Festival Predictions

2017 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Dee Rees’ Mudbound

Published on November 27, 2016

The Sundance Institute and festival were the lieu where Pariah (both the short and feature) received critical help and it gave indiewood a new voice to champion in Dee Rees. After exploring TV work with “Bessie” (TV Movie), Empire (2015) and When We Rise (2017), Rees finally got into sophomore mode this past summer with Mudbound. Filmed in New Orleans, Louisiana this past May, this stars Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, Jonathan Banks, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Rob Morgan and the Mary J. Blige, this handsome period pic based on Hillary Jordan’s novel also includes the work of cinematographer Rachel Morrison.

Gist: Two men return home from World War II to work on a farm in rural Mississippi where they struggle to deal with racism and adjusting to life after war.

Production Co./Producers: Carl Effenson and Sally Jo Effenson (Burying the Ex), Cassian Elwes (Elvis & Nixon), Charles D. King (Fences), Christopher Lemole (Cabin Fever), Kim Roth (Tower Heist), Tim Zajaros (The Midnight Man).

Prediction: Premieres section.

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. TBD (domestic). 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).