Sundance
-
“Treat the Material Like a Thriller”: Editor Andrea Lewis on Where’s My Roy Cohn?
Acquired by Sony Pictures Classics after its premiere at Sundance, Matt Tyrnauer’s Where’s My Roy Cohn? reexamines the life and legacy of lawyer/fixer/conservative power broker Roy Cohn. Taking its title from a quote from President Donald J. Trump, Tyrnauer’s documentary draws a line from Cohn to the present. Via email, his regular editor Andrea Lewis discussed her work on the film. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Lewis: I have worked with director Matt Tyrnauer and producer Corey Reeser on […]
-
“Twelve Hours Later and a Few Glasses of Wine to the Good and the Sequence was Finished”: Untouchable Editor Andy Worboys
The first Harvey Weinstein documentary post-Weinsteingate, Ursula Macfarlane’s Untouchable examines the mogul’s fall through the fresh testimony of many of those he assaulted. Intended first and foremost as a work of journalism, Macfarlane’s film was edited by Andy Worboys, fresh off his work on the TV documentary Hillsborough, a re-examination of the death of 96 people during a 1989 soccer match. Via email, Worboys discussed his work preserving the testimonies of those who spoke on camera for Untouchable. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired […]
-
DP Jomo Fray on Selah and the Spades and Drawing Inspiration From Rihanna’s ANTI
Tayarisha Poe is a former 25 New Face of Film; her feature debut, Selah and the Spades, teams her with another New Face, cinematographer Jomo Fray. The titular Selah (Lovie Simone) attends a prep school where, with ferocious discipline, she manages her gang, the Spades. Via email, Fray discussed his long-in-the-making collaboration with Poe. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Fray: The director, Tayarisha Poe, and I met a few years ago about the project and pretty quickly became totally […]
-
“The Very Opening is Always the Hardest to Cut “: Editors Elisa Bonora and Veronica Pinkham on David Crosby: Remember My Name
Legendary musician (and salty Twitter presence) David Crosby hits the tour road again in David Crosby: Remember My Name, an intimate biographical portrait by A.J. Eaton. The film, which premiered at Sundance, had two editors. Via email, both Elisa Bonora and Veronica Pinkham shared their perspectives on working on this film. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Bonora: In 2013 I edited, and was nominated for an ACE for, a documentary film called Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me. The director, […]
-
“Sometimes the Craziest Feedback Leads to Some Really Great Ideas in the Editing Room”: Editor Eleanor Infante on Late Night
One of the biggest acquisitions at this year’s Sundance, Nisha Ganatra’s Late Night tracks Molly (Mindy Kaling, who wrote the screenplay), a new staff writer on a long-running late night show hosted by Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson). The film was purchased by Amazon for $13 million. Via email, its editor, Eleanor Infante, spoke to her work on the film, the latest in a long collaboration with director Ganatra. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Infante: Nisha Ganatra and I first […]
-
“As Long As I Make the Story Clear and Not Noring, Then I’m Good”: Editor Zimo Huang on The Tomorrow Man
A music video director and David Fincher protege, Noble Jones makes his feature filmmaking debut with The Tomorrow Man. John Lithgow anchors the film as Ed Hemsler, a divorced retiree with a penchant for grandiose if vague conspiracy theories about the imminent end of the world. His unexpected romance with Ronnie Meisner (Blythe Danner) begins at a grocery store, but their path is full of unexpected bumps. Via email, editor Zimo Huang discussed his work on the production. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being […]
-
“Using Negative Fill to Create Unease”: DP Tom Comerford on The Hole in the Ground
The feature directorial debut from Irish filmmaker Lee Cronin, The Hole in the Ground follows the ominous goings-on after a couple and their young child move to a new cottage in rural Ireland (where their neighbors include Aki Kaurismäki regular Kati Outinen). Next to the cottage is the titular hole in the ground, and that causes all kinds of problems as their child is possibly possessed. Via email, DP Tom Comerford discussed the challenges of creating a visual atmosphere of unease on a budget. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and […]
-
Clemency, One Child Nation Top a Packed 2019 Sundance Film Festival Awards
Clemency, Chinonye Chukwo’s somber and bracing examination of the corrosive effects of capital punishment — on a woman, a marriage, and a society — won the U.S. Dramatic Competition Grand Jury Prize tonight at the Sundance Film Festival’s Closing Night Ceremony in Park City Utah. One Child Nation, Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhangze’s disturbing 36-year chronicle of the effects of China’s “one-child policy,” took the top prize in the U.S. Documentary Competition. And then there was great diversity among the remainder of the awards, with many of the most well-received films at the festival scooping up recognition. These included Joe […]
-
Dispatches from Park City — Saturday, Feb 2nd: Sundance Plans Ahead, Cold Case Hammarskjöld, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, The Great Hack, and More
Sundance’s second weekend—the awards ceremony is tonight—provides a first opportunity to reflect on the impact of the 2019 festival. On the question of a breakout film at this edition of Sundance, the consensus (based on many conversations) seems to be “meh.” Which is not to say that a success story won’t emerge, since at least four films sold for between $13-15 million, which is encouraging. Also encouraging are signs of the Sundance Institute’s investment in the festival’s future. Last year Sundance inaugurated a new 500-seat theater with Dolby Atmos sound, The Ray, which had been converted from a former Sports […]
-
Sundance Interview: Gabriel Mascaro on His Near-Future Drama Divine Love, the Seductive Tactics of Religion, and Body Politics
Eroticism in service of faith is the thematic dogma fueling Gabriel Mascaro’s new intellectual affair Divine Love, a near-future drama with measured science fiction elements.Trading the carnal sensuality of 2015’s Neon Bull for extreme religious devotion, the Brazilian auteur continues to captivate with visually seductive frames laced with eye-catching colors and ethereal lighting. Futuristically restrained, the director’s vision of Brazil in 2027, just a few years from our current battlefield of a world, is selective in its use of technology, focusing on inventions or machines that directly speak to the protagonist agenda: doors with pregnancy detectors in public spaces and […]
