georgia Ford, Eshan Bay, Leo Fitzpatrick, Danny Burstein.
Newlyweeds/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shaka King) — A Brooklyn repo man and his globetrotting girlfriend forge an unlikely romance. But what should be a match made in stoner heaven turns into a love triangle gone awry in this dark coming-of-age comedy about dependency. Cast: Amari Cheatom, Trae Harris, Tone Tank, Colman Domingo, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Adrian Martinez.
Pit Stop/ U.S.A. (Director: Yen Tan, Screenwriters: Yen Tan, David Lowery) — Two working-class gay men in a small Texas town and a love that isn't quite out of reach. Cast: Bill Heck, Marcus DeAnda, Amy Seimetz, John Merriman, Alfredo Maduro, Corby Sullivan.
A Teacher/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Hannah Fidell) — A popular young teacher in a wealthy suburban Texas high school has an affair with one of her students. Her life begins to unravel as the relationship comes to an end. Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Will Brittain, Jennifer Prediger, Jonny Mars, Julie Phillips, Chris Dubeck.
This is Martin Bonner/ U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse.
The Sundance Film Festival®
A program of the non-profit Sundance Institute®, the Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most ground-breaking films of the past two decades, including sex, lies, and videotape, Maria Full of Grace, The Cove, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An Inconvenient Truth, Precious, Trouble the Water, and Napoleon Dynamite, and through its New Frontier initiative, has showcased the cinematic works of media artists including Isaac Julien, Doug Aitken, Pierre Huyghe, Jennifer Steinkamp, and Matthew Barney. The 2013 Sundance Film Festival® sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Hp, Acura, Sundance Channel and Chase Sapphire PreferredSM; Leadership Sponsors – Directv, Entertainment Weekly, Focus Forward, a partnership between Ge and Cinelan, Southwest Airlines, Sprint and YouTube; Sustaining Sponsors – Adobe, Canada Goose, Canon U.S.A., Inc., CÎRoc Ultra Premium Vodka, FilterForGood®, a partnership between Brita® and Nalgene®, Hilton HHonors and Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Intel Corporation, L'Oréal Paris, Recycled Paper Greetings, Stella Artois® and Time Warner Inc. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development, and the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations will defray costs associated with the 10-day Festival and the nonprofit Sundance Institute's year-round programs for independent film and theatre artists. www.sundance.org/festival
Sundance Institute
Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is a global, nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to nurturing artistic expression in film and theater, and to supporting intercultural dialogue between artists and audiences. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to unite, inform and inspire, regardless of geo-political, social, religious or cultural differences. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival and its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, film composers, playwrights and theatre artists, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Amreeka, An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening, Light in the Piazza and Angels in America. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
- 12/27/2012
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
GeekTyrant will once again be excitedly attending the Sundance Film Festival in 2013! They've released their full line up of competition films for the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary, as well as the out-of-competition Next <=> section.
It looks like there's a lot of great films for us, and anyone who is attending, to check out this year. I love going up to Sundance, it's always a great mix of different movies... some great, some good, some bad, and some that are completely awful. I'm always looking forward to seeing them though! There's kind of rush going in to watch a movie I hardly know anything about. It's a rare thing for me these days to be able to do that.
Below you'll find the full Press Release that includes all of the films that have been announced. Please look them over and let us know which ones interest...
It looks like there's a lot of great films for us, and anyone who is attending, to check out this year. I love going up to Sundance, it's always a great mix of different movies... some great, some good, some bad, and some that are completely awful. I'm always looking forward to seeing them though! There's kind of rush going in to watch a movie I hardly know anything about. It's a rare thing for me these days to be able to do that.
Below you'll find the full Press Release that includes all of the films that have been announced. Please look them over and let us know which ones interest...
- 11/29/2012
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Sixteen films are set to compete in the dramatic category at next year's Sundance Film Festival in January, with exactly half of those films directed by women - a new record for the festival which will be in its 29th year.
Approximately 113 feature-length films representing 32 countries were selected for Sundance for next year including 27 films in competition and 51 films from first-time directors. Many of the key categories were announced today.
While the Utah-based film festival only occasionally showcases films that have true mainstream crossover potential, this year sees more audience friendly fare in competition even it is still specifically targeting the art house crowd.
The fest in January this year was dominated by the rave reviews for its Grand Jury Prize winner "Beasts of the Southern Wild" which, upon moving to a more mainstream release, scored many accolades but just $13 million in worldwide box-office.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Afternoon Delight...
Approximately 113 feature-length films representing 32 countries were selected for Sundance for next year including 27 films in competition and 51 films from first-time directors. Many of the key categories were announced today.
While the Utah-based film festival only occasionally showcases films that have true mainstream crossover potential, this year sees more audience friendly fare in competition even it is still specifically targeting the art house crowd.
The fest in January this year was dominated by the rave reviews for its Grand Jury Prize winner "Beasts of the Southern Wild" which, upon moving to a more mainstream release, scored many accolades but just $13 million in worldwide box-office.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Afternoon Delight...
- 11/29/2012
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
If you ever managed to see Shane Carruth‘s Primer, you’re probably a very confused person. That’s to say, the 2004 time-travel flick strove to be as realistic as possible, and by realistic, we mean completely mind-boggling. Saying that, Primer remains one of the most intriguing movies of the past decade (even if we still can’t figure it out), which means that the promise of a second movie from writer/director Curruth is something to be excited about.
Though it was rumored that the poor guy couldn’t get funding sorted for a second feature, it appears he finally got it made: Upstream Color will premier at Sundance 2013, presumably to grant everybody another headache with a bizarre-sounding story about two people who become a single organism.
Sundance, of course, exists to showcase the best and brightest in indie film. Next year’s festival takes place from January 17-27 in Park City,...
Though it was rumored that the poor guy couldn’t get funding sorted for a second feature, it appears he finally got it made: Upstream Color will premier at Sundance 2013, presumably to grant everybody another headache with a bizarre-sounding story about two people who become a single organism.
Sundance, of course, exists to showcase the best and brightest in indie film. Next year’s festival takes place from January 17-27 in Park City,...
- 11/29/2012
- by T.J. Barnard
- We Got This Covered
Mostly populated by unknowns filmakers (at least to us), among the dozen titles in Sundance’s World Dramatic Comp we do find some familair auteurs such as Sean Ellis’ (from Cashback fame) who returns with Metro Manila, we have Srdan Golubovic’s Circles (see still above – a drama we thought might end up playing in Cannes earlier this year) and finally, Sebastián Silva whose latest Crystal Fairy (not to be confused with Magic Magic which also stars Michael Cera) will open the fest. Here are the twelve selections of which eleven are world preems.
Circles / Serbia, Germany, France, Croatia, Slovenia (Director: Srdan Golubovic, Screenwriters: Srdjan Koljevic, Melina Pota Koljevic) — Five people are affected by a tragic heroic act. Twenty years later, all of them will confront the past through their own crises. Will they overcome guilt, frustration and their urge for revenge? Will they do the right thing, at all costs?...
Circles / Serbia, Germany, France, Croatia, Slovenia (Director: Srdan Golubovic, Screenwriters: Srdjan Koljevic, Melina Pota Koljevic) — Five people are affected by a tragic heroic act. Twenty years later, all of them will confront the past through their own crises. Will they overcome guilt, frustration and their urge for revenge? Will they do the right thing, at all costs?...
- 11/29/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
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