Search results for: Amy Berg

It’s no secret how we here at Ion feel about the Borderline Films boys. Just about everyone who worked on Afterschool and the still as-yet-unreleased Two Gates of Sleep was featured on my editors American New Wave 25 list last year, and the only one left off won’t be for long. MMMM is Sean Durkin’s turn in the directing chair, and the buzz on it has been spectacular all the way through—from the Sundance Labs to its early frontrunner status in US Narrative Competition.

The Golden Globes award noms (a.k.a the "friendly" awards) have been unveiled and The King’s Speech leads with seven nominations while The Fighter and The Social Network following close behind with six noms each. The Comedy or Musical categories remind us why the show is more of a popularity contest than anything else, but knowing that we can still have contempt for the whole thing, we'll end up half-watching anyways when it airs next month.

Tons of high-profile film items for sale with star casts are, as I predicted, making the cut this year in the Premieres section. If I'm not mistaken, Fox Searchlight will use the fest to not only go shopping, but they'll be using Park City to launch Cedar Rapids and Win Win. With yesterday's Comp titles announcement, there appears to be a breakout commentary of an anti-church and anti-religion statement. We have Higher Ground, Martha Marcy May Marlene and we could add George Ratliff's Salvation Boulevard and Kevin Smith's Red State to the same discourse.

Now in it's second year, Sundance's NEXT section which helps put the spotlight on low and no-budget films is stacked with familiar names and faces and of the eight we predicted Andrew Dosunmu's Restless City and Joshua Leonard's The Lie.

Let me toot my own horn a bit. Of the 16 selected films out of 1,102 submissions, I accurately predicted 12. Out of the four that didn't fly on my radar we find American New Wave 25 selected Sean Durkin, who will make it back to back years in Park City. He featured the marvelous, creepy Mary Last Seen there, and would start lensing Martha Marcy May Marlene in the summer...but my thinking was he was Cannes-bound with this one...he may still be, but Sundance is world preem launching pad for the pic.