JANUARY 28, 2007
From the Official Sundance Release (though we've carved out the preamble and pasted it in below so you can get right to the winners): 2007 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES JURY AND AUDIENCE AWARDS
The 2007 Sundance Film Festival Award-Winners are:
The Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was given to Manda Bala (Send A Bullet), directed by
The Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was given to Padre Nuestro, directed by Christopher Zalla. Fleeing a criminal past, Juan hops a truck transporting illegal immigrants from Mexico to New York City, where he meets Pedro, who is seeking his rich father.
The World Cinema Jury Prize: Documentary was given to Enemies of Happiness (Vores Lykkes Fjender)/Denmark, directed by Eva Mulvad and Anja Al Erhayem. In the film, Malalai Joya, a 28-year-old Afghani woman, redefines the role of women and elected officials in her country with her historic 2005 victory in Afghanistan's first democratic parliamentary election in over 30 years.
The World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic was given to Sweet Mud (Adama Meshugaat)/Israel, directed by Dror Shaul. On a kibbutz in southern Israel in the 1970's, Dvir Avni realizes that his mother is mentally ill. In this closed community, bound by rigid rules, Dvir must navigate between the kibbutz motto of equality and the stinging reality that his mother has, in effect, been abandoned by the community.
The Audience Awards are given to both a dramatic and documentary film in the Independent Film Competition as voted by Sundance Film Festival audiences. The 2007 Sundance Film Festival Audience Awards for the Independent Film Competition are presented by Volkswagen of America, Inc.
The Audience Award: Documentary was given to Hear and Now directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky. Brodsky tells a deeply personal story about her deaf parents and their radical decision-after 65 years living together in silence-to undergo cochlear implant surgery, a procedure that could give them the ability to hear.
The Audience Award: Dramatic was given to Grace Is Gone, directed by James C. Strouse. After learning that his wife has been killed in Iraq, a father finds the courage to tell his daughters the news during a quixotic road trip to an amusement park.
The World Cinema Audience Awards are given to both a dramatic and documentary film in the World Cinema Competition as voted by Sundance Film Festival audiences.
The World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary was given to In the Shadow of the Moon/United Kingdom, directed by David Sington. One of the defining passages of American history, the Apollo Space Program literally brought the aspirations of a nation to another world. Awe-inspiring footage and candid interviews with the astronauts who visited the moon provide unparalleled perspective on the precious state of our planet.
The World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic was given to Once/Ireland, directed by John Carney. ONCE is a modern day musical set on the streets of Dublin. Featuring Glen Hansard and his Irish band "The Frames," the film tells the story of a busker and an immigrant during an eventful week as they write, rehearse and record songs that reveal their unique love story.
The Directing Awards recognize excellence in directing for dramatic and documentary features.
The Directing Award: Documentary went to Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine, directors of War/Dance.
The Directing Award: Dramatic was presented to Jeffrey Blitz, director of Rocket Science.
The Excellence in Cinematography Awards honor exceptional photography in both a dramatic and
documentary film at the Festival. Heloisa Passos for Manda Bala from the
Documentary Competition and Benoit Debie for Joshua from the Dramatic Competition received the
2007 Cinematography Awards.
The Independent Film Competition Documentary Jury presented the Documentary Editing Award to
editors Hibah Sherif Frisina, Charlton McMillian, and Michael Schweitzer for their work on the film Nanking.
The Jury for the Independent Film Dramatic Competition presents the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
for outstanding achievement in writing. The 2007 prize was given to James C. Strouse for
The Jury for the Independent Film Dramatic Competition also presented two special Jury Prizes. Special
Jury Prizes for Acting were presented to Jess Weixler in Teeth "for a juicy and jaw-dropping
performance" and to Tamara Podemski in Four Sheets to the Wind "for a fully realized physical
and emotional turn." The Jury also presented a Special Jury Prize for Singularity of Vision to Chris
Smith, director of The Pool.
The World Cinema Documentary Competition Jury presented a Special Jury Prize to Hot House/Israel,
directed by Shimon Dotan.
The World Cinema Dramatic Competition Jury presented a Special Jury Prize to The Legacy
(L'Heritage)/France directed by Géla Babluani and Temur Babluani.
The Shorts Jury presented the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking to Everything Will Be OK directed
by Don Hertzfeldt. The Jury Prize in International Short Filmmaking was given to The Tube with a Hat/Romania, directed by Radu Jude. The Shorts Jury awarded Honorable Mentions in Short
Filmmaking to Death to the Tinman, directed by Ray Tintori; The Fighting Cholitas,
directed by Mariam Jobrani; Men Understand Each Other Better/Iran, directed by Marjan Alizadeh; Motodrom/Germany, directed by Joerg Wagner; Spitfire 944 directed by William Lorton; and t.o.m./United Kingdom, directed by Tom Brown and Daniel Gray. The 2007 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Awards are presented by Adobe Systems
Incorporated. The Shorts Jury also presented a Special Jury Prize to the documentary short film
Freeheld, directed by Cynthia Wade.
The 2007 Independent Film Competition Documentary Jurors are Alan Berliner, Lewis Erskine,
Lauren Greenfield, Julia Reichert, and Carlos Sandoval.
The 2007 Independent Film Competition Dramatic Jurors are Catherine Hardwicke, Dawn Hudson, Pamela Martin, Elvis Mitchell and Sarah Polley.
The 2007 World Cinema Competition Documentary Jurors are Raoul Peck, Juan Carlos Rulfo, and Elizabeth Weatherford.
The 2007 World Cinema Competition Dramatic Jurors are Carlos Bolado, Lynne Ramsay, and
Park City, UT-The jury and audience award-winners of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival were announced tonight at the Festival's closing Awards Ceremony in Park City, Utah. The films receiving jury awards were selected by distinguished jurors from films screening in the Independent Film Competition and the World Cinema Competition. Awards were given to both dramatic and documentary films screening in the four competitive categories: Documentary Competition, Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and World Cinema Dramatic Competition. The films in these categories were also eligible for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival Audience Awards as selected by Film Festival audiences. The premier showcase for U.S. independent film, the Film Festival is an important new platform for international independent film and screens films that embody risk-taking, diversity, and aesthetic innovation. In addition, the Shorts Jury awarded a Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking to a U.S. and international filmmaker. Other awards recognized at the ceremony include the recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Prize, awarded to a film which excels in addressing compelling topics in science or technology and the recipients of the Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award, created to honor and support emerging filmmakers with their next screenplays.
The Alfred P. Sloan Prize carries a $20,000 cash award and celebrates the work of emerging independent feature filmmakers tackling compelling ideas and issues in science and technology. The 2007 Alfred P. Sloan Prize was presented to Dark Matter, directed by Chen Shi-Zhen. The 2007 Alfred P. Sloan Jurors are Darren Aronofsky, Ann Druyan, Dr. Brian Greene, Howard Suber, and John Underkoffler.
Now in its eleventh year, the Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award was created to honor and support emerging filmmakers with their next screenplays-one each from the United States, Japan, Europe and Latin America-who possess the originality, talent and vision to be celebrated as we look to the future of international cinema. The winning filmmakers and projects are: Lucía Cedrón, Agnus Dei from Argentina; Caran Hartsfield, Bury Me Standing from the United States; Tomoko Kana<, Two by the River from Japan; and Dagur Kári, The Good Heart from Iceland.
2007 Sundance Film Festival Sponsors
The 2007 Sundance Film Festival Sponsors help sustain Sundance Institute's year-round programs to
support independent artists, inspire risk-taking and encourage diversity in the arts. This year's Festival
Sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors- Entertainment Weekly, Volkswagen of America, Inc., HP, Adobe
Systems Incorporated, and AOL; Leadership Sponsors-American Express, Delta Air Lines, and
DIRECTV; Sustaining Sponsors-ABSOLUT®, Aquafina, Blockbuster Inc., CESAR® Canine Cuisine,
KRUPS, L'Oreal Paris, The New York Times, Ray-Ban, Sony Electronics, Inc., Stella Artois®, Turning Leaf
Vineyards, and the Utah Film Commission.
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is the premier showcase for U.S. and international independent film. Held
each January in Park City, Sundance Resort, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, Utah, the Festival is a core program
of Sundance Institute, a nonprofit cultural organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981.
Presenting 125 dramatic and documentary feature-length films in nine distinct categories and over 70
short films each year, the Sundance Film Festival has introduced American audiences to some of the most
innovative films of the past two decades. The official website of the Sundance Film Festival,
www.sundance.org shares the Festival experience beyond the streets of Park City with a global audience
through the streaming of short films, filmmaker interviews, and current news and box office information.
Sundance Institute Dedicated year-round to the development of artists of independent vision and to the exhibition of their new work, Sundance Institute celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2006. Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, the Institute has grown into an internationally recognized resource for thousands of independent artists through its Film Festival and artistic development programs for filmmakers, screenwriters, composers, playwrights and theatre artists. The original values of independence, creative risk-taking, and discovery continue to define and guide the work of Sundance Institute, both with U.S. artists and, increasingly, with artists from other regions of the world. # # # For images, please visit: ftp://ftp.sundance.org; Login ID: press; password: SFF07! (all caps).
JANUARY 28, 2007
Once is getting some of the most consistent positive buzz at the Festival this year. It's a film about a busker (a musician who works street corners) in Ireland who falls in love. Musicals haven't had the best track record here; the very talented Keith Gordon premiered the very awful The Singing Detective here, while Reefer Madness, even with the lovely Kristen Bell, came and went without an encore. From the sounds of it, that will not be the case with Once.
You'll probably also hear more about Zoo than you'll want to, starting with this write-up. It is the dramatization of the infamous Enumclaw, Washington horse sex scandal where a man died from intestinal bleeding after allowing a horse to mount him. After the man died, the police discovered that there was an entire ring of men who engaged in sex with horses and had filmed a lot of it.
To its credit, Zoo is beautifully shot and has a mesmerizing score (very reminiscent of Ennio Morricone's score for Days of Heaven). On the whole, however, Zoo is easily one of the most pretentious, amoral and dishonest films I've ever seen. Not just at Sundance. Ever.
It purports to put itself above judging the members of this bizarre community and its main conceit is to tell the tale largely from their standpoint through voiceovers. One of them, however, a rangy looking guy named Coyote, gets to star as himself!
Instead of being objective or instructive (or interesting), it's almost entirely sympathetic to these men and frustratingly vague about what they were actually doing with these horses most of the time. The filmmakers present very little to counter the first-person accounts of what the zoophiliacs claim they did, which they make sound like it was no more odd than running from the bulls in Pamplona -- they just happened to have stopped, bent over, and let nature take its course. Actually, it's a lot more vile than that, as the men describe it as just another way of loving animals, the same way pedophiles claim what they do is another way of loving children.
Additionally, other than voice-overs of shock-jock Tom Leykis and conservative windbag Rush Limbaugh, there is very little presented in the way of disagreement with the activities of these men. Most of it, cast by the zoophiliacs themselves, makes it sound like a sewing circle, only with smegma. To hear them tell it, they got together, had a potluck, and drank some beer. Zoo shows lots of footage of the potlucks. Only the briefest of snippets shows the footage of what these men were doing that made them so famous, and the filmmakers decide not to have a reenactment of them, very drunk, in the paddocks prepping to get sodomized by a stallion. Instead we get some highly idealized scene where the actor playing Mr. Hands, the individual who died from the sexual activity, wanders out naked among the horses and gives one of them a big hug. We are left to presume that this is how Mr. Hands got his intestine ruptured but Robinson Devor (who made the also beautiful, equally as pretentious Police Beat) wants to portray it as a natural, beautiful happening instead.
One last thing: after everyone in the sex ring is exposed and scatter (they weren't arrested because what they did wasn't against the law-at the time-in Washington state) there is a ludicrous shot of one of the men in someplace tropical and a follow-on shot of two dolphins arcing out of the ocean. Are they next? You almost want to shout, "Look out, dolphins! Don't go nuzzling those divers, that's not a dangling sardine!"
Outside of the theaters, many people were busy watching the NFL playoffs, as the winners of the week's competition go on to one of the largest events in America, the Super Bowl. It's an odd dichotomy to have talks of sports vying for discussions of cinema, but it's just one of the many fascinating juxtapositions that occur during this festival.
JANUARY 20, 2007
Some startling newcomers have made themselves known at Sundance.
Reece Daniel Thompson in Rocket Science and Jess Weixler in Teeth both provide standout performances in two wildly dissimilar films.
Thompson plays the hopelessly nerdy and quiet Hal Hefner in the comedy by writer/director Jeffrey Blitz. Though Hal is affected with "blocking," a form of stuttering, he is convinced by the alluring and driven Ginny Reyerson (Anna Kendrick, in another nice turn in the film) to join the debate team. Hal falls desperately, painfully in love with Ginny but, to remain her debating partner, has to overcome his speech impediment.
Rocket Science makes some painful missteps, such as some out-of-place overt sexual comedy with a Korean suitor for Hal's divorced mother and Ginny's bizarre next-door neighbor. For all its winsomeness it never really transcends the feeling that the whole thing, like Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, was thought up in prep school. But it does, at times, provide sweet moments that evoke the memory of what it is like to be 14.
The always reliable and interesting Sam Rockwell brings a texture of vulnerability to what would be an otherwise entirely loathsome character in David Gordon Green's Snow Angels. Rockwell plays an alcoholic husband who won't leave his wife, Anna (played quite well by Kate Beckinsale), alone. Michael Angarano, playing a son of divorcing parents in a secondary narrative, is also a welcome presence, bringing just the right mix of teenage confusion and angst to the role. It's not an easy film to watch, but Green continues to bring characters to the screen that are intriguing and all too human.
But perhaps the biggest discovery is Jess Weixler as Dawn, the young woman with a set of radulated teeth in her vagina in Mitchell Lichtenstein's funny, scary, smart Teeth. Weixler is a great comedienne, able to convey much with just her eyes but whose delivery is pitch-perfect. She pulls off moments of great despair, disgust, lust, duplicity and hope, reminding me of a young Reese Witherspoon. The film, as tacky and lurid as it sounds (and is!), is a daring blend of comedy and horror, something that almost never works. It's anchored by Lichtenstein's direction and his ability to never let the scenarios get too broad while nodding ever so slightly to the horror genre he's tampering with. Dawn's innocence gives way to world-weary experience as she is propelled into the world of her own sexuality and Weixler makes the transformation both tender and horrible, much like most initiations into sexuality. It's a crackerjack film which transcends the horror film genre and is sure to be a staple of college courses on feminism and cinema for decades to come.
JANUARY 19, 2007 - Part Two
Chicago 10 is as vibrant, dynamic, funny, compelling and colorful an interpretation of history as you're likely to get, and a damn fine film. Even though much of it is animated, perhaps because it is animated, it makes the past come alive in an urgent way, unlike any other film tackling such subjects in recent memory. Imagine the best Civics 101 class ever concocted and squeezed into 95 minutes, one that makes you question, ponder and appreciate our fundamental rights as Americans as never before as it compels you to get involved; that's Chicago 10.
Chicago 10 reenacts the trial of the Chicago Eight, young war protesters who were brought up on conspiracy charges in the wake of the demonstrations at the 1968 Democratic Nomination Convention in the Windy City. Using archival footage for the Convention and original animation for the trial, director Brett Morgen makes both events come alive, in entirely different ways, which is a feat in itself. In many ways, it's as if you've received a 1968 issue of "Rolling Stone" in the mail but it's brand new. The paper is crisp, the date on the cover is current, and the ads are contemporary, but the content is straight from the heart of Haight-Ashbury.
The protestors were led by the late Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and Tom Hayden, and Morgen makes the first two of these anti-war figures leap to life. Hoffman is thoughtful and brave, willing to take a club upside of his head for his cause, which is ostensibly to protest the war but increasingly becomes about his rights to do so. Rubin is the arm of action, the extreme revolutionary who wants change now-to topple the corrupt government--and doesn't really care, or even seem very sure, what kind of system he wants to take its place. They create the Yippie movement, one that protests the war yet and makes fun of the establishment's characterization of them to that point.
Does Morgen soft-peddle the actions of the defendants? It would seem so. The animated Hoffman and Rubin are just too Puckish. He portrays them as saints of the anti-war movement, as likely to burst into song as protest chant or have animated peace doves land upon their sanctified masses of hair. In contrast those siding with The Man, such as the undercover policemen who infiltrated the protests, growl out their testimony, like vile traitors, envious of their Yippie betters. Judge Hoffman (voiced by Roy Scheider), at least in his animated version, is a contemptuous, senile old Pharisee, more concerned with order in the court than the precepts of free speech he is supposed to be protecting.
But Morgen is fair when showing the archival footage. In direct contrast to the animated Rubin, the real Rubin, who is seen in live footage on stage at college campuses raising money for their defense, fairly seethes with the smoldering rage of a firebrand. Morgen has sacrificed subtlety for his message but you can grasp his reasons for doing so.
So Sundance has broken the opening night curse, one that has held sway for as long as I've been attending, and it has broken it with what may well be one of the best films of the year. Yippie!.
by Keith Simanton
JANUARY 19, 2007 - Part One
The locals call them PIBs. That stands for the "People in Black," and the PIBs have descended upon Park City today like a biblical plague. "Sometimes you can watch a whole flock of them move up the street, almost in unison, like crows," a shopkeeper told me, "all in black coats or dusters or sweaters." Her plan was to get out of town before parking became unbearable and the PIBs got a few shots under their collective belts.
Some of the storeowners get very little lift from Sundance. For restaurants, however, it's like the holidays to a retailer. Some book as much as seven to eight sonths worth of revenue in the 10 days of Sundance. Groceries are trucked in from Salt Lake City in a never-ending stream. Some of the food will go completely untouched. I've heard of caterers who've created a full set of hors' doevres to have them be told to leave them in the back and concentrate on dispensing the alcohol.
The Festival has also decided to make it harder for review press to see the public screenings. Formerly, if you went early enough to a public screening (meaning one where most people have to pay to get in) you could score one of a dozen or more press tickets waiting at the door. Now you have to register your request with the press office 24 hours ahead of time, whereupon you may or may not get to see what you've requested. Now, I completely understand that carping about the manner in which one sees free movies is like complaining about having to fill out a new form to get your welfare check, but it does make it harder to see the things you think may be valuable to your readers, particularly amidst the slag of films that appear at Sundance. It's the desire to see great films and let others know about them that motivates most of us -- okay, half of us. I'm requesting tickets for the following:
by Keith Simanton
JANUARY 18, 2007
If it's time for Sundance, I must be on a diet. Sundance falls right after the New Year, which is usually when I create my list of resolutions for the year, which usually includes losing weight. As I look back on my resolutions and goals from years' past, I find that I rarely actually accomplished any of them during that year. But, I've found that when I've looked back over a span of time, say ten years, that I've done most of the things I'd set out to do, just not in a single year.
Similarly, as you look back at the Sundance slate from each year, the titles don't seem to fulfill the promise of the most vaunted independent film festival of them all. But look back over a wider swath and you see a lot of good movies; en toto they do live up to the promise the festival dangles in front of critics, movie-goers, and industry folk each year.
There's The Squid and the Whale, The Blair Witch Project, Super-Size Me, Reservoir Dogs, Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite, Clerks, 28 Days Later, Pi, In the Company of Men, Grizzly Man, The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III, The Dying Gaul, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Hustle & Flow, Me, You, and Everyone We Know, You Can Count on Me, Blood Simple, Gas, Food, Lodging, Donnie Darko, Memento, The Believer, and A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints for starters. But it may not be the films shown for which the late January film festival should be commended.
In 2002, I was at a Sundance party and spent half an hour or so talking with America Ferrara. She had just debuted with a winning role in Real Women Have Curves, a movie by Patricia Cordoso that made a big splash at the festival, but barely a ripple in limited release. But it was the start of her career. Watching Ferrara accept her Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy for Ugly Betty reminded me of our conversation because she appeared to have remained the same sweet, composed young woman I'd talked with years before. Instead of being wide-eyed at the festival, she was wide-eyed at the honor bestowed upon her.
One of my favorite memories of Sundance was previewing the little-seen The Slaughter Rule in a screening room that was a converted garage and had little heating. It was a screening against other, bigger films and so it was me and the judges of the section in which that Slaughterhouse was competing. That included Patricia Arquette, who is small and drawn and smoked these little cigarillos that stunk up her half of the room. And in that semi-stinky, freezing-cold room we were introduced to Ryan Gosling, who was phenomenal and full of the promise he seems to have spent the ensuing years fulfilling.
For all of the laudable work done developing new talent that's done during the off-season at the Sundance Institute, maybe it's actually the festival that is most of use for fostering new creative talent.
Which films from Sundance 2007 will be fondly remembered a decade from now? It's a promising, if completely unconventional, crop. As usual, the most promising films are in the Premieres section. Here's a few of them:
by Keith Simanton
