Los Angeles Film Festival 2009: ZERO BRIDGE, I SELL THE DEAD, WEATHER GIRL

Zero Bridge (top); I Sell the Dead (middle); Weather Girl (bottom)

Los Angeles Film Festival highlights on Wed., June 24:

John Maringouin’s Big River Man, about a middle-aged, pot-bellied Slovenian who decides to swim the length (or rather, the width) of the Amazon River, will have its second screening at the Landmark 8 at 2:15 pm.
The panel "Poolside Chat: Reel Life LA" (W Los Angeles-Westwood Hotel, 7 pm) will feature Martin Landau, Larenz Tate, and others. Moderated by Taylor Hackford.
Michael Cera and Charlyne Yi play versions of themselves in Nicholas Jasenovec’s Paper Heart (Mann Festival Theatre, 7 pm), in which Yi sets out to discover what Americans think about the nature of love. Along the way, she finds herself becoming [...]

Sundance 2009

Jeff Daniels, Lou Taylor Pucci in The Dream of Romans (top); Emma Thompson, Carey Mulligan in An Education (bottom)

Perhaps it’s just my impression, but the 25th edition of the Sundance Film Festival, which runs from Jan. 15-25, 2009, in Park City, Utah, seems to be focused on more commercial fare. If so, that’s understandable considering that for the most part Sundance films have been flopping left and right at the US box office. That is, when they find distribution.
This year, there are quite a few films — many of which seem to be about romantic endeavors — featuring name talent: Susan Sarandon and Pierce Brosnan in Shana Feste’s family drama The Greatest; Michael Cera as (a version of) himself [...]