Each year at the Sundance Film Festival Awards ceremony, we all get a little overwhelmed with emotion and joyfully teary hearing the filmmakers who come up to accept prizes as they share their incredible experience on the mountain. I remember being quite moved by Brit Marling when she accepted a Special Jury Award for Another Earth in 2011. She was so eloquent, real and inspired. I’ve noticed that many of the filmmakers emphasize their deep gratitude for having been able to meet fellow filmmakers and their work, as a result imbuing them with a newfound charge and connection to the independent film community. Last night at the Awards ceremony it was Ryan Coogler, the writer and director of Fruitvale, winner of both the Audience AND Grand Jury Award in the US Dramatic Competition who in his acceptance speech marked that memorable and electrifying festival highlight, perfectly capping off the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. His words triggered a Niagara Falls flood of raw emotion remarking on the spirit and beauty of cinema and how vital a role it plays in reflecting, celebrating, studying and hopefully changing our society and culture – Oscar Grant will be remembered. Watch the clip below to see.
2013 Sundance Film Festival
Coño! These locos are wildly ingenious and talented artists
So these are the wild cats from Miami, Jillian Mayer and Lucas Leyva, representing at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival with their latest short #PostModem. I’ll be sure to track them down in Park City for an interview. These guys are insanely and outrageously creative and young audiovisual artists. They form part of a radical collective called Borsht Corp which just put on a killer festival happening last month. Read all about it here and check out this Mark Bell’s immersive festival account on Film Threat. Keep up with this crew on their FB page. Here’s a teaser of #Postmodem followed by three clips of their previous shorts.
NSFW
2013 Sundance Addendum – More Latino voices representing
Sundance Institute has just announced the 12 projects selected to participate in the five day winter cycle of the screenwriters lab, an immersive workshop where esteemed creative advisors challenge the filmmakers’ veracity in achieving their vision, and in many cases make them go through the proverbial ringer. Although this batch of filmmakers do not get a chance to enjoy the warm hiking weather of the Sundance resort in June, these folks have an extra perk as they are invited to swing by the film festival a few days afterwards, the perfect reinvigorating finish to the intense story workshop.
One of the projects selected is ZEUS from Mexican multi-media artist and ‘provacateur’ Miguel Calderon. Perhaps his most ubiquitous work outside the insular art circuit is the 1998 exhibit titled, “Aggressively Mediocre/Mentally Challenged/Fantasy Island”. Pieces from this collection were made cult classic by Wes Anderson’s inclusion in his Royal Tenenbaums film. Read more about Calderon in this article. He also created a fictitious grueling futbol match out of 100 hours of real footage between Brazil and Mexico – in which Mexico kicks Brazil’s ass. Calderon then broadcast in some bars in Brazil. This imaginary win is all the more prankster given the two country’s fierce rivalry (Brazil usually kicks Mexico’s ass). This was shown in 2004’s Sao Paolo’s Bienale. Sounds like my kind of artist. I’m looking forward to tracking this up and coming audiovisual talent. Zeus marks his first foray into feature films. The logline copied from the press release: “Sporadically employed and still living with his mother, Joel finds his only joy in falconry in the flatlands outside Mexico City, until an encounter with a down-to-earth secretary forces him to face reality.” Calderon was recommended by Fernando Eimbcke who developed his script for Lake Tahoe at the 2006 Screenwriters Lab. Although there is no submission fee required for international projects wanting to submit their screenplays for consideration, unless you fall into the region of focus (Central America, North Africa, Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe) it is required to send a letter of inquiry or be referred by Sundance family. Among other Mexican projects that have gone through the labs in the past few years and I am eager to see come to fruition soon is HELI by Amat Escalante whose SANGRE and LOS BASTARDOS played Cannes Film Festival and I DREAM IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE by Ernesto Contreras who made BLUE EYELIDS which garnered a Special Jury Award at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition category.
In other Spanish-language programming recently announced as part of the four additional feature films screening at Sundance, Chilean filmmaker Sebastian Silva will now have not one but two films screen at the festival. In addition to Crystal Fairy screening in World Cinema Competition, Magic Magic will screen in Midnight section. Michael Cera stars in both of Silva’s films but he speaks Spanish in only Magic Magic. Perhaps it was the second one they shot together this past year judging by the confident Cera deftly picking up the distinct Chilean vernacular melody. But its Juno Temple who plays the insomniac Alicia at the center of Magic Magic, an tensely unhinging film. This is her third film in the 2013 Festival. Temple is also in the films, Afternoon Delight and Lovelace. Also making an appearance in the film who we haven’t seen in a while is Catalina Sandino Moreno who was last at Sundance with Maria Full of Grace in 2004. Sebastian Silva’s hottie brother, Agustin Silva and gorgeous Emily Browning round out this good looking young cast. Sebastian joins the uber-exclusive Sundance 2fer club- a director with two films selected at the same edition of the Festival. British documentarian Lucy Walker had two films play in the festival, both in competition back in 2010 , COUNTDOWN TO ZERO and WASTELAND, and before that I’m not sure but I think that Alex Gibney has also had two documentaries at the same Festival. TBD
Robert Rodriguez’s now-infamous $7,000 guinea pig budget and 16mm shot first feature, El Mariachi is screening as part of The Sundance Collection at UCLA, twenty years after it screened at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival. The Sundance Collection at UCLA is an important preservation program of Sundance Institute managed by Senior Programmer John Nein that actively offers and encourages all festival alumni the opportunity to store their films properly. Rodriguez’s down and dirty video action flick put the San Antonio native on the map and became the precursor to Desperado, the glossier, sexier Banderas/Hayek version which came about after Rodriguez was offered a considerably higher budget to flex and show off his intuitive action flair. If you have not seen El Mariachi, I highly recommend it. Watch it right now on Crackle for free.
Before I peace out on this post, I want to take a moment to address a couple comments on my Indiewire repost, “WTF is Latino at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival”. In it I break down the Latino elements of the Festival program – I lump together American Latino oriented films with films from Chile. Someone commented on my including Chile in a Latino post. “South American films are not Latino films…” first-name only Michael wrote. First of all I want to thank him for saying as much. I would have loved to hear his source and explanation. This is the point of my blog; trying to re-appropriate our representation and design new and accurate terminology of and for ourselves. The blanket category Latino is a very diluted term and one I’ve heard with Hispanic interchangeably. What IS the difference between Latin and South America? I want to focus my blog on primarily films from a bi-cultural, bi-literate American Latino community, which for me means US inhabitants who come from, or have ancestry from Mexico, Central, South America, Cuba and Puerto Rico. Does Latino accurately represent this group? Do you as the audience understand the reference I mean when I use Latino? Admittedly, these are two different things.
Mas later,
cd
WTF is Latino at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival?
Glad you asked. Now that the entire programming slate has been announced for the 2013 edition of the Sundance Film Festival, let’s take a look at the representation of Latinos in the broadest, most diverse sense, because that is what that ill-defined lump category encompasses. {Full disclosure: I work as a Programming Associate for the Festival. These are not reviews but an insider breaking-it-down preview}
At first glance the Latino representation may not seem obvious. Nor may it seem as strong as the films and filmmakers from the African-American and LGBT community representing, or the record breaking number of female directors’ – each group highly visible by their nature. We may not have a Mosquita y Mari or Filly Brown, two fiction films, which broke out of the festival this past year, but we do have two hugely relevant and urgent documentaries exploring the effects of a bi-cultural U.S. & Mexico social fabric, NARCO CULTURA which explores the phenomenal music and social culture being shaped and perpetuated by the influence of Mexico’s violent drug cartels, and WHO IS DAYANI CRISTAL? an innovative doc-fiction hybrid produced by Gael Garcia Bernal that will hopefully re-divert much needed attention back to the US/Mexico border. By the way, Who is Dayani Cristal? screens in the high profile DAY ONE slot.
What’s Latino anyway?
I personally embrace the responsibility of changing the conversation as to what constitutes representing American Latinos. First, by focusing on both the above-the- line-talent (filmmaker or actor) AND storyline/subject. The second part is highlighting the second, third, fourth and so-on generations of filmmakers. What about the filmmakers in the festival like Kyle Patrick Alvarez (C.O.G), Liz W. Garcia (The Lifeguard) and Eduardo Sanchez (S-VHS horror anthology and co-director of the infamous Blair Witch Project)? I don’t know these filmmakers personally so I can’t speak to how they might view their cultural identities and how it informs their work, if at all. But I do believe it is worth pointing out and feeling good about these last names being out there as part of the mainstream fabric. It is similar to how Robert Rodriguez does not identify himself as a Mexican-American yet his last name has been key to driving the younger Latino generation in feeling a proud connection as an American and not just “dash” American.
Chile is still hot
There are three films from Chilean filmmakers. In unprecedented fashion – because that’s how Sundance likes to roll- there is a repeat of last year with two in competition, EL FUTURO by Alicia Scherson (mostly taking place in Italy) and CRYSTAL FAIRY by Sebastian Silva, an alumnus who broke out in 2009 with LA NANA. In the section Spotlight aka “Movies we love and don’t care if they’ve traveled the festival circuit”, is Pablo Larrain’s NO starring Gael Garcia Bernal. Chilean cinema is hot and king of engrossing character-driven fare. What we are seeing is a boom on two fronts; an invigorating new generation of provocateurs (Marialy Rivas’s Young & Wild comes to mind) and a slightly older generation of equally exciting filmmakers who continue to sustain their careers with their distinct voice (like Pablo Larrain along with Andres Wood).
So now lets dive in and look at the list. Loglines copied from official press release – BOLD ITALICS are my comments.
US DRAMATIC COMPETITION
Fruitvale / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Coogler) — The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O’Reilly, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray.
Puerto-Rican Diaz delivers a fiercely moving performance embodying the girlfriend of Oscar Grant who was with him that fateful day. Diaz is no stranger to the festival. She’s previously been at the festival with four films including seminal indie American Latino story, RAISING VICTOR VARGAS 2002 and comedies like HAMLET 2 20008. Why homegirl hasn’t gotten more props for her mad acting skills I don’t know, but this girl is wildly talented and Fruitvale showcases her dramatic chops.
US DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Narco Cultura / U.S.A. (Director: Shaul Schwarz) — An examination of Mexican drug cartels’ influence in pop culture on both sides of the border as experienced by an LA narcocorrido singer dreaming of stardom and a Juarez crime scene investigator on the front line of Mexico’s Drug War.
Absolutely arresting photography that works in giving weight to the violent images the public has become numb from seeing. I predict some of my hard core brown and proud friends might focus and hence diminish this film based on the fact that this bi-cultural, Mexican-American subject is made by non-Latino filmmakers. It could be argued as a valid point. When it comes to documentaries a legit question to make when evaluating is “What makes THIS person the right one to tackle THIS subject? What is their connection?” Let’s watch it to find out, then give consideration to what other docs are currently out there on this same timely topic made by Latinos, and without bias regard their depth and artistic merit.
WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION
Crystal Fairy / Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva) — Jamie invites a stranger to join a road trip to Chile. The woman’s free and esoteric nature clashes with Jamie’s acidic, self-absorbed personality as they head into the desert for a Mescaline-fueled psychedelic trip. Cast: Michael Cera, Gabby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva, Agustín Silva. World Premiere. DAY ONE FILM
This marks Sebastian’s third appearance at the festival following LA NANA and GATOS VIEJOS. Remember what I said about character driven? Silva excels at getting at spilling out the insides of his protagonists.
The Future / Chile, Germany, Italy, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Alicia Scherson) — When their parents die, Bianca starts to smoke and Tomas is still a virgin. The orphans explore the dangerous streets of adulthood until Bianca finds Maciste, a retired Mr. Universe, and enters his dark mansion in search of a future. Cast: Manuela Martelli, Rutger Hauer, Luigi Ciardo, Nicolas Vaporidis, Alessandro Giallocosta. World Premiere
Scherson’s last film, TURISTAS screened at various film festivals including the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2009. Shot in another country and in a different language, The Future continues the filmmaker’s incisive capturing of the strong female led journey.
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Who is Dayani Cristal? / United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere. DAY ONE FILM
An extraordinary cinematic and symbolic approach to the border crossing genre, this meta reflexive journey retraced by none other than Gael Garcia Bernal imagines the grueling experience of a migrant and who he might have been. Bernal has been lending his star power to the social justice causes that move him and you can tell its genuine.
NEW FRONTIER
Halley / Mexico (Director: Sebastian Hofmann, Screenwriters: Sebastian Hofmann, Julio Chavezmontes) — Alberto is dead and can no longer hide it. Before surrendering to his living death, he forms an unusual friendship with Luly, the manager of the 24-hour gym where he works as a night guard. Cast: Alberto Trujillo, Lourdes Trueba, Hugo Albores
As unsettling it is watch, it is as deep to ponder, this incredibly-shot first feature had its world premiere at the Morelia Film Festival and its inclusion in the most daring section of the festival speaks to the highly diverse and radical new cinema coming from Mexico.
SPOTLIGHT
No / Chile, U.S.A. (Director: Pablo Larraín, Screenwriter: Pedro Peirano) — When Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet calls for a referendum to decide his permanence in power, the opposition persuades a young advertising executive to head its campaign. With limited resources and under scrutiny, he conceives a plan to win the election. Cast: Gael García Bernal, Alfredo Castro, Antonia Zegers, Luis Gnecco, Marcial Tagle, Néstor Cantillana.
There have been many films about the Pinochet regime and its wide-reaching after effects. But none have had as unique an entry point as NO. Trust.
MIDNIGHT
We Are What We Are / U.S.A. (Director: Jim Mickle, Screenwriters: Nick Damici, Jim Mickle) — A devastating storm washes up clues that lead authorities closer and closer to the cannibalistic Parker family. Cast: Bill Sage, Ambyr Childers, Julia Garner, Michael Parks, Wyatt Russell, Kelly McGillis.
Okay, I only include this because this is based on the Mexican cult hit, Somos Lo que Hay by Jorge Michel Grau. Jim Mickle of Stakeland has promised to “Not Fuck it Up” per Twitch interview
To cap off the features; Stalwart Spanish actor Alfred Molina is in Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes by Francesca Gregorini in US Dramatic Competition, and we have a strong acting splash by Marcus DeAnda, a co-lead in PIT STOP directed by Yen Tan and co-written by David Lowery. The film about two gay working class lovers in small town Texas is in the Next section.
And lets not forget about shorts!
SHORT FILM COMPETITION
Broken Night / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Guillermo Arriaga) — A young woman and her four-year-old daughter drive across desolated hills. Everything looks fine and they seem to enjoy the ride, until an accident sends them into the nightmare of darkness.
Ever since writing and directing team Arriga and Innaritu broke up (Amores Perros, Babel) Arriaga has been trying to make his stamp directing his own material.
The Companion / Peru (Director and screenwriter: Alvaro Delgado-Aparicio) — On the outskirts of Lima, a young prostitute tends to his father, a fallen-from-grace artisan. However, the young man feels that his efforts are never enough. He tries to break free, but his father’s dependence is stronger than his son’s will.
Intriguing and highly atmospheric gem from Peru!
Paraíso / U.S.A. (Director: Nadav Kurtz) — Three immigrant window cleaners risk their lives every day rappelling down some of Chicago’s tallest skyscrapers. Paraíso reveals the danger of their job and what they see on the way down
Chicago? Check. Mexicans check! No, but really this intimate glimpse is poetic and moving.
A Story for the Modlins / Spain (Director: Sergio Oksman, Screenwriter: Sergio Oksman) —The tale of Elmer Modlin, who, after appearing in Rosemary’s Baby, fled with his family to a far-off country and shut himself away in a dark apartment for 30 years.
Must see. Fascinating and inventive ‘Found family photos’ yarn.
#PostModem / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Jillian Mayer, Lucas Leyva) — A comedic, satirical, sci-fi pop musical based on the theories of Ray Kurzweil and other futurists, #PostModem is the story of two Miami girls and how they deal with technological singularity, as told through a series of cinematic tweets.
My favorite locos from Miami. After making the rounds with Life & Freaky Times of Uncle Luke, which played last year, these rump-shakers have been busy with their work in and out of their funky audiovisual collective Borscht Corp.
{check my addendum to this post here}
See you on the mountain!
2013 Sundance Film Festival – U.S. DRAMA
In the next few days Sundance will be unveiling the 2013 lineup starting with today’s Competition titles. I’ll be sharing and breaking down each section, and only once the entire program is announced on Monday, I’ll dive into and talk about the Latino and American Latino element in the festival. But for now lets start with some US DRAMA:
16 titles
Half, thats right half (8/16) are FEMALE DIRECTORS – YAY!
10 alumni (11 if you count Jerush Hess who had screenwriting/producing credit on hubby’s Napoleon Dynamite – its a posse thing and one that makes complete sense to CONTINUE to support the CAREERS of the artists who break through at the fest.
Of all the alumni, the longest time since their previous visit and hence might be the mostly anticipated follow up will be Shane Carruth whose genre-defying craziness, PRIMER was at the 2004 festival and is unveiling his sophomore feature, UPSTREAM COLOR
4 projects have been supported by Sundance Institute’s Screenwriters/Directors lab (MA GEORGE, AINT THEM BODIES SAINTS, FRUITVALE, MAY IN THE SUMMER)
2 African American filmmakers – NICE!
American Latino filmmakers = 0= 😦
4 filmmakers who have had shorts in the festival are premiering their feature debuts:
Jill Soloway returns with AFTERNOON DELIGHT after last year’s hilarious short Una Hora Porfavora. Check out the short here:
Lake Bell returns with IN A WORLD….. after her short, Your Own Worst Enemy played in the 2011 edition
Jordan Vogt Roberts is back with TOY HOUSE after his popular (and my all-time favorite) short film, Successful Alcoholics. If you haven’t watched, do so now:
John Krokidas is back with his long anticipated, Kill Your Darlings. John had a really cool experimental short back in 2002 called Slo-Mo. There’s a crappy version on Youtube here.
And David Lowery whose short film PIONEER was at the 2011 Festival (also DP on Lovers of Hate) is showing his second feature AINT THEM BODIES SAINTS
Chicana from Chicago 