Search results for: Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden

Ryan Gosling (The Believer, The Notebook) gives a tour de force performance as Dan Dunne, an inner city middle school history teacher and girls basketball coach battling the demons of his past, present, and future that have manifested themselves into a serious dependency on drugs and alcohol. The title of the film is Half Nelson, a term borrowed from the world of professional wrestling—a “half nelson” is a hold which is nearly impossible to break free from. Half Nelson marks the feature narrative debut from filmmaking team Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (both write, he directs, she edits), who have previously collaborated on Jovenes Rebeldes (Young Rebels), a feature length documentary about Cuban hip-hop groups, and numerous short projects, including the 20-minute Gowanus, Brooklyn (a condensed shot-on-video version of Half Nelson) which won the Grand Jury Prize in short filmmaking at the 2004 Sundance film festival.

While I don't really see a Catherine Deneuve navigating the wintery sidewalks of Main Street, her co-star in Andrea Riseborough could easily be the...

Last year's slate of seventeen Narrative Premieres (excluding secret screenings of Boyhood and Nymphomaniac: Vol. I) refreshingly included works from first time filmmakers. I...

Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (Half Nelson, Sugar) are moving into the bigger leagues, striking a deal with Focus Features to produce a project that they originally had set up with Paramount Pictures.

Sundance Film Festival's Premiere section (a mix of fiction and docs) will have some biggie titles to contend with the likes of Aaron Schimberg's...