2018 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Miguel Arteta’s Duck Butter

Mostly working within the comedy film curriculum, two decades, and now eight feature films in, an habitual of the fest since presenting Star Maps in 1997, Miguel Arteta appears to be oscillating towards dramatic formulas with afterthought. His last film took jabs at casual racism and now, casual sex or perhaps an entitlement and societal attitude. 2016 was sort of a “leap” year for Arteta. He moved from Beatriz at Dinner (which generated terrific buzz at the 2017 Sundance edition) directly to Duck Butter. Stamped as an experimental comedy, Arteta collaborated with the true American indie “it” girl in Alia Shawkat, who toplines also gets her first cred as a scribe. Shot in September of 2016 in just nine days, we’re thinking in the lines of the unseen Glitterati film from Roger Avary meets the Netflix and chill generation as on paper this “smells” like one of the most promising wild ride items to be offered in 2018 and will likely solidify Laia Costa as a must cast. Mark and Jay Duplass are also in the starting line-up.

Gist: Written by Arteta and Alia Shawkat, two women, who dissatisfied with the dishonesty they see in dating and relationships, decide to make a pact to spend 24 hours together and have sex on the hour, every hour hoping to create a new way to create intimacy.

Production Co./Producers: Duplass Brothers Productions’ Mel Eslyn (Outside In), Natalie Qasabian.

Prediction: I’m making the bold prediction that this will fall in the NEXT section.

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