The good news is that a handful of films that I predicted that would be at the fest and that I wanted to see (Blue Valentine, Hesher, Howl, Happythankyoumoreplease, Sympathy for Delicious and Winter’s Bone) have indeed been selected. Then there is a film in Zeina Durra’s The Imperialists Are Still Alive! (see pic) that I had wanted to mention because of the delicious trailer, but didn’t think would secure a spot. And then there there are a bunch of films flying so low on the radar that’ll be a pleasure to discover what and who there all about (Drake Doremus’s Douchebag, Ryan Piers Williams’ The Dry Land, Kevin Tyler Asch’s Holy Rollers, Bryan Poyser’s Lovers of Hate, Tanya Hamilton’s Night Catches Us, Diane Bell’s Obselidia, Anthony Burns’s Skateland, Eric Mendelsohn’s 3 Backyards and Jake Scott’s Welcome to the Rileys). I’m so psyched for Sundance – look for further updates in the hours, day, weeks to come.
“Blue Valentine” – Directed by Derek Cianfrance, written by Cianfrance, Cami Delavigne and Joey Curtis, a portrait of an American marriage that charts the evolution of a relationship over time. With Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Mike Vogel, John Doman.
“Douchebag” – Directed by Drake Doremus, written by Lindsay Stidham, Doremus, Jonathan Schwartz and Andrew Dickler, in which a man about to be married takes his younger brother on a wild goose chase to find the latter’s fifth-grade girlfriend. Features Dickler, Ben York Jones, Marguerite Moreau, Nicole Vicius, Amy Ferguson, Wendi McClendon-Covey.
“The Dry Land” – Directed and written by Ryan Piers Williams, in which a returning U.S. soldier tries to reconcile his experiences overseas with his life in Texas. With America Ferrera, Wilmer Valderrama, Ethan Suplee, June Diane Raphael, Melissa Leo.
“Happythankyoumoreplease” – Directed and written by Josh Radnor, about six New Yorkers negotiating love, friendship and gratitude when they’re too old to be precocious and not yet fully adults. Stars Malin Akerman, Radnor, Kate Mara, Zoe Kazan, Tony Hale, Pablo Schreiber, Michael Algieri.
“Hesher” – Directed by Spencer Susser, written by Susser and David Michod from a story by Brian Charles Frank, in which a mysterious, anarchical trickster enters the lives of a family dealing with a painful loss. Toplines Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman, Devin Brochu, Piper Laurie, John Carroll Lynch.
“Holy Rollers” – Directed by Kevin Tyler Asch, written by Antonio Macia, concerning a young Hasidic man in the throes of money, power and opportunity who becomes an international Ecstasy smuggler. With Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Bartha, Danny A. Abeckaser, Ari Graynor, Jason Fuchs.
“Howl” – Directed and written by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, a “nonfiction drama” about how Allen Ginsberg created the eponymous poem and the subsequent landmark obscenity trial. Stars James Franco, David Strathairn, Jon Hamm, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeff Daniels.
“The Imperialists Are Still Alive!” – Directed and written by Zeina Durra, about how a French Manhattanite continues her work as an artist in the wake of the sudden abduction of her childhood sweetheart and a blooming love affair. Toplines Elodie Bouchez, Jose Maria de Tavira, Karim Saleh Karolina Muller, Marianna Kulukundis, Rita Ackerman.
“Lovers of Hate” – Directed and written by Bryan Poyser, about how the reunion of estranged brothers is undermined when the woman they both love chooses one over the other. With Chris Doubek, Heather Kafka, Alex Karpovsky, Zach Green.
“Night Catches Us” – Directed and written by Tanya Hamilton, which focuses on the eventful return of a young man to the race-torn Philadelphia neighborhood where he grew up during the Black Power movement. Features Anthony Mackie, Kerry Washington, Jamie Hector, Wendell Pierce, Jamara Griffin.
“Obselidia” – Directed and written by Diane Bell, about the amorous awakening of a lonely librarian with a beguiling cinema projectionist in Death Valley. Toplines Gaynor Howe, Michael Piccirilli, Frank Hoyt Taylor.
“Skateland” – Directed by Anthony Burns, and written by Burns, Brandon Freeman and Heath Freeman, in which dramatic events in early ’80s small-town Texas force a 19-year-old skating rink manager to see his life in a new light. With Shiloh Fernandez, A.J. Buckley, Ashley Greene, Brett Cullen, Ellen Hollman, Heath Freeman.
“Sympathy for Delicious” – Directed by Mark Ruffalo and written by Christopher Thornton, which centers on a newly paralyzed DJ who gets more than he bargained for when he seeks out the world of faith healing. Stars Orlando Bloom, Ruffalo, Juliette Lewis, Laura Linney, John Carroll Lynch.
“3 Backyards” – Directed and written by Eric Mendelsohn, in which a quiet suburban town becomes intense emotional terrain for three residents on one strange day. Toplines Embeth Davidtz, Edie Falco, Elias Koteas, Rachel Resheff, Kathryn Erbe, Danai Gurira.
“Welcome to the Rileys” – Directed by Jake Scott, about a damaged man who seeks salvation by caring for a wayward young woman during a business trip to New Orleans. Stars James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart, Melissa Leo.
“Winter’s Bone” – Directed by Debra Granik and written by Granik and Anne Rosellini, which focuses on the dangerous efforts of an Ozard Mountain girl to track down her drug-dealer father while keeping her family intact. With Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Lauren Sweetser, Kevin Breznahan, Isaiah Stone.
