Festival Predictions

2017 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Untitled Madeleine Olnek Emily Dickinson Project

Published on November 29, 2016

We were a little too early with this prognostication, and we don’t yet have an official title, but we’re now thinking it’s time for a Molly Shannon performance to slay the masses and we might just find it here in Madeleine Olnek‘s next feature. Lensing took place in late 2015 for the filmmaker who first visited the fest with 2011’s Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same and for 2014’s The Foxy Merkins. Nominated for the 2014 Independent Spirit “Someone To Watch” award, this third film features Susan Ziegler, Amy Seimetz, Brett Gelman (maybe a break out year with the release of Lemon), Sasha Frolova and Dana Melanie. Could be a fun year with Terence Davies’ A Quiet Passion (receiving a 2017 theatrical release).

Gist: The comedy-period piece about famed poet Dickinson has been described as kind of an “experimental” piece with Shannon taking the title role as an adult Emily and Dana Melanie playing Young Emily.

Production Co./Producers: Anna Margarita Albelo, Casper Andreas, Madeleine Olnek, Max Rifkind-Barron.

Prediction: U.S Dramatic Comp with Rotterdam or Berlin showing.

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. TBD (domestic). TBD (international)

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Eric Lavallée

Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist and critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson's This Teacher (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). In 2022 he served as a New Flesh Comp for Best First Feature at the 2022 Fantasia Intl. Film Festival. Current top films for 2022 include Tár (Todd Field), All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen), Aftersun (Charlotte Wells).