Slamdance announce 2008 festival slate

The parallel film festival event that takes place in the same village, same street and pretty much the same dates as its more intimidating cousin is now in its 14th year. The Slamdance film festival is filled with plenty of low budget stuff and though there are not that many items here below to brag about – ever year they manage to pull a rabbit of a film out of their hat. This year the film festival opens with (pictured below): Real Time by Randall Cole.

Here is the complete rundown of titles for the festival:

Narrative Feature Competition

Fix, World Premiere (2008, 90 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Tao Ruspoli
This darkly comedic road movie journeys from Beverly Hills to Watts over the course of 12 hours, as documentary filmmakers Bella and Milo race to get Milo's brother Leo from jail to rehab before 8 p.m. – or Leo goes to prison for three years.

Frost, World Premiere (2008, 92 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Steve Clark
When a Manhattan playboy learns his childhood love is engaged he is forced to face the demons of his past and grow up.

Glory Boy Days, World Premiere (2008, 100 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Paul Encinas
A story about a group of young adults in the prime of their lives, in a time where being young makes you invincible, and being invincible makes you complacent.

Jetsam, North American Premiere (2007, 84 min, UK)
Written/Directed by Simon Welsford
Starring Shauna Macdonald and Alex Reid
An amnesiac woman is washed up on a beach and attacked by a man who washed up next to her. On the run from this stranger, she pieces her life back together, uncovering a world of spies, obsession and betrayal.

How To Be, World Premiere (2008, 83 min, UK)
Written/Directed by Oliver Irving
A wry comedy about twenty-something Arthur who moves back in with his parents, hits a quarter-life crisis and enlists the help of a live-in self-help guru. A timely look at the increasingly common phenomena of grown-up children living at home, frustrated creativity, and self-help.

Paranormal Activity (2007, 99 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Oren Peli
A supernatural thriller featuring shocking footage of a demonic haunting.

Portage, US Premiere (2007, 89 min, CANADA)
Written/Directed by Matthew Miller, Ezra Krybus, Sascha Drews
In this sensual, intense drama, a quartet of teenage girls embark on a canoe trip with a male guide. After his accidental death, they find themselves trapped in the wilderness and have to fend for themselves to find their way back to safety.

The Project, World Premiere (2008, 90 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Ryan Piotrowicz
Starring Michael Stahl David, Matt Servitto, and Juelz Santana
Three film student graduates move to New York City to make a documentary about inner city life, where they soon find themselves becoming active participants in a world they hoped to only observe.

New Year Parade, World Premiere (2008, 90 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Tom Quinn
In the first year of their parents' separation, two siblings struggle for confidence in their own relationships.

Under the Snow, North American Premiere (2007, 99 min, SPAIN)
Written/Directed by Candela Figueira and Maitena Muruzabal
Following the unusual connection made between four workers at different stages of their lives, capturing factory life in a way rarely seen:  personal, flirtatious, introspective.

Documentary Feature Competition  

Circus Rosaire, New Edit Premiere (2007, 93 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Robyn Bliley
For nine generations the Rosaire family has entertained audiences all over the world with their legendary animal acts. However, the circus industry is changing and attendance has dramatically declined. The Rosaire's livelihood and future are at risk as they struggle to continue the family tradition.

I Think We’re Alone Now, World Premiere (2008, 70 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Sean Donnelly
Labeled “stalkers” by the media, Jeff and Kelly profess their love for the 80's pop icon, Tiffany.

More Shoes, World Premiere (2008, 75 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Lee Kazimir
The story of one individual’s 3,000-mile trek across Europe on foot from Madrid to Kiev.

My Mother’s Garden, World Premiere (2008, 70 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Cynthia Lester
The story of one woman's extreme attachment to material objects and how her estranged children reunite to help her let go.

Neo-Lounge, 86 min (2007, 86 min, CHINA)
Written/Directed by Joanna Vasquez Arong
An Italian aristocrat, a Bulgarian jazz singer, a Colombian coroner, a French hair salon entrepreneur, all together for a short moment in time at Beijing's hippest nightspot Neo-Lounge.

Pageant, World Premiere (2008, 95 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Ron Davis and Stewart Halpern
In the talented world of female impersonation, this story follows the lives of five ordinary men as they go to extraordinary lengths to be crowned the 34th Miss Gay America®.

Song Sung Blue, World Premiere (2008, 85 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Greg Kohs
The alternately inspiring and tragic love story of Lightning & Thunder, a home-grown  Milwaukee husband and wife singing duo, who pay tribute to the music of Neil Diamond.

Sync or Swim, World Premiere (2008, 100 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Cheryl Furjanic
A splashy look at a marginal sport: U.S.A.'s top synchronized swimmers endure rigorous training and overcome unthinkable obstacles to compete for Olympic glory.

View From the Bridge: Stories from Kosovo, World Premiere (2008, 105 min, USA/KOSOVO)
Written/Directed by John Ealer and Laura Bialis
Peace is for the brave. Told through the first person stories of Serbs, Albanians and Roma (Gypsies), this documentary juxtaposes the nightmares and dreams of Kosovars as it portrays a society trying to build a future while inextricably bound to the past.

Wesley Willis’s Joyride, World Premiere (2008, 77 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Chris Bagley and Kim Shively
An underground rock icon and revered artist, the late, great Wesley Willis attracted and offended people from all walks of life. The film follows the prolific and controversial artist on his journey from obscurity to cult hero.

Narrative Special Screening Features

Real Time, World Premiere (2008, 80 min, CANADA)
Written/Directed by Randall Cole
Starring Randy Quaid and Jay Baruchel
A comedic drama about a compulsive gambler who is given one hour to live by the hitman hired to kill him.

Goodbye Baby, World Premiere (2008, 87 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Daniel Schechter
Starring Christine Evangelista, Kevin Corrigan, Jerry Adler, Alan Ruck, Donnell Rawlings
When Melissa Brooks discovers she can't afford college she moves to New York City and gets a job as a waitress at a comedy club. Living with her eccentric older brother, she enters a love triangle while trying to muster the nerve to get on stage and perform.

Just Add Water, World Premiere (2008, 90 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Hart Bochner
Starring Dylan Walsh, Danny DeVito, Jonah Hill, Justin Long, Tracy Middendorf, Anika Noni Rose
An offbeat romantic comedy about Ray Tuckby, a decent guy living in the once idyllic, now crime-infested town of Trona, California. After encouragement from a stranger he happens upon, Ray begins to dream about the way things used to be. He musters the courage to recapture his childhood love, topple the town thugs and return Trona to its original splendor.

Documentary Special Screening Features

Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Greene, World Premiere (2008, 60 min, USA) Written/Directed by Loren Mendell
Narrated by Don Cheadle
The unlikely story of America's first shock-jock, a black man in a white man's world who battled the system and his own demons during a time of civil unrest in our nation's capital.

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, World Premiere (2008, 95 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Kurt Kuenne
On Nov. 5, 2001, Dr. Andrew Bagby was murdered by his ex-girlfriend. To memorialize him, his friend Kurt began making a documentary film; then the killer revealed she was pregnant with Andrew's son.

Frontrunner, World Premiere (2007, 90 min, USA)
Written/Directed by Virginia Williams
A woman’s heroic, relentless run for the Presidency of Afghanistan.

Twilight Screening Features

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, North American Premiere (2007, 90 min, CANADA)
Written/Directed by Jon Knautz
Starring Robert Englund
Jack Brooks is an angry young plumber who witnessed his family's brutal murder when he was a child. Unknowingly, he awakens an ancient evil which forces him to confront his past and deal with the monstrous reality of the present.

Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007, 80 min, USA)
Directed by Jeffrey Schwarz
Interviews with John Waters, John Landis, Roger Corman, Leonard Maltin, Marcel Marceau, Joe Dante
A chronicle of the last great American showman, filmmaker William Castle, a master of ballyhoo who became a brand name in movie horror with his outrageous audience participation gimmicks.

Trailer Park of Terror, World Premiere (2008, 91 min, USA)
Directed by Steven Goldmann
Starring Nichole Hiltz, Lew Temple, Hayley Marie Norman, Ryan Carnes, Priscilla Barnes, Trace Adkins
Six troubled teens become stranded in a ramshackle trailer park where they meet Norma, an undead, trailer-trash babe with a killer body and a cursed brood of Redneck Zombies.