The program lineup of feature films, short films and panel discussions is unveiled for the third Sundance London film and music festival, taking place April 25 to 27, 2014, at The O2 in London. Twenty-four films will make their world, international, European or UK premieres at Sundance London. Ten are by female filmmakers and seven are by first-time feature filmmakers. The films collectively received 12 awards when they premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Among the filmmakers expected to attend are Ryan Coogler, David Cross, Rose McGowan and Marjane Satrapi. All screenings will take place at Cineworld at The O2.
FEATURE FILM PROGRAMME
American independent narrative and documentary films that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A.
Blue Ruin
Blue Ruin (Director and screenwriter: Jeremy Saulnier) — A mysterious outsider’s quiet life turns upside down when he returns to his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. Proving to be an amateur assassin, he winds up in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family. Cast: Macon Blair, Amy Hargreaves, Sidné Anderson, Devin Ratray, Kevin Kolack.
The Case Against 8
The Case Against 8 (Directors: Ben Cotner, Ryan White) — A behind-the-scenes look inside the case to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage. Shot over five years, the film follows the unlikely team that took the first federal marriage equality lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court. (Documentary) Winner of the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.International Premiere
Dinosaur 13
Dinosaur 13 (Director: Todd Miller) — An unprecedented saga in human history unfurls in this true tale of the world’s greatest dinosaur discovery and the ensuing battle to possess a 65-million-year-old treasure. (Documentary) International Premiere
Drunktown’s Finest
Drunktown’s Finest (Director and screenwriter: Sydney Freeland) — Three young Native Americans—a rebellious father-to-be, a devout Christian woman, and a promiscuous transsexual—come of age on an Indian reservation. Cast: Jeremiah Bitsui, Carmen Moore, Morningstar Angeline, Kiowa Gordon, Shauna Baker, Elizabeth Francis. International Premiere
Finding Fela
Finding Fela (Director: Alex Gibney) — Fela Anikulapo Kuti created the musical movement Afrobeat and used it as a political forum to oppose the Nigerian dictatorship and advocate for the rights of oppressed people. This is the story of his life, music, and political importance, from the award-winning director of Taxi to the Dark Sideand We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks. (Documentary) European Premiere
Fruitvale Station
Fruitvale Station (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Coogler) — The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O’Reilly, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray. Winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and the Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic presented by Acura at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. UK Premiere
Hits
Hits (Director and screenwriter: David Cross) — A small town in upstate New York is populated by people who wallow in unrealistic expectations. There, fame, delusion, earnestness and recklessness meet, shake hands and disrupt the lives around them. Hits is the directorial debut of writer, comedian and actor David Cross, best known for his work on Arrested Development. Cast: Michael Cera, Meredith Hagner, Matt Walsh, James Adomian, Jake Cherry, Derek Waters, Wyatt Cenac, Jason Ritter. International Premiere
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (Director: David Zellner, Screenwriters: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner) — A lonely Japanese woman becomes convinced that a satchel of money buried in a fictional film is, in fact, real. Abandoning her structured life in Tokyo for the frozen Minnesota wilderness, she embarks on an impulsive quest to search for her lost mythical fortune. Cast: Rinko Kikuchi. Winner of a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Musical Score at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. UK Premiere
LAMBERT & STAMP
LAMBERT & STAMP (Director: James D. Cooper) — In this crazy, chaotic gospel of chance, aspiring filmmakers Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert set out to search for a subject for their underground movie, leading them to discover, mentor, and manage the iconic band known as The Who and create rock ‘n’ roll history. (Documentary) UK Premiere
Little Accidents
Little Accidents (Director and screenwriter: Sara Colangelo) — In a small American coal town living in the shadow of a recent mining accident, the disappearance of a teenage boy draws three people together—a surviving miner, the lonely wife of a mine executive, and a local boy—in a web of secrets. Cast: Elizabeth Banks, Boyd Holbrook, Chloë Sevigny, Jacob Lofland, Josh Lucas. International Premiere
Memphis
Memphis (Director and screenwriter: Tim Sutton) — A strange singer drifts through the mythic city of Memphis, surrounded by beautiful women, legendary musicians, a stone-cold hustler, a righteous preacher, and a wolf pack of kids. Under a canopy of ancient oak trees and burning spirituality, his doomed journey breaks from conformity and reaches out for glory. Cast: Willis Earl Beal, Lopaka Thomas, Constance Brantley, Devonte Hull, John Gary Williams, Larry Dodson. International Premiere
Obvious Child
Obvious Child (Director and screenwriter: Gillian Robespierre) — An honest comedy about what happens when Brooklyn comedian Donna Stern gets dumped, fired, and pregnant, just in time for the worst/best Valentine’s Day of her life. Cast: Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann, David Cross, Gabe Liedman, Richard Kind. UK Premiere
They Came Together
They Came Together (Director: David Wain, Screenwriters: Michael Showalter, David Wain) — This subversion/spoof/deconstruction of the romantic comedy genre has a vaguely, but not overtly, Jewish leading man, a klutzy, but adorable, leading lady, and New York City itself as another character in the story. They Came Together reunites director Wain with many of the stars from his 2001 cult teen classic, Wet Hot American Summer. Cast: Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Ed Helms, Cobie Smulders, Max Greenfield, Christopher Meloni. International Premiere
Under the Electric Sky EDC2013
Under the Electric Sky (EDC 2013) (Directors: Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz) — This 3-D film chronicles the love, community, and life of festivalgoers during Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, the largest music festival in the U.S. Behind-the-scenes footage and exclusive interviews with Insomniac’s Pasquale Rotella reveal the magic that makes this three-night, 345,000-person event a global phenomenon. (Documentary) UK Premiere
The Voices
The Voices (Director: Marjane Satrapi, Screenwriter: Michael R. Perry) — This genre-bending tale centers around Jerry Hickfang, a lovable but disturbed factory worker who yearns for attention from a woman in accounting. When their relationship takes a sudden, murderous turn, Jerry’s evil talking cat and benevolent talking dog lead him down a fantastical path where he ultimately finds salvation. Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Gemma Arterton, Anna Kendrick, Jacki Weaver. International Premiere
SPECIAL EVENT PROGRAM
On-screen stories complemented by extraordinary off-screen experiences.
Axiom
Axiom (Director: NYSU, Screenwriters: David Gambero & NYSU) — Axiom is an island in the middle of nowhere, steep cliffs on all sides. On the island there is an underground city dominated by a bell, the bell decides the fate of the city’s inhabitants. Cast: Jonathan David Mellor, Santi Senso, Cova de Alfonso, Silvia Vacas, Pablo Menasanch, Julia Llerena. World Premiere
UK SPOTLIGHT
Drawing on the Sundance Film Festival’s rich legacy of premiering outstanding films produced in the UK – including An Education, Four Weddings and a Funeral, In Bruges, In the Loop, Kinky Boots, and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels – this showcase presents two UK films that premiered in Park City, Utah, U.S.A. this year.
Frank
Frank (Director: Lenny Abrahamson, Screenwriters: Jon Ronson, Peter Straughan) — Frank is an offbeat comedy about a wannabe musician who finds himself out of his depth when he joins an avant garde rock band led by the enigmatic Frank—a musical genius who hides himself inside a large fake head. Cast: Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Scoot McNairy. UK Premiere
The Trip to Italy
The Trip to Italy (Director: Michael Winterbottom, Screenwriters: Rob Brydon, Steve Coogan, Michael Winterbottom) — Michael Winterbottom reunites Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon for more delectable food, some sharp-elbowed rivalry, and plenty of laughs.Cast: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon. European Premiere
SHORT FILM PROGRAM
Two wide-ranging collections of short films that screened in January at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Short Film Programme 1
Cruising Electric (1980) / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Brumby Boylston) — The marketing department green-lights a red-light tie-in: 60 lost seconds of modern movie merchandising. International Premiere
Dawn / U.S.A. (Director: Rose McGowan, Screenwriters: M.A. Fortin, Joshua John Miller) — Dawn is a quiet young teenager who longs for something or someone to free her from her sheltered life. Dawnis the directorial debut of actress Rose McGowan (Planet Terror). International Premiere
Exchange & Mart / United Kingdom (Directors: Cara Connolly, Martin Clark, Screenwriter: Cara Connolly) — Reg is a lonely girl at a remote Scottish boarding school where paranoia about rape is rife. Her unorthodox self-defense class provides the human touch she craves so deeply. When she is attacked in the woods, she knows what she has to do…
Love. Love. Love. / Russia (Director: Sandhya Daisy Sundaram) — Every year, through the endless winters, her love takes new shapes and forms. Winner of a Short Film Special Jury Award for Non-fiction at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Marilyn Myller / U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Mikey Please) — Marilyn maketh. Marilyn taketh awayeth. Marilyn is trying really hard to create something good. For once, her expectation and reality are going to align. It will be epic. It will be tear-jerkingly profound. It will be perfect. Nothing can go wrong.
Notes on Blindness / United Kingdom, U.S.A., Australia (Directors: Peter Middleton, James Spinney) — In 1983, writer and theologian John Hull became blind. To help make sense of his loss, he began keeping an audio diary. Encompassing dreams, memories, and his imaginative life, Notes on Blindness immerses the viewer in Hull’s experience of blindness.
Of God and Dogs / Syrian Arab Republic (Director: Abounaddara Collective) — A young, free Syrian soldier confesses to killing a man he knew was innocent. He promises to take vengeance on the God who led him to commit the murder. Winner of the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. European Premiere
Phantom Limb / United Kingdom, Australia (Director and screenwriter: Alex Grigg) — James and Martha narrowly survive a motorcycle accident. During the aftermath, however, James begins to experience Martha’s phantom pains.
Short Film Programme 2
Afronauts / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Frances Bodomo) — On July 16th 1969, America prepares to launch Apollo 11. Thousands of miles away, the Zambia Space Academy hopes to beat America to the moon. Inspired by true events. UK Premiere
Burger / United Kingdom, Norway (Director and screenwriter: Magnus Mork) — It’s late night in a burger bar in Wales… Winner of a Short Film Special Jury Award for Direction and Ensemble Actingat the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
The Cut / Canada (Director and screenwriter: Geneviève Dulude-Decelles) — The Cut tells the story of a father and a daughter, whose relationship fluctuates between proximity and detachment, at the moment of a haircut. Winner of the Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
I Think This Is the Closest to How the Footage Looked / Israel (Directors: Yuval Hameiri) — A man with poor means recreates a lost memory of the last day with his mom. Objects come to life in a desperate struggle to produce a single moment that is gone. Winner of the Short Film Jury Award: Non-fiction at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
The Last Days of Peter Bergmann / Ireland (Director: Ciaran Cassidy) — In 2009, a man claiming to be from Austria arrived in the town of Sligo, Ireland. During his final days, Peter Bergmann went to great lengths to ensure no one ever discovered who he was and where he came from. UK Premiere
Life’s a Bitch / Canada (Director: François Jaros, Screenwriter: Guillaume Lambert) — Love. Grief. Choc. Denial. Sleeplessness. Bubble bath. Mucus. Masturbation. Pop tart. Pigeons. Toothpaste. Hospital. F__k. Bye. Hair. Sports. Chicken. Bootie. Kids. Rejection. Squirrels. Cries. Awkward—95 scenes, five minutes: life’s a bitch. UK Premiere
MeTube: August Sings Carmen “Habanera” / Austria (Director and screenwriter: Daniel Moshel) — George Bizet`s “Habanera” from Carmen has been reinterpreted and enhanced with electronic sounds for MeTube, an homage to thousands of ambitious YouTube users and video bloggers, and gifted and less gifted self-promoters on the Internet.
The Obvious Child / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Stephen Irwin) — Somebody broke the girl’s parents. The rabbit was there when it happened. It was an awful mess.
Yearbook / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Bernardo Britto) — A man is hired to compile the definitive history of human existence before the planet blows up. Winner of the Short Film Jury Award: Animation at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. International Premiere