Festival Predictions

2021 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Barry Levinson’s Harry Haft

Published on November 18, 2020

Despite the Covid, I’m surprised that this biopic directed by the always busy veteran helmer Barry Levinson didn’t shore up at some fest in 2020. Production took place in Hungary and in the U.S. in February of 2019 with Ben Foster toplining and Billy Magnussen, Danny DeVito, Vicky Krieps, Peter Sarsgaard, Saro Emirze, Dar Zuzovsky and John Leguizamo as supporting players on this boxing card. A second biopic in a row after Paterno, Levinson just signed up to helm a biopic based on the filming of The Godfather called, Francis And The Godfather.

Gist: Set post-World War II and sees Haft, a boxer who fought fellow prisoners in the concentration camps to survive. Haunted by the memories and his guilt, he attempts to use high-profile fights against boxing legends like Rocky Marciano as a way to find his first love again.

Production Co./Producers: Bron Studios’ Aaron L. Gilbert, Matti Leshem, Barry Levinson, Scott Pardo, Jason Sosnoff.

Prediction: PREMIERES

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available.

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).