Sundance London unveils 2014 line-up

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Sundance has revealed its programme of films and panel discussions for the third Sundance London film and music festival (April 25-27), held at the O2.

The festival will include 21 feature films and 18 short films across five sections. A total of 23 films will make their world, international, European or UK premieres and seven are by first-time feature filmmakers.

The films collectively received 12 awards when they premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and filmmakers expected to attend are Fruitvale Station director Ryan Coogler and Arrested Development star David Cross, who brings his directorial debut Hits.

Persepolis director Marjane Satrapi will bring the international premiere of her latest feature, The Voices, which stars Ryan Reynolds as a  disturbed factory worker who hears advice from his pet dog and cat.

US actress Rose McGowan is also expected with the short film she directed, Dawn

A panel on The Art of Film Music will discuss the process of composing original music for films, and solo artist and former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker will join the Hybrid Vigour Documentary panel alongside former Orange Juice frontman Edwyn Collins, which will explore how British documentary is “pushing the boundaries in challenging the genres of music, biography and archive film”.

As previously announced, Archive has been announced as the first headlining music act for the 2014 festival.

Also, free live music performances organized by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) will take place in The Hub at Brooklyn Bowl in the O2.

A spotlight on UK titles will include Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank, starring Michael Fassbender as the enigmatic musician who never removes his giant papier mache mask, and Michael Winterbottom comedy sequel The Trip in Italy, starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.

Robert Redford, president and founder of Sundance Institute, said: “That audiences in London have responded so positively to the films presented at the first two Sundance London festivals speaks to the power and universality of the stories told by our artists as well as the audience’s openness to exploring new ideas.”

FEATURE FILM PROGRAMME

US independent narrative and documentary films that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival

Blue Ruin
Dir: Jeremy Saulnier

The Case Against 8 (doc)
Dirs: Ben Cotner, Ryan White
Winner of the Directing Award: US Documentary at Sundance
International Premiere

Dinosaur 13 (doc)
Dir: Todd Miller
International Premiere

Drunktown’s Finest
Dir: Sydney Freeland
International Premiere

Finding Fela (doc)
Dir: Alex Gibney

In conjunction with the film, the festival will host a free performance from Dele Sosimi, one of the original members of Fela Kuti’s band, alongside an Afrobeat orchestra on April 27.

Fruitvale Station
Dir: Ryan Coogler
Winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and the Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic
UK Premiere

Hits
Dir: David Cross
International Premiere

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
Dir: David Zellner
Winner of a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Musical Score
UK Premiere

Lambert & Stamp (doc)
Dir: James D. Cooper
UK Premiere

Little Accidents
Dir: Sara Colangelo
International Premiere

Memphis
Dir: Tim Sutton
International Premiere

Obvious Child
Dir: Gillian Robespierre
UK Premiere

They Came Together
Dir: David Wain
International Premiere

Under the Electric Sky (EDC 2013) (doc)
Dirs: Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz
UK Premiere

The Voices
Dir: Marjane Satrapi
International Premiere

SPECIAL EVENT PROGRAMME  

Axiom (Director: NYSU, Screenwriters: David Gambero & NYSU) — Axiom is an island in the middle of nowhere, steep cliffs on all sides. On the island there is an underground city dominated by a bell, the bell decides the fate of the city’s inhabitants. Cast: Jonathan David Mellor, Santi Senso, Cova de Alfonso, Silvia Vacas, Pablo Menasanch, Julia Llerena. World Premiere

Includes a live performance and DJ set by South London collective Archive, who will also participate in a post-screening Q&A.

UK SPOTLIGHT

Frank
Dir: Lenny Abrahamson
UK Premiere

The Trip to Italy
Dir: Michael Winterbottom
European Premiere

FROM THE COLLECTION

A selection of films discovered by the Sundance Film Festival

Memento (2001)
Dir: Christopher Nolan

Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Dir: Quentin Tarantino

Winter’s Bone (2010)
Dir: Debra Granik

PANEL PROGRAMME

Discussions with renowned guest speakers providing incredible insights into the filmmaking process.

The Art of Film Music — What goes into a successful film score? What is the ideal way for directors and composers to interact? What are some of the many roles music can play in the filmmaking process? How can music enhance (or ruin) a movie? These and other questions related to the intersection of film and music will be discussed by two leading practitioners: Alex Heffes (The Last King of Scotland, Red Riding Hood, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom) and Javier Navarrete (Pan’s Labyrinth, Wrath of the Titans, The Sea, Byzantium), moderated by the director of the Sundance Film Music Program, Peter Golub (Frozen River, The Great Debaters, The Laramie Project). Presented in association with British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Guts to Glory: How Do You Find Your Story? — With case studies from script to screen, this in-depth panel will get down and dirty about the often bumpy ride that it takes to realize your dream of getting your film made. From the spark of an idea, to typing the words FADE IN, to your world premiere at a major festival, filmmakers share stories from the trenches on how they navigated the obstacles, faced the challenges, compromised when they had to, and ultimately beat the odds. Are you ready for the true story? This panel is for anyone who has made a film (or dreams of making a film) or who just wants to know the real deal. Panelists are Ryan Coogler, Director/Screenwriter, Fruitvale Station, and Marjane Satrapi, director, The Voices; Moderated by John Cooper, Director, Sundance Film Festival. Presented in association with BFI NET.WORK.

Hybrid Vigour: When Music, Art and Documentary Collide: From last year’s Stories We Tell to the controversial The Act of Killing, the hybrid documentary is going from strength to convention-busting strength. But British documentary seems to be pushing the boundaries even further in challenging the genres of music, biography and archive film. Why is this and what does it tell us about the role of artists and musicians in documentary filmmaking? Join the creative partnerships behind three recent festival hits for an exploration of what went into stretching the limits of the form, an insight into the unusual collaborations between director and subject, and a look at the questions these films pose about memory, truth and the creative process. Panelists are: Jarvis Cocker and Martin Wallace, composer and director of The Big Melt; Edwyn Collins and Grace Maxwell, subjects of The Possibilities are Endless; Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, directors of 20,000 Days on Earth; Moderated by Tabitha Jackson, Director, Documentary Film Program, Sundance Institute. Presented in association with BRITDOC and Sheffield DocFest.

See the Sundance London website for the Short Film Programme