A special selection of fourteen films is to be screened at the first ever UK Sundance festival in April 2012. The films have been chosen from among those already screened at the Sundance Festival Utah in January, but this will be the first time they have been screened anywhere else. The festival will take place at London’s O2, and will also feature talks and musical performances.
Festival founder Robert Redford has said of the inaugural UK Sundance:
‘I welcome the opportunity to see how people in the UK experience these films. While they are American productions they speak to universal experiences and global challenges. Sundance London also is the perfect opportunity to continue our long-time commitment to growing a broader international community around new voices and new perspectives.#
Here’s a run-down of the films selected…
2 Days in New York – A Romantic comedy from director Julie Delpy, who stars alongside Chris Rock, the film is a follow up to 2007’s 2 Days in Paris.
Filly Brown – Tells the story of Maria Jose ‘Majo’ Tonorio, a tough LA street poet who is forced to choose between her friends and providing money for her family when she is offered a record deal.
Chasing Ice – A documentary by Jeff Orlowski highlighting the dangers of climate change through the work of National Geographic photographer James Balog. The film follows Balog as he crosses the Arctic capturing disappearing ice fields with time-lapse cameras.
Finding North – A documentary looking into issues of food supply and hunger in the United States, the richest country in the world.
The House I Live In – A documentary by Eugene Jarecki examining America’s ‘war on drugs’ and how it has destroyed families and communities in the US without ever seeming to have an effect on the drug trade.
Liberal Arts – A comedy drama starring Elizabeth Olsen and Zac Efron. A thirty-something man falls for a nineteen-year-old college student.
For Ellen – A drama starring Paul Dano and directed by So Yong Kim. A struggling musician must drive overnight to fight his estranged wife for custody of their daughter.
LUV – With an appearance from Danny Glover, drama LUV is set over the course of one day and shows a shy thirteen-year-old boy bonding with his troubled uncle.
Nobody Walks – The story of a family who take a young artist into their home, directed by Russo-Young.
An Oversimplification of Her Beauty – A partly animated film by Terence Nance. An artist considers the ideas of experience and emotion after he is stood up on a date.
The Queen of Versailles – A documentary about a billionaire couple who have built a 90,000 foot square mansion based on the palace at Versailles.
Safety Not Guaranteed – A comedy starring Jake M. Johnson and Aubrey Plaza about magazine employees sent out to interview a man who placed a classified ad for time travel companions.
Shut Up and Play the Hits – Documents the last show of LCD Soundsystem at Madison Square Garden on April 2nd 2011.
Under African Skies – The sixth documentary of the festival, Under African Skies follows Paul Simon as he returns to South Africa to explore the making of his album Graceland, as well as the political backlash experienced because of it.
UK film fans will be disappointed not to have the opportunity to see Grand Jury Prize winner Beasts of the Southern Wild, but among the fourteen films selected there is sure to be something to peak everyone’s interest. Tickets for the first ever Sundance UK (26th-29th April 2012) are on sale now.
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