Sundance Film Festival 2019
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Hits & Misses 2019: Surveying the Success of the Sundance Film Festival’s Theatrical Releases
The times, they keep a-changin’. In its immediate aftermath, the story out of Sundance 2019 was its bounteous acquisition market and record-setting sales numbers—from New Line’s $15 million purchase of Blinded by the Light to Amazon Studios’ $27 million splurge on Late Night and Brittany Runs a Marathon. By the summer, a different narrative began to emerge. While these top acquisition titles earned millions of dollars at the box office, they all still under-performed in theatrical release. Then, Amazon Studios’ veteran head of theatrical distribution Bob Berney left the company, a departure that potentially signaled shifting priorities at what had […]
by Anthony Kaufman on Dec 10, 2019 -
“We Decided to Treat the Policy and the Propaganda as if They Were Also Human Characters”: Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang on One Child Nation
One Child Nation, winner of this year’s Sundance U.S. Grand Jury Prize (and premiering theatrically August 9th via Amazon Studios), is a striking cinematic examination of China’s three-and-a-half decade long, one-child policy by filmmakers Nanfu Wang (Hooligan Sparrow, I Am Another You) and Jialing Zhang (Complicit). It’s also a stunning uncovering of the multi-layered machinations required for a government to negate reproductive autonomy. And ironically, as the NYC-based Wang herself points out towards the end of the film, advocates of China’s (now defunct) policy and the US’s (very much alive) anti-abortion stance both subscribe to a core belief in state […]
by Lauren Wissot on Aug 8, 2019 -
Sundance Film Festival 2019: Midnight Traveler, Midnight Family
Let’s talk about empathy and documentary for a moment. A few years ago, during a slack midday period, a pair of young men made me an offer: $10 for 20 minutes of my time. This seemed fair, so I entered a small room and put on my very first VR helmet. For four and a half minutes, I watched a 360 short about the refugee crisis. There was a camp, and I could swivel around in my chair to see all of its dimensions while sad music played over onscreen statics; at the end, I think there was a URL […]
by Vadim Rizov on Feb 6, 2019 -
“The Biggest Goal is to Keep the Story Visually Interesting”: DP Tarin Anderson on Corporate Animals
Corporate Animals gives Demi Moore a rare chance to show her comic skills. As Lucy, the awful CEO of a new company, Incredible Edibles, Moore orders her employees on a team-building exercise/retreat via a New Mexico cave. When the workers are trapped, it’s only a matter of time before they becomes the Incredible Edibles. Via email, DP Tarin Anderson addressed the challenges of making a film tracking eight characters in a closed setting. 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? […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 5, 2019 -
“The Feedback Screenings were Essential”: Editor Colin Campbell 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, editor Colin Campbell discussed his latest collaboration with longtime friend Lee Cronin. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 5, 2019 -
“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 […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 4, 2019 -
“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 […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 4, 2019 -
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 […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 4, 2019 -
“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, […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 4, 2019 -
“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 […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 4, 2019
