Slamdance 2016 Announces Feature Doc And Narrative Competition Lineup
Today, the full feature documentary and narrative competition lineup for the 22nd Annual Slamdance Film Festival was announced. Per their competition rule, these are all first time feature directors: the best of what's next. Among the 20 titles are 16 premieres, including 12 world premieres.
A few narraitve titles I'm taking note of right now include DIY political thriller If There's A Hell Below. Slamdance, being the kings of lo-fi that they are, generally have a few outta-da-blue titles. Last year the grand champ was the terrifying They Look Like People, which went on to rave reviews and fest awards aplenty. Fingers crossed on Nathan Williams' debut. Another one to pique my interest is Paul Taylor's Driftwood, a dialog-free film about a young woman and her captive. Taylor's debut stars Joslyn Jensen, who gained attention on the indie stage for the Slamdance Jury winning Without, still my favorite unreleased indie of the last decade.
Ruth Platt's The Lesson is being described as a horror film centering on a high school teacher and his students. For that pitch alone, our hardcore readers should keep an eye on that one. Finally, it's rare that a title and premise can sell me on a flick, but Pedro Severien's All The Colors Of The Night has done just that with its evocative title and succinct and surreal "wake up to a body" premise.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Check out the full lineup below, and come January 22nd, keep an eye out for my coverage of the 22nd Annual Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
SLAMDANCE ANNOUNCES 2016 FEATURE FILM COMPETITION WITH INCREASED GLOBAL REACH AND DIVERSITY
Lineup full of premieres and highlights first-time directors from around the globe including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Italy and UK tackles subjects of redemption, agoraphobia, misfits, captivity, friendship and whistleblowers
(LOS ANGELES, CA - November 30, 2015) The Slamdance Film Festival today announced their Narrative and Documentary Feature Film Competition programs for its 22nd Festival edition. As the premiere film festival by filmmakers for filmmakers, Slamdance's showcase of emerging artists includes 12 narrative and 8 documentary films. This 20-feature film competition includes 16 premieres - 12 World, 3 North American, and 1 US premieres. Slamdance is proud to present the best of first-time feature filmmakers pushing the boundaries of filmmaking with innovation and unique talent. All competition films are feature film directorial debuts with budgets of less than $1 million and without US distribution. All films were programmed entirely from blind submissions by the Slamdance filmmaking community.
Jury Awards are presented to feature films in both categories and all films are eligible for Audience Awards as well as the Spirit of Slamdance Award, judged by the filmmakers themselves.
"The standard of DIY filmmaking around the world is the highest we've seen, and the diversity of storytelling is the most we've experienced. With a record breaking number of submissions to select from, the narrative and documentary feature line-up has never been so competitive or as exciting to program." states Co-founder and President, Peter Baxter.
The 2016 Slamdance Film Festival will take place from January 22rd - 28th, 2015 in Park City, Utah at the Treasure Mountain Inn, located at 255 Main Street, Park City, UT 84060
NARRATIVE FEATURES PROGRAM
All the Colors of the Night - Director: Pedro Severien; Screenwriter: Luiz Otávio Pereira
(Brazil)
Iris wakes up in her spacious seafront apartment, discovers a body in the living room and enlists the help of other women, setting off a spiral of redemption in an atmospheric drama of dark imagery and questionable reality.
Cast: Sabrina Greve, Sandra Possani, Brenda Ligia, Giovanna Simões, Rômulo Braga
Alvin's Harmonious World of Opposites - Director & Screenwriter: Platon Theodoris
(Australia/Indonesia) North American Premiere
Agoraphobic Alvin prefers stuffed pandas and online shopping to the aggressive rantings of his neighbor Virginia, until the sludge seeping from his ceiling forces him to search for answers in this offbeat comedy with a tender heart.
Cast: Teik-Kim Pok, Vashti Hughes, Dessy Fitri, Ailis Logan, Nitin Vengurlekar, Tina Andrews, Alicia O'Donnel
Chemical Cut - Director & Screenwriter: Marjorie Conrad
(USA) World Premiere
23-year-old Irene is an artistic misfit turned LA model busy searching for identity, inspiration and a kindred spirit while surrounded by competition, absurdity, and so many nude bras.
Cast: Marjorie Conrad, Ian Coster, Leah Rudick, Michael Lucid, Stephen Saban, Deven Green, Nicolas Coster, Vicki Marlane
Driftwood - Director & Screenwriter: Paul Taylor
(USA) World Premiere
A young woman washes ashore and is claimed and conditioned by an older man in this intricately layered, dialogue-free exploration of familial roles, isolation and captivity.
Cast: Joslyn Jensen, Paul C. Kelly, Michael Fentin
Honey Buddies - Director: Alex Simmons; Screenwriters: Alex Simmons, David Giuntoli, Flula Borg
(USA) World Premiere
Jilted groom David is convinced by his excitable best man Flula to continue with his planned honeymoon, a backcountry trek in the mountains of Oregon, in a highly comedic ode to friendship and the great outdoors.
Cast: David Giuntoli, Flula Borg, Brian T. Finney, Claire Coffee, Jeanne Syquia
Hunky Dory - Director: Michael Curtis Johnson; Screenwriters: Michael Curtis Johnson, Tomas Pais
(USA) World Premiere
After his ex disappears, Sidney, a dive bar drag queen, is forced to look after his 11-year-old son in a tale of unconventional fatherhood, the fear of mediocrity, and the pulsing reality of dreams deferred.
Cast: Tomas Pais, Peter Van Norden, Jeff Newburg, Joy Darash, Edouard Holdener, Nora Rothman, Chad Borden, Chad Hartigan
If There's A Hell Below - Director: Nathan Williams; Screenwriters: Nathan Williams, Matthew Williams
(USA) World Premiere
In a desolate landscape, an ambitious young journalist in a dusty car meets covertly with a national security whistleblower, and their roving exchange becomes increasingly cloaked in paranoia, tension and escalating threat.
Cast: Conner Marx, Carol Roscoe, Paul Budraitis, Mark Carr
Last Summer - Director: Leonardo Guerra Seragnoli; Screenwriters: Leonardo Guerra Seragnoli, Igort
(Italy) US Premiere
Set on board a luxury yacht in sparkling international waters, this tense and stylish drama captures the four final days a mother is granted with her 6-year-old son to say goodbye after losing a custody battle.
Cast: Rinko Kikuchi, Yorick van Wageningen, Lucy Griffiths, Laura Bach, Daniel Ball, Ken Brady
The Lesson - Director & Screenwriter: Ruth Platt
(UK) North American Premiere
A grisly study of the relationship between a tormented teacher and the troubled teens who bear his wrath once he snaps; this morally challenging horror film is dark, claustrophobic, and shockingly eloquent.
Cast: Evan Bendall, Robert Hands, Michaela Prchalova, Tom Cox, Rory Coltart, Dolya Gavaniski, Michael Swatton, Charlotte Croft
MAD - Director & Screenwriter: Robert G. Putka
(USA) World Premiere
A matriarch past the point of a nervous breakdown, her two daughters that don't give a damn, and the heat-seeking missiles of resentment they toss at each other create a lively backdrop for this dark and dramatic comedy.
Cast: Jennifer Lafleur, Maryann Plunkett, Eilis Cahill, Mark Reeb, David Sullivan, Conor Casey, Shaun Weiss, Chris Doubek
Neptune - Director: Derek Kimball; Screenwriters: Derek Kimball, Matthew Konkel
(USA)
Set in the late 1980s on an island off the coast of Maine, an orphan girl raised by the church becomes obsessed by the disappearance of a classmate, and her haunted dreams and visions propel her to push past her sheltered life.
Cast: Jane Ackermann, Tony Reilly, William McDonough III, Christine Louise Marshall, Dylan Chestnutt, Maureen Butler
The Tail Job - Directors & Screenwriters: Bryan Moses, Daniel Millar
(Australia) World Premiere
Nicholas hires a taxi driver to follow his fiancé when he suspects her of cheating in this micro-budget comedy action tale that makes every wrong turn crackle with genuine humor and unexpected insight.
Cast: Blair Dwyer, Craig Anderson, Laura Hughes, Kellie Clarke, Dorje Swallow, Grant Dodwell, Gary Waddell, Ursula Mills
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES PROGRAM
1ha 43a - Director & Screenwriter: Monika Pirch
(Germany) North American Premiere
After inheriting a plot of farming land near Dusseldorf, Monika explores the potential of her field through administrative, historic and poetic methods and manages to reconnect with the land and her ancestry in a beautiful and unexpected way.
Art of the Prank - Director & Screenwriter: Andrea Marini
(USA)
Legendary funny man Joey Skaggs has been pulling Americas chain since 1965. His next hoax? Film festivals.
Cast: Joey Skaggs, Robert Forster, Peter Maloney, Charlie Todd, Richard Johnson, Buck Wolf, Sarah Farrell, Jeff Cohen
Dead Hands Dig Deep - Director: Jai Love; Screenwriters: Jai Love, Spencer Heath
(USA/Australia ) World Premiere
From the isolation of his secluded desert compound Edwin Borsheim, founder of the shock metal band Kettle Cadaver, ruminates on a life of violence, mayhem and personal destruction lived on the absolute edge of the known musical universe.
Fursonas - Director & Screenwriter: Dominic Rodriguez
(USA) World Premiere
Like any community, the Furry world is one with gossipers, dreamers, followers, whistleblowers and the one guy who wants to rule them all.
Los Punks; We Are All We Have - Director: Angela Boatwright; Screenwriter: Christine Triano
(USA) World Premiere
A cobbled-together family of Hispanic youth comprise the thriving backyard punk scene of South Central and East L.A.: bands, fans, and production are interwoven into a sub-culture of thrash, noise and pits.
Cast: Gary Alvarez, Nacho Corrupted, April Desmadre, Jennie Oi, Alex Pedorro, Natalie Rodriguera
The Million Dollar Duck - Director: Brian Golden Davis; Screenwriter: Martin J. Smith
(USA) World Premiere
Artists from different walks of life vie to win the Federal Duck Stamp Contest, the only art competition of its kind sponsored by the U.S. government.
Cast: The Hautman Brothers, Rebekah Nastav, Tim Taylor, Dee Dee Murry, Rob McBroom, Adam Grimm
Myrtle Beach - Directors: Neil Rough, Michael Fuller
(Canada) World Premiere
Myrtle Beach is a disturbingly intimate peek into the lives of the deviants, outcasts and forget-me-nows that inhabit this deformed stepsister of Coney Island.
Peanut Gallery - Director & Screenwriter: Molly Gandour
(USA)
An intimate and unflinching exploration of one family's tragic loss and their attempt to heal after decades of silence.
Cast: Jackson Gandour, Mary Jane Gandour, Molly Gandour, Aimee Gandour
Film stills are available for press use only and can be downloaded below.
Narrative Features: http://bit.ly/1HtvGXQ
Documentary Features: http://bit.ly/1If8rRb
All Access/Industry, Local's, and Student Festival Passes are available now online. Individual tickets will be available shortly. To purchase, click here: http://showcase.slamdance.com/Passes-and-Tickets
About Slamdance
Slamdance is a community, a year-round experience, and a statement. Established by a wild bunch of filmmakers in 1995 who were tired of relying on a large oblique system to showcase their work, Slamdance is an ongoing experiment that has proven, year after year, when it comes to recognizing talent and launching careers, the independent and grassroots communities can do it themselves.
Slamdance alums are responsible for the programming and organization of the following year's festival. With a variety of backgrounds, interests, and talents, but with no individual filmmaker's vote meaning more than another's, Slamdance's programming and organizing committees have been able to stay close to the heart of low budget and do-it-yourself filmmaking. In this way, Slamdance continues to grow and exemplify its mantra: By Filmmakers, For Filmmakers.
Notable Slamdance alumni who first gained notice at the festival include: Christopher Nolan (Interstellar), Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity), Marc Forster (World War Z), Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite), Lena Dunham (Girls), Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Anthony & Joe Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin), Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) and Lynn Shelton (Humpday) and Matt Johnson (Operation Avalanche). Box Office Mojo reports alumni who first showed their work at Slamdance have accumulated over $11.5 billion in the Box Office to date.
In addition to the festival, Slamdance serves emerging artists and a growing audience with several year-round activities. These include the popular Slamdance Screenplay Competition, traveling On The Road screening events, the Anarchy Workshop for student filmmakers, and The ArcLight Presents Slamdance Cinema Club, a monthly cinema club partnership with ArcLight Cinemas based out of the ArcLight Hollywood, with two screenings and filmmaker Q&A's each month at: https://www.arclightcinemas.com/en/news/arclight-presents-slamdance-cinema-club
In January 2015, Hulu partnered with Slamdance Studios to offer a new film collection from festival alumni. The nascent but already profitable venture allows viewers to access Slamdance Studios on Hulu at: http://www.hulu.com/companies/slamdance
Slamdance Presents is a new distribution arm established to access broader distribution of independent films made or acquired by Slamdance Studios. The goal is to build the popularity of independent films and support filmmakers on a commercial level through theatrical release. The Resurrection of Jake The Snake is the first film to be released by the company.
In November, 2015, Slamdance announced DIG, a new digital, interactive and gaming showcase dedicated to emerging independent artists working in hybrid, immersive and developing forms of digital media art. Ten works will feature in the inaugural DIG show that will open in Los Angeles at Big Pictures Los Angeles on December 5th and run through December 13th, 2015. Admission is free and open to the public. The show will also be featured at the 2016 Slamdance Film Festival.
2016 Slamdance Film Festival Sponsors include Blackmagic Design, Distribber, CreativeFuture, Directors Guild of America, Kodak, Digital Bolex, The International Fusion Doc Challenge, Carhartt, Different By Design, Pierce Law Group LLP, Writers Guild Of America West, and Salt Lake City's Slug Magazine and BlueStar Café. Slamdance is proud to partner with sponsors who support emerging artists and filmmakers.
The 2016 Slamdance Film Festival will take place January 22nd - 28th in Park City, Utah. Additional information about the Slamdance is available at www.slamdance.com
Connect With Slamdance:
Facebook: SlamdanceFilmFestival
Twitter: @slamdance
Instagram: @slamogram
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