2009 Sundance Winners

Among the top winners at Sundance 2009 were Grand Jury and Audience: U.S. Dramatic winner Push: Based on a Novel by Sapphire (as opposed to the upcoming sci-fi thriller Push, starring Dakota Fanning and Chris Evans). Directed by Lee Daniels and adapted by Damien Pearl, Push follows an overweight, pregnant teenager living in Harlem who must struggle to find her place in the world. Mo’Nique, as the young woman’s ruthless mother, received a special acting award.

Directed by Ondi Timoner (above), Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Documentary winner We Live in Public depicts the impact the Internet has had on human interactions by focusing on web artist Josh Harris‘ experimental public art projects.

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic winner [...]

by Deborah Arthur | January 24, 2009   
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Sundance Awards 2009

2009 Sundance Film Festival Awards
2009 Sundance Film Festival: January 15-25, 2009
 

Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Dramatic:
Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire, directed by Lee Daniels

Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Documentary:
We Live in Public, directed by Ondi Timoner

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic:
The Maid (La Nana), directed by Sebastián Silva
World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary:
Rough Aunties, directed by Kim Longinotto

Directing Award: U.S. Documentary:
Natalia Almada, El General
Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic:
Cary Joji Fukunaga, Sin Nombre
World Cinema Directing Award: Documentary:
Havana Marking, Afghan Star
World Cinema Directing Award: Dramatic:
Oliver Hirschbiegel, Five Minutes of Heaven
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award:
Nicholas Jasenovec and Charlyne Yi, Paper Heart
World Cinema Screenwriting Award:
Oliver Hirschbiegel, Five Minutes of Heaven
U.S. Documentary Editing Award:
Karen Schmeer, Sergio, directed by Greg Barker
World Cinema Documentary Editing [...]

by Deborah Arthur | January 24, 2009   
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Sundance 2009: I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS, Susan Sarandon, Richard Gere

Damon Wise in the London Times:
"Written by the team responsible for the similarly dark Bad Santa and based on a true story, I Love You Phillip Morris is an extraordinary film that serves as a reminder of just how good [Jim] Carrey [above, with Ewan McGregor] can be when he’s not tied into a generic Hollywood crowd-pleaser. His comic timing remains as exquisite as ever, but this is not a loveable rubber-faced rogue. One could argue that, like The Truman Show, this is another film about a lost naif, but when it plays its final hand, I Love You Phillip Morris is really much, much stranger."
***

Steven Zeitchik in The Hollywood Reporter:
"One [...]

by Deborah Arthur | January 22, 2009   
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Sundance 2009: Gay Themes

Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor in I Love You, Phillip Morris

Gay boycott or no, Sundance 2009 has several films dealing — at least to some extent — with gay characters.
The most publicized gay-focused film at Sundance is I Love You, Phillip Morris, about a scary-looking ex-cop (Jim Carrey) who becomes a criminal and is arrested. While in jail, he falls for a fellow inmate (Ewan McGregor). Based on a book by Steve McVicker, I Love You, Phillip Morris was written and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, whose writing credits include Bad Santa and Bad News Bears.

Peter Bratt’s La Mission portrays the difficult relationship between a San Francisco gay teen (Jeremy Ray [...]

by Andre Soares | January 17, 2009   
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Sundance 2009 Buzz

Peter Travers in Rolling Stones:
"It begins again. Here I am in Park Cty [sic], Utah, where Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary by trying to bust through the gloom of a nation’s economic crisis and the growing pissy impatience among audiences for any movies that don’t have cute dogs or horror scenes in 3D. What does that mean for indie films of mind and heart? That’s yet to be determined."
Travers follows his introduction with the five movies he’s most eager to watch: Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Tyson, Paper Heart, I Love You Phillip Morris (above, with Jim Carrey), and Big Fan.
***

Jeff Vice in Deseret News:
"But for the second straight night, [...]

by Deborah Arthur | January 17, 2009   
| Subscribe / Syndicate
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Next Page →