Sundance has announced its 2015 US and World Dramatic and Documentary Competition lineups, along with the slate of films screening in its NEXT sidebar.
From January 22 to February 1, 2015, 120 feature-length films will screen in Park City, Utah, including 103 world premieres. Features selected represent 29 countries and 44 first-time filmmakers, including 26 in competition. And for those lucky enough to have made the cut, their careers hang in the balance. Will they land theatrical distribution? Or wind up having to go the DIY route or VOD? Getting into Sundance is one thing, emerging with a viable release is another. But Sundance is mainly about emerging talent, both behind and in front of the camera.
On day one, January 22, Sundance will feature one of each type of film shown at the Festival: a U.S. documentary, U.S. dramatic (Bryan Buckley's "The Bronze"), international documentary (Jerry Rothwelland's "How to Change the World") and world cinema dramatic (Lithuanian Alanté Kavaïté's "The Summer of Sangaile"), as well as one shorts program. By definition, the U.S. and world narrative and documentary competition and NEXT titles tend to include more emerging, lesser-known filmmakers and innovative storytelling.
Some are acquisition titles but the beauty of these films is that many of these are world premieres that have to be checked out by hordes of festgoers, media and buyers descending on Park City. The narrative and documentary Premiere announcements still to come boast more name directors and stars.
Sundance festival director John Cooper and chief programmer Trevor Groth got on the phone with Indiewire to share some of their discoveries. Programming this "energetic powerful film festival" was "exhilarating for us," says Cooper, "it's fun, bolder and braver." Also more personal, he says, "we felt an intensity this year, on all fronts."
About 30% of the program are women filmmakers, "hugely over the Hollywood standard," says Cooper, "which feels good. I like the quality and diversity of the work. It feels natural."
The programmers saw a rise in laugh-outloud comedies like hot acquisition title "The Bronze," set in 2004, which follows what happens to an American bronze medal gymnastics winner (played by cowriter Melissa Rauch) who still lives in her backwater town, looking back on her past glories and not happy about a new rising star. Filmmaker Buckley cut his teeth on shorts and commercials. And filmmaker comedian Bobcat Goldthwait returns to standup in his personal comedy "Call Me Lucky."
There's also more romantic content as well. Even many of the docs "will engage and will enrage people," says Cooper. He sees many filmmakers digging deeper and going to the dark side, with "a real concentration on empathy," he says, as filmmakers are "getting us to empathize with the darker side, with a wild rise of emotional extremes."
"Documentaries continue to have equal footing," adds Cooper, "with passion behind them." He sees more innovative use of cinematic storytelling and digital animation. "Whether it's a huge or smaller subject, we're sitting down and being taken on a journey."
He cited as one unusual doc competition discovery Crystal Moselle's "The Wolfpack," about seven kids trapped in an East Side apartment who hardly ever go outside and the life they create for themselves watching and reenacting films.
Another title that may break out is Alfonso Gomez-Rejon's coming-of-age story "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl," whose young lead actor Thomas Mann may be a "real star in the making," says Groth, who also praises the "Rawness" in NEXT section title "Tangerine." Kris Swanberg, Joe's wife, is in the competition with "Unexpected," a "fresh story with an honest approach looking at issues" says Groth "about women and a girl going through something."
Picking the right section is "about the films," says Groth, "not what they've done prior to that. NEXT is established as the place to find bold innovative uncompromised films. This group fits that—they don’t have to be aggressively outrageous. Rick Alverson could have been in competition with a comedy, 'Entertainment,' which is such a unique beast, intentionally provocative. I'm dying to see what the audience reaction to that film is. We talked about it for both sections. In NEXT, we feel the attitude of these films, we have a pretty good sense what the audience engagement going to be."
New to the festival this year is the Art in Film program on the second weekend, very much shepherded by Robert Redford, focusing on celebrating the filmmaking craft, following the Power of Story panel Thursday with Redford and George Lucas moderated by Leonard Maltin. The program will focus on how such crafts as editing, cinematography, art direction and costumes work.
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