Slamdance 2015 unveils line-up

The 11 narrative and eight documentary selections include 13 world premieres. All competition films are feature directorial debuts budgeted below $1m without US distribution.

“It’s very exciting to bring this dynamic lineup to audiences in Park City,” said festival director Anna Germanidi. “We are proud to help launch these filmmakers’ careers and celebrate the success we all believe these films deserve.”

“Our success in showcasing emerging artists is most obviously linked with American talent, but increasingly at Slamdance, we want to also support new international talent,” said co-founder and president Peter Baxter.

All synopses below provided by Slamdance.

NARRATIVE FEATURES

Across The Sea (Turkey-USA)
Dirs Nisan Dağ, Esra Saydam
Young, beautiful and pregnant, Damla has to confront her first love in a Turkish summer town before she can fully embrace her new life in New York.
Cast: Damla Sönmez, Jacob Fishel, Ahmet Rıfat Şungar, Hakan Karsak, Brittany Angley.
North American premiere

Asco (Brazil)
Dir Ale Paschoalini
Needs and desires are simplified in this experimental, black and white portrayal of the poisonous destruction of a broken heart.
Cast: Guto Nogueira, Sol Faganello, Acauã Sol, Danielle Rosa, Ligia Franchini, El Albertob.

Body (USA)
Dirs Dan Berk, Robert Olsen
After three twenty-something girls break into a mansion and inadvertently murder the groundskeeper, they slowly self-destruct as they decide what to do with the dead body in the living room.
Cast: Helen Rogers, Alexandra Turshen, Lauren Molina, Larry Fessenden.
World premiere

Clinger (USA)
Dir Michael Steves
When her possessive high school boyfriend dies in a gruesome accident, Fern Petersen’s life is thrown into turmoil.  Things go from bad to worse when he returns as a love-sick ghost to kill her so they can be together for eternity.
Cast: Vincent Martella, Jennifer Laporte, Julia Aks, Lisa Wilcox, Debbie Rochon.
World premiere

Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Ireland)
Dir Patrick Ryan
A troubled teenage sharpshooter decides to avenge the death of her estranged sister after she is found murdered in a public bathroom.
Cast: Emma Eliza Regan, Brian Gleeson, Maura Foley, Emma Willis, Sam Monaghan.
US premiere

Diamond Tongues (Canada)
Dirs Brian Robertson, Pavan Moondi
Edith Welland is an actress. Things haven’t been going very well. When her ex-boyfriend becomes an actor on a whim and almost immediately books a leading role, Edith decides if she’s going to get ahead, she’ll need to get ruthless.
Cast: Leah Goldstein, Nick Flanagan, Leah Wildman, Adam Gurfinkel, Noah R Taylor.
World premiere

High Performance (Austria)
Dir Johanna Moder
Rudi wears a suit, Daniel rides a bike, and they are both interested in Nora for very different reasons; the story of two grown up brothers who still know how to hurt each other.
Cast: Marcel Mohab, Manuel Rubey, Katharina Pizzera.
US premiere

Ratter (USA)
Dir Branden Kramer
Emma is being watched by a stalker who has hacked into all of her personal technology - laptop, cell phone, and other web connected devices - to record her most intimate moments. Eventually the video feeds aren’t enough and the stalker moves from the virtual to the physical.
Cast: Ashley Benson, Matt McGorry, Rebecca Naomi Jones, John Anderson, Kaili Vernoff.
World premiere

They Look Like People (USA)
Dir Perry Blackshear
Suspecting that those around him are actually malevolent shape-shifters, a troubled young man questions whether to protect his only friend from an impending war, or from himself.
Cast: MacLeod Andrews, Evan Dumouchel, Margaret Drake, Mick Casale, Elena Greenlee.
World premiere

Tired Moonlight (USA)
Dir Britni West
Drifting between small-town gossip and dreams of the outside world, two middled aged womens’ lives are slowly upended as they start caring for a young girl and a ramblin’ man from the past rolls through their small town.
Cast: Alex Karpovsky, Liz Randall, Paul Dickinson, Hillary Berg, RainLeigh Vick.
World premiere

Wendell And The Lemon (USA)
Dir Lawrence Krauser
A young man finds a lemon on the sidewalk, takes it home, and becomes inordinately fond of it. Complications ensue.
Cast: Todd d’Amour, Rebecca Hart, Jay Smith, Lia Aprile, Danton Stone.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

20 Years Of Madness (USA)
Dir Jeremy Royce
Twenty years after the success of a 90s cult TV show, 30 Minutes of Madness, founder Jerry White Jr. brings the rag tag team of misfits back together to film one final episode - only to find the majority of his cast now suffer from a variety of personal struggles.
Cast: Jerry White Jr., Joe Hornacek, John Ryan, Jesus Rivera, Matt Zaleski.
World premiere

Alberi Che Camminano (Italy)
Dir Mattia Colombo
A meditative look at the two distinct lives of trees and their deep relationship with human beings.
US premiere

Dennis Rodman’s Big Bang In Pyongyang (UK)
Dir Colin Offland
An intimate behind the scenes look at Dennis Rodman’s unlikely friendship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and the staging of the most controversial game of basketball the world has never seen.
World premiere

I Am Thor (USA)
Dir Ryan Wise
Before Chris Hemsworth, there was Jon Mikl Thor - the original hammer-wielding, steel bending, brick smashing rock star of the 70s band THOR. But does he still have the magic to thunder a comeback?
Cast: Jon Mikl Thor, Rusty Hamilton, Mike Favata, Steve Price, Keith Zazzi.
World premiere

My Fathers, My Mother And Me (Austria)
Dir Paul-Julien Robert
Twenty years after leaving the Austrian commune where he was raised, Paul-Julien Robert embarks on a personal journey to confront what went wrong and explore ideas of family.
North American premiere

On Her Own (USA)
Dir Morgan Schmidt-Feng
A woman and her family try to save their 5th generation family farm during the Great Recession.
World premiere

The Resurrection Of Jake The Snake (USA)
Dir Steve Yu
Legendary wrestler Jake “The Snake” Roberts charts his personal and professional comeback while battling crippling addictions.
Cast: Jake Roberts, Dallas Page, Chris Jericho, Steve Austin, Adam Copeland.
World premiere

Sweet Micky For President (USA, pictured)

Dir Ben Patterson
With the help of Pras Michel of the Fugees, presidential candidate Michel Martelly, aka Sweet Micky, campaigns against all odds in Haiti’s third ever democratic election.
Cast: Pras Michel, Michel Martelly, Wyclef Jean.
World premiere