Festival Predictions

2021 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Stacey Gregg’s Here Before

Published on November 18, 2020

Shoring up at Sundance with five films in the past two editions (Mandy, Nancy, Burden, Possessor, Luxor) Andrea Riseborough could once again be linked to the festival with Stacey Gregg‘s directorial debut. After about a decade of screenwriting, Gregg went into production in November of 2019 in Belfast for Here Before and the supporting cast includes Jonjo O’Neill, Martin McCann, Eileen O’Higgins, and newbie Niamh Dornan.

Gist: Riseborough plays Laura, who becomes captivated by Megan (Dornan), the young daughter of a new family that moves next door. She stirs up painful memories of her own daughter who died several years previously and before long Laura’s memories turn to obsession as Megan’s unsettling behaviour begins to convince her of something supernatural.

Production Co./Producers: Rooks Nest’s Sophie Vickers.

Prediction: WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available.

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).