Spotlight at Sundance

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Monday, 24 January 2011 03:47

Written by L E Shannon

The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs January 20-30 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. The Spotlight session is a showcase of films considered too special to pass up. Included is Denis Villeneuve's recent critically aclaimed Incendies, and the latest work from Indiemeister Gregg Araki.

Attenberg
Director / screenwriter Athina Rachel Tsangari (Greece)
A young woman living with her father in a decaying, seaside factory town acquires a new perspective on the mysteries of human nature after she meets a stranger. With Ariane Labed, Yorgos Lanthimos, Vangelis Mourikis, Evangelia Randou.

Incendies
Director Denis Villeneuve, with co-Screenwriter Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne, based on a stage play Incendies by Wajdi Mouawad (Canada, France)
A mother's last wish sends twins living in Canada on a journey to the Middle East in search of their tangled roots. With Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard.

Meek’s Cutoff
Director Kelly Reichardt, Screenwriter Jon Raymond (USA)
In 1845, three families who have hired mountaineer Stephen Meek to guide their wagons over the Cascade Mountains get lost and face hunger, thirst and a lack of faith in their instincts for survival. With Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Zoe Kaza, Bruce Greenwood, Shirley Henderson.

Old Cats (Gatos Viejos)
Directors / screenwriters Pedro Peirano and Sebastián Silva (Chile)
An old woman who realizes that her mind is quickly deteriorating desperately tries to hide this condition from her daughter, who waits keenly for any sign of senility in order to take her apartment. With Bélgica Withro, Claudia Celedón, Catalina Saavedra, Alejandro Sieveking.

World Premieres:

Letters From the Big Man
Director / screenwriter Christopher Munch (USA)
An artist and government hydrologist surveying a remote part of southwestern Oregon befriends a sasquatch man and must take bold steps to protect his privacy, as well as her own. With Lily Rabe, Jason Butler Harner, Isaac C. Singleton Jr., Jim Cody Williams, Fiona Dourif.

Uncle Kent
Director Joe Swanberg, with co-Screenwriter Kent Osborne (USA)
A pothead cartoonist in Los Angeles spends a weekend trying to sleep with his visiting house guest. With Kent Osborne.

International Premiere:

Elite Squad 2 (Tropa de Elite 2)
Director José Padilha, with co-Screenwriters Bráulio Mantovani and Rodrigo Pimentel (Brazil)
Captain Nascimento of Rio de Janeiro’s special operations police unit has a new enemy widespread corruption within the city. With Wagner Moura, Seu Jorge, Tainá Müller, André Ramiro, Milhem Cortaz.

U.S. Premieres:

I Saw the Devil (Akma-reul bo-attda)
Director / screenwriter Kim Jee-woon (South Korea)
A young secret agent tracks a brutal serial killer who murdered his fiancée. With Byung-hun Lee, Min-sik Choi.

In a Better World (Hævnen)
Director Susanne Bier, Story by Susanne Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen, Screenplay Anders Thomas Jensen (Denmark)
The lives of two Danish families become intertwined as an extraordinary but risky friendship develops. With Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, Markus Rygaard, William Jøhnk Nielsen.

Kaboom
Director / screenwriter Gregg Araki (USA)
A science fiction story centered on the sexual awakening of a group of college students. With Thomas Dekker, Haley Bennett, Chris Zylka, Roxane Mesquida, Juno Temple.

Submarine
Director / Screenwriter Richard Ayoade, from the novel by Joe Dunthorne (United Kingdom)
A 15-year-old has two big ambitions to save his parents' marriage and to lose his virginity before his next birthday. With Craig Roberts, Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor, Sally Hawkins, Yasmin Paige.


For further information, visit www.sundance.org/festival.

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