2023 Sundance Film Festival Awards Announced

Posted on January 27, 2023 by admin

The Sundance Film Festival, a program of the nonprofit Sundance Institute, returned back in person and across the country online for 2023. Whether you gathered in theaters or are joining us from home, the Festival offers the opportunity to be a part of the discovery of stories and artists that will inspire and entertain us for years to come. The 2023 Sundance Film Festival jurors and audiences have voted with the awards announced today during an event at The Ray Theatre in Park City and updated on Sundance Film Festival’s official social accounts. The award-winning films will screen in person and via the online Festival platform on Saturday, January 28, and Sunday, January 29. Tickets for all award-screening films are available beginning at 1:00 p.m. MT today.

The jury and audience-awarded prizes amplify the fearless and dynamic stories across sections, with Grand Jury Prizes awarded to A Thousand and One (U.S. Dramatic), Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (U.S. Documentary), Scrapper (World Cinema Dramatic), and The Eternal Memory (World Cinema Documentary), and the NEXT Innovator Award presented by Adobe was awarded to KOKOMO CITY.

Voted on by the audience, Radical was granted the Festival Favorite Award. Audience Awards for films in competition were presented by Acura to The Persian Version (U.S. Dramatic) and Beyond Utopia (U.S. Documentary), and presented by United Airlines to Shayda (World Cinema Dramatic) and 20 Days in Mariupol (World Cinema Documentary). KOKOMO CITY won the audience award for NEXT.

“This year’s Festival has been an extraordinary experience,” said Joana Vicente, Sundance Institute CEO. “The artists that comprise the 2023 Sundance Film Festival have demonstrated a sense of urgency and dedication to excellence in independent film. Today’s award winners highlight our programs’ most impressive achievements in the current moment of cinematic arts. I hope you will join me in congratulating our winners, as well as thanking all artists across sections for sharing their stories with the Sundance community.”

“In addition to acknowledging our artists, I want to thank this year’s jurors for their time and thoughtful consideration,” added Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming. “Their efforts help contextualize our artists’ work beyond the Festival program and elevate their stories to new audiences around the globe. The winners themselves represent a diverse mix of bold storytelling, thought-provoking reflections, and critical representations of our world today.”
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“My Old School” Starring Alan Cumming Release Set

Posted on July 17, 2022 by admin

Magnolia Pictures is set to release “My Old School” in theaters on July 22, 2022 in New York (Film Forum), July 29, 2022 in Los Angeles (Laemmle Monica Film Center) and Other Select Theaters.

Directed by Jono McLeod, the film stars Scottish actor Alan Cumming (mma, GoldenEye, X2), Clare Grogan, and Lulu. Filmmaker Jono McLeod returning to his old school for a nostalgic look at the strange but true story of his former classmate, Brandon Lee.

The film tells the story of 16-year-old Brandon Lee who was enrolled at Bearsden Academy, a secondary school in a well-to-do suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. What followed over the next two years would become the stuff of legend.

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
Brandon had been privately tutored in Canada while he accompanied his mother, an opera diva, on tour before her tragic death. The preternaturally bright student surprised teachers by blazing toward his goal of entering medical school, displaying a wealth of knowledge beyond his years. Brandon found friends despite his initial awkwardness, taking bullied students under his wing, introducing classmates to seminal retro bands, and even starring in the school’s production of South Pacific. But then his unbelievable secret was revealed.

“From Where They Stood” Berlinale Documentary Release Set

Posted on June 30, 2022 by admin

Greenwich Entertainment announced today the U.S. and Canadian release of the documentary “From Where They Stood” (À pas aveugles) written and directed by Christophe Cognet. The North American theatrical release begins July 15, 2022 at NYC’s Film Forum followed by additional major US & Canadian cities.

A 2021 Berlinale Forum premiere, From Where They Stood went on to win the Spirit of Freedom Award for Best Documentary at the 2021 Jerusalem Film Festival. The US festival premiere was at the 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival at Lincoln Center.

“From Where They Stood” was produced by Raphaël Pillosio. Greenwich’s Edward Arentz negotiated the acquisition with Fionnuala Jamison of MK2 International on behalf of the filmmakers.

“In contrast to today when thankfully evidence of war crimes and genocide can be gathered often remotely and disseminated worldwide with startling precision and detail, the individuals who took these photos risked everything to pierce the cloak of secrecy that surrounded the genocidal horror of the Nazi murder machine and remain a testimony to their courage and defiance in the face of totalitarian evil,” says Greenwich’s co-president Edward Arentz.

Here’s the film official synopsis:
It’s not widely known but somehow a handful of prisoners in Nazi concentration camps managed to take clandestine photographs of the hell the Nazis were hiding from the world.

Either smuggled out or hidden and retrieved only after the war, Director Christophe Cognet retraces the footsteps of these courageous men and women in a quest to unearth the circumstances and the stories behind their photographs.

Stage-centric Comedy “The Daphne Project” Debuts in Theatres in New York

Posted on June 17, 2022 by admin

Stage-centric comedy “The Daphne Project” debuts in theaters in New York starting in July 22nd ahead of Fuse+ release.

The film stars Daphne Wilco (Zora Iman Crews), actress and social justice warrior, hilariously wreaking havoc on an off-off Broadway production of Euripides’ “The Bacchae” in the name of progress, her progress.

Co-directed, written & produced by Alec Tibaldi (the critically acclaimed “Spiral Farm”) and Zora Iman Crews (Amazon Prime’s “Legend’s Of Sleepy Hollow Anthology”), this quick moving New York centric stage driven feature film invites comparisons to another critical favorite “Curb Your Enthusiasm” with its perfectly timed comedic gems. The Daphne Project,” a film festival circuit darling (including top Film Festival’s Geena Davis’s Bentonville Film Festival and St. Louis International Film Festival) will open in theatres beginning in New York with the Quad Cinema on July 22nd with the filmmakers in attendance for Q&A’s, ahead of its platform release through Fuse + later this year.

“The Daphne Project” engaging cast is led by stars Zora Iman Crews (Amazon Prime’s “Legend’s Of Sleepy Hollow Anthology”), Jake Horowitz (Amazon Studios’ “The Vast of Night”, Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All), April Lavelle (HBO Max’s “The Flight Attendant”), Reed Lancaster (“Gold”), Geena Quintos, Annie-Sage Whitehurst (“Roadside Assistance”), Yael Rizowy (“Trying Hard”), Ed Norwood (“Spiral Farm”), Austin Letorney (“Magnolia Flowers”), Duncan Menaker (“Cilla”), and Piper De Palma (“Spiral Farm”).

The Daphne Project Teaser from Daphne Wilco on Vimeo.

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Dark Sky Film’s Supernatural Thriller “Gateway” Sets Release on 7/15

Posted on June 10, 2022 by admin

Supernatural thriller “Gateway” is set to arrive on digital platforms and VOD on July 15, 2022. Dark Sky Films is releasing the thriller film.

The distributor has also debuted the film’s trailer. See the trailer below.

The Irish film, from writer and director Niall Owens, features cast members Tim Creed (Vikings, Dominion Creek), Kevin Barry (Michael Inside, Bridget & Eamon), Laurence Ubong Williams (Peacock’s The Capture), Fiona Hardy (Axman), John Ryan Howard (Beyond the Woods), Jimmy Smallhorne (Dead Still, Who We Love).

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
Mike is a low-level drug dealer in debt to a ruthless supplier. When he and his gang set up shop in an abandoned house, he thinks his problems are solved. But a mysterious locked door inside the house and growing discord within the gang brings old feuds boiling to the surface. As friendships unravel, the house begins to enact its own plan, using the gang’s own deepest dark thoughts against them.

Like lambs to the slaughter, the men are lured one by one into the room and there they are confronted by the evil world that lies within themselves. The once-locked door is now open, and what lies beyond has its own desires.

“Double Threat” Sets Release On Friday, June 3

Posted on May 13, 2022 by admin

The action thriller from Shane Stanley, “Double Threat” is set for release on VOD starting June 3rd.

The film is written by CJ Walley, and from producers Stanley, Walley, Kurt Patino, and Danielle C. Ryan and A Rolling Thunder Films production.

Starring Danielle C. Ryan, Matthew Lawrence, Kevin Joy and with Mo Gallini and Dawn Olivieri, the film is set to be release on various platforms such as Amazon, Itunes, Vudu/Fandango Now, Google Play among many others.

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
Jimmy (Matthew Lawrence) recently loses his brother and promises to scatter his ashes in the ocean. His plans, however, are derailed when a normal convenience store pit-stop becomes a mob attack on cashier Natasha (Danielle C. Ryan). As Jimmy tries to flee, he discovers Natasha hiding in the back seat, and learns that she isn’t some random cashier, but a woman on the run from the mob with a split personality: Nat and Tasha. After some convincing, Nat and Tasha tag along with Jimmy on a road trip across the country, hoping to escape on a boat to Hawaii. But when the son of the crime boss, Ellis (Kevin Joy), joins forces with right-hand mobster Ask (Dawn Olivieri), an explosive and violent cross-country chase pursues.

David Henry Gerson’s “The Story Won’t Die” Sets Release Date

Posted on May 9, 2022 by admin

“The Story Won’t Die” from director David Henry Gerson, has set its release theatrically in Los Angeles on June 10 (Laemmle Cinemas) and in New York (Cinema Village) on Friday, June 17.

Featuring Medhat Aldaabal, Tammam Azzam, Diala Brisly, Abu Hajar, Bahila Hijazi, Omar Imam, Lynn Mayya, Anas Maghrebi and Mhd Sabboura (BBoy Shadow), the film is an official selection for Hot Docs, AFI Docs, Watch Docs and many more.

“The Story Won’t Die is an inspiring, timely look at a young generation of Syrian artists who use their work to protest and process what is currently the world’s largest and longest ongoing displacement of people since World War II. The film is produced by Sundance Award-winning producer Odessa Rae (Navalny).

Rapper Abu Hajar, together with other celebrated creative personalities of the Syrian uprising, a post-Rock musician (Anas Maghrebi), members of the first all-female Syrian rock band (Bahila Hijazi and Lynn Mayya), break-dancer (Bboy Shadow), choreographer (Medhat Aldaabal), and visual artists (Tammam Azzam, Omar Imam and Diala Brisly), use their art to rise in revolution and endure in exile in this new documentary reflecting on a battle for peace, justice and freedom of expression. It is an uplifting and humanizing look at what it means to be a refugee in today’s world and offers inspiring and hopeful vantages on a creative response to the chaos of war.

L.A’s Dances With Films Celebrates 25 Years, Sets Lineup, “The Walk” To Open Festival

Posted on May 5, 2022 by admin

The most defiantly independent film festival, DANCES WITH FILMS (DWF:LA), is celebrating 25 years of championing innovation, talent and creativity with a 2022 lineup that founders Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent declare is “the most dynamic and diverse we’ve ever seen.” The Los Angeles-based indie film event will take place at the TCL Chinese Theater from June 9-19.

The festival will kick off opening night with THE WALK, directed by Daniel Adams and starring Terrence Howard, Jeremy Piven, Malcolm McDowell and Justin Chatwin, a powerful story based on true events about Boston’s 1974 desegregation busing.

Additional titles include ASHGROVE, a pandemic era film starring Amanda Brugel (The Handmaid’s Tale), THE LATIN FROM MANHATTAN, which follows the wild life of adult film icon Vanessa Del Rio, starring Shane West, Jesse Metcalfe, Taryn Manning, Esai Morales, Drea de Matteo and Dita Von Teese.
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Thriller “Dawn Breaks Behind The Eyes” Comes to Digital on 6/24

Posted on May 5, 2022 by admin

The gothic thriller with Jeff Wilbusch of Peacock’s The Missing is set for release to digital Platforms June 24, 2022.

Winner of multiple genre awards including Best Feature Film Pumpkin at Fantasy Film Festival and Best Cinematography at FilmQuest Festival, the film is directed by Kevin Kopacka (Hades), and written by Lili Villányi & Kevin Kopacka.

The thriller from Dark Sky Film casts Anna Platen (Para – Wir sind King), Jeff Wilbusch (Peacock’s The Missing, Netflix’s Unorthodox), Luisa Taraz, Frederik Von Lüttichau (Notes of Berlin, Gender Crisis), with Bill Becker, Christopher Ramm, and Elena Gomez Alvarez.

Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
Margo, who comes from a noble family, inherited a castle that she inspects with her ill-tempered husband Dieter. When they arrive at the run-down keep, their relationship is put to a test as their sanity slowly deteriorates. This opens up a new world. As time and space begin to shift around them, a reality that only exists within the walls of the eerie building is exposed – a reality full of warmth and excess.

Things aren’t as they seem in this genre-bending film, that shifts between different story layers in unpredictable ways. It is a love letter to European cinema of the sixties and seventies that will leave viewers guessing what will happen next.

Audrey Diwan’s “Happening” Set To Open This Week

Posted on May 2, 2022 by admin

Golden Lion winner & BAFTA nominated film from writer/director Audrey Diwann, “Happening” is set to open in theaters on May 6, 2022, Friday.

Based on L’événement, the film was a winner of the Golden Lion at the 2021 Venice Film Festival. The film stars Anamaria Vartolomei, Kacey Mottet Klein, Luàna Bajrami, Louise Orry-Diquéro and Louise Chevillotte.

IFCFilms is also set to release the film in additional theaters nationwide on May 13, 2022, with openings in Alamo Drafthouse Downtown LA,
AMC Americana at Brand 18 and AMC Orange 30 among others, followed by a release on-demand on Jun 21, 2022.

Audrey Diwan was recently named one of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch in 2022. Audrey Diwan is a filmmaker, author and screenwriter who has collaborated with Cédric Jimenez, Gilles Lellouche and Valérie Donzelli, among others. She made her feature film directing debut with Losing It, starring Celine Sallette and Pio Marmai. Her second film, Happening, won the Golden Lion in 2021 Venice Film Festival and will be released theatrically in the US by IFC Films in 2022.

Adapted from prize winning author Annie Ernaux’s semi-autobiographical novel, HAPPENING follows Anne (Anamaria Vartolomei), a bright young student with a promising future ahead of her in France during 1963. But when she falls pregnant, she sees the opportunity to finish her studies and escape the constraints of her social background disappearing. With her final exams fast approaching and her belly growing, Anne resolves to act, even if she has to confront shame and pain, even if she must risk prison to do so.

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