2015 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Jorge Michel Grau’s Big Sky

He had made name for himself with the Cannes debut We Are What We Are in 2010, and the remake of his film actually premiered at the fest not that much time afterwards. With production commencing late in 2013, we’re surprised that Jorge Michel Grau’s English language debut didn’t drop in 2014 — but only means a little more time in post for the shot in Albuquerque, New Mexico thriller. Featuring Bella Thorne in the lead, Big Sky sees Grau reteam with cinematographer Santiago Sanchez.

Gist: This is about Hazel (Bella Thorne), a teenage girl who suffers a mortal fear of open spaces. She never leaves her bedroom, which has put a strain on the relationship with her strung-out mom, Dee (Kyra Sedgwick), and is starting to take its toll on both of them. In a last ditch attempt to cure her daughter, Dee enrolls Hazel in a high-end treatment facility in the desert, hoping they will finally find the help they require so that Hazel can begin to move forward from the horrors of her past that triggered her illness. But help is the last thing that they get.

Production Co./Producers: Manis Film’s Randy Manis (The Calling), Matthew Salloway, Christina Papagjika

Prediction: Park City at Midnight.

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. CAA and Manis Film (domestic). Voltage Pictures (international)

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