Sundance Journal: 13 Must See Films for the 2009 Edition

Greetings folks! I don’t seem to have this problem with festivals like Cannes or Toronto, but making a film viewing schedule for Sundance is a futile, but necessary exercise. While, the the list usually doesn’t remain intact past the 48-hour mark, I do end up making one for the obvious reasons: you want to see certain films and make sure you don’t overlap, but the real necessity is in you want to free up time for interviews, a couple of parties and since the organizers only give out one public ticket (for the fest’s opening weekend) and two for the rest of the fest, you sort of need to pre-establish your viewing pecking order.

So far, I’ve come up with a list of 32 (this includes about 10 docs, and at least half are from first time filmmakers) and excluding tomorrow’s open film screening, it means that we are looking at a very manageable four films per day schedule, with some naps almost pre-programmed into it (especially when you have an early morning screening at 9 in the morning and finish off the day with a rowdy Midnight screening as will be the case on at least a couple of occasions.

Greetings folks! I don’t seem to have this problem with festivals like Cannes or Toronto, but making a film viewing schedule for Sundance is a futile, but necessary exercise. While, the the list usually doesn’t remain intact past the 48-hour mark, I do end up making one for the obvious reasons: you want to see certain films and make sure you don’t overlap, but the real necessity is in you want to free up time for interviews, a couple of parties and since the organizers only give out one public ticket (for the fest’s opening weekend) and two for the rest of the fest, you sort of need to pre-establish your viewing pecking order.

So far, I’ve come up with a list of 32 (this includes about 10 docs, and at least half are from first time filmmakers) and excluding tomorrow’s open film screening, it means that we are looking at a very manageable four films per day schedule, with some naps almost pre-programmed into it (especially when you have an early morning screening at 9 in the morning and finish off the day with a rowdy Midnight screening as will be the case on at least a couple of occasions.

Having been a regular at festivals both large and small in scope, I’ve developed a 1st, 2nd and 3rd tier processing system of choosing what films to see – with grouping number one being, the absolute, must see films that if I don’t see I’ll leave the fest with this empty stomach feeling. So if there is a title you might be interested in below – make sure to stay tuned as they are highly unlikely to be ousted from my list of films to feature list and will become a part of my Sundance journals (reporting on the public film event) and/or general film reviews.

Auteur Theory:
This pair of films comes from filmmakers that have at least on (one occasion) within their filmography offered a seminal piece of work. Tom Dicillo’s Living in Oblivion remains a cherished favorite indie film of mine and this year Tom veered into documentary film domain and made a film about Jim Morrison and The Doors (When You’re Strange). After mostly sticking to dramas, David MacKenzie (whose Young Adam is a masterwork) is also branching out – this time a sex romp titled Spread starring Ashton Kutcher. Both titles will be available for buyers.

Sundance Kids:
For a select few, Sundance acts as a father figure of sorts – old Sundance vets support the next gen of filmmakers – this year there are a trio of films and filmmakers that I look especially forward in are
Cary Joji Fukunaga’s Sin Nombre which promises a film noir thriller tied in with a harrowing storyline. This picture will be soon released by Focus Features who jumped onboard the project early on. Cruz Angeles’ Don’t Let Me Drown offers a caring portrait of youth entangled in the aftermath of 9/11…I’m weary of anything that has post 9/11 in the storyline but I think I might be pleasantly surprised on how this might turn out. Finally, Sophie Barthes’ Cold Souls features Sundance vet and recent GG’s John Adam winner Paul Giamatti in a storyline that will surely make the buyers antsy and the leave the critics buzzing.

The Black List:
The basis for a great film usually commences at the script stage. These four films being presented were on 2006 and 2007 Black Lists (from what I’ve established really is a great barometer to finding the next best thing). Greg Mottola’s Adventureland receives a spotlight showing, while the rest are directorial debuts from established screenwriter Oren Moverman (The Messenger), John Hindman (Arlen Faber) and Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer).

Guilty Pleasures:
These are titles that are definitely not your mainstream indie films and which I don’t need to build the hype because they come to Sundance packing lots of buzz. We have Dominic Murphy’s White Lightin’ (with Carrie Fisher’s possible comeback?), we have some love from Dane filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn tapping into the memories of my Hollywood icon in Bronson, we get a flashback to the crazy days of Los Angeles 80’s (The Informers) as written by Bret Easton Ellis and directed by Sundance vet Gregor Jordan and finally the film title that will start a bidding war by the companies that don’t mind what the MPAA’s final decision will be: Scott Sanders’ Black Dynamite.