Festival Predictions

2019 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: #1. Matthew Rankin – The 20th Century

Published on November 20, 2018

The prolific idiosyncratic experimental filmmaker in many things Canadiana. So after a decade in the short form, Matthew Rankin has been in post production with his feature debut The 20th Century for the better part of 2018. With three short films selected at Sundance (Negativipeg, Tabula Rasa, and Mynarski Death Plummet) there is a definite Park City connection, but his last project The Tesla World Light preemed on the Croisette in 2017 and so this debut could be launched pretty much anywhere. The Winnipegger/Montrealer was featured during production on VICE in early 2017, so docu-fiction-animated hybrid photographed by filmmaker Vincent Biron (here is our sit-down with him for Prank) should be ready to go. This collage stars Dan Beirne, Mikhail Ahooja, Sarianne Cormier, Catherine St-Laurent (Stéphane Lafleur’s Tu Dors Nicole) and Brent Skagford.

Gist: Toronto, 1899. Aspiring politician Mackenzie King hesitates in love between a heroic soldier he believes himself destined to marry and a psoriasis-addled spinster and learns that with unrequited love, it’s never over until you’ve completely humiliated yourself.

Production Co./Producers: Voyelles Films‘ Gabrielle Tougas-Fréchette and Ménaïc Raoul (All You Can Eat Buddha).

Prediction: While this film could certainly land at any international film festival (Rotterdam, Cannes’ Critics’ Week, Locarno), we’re thinking a World Cinema Dramatic Competition slot or even NEXT section is a possibility with a Rotterdam showing shortly after.

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

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).