Exclusive: UK-French sales company Alief has acquired world sales rights to Megan Seely’s dark comedy Puddysticks in which she co-stars alongside Mamoudou Athie and Dan Bakkedahl.
Seely plays Liz, a burned-out videogame designer who discovers a mysterious society of adults who heal their darkest secrets through childlike play.
Led by the alluring figure of Sylvester Cromwell (Bakkedahl), the group compels each member to reveal their most shameful memory as part of the process but when Liz finally musters the courage to share her darkest trauma, her world turns upside down.
Puddysticks is actress, writer and filmmaker Seely’s first feature length film after well-travelled short film My Loyal Audience, TV show Every Year On My Half Birthday and taking co-writing credits on 2017 feature The Mad Whale.
Her acting credits include the Filipino and American musical The Girl Who Left Home and Twist.
Seely plays Liz, a burned-out videogame designer who discovers a mysterious society of adults who heal their darkest secrets through childlike play.
Led by the alluring figure of Sylvester Cromwell (Bakkedahl), the group compels each member to reveal their most shameful memory as part of the process but when Liz finally musters the courage to share her darkest trauma, her world turns upside down.
Puddysticks is actress, writer and filmmaker Seely’s first feature length film after well-travelled short film My Loyal Audience, TV show Every Year On My Half Birthday and taking co-writing credits on 2017 feature The Mad Whale.
Her acting credits include the Filipino and American musical The Girl Who Left Home and Twist.
- 2/6/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The birthplace of such recent gems as Hannah Ha Ha, Retrograde, The Civil Dead, Yelling Fire In An Empty Theater, and Waiting for the Light to Change, the Slamdance Film Festival returns for its 29th edition, kicking off January 20 in Utah and January 23 online. One title that especially caught our eye is Love and Work, the latest from Pete Ohs, who last directed the SXSW hit Jethica. Starring Stephanie Hunt, Will Madden, Frank Mosley, Alexi Pappas, and John S. Davies, we’re pleased to exclusively premiere the film’s first teaser ahead of a Slamdance debut on January 20.
Here’s a synopsis:
Diane arrives at the shoe factory looking for a job. She meets the boss, nails the interview and gets hired on the spot, immediately joining a small team of co-workers led by a helpful Texan named Fox.
She’s great at her job but before her first day of work ends,...
Here’s a synopsis:
Diane arrives at the shoe factory looking for a job. She meets the boss, nails the interview and gets hired on the spot, immediately joining a small team of co-workers led by a helpful Texan named Fox.
She’s great at her job but before her first day of work ends,...
- 1/4/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Austin Film Festival has announced its first wave of screenings for its upcoming 30th anniversary event.
Oscar winner Emerald Fennell’s new film Saltburn has been chosen as the festival’s opening night selection. The MGM and Amazon Studios title stars Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi and Rosamund Pike, and is described as “a wicked tale of privilege and desire.” It’s the sophomore effort by the acclaimed Promising Young Woman filmmaker, who will be in attendance.
This year also includes several world premieres, such as Lena Headey’s feature directorial debut, The Trap, which stars Headey’s Game of Thrones co-star Michelle Fairley, along with James Nelson Joyce.
Other notable titles (full list and descriptions below) include the debut feature American Fiction from writer-director Cord Jefferson, which stars Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown and Tracee Ellis Ross. Also, screenwriter Brian Helgeland returns to Aff with his newest project, Finestkind,...
Oscar winner Emerald Fennell’s new film Saltburn has been chosen as the festival’s opening night selection. The MGM and Amazon Studios title stars Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi and Rosamund Pike, and is described as “a wicked tale of privilege and desire.” It’s the sophomore effort by the acclaimed Promising Young Woman filmmaker, who will be in attendance.
This year also includes several world premieres, such as Lena Headey’s feature directorial debut, The Trap, which stars Headey’s Game of Thrones co-star Michelle Fairley, along with James Nelson Joyce.
Other notable titles (full list and descriptions below) include the debut feature American Fiction from writer-director Cord Jefferson, which stars Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown and Tracee Ellis Ross. Also, screenwriter Brian Helgeland returns to Aff with his newest project, Finestkind,...
- 8/31/2023
- by James Hibberd
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Josh Duhamel (The Thing About Pam) launched production today on Buddy Games 2—the sequel to the 2019 comedy Buddy Games, in which he starred alongside Kevin Dillon (Entourage), Dan Bakkedahl (Made for Love), James Roday Rodriguez (A Million Little Things), Nick Swardson (The Wrong Missy) and more. Duhamel, Dillon, Bakkedahl, Rodriguez and Swardson are all returning to star in the new film, shooting in Vancouver, with Ginnifer Goodwin (Pivoting) marking a new addition to the ensemble.
The original indie distributed by Saban Films and Paramount Home Entertainment watches as a group of friends reunite for a wild assortment of absurd physical and mental challenges known as The Buddy Games—in the process healing old wounds, righting past wrongs and figuring out the true meaning of friendship. Duhamel directed from his script written with Bob Schwartz and Jude Weng.
The sequel picks up with Bobfather (Duhamel) and the guys following the...
The original indie distributed by Saban Films and Paramount Home Entertainment watches as a group of friends reunite for a wild assortment of absurd physical and mental challenges known as The Buddy Games—in the process healing old wounds, righting past wrongs and figuring out the true meaning of friendship. Duhamel directed from his script written with Bob Schwartz and Jude Weng.
The sequel picks up with Bobfather (Duhamel) and the guys following the...
- 7/8/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Zoë Kravitz has rounded out the cast for her directorial debut Pussy Island, with Christian Slater (Dr. Death), Alia Shawkat (Search Party) and Geena Davis (Thelma & Louise) signing on for roles, along with Adria Arjona (Morbius), Haley Joel Osment (Goliath), Liz Caribel Sierra (God’s Time), Levon Hawke (The Crowded Room), Trew Mullen (Sunny Family Cult), Saul Williams (Akilla’s Escape), Cris Costa and Kyle MacLachlan (Blue Velvet).
The actors join an ensemble that also includes Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum and Simon Rex, as previously announced.
The MGM genre pic written by Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum follows Frida (Ackie), a young and clever Los Angeles cocktail waitress who has her eyes set on the prize: philanthropist and tech mogul Slater King (Tatum). When she skillfully maneuvers her way into King’s inner circle and ultimately an intimate gathering on his private island, she is ready for a journey of a lifetime.
The actors join an ensemble that also includes Naomi Ackie, Channing Tatum and Simon Rex, as previously announced.
The MGM genre pic written by Kravitz and E.T. Feigenbaum follows Frida (Ackie), a young and clever Los Angeles cocktail waitress who has her eyes set on the prize: philanthropist and tech mogul Slater King (Tatum). When she skillfully maneuvers her way into King’s inner circle and ultimately an intimate gathering on his private island, she is ready for a journey of a lifetime.
- 7/6/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The ninth edition of Doha Film Institute’s youth and family-focused festival ran November 7-13.
Egyptian director Ali El Arabi’s coming-of-age documentary Captains Of Zaatari has won the top prize at the ninth edition of Doha Film Institute’s Ayjal Film Festival which took place in Qatar from November 7-13.
Captains Of Zaatari won the best feature film award in the Hilal category, chosen by a jury aged 13 to 17 years. It follows two young Syrian refugees living in a camp in Jordan as they pursue their dreams to become professional soccer players.
In a surprise announcement, it was revealed the film’s young subjects,...
Egyptian director Ali El Arabi’s coming-of-age documentary Captains Of Zaatari has won the top prize at the ninth edition of Doha Film Institute’s Ayjal Film Festival which took place in Qatar from November 7-13.
Captains Of Zaatari won the best feature film award in the Hilal category, chosen by a jury aged 13 to 17 years. It follows two young Syrian refugees living in a camp in Jordan as they pursue their dreams to become professional soccer players.
In a surprise announcement, it was revealed the film’s young subjects,...
- 11/17/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Women have owned the Hollywood headlines lately by defying “the rules” – all sorts of rules. Scarlett Johansson has challenged Disney’s dealmaking prowess by filing high-profile litigation. Meanwhile, Reese Witherspoon has sold her media business to two former top Disney dealmakers for $900 million insisting that she and her female creatives will still run the show at Hello Sunshine. At the same time, Olympic athletes like Alexi Pappas and Allyson Felix are spurning rich Nike deals to pursue both equity and influence in new fashion brands.
“The culture of the American workplace still conspires against professional women,” insists the feminist writer Hanna Rosin. In sports and Hollywood, however, her thesis seems to be history (her book was titled The End of Men). Women have been scoring a succession of power jobs in the #MeToo media marketplace, as recent headlines reflect.
“A decision to select a male candidate over a woman today...
“The culture of the American workplace still conspires against professional women,” insists the feminist writer Hanna Rosin. In sports and Hollywood, however, her thesis seems to be history (her book was titled The End of Men). Women have been scoring a succession of power jobs in the #MeToo media marketplace, as recent headlines reflect.
“A decision to select a male candidate over a woman today...
- 8/5/2021
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Principal photography has completed on under-the-radar comedy feature Not An Artist, whose ensemble cast we can reveal as Ciara Bravo (Cherry), Rosalind Chao (Mulan), Cleopatra Coleman (The Last Man On Earth), Clark Moore (Crazy Ex Girlfriend), GaTa (Dave), Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense), Alexi Pappas (Olympic Dreams), Horatio Sanz (Black Monday), Robert Schwartzman (The Princess Diaries), Matt Walsh (Veep), and rapper/actor/filmmaker Bobby “RZA” Diggs (Californication).
The movie follows a young woman (Pappas) who is accepted into a residency program created by the wealthy enigmatic benefactor known only as “The Abbott” (RZA) for high-potential artists suffering from creative constipation. The artists sign a legally binding agreement to complete a creative project of choice during their one-month stay – or quit the arts forever.
Meanwhile, the woman’s father, (Walsh) a physician, is drifting through America’s National Parks, practicing telemedicine from an Rv. Following a series of mistakes,...
The movie follows a young woman (Pappas) who is accepted into a residency program created by the wealthy enigmatic benefactor known only as “The Abbott” (RZA) for high-potential artists suffering from creative constipation. The artists sign a legally binding agreement to complete a creative project of choice during their one-month stay – or quit the arts forever.
Meanwhile, the woman’s father, (Walsh) a physician, is drifting through America’s National Parks, practicing telemedicine from an Rv. Following a series of mistakes,...
- 6/10/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
With its film line-up previously announced, the SXSW Film Festival has unveiled its keynote and a very robust second round of featured speakers. This year’s online edition of SXSW kicks off on March 16 and continues through March 20.
SXSW will feature Nobel Peace Prize-nominated political leader Stacey Abrams in a Keynote conversation with author N.K. Jemisin.
As for the new round of featured speakers, the roster includes Elizabeth Banks, Mayim Bialik, Mary J. Blige, James Cameron, Bill Hader, Noah Hawley, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Demi Lovato, Desus Nice and the Kid Mero, Amber Ruffin, The Russo Brothers, Jennifer Salke, Cliff “Method Man” Smith among others.
“We’re truly excited about the remarkable range of creative talent and innovators that we’ve announced today as part of SXSW Online,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer. “In the 30 plus years of SXSW, we’ve showcased so many incredible voices who have shown tremendous courage and leadership,...
SXSW will feature Nobel Peace Prize-nominated political leader Stacey Abrams in a Keynote conversation with author N.K. Jemisin.
As for the new round of featured speakers, the roster includes Elizabeth Banks, Mayim Bialik, Mary J. Blige, James Cameron, Bill Hader, Noah Hawley, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Demi Lovato, Desus Nice and the Kid Mero, Amber Ruffin, The Russo Brothers, Jennifer Salke, Cliff “Method Man” Smith among others.
“We’re truly excited about the remarkable range of creative talent and innovators that we’ve announced today as part of SXSW Online,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer. “In the 30 plus years of SXSW, we’ve showcased so many incredible voices who have shown tremendous courage and leadership,...
- 2/11/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Willie Nelson to Keynote 2021 Virtual SXSW, Speakers Include Taraji P. Henson, Richard Branson, More
South by Southwest Conference and Festivals has announced that legendary singer-songwriter Willie Nelson will keynote this year’s virtual event, along with an initial lineup of featured speakers and over 230 conference sessions.
SXSW Online, taking place March 16–20, 2021, will feature conference sessions, music festival showcases, film festival screenings, and more.
“No individual has had the cultural impact on, or been more synonymous with the creative vibrancy of Austin than Willie Nelson, and we are incredibly honored to have him as a SXSW Online 2021 Keynote,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer. “In addition to dozens of incredible featured speakers, today’s announcement also includes more than 200 sessions curated from our global community via PanelPicker, and is a key part of the premium content you can expect from SXSW Online 2021.”
In addition to the Keynote and Featured Speakers announced today, SXSW has published over 230 programming sessions sourced from the community and curated by SXSW staff.
SXSW Online, taking place March 16–20, 2021, will feature conference sessions, music festival showcases, film festival screenings, and more.
“No individual has had the cultural impact on, or been more synonymous with the creative vibrancy of Austin than Willie Nelson, and we are incredibly honored to have him as a SXSW Online 2021 Keynote,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer. “In addition to dozens of incredible featured speakers, today’s announcement also includes more than 200 sessions curated from our global community via PanelPicker, and is a key part of the premium content you can expect from SXSW Online 2021.”
In addition to the Keynote and Featured Speakers announced today, SXSW has published over 230 programming sessions sourced from the community and curated by SXSW staff.
- 1/13/2021
- by Jem Aswad
- Variety Film + TV
Like many festivals, South by Southwest (SXSW) is going online this year, which is a seamless transition considering the Austin-based festival has always included a large digital component. SXSW Online, which takes place March 16-20, has unveiled its initial wave of Featured Speakers and over 230 conference sessions and this includes music legend Willie Nelson as Keynote.
“No individual has had the cultural impact on, or been more synonymous with the creative vibrancy of Austin than Willie Nelson, and we are incredibly honored to have him as a SXSW Online 2021 Keynote,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer. “In addition to dozens of incredible Featured Speakers, today’s announcement also includes more than 200 sessions curated from our global community via PanelPicker, and is a key part of the premium content you can expect from SXSW Online 2021.”
SXSW has also unveiled its robust roster of featured speakers which includes Samantha Bee, Cynthia Erivo,...
“No individual has had the cultural impact on, or been more synonymous with the creative vibrancy of Austin than Willie Nelson, and we are incredibly honored to have him as a SXSW Online 2021 Keynote,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer. “In addition to dozens of incredible Featured Speakers, today’s announcement also includes more than 200 sessions curated from our global community via PanelPicker, and is a key part of the premium content you can expect from SXSW Online 2021.”
SXSW has also unveiled its robust roster of featured speakers which includes Samantha Bee, Cynthia Erivo,...
- 1/13/2021
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
So, getting tired of the frigid ole’ February (of course you sufferin’ folks in the southern states might have to dig out a windbreaker or sweater). Here in the Midwest, it’s still more than a bit nippy, with some occasional falling flakes. What better time for a multiplex getaway to…Pyeongchang, South Korea. And while we’re at it, how about a quick jump in the “Wayback” machine and get there (almost two years ago to the day) just in time for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games? But this is not a sports documentary, but rather a two-person romantic “dramedy” with the games as a backdrop. Now, filmmakers have done this for years, shooting a story “on the fly” using a big gathering. A few flicks from the past come to mind. Elvis Presley romanced and sang his way through 1962 Seattle for It Happened At The World Fair. As for sports,...
- 2/20/2020
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
With the 2020 summer Olympics around the corner, the timing of the release of the IFC Films romantic comedy Olympic Dreams couldn’t be any more perfect — but this isn’t an ordinary rom-com or a film about the Olympics.
Directed by Jeremy Teicher, who co-wrote it with his wife and real-life Olympian Alexi Pappas and Nick Kroll (Big Mouth), the film was actually shot on location during the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang 2018 in Athletes Village. This marks the first time a feature was shot at a the Olympics. To add to that, the film was shot using improvisation of the script in just two weeks.
“Olympic Dreams is IFC Films to its core,” Arianna Bocco, Evp, Film Acquisitions & Production, tells Deadline. “It’s original, independent filmmaking.”
Kroll and Pappas star in the love story between two unlikely — and lonely — people who...
Directed by Jeremy Teicher, who co-wrote it with his wife and real-life Olympian Alexi Pappas and Nick Kroll (Big Mouth), the film was actually shot on location during the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang 2018 in Athletes Village. This marks the first time a feature was shot at a the Olympics. To add to that, the film was shot using improvisation of the script in just two weeks.
“Olympic Dreams is IFC Films to its core,” Arianna Bocco, Evp, Film Acquisitions & Production, tells Deadline. “It’s original, independent filmmaking.”
Kroll and Pappas star in the love story between two unlikely — and lonely — people who...
- 2/14/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
To many, Nick Kroll is just a comedian, albeit quite the creative comedic force. Whether it’s his hit Netflix show Big Mouth, the broadway show Oh Hello!, or any number of other things, Kroll is a big deal within comedy. However, he’s also an underrated actor, something he’s able to display in Olympic Dreams, an independent romance that he stars in and co-wrote. All of the skills that he’s put out into the world aimed at laughter and satire and in evidence here, just used instead for dramatic and romantic effect. Unsurprisingly, Kroll proves more than adept at evoking a whole new range of emotions from his audience. The film is a romance set during the 2018 Winter Olympics. Set almost entirely within the Olympic Athlete Village, a young cross-country skier named Penelope (Alexi Pappas) at loose ends after her competition forms a bond with a volunteer...
- 2/13/2020
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Director Jeremy Teicher and writer/actor Alexi Pappas already made a film about the latter’s Olympic ambitions entitled Tracktown. Shot two years before she placed 17th in the women’s 10,000m event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, it dealt with a physically injured athlete forced into taking a break amidst the chaos of Olympic Trials preparation. It was therefore only natural that the pair would choose to tackle a story dealing with the psychological and emotional experience of qualifying and competing too. Bolstered by her first-hand knowledge of what it was like to be an athlete on the ground alongside the couple’s shared history as filmmakers, the International Olympic Committee invited them aboard their Olympic Art Project and provided unprecedented access to film at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games.
The result is Olympic Dreams, a heartfelt and introspective journey that delves within the human psyche caught in stasis. Teicher acted...
The result is Olympic Dreams, a heartfelt and introspective journey that delves within the human psyche caught in stasis. Teicher acted...
- 2/11/2020
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Olympic Dreams IFC Films Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Jeremy Teicher Screenwriter: Alexi Pappas, Jeremy Teicher, Nick Kroll Cast: Alexi Pappas, Nick Kroll, Gus Kenworthy, Morgan Schild Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 2/3/20 Opens: February 14, 2020 Jeremy Teicher’s movie is about a rom-com about competing in […]
The post Olympic Dreams Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Olympic Dreams Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 2/9/2020
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
"I wake up every day a little bit afraid!" IFC Films has released the first trailer for an indie dramedy titled Olympic Dreams, which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival last year. It also played at the RiverRun, Seattle, Mill Valley, and Hawaii Film Festivals, and is arriving in theaters in February. Olympic Dreams is the first movie ever filmed on location during the Olympics in Athletes Village (filmed at PyeongChang 2018 in South Korea). The movie "offers audiences a never-before-seen behind of life behind the Games and the people whose entire worlds are shaped by them." Written by and starring Nick Kroll and Alexi Pappas, the story follows a young cross-country skier who bonds with a volunteer doctor after her competition ends. This looks like a sweet, honest look at love and how much connection matters no matter where we are and what we're going through. The cast includes Gus Kenworthy,...
- 1/15/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Nick Kroll and real-life Olympian Alexi Pappas are a winning duo in their new film Olympic Dreams.
In a People exclusive look at the first trailer for the film, Kroll, 41, stars as Ezra, a dentist who volunteers to work with athletes inside of the Olympic’s Athletes Village where he meets Penelope (Pappas), a cross country skier competing in the games.
Despite their chemistry, the pair run into trouble in their burgeoning relationship.
“I’m just afraid,” Ezra says, to which Penelope responds, “I wake up every day a little bit afraid, but its good fear, like afraid for how well it can go.
In a People exclusive look at the first trailer for the film, Kroll, 41, stars as Ezra, a dentist who volunteers to work with athletes inside of the Olympic’s Athletes Village where he meets Penelope (Pappas), a cross country skier competing in the games.
Despite their chemistry, the pair run into trouble in their burgeoning relationship.
“I’m just afraid,” Ezra says, to which Penelope responds, “I wake up every day a little bit afraid, but its good fear, like afraid for how well it can go.
- 1/15/2020
- by Alexia Fernandez
- PEOPLE.com
Nick Kroll and cross-country skier Alexi Pappas star in the SXSW premiere.
On the eve of the Afm, UK sales outfit Sc Films International has snapped up international rights to Jeremy Teicher’s sports- based romantic comedy, Olympic Dreams which premiered at SXSW in April.
It is said to be the first scripted film to be shot in the ‘athlete’s village’ during an Olympic Games and filmed during the Winter Games held in PyeongChang in South Korea in 2018. Real-life Olympic athlete Alexi Pappas plays a cross-country skier who falls in love wtih a volunteer dentist, played by Nick Kroll,...
On the eve of the Afm, UK sales outfit Sc Films International has snapped up international rights to Jeremy Teicher’s sports- based romantic comedy, Olympic Dreams which premiered at SXSW in April.
It is said to be the first scripted film to be shot in the ‘athlete’s village’ during an Olympic Games and filmed during the Winter Games held in PyeongChang in South Korea in 2018. Real-life Olympic athlete Alexi Pappas plays a cross-country skier who falls in love wtih a volunteer dentist, played by Nick Kroll,...
- 10/30/2019
- by 57¦Geoffrey Macnab¦41¦
- ScreenDaily
IFC Films has acquired U.S. rights to “Olympic Dreams,” a romance shot on location at the 2018 Winter Olympics co-starring Nick Kroll and real-life Olympian Alexi Pappas. The film draws on Pappas’ experiences in the Rio Olympic Games of 2016, and she shares a writing credit on the project with director Jeremy Teicher.
The couple previously co-directed the 2016 drama “Tracktown,” which starred Pappas as long-distance runner who attempts to take a break in the midst of stressful training sessions. That movie caught the attention of International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, who watched it on a plane and selected Pappas as one of four athletes chosen to participate in last year’s artists-in-residence program.
“Olympic Dreams” was initially conceived as a series of narrative short films, which were posted to the Olympic Channel, but Pappas and Teicher convinced the Olympics to allow them to cut a feature-length story out of the footage.
The couple previously co-directed the 2016 drama “Tracktown,” which starred Pappas as long-distance runner who attempts to take a break in the midst of stressful training sessions. That movie caught the attention of International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, who watched it on a plane and selected Pappas as one of four athletes chosen to participate in last year’s artists-in-residence program.
“Olympic Dreams” was initially conceived as a series of narrative short films, which were posted to the Olympic Channel, but Pappas and Teicher convinced the Olympics to allow them to cut a feature-length story out of the footage.
- 6/17/2019
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
The Chicago Critics Film Festival Runs May 17th – 23rd. Stephen Tronicek is covering the event for We Are Movie Geeeks
My entire Day Three of the Chicago Critics Film Festival could be defined as me watching a movie, calling it the best film I’ve seen at the festival so far, watching another movie, and rethinking the previous statement.
Yesterday’s line up was one great work after the other and the first feature of the day, Our Time Machine, was no exception. While the film follows the creation of a puppet play written and co-directed by Chinese artist Maleonn, the focus of the piece is not on the play. It is rather on the relationship that created that play: the one between Maleonn and his father. Our Time Machine is a wondrous blend of beautiful puppet imagery and even more beautiful family drama. On top of that, the artistic...
My entire Day Three of the Chicago Critics Film Festival could be defined as me watching a movie, calling it the best film I’ve seen at the festival so far, watching another movie, and rethinking the previous statement.
Yesterday’s line up was one great work after the other and the first feature of the day, Our Time Machine, was no exception. While the film follows the creation of a puppet play written and co-directed by Chinese artist Maleonn, the focus of the piece is not on the play. It is rather on the relationship that created that play: the one between Maleonn and his father. Our Time Machine is a wondrous blend of beautiful puppet imagery and even more beautiful family drama. On top of that, the artistic...
- 5/20/2019
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Director Peter Strickland’s “In Fabric” starring “Game of Thrones” star Gwendoline Christie is set to open the fifth Mammoth Lakes Film Festival, the organization has announced today along with their film lineup.
The festival in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., will take place May 22-26 and feature several films’ U.S. debuts. In addition to the narrative feature categories, a short films program will include 50 narrative, documentary, animated, experimental and episodic shorts.Strickland’s horror comedy from A24 follows the life of a cursed dress as it travels to different owners, all with devastating consequences.
“We’re excited to bring such an amazing and eclectic lineup of films to this milestone year of our festival,” said festival director Shira Dubrovner. “We’re also thrilled to be hosting over 100 filmmakers this year, who will get to experience all the scenic wonder that the Eastern Sierras has to offer.”
A panel of jurors,...
The festival in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., will take place May 22-26 and feature several films’ U.S. debuts. In addition to the narrative feature categories, a short films program will include 50 narrative, documentary, animated, experimental and episodic shorts.Strickland’s horror comedy from A24 follows the life of a cursed dress as it travels to different owners, all with devastating consequences.
“We’re excited to bring such an amazing and eclectic lineup of films to this milestone year of our festival,” said festival director Shira Dubrovner. “We’re also thrilled to be hosting over 100 filmmakers this year, who will get to experience all the scenic wonder that the Eastern Sierras has to offer.”
A panel of jurors,...
- 4/25/2019
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Jeremy Teicher and Alexi Pappas, the multi-hyphenate duo whose Olympic Dreams, starring Nick Kroll and Pappas, premiered at this year’s SXSW film festival, have signed with Apa.
Olympic Dreams was shot on location at the 2018 Winter Olympics and tells the story of an athlete (played by Pappas) and a volunteer (played by Kroll) who share a special but limited time together in the Olympic Village. Co-written by Pappas, Teicher, and Kroll, and directed by Teicher (who also was a one-person crew), Olympic Dreams is the first narrative feature film ever shot in a real-life Olympic Village.
Teicher and Pappas’s 2016 film Trackdown, starring Pappas, Rachel Dratch and Andy Buckley, was developed through the Sundance Lab, premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival, and released by Samuel Goldwyn Films and Orion Pictures.
Teicher’s first film, the 2014 award-winning Tall as the Baobab Tree, was inspired by true stories from...
Olympic Dreams was shot on location at the 2018 Winter Olympics and tells the story of an athlete (played by Pappas) and a volunteer (played by Kroll) who share a special but limited time together in the Olympic Village. Co-written by Pappas, Teicher, and Kroll, and directed by Teicher (who also was a one-person crew), Olympic Dreams is the first narrative feature film ever shot in a real-life Olympic Village.
Teicher and Pappas’s 2016 film Trackdown, starring Pappas, Rachel Dratch and Andy Buckley, was developed through the Sundance Lab, premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival, and released by Samuel Goldwyn Films and Orion Pictures.
Teicher’s first film, the 2014 award-winning Tall as the Baobab Tree, was inspired by true stories from...
- 4/12/2019
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Describing a movie as “sweet” may be interpreted by some as damnation with the faintest praise. But, really, there is no more appropriate adjective for “Olympic Dreams,” an engagingly wistful dramedy about opposites attracted while adrift far from home. Set against the backdrop of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where indie filmmaker Jeremy Teicher multitasked in semi-guerrilla, one-man-band style as director, cinematographer and sound-recorder, it glides gracefully across stretches of familiar territory and pleasant surprises, propelled by the appealingly complementary lead performances of Nick Kroll and Alexi Pappas, who share co-scripting credit with Teicher.
Teicher was granted freedom to film in around the Olympic Village, where athletes, officials and trainers were housed, as well as at various competition venues, and Pyeongchang eateries and night spots. As a result, there is a virtually nonstop sense of cinema verité-style verisimilitude throughout the film, greatly enhancing the illusion — or is it an illusion?...
Teicher was granted freedom to film in around the Olympic Village, where athletes, officials and trainers were housed, as well as at various competition venues, and Pyeongchang eateries and night spots. As a result, there is a virtually nonstop sense of cinema verité-style verisimilitude throughout the film, greatly enhancing the illusion — or is it an illusion?...
- 4/11/2019
- by Joe Leydon
- Variety Film + TV
South MountainIn my last dispatch from Austin I pinpointed the Visions section as a shortcut to South by Southwest’s generally more adventurous programming, if only to facilitate sifting through a number of arcane plot summaries. High-profile acts are bound to the festival thanks to tradition, release date timing, and in some cases city loyalty (think Richard Linklater’s Boyhood and Terrence Malick’s Song to Song; both were shot in Austin and both ultimately premiered at SXSW). It would seem that some worthy but inconspicuous titles could easily fall between the cracks, though pioneers like Barry Jenkins prove otherwise. This year’s Global section I found particularly fertile, with titles ranging from X&Y, artist Anna Oddell’s experimental film inquisition of public personas and gender roles, to Marlén Viñayo’s Cachada: The Opportunity, a documentary about a group of working-class Salvadoran women that stage a performative re-enactment of their traumatic life stories.
- 3/24/2019
- MUBI
While on the phone with her coach, Winter Olympics athlete Penelope (Alexi Pappas) rambles about her training and her hopes for the competition. “I hope that I really feel like an olympian when I’m done,” she says with nervous energy. That’s the theme of Olympic Dreams in a nutshell: feeling like an olympian means going […]
The post ‘Olympic Dreams’ Review: A Look at Love in the Olympic Village [SXSW] appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘Olympic Dreams’ Review: A Look at Love in the Olympic Village [SXSW] appeared first on /Film.
- 3/19/2019
- by Joi Childs
- Slash Film
Guest contributor Tony Ruggio reporting from SXSW...
Olympic Dreams, starring comedian Nick Kroll and real-life Olympic athlete Alexi Pappas, is both innovative and a little mundane. Shot behind the curtain in Olympic Village during Pyongyang, it’s a romantic two-hander set against the 2018 games. It also doubles as a real deep-dive into an unknowable subculture. Blurring the lines between narrative and documentary, with many athletes and employees playing themselves, director Jeremy Teicher is a one-man band capturing the unglamorous side of the games. The dorm-like bedrooms, spare game rooms, and impending doom of life after it’s all over...
Olympic Dreams, starring comedian Nick Kroll and real-life Olympic athlete Alexi Pappas, is both innovative and a little mundane. Shot behind the curtain in Olympic Village during Pyongyang, it’s a romantic two-hander set against the 2018 games. It also doubles as a real deep-dive into an unknowable subculture. Blurring the lines between narrative and documentary, with many athletes and employees playing themselves, director Jeremy Teicher is a one-man band capturing the unglamorous side of the games. The dorm-like bedrooms, spare game rooms, and impending doom of life after it’s all over...
- 3/13/2019
- by Tony Ruggio
- FilmExperience
Getting a feature film into SXSW is a big accomplishment for an independent filmmaker. It’s an important building block toward a full-time career in the industry, but for many it is not an achievement that can, in and of itself, pay the bills. IndieWire asked 30 directors premiering scripted narrative features in one of four SXSW 2019 categories how, when they are not making independent films, do they make a living? Here’s what they had to say.
Sandy K Boone (“J.R. ‘Bob’ Dobbs and The Church of the SubGenius”): I am a licensed realtor and have sold luxury real estate for over 30 years for my day-to-day living.
Travis Stevens (“Girl on the Third Floor”): Since 2010 I’ve been fortunate enough to pay my rent by producing independent films.
Emily Ting (“Go Back to China”): I’ve been working as the Creative Director for my family’s...
Sandy K Boone (“J.R. ‘Bob’ Dobbs and The Church of the SubGenius”): I am a licensed realtor and have sold luxury real estate for over 30 years for my day-to-day living.
Travis Stevens (“Girl on the Third Floor”): Since 2010 I’ve been fortunate enough to pay my rent by producing independent films.
Emily Ting (“Go Back to China”): I’ve been working as the Creative Director for my family’s...
- 3/9/2019
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Exclusive: The SXSW comedy Olympic Dreams is a different kind of film. For one, it’s the first scripted film shot during the Olympics. Secondly, it was shot by a one-person crew that consisted of director Jeremy Teicher. And third, it features Alexi Pappas a real-life Olympian that competed at the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016. She stars opposite Nick Kroll and in the exclusive clip (watch above), the gold medal romance is giving off some intimate Before Sunset vibes.
The film, which was co-written by Teicher, Pappas, and Kroll, takes place in the highly exclusive Athlete Village and was actually shot during the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang in 2018 (Olympian Gus Kentworthy also makes an appearance!). The story follows Penelope (Pappas), a young cross-country skier who had a disappointing finish in her competition. She befriends a volunteer dentist named Ezra (Kroll) and two share a special — but short — time together while at the games.
The film, which was co-written by Teicher, Pappas, and Kroll, takes place in the highly exclusive Athlete Village and was actually shot during the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang in 2018 (Olympian Gus Kentworthy also makes an appearance!). The story follows Penelope (Pappas), a young cross-country skier who had a disappointing finish in her competition. She befriends a volunteer dentist named Ezra (Kroll) and two share a special — but short — time together while at the games.
- 3/8/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
South by Southwest is that rare thing, a film festival that caters to both the art-house crowd and the masses. Just take last year’s gathering in Austin, Texas. It launched one of the biggest movies of 2018 with “A Quiet Place,” put Kay Cannon on the map as a director with “Blockers,” and discovered the indie gem “Thunder Road.”
In addition to all the barbecue and parties in downtown Austin, this year’s SXSW offers a promising-as-ever slate: including Jordan Peele’s next movie, Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut, and Charlize Theron as the next president of the United States. Speaking of politicians, both Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (“Knock Down the House”) and Beto O’Rourke (“Running With Beto”) are subjects of documentaries playing at the festival. Here are the 11 buzziest films at SXSW 2019.
“Us”
Perhaps the most anticipated movie of this year’s SXSW is Peele’s latest feature after his Oscar-winning opus,...
In addition to all the barbecue and parties in downtown Austin, this year’s SXSW offers a promising-as-ever slate: including Jordan Peele’s next movie, Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut, and Charlize Theron as the next president of the United States. Speaking of politicians, both Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (“Knock Down the House”) and Beto O’Rourke (“Running With Beto”) are subjects of documentaries playing at the festival. Here are the 11 buzziest films at SXSW 2019.
“Us”
Perhaps the most anticipated movie of this year’s SXSW is Peele’s latest feature after his Oscar-winning opus,...
- 3/8/2019
- by Ramin Setoodeh and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
In our exclusive clip from Tracktown, Rachel Dratch pays an unexpected visit that provokes a (perhaps) surprising response from her daughter, Alexi Pappas. Pappas is a former Olympic runner; she co-wrote the semi-autobiographical script with Jeremy Teicher and they directed the film together. Synopsis: Plumb Marigold (Alexi Pappas) is a famous but lonely distance runner preparing for the biggest race of her life: The Olympic Trials. But when an injury forces her to take an unexpected day off, Plumb wanders into a bakery where the aimless boy behind the counter catches her eye. In this story that captures the experience of a young Olympic hopeful, many of the actors are actual Olympic athletes -- including co-writer/director and lead actor Pappas. Setting a film in the athletic...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 5/16/2017
- Screen Anarchy
After a jam-packed weekend of new Specialty releases last week, the tide continues with a full roster of new limited roll-outs just as the summer blockbuster season heads into full swing. The weekend’s largest Specialty debuts include Amazon Studios/Roadside Attractions’ The Wall by Doug Liman and starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and John Cena, which will open in north of five hundred locations, as well as Bh Tilt’s Lowriders by Ricardo de Montreuil with Eva Longoria, Demián Bichir and Gabriel Chavarria with nearly three hundred runs. Sony Classics is going traditional with the New York and L.A. bow of Diane Lane starrer Paris Can Wait, which the distributor is hoping will tap a collective societal need to escape — in this case, to the French countryside. Cate Blanchett plays 13 different characters in artist-director Julian Rosefeldt’s Manifesto (FilmRise), which is based on his multi-screen installation presented in New York...
- 5/12/2017
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline Film + TV
Roberto Berliner’s newest feature, “Nise: The Heart of Madness,” tells the fascinating true story of an unlikely group of artists and the woman who helped them find their voice (or, in this case, their paints).
Set in 1940’s Brazil, Gloria Pires plays Dr. Nise da Silveira, who works in a psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, where she refuses to employ the new and violent electroshock for the treatment of schizophrenics. Ridiculed by other doctors, she is forced to take over abandoned Sector for Occupational Therapy, where she starts a revolution through painting, animals and love.
Read More: Cannes Critics’ Week Jury to Be Lead By Brazilian Filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho, Other Jurors Announced
Berliner’s film follows the real-life story of da Silveira as she nurtures her patients to craft work that eventually set them apart as some of Brazil’s most lauded artists. In our exclusive clip below,...
Set in 1940’s Brazil, Gloria Pires plays Dr. Nise da Silveira, who works in a psychiatric hospital on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, where she refuses to employ the new and violent electroshock for the treatment of schizophrenics. Ridiculed by other doctors, she is forced to take over abandoned Sector for Occupational Therapy, where she starts a revolution through painting, animals and love.
Read More: Cannes Critics’ Week Jury to Be Lead By Brazilian Filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho, Other Jurors Announced
Berliner’s film follows the real-life story of da Silveira as she nurtures her patients to craft work that eventually set them apart as some of Brazil’s most lauded artists. In our exclusive clip below,...
- 4/26/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
From “Donnie Darko” to “The Graduate,” “Mulholland Drive” and “Stalker,” film restorations are having a pretty incredible year so far, and it’s only going to get better with the return of a Federico Fellini masterpiece. Studiocanal is bringing a 2k digital restoration of “La Strada” to UK theaters on May 19, and it has released a wonderful first look courtesy of the trailer embedded below.
Read More: ‘The Graduate’ 4K Restoration Coming to Theaters for 50th Anniversary
“La Strada” stars Giulietta Masina as young woman who becomes the wife and performance assistant to a strongman named Zampanò (Anthony Quinn). She befriends her husband’s rival (Richard Basehart) as their marriage becomes increasingly abusive. When the three are put in the same traveling circus, tragedy strikes.
The movie opened in 1954 and became the first title to ever receive the Oscar for Best Foreign Langue Film. “La Strada” also earned the Silver...
Read More: ‘The Graduate’ 4K Restoration Coming to Theaters for 50th Anniversary
“La Strada” stars Giulietta Masina as young woman who becomes the wife and performance assistant to a strongman named Zampanò (Anthony Quinn). She befriends her husband’s rival (Richard Basehart) as their marriage becomes increasingly abusive. When the three are put in the same traveling circus, tragedy strikes.
The movie opened in 1954 and became the first title to ever receive the Oscar for Best Foreign Langue Film. “La Strada” also earned the Silver...
- 4/26/2017
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
After premiering last year at the Los Angeles Film Festival, the coming-of -age sports comedy “Tracktown” is finally making its way to theaters and On Demand next month.
In anticipation of its release, IndieWire has an exclusive clip from the film in which we see the determination of Olympic hopeful Plumb Marigold, played by real-life Olympian Alexi Pappas, despite being forced to take a day off from her hardcore training regime. Plumb is determined to make it onto the Olympic team with absolutely no distractions getting in the way — except perhaps the nice boy who works at the bakery who catches her eye.
Read More: Laff Review: ‘Tracktown’ Is A Different Kind of Sports Movie
The quirky feature, which Pappas co-wrote and co-directed alongside Jeremy Teicher, follows Plumb after a minor injury makes her adjust a rather unforgiving schedule and she finds that her life as an athlete may...
In anticipation of its release, IndieWire has an exclusive clip from the film in which we see the determination of Olympic hopeful Plumb Marigold, played by real-life Olympian Alexi Pappas, despite being forced to take a day off from her hardcore training regime. Plumb is determined to make it onto the Olympic team with absolutely no distractions getting in the way — except perhaps the nice boy who works at the bakery who catches her eye.
Read More: Laff Review: ‘Tracktown’ Is A Different Kind of Sports Movie
The quirky feature, which Pappas co-wrote and co-directed alongside Jeremy Teicher, follows Plumb after a minor injury makes her adjust a rather unforgiving schedule and she finds that her life as an athlete may...
- 4/25/2017
- by Juan Diaz
- Indiewire
In case you have somehow not heard, “La La Land” has a very intricate opening number. Filmmaker Damien Chazelle’s salute to movie musicals of the past opens in a burst of color, music, and people dancing in the middle of traffic, and if you’ve ever wanted to know what went into making “Another Day of Sun” happen, now is your chance.
In our new exclusive featurette, which will be included on the film’s DVD and Blu-ray release, Chazelle talks about his fascination with Los Angeles traffic and how car radios were integral to setting the scene. Also, he is still the top spokesman for dreamers.
Read More: Emma Stone Fan Recreates ‘La La Land’ Opening Scene to Ask Her to Be His Prom Date — Watch
“There’s a way that you can kind of disconnect from the outside world when you’re in your car,” Chazelle says in the featurette.
In our new exclusive featurette, which will be included on the film’s DVD and Blu-ray release, Chazelle talks about his fascination with Los Angeles traffic and how car radios were integral to setting the scene. Also, he is still the top spokesman for dreamers.
Read More: Emma Stone Fan Recreates ‘La La Land’ Opening Scene to Ask Her to Be His Prom Date — Watch
“There’s a way that you can kind of disconnect from the outside world when you’re in your car,” Chazelle says in the featurette.
- 4/25/2017
- by Allison Picurro
- Indiewire
Getting cast by David Lynch is a dream come true, but actually working with the filmmaker is an entirely different, very unpredictable beast. Laura Dern, Naomi Watts and Patricia Arquette know what it’s like better than anyone. Watts and Arquette are the women behind two of Lynch’s most iconic blondes, Betty Elms in “Mulholland Drive” and Renee Madison in “Lost Highway,” while Dern already has three Lynch films under her belt, with a fourth collaboration already wrapped thanks to the “Twin Peaks” revival.
Read More: Why ‘Mulholland Drive’ Is the Most Essential Film David Lynch Will Ever Make — Watch
“I’m always excited and surprised by what he asks me to play,” Dern says in a new video interview from W Magazine. “Even in the beginning, I signed on because of David. He inspires that trust.”
“David will look at three or four, or maybe five, different pictures and say,...
Read More: Why ‘Mulholland Drive’ Is the Most Essential Film David Lynch Will Ever Make — Watch
“I’m always excited and surprised by what he asks me to play,” Dern says in a new video interview from W Magazine. “Even in the beginning, I signed on because of David. He inspires that trust.”
“David will look at three or four, or maybe five, different pictures and say,...
- 4/25/2017
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
This week, IndieWire will be rolling out our annual Summer Preview, including offerings that span genres, a look at the various trends driving the box office, and special attention to all the new movies you need to get through a jam-packed summer movie-going season. Check back throughout the week for a new look at the best the season has to offer, and clear your schedule, because we’re going to fill it right up.
Today — a look at a dozen blockbusters (or would-be blockbusters) well worth your time and movie-going dollars.
Read More: IndieWire’s Complete 2017 Summer Preview
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” May 5
If you’ve seen “Guardians of the Galaxy,” you already know a lot about “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” — a lively comedic space opera filled with banter between humans and imaginative aliens, astonishing visual effects, and the most idiosyncratic set of characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Today — a look at a dozen blockbusters (or would-be blockbusters) well worth your time and movie-going dollars.
Read More: IndieWire’s Complete 2017 Summer Preview
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” May 5
If you’ve seen “Guardians of the Galaxy,” you already know a lot about “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” — a lively comedic space opera filled with banter between humans and imaginative aliens, astonishing visual effects, and the most idiosyncratic set of characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- 4/25/2017
- by Chris O'Falt, David Ehrlich, Eric Kohn, Jude Dry, Kate Erbland, Steve Greene and Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
"If you want something you've never had, you must be willing to do something you've never done." Samuel Goldwyn has released a trailer for an indie drama titled Tracktown, a sort-of semi-autobiographical story of an Olympic athlete and her trials and tribulations in life and love. That athlete is Alexi Pappas, a Greek-American long distance runner who competed for Greece in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. She stars in, co-writes, and co-directs this film, taking on the full responsibility of bringing her story to the big screen. Also starring Chase Offerle, Rachel Dratch, Andy Buckley, Rebecca Friday, and Sasha Spencer. Her two biggest obstacles: a twisted ankle, a boy she meets that makes he heart beat. This looks charming. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Alexi Pappas & Jeremy Teicher's Tracktown, direct from YouTube: Plumb Marigold is a famous but lonely distance runner preparing for the biggest race of her life: The Olympic Trials.
- 4/12/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.
Lineup Announcements
– Exclusive: The 12th Annual Sunscreen Film Festival announced its official selections for the 2017 event featuring films with Alec Baldwin, Dylan McDermott, John Cleese, Daphne Zuniga and more. Opening night will feature Michael Mailer’s newest film, “Blind,” a romantic-drama, starring Alec Baldwin, Demi Moore and Dylan McDermott. Closing night will wrap up the festival with “Albion: The Enchanted Stallion,” a family fantasy adventure, starring John Cleese, Debra Messing, Jennifer Morrison and Stephen Dorff.
Retrospective Screenings will include Daphne Zuniga appearance at the festival honoring the 30th anniversary of “Spaceballs.” Also in this category will be “The Greatest Show on Earth,” from 1952 directed by Cecile B. DeMille, which won the Oscar for Best Pictures and Best Writing in 1953. The screening will honor the closing of the Ringling Bros.
Lineup Announcements
– Exclusive: The 12th Annual Sunscreen Film Festival announced its official selections for the 2017 event featuring films with Alec Baldwin, Dylan McDermott, John Cleese, Daphne Zuniga and more. Opening night will feature Michael Mailer’s newest film, “Blind,” a romantic-drama, starring Alec Baldwin, Demi Moore and Dylan McDermott. Closing night will wrap up the festival with “Albion: The Enchanted Stallion,” a family fantasy adventure, starring John Cleese, Debra Messing, Jennifer Morrison and Stephen Dorff.
Retrospective Screenings will include Daphne Zuniga appearance at the festival honoring the 30th anniversary of “Spaceballs.” Also in this category will be “The Greatest Show on Earth,” from 1952 directed by Cecile B. DeMille, which won the Oscar for Best Pictures and Best Writing in 1953. The screening will honor the closing of the Ringling Bros.
- 3/30/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.
– Grasshopper Film has announced the acquisition of all U.S. distribution rights to Michael Almereyda’s new documentary “Escapes,” a dynamic portrait of Hampton Fancher, executive produced by Wes Anderson. “Escapes” will open in theaters this summer followed by a VOD and Home Video release in the fall.
“Escapes” showcases the storytelling talents of Hampton Fancher, flamenco dancer, film and TV actor, and the unlikely producer and screenwriter of the landmark sci-fi classic “Blade Runner,” as well as screenwriter on the upcoming sequel “Blade Runner 2049.” Fancher’s running commentary – with a little help from Philip K. Dick and Ridley Scott – works in concert with extensive archival footage as Fancher relates death-defying escapades from a remarkable life.
– Grasshopper Film has announced the acquisition of all U.S. distribution rights to Michael Almereyda’s new documentary “Escapes,” a dynamic portrait of Hampton Fancher, executive produced by Wes Anderson. “Escapes” will open in theaters this summer followed by a VOD and Home Video release in the fall.
“Escapes” showcases the storytelling talents of Hampton Fancher, flamenco dancer, film and TV actor, and the unlikely producer and screenwriter of the landmark sci-fi classic “Blade Runner,” as well as screenwriter on the upcoming sequel “Blade Runner 2049.” Fancher’s running commentary – with a little help from Philip K. Dick and Ridley Scott – works in concert with extensive archival footage as Fancher relates death-defying escapades from a remarkable life.
- 3/10/2017
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Al Pacino, Bono among talking heads in documentary profile. Separately, The Orchard has picked up Rotterdam premiere Super Dark Times, while Orion Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Films acquire Tracktown.
The distributor has picked up North American rights to Italian filmmaker Pappi Corsicato’s profile of the artist and filmmaker.
Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait was created using a blend of material from Schnabel’s personal archives, newly filmed footage of the artist, and commentary from friends, family, actors and artists including Al Pacino, Mary Boone and Bono. Valeria Golino produced.
Cohen Media Group plans a theatrical release in May at the relaunched Quad Cinema in New York.
Charles S. Cohen, chairman and CEO of Cohen Media chairman and CEO Group Charles S. Cohenannounced that Cmg has acquired North American rights to Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait. The distributor
“Julian Schnabel is a brilliant artist and filmmaker and we are thrilled to bring the very personal...
The distributor has picked up North American rights to Italian filmmaker Pappi Corsicato’s profile of the artist and filmmaker.
Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait was created using a blend of material from Schnabel’s personal archives, newly filmed footage of the artist, and commentary from friends, family, actors and artists including Al Pacino, Mary Boone and Bono. Valeria Golino produced.
Cohen Media Group plans a theatrical release in May at the relaunched Quad Cinema in New York.
Charles S. Cohen, chairman and CEO of Cohen Media chairman and CEO Group Charles S. Cohenannounced that Cmg has acquired North American rights to Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait. The distributor
“Julian Schnabel is a brilliant artist and filmmaker and we are thrilled to bring the very personal...
- 3/7/2017
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: It’s fitting that world-class middle distance runner Alexi Pappas is about to run ahead of NBC and its by-now-familiar athlete featurettes the network scatters throughout its Olympics coverage. That’s because she and her filmmaker boyfriend Jeremy Teicher have made Tracktown, a semi-autobiographical movie she also stars in that will have its world premiere Saturday at the Los Angeles Film Festival. The bow comes two months before the start of the Rio Games…...
- 6/3/2016
- Deadline
We’d like to give as much insight into the project other than cast list and title, but Adam Leon‘s sophomore film has been existing somewhere off the radar. His debut became the Cinderella story of 2012 for micro-budgeted American indies. Gimme the Loot won the Grand Jury – Best Narrative Feature prize at the 2012 SXSW Film Fest and then became one of the rare SXSW-selected titles to break into Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section. Nominated for the Gotham Awards’ Breakthrough Director Award and both a nominee (for Best First Feature) and winner (Someone to Watch Award) at the Indie Spirits Awards, we imagine that the coin helped fund his larger-budgeted follow up. Working with another young cast, Tramps includes actors Callum Turner (Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room) and newcomers Grace Van Patten and Michal Vondel.
Gist: Tbd.
Production Co./Producers: Dark Arts’ Andrea Roa (Unexpected), Joshua Astrachan...
Gist: Tbd.
Production Co./Producers: Dark Arts’ Andrea Roa (Unexpected), Joshua Astrachan...
- 11/25/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Some say, write what you know. I guess the idiom here would be to…run with what you know. A project that producer Laura Wagner received support on via Sffs and the Sundance Institute, Tracktown is the sum of a devotion to a sport and a creative collaboration that sprung up at Dartmouth College. Grads Jeremy Teicher and Alexi Pappas combined forces (both personally and professionally) in 2012 on the micro feature Tall as the Baobab Tree, and they are currently in finish line mode with their second creative collaboration. Teicher (featured in Filmmaker Mag’s Top 25 in 2013) co-wrote/directed/produced the project with Pappas who stars an literally borrows from her blistered feet days of the sport. Lensing on Tracktown began back in October of 2014 in Eugene, Oregon and the film also includes players such as newbie Chase Offerle, Rachel Dratch and Andy Buckley.
Gist: This follows Plumb Marigold (Pappas...
Gist: This follows Plumb Marigold (Pappas...
- 11/25/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
We got no qualms with being flat out wrong with our predictions set, but we’re thinking we might sort of still be in the know with this prediction…perhaps a full year too early. With production having taken place in 2014, we can imagine that Israeli-born/NYC-based/Tisch Ido Fluk reserved 2015 for post prod activities such as color mixing and working the score with now considered veteran Sundance attendees in Danny Bensi & Saunder Jurriaans (Nasty Baby). Starring Dana Stevens in the lead, with a supporting cast that includes Malin Akerman, Kerry Bishé, and Oliver Platt, The Ticket now sports a longer list of producers and is definitely a title to look out for in ’16.
Gist: Written by Fluk and Sharon Mashishi, this is the cautionary tale of James (Dan Stevens), a blind man who miraculously regains the sight he lost at age 13. In doing so he loses his moral compass,...
Gist: Written by Fluk and Sharon Mashishi, this is the cautionary tale of James (Dan Stevens), a blind man who miraculously regains the sight he lost at age 13. In doing so he loses his moral compass,...
- 11/25/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Sundance Institute today announced the participants for its annual Creative Producing Labs and Creative Producing Summit, both held the week of July 28 at the Sundance Resort in Sundance, Utah. These activities are part of the Institute’s year-round Creative Producing Initiative, which encompasses a series of Labs, Fellowships and other signature events that support independent producers. The Creative Producing Labs and Summit wrap the summer season of 10 residential Labs hosted in Utah by Sundance Institute, collectively representing 15 weeks of residency support and mentorship for the most promising new independent film and theater projects from the United States and around the world.
Nine films, both documentary and narrative, will participate in the Labs (July 28 – August 1), where they will work with an accomplished group of Creative Advisors to develop their creative producing, communication and problem-solving skills in all stages of film production. These Producing Fellows will also receive ongoing creative and strategic support throughout the year, as well as direct granting for further development and production. This year’s Fellows represent nine projects identified by Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program and Documentary Film Program. Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, ”Independent producers play a critical role in discovering, fighting for and shaping original voices. Sundance Institute is committed to developing and supporting independent producers whose skills and tenacity are critical to maintaining the health and vibrancy of independent film.”
Immediately following the Labs, the Summit (August 1-4) takes place. The Creative Producing Summit is a three-day, invitation-only gathering that connects 40 independent filmmakers with more than 50 top film industry professionals including producers, distributors, sales agents, financiers and broadcasters to build a dialogue on film producing and the state of the independent film industry. Programmed events include case study sessions, panels, roundtable discussions, one-on-one meetings and pitching sessions. Panelists this year include Michael Barker (Sony Pictures Classics), Christine Vachon (Killer Films), Tom Quinn (Radius-twc), Paul Mezey (Journeyman Pictures), Rena Ronson (UTA), Ron Yerxa (Bona Fide Productions),
Diane Weyermann (Participant), Jessica Lacy (ICM), John Sloss (Cinetic), Jess Search (BritDoc), Kevin Iwashina (Preferred Content), Lois Vossen (Independent Lens), Ian Bricke (Netflix) and Josh Braun (Submarine).
Feature Film Creative Producing Lab
The Feature Film Creative Producing Lab allows emerging narrative feature film producers to work with an accomplished group of Creative Advisors to develop their creative and strategic instincts and skills in all stages of film production. This year’s Creative Advisors include producers Paul Mezey ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"),Pam Koffler ("Boys Don’t Cry"), Jay Van Hoy ("Love is Strange") and Julie Lynn ("Albert Nobbs").
The Fellows and projects selected for the 2014 Feature Film Creative Producing Fellowship are:
Black Bats
Producing Fellows: Adam Hendricks and John Lang
Feeling cast out from society, two teens form a romantic relationship under the belief that they’re transforming into monsters. What begins as fantasy ends with horrific consequences as they both lose touch with reality. (Writer/Director: Rick Spears)
Adam Hendricks has had over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry, including development positions at The Jinks/Cohen Company and Macari Edelstein Entertainment. Adam left development to raise financing and produce the independent feature film Caroline and Jackie (Tribeca Ff 2012). He developed and produced a variety of web series for Fourth Wall Studios, including Dirty Work, winner of the 2012 Emmy for Original Interactive Programming. In 2013, Adam partnered with John Lang to form Divide & Conquer, a production company specializing in independent films, as well as commercials for clients including Ford, EA Sports and Victory Motorcycles.
John Lang began his career in Austin, Texas, working with the Austin Cinemathéque and South by Southwest Film Festival. Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2008, John has worked in a variety of fields within the film industry including production, development, festivals, and sales. In 2011, John joined Rough & Tumble Films as a development and production executive, where he co-produced We Gotta Get Outta this Place (Tiff 2013). In 2013, John partnered with Adam Hendricks to form the commercial and feature film production company, Divide & Conquer.
I’m No Longer Here
Producing Fellows: Gerry Kim and Mayuran Tiruchelvam
Following the death of his older brother, a teenage Mexican boy is forced to migrate to New York City. When he arrives, he quickly realizes that the violence plaguing his home is no match for the feelings of alienation and loneliness he experiences in America. (Writer/Director: Fernando Frias)
Gerry Kim & Mayuran Tiruchelvam formed Dodgeville Films to produce humanistic narrative and documentary films. Their most recent documentary, "To Be Takei," a portrait of actor/activist GeorgeTakei, premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Starz Digital Media. Gerry produced House of Suh, a feature documentary that premiered at HotDocs in 2010 and aired on MSNBC. Mayuran wrote and co-produced "The Girl is in Trouble," executive produced by Spike Lee, and line-produced "The Mend," which premiered at SXSW in 2014. In addition to " I’m No Longer Here," Gerry and Mayuran are developing Christina Choeʼs Nancy, which was selected for the 2013 Ifp Emerging Storytellers Lab, the 2013 Venice Film Festivalʼs Biennale College Cinema Program, and Film Independentʼs Fast Track. They are in post-production on the documentary Farewell, Ferris Wheel, a participant in the 2014 Film Independent Documentary Lab. They received their MFAs from Columbia University in New York City.
Microchip Blues
Producing Fellow: Riel Roch Decter
Fed up with his mundane existence working at the microchip factory, Jimmy teams up with a washed up mystic scientist to build the world's fastest microchip, win back his ex-girlfriend and save his factory from going quantum. (Writer/Director: Aaron Beckum)
Riel Roch Decter is a Canadian-born, Los Angeles-based producer and the Co-Founder of Memory, a new media and film company. Riel began his career as the Director of Production for the independent production company Olympus Pictures working on such films a "Rabbit Hole" and "Beginners." He has produced numerous awarding-winning films including the short "Night Giant"and the feature film The Wait, starring Jena Malone and Chloë Sevigny which premiered at SXSW 2013.
Tracktown, USA
Producing Fellow: Laura Wagner
In a small American town obsessed with competitive running, a famous but sheltered and lonely young runner rebels against her parents, coach and everything she’s ever known in the midst of her first Olympic Trials. (Co-Writer/Director: Jeremy Teicher, Co-Writer: Alexi Pappas)
Laura Wagner is an independent producer, founder of Bay Bridge Productions and current resident at San Francisco Film Society’s FilmHouse. She recently produced the feature film"It Felt Like Love" by Eliza Hittman, which premiered at Sundance in 2013 and opened in theaters in 2014. She also produced the film "Memorial Day" by Josh Fox, and she was Associate Producer of the documentary "John Leguizamo: Tales from a Ghetto Klown," which premiered on PBS and "Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey," the award-winning Imax film directed by the creators of "Stomp."
We the Animals
Mark Silverman Honoree & Producing Fellow: Jeremy Yaches
Based on the bestselling novel by Justin Torres,We the Animals is about the brutal yet loving dynamic of a mixed-race working class family, seen through the eyes of the youngest son, as he discovers his heritage, his sexuality and his madness. (Co-Writer/Director: Jeremiah Zagar, Co-Writer: Dan Kitrosser)
Jeremy Yaches is an Emmy-nominated producer and co-founder of Public Record, a production company that specializes in film, TV, branded content, and commercials. He produced the award-winning documentary "In A Dream," which has screened all over the world and was broadcast on HBO. A graduate of Boston University, Jeremy lives and works in Brooklyn.
Documentary Film Creative Producing Lab
The Documentary Film Creative Producing Lab allows documentary filmmakers to work intensively with award-winning Creative Advisors to hone their craft. The Lab includes sessions on financing, creative distribution, marketing and outreach for independent documentary films. This year’s Creative Advisors include Producers Bonni Cohen ("The Island President"), Brenda Coughlin ("Dirty Wars"), Josh Penn (Court 13) in addition to Nancy Willen (Acme PR), Jess Search (Britdoc), and Josh Braun (Submarine).
The Fellows and projects selected for the 2014 Documentary Film Creative Producing Fellowship are:
Transgender Youth Documentary
Director: Eric Juhola
Producer: Jeremy Stulberg
The Mathis Family in Colorado Springs struggle when their 6-year-old transgender daughter, Coy, is banned from the girl's bathroom at her elementary school. Coy's parents hire a lawyer to fight back and the family is thrust into the media spotlight, causing their lives to change forever.
Eric Juhola founded the film and television production company Still Point Pictures and produced the Gotham Award nominated documentary "Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa," winning 8 best documentary prizes at festivals around the world, followed by a theatrical release and Us broadcast on the Sundance Channel. Eric has additionally directed and produced documentaries and specials for Itvs/PBS, Discovery Channel, MTV, TLC, and TruTV, and has been featured at many film festivals including Tribeca.
Jeremy Stulberg is a documentary filmmaker, writer, and motion picture editor. His feature documentary, "Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa," co-directed with his sister Randy, screened at over 40 film festivals in the Us and Europe Jeremy has produced and edited award winning documentaries and feature films such as "My Mother’s Garden" (HotDocs, MSNBC) and "White Horse" (Berlin Ff 2008, HBO).
(T)error
Co-Directors/Producers: Lyric R. Cabral & David Felix Sutcliffe
"(T)error" is the inside story of ******, an active counterterrorism informant for the FBI. Filmed on the ground, it captures the dramatic unraveling of the informant's 20-year career with the Bureau after the target of his investigation realizes that he’s been set up.
Named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Lyric R. Cabral is an independent documentary filmmaker and photojournalist based in New York City. Cabral's photography has been recently published through the Gordon Parks Foundation, the Aperture Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution Photography Initiative, and National Geographic Channel UK.
David Felix Sutcliffe is an independent documentary filmmaker recently named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” His first film, "Adama," was broadcast on PBS in November 2011. Sutcliffe has worked as a cinematographer on films in Paris, Indonesia, Kenya, and Kansas, and has taught documentary film for the Harlem Children’s Zone, the Tribeca Film Institute, and the Brooklyn Arts Council since 2003.
Uncertain
Co-Directors/Co-Producers: Anna Sandilands & Ewan McNicol
On the shores of a dying lake, neighbors in the once outlaw town of Uncertain, Texas, are haunted by their pasts and battling demons for a future more certain—a tender, humorous southern gothic tale.
Anna Sandilands is a documentary filmmaker and founder of Lucid Inc. a communications company that makes work for clients based in real stories and documentary films. With Ewan McNicol she has made the short films "The Roper," "Missing," "Ufologist," "Dirt Racer," and "Oil Man" and make TV commercials and communications for clients including Google, Apple, Nike, Nokia and BlackBerry. Anna was named Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 Fresh Faces To Watch” in 2013.
Ewan McNicol is a documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, photographer and partner of Lucid Inc. a communications company that makes work for clients based in real stories and documentary films. With Anna Sandilands, his work has received awards including the Webby for Best Documentary, The One Club’s One Screen award for Best Documentary, an Effie and been nominated for a Cinema Eye award. Their films have been screened at film festivals including Sundance, BFI London International Film Festival, Edinburgh, SXSW, True/False, Seattle, Hot Docs, Silverdocs, Visions du Reel and Idfa. Ewan was named Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 Fresh Faces To Watch” in 2013.
Speed Sisters
Producer: Avi Goldstein
The Middle East’s first all-women motor racing team has come together in Palestine. What will it take to go further and faster than anyone thought they could? Speed Sisters captures the drive to follow your dreams against the odds, leaving in its trail shattered stereotypes about gender and the Arab world.
Avi Goldstein co-founded SocDoc Studios to produce story-driven films that engage audiences with social issues. He recently completed the documentary film "Fire Lines" (to be distributed by Journeyman Pictures) with the Ma'an Network in Bethlehem and Common Ground Productions. Avi received an BA in Psychology from Princeton University and was previously a consultant at Vantage Partners, a Boston-based negotiation and relationship management consulting firm spun out of the Harvard Negotiation Project. He recently completed an Ma in Non-Profit Management and Leadership, and facilitates interest-based negotiation and problem-solving skills workshops for high schools students. "Speed Sisters" is his first feature-length documentary.
Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a global nonprofit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Through its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, composers and playwrights, the Institute seeks to discover and support independent film and theater artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to inform, inspire, and unite diverse populations around the globe. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as "Born into Brothels," "Trouble the Water," "Son of Babylon," "Amreeka," "An Inconvenient Truth," "Spring Awakening," "I Am My Own Wife," "Light in the Piazza" and "Angels in America."Join Sundance Institute on Facebook,Twitter and YouTube.
Nine films, both documentary and narrative, will participate in the Labs (July 28 – August 1), where they will work with an accomplished group of Creative Advisors to develop their creative producing, communication and problem-solving skills in all stages of film production. These Producing Fellows will also receive ongoing creative and strategic support throughout the year, as well as direct granting for further development and production. This year’s Fellows represent nine projects identified by Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program and Documentary Film Program. Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, ”Independent producers play a critical role in discovering, fighting for and shaping original voices. Sundance Institute is committed to developing and supporting independent producers whose skills and tenacity are critical to maintaining the health and vibrancy of independent film.”
Immediately following the Labs, the Summit (August 1-4) takes place. The Creative Producing Summit is a three-day, invitation-only gathering that connects 40 independent filmmakers with more than 50 top film industry professionals including producers, distributors, sales agents, financiers and broadcasters to build a dialogue on film producing and the state of the independent film industry. Programmed events include case study sessions, panels, roundtable discussions, one-on-one meetings and pitching sessions. Panelists this year include Michael Barker (Sony Pictures Classics), Christine Vachon (Killer Films), Tom Quinn (Radius-twc), Paul Mezey (Journeyman Pictures), Rena Ronson (UTA), Ron Yerxa (Bona Fide Productions),
Diane Weyermann (Participant), Jessica Lacy (ICM), John Sloss (Cinetic), Jess Search (BritDoc), Kevin Iwashina (Preferred Content), Lois Vossen (Independent Lens), Ian Bricke (Netflix) and Josh Braun (Submarine).
Feature Film Creative Producing Lab
The Feature Film Creative Producing Lab allows emerging narrative feature film producers to work with an accomplished group of Creative Advisors to develop their creative and strategic instincts and skills in all stages of film production. This year’s Creative Advisors include producers Paul Mezey ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"),Pam Koffler ("Boys Don’t Cry"), Jay Van Hoy ("Love is Strange") and Julie Lynn ("Albert Nobbs").
The Fellows and projects selected for the 2014 Feature Film Creative Producing Fellowship are:
Black Bats
Producing Fellows: Adam Hendricks and John Lang
Feeling cast out from society, two teens form a romantic relationship under the belief that they’re transforming into monsters. What begins as fantasy ends with horrific consequences as they both lose touch with reality. (Writer/Director: Rick Spears)
Adam Hendricks has had over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry, including development positions at The Jinks/Cohen Company and Macari Edelstein Entertainment. Adam left development to raise financing and produce the independent feature film Caroline and Jackie (Tribeca Ff 2012). He developed and produced a variety of web series for Fourth Wall Studios, including Dirty Work, winner of the 2012 Emmy for Original Interactive Programming. In 2013, Adam partnered with John Lang to form Divide & Conquer, a production company specializing in independent films, as well as commercials for clients including Ford, EA Sports and Victory Motorcycles.
John Lang began his career in Austin, Texas, working with the Austin Cinemathéque and South by Southwest Film Festival. Since relocating to Los Angeles in 2008, John has worked in a variety of fields within the film industry including production, development, festivals, and sales. In 2011, John joined Rough & Tumble Films as a development and production executive, where he co-produced We Gotta Get Outta this Place (Tiff 2013). In 2013, John partnered with Adam Hendricks to form the commercial and feature film production company, Divide & Conquer.
I’m No Longer Here
Producing Fellows: Gerry Kim and Mayuran Tiruchelvam
Following the death of his older brother, a teenage Mexican boy is forced to migrate to New York City. When he arrives, he quickly realizes that the violence plaguing his home is no match for the feelings of alienation and loneliness he experiences in America. (Writer/Director: Fernando Frias)
Gerry Kim & Mayuran Tiruchelvam formed Dodgeville Films to produce humanistic narrative and documentary films. Their most recent documentary, "To Be Takei," a portrait of actor/activist GeorgeTakei, premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was acquired by Starz Digital Media. Gerry produced House of Suh, a feature documentary that premiered at HotDocs in 2010 and aired on MSNBC. Mayuran wrote and co-produced "The Girl is in Trouble," executive produced by Spike Lee, and line-produced "The Mend," which premiered at SXSW in 2014. In addition to " I’m No Longer Here," Gerry and Mayuran are developing Christina Choeʼs Nancy, which was selected for the 2013 Ifp Emerging Storytellers Lab, the 2013 Venice Film Festivalʼs Biennale College Cinema Program, and Film Independentʼs Fast Track. They are in post-production on the documentary Farewell, Ferris Wheel, a participant in the 2014 Film Independent Documentary Lab. They received their MFAs from Columbia University in New York City.
Microchip Blues
Producing Fellow: Riel Roch Decter
Fed up with his mundane existence working at the microchip factory, Jimmy teams up with a washed up mystic scientist to build the world's fastest microchip, win back his ex-girlfriend and save his factory from going quantum. (Writer/Director: Aaron Beckum)
Riel Roch Decter is a Canadian-born, Los Angeles-based producer and the Co-Founder of Memory, a new media and film company. Riel began his career as the Director of Production for the independent production company Olympus Pictures working on such films a "Rabbit Hole" and "Beginners." He has produced numerous awarding-winning films including the short "Night Giant"and the feature film The Wait, starring Jena Malone and Chloë Sevigny which premiered at SXSW 2013.
Tracktown, USA
Producing Fellow: Laura Wagner
In a small American town obsessed with competitive running, a famous but sheltered and lonely young runner rebels against her parents, coach and everything she’s ever known in the midst of her first Olympic Trials. (Co-Writer/Director: Jeremy Teicher, Co-Writer: Alexi Pappas)
Laura Wagner is an independent producer, founder of Bay Bridge Productions and current resident at San Francisco Film Society’s FilmHouse. She recently produced the feature film"It Felt Like Love" by Eliza Hittman, which premiered at Sundance in 2013 and opened in theaters in 2014. She also produced the film "Memorial Day" by Josh Fox, and she was Associate Producer of the documentary "John Leguizamo: Tales from a Ghetto Klown," which premiered on PBS and "Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey," the award-winning Imax film directed by the creators of "Stomp."
We the Animals
Mark Silverman Honoree & Producing Fellow: Jeremy Yaches
Based on the bestselling novel by Justin Torres,We the Animals is about the brutal yet loving dynamic of a mixed-race working class family, seen through the eyes of the youngest son, as he discovers his heritage, his sexuality and his madness. (Co-Writer/Director: Jeremiah Zagar, Co-Writer: Dan Kitrosser)
Jeremy Yaches is an Emmy-nominated producer and co-founder of Public Record, a production company that specializes in film, TV, branded content, and commercials. He produced the award-winning documentary "In A Dream," which has screened all over the world and was broadcast on HBO. A graduate of Boston University, Jeremy lives and works in Brooklyn.
Documentary Film Creative Producing Lab
The Documentary Film Creative Producing Lab allows documentary filmmakers to work intensively with award-winning Creative Advisors to hone their craft. The Lab includes sessions on financing, creative distribution, marketing and outreach for independent documentary films. This year’s Creative Advisors include Producers Bonni Cohen ("The Island President"), Brenda Coughlin ("Dirty Wars"), Josh Penn (Court 13) in addition to Nancy Willen (Acme PR), Jess Search (Britdoc), and Josh Braun (Submarine).
The Fellows and projects selected for the 2014 Documentary Film Creative Producing Fellowship are:
Transgender Youth Documentary
Director: Eric Juhola
Producer: Jeremy Stulberg
The Mathis Family in Colorado Springs struggle when their 6-year-old transgender daughter, Coy, is banned from the girl's bathroom at her elementary school. Coy's parents hire a lawyer to fight back and the family is thrust into the media spotlight, causing their lives to change forever.
Eric Juhola founded the film and television production company Still Point Pictures and produced the Gotham Award nominated documentary "Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa," winning 8 best documentary prizes at festivals around the world, followed by a theatrical release and Us broadcast on the Sundance Channel. Eric has additionally directed and produced documentaries and specials for Itvs/PBS, Discovery Channel, MTV, TLC, and TruTV, and has been featured at many film festivals including Tribeca.
Jeremy Stulberg is a documentary filmmaker, writer, and motion picture editor. His feature documentary, "Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa," co-directed with his sister Randy, screened at over 40 film festivals in the Us and Europe Jeremy has produced and edited award winning documentaries and feature films such as "My Mother’s Garden" (HotDocs, MSNBC) and "White Horse" (Berlin Ff 2008, HBO).
(T)error
Co-Directors/Producers: Lyric R. Cabral & David Felix Sutcliffe
"(T)error" is the inside story of ******, an active counterterrorism informant for the FBI. Filmed on the ground, it captures the dramatic unraveling of the informant's 20-year career with the Bureau after the target of his investigation realizes that he’s been set up.
Named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film, Lyric R. Cabral is an independent documentary filmmaker and photojournalist based in New York City. Cabral's photography has been recently published through the Gordon Parks Foundation, the Aperture Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution Photography Initiative, and National Geographic Channel UK.
David Felix Sutcliffe is an independent documentary filmmaker recently named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” His first film, "Adama," was broadcast on PBS in November 2011. Sutcliffe has worked as a cinematographer on films in Paris, Indonesia, Kenya, and Kansas, and has taught documentary film for the Harlem Children’s Zone, the Tribeca Film Institute, and the Brooklyn Arts Council since 2003.
Uncertain
Co-Directors/Co-Producers: Anna Sandilands & Ewan McNicol
On the shores of a dying lake, neighbors in the once outlaw town of Uncertain, Texas, are haunted by their pasts and battling demons for a future more certain—a tender, humorous southern gothic tale.
Anna Sandilands is a documentary filmmaker and founder of Lucid Inc. a communications company that makes work for clients based in real stories and documentary films. With Ewan McNicol she has made the short films "The Roper," "Missing," "Ufologist," "Dirt Racer," and "Oil Man" and make TV commercials and communications for clients including Google, Apple, Nike, Nokia and BlackBerry. Anna was named Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 Fresh Faces To Watch” in 2013.
Ewan McNicol is a documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, photographer and partner of Lucid Inc. a communications company that makes work for clients based in real stories and documentary films. With Anna Sandilands, his work has received awards including the Webby for Best Documentary, The One Club’s One Screen award for Best Documentary, an Effie and been nominated for a Cinema Eye award. Their films have been screened at film festivals including Sundance, BFI London International Film Festival, Edinburgh, SXSW, True/False, Seattle, Hot Docs, Silverdocs, Visions du Reel and Idfa. Ewan was named Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 Fresh Faces To Watch” in 2013.
Speed Sisters
Producer: Avi Goldstein
The Middle East’s first all-women motor racing team has come together in Palestine. What will it take to go further and faster than anyone thought they could? Speed Sisters captures the drive to follow your dreams against the odds, leaving in its trail shattered stereotypes about gender and the Arab world.
Avi Goldstein co-founded SocDoc Studios to produce story-driven films that engage audiences with social issues. He recently completed the documentary film "Fire Lines" (to be distributed by Journeyman Pictures) with the Ma'an Network in Bethlehem and Common Ground Productions. Avi received an BA in Psychology from Princeton University and was previously a consultant at Vantage Partners, a Boston-based negotiation and relationship management consulting firm spun out of the Harvard Negotiation Project. He recently completed an Ma in Non-Profit Management and Leadership, and facilitates interest-based negotiation and problem-solving skills workshops for high schools students. "Speed Sisters" is his first feature-length documentary.
Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a global nonprofit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Through its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, composers and playwrights, the Institute seeks to discover and support independent film and theater artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to inform, inspire, and unite diverse populations around the globe. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as "Born into Brothels," "Trouble the Water," "Son of Babylon," "Amreeka," "An Inconvenient Truth," "Spring Awakening," "I Am My Own Wife," "Light in the Piazza" and "Angels in America."Join Sundance Institute on Facebook,Twitter and YouTube.
- 7/30/2014
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
As we know, a passage through the many Sundance labs doesn’t guarantee a gold ticket for Park City in January, but undoubtably its certainly a professional nudge in the right direction. A total of nine films (5 fiction) will be heading to the Labs (July 28 – August 1) with this year’s Creative Advisors including folk we’ve mentioned on several occasion here in Paul Mezey (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Pam Koffler (Boys Don’t Cry), Jay Van Hoy (Love is Strange) and Julie Lynn (Albert Nobbs). Among this year’s summer camp for film producers we have the likes of Riel Roch Decter (who produced 2013 SXSW entry The Wait
from helmer M. Blash) and producer Laura Wagner (from Eliza Hittman’s It Felt Like Love fame). Here are the projects and producers heading up to the mythic location. Press release follows.
Feature Film Creative Producing Lab
The Feature Film Creative...
from helmer M. Blash) and producer Laura Wagner (from Eliza Hittman’s It Felt Like Love fame). Here are the projects and producers heading up to the mythic location. Press release follows.
Feature Film Creative Producing Lab
The Feature Film Creative...
- 7/29/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Sundance Institute has announced the participants for its annual Creative Producing Labs and Creative Producing Summit, both of which take place from July 28-August 1 at the Sundance Resort in Utah.
The Creative Producing Labs and Summit mark the climax of the summer season of 10 residential Labs hosted by Sundance Institute.
Nine films have been selected for the Labs. Producing Fellows will also receive ongoing creative and strategic support throughout the year in addition to direct granting for further development and production.
The three-day summit takes place immediately after the Labs and is an invitation-only event connecting 40 film-makers with industry professionals.
This year’s confirmed panellists include Josh Braun of Submarine, Preferred Content’s Kevin Iwashina, Christine Vachon of Killer Films, Spc co-president Michael Barker, Ron Yerxa of Bona Fide Productions and Participant Media’s Diane Weyermann.
”Independent producers play a critical role in discovering, fighting for and shaping original voices,” said Sundance...
The Creative Producing Labs and Summit mark the climax of the summer season of 10 residential Labs hosted by Sundance Institute.
Nine films have been selected for the Labs. Producing Fellows will also receive ongoing creative and strategic support throughout the year in addition to direct granting for further development and production.
The three-day summit takes place immediately after the Labs and is an invitation-only event connecting 40 film-makers with industry professionals.
This year’s confirmed panellists include Josh Braun of Submarine, Preferred Content’s Kevin Iwashina, Christine Vachon of Killer Films, Spc co-president Michael Barker, Ron Yerxa of Bona Fide Productions and Participant Media’s Diane Weyermann.
”Independent producers play a critical role in discovering, fighting for and shaping original voices,” said Sundance...
- 7/28/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
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