We're only a little past the one week point the apres portion of the Sundance Film Festival so I'm expecting some keys deals to still come trickling in, however there are fivesome of high profile, critically well-received titles that have yet to find a U.S. distribution deal that I thought are worth mentioning.
#1. At the top of this list, and a favorite among critics, we find David Michôd's Animal Kingdom -- winner of the World Cinema Jury Prize, Dramatic this family crime drama, a two hour saga is engrossing, seeping in beauty and artifice and only confirms what we had a hunch with in his short film work: that the Aussie filmmaker is the real deal with the bold narrative and aesthetic choices. I'm not sure how many territories already own the film, but this should be on its way of being sold and picked up worldwide. E1 Entertainment are either still fielding more than one offer, or fine-tuning the North American rights package.
#2. Next up, we have a doc that was the last minute entry of the festival and pretty much won over all critics. The post-modern, difficult to categorize, re-invention of the doc Exit Through the Gift Shop (judge for yourself) is a "non-look" look at a street artist. Big question will a doc film that discusses notions of "selling out" sell out to a buyer. Cinetic certainly hopes so.
#3. Speaking of blurring the lines, the form that opening night film Howl took might pan out to be a risk-worthy title if the eventual marketing team can sell the drama/documentary as a unique hybrid and if sales agent team Cinetic can convince the eventual buyer that despite what critics thought of the film, that many were mentioning James Franco and Oscar-worthy nom in the same breath.
#4. It was only a blip on the radar until pre-fest buzz and the comedy's successful first screening officially put this on the map. The one thing working against Christopher Morris' Four Lions in terms of an eventual domestic pick-up is how much of an audience will warm up to a comedy that isn't distinctly Brit, but not enough Bruno or Borat. Without any recognizable faces, Wild Bunch have their work cut-out, but the subject matter in the color-alerted States, Morris' comedic visual style, the moronic and somehow endearing characters offer a easier mix than a recent film such as In the Loop.
#5. There is a slew of other unsold films with better known casts (e.g. The Romantics, The Extra Man, The Company Men, Sympathy For Delicious, Welcome to the Rileys, Night Catches Us, happythankyoumoreplease and 3 Backyards) but Anthony Burns' debut Skateland, a coming-of-age film sticks out because of the filmmakers' skill set. CAA should be able to sell the film on soundtrack and visual look alone.
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