BREAKING NEWS: ROBERT REDFORD ANNOUNCES SUNDANCE SALES UP 220 PER CENT FROM LAST YEAR

JANUARY 31, 2011

In breaking news, Robert Redford announced yesterday that, to date, 45 SUNDANCE 2011 ENTIRES HAVE BEEN SOLD, which is up about 220 per cent from 2010, when only 14 films were sold.  For the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, 118 feature-length films were selected, representing 29 countries by 40 first-time filmmakers, including 25 in competition.

SOME SHOE-INS AND SOME SURPRISES AMONG SUNDANCE: 2011 FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS

Ashley Elaine York @ Sundance 2011

January 30, 2011

Drake Doremus

Drake Doremus' LIKE CRAZY was awarded the grand jury prize for U.S. dramatic film last night at the Sundance 2011 Festival Awards hosted by Tim Blake Nelson.  In a bidding war that “went on for eight hours, and all through the night,” Doremus divulged at the 'Sundance Church' this morning, Paramount and Indian Paintbrush paid $4 million to release the film worldwide.  Doremus co-wrote the script with Ben York Jones, the THANK YOU FOR SMOKING writer-director.  The young British sensation Felicity Jones also received a special jury award for her performance which "crackled," according to UGLY BETTY star and jury member America Ferrera, who handed out the award.

The grand jury prize for U.S. documentary film was awarded to Peter D. Richardson's HOW TO DIE IN OREGON, a film about the first state to legalize physician-assisted suicide. Euthanasia is a hot topic at the moment; Al Pacino (starring in SON OF NO ONE at Sundance 2011) took home the 2011 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Mini-Series for his portrayal of Jack Kevorkian in HBO's YOU DON'T KNOW JACK, just two weeks ago.

The world cinema dramatic grand jury prize was awarded to the Norwegian film HAPPY, HAPPY, from director Anne Sewitsky and screenwriter Ragnhild Tronvoll.  The directing award in the world cinema dramatic category went to Paddy Considine for TYRANNOSAUR, who also received a special jury prize along with his co-star Olivia Colman.

The grand jury prize for world cinema documentary went to HELL AND BACK AGAIN director Danfung Dennis, whose picture about the 2009 U.S. Marines helicopter assault on a Taliban stronghold also won the world cinematography award. In a very touching moment for all, in his acceptance speech, Dennis said:  "This [film] is for the ones who didn't come back.”

Ray Liotta, who starred in two 2011 Sundance entries THE DETAILS and SON OF NO ONE, presented the U.S. audience awards: for documentary to Cindy Meehl's BUCK—a resounding crowd favorite about the man who was the inspiration for Robert Redford's THE HORSE WHISPERER, and for dramatic to writer-director Maryam Keshavarz for her hugely courage effort, CIRCUMSTANCE, a contemporary look at the underground life of young women in Iran today. A special bravo goes out to Keshavarz who is both affable and brilliant. CIRCUMSTANCE is my personal pick of Sundance 2011.

The world cinema documentary audience award was awarded to SENNA from director Asif Kapadia, while the world cinema dramatic audience award went to Alrick Brown's KINYARWANDA, the first dramatic feature film conceived and produced by Rwandans about the 1994 genocide.

Vera Farmiga, the director and star of HIGHER GROUND, presented the Best of NEXT audience award to director-screenwriter Erica Dunton's TO.GET.HER.  And, the Alfred P. Sloan award went to ANOTHER EARTH director-screenwriter Mike Cahill and his screenwriting partner, Brit Marling.

The U.S. dramatic directing award went to Sean Durkin for MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, which Fox Searchlight bought earlier this week; and the directing award for U.S. documentary was awarded to Jon Foy, who made RESURRECT DEAD: THE MYSTERY OF THE TOYNBEE TILES, about the cryptic message found embedded in the asphalt of city streets as far apart as New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Santiago, and Buenos Aires.

Sam Levinson, the writer and director of the U.S. dramatic competition film ANOTHER HAPPY DAY, was awarded the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, while the world cinema dramatic screenwriting award went to Erez Kav-El of RESTORATION.

Editors Matthew Hamachek and Marshall Curry were awarded the U.S. documentary editing prize for IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT (ELF) about Oregon-based activist Daniel McGowan and the political action and environmental beliefs at loggerheads in the ELF movement.

The world editing award was awarded to Goran Hugo Olsson and Hanna Lejonqvist from THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE 1967-1975, co-produced by Danny Glover; and the world cinema directing award went to James Marsh for his PROJECT NIM, about one chimpanzee's extraordinary journey through human society.

The excellence in cinematography award for U.S. documentary was given to Eric Strauss, Ryan Hill and Peter Hutchens of THE REDEMPTION OF GENERAL BUTT NAKED, and for U.S. dramatic to Bradford Young, who shot Dee Rees' PARIAH. Rees, in a crowd-pleasing move, called Young from the stage to convey the good news of his win.

A special world cinema jury prize for documentary was awarded to the Netherlands documentary POSITION AMONG THE STARS directed by Leonard Retel Helmrich, who co-wrote the movie with Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich. 

Jury member Jess Search presented a special jury prize "for creating a documentary for all ages," to BEING ELMO: A PUPPETEER'S JOURNEY from Constance Marks and co-director Philip Shane.

SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2011 AWARD WINNERS

Ashley Elaine York @ Sundance 2011

JANUARY 28, 2011

It was a good time for all last night at the Slamdance 2011 Awards Party when the jury announced the winning films.

Ron Eyal and Eleanor Burke

 The Slamdance GRAND JURY "Sparky" Awards went to STRANGER THINGS, written and directed by Eleanor Burke and Ron Eyal, for Best Narrative Film, and BHOPALI, directed by Van Maximilian "Max" Carlson, for Best Documentary Film
.

Van Maximillian "Max" Carlson

In addition, BHOPALI won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Film.

I interviewed the directors of both of these films earlier in the week.  CHECK BACK ON MONDAY, JANUARY 31, 2011 FOR MY INTERVIEWS WITH THE WINNERS.

Other GRAND JURY "Sparky" Awards include:

BOTTLE, written and directed by Kirsten Lepore (Best Animated Short);
BIRD, written and directed by Petr Stupin (Best Narrative Short
); and,
OAKS, directed by Charles Wittenmeier (Best Documentary Short
).

The Slamdance 2001 AUDIENCE "Sparky" Awards went to:

SILVER TONGUES, written and directed by Simon Arthur (Best Narrative Film) and SHUNKA, directed by CJ Gardella (Spirit of Slamdance Sparky Award), which also won the Kodak Vision Award for Best Cinematography.

Finally, Kevin Brennan and Doug Manley's THE ROAD TO PARK CITY IS PAVED WITH ARTISTS won the Panasonic AF100 Award for Best “Road To Park City” Short Film Award.

The Slamdance/Adobe Re-cut Competition Award went to SUPERHEROES, directed by Michael Barnett; written by Michael Barnett & Theodore Jamesinner (for Best Feature) and HELLO CALLER, directed by Andrew Putschoegl; written by Tom Lenk (for Best Short).

ON A LIGHTER NOTE: THE WOMEN OF THE VIEW TALK ROBERT REDFORD AND PLASTIC SURGERY

Ashley Elaine York @ Sundance 2011

January 28, 2011

Today the women of THE VIEW compared before (THE WAY WE WERE) and after (Sundance 2011) pictures of Robert Redford (74) and suggested that he may have had plastic surgery.

Joy Behar jumped to his defense, reading aloud a statement Redford allegedly made in January 2002 about how ridiculous the run on plastic surgery in Hollywood had become.

He said:

"So what if my face is falling apart? I don't give a damn. It gives me character. Everyone in Tinseltown is getting pinched, lifted and pulled; it's an obsession."

There has been much speculation that, at a minimum, he's had an eye lift and a mole removed from his cheek.  As the affable commentator's colleagues noted, however, in the current picture of the Sundance Founder he looks not only older, but also "different" than he once did.

Followers of THE VIEW's message board @ < http://theview.abc.go.com/forum/robert-redford > clearly didn't care one way or another about the matter illustrating his huge popularity still today.

Whoopi Goldberg, in particular, gave a shout-out to the man, saying, "Come on Bob, let's do a movie together.  We could call it, 'The Way Things Might Have Been.'"

So don't worry, Sundance kid, age isn't going to hold you back. Whoopi's waiting for your call to do a follow-up to your much-beloved 1973 Classic. Besides which, it's time for you to admit that you never really liked Barbra Streisand that much anyway:)!

83rd ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS, MANY 2010 SUNDANCE FILMS AMONG THEM

ASHLEY ELAINE YORK @ SUNDANCE 2011


Yesterday was a big day for the film industry, as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 83rd Annual Academy Award Nominations List.  I had a conversation about those nomination with the hosts of the Colombian National Public Radio (Radio Nacional de Colombia) Morning Show.  Scroll down to see an article (in Spanish) about that interview, or link to the article and an mp3 of the bilingual interview in English and Spanish here, by first linking to the site, and then selecting the left-hand audio link labled, "La crítico de cine y televisión, Ashley Elaine York" to hear the broadcast:

http://www.radionacionaldecolombia.gov.co/index.php?option=com_topcontent&view=article&id=13652:qthe-kings-speechq-reina-en-las-nominaciones-a-los-oscar-con-12-candidaturas-&catid=40:cine

(or simply link here for just the audio broadcast
http://www.radionacionaldecolombia.gov.co/images/stories/audios/2011/ene%2025%20-%20ashley%20york.mp3 ).


Many films that premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival (and all which came to the Festival without distribution) garnered Oscar nominations this year, including four of the five Best Documentary Feature Nominees:

EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP (U.S. Documentary Competition)
Released by: Producers Distribution Agency

GASLAND (U.S. Documentary Competition, Special Jury Prize)
Released by: HBO Documentary Films/International WOW Company

RESTREPO (Documentary Competition, U.S Documentary Award)
Released by: National Geographic Films

WASTE LAND (U.S. Documentary Competition, Special Jury Prize)
Released by: Arthouse Films

In addition, MADAGASCAR, CARNET DE VOYAGE (MADAGASCAR, A JOURNEY DIARY)” (short film competition)  was nominated for Best Animated Short.   And four Sundance 2010 Dramatic premieres also made the 83rd Oscar's shortlist:

WINTER'S BONE (U.S. Dramatic Competition, Sundance Grand Jury Prize and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award)
Released by: Roadside Attractions
John Hawkes, Best Supporting Actor
Jennifer Lawrence, Best Actress
Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini, Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Picture

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (Premieres)
Released by: Focus Features
Mark Ruffalo, Best Supporting Actor
Annette Bening, Best Actress
Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg, Best Original Screenplay
Best Picture

BLUE VALENTINE (U.S. Dramatic Competition)
Released by: The Weinstein Company
Michelle Williams, Best Actress

ANIMAL KINGDOM (World Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Jury Prize: Drama)
Released by: Sony Pictures Classics
Jackie Weaver, Best Actress

As mentioned in the interview, this year, the Oscars seemed to dote on films driven by story, rather than visual effects.  Although the Best Picture nomination list includes TOY STORY 3, which illustrates that Hollywood is still taken with films that drive up the box office by targeting all "four quadrants" of the audience--adult men, adult women, girls, and boys, in today's world climate, spectators (including Academy voters) more and more care about stories like BLACK SWAN, THE FIGHTER, 127 HOURS, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, TRUE GRIT, THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT, and WINTER'S BONE that convey personal triumphs, losses, power, and destruction, small stories produced on a grand scale that resonate with humans during turbulent times.

INTERVIEW WITH EDMONTON's TREVOR ANDERSON, DIRECTOR OF HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE

ASHLEY ELAINE YORK @ SUNDANCE 2011

Edmontonian Trevor Anderson is excited that his short, HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE, is one of eighty-one shorts playing at Sundance 2011.  He should be since over 6400 competed for the privilege.

But, as Trevor tells it, he's even prouder of the fact this his film is one of the twelve past and present Sundance shorts selected for the “Screening Room,” a joint project between the Sundance Film Institute and YouTube, which offers these films free to the public as part of the kickoff of Sundance 2011.

What he has accomplished really struck him when he saw that his short got 50,000 hits on the opening day of the Festival:  ”as many people as the population of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada,” he said, “where I grew up.  When I realized [that], it made the moment quite real for me.”

I interviewed Trevor two hours before his short premiered at Holiday Village Cinema IV in Park City and was impressed by how calm he appeared: excited about the possibilities attached to the accolades he has earned, undoubtedly, but far more invested in the “process” that got him to this place.

His relationship with Sundance started when Kim Yutani, a Sundance programmer, saw his earlier shorts which played at Outfest (The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival).  HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE is Trevor's ninth short film to date.  He submitted some of those to Sundance over the years; however, it was only after his current film was accepted that Yutani told him his earlier films were close, in terms of getting into prior Sundance Festivals, as well.

Trevor has also worked closely with Todd Luoto, another Sundance programmer, who saw HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE take honorable mention at last year's AFI Film Festival. “When Todd saw me get the award, I was hopeful that I would finally get into Sundance."  Indeed, it wasn’t long after that when Anderson found out that his film set in Edmonton, Canada would play at one of the preeminent film festival in the world.

When Robert Redford addressed Anderson and his colleagues at the annual Filmmakers’ Luncheon earlier in the week, he said:  “You are now Sundance filmmakers, so we’re going to follow you.  We’re going to be emailing you. You can’t get away from us, so just get used to it."  Reflecting back on this, Trevor said, “That moment seemed unreal to me.  That I would be sitting twenty feet away from Redford when he said that to me is amazing."

Towards the end of the interview, I asked the young filmmaker, “Why this film? And, why now?”  To which he answered, “The whole reason I do my films is to explore topics that are on my mind—to try to understand things better. It’s a method of inquiry for me. That’s how I chose my topics. And this topic was on my mind.”

Specifically, Trevor started off making this film because he wanted to win the $15,000 award that came with placing first in the the short film competition funded by the Talent Lab of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).  “Boy, I needed that money,” he quipped.  But, even so, the subject of the film was never in doubt.

The subject had to be about Edmonton's High Level Bridge because two of his friends had jumped off that bridge the year before.  And, since that is what was on his mind at the time, that was the subject of his film.

TIFF gave every contestant an inexpensive camera with which to shoot their films--a $100 variety used frequently by teenagers who want to upload photos and video to their blogs.  Trevor remarked that it wouldn't have been such a loss if he had to sacrifice the camera to get the 'money shot' that would pay adequate tribute to his lost friends, and also relay what they saw when they took their final steps.

So, Anderson threw the camera off the bridge. He figured he could at least retrieve the memory card, and get "the shot."  But, because Edmonton had just had a fresh snowfall, the lightly packed snow on the water broke the fall of the camera and left it undamaged--and, moreover, still recording when Trevor retrieved it moments later.

He got the shot he was searching for:  the view of his friends in absentia.  For some time to follow, it was difficult for Anderson to cross that bridge.  For, walking across it, “you’re thinking about how easy it would be to jump," he said.  "You have time to contemplate just how easy it would be to step over that railing” and end it all.

It therefore comes as no surprise that spectators of the film from all walks of life, from within Edmonton and from without, have similarly been moved to reflect on their own losses after seeing it.

Trevor told me, “People have been opening up to me with their own stories of people they [have] lost to suicide, which is very healthy.  Because one of the things I want to do with [my] film is to contribute to an effort to remove the stigma around...mental health and suicide.”  He further shared that, “One of the most heartbreaking things about those I lost was no one had any idea they were thinking of killing themselves until after they were gone.” Anderson, therefore, believes, if mental health issue were less of a taboo, maybe his friends would still be alive today.

Local spectators of HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE have also shared stories of their personal relationship with the Bridge.  “They say, 'My short puts words to something they have felt or thought.'  [Furthermore,] they tell me [their own] stories of walking across that bridge; what they think about when they cross it; the stories [of people] they know who have jumped off it; and even little architectural stories about the [construction of the] bridge.”  One man remarked that his father worked on building the bridge; and another said his depressed roommate once slept walked, and awakened to find herself standing on its' ledge.

Trevor, a musician as well as a filmmaker, is interested in the cacophony of these combined anecdotes; and moreover how they bump up against one another, one as different, yet as similar, as the next.

"I want people to relate my film to their own lives in whatever way they see fit," he said.  “It reminds me of when people come and put their little tributes, flowers, stuffed animals, and cards [where they lost a friend]. It almost feels like that because [these people are] bringing me their little stories, and setting them down near me. [They] are collaging my film by [adding] their own stories to my own.  And I feel quite honored to be at the center of [that].” 

It’s understandable that after such an emotional filmmaking experience, Anderson is changing gears entirely with his next project.  Soon he will commence production on a twenty-minute musical documentary, a true-life story of his great uncle Jimmy in six consecutive acts.  Reflecting on his great uncle, Anderson said, “Jimmy had an amazing life. And my family almost forgot to tell me about him!” It goes without saying that they share a love of music, and of loss, in common.

Bryce Kulak, also from Edmonton, is composing the film.  “Whereas HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE was minimal, my next film will be maximal. I’m planning for 50 dancers, rehearsals for 3 weeks, a studio orchestra, costumes made of sequins and feathers, and a full studio orchestra.  I'm going in the opposite direction aesthetically, but I'm still telling 'the truth' of a real story. Trying to approach it from an angle the audience might not expect at first. Because Uncle Jimmy had a hard life. So, I hope I can treat it respectfully, yet with a light heart.”

Anyone who knows Trevor has no doubt he'll succeed in his quest.

Watch HIGH LEVEL BRIDGE Here

The WRITERS-DIRECTORS OF THE MAID (LA NANA) RETURN TO SUNDANCE WITH OLD CATS (LOS GATOS VIEJOS)

Ashley Elaine York @ Sundance 2011

January 21, 2011

The return of Chilean writers-directors Pedro Peirano and Sebastian Silva to Sundance was much anticipated after their previous film, THE MAID, won the World Cinema Jury Prize in 2009.

Both a chamber drama and a character study, OLD CATS centers around a female protagonist who tries to change her life by healing her damaged relationship with her eldest daughter, Rosario, before she dies.

Peirano and Silva are fond of testing the abilities of their characters to change their lives. Indeed, they explored the same theme in THE MAID, when Raquel (Catalina Saavedra, who plays Hugo, Rosario's lesbian lover, in this film), changed her life by changing her attitude, in finally accepting her social role as a part of her employer's 'household,' rather than--as she had so yearned--a member of her family.

Raquel was comparatively young, 41, and had worked for twenty-three years as a housemaid before coming to terms with her reality.  Isadora, at 92, has simply run out of time. "Sometimes, life doesn't really allow you to redeem yourself,” Silva said. “You no longer have enough time to change your life.”  Thus, the filmmakers' chamber drama/character study  “embraces mediocrity, and the fact that you won't be able to 'right' all of the wrongs of your life before you die."

OLD CATS is shot almost entirely in the house (as was the case with THE MAID), and centers around Isadora, played by Chilean theatre star Belgica Castro, and her husband Enrique (Alejandro Sieveking).  The film turns when her daughter Rosario (Claudia Celedon) calls to say she will be dropping by later in the day for a chat about her recent vacation to the Caribbean.  In reality, Isadora very well knows that her daughter has a more sinister motive up her sleeve.

After Rosario arrives, it takes little time for her plan to become clear.  She wants her mother to sign over her apartment; and, in exchange, she and her lover will promise to take care of Isadora in her old age.

As Rosario, Hugo, Enrique and Isadora are confined within the house, their discussions grow more heated, and their facades grow thinner.  Rosario refuses to leave before the paperwork is signed; and, of course, Isadora at her age can't “get away” from her crazy, coke-snorting daughter and her partner-in-crime.  She has the legs of a ninety-two year old woman and lives on the eighth-floor of a building in which the elevator is broken down more often than it is working.  Thus, the themes of old age and changing one's life are layered with that of confinement to create a compelling narrative about these characters and their delimited choices.

The old couple isn't without strategy, however.  So, before he leaves to pick up pastries to accompany tea, Enrique writes a note on a napkin and hands it to Isadora.  He instructs her to hold onto it, so she can remind herself of the situation in case she 'loses time.'  But, later when the old woman drops the tissue, Rosario sees what is written on it when she retrieves it, and loses her temper.  Already wired from her numerous visits to the bathroom to beef up her buzz, she is unable to cope with the tension, the stress, and the embarrassment of the situation and, instead, flees the scene.

"If Isadora had been younger,” Silva said, “she'd have been able to simply walk down the stairs, go after her daughter, and make her understand. But, because Isadora is forced to remain upstairs, her daughter—and the hope of reconciling with her—is lost to her forever."

These and other mundane, day-to-day realities of old age are brilliantly captured with luxuriously long one-takes, a slowly moving hand-held camera, and lengthy periods of relative quiet and little movement among the actors that serve as the foundational production techniques of many European films, but are considered indulgent (or even boring) by Hollywood standards.

In OLD CATS, Silva and Peirano expertly use their art house filmmaking roots to shoot a movie that brilliantly illustrates the comedies and horrors of being 92 and confined to your eighth-floor Santiago flat because your body simply doesn't allow you to make that long, hard descent on foot when the elevator is broken down, which is most of the time. And, therefore, this film, above all else, is about acceptance. As in the character of 'the maid' Raquel, who finally frees herself from the torture of not “belonging” to—or being a true member of—the family for which she works, Isadora the 'old cat' finally accepts that her possibilities are delimited by her age.

Peirano and Silva were so intrigued with the Chilean theatre stars, Belgica Castro and Alejandro Sieveking, that they based the film on the difficulties (and surroundings) they faced in real life. “To us, it didn't matter if our film was fiction or documentary, as long as it represented them and the realities of their life as they grow older," said Silva.

Besides working the real-life elevator fiasco into the script, the neorealist writers-directors also used Belgica's fear of water to drive the drama of the narrative. After Claudia fled the apartment in anger and shame, Isadora painstakingly worked her way down eight flights, one step at a time. But, once again, she 'loses time' along the way, and comes to to find herself standing in a water fountain across the street from her building, frightened and alone.

"Belgica was traumatized by water as a girl,” Silva said, “so it was very difficult for her to get through that scene. We knew going in we could only shoot it once,” said Silva. “And, thank God, we got it on the first take," Pierano added, laughing.

The filmmakers heretofore in their career have used a minimalist approach to writing and directing, in order to draw out great acting performances, and let the quiet, reflective moments on screen speak for themselves.

“We didn't change Belgica and Alejandro 's apartment, where we shot; they had two old cats who lived with them, so we used them in the film,” said Silva. “They became part of the environment.  And we didn't wish to change that environment. This screenplay very much came out of their real lives," added Peirano.

Although their story-driven techniques of using long takes and a drawn-out narrative work well for the first two-thirds of OLD CATS, their decision to slap on a Hollywood ending left a bad taste in my mouth. After eighty-five minutes of fighting her daughter on signing over her flat, when Isadora gains her full faculties after being rescued from the water fountain, she tells Eugene to print another copy of the power-of-attorney form for, all of a sudden, she is ready to hand over her flat. That this change of heart comes too fast and too quick is only one problem with the script; the filmmakers' decision to go this route also finely illustrates Hollywood's power over even the most independent of filmmaker's narrative styles today.

As jarring and unbelievable as her sudden change in attitude is, Isadora's decision to give into Rosario, without first making peace or amends with her, also serves to efficiently drive home the 'take-away' of OLD CATS:  that, sometimes, it's simply too late to change your life.

The forced ending notwithstanding, Silva and Peirano's film is beautifully shot and offers non-Chilean audiences the opportunity to see two great theatre actors at work on the big screen, tackling a story about aging (un)gracefully, a theme rarely addressed in Hollywood movies today.

DEE REES' PARIAH and SUNDANCE: ALL ABOUT 'FREEDOM'

Ashley Elaine York @ Sundance 2011

Today at 6 p.m., Sundance Institute President and Founder Robert Redford opened the 2011 Festival with these words: We’re always asking, ‘What are we doing, why are we here, what’s the point of all of this?’” he said. “The point simply has been to do whatever we can to create opportunities for new artists.”

Beginning with Sundance 2010, Festival directors and programmers returned to their core mission statement:  to turn away from the pomp and circumstance of more recent Festivals, and return to a focus on great films, important, up-and-coming filmmakers, and cutting-edge content.

Besides the Kenneth Cole-designed royal blue ski vests that "Festival Insiders" (no longer called Festival volunteers) don, Sundance 2011 offers a lower key, rougher around the edges feel; and, with fewer stars about town, puts the emphasis back on independent filmmakers and their wide range of films which Redford feels is critical to audiences today.

“Some films are not going to be liked at all, and some films will be very much liked. That’s okay,” said Redford. “The point is to show what’s out there. And create opportunities for the filmmakers, and for audiences to find that work.  Wherever it goes is really some other people’s business.”

In line with Redford's efforts to use Sundance to help turn worthy filmic ideas into extraordinary finished films, a record six of the sixteen films in the U.S. Dramatic Competition this year were developed through the Sundance Institute Labs.  PARIAH, the opening-night film at Eccles Theatre was among them.

Nekisa Cooper

PARIAH's producer, Nekisa Cooper, spoke about the effect the Sundance Institute had on bringing their film to market.  "It takes a village, " she said, "and Sundance really supported our work.  But so did Sundial Pictures and IFP, which also has a great lab, and the Tribeca Film Institute.  It really takes a village to get an independent film produced."

Dee Rees

The film's director, Dee Rees, admitted the content of PARIAH had a lot to do with the difficulty Cooper and she faced in convincing backers that the feature film version of their successful 2007 short would draw audiences, acclaim, and the all-important bottom line:  profit.

"Never use these three words in a pitch if you want to get funding:  Black, gay, or coming-of-age.  Never.  Not if you want to get your movie funded," she said.

Despite their initial difficulty, the production team's tenacious efforts have paid off.  Rees said they now have 95% backing for the film, from more than a half-dozen sponsors.

Adepero Oduye, "Alike," in PARIAH

But, like the the 2009 Sundance Grand July Prize-Winning PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE, a film by Lee Daniels, PARIAH is about a Black teenager, Alike, played by Adepero Oduye, coming to terms with herself in the midst of her dysfunctional family and a socio-cultural reality which neither reflects how she sees the world, nor herself within it.

PRECIOUS, like PARIAH, struggled to get financial backing until Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry joined the filmmaker as co-producers and helped to promote the film after its successful showing at Sundance 2009.

Dee Rees credits executive producer Spike Lee for doing for PARIAH what Lee Daniels said Oprah and Perry did for his award-winning film.

"[Spike] has been great to me all along--all the way through film school [at NYU's Tisch School] until now.  He read draft after draft when I was originally writing it--and he was honest.  He'd say--'awful, too obvious, too on-the-nose.'  Then, after it was shot, he looked at cut after cut with us.  And, now that we're going into the distribution phase, he is helping us navigator those waters, as well--to help us figure out how to go about finding a distributor, and what to look out for."

But, if you ask Rees, Spike Lee and her producer Nekisa Cooper, meant far more to her than just the producing experience they brought to PARIAH.  In fact, they helped her to have the courage to tell her semi-autobiographical tale.

Kim Wayans, "Audrey," in PARIAH

Like the mother of the title character, Audrey, played by Kim Wayans, Rees' mother turned her back on the filmmaker after she came out, and that's where Spike Lee and Cooper, as well as others among the cast, stepped in.   They acted as caring, accepting friends, who gave Rees the strength to relate honestly the pain of coming out to parents who disapprove of who you are, while you are still uncertain exactly who that is or how you fit within society.

Also like the title character, Rees said she had difficulty defining her sexuality, because she "wasn't butch, but also wasn't femme."  Rather, she was "just" herself.  And that didn't fit into any specified social role, either within mainstream society, or the lesbian community of friends of which she was a part.  Ultimately, Rees said the theme of the movie PARIAH came from this realization.

In the latter part of the shoot, the production experienced unceasing inclement weather.  As frustrating as it was, it gave Rees some time to think about a suggestion a crew member had made about adding some emotional or dramatic weight to the ending of the film.  Rees had already written the final scene in which Alike leaves both her disapproving mother and her loving best friend, her Fort Greene neighborhood in Brooklyn, for California and early entrance into UC Berkeley.  

Charles Parnall, "Arthur"

The visuals of Alike leaving her father, Arthur, played by Charles Parnall, her sister, and friend and boarding a bus to California may not have been enough to drive home the theme of the movie.  So, during this long rain delay, Rees had extra time to sit down and write a poem, which Alike ultimately recites in voice-over to draw the film to a riveting and affecting close.

With perfect pacing and fine iteration, Alike speaks to the freedom that comes in the "cracks" of her life, in those spaces, places, and times that she is unquestionably angry and lonely, but also undeniably free.  Free to be different, to be herself--to be unlike anyone else, either in the ranks of mainstream society or within her self-identified social group.

Aasha Davis, "Bina,"

For Rees, the title of the film is based on how others see Alike, or any other person classified as "going against the grain" in society...as 'pariahs.'  Ironically, though, it is in this liminal social space that teens like Alike are given the greatest gift of all:  the opportunity to be free.  Because, as Alike tells her father just before her bus bound from California pulls away, "God doesn't make mistakes."

DAY ONE, SUNDANCE, Thursday, Janurary 20, 2011

Ashley Elaine York @ Sundance 2011

January 20, 2011

After much anticipation, the 2011 Sundance Film Festival commences today from Park City, Utah.

DAY ONE at Sundance is a celebration of Festival films in competition and the New Frontier program, including: 

Dee Rees' PARIAH, executive produced by Spike Lee
< http://sundance.bside.com/2011/films/pariah_sundance2011 >.

PARIAH is a coming-of-age drama about 17-year-old Alike (played by Adepero Oduye from Law and Order and Wifey) who struggles to negotiate her multiple and competing social identities.

By day, Alike is a proud, black, feminist butch living for the city and the cause, along with her "outted" friends in their middle class Brooklyn milieu.  But, at night, to meet the expectations of her parents and her religious community, this torn teenager reverts to her role as the good feminine Christian girl.  Along with Alike's search for sexual identity, PARIAH asks the timeless and thought-provoking question: "Who do you become when you can't be yourself?"

Among those films in competition for the 2011 Sundance US Dramatic feature film prize, PARIAH is based on the audacious short of the same name that premiered at Sundance 2008, before taking the top prize at seven other film festivals, including the Palm Springs Intl Short Festival and the Los Angles Film Festival (Audience Award).  

Lisa Kennedy of the Denver Post calls the short form PARIAH, "reminiscent of the smart urban cinema of Jim McKay ('Everyday People'), Nelson George ('Life Support') and 'Half Nelson' [by] director Ryan Fleck."  The work of a "promising young Black filmmaker," professor of Feminist Studies, Jacqueline Bobo, adds, "PARIAH is an engaging, thoughtful, must-see film about a young Black lesbian confronting the complexities of family, high school and her awareness of her sexual milieu."

PARIAH is a film to follow, based on past reviews and awards for its short form version, as well as its A-list backer in Spike Lee.  Dee Rees' feature film debut (which she scripted while interning on Lee's INSIDE MAN) may set the standard for films to come during Sundance 2011.


COMING UP NEXT:
CHECK BACK after the screening concludes at midnight PST for a complete review of the film and the breakout performances of its cast, including lead actress Adepero Oduye (from Nigeria by way of Brooklyn) who also starred in Bill T. Jones' FELA! and the TV movie Wifey (directed by past-BET Chief Reginald Hudlin), as welll as her guest-staring turns in episodes of Law and Order ("Birthright," NBC, 2005), Law and Order: Criminal Intent ("The War at Home," NBC, 2006), The Unusuals ("The Circle Line," ABC, 2009), and Louie ("Dentist/Tarese," FX, 2010).

Also, tomorrow afternoon, look for commentary on Sundance founder Robert Redford's opening address, a post-screening conversation with Director/Producer Dee Rees, Producer Nekisa Cooper, and cast members Kim Wayans, Aasha Davis, Charles Parnell, Pernell Walker, and star Adepero Oduye, plus an overview of Day Two at Sundance 2011.