i luv cinema

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • 100 “Must-See”
  • About Me
Home film festival Class of 2012: Sundance Edition

December 1, 2011 By iluvcinema 8 Comments

Class of 2012: Sundance Edition

No sooner does one festival season end that another one begins. Yesterday the films “In Competition” for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival were announced. Before I get into specifics, let’s take a look at – Sundance By the Numbers:

110 feature-length films were selected representing 31 countries and 44 first-time filmmakers (26 that are in competition). These films were selected from 4,042 feature- length film submissions composed of 2,059 U.S. and 1,983 international feature-length films. 88 films at the Festival will be world premieres.

These are impressive figures, indeed.


Films I Will be Looking Out For

Even though I will not be attending this year’s festival, I decided it would be a good idea for me to go ahead and take a look what the folks in Park City, UT will have the pleasure seeing.

After combing through the list, the following films have captured my interest. In my selections, I have tried to pick 2-4 films from each competition category.

(all synopses sourced from Official Sundance Press Release)

U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION

The First Time (Director and screenwriter: Jonathan Kasdan)

Two high schoolers meet at a party. Over the course of a weekend, things turn magical, romantic, complicated and funny, as they discover what it’s like to fall in love for the first time. Cast: Brittany Robertson, Dylan O’Brien, Craig Roberts, James Frecheville, Victoria Justice.

 

Hello I Must Be Going (Director: Todd Louiso, Screenwriter: Sarah Koskoff)

Divorced, childless, demoralized and condemned to move back in with her parents at the age of 35, Amy Minsky’s prospects look bleak – until the unexpected attention of a teenage boy changes everything. Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Blythe Danner, Christopher Abbott, John Rubinstein, Julie White.

 

Middle Of Nowhere  (Director and screenwriter: Ava DuVernay)

When her husband is incarcerated, an African-American woman struggles to maintain her marriage and her identity. Cast: Emayatzy Corinealdi, David Oyelowo, Omari Hardwick, Lorraine Touissant, Edwina Findley.


U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

The Queen of Versailles (Director: Lauren Greenfield)

Jackie and David were triumphantly constructing the biggest house in America – a sprawling, 90,000-square-foot palace inspired by Versailles – when their timeshare empire falters due to the economic crisis.  Their rags-to-riches-to-rags story reveals the innate virtues and flaws of the American Dream.

 

Slavery By Another Name (Director: Sam Pollard)

As slavery came to an end with Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, a new system of involuntary servitude took its place with shocking force, brutalizing, terrorizing and ultimately circumscribing the lives of hundreds of thousands of African Americans well into the 20th century.


WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION

About the Pink Sky / Japan (Director and screenwriter: Keiichi Kobayashi)

A high school girl finds a wallet full of money and tracks down its owner, leading to unexpected consequences for the girl and her friends. Cast: Ai Ikeda, Ena Koshino, Reiko Fujiwara, Tsubasa Takayama, Hakusyu Togetsuan. International Premiere

 

Wish You Were Here

Australia (Director: Kieran Darcy-Smith, Screenwriters: Felicity Price, Kieran Darcy-Smith)

Four friends embark on a carefree holiday, but only three return home. Who knows what happened on that fateful night? Cast: Joel Edgerton, Teresa Palmer, Felicity Price, Antony Starr. World Premiere.


WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

The Imposter / United Kingdom (Director: Bart Layton)

In 1994 a 13-year-old boy disappears from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three and a half years later he is found alive thousands of miles away in Spain with a shocking story of kidnap and torture. But all is not what it seems in this tale that is truly stranger than fiction. World Premiere

 

Payback / Canada (Director: Jennifer Baichwal)

Based on Margaret Atwood’s best-selling book, Payback explores how debt is a central organizing principle in our lives – influencing relationships, societies, governing structures and the very fate of this planet. World Premiere

 

Putin’s Kiss / Denmark (Director: Lise Birk Pedersen)

19-year-old Marsha is a model spokesperson in a strongly nationalistic Russian youth movement that aims to protect the country from its enemies. When she starts recognizing the organization’s flaws, she must take a stand for or against it. North American Premiere

 

For more information, go to www.sundance.org/festival.

Filed Under: film festival Tagged With: sundance film festival

Comments

  1. Ja Dawson says

    December 2, 2011 at 10:55 am

    Hella-impressive list. I am particularly intrigued by Middle of Nowhere and Payback.

    Reply
  2. Yvette says

    December 2, 2011 at 2:45 pm

    These don’t seem all that interesting to me, I’m afraid. I can’t help but think that there often seems to be a sameness about independent movie festival films.

    But I know that’s probably just grumpy old me. 🙂

    LOVE the Snowman pix on your header. LOVED that movie and the music. Still enjoy watching it.

    Reply
    • iluvcinema says

      December 2, 2011 at 4:53 pm

      The Snowman is an all-time classic; my dad introduced it to me when I was younger and I liked it but have really taken it to heart as a lasting tribute to my father.

      Reply
  3. Yvette says

    December 2, 2011 at 2:46 pm

    …although, having said that, THE IMPOSTER, looks mighty interesting.

    Reply
    • iluvcinema says

      December 2, 2011 at 4:50 pm

      Your point is well received, Yvette. I think that you have a point – the market for some of the more genuine passion projects has been definitely crowded out by many independent wings of major studios. And in Hollywood if you have a winning formula you stick with it 🙂

      That said, the one thing that I have come to appreciate about some of these types of festivals, at least at Tribeca (the one I have frequented most in recent years), is that you get an opportunity to see some really good documentaries (something I am becoming more appreciative of) and films from overseas that often would find it hard to get distribution in the US market. It is a great way to test the waters to see if US moviegoers will take to the product.

      This year, the two examples of this for me are “Attack the Block” and “The Artist” (which I may see this weekend, if I don’t see “Shame.”)

      Reply
  4. ruth says

    December 2, 2011 at 10:27 pm

    I just saw the trailer for Wish You Were Here, wow that’s intense! I thought from the picture it was set in my home country Indonesia but it’s Cambodia. Joel Edgerton is growing on me and that Antony Starr is a cutie, too 🙂

    Reply
    • iluvcinema says

      December 2, 2011 at 10:50 pm

      Too bad I will not be in Park City to catch it next month!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Runaway Success of the Ava DuVernay Barbie (& What It's So Important) says:
    December 7, 2015 at 11:16 pm

    […] a lot of buzz was generated around the inclusion of filmmaker Ava DuVernay (director of indie gem Middle of Nowhere and 2014’s critically-acclaimed but awards overlooked Selma).  Along with Trisha Yearwood, […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Search

Recommended Read

Captain of Her Own Soul

UC Press

Added to My Video Library

Imitation of Life (1934)

Centers of Film Study

  • JBFC
  • MoMA Film Screenings
  • The Picture House
  • University of California Press (Cinema and Media Texts)

Fast Film Resources

  • Alfred Hitchcock Wiki
  • Alfred Hitchcock-Master of Suspense
  • Film | The Guardian
  • Kermode & Mayo's Film Reviews
  • Park Circus
  • Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Internet Movie Database
  • Tribeca Film

Film Societies

  • BAMcinématek
  • Film Society of Lincoln Center

This is How We Blogroll

  • BBC Film: The Bulletin
  • Cinematic Corner
  • Comet Over Hollywood
  • Critical Women on Film
  • FlixChatter
  • Future of Flim (Tribeca Film Blog)
  • in so many words …
  • Kermode's Film Blog
  • Paula's Cinema Club
  • Roger Ebert
  • Sobriety Test Movie Reviews
  • Superhero Movie Talk
  • Sweet Freedom

Archives

Tweets by @iluvcinema
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact iluvcinema
totalfilm600movieblogs

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2025, iluvcinema ·Streamline Pro Theme · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress · Log in