Sundance
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“I MELT WITH YOU” | director, Mark Pellington
[PREMIERE SCREENING: Wednesday, Jan. 26, 9:30 pm — Eccles Theatre] The biggest surprise was that I could pull it off, spend some of my own cash, raise the rest and fucking do it — under a million, 18 days, no compromise. I’ve never been happier.
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“THE OFF HOURS” DIRECTOR MEGAN GRIFFITHS
Good things come to those who wait, as writer-director Megan Griffiths will attest. The debut feature from the Seattle-based filmmaker, The Off-Hours, was seven years in the making before it finally went into production last spring. Inspired by Griffiths’ own experiences working the night shift, this moody, atmospheric indie captures the lives of the people who frequent a diner in a nowhere truckstop town, including pretty young waitress Francine (Amy Seimetz), her foster brother Corey (Scoot McNairy), soft-spoken truck driver Oliver (Ross Partridge), and alcoholic diner owner Stu (Tony Doupe). There are also cameos from fellow directors Lynn Shelton (whose […]
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Ex-Sex Director Michael Mohan
2010 was a big year for Michael Mohan. His first feature, One Too Many Mornings, premiered at Sundance (and can now be watched – in its entirety – on Hulu). He directed a music video for Fitz and the Tantrums that was blogged about by Justin Timberlake (no, really). And one year later he returns to Park City with a short film, Ex-Sex. Mohan’s short about ex’s hooking up is gorgeous to look at, totally relatable, and so pitch-perfect in its bitter-sweetness that the only logical question would be: Couldn’t you make it as a feature? Please? Characters […]
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“ALL YOUR DEAD ONES” | co-writer-director, Carlos Moreno
[PREMIERE SCREENING: Tuesday, Jan. 25, 3:00 pm — Egyptian Theatre] I believe that All Your Dead Ones is actually built upon surprise. It is a project that we decided to undertake with a very reduced production team and that meant that surprises would abound and appear around every corner: for instance, the weather conditions are very variable in the region where we shot the movie and this complicated even further our challenge of using only natural light right at the moment were the sun is completely perpendicular. Every day we were forced to expect the climatic surprise of the day, […]
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“THE CONVINCER” | co-writer-director, Jill Sprecher
[PREMIERE SCREENING: Tuesday, Jan. 25, 6:15 pm — Eccles Theatre] I was surprised at how often life imitated art on The Convincer. Starting with my own behavior, which mimicked that of the main character, who is a salesman who uses any tactic he can to get others to do what he wants them to do. I had to convince people to work on a low-budget movie in the middle of winter. I’m from the Midwest; I know what it’s like. We had actors on a frozen lake at 3 a.m. in street clothes, and doing their own stunt driving on […]
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“SILENT HOUSE,” “TERRI” & “ON THE ICE” PRODUCER LYNETTE HOWELL
Originally printed in our Fall 2010 issue, we asked a number of leading independent producers about their producing models and how they’re finding everything from financing to material to office space. Lynette Howell has three titles in this year’s Sundance: Chris Kentis & Laura Lau’s Silent House, Azazel Jacob’s Terri and Andrew Okpeaha MacLean’s On The Ice. How to pay oneself a salary, maintain an office and employ assistants? And embrace risky projects? For Lynette Howell the answer is staying in constant motion. Raised in working class Liverpool, Lynette Howell decided to drop her British accent after just a few […]
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“A FEW DAYS OF RESPITE” | writer-director, Amor Hakkar
[PREMIERE SCREENING: Tuesday, Jan. 25, 6:00 pm — Egyptian Theatre] We had decided to shoot in a small town located in the Jura (a mountainous area), which would generate lodging problems for the technical team and for actors. The town hall and the inhabitants were really eager to welcome this shooting and had done everything to make our arrival possible. We found ourselves lodged in the former premises of a prestigious French bank, disused but yet sumptuous. We had at our disposal a significant place which allowed the technical and arts teams to live together during the four-week shoot. Villagers […]
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“GRANITO” | co-writer-director, Pamela Yates
[PREMIERE SCREENING: Tuesday, Jan. 25, 12:00 pm — Temple Theatre] Destiny never fails to astonish me. In this case, a story told long ago comes back and speaks to us in a surprising way in the present. When I went to Guatemala in 1982, the sole genocide of the 20th century in the Americas was unfolding and I was shooting my first feature-length documentary there called When the Mountains Tremble. More than 25 years later that film and all the filmic outtakes are being used as forensic evidence in a genocide case against two of the generals in my original […]
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7 Fresh Faces in Film Converge on Sundance
On Friday night the IFP and 7 For All Mankind put the spotlight on seven talents that soon will get your attention. Nestled in the TR Suites in Park City, the 7 Fresh Faces In Film party rocked late into the night. Attendees included industry vets like producers Ted Hope, Vanessa Hope, and Jamie Patricof; Visit Films topper Ryan Kampe; Slated’s Duncan Cork; new media expert and consultant Brian Newman; filmmaker and distribution guru Jon Reiss; the much buzzed about cast of Pariah and even Olympic snowboarder Shaun White. But the night belonged to these seven faces. Olivia Crociccha – […]
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“CODEPENDENT LESBIAN SPACE ALIEN SEEKS SAME” | co-writer-director, Madeleine Olnek
[PREMIERE SCREENING: Monday, Jan. 24, 11:30 pm — Library Center Theatre] My biggest surprise was the miracle of locations we were able to shoot in for free in our “no budget” New York City movie. They were of course all simultaneously open for business, and part of shooting in this vein means that you have to be willing to work in a stop-and-start fashion. First we had asked if we could shoot a day in the stationery store. Then that day turned into two, three, five, seven days… They always said yes, and it always surprised me. Especially after some […]
