November
29, 2006
For
Immediate Release:
2007
SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES
INDEPENDENT FILM AND WORLD CINEMA COMPETITIONS
A
Festival of Discovery to Feature New and Familiar Filmmakers
Presenting Original and Surprising Stories
Park City, UTSundance
Institute announced today the line-up of 64 films selected for the Independent
Film and World Cinema Competitions for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.
The premier showcase for the best new work by American and international
independent filmmakers, the Sundance Film Festivals competitive
categories provide audiences with opportunities to discover the most
innovative new dramatic and documentary films from todays emerging
independent filmmakers. In addition to the Competition categories, the
Festival presents films in five out-of-competition sections, to be announced
tomorrow. The 2007 Sundance Film Festival runs January 18-28, 2007,
in Park City , Sundance, Salt Lake City , and Ogden , Utah . The complete
list of films is available at www.sundance.org.
For the 2007 Sundance
Film Festival, 122 feature films were selected including 82 world premieres,
24 North American premieres and 10 U.S. premieres representing 25 countries
with nearly 60 first or second-time feature filmmakers. These films
were selected from 3,287 feature submissions composed of 1,852 U.S.
feature films and 1,435 international feature films. These numbers represent
an increase from 2006 when 1,764 U.S. feature films and 1,384 international
films were considered.
We are witnessing
a broadening of the traditional independent arena. In this years
Festival there is a breadth of subject matter, vision and innovative
storytelling that is transforming the old idea of the American indie
film, said Geoffrey Gilmore, Director, Sundance Film Festival.
This years American Competition reflects a newfound awareness
and self-expression that results in an engagement by the work that is
both political and personal, a collective voice fueled by a steadfast
optimism and hope for the future.
The dramatic and
documentary sections of the Independent Film and World Cinema Competitions
each present 16 films, for a total of 64 films that screen in competition.
The Independent Film Competition is the heart of the Sundance Film Festival
program and has introduced audiences to many of the best American independent
films and filmmakers of the past two decades. Launched in 2005, the
World Cinema Competition reflects the shared commitment of the Festival
and Sundance Institute to support international artists, to provide
audiences with an opportunity to discover the most compelling work by
international filmmakers.
In this years
program, filmmakers are exploring different narrative techniques and
devices, pushing the documentary form to new limits, and embracing a
global perspective in filmmaking, said John Cooper, Director of
Programming, Sundance Film Festival. The films in the World Cinema
competition embrace complex stories and are exploring topics that transcend
the confines of personal, geographic, and artistic borders.
INDEPENDENT FILM
COMPETITION: DOCUMENTARY
Since the inaugural
Independent Film Competition in 1985, documentary films have been given
the same profile at the Festival as fiction films, with the Documentary
Competition becoming a focal point of the Festival. These films represent
a broad section of the best new documentary films by American independent
filmmakers. This years eclectic program features a range of films
with personal, political, and global stories including current and historical
examination about the effects of war, global warming, racism in America
, a 50 year love story, and the personal and public role of religion
in America .
This years
16 films were selected from 856 submissions by American filmmakers.
Each film is a world premiere.
The films screening
in Documentary Competition are:
BANISHED (Director:
Marco Williams)This story of three U.S. towns which, in the early
20th century, forced their entire African American populations to leave,
explores whatif anythingcan be done to repair past racial
injustice. World Premiere.
CHASING GHOSTS (Director:
Lincoln Ruchti)Twin Galaxies Arcade, Iowa, 1982: the birthplace
of mankind's obsession with video games. The fate of this world lies
in the hands (literally) of a few unlikely heroes: They are the Original
Video Game World Champions and the arcade is their battleground. World
Premiere.
CRAZY LOVE (Director:
Dan Klores)An unsettling true story about an obsessive relationship
between a married man and a beautiful, single 20-year-old woman, which
began in 1957 and continues today. World
Premiere.
EVERYTHINGS
COOL (Directors: Judith Helfand, Daniel B. Gold)A group of self-appointed
global warming messengers are on a high stakes quest to find the iconic
image, proper language, and points of leverage to help the public go
from embracing the urgency of the problem to creating the political
will necessary to move to an alternative energy economy. World Premiere.
FOR THE BIBLE TELLS
ME SO (Director: Daniel Karslake)Grounded by the stories of five
conservative Christian families, the film explores how the religious
right has used its interpretation of the Bible to support its agenda
of stigmatizing the gay community and eroding the separation between
church and state. World Premiere.
GHOSTS OF ABU GHRAIB
(Director: Rory Kennedy)This inside look at the abuses that occurred
at the infamous Iraqi prison in the fall of 2003 uses direct, personal
narratives of perpetrators, witnesses, and victims to probe the effects
of the abuses on all involved. World Premiere.
GIRL 27 (Director:
David Stenn)When underage dancer Patricia Douglas is raped at
a wild MGM stag party in 1937, she makes headlines and legal history,
and then disappears. GIRL 27 follows author-screenwriter David Stenn
as he investigates one of Hollywood 's most notorious scandals. World
Premiere.
HEAR AND NOW (Director:
Irene Taylor Brodsky)Filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky tells a deeply
personal story about her deaf parents, and their radical decisionafter
65 years of silenceto undergo cochlear implant surgery, a complex
procedure that could give them the ability to hear. World Premiere.
MANDA BALA (SEND
A BULLET) (Director: Jason Kohn)In Brazil, known as one of the
world's most corrupt and violent countries, MANDA BALA follows a politician
who uses a frog farm to steal billions of dollars, a wealthy businessman
who spends a small fortune bulletproofing his cars, and a plastic surgeon
who reconstructs the ears of mutilated kidnapping victims. World Premiere.
MY KID COULD PAINT
THAT (Director: Amir Bar-Lev)A 4-year-old girl whose paintings
are compared to Kandinsky, Pollock and even Picasso, has sold $300,000
dollars worth of paintings. Is she a genius of abstract expressionism,
a tiny charlatan, or an exploited child whose parents have sold her
out for the glare of the media and the lure of the almighty dollar?
World Premiere.
NANKING (Director:
Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman)A powerful and haunting depiction
of the atrocities suffered by the Chinese at the hands of the invading
Japanese army during The Rape of Nanking, one of the most
tragic events of WWII. While more than 200,000 Chinese were murdered
and ten of thousands raped, a handful of Westerners performed extraordinary
acts of heroism, saving over 250,000 lives in the midst of the horror.
World Premiere.
NO END IN SIGHT
(Director: Charles Ferguson)A comprehensive examination of the
Bush Administrations conduct of the Iraq war and occupation. Featuring
first-time interviews with key participants, the film creates a startlingly
clear reconstruction of key decisions that led to the current state
of affairs in this war-torn country. World Premiere.
PROTAGONIST (Director:
Jessica Yu)PROTAGONIST explores the organic relationship between
human life and Euripidean dramatic structure by weaving together the
stories of four mena German terrorist, a bank robber, an "ex-gay"
evangelist, and a martial arts student. World Premiere.
CHASING GHOSTS (Director:
Lincoln Ruchti)Twin Galaxies Arcade, Iowa, 1982: the birthplace
of mankind's obsession with video games. The fate of this world lies
in the hands (literally) of a few unlikely heroes: They are the Original
Video Game World Champions and the arcade is their battleground. World
Premiere.
WAR DANCE (Director:
Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine)Devastated by the long civil war in
Uganda, three young girls and their school in the Patongo refugee camp
find hope as they make a historic journey to compete in their countrys
national music and dance festival. World Premiere.
WHITE LIGHT/BLACK
RAIN: THE DESTRUCTION OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI (Director: Steven Okazaki)WHITE
LIGHT/BLACK RAIN offers a visceral, topical and moving portrait of the
human cost of atomic warfare. World Premiere.
ZOO (Director: Robinson
Devor)A humanizing look at the life and bizarre death of a seemingly
normal Seattle family man who met his untimely end after an unusual
encounter with a horse. World Premiere.
INDEPENDENT FEATURE
FILM COMPETITION: DRAMATIC
One of the most
recognizable sections of the Festival, the Dramatic Competition presents
a broad selection of narrative films representing some of the most compelling
and highly anticipated films in American independent cinema. From moving
and personal stories about life in suburban and small town America to
reflections on life outside America s borders, the films in this
years Dramatic Competition exemplify the range and strength of
storytelling that has become entrenched in American independent film.
This years
16 films were selected from 996 submissions. Each film is a world premiere.
The films screening
in Dramatic Competition are:
Adrift In Manhattan
(Director: Alfredo de Villa; Screenwriters: Nat Moss, Alfredo de Villa)Set
in New York City, a grieving eye doctor is forced to take a closer look
at her life; an aging artist confronts the loss of his eyesight, and
a young photographer battles his innermost demons. World
Premiere.
Broken English (Director
and Screenwriter: Zoe Cassavetes)A young woman in her thirties
finds herself surrounded by friends who are married, in relationships
or with children. She unexpectedly meets a quirky Frenchman who opens
her eyes to a lot more than love. World
Premiere.
Four Sheets To The
Wind (Director and Screenwriter: Sterlin Harjo)Cufe Smallhill
finds his father dead. Fulfilling a dying wish, he disposes of the body
in the family pond and sets off to begin a new life in the big city
of Tulsa . World Premiere.
The Good Life (Director
and Screenwriter: Steve Berra)A story about a mostly normal
young man whose small town existence running a faded movie palace is
shaken when he comes in contact with a mysterious young woman. World
Premiere.
Grace Is Gone (Director
and Screenwriter: James C. Strouse)A young father learns that
his wife has been killed in Iraq and must find the courage to tell his
two young daughters the news. World
Premiere.
Joshua (Director:
George Ratliff; Screenwriters: David Gilbert, George Ratliff)A
successful, young Manhattan family is torn apart by the machinations
of Joshua, their eight-year-old prodigy, when his newborn baby sister
comes home from the hospital. World Premiere.
Never Forever (Director
and Screenwriter: Gina Kim)When an American woman and her Asian-American
husband discover they are unable to conceive, she begins a clandestine
relationship with an attractive stranger in a desperate attempt to save
her marriage. World Premiere.
On the Road With
Judas (Director and Screenwriter: JJ Lask)Reality, fiction and
the notions of storytelling intertwine in this narrative about a young
thief and the woman he loves. World Premiere.
Padre Nuestro (Director
and Screenwriter: Christopher Zalla)Fleeing a criminal past, Juan
hops a truck transporting illegal immigrants from Mexico to New York
City, where he meets Pedro, who is seeking his rich father. World Premiere.
The Pool (Director:
Chris Smith; Screenwriters: Chris Smith, Randy Russell)A boy working
in a hotel becomes obsessed with a swimming pool at a home in the opulent
hills of Panjim, Goa in India . His life gets turned upside-down when
he attempts to meet the mysterious family that arrives at the house.
World Premiere.
Rocket Science (Director
and Screenwriter: Jeffrey Blitz)A 15-year-old boy from New Jersey
with a stuttering problem falls in love with the star of the debate
team and finds himself suddenly immersed in the ultra-competitive world
of debating. World Premiere.
Snow Angels (Director:
David Gordon Green; Screenwriter: Stewart O'Nan)A drama that interweaves
the life of a teenager with his former baby-sitter, her estranged husband,
and their daughter. World Premiere.
Starting Out In
The Evening (Director: Andrew Wagner; Screenwriters: Andrew Wagner,
Fred Parnes)The solitary life of a writer is shaken when a smart,
ambitious graduate student convinces him that her thesis will bring
him back into the literary spotlight. World Premiere.
Teeth (Director
and Screenwriter: Mitchell Lichtenstein)Still a stranger to her
own body, a high school student discovers she has a physical advantage
when she becomes the object of male violence. World Premiere.
THE UNTITLED DAKOTA
FANNING PROJECT (Director and Screenwriter: Deborah Kampmeier)Set
in late 1950s Alabama , a precocious, troubled girl finds her angel
in the Blues. World Premiere.
Weapons (Director
and Screenwriter: Adam Bhala Lough)WEAPONS presents a series of
brutal, seemingly random youth-related killings over the course of a
weekend in a typical working class American suburb, and tragically reveals
how they are all interrelated. World Premiere.
WORLD CINEMA COMPETITION:
DOCUMENTARY
The last decade
has seen an explosion of interest in American documentaries, yet American
audiences enjoy few opportunities to view documentaries from beyond
their own borders. The 16 films represent 13 countries including Bolivia
, Brazil , Canada , China , Denmark , France , Germany , Ireland , Israel
, Mexico , the Netherlands , Tunisia , and the United Kingdom . The
films in this years competition are an eclectic mix exploring
topics in ways that transcend geographic, political and cultural boundaries.
The subjects include explorations of lifes struggles and tragedies,
human space exploration, the impact of the war on drugs, womens
role in the government of Afghanistan, the life of a U.S. defector during
the Cold War, the effects of Israels incarceration of Palestinians,
a British gangsters trials and tribulations, and the creative
and uniting power of cinema. With their thematic and aesthetic range,
these films invite us to glimpse the astounding breadth and complexity
of the human experience.
The 16 films were
selected from 506 submissions. The films screening in World Cinema Documentary
Competition are:
ACIDENTE / Brazil
(Director: Cao Guimarães and Pablo Lobato)Experimental
in form, this lush cinematic poem weaves together stories and images
from twenty different cities in the state of Menas Gerais, Brazil, to
reveal the fundamental role the accidental and the unpredictable play
in everyday human life. North American Premiere.
BAJO JUAREZ, THE
CITY DEVOURING ITS DAUGHTERS / Mexico (Director: Alejandra Sanchez)In
an industrial town in Mexico near the US border, hundreds of women have
been sexually abused and murdered. As the body count continues to rise,
a web of corruption unfolds that reaches the highest levels of Mexican
society. U.S. Premiere.
COCALERO / Bolivia
(Director: Alejandro Landes)Set against the backdrop of the Bolivian
governments attempted eradication of the coca crop and oppression
of the indigenous groups that cultivate it and the American war on drugs,
an Aymara Indian named Evo Morales travels through the Andes and the
Amazon in jeans and sneakers, leading a historic campaign to become
the first indigenous president of Bolivia. World Premiere.
COMRADES IN DREAMS
/ Germany (Director: Uli Gaulke)From the far ends of the globe,
four lives that could not be more different are united by a single passiontheir
unconditional love of cinema and their quest to bring the magic of the
silver screen to everyday lives to those who need it most. North
American Premiere.
CROSSING THE LINE
/ UK (Director: Daniel Gordon)CROSSING THE LINE reveals the clandestine
life of Joseph Dresnok who, at the height of the Cold War was one of
the few Americans who defected to North Korea, one of the least understood
countries in the world. North
American Premiere.
ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS
(VORES LYKKES FJENDER) / Denmark (Director: Eva Mulvad and Anja Al Erhayem
)Malalai Joya, a 28-year-old Afghani woman, redefines the role
of women and elected officials in her county with her historic 2005
victory in Afghanistans first democratic parliamentary election
in over 30 years. North American Premiere.
THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN
/ Ireland/UK ( Director: Julien Temple)An invitation from Joe
Strummer, the Punk Rock Warlord himself, to journey beyond the myth
to the heart and voice of a generation. His life, our times, his music.
World Premiere.
HOT HOUSE/ Israel
(Director: Shimon Dotan)At once chilling and humanizing, HOT HOUSE
provides an unprecedented look at how Israeli prisons have become the
breeding ground for the next generation of Palestinian leaders as well
as the birth place of future terrorist threats. North
American Premiere.
IN THE SHADOW OF
THE MOON / UK (Director: David Sington)One of the defining passages
of American history, the Apollo Space Program literally brought the
aspirations of a nation to another world. Awe-inspiring footage and
candid interviews with the astronauts who visited the moon provide an
unparalleled perspective on the precious state of our planet. World
Premiere.
MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES
/ Canada (Director: Jennifer Baichwal)This stunningly visual work
provides the unique perspective of photographer Edward Burtynsky, who
chronicles the transforming landscape of the world due to industrial
work and manufacturing. U.S. Premiere.
THE MONASTERY: MR.
VIG AND THE NUN / Denmark ( Director: Pernille Rose Grønkjær)
Worlds collide, tempers flare and dreams are realized when Mr. Vig,
an 82-year-old virgin from Denmark and Sister Ambrosija, a headstrong
Russian nun, join forces to transform Mr. Vigs run-down castle
into an Orthodox Russian monastery. North American Premiere.
ON A TIGHTROPE /
Norway, Canada (Director: Petr Lom)The daily lives of four children
living in an orphanage who are learning the ancient art of tightrope
walking becomes a metaphor for the struggle of the Uighurs, Chinas
largest Muslim minority, who are torn between religion and the teachings
of communism. North American Premiere.
THREE COMRADES (DRIE
KAMERADEN) / Netherlands (Director: Masha Novikova)In this intimate
film we witness the lives of three lifelong friends whos worlds
are torn apart by war in Chechnyas bloody struggle for independence.
North American Premiere.
A VERY BRITISH GANGSTER
/ UK (Director: Donal MacIntyre)Given his many contradictions,
Dominic Noonan, head of one of Britains biggest crime families,
is a man who defies stereotypes. This close up look at his life, from
gun trials to the murder of his brother on the streets of Manchester
, reveals a community struggling with poverty, violence and drugs. World
Premiere.
VHSKAHLOUCHA/
Tunisia (Director: Nejib Belkadhi)In a poor district of Tunisia,
self-made auteur, Moncef Kahloucha, a guerilla filmmaker in the purest
sense, demonstrates that it takes a village to make fun movies as he
brings the power of cinema to the people. North
American Premiere.
WELCOME EUROPA /
France (Director: Bruno Ulmer)Kurdish, Moroccan and Romanian young
men migrate to Europe for a better life only to face the harsh realities
and the laws of survival on the streets of a foreign land. North American
Premiere.
WORLD CINEMA COMPETITION:
DRAMATIC
The World Cinema
Dramatic Competition reflects Sundances commitment to championing
the independent spirit in filmmakers everywhere and to fostering creative
dialogue between divergent cultures. This years 16 selections
represent 13 countries including Australia , Belgium , Brazil , Burkina
Faso , Canada , Georgia , Germany , France , Ireland , Israel , Mexico
, New Zealand , South Korea , Russia , and the United Kingdom . This
years films include stories about the discovery and tragedy of
infidelity, spiritual healing and the power of belief, the travails
of a writer from China , a nomad in Mongolia , a peasant in Burkina
Faso , and the aftermath of crime and war.
The 16 films were
selected from 929 submissions. The films screening in World Cinema Dramatic
Competition are:
BLAME IT ON FIDEL
(LA FAUTE A FIDEL) / France (Director and Screenwriter: Julie Gavras)A
9- year-old girl weathers big changes in her household as her parents
become radical political activists in 1970-71 Paris. North American
Premiere.
DRAINED (O CHEIRO
DO RALO) / Brazil (Director: Heitor Dhalia; Screenwriters: Marçal
Aquino, Heitor Dhalia)A pawn shop proprietor buys used goods from
desperate localsas much to play perverse power games as for his
own livelihood, but when the perfect rump and a backed-up toilet enter
his life, he loses all control. North American Premiere.
DRIVING WITH MY
WIFES LOVER (ANE-EUI AEIN-EUL MANNADA) / South Korea (Director:
Kim Tai-sik; Screenwriters: Kim Jeon-han, Kim Tai-sik)When a mild-mannered
South Korean man decides to track down the cab driver having an affair
with his wife, a strange bond develops between the pair during a long-distance
drive. North American Premiere.
EAGLE VS. SHARK
/ New Zealand (Director and Screenwriter: Taika Waititi)The tale
of two socially awkward misfits and the strange ways they try to find
love. World Premiere.
EZRA / France (Director:
Newton I. Aduaka; Screenwriters: Newton I. Aduaka, Alain-Michel Blanc)A
young ex-child soldier in Sierra Leone attempts to return to a normal
life after the civil war which devastated his country. World Premiere.
GHOSTS / UK (Director:
Nick Broomfield; Screenwriters: Nick Broomfield, Jez Lewis)Based
on a true story, GHOSTS is the tragic account of an illegal Chinese
immigrant woman as she struggles relentlessly for a better life in the
U.K. North American Premiere.
HOW IS YOUR FISH
TODAY? (JIN TIAN DE YU ZEN ME YANG?) / UK (Director: Xiaolu Guo; Screenwriter:
Rao Hui, Xiaolu Guo)Blurring boundaries between reality and fiction,
HOW IS YOUR FISH TODAY? traces a Chinese writer's inner journey through
his fictional characters. North
American Premiere.
HOW SHE MOVE / Canada
(Director: Ian Iqbal Rashid; Screenwriter: Annmarie Morais)Following
her sisters death from drug addiction, a high school student is
forced to leave her private school to return to her old, crime-filled
neighborhood where she re-kindles an unlikely passion for the competitive
world of Step dancing. World Premiere.
THE ISLAND (OSTROV)
/ Russia (Director: Pavel Lounguine; Screenwriter: Dmitri Sobolev)Somewhere
in Northern Russia in a small Russian Orthodox monastery lives an unusual
man whose bizarre conduct confuses his fellow monks, while others who
visit the island believe that the man has the power to heal, exorcise
demons and foretell the future. U.S. Premiere.
KHADAK / Belgium/Germany
(Directors and Screenwriters: Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth)Set
in the frozen steppes of Mongolia, KHADAK tells the epic story of Bagi,
a young nomad confronted with his destiny after animals fall victim
to a plague which threatens to eradicate nomadism. U.S.
Premiere.
THE LEGACY / Georgia/France
(Directors and Screenwriters: Géla Babluani, Temur Babluani)Three
French hipsters and their translator travel through rural Georgia to
claim a remote, ruined castle that one of them has inherited. En route,
they encounter an old man and his grandchild who are on a journey to
carry out a mysterious, morbid ritual designed to end a conflict between
warring clans. North
American Premiere.
THE NIGHT BUFFALO
(EL BUFALO DE LA NOCHE) / Mexico (Director: Jorge Hernandez Aldana;
Screenwriters: Jorge Hernandez Aldana, Guillermo Arriaga,)A 22-year-old
schizophrenic commits suicide after his girlfriend cheats on him with
his best friend. Before killing himself, he lays out a plan that will
drive the lovers into an abyss of madness. World Premiere.
NOISE / Australia
(Director and Screenwriter: Matthew Saville)A young cop, beset
with doubt and afflicted with tinnitus (ear-ringing), is pitched into
the chaos that follows a mass murder on a suburban train. He struggles
to clear the screaming in his head while the surrounding community deals
with the after effects of the terrible crime. World Premiere.
ONCE / Ireland (Director
and Screenwriter: John Carney)ONCE is a modern-day musical set
on the streets of Dublin . Featuring Glen Hansard and his Irish band
The Frames, ONCE tells the story of a busker and an immigrant
during an eventful week as they write, rehearse and record songs that
reveal their unique love story. North American Premiere.
REVES DE POUSSIERE
/ Burkina Faso/Canada/France (Director and Screenwriter: Laurent Salgues)A
Nigerian peasant comes looking for work in Essakane, a dusty gold mine
in Northeast Burkina Faso, where he hopes to forget the past that haunts
him. North American Premiere.
SWEET MUD (ADAMA
MESHUGAAT) / Israel (Director and Screenwriter: Dror Shaul)On
a kibbutz in southern Israel in the 1970's, Dvir Avni realizes that
his mother is mentally ill. In this closed community, bound by rigid
rules, Dvir must navigate between the kibbutz motto of equality and
the stinging reality that his mother has, in effect, been abandoned
by the community. U.S. Premiere.
Festival films screen
in nine sections: Documentary Competition, Dramatic Competition, World
Cinema Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, Spectrum,
New Frontier, Park City at Midnight, From the Sundance Collection and
Premieres. Feature films selected for the Premieres, Spectrum, Park
City at Midnight, New Frontier and From The Sundance Collection categories
will be announced tomorrow, Thursday, November 30. The Short Film program
will be announced on Wednesday, December 6.
American films selected
to screen in Dramatic and Documentary Competition are eligible for a
number of jury awards including Grand Jury Prizes, Cinematography Awards
and Directing Awards. Other jury awards include the Waldo Salt Screenwriting
Award sponsored by Utah Film Commission and presented to a film in Dramatic
Competition, and the Documentary Editing Award which is presented to
the editor of a film in Documentary Competition. The Alfred P. Sloan
Prize is presented to an outstanding dramatic feature film for the quality
of its presentation of science or technology themes. Films in the Independent
Film Competition are also eligible for the Dramatic and Documentary
Audience Awards. Films screening in the World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary
Competition are eligible for the World Cinema Jury Prizes and World
Cinema Audience Awards.
Whats New
for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival:
New Frontier represents
the evolution of the Frontier section which explored the experimental
world of filmmaking. New Frontier is an expanded program that includes
work from artists pushing the boundaries of art by using the moving
image to create new modes of storytelling. The program includes films
screening throughout the Festival, as well as media installations, media-based
performances, and panel discussions at New Frontier on Main Street
a new venue located in the Main St. Mall formerly known as the Film
Center . Artists whose work will be featured in the program are Paul
Chan (animation), R. Luke Dubois (video), Eric Dyer & Martha Colburn
(multi-media installations), Lincloln Shatz (multi-media performance)
and Travis Wilkerson (multi-media performance).
Complete details
of New Frontier will be announced tomorrow, Thursday, November 30 and
the venue will be introduced to the public with a grand opening ceremony
on the afternoon of Thursday, January 18th, before the Festivals
Opening Night film.
· Music on
Main Music on Main is back! An outdoor concert featuring Of Montreal
and Shiny Toy Guns will be held on lower Main Street on Thursday, January
25, 2007, 7:30-9:30 pm. Free to all festivalgoers.
· Opening
Night Gala at Legacy Lodge This year, the opening night gala
will be held at the Legacy Lodge in Park City , Utah on Thursday, January
18, 2007, 9:00 p.m.- 1:00 a.m.
Festival Sponsors
The 2007 Sundance
Film Festival sponsors help sustain Sundance Institute's year-round
programs to support independent artists, inspire risk-taking and encourage
diversity in the arts. This year's Festival Sponsors include: Presenting
Sponsors Entertainment Weekly, Volkswagen of America, Inc., HP,
Adobe, and AOL; Leadership SponsorsAmerican Express, Delta Air
Lines, and DIRECTV.; Sustaining SponsorsABSOLUT®, Aquafina,
Blockbuster Inc., CESAR® Canine Cuisine, KRUPS, LOreal Paris,
The New York Times, Ray-Ban, Sony Electronics, Inc., Stella Artois®,
Turning Leaf Vineyards, and the Utah Film Commission.
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film
Festival is the premier showcase for U.S. and international independent
film. Held each January in Park City , Sundance, Salt Lake City , and
Ogden , Utah , the Festival is a core program of Sundance Institute,
a nonprofit cultural organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981.
Presenting 122 dramatic
and documentary feature-length films in nine distinct categories and
approximately 80 short films each year, the Sundance Film Festival has
introduced American audiences to some of the most innovative films of
the past two decades. Beyond the streets of Park City , the official
website of the Sundance Film Festival, www.sundance.org shares the Festival
experience beyond the streets of Park City with a global audience through
the streaming of short films, filmmaker interviews, and current news
and box office information.
Sundance Institute:
Dedicated year-round to the development of artists of independent vision
and to the exhibition of their new work, Sundance Institute celebrates
its 25th anniversary in 2006. Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, the
Institute has grown into an internationally recognized resource for
thousands of independent artists through its Film Festival and artistic
development programs for filmmakers, screenwriters, composers, playwrights
and theatre artists. The original values of independence, creative risk-taking,
and discovery continue to define and guide the work of Sundance Institute,
both with US artists and, increasingly, with artists from other regions
of the world
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