2014 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Mona Fastvold’s The Sleepwalker

Just like the Chileans did last year’s fest, the Norwegians have been slowly invading the Sundance Film Festival with an output of films from smart rom coms (Happy, Happy) to original monster flicks (The Troll Hunter). I’m thinking that this swooning will extend itself into ’14 with actress, video filmmaker, and now Brooklyn-based director Mona Fastvold’s debut feature. The Sleepwalker went into production back in October of ’12 with a cast that exports Norway’s Gitte Witt onto U.S turf alongside Christopher Abbott, Stephanie Ellis and multifaceted contributor Brady Corbet. We’ll be far from pressing the “snooze button” on this one.

Gist: Written by Fastvold and Corbet, we find a young attractive couple renovating their Le Corbusier-like estate in the woods…Their lives are soon dismantled upon the arrival of unexpected guests. The Sleepwalker pokes at genre expectations and narrative contrivance in an effort to reveal something altogether more disturbing.

Production Co./Producers: 4 1⁄2’s Karin Julsrud and Turid Øversveen, Tandem Pictures’ Julie Christeas and Schuyler Weiss (WildLike)

Prediction: U.S. Dramatic Competition or NEXT section. Depends on the “dramatic” weight/budget of the film. Rotterdam might be a logical lieu as well.

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available

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