Festival Predictions

2017 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Azazel Jacobs’ The Lovers

Published on November 26, 2016

A two-time Sundance Film Fest attendee with Momma’s Man (2008) and Terri (2011), Azazel Jacobs‘ next should follow suit in Park City and dynamic interpersonal relationships between characters, we’re potentially moving into salacious and salivating War of the Roses-ian territory with The Lovers. Receiving full backing via the A24 folks, shot in San Clarita Valley this May, I smell a winner with lead perfs from Debra Winger and Tracy Letts.

Gist: This is about a relationship gone bitterly bad between Michael (Letts) and Mary (Winger); both have lovers who want them to get out of their marriage. However, when Michael and Mary sit down to call it quits, they find themselves suddenly, unexpectedly and even awkwardly falling back in love again.

Production Co./Producers: Jacobs, Ben LeClair (Upstream Color), Chris Stinson (Terri).

Prediction: I’m thinking this could land somewhere between the U.S Dramatic Comp section or the Premieres.

U.S. Distributor: A24. 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).