ROBERT REDFORD (1936 - 2025)

Robert Redford, the handsome and charismatic actor who moved behind the camera to become an Oscar-winning filmmaker, has passed away in his sleep on September 16th at the age of eighty-nine. Not only did Redford become one of the biggest movies stars on the planet but he was a political activist who used his fame to bring attention to several causes that were important to him like environmentalism and indigenous people's rights. He also went on to help create the Sundance Film Festival which became one of the first and largest festivals that focused on independent cinema.

From the beginning after deciding to become an actor, Redford sought out roles that would challenge him, never wanting to be typecast in parts that focused on his looks. He appeared in numerous television dramas and small roles in feature films before getting his first big break on stage in 1963 after being cast in Neil Simon's latest Broadway show, "Barefoot in the Park", a romantic-comedy directed by Mike Nichols. The show was a hit, helping to create some buzz around the fledgling actor. In 1965, Redford was given a supporting role in "Inside Daisy Clover", a Hollywood-set drama starring Natalie Wood. It wasn't much of a critical or box-office success but they appeared together again the following year as co-stars in "This Property Is Condemned", directed by Sydney Pollack, that managed to achieve some acclaim. Redford also appeared for the first time with Jane Fonda that year in the all-star flop, "The Chase" (that included Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall and Angie Dickinson in the cast) before they starred together in the film version of "Barefoot in the Park" in 1967. This became a smash hit, helping to create Redford as a true film star.

But what made Redford go from a popular movie actor to an international cinema superstar began with George Roy Hill's western, "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" in 1969. Paired with another major star, Paul Newman, the film followed these Wild West outlaws on the run from a posse after their string of train robberies. The film went on to earn over one hundred million dollars at the box-office and won four Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay for William Goldman and Best Original Song for "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head". This was followed by a string of popular films starring Redford: "The Way We Were" (with Barbra Streisand), "The Sting" (which reteamed him with Newman), "Jeremiah Johnson", "The Great Waldo Pepper", "Three Days of the Condor" and "All the President's Men"

Redford soon began to look for a new challenge which lead him to sit in the director's chair. The 1980 drama, "Ordinary People", based on the novel by Judith Guest, follows the disintegration of a wealthy family following the accidental death of one of their two sons and the attempted suicide of the other. Another box-office hit, the film was nominated for six Academy Awards, taking home four which included Best Director and Best Picture. Redford would go on to direct "The Milagro Beanfield War", "A River Runs Through It", "Quiz Show", "The Legend of Bagger Vance", "Lions for Lambs" "The Horse Whisperer" and "The Company You Keep"

He was born Charles Robert Redford Jr. on August 18th in Santa Monica, California of Irish, Scottish, and English ancestry. He had suffered from a mild case of polio when he was eleven but recovered and excelled in sports during high school. But Redford also had an interest in the creative arts. After graduating from high school in 1954, he attended the University of Colorado but spent too much time partying and ended up getting expelled from the school. He then went off to Europe to travel for a period before coming back home with a clear focus on trying to become an actor.

Redford remained a sought after performer throughout the 1980's to well into the twenty-first century. He would appear in the baseball drama "The Natural", the 1985 Best Picture winner, "Out of Africa", "Indecent Proposal", "Up Close & Personal", "Sneakers" and Marvel superhero film, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier". The last major film Redford starred in before retiring in 2018 was "The Old Man & the Gun", a crime-drama directed by David Lowery.

WINNERS OF THE 2021 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

The end of the Sundance Film Festival,  this year a largely virtual event, always leads to awards and this fest hands out plenty of them. With thirty-one given out, it seems like everyone gets to go home with a prize.

"Coda", a family drama from writer/director, Siân Heder, received the Grand Jury Prize for the best U.S. dramatic feature. This story about a young woman, who is the only hearing person in her otherwise deaf family, is torn between staying with them as their fishing business is threatened or moving on with her life to attend music school, won Heder the Dramatic Directing Award and the film also won Best Dramatic Feature Audience Award. "Coda" was part of a bidding war with Apple+ being the winner with a $25 million bid.

Musician-turned-filmmaker, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson made a splash with his first feature, "Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)", which details the events at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival which celebrated African American music and promoted Black pride, took the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for Documentary.

And Blerta Basholli’s "Hive", about a woman in Kosovo who struggles to survive in a patriarchal society while in search of her missing husband, was the big winner in World Cinema with three awards, Grand Jury Prize, Audience Award and Best Director.

Here is a partial list of winners from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival:

U.S. Grand Jury Prize (Dramatic): "Coda"
U.S. Dramatic Directing Award: Siân Heder, "Coda"
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award (U.S. Dramatic): Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch, "On The Count of Three"
U.S. Grand Jury Prize (Documentary): "Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)"
U.S. Directing Award (Documentary): Natalia Almada, "Users"
U.S. Editing Award (Documentary): Kristina Motwani and Rebecca Adorno, "Homeroom"
World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: "Hive"
World Cinema Directing Award: Blerta Basholli, "Hive"
World Cinema Jury Award for Acting: Jesmark Scicluna, "Luzzu"
World Cinema Special Jury Award for Creative Vision: Baz Poonpiriya, "One For The Road"

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Awards:

Best Ensemble Cast: "Coda"
Best Actor: Clifton Collins, Jr., "Jockey" 

Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker (Documentary): Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt, "Cusp"
Best Nonfiction Experimentation: "All Light, Everywhere"

U.S. Audience Awards:

Best Dramatic Feature: "Coda"
Best Documentary: "Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)"
Best World Cinema Dramatic Feature: "Hive"
Best World Cinema Documentary: "Writing With Fire"
World Cinema Jury Prize: "Flee"

World Cinema Directing Award: Hogir Hirori, "Sabaya"
World Cinema Special Jury Award in Impact for Change: "Writing With Fire"
World Cinema Special Jury Award in Verite Filmmaking: "President"

NEXT:

Audience Award: "Ma Belle, My Beauty"
Innovator Award: "Cryptozoo"

2021 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

Last year's Sundance Film Festival was one of the few major fests that were able to hold their event traditionally. But as the pandemic continues almost a year later, the 2021 Sundance has to adjust like many other festivals had to do over the past year with a virtual festival. Running from January 28th to February 3rd, which is a shortened window for the fest, the majority of the 120 films will be screened online. With a new director, Tabitha Jackson, on board, the decision was made to expand beyond it's Utah home with some screenings held at drive-ins, arthouse cinemas and arts organizations to bring customized local programming to communities across the country.

Some highlights that will premiere at the festival include, "Ailey", a look at the visionary African-American choreographer and founder of his own company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; "Land", the directorial debut by actress, Robin Wright and stars as a woman who leaves her old life behind after a tragic event to live in the forest in the Rocky Mountains; Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga star in "Passing", the directorial debut from actress, Rebecca Hall, about two African-American women who were childhood friends and now one is "passing" as white; Writer-director Ninja Thyberg returns to Sundance with "Pleasure", a feature film that expands on her 2014 short about a Swedish woman coming to the States to begin work in adult films; The story of how the beloved and groundbreaking children's television series, "Sesame Street" was created in "Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street"; "The World To Come", a drama set in eighteenth-century upstate New York about two lonely, married women who find themselves emotionally connected starring Katherine Waterston, Vanessa Kirby, Christopher Abbott, and Casey Affleck; "Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir", a documentary on the acclaimed author of "The Joy Luck Club" and the final film of director, James Redford; Acclaimed filmmaker, Nanfu Wang navigates the origin and spread of COVID-19 from Wuhan to the US with "In The Same Breath"; and "The Most Beautiful Boy in the World" explores the complicated life of actor, Björn Andrésen who found instant fame after starring in Luchino Visconti’s adaptation of "Death in Venice" at the age of fifteen.







For the complete list of films, purchase tickets and for additional information, please click below:

2021 Sundance Film Festival

WINNERS OF THE 2020 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

The 2020 Sundance Film Festival came to a close on Saturday, February 1st and Lee Isaac Chung’s "Minari" was the big winner taking both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for U.S. Dramatic Feature Prize. This drama, loosely based on writer/director, Chung's real life story, follows a Korean-American family making a move from Los Angeles to Arkansas for a better opportunity while in pursuit of the American Dream.

Here is a partial list of winners from the 2020 Sundance Film Festival:

AUDIENCE AWARDS

U.S. Dramatic: "Minari"
U.S. Documentary: "Crip Camp"
World Cinema Dramatic: "Identifying Features (Sin Senas Particulares)"



World Cinema Documentary: "The Reason I Jump"
Next: "I Carry You With Me"

GRAND JURY PRIZES

U.S. Dramatic: "Minari"
U.S. Dramatic Director Prize: Radha Blank, "The 40-Year-Old Version"
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award - U.S. Dramatic: Edson Oda, "Nine Days"
U.S. Documentary: "Boys State"
U.S. Documentary Director Prize: Garrett Bradley, "Time"
World Cinema Dramatic: "Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness"



World Cinema Dramatic Director Prize: Maïmouna Doucouré, "Cuties"
World Cinema Documentary: "The Reason I Jump"
World Cinema Documentary Director Prize: Iryna Tsilyk, "The Earth Is Blue As An Orange"



Next Innovator Prize: "I Carry You With Me"

SPECIAL JURY PRIZES

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast: "Charm City Kings"



U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Auteur Film making: Josephine Decker, "Shirley"
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Neo-Realism: "Never Rarely Sometimes Always"



U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing: Tyler H. Walk, "Welcome to Chechnya"
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Innovation in Non-fiction Storytelling: "Dick Johnson Is Dead"
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Emerging Filmmaker: Arthur Jones, "Feels Good Man"



U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking: Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman and Eli Despres, "The Fight"
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting: Ben Whishaw, "Surge"
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Visionary Filmmaking; "This Is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection"
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Screenplay: Fernanda Valadez and Astrid Rondero, "Identifying Features (Sin Señas Particulares)"
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative Storytelling: "The Painter And The Thief"
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Mircea Topoleanu and Radu Ciorniciuc, "Acasa, My Home"



World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing: Mila Aung-Thwin, Sam Soko and Ryan Mullins, "Softie"

17 ANTICIPATED MOVIES AT THE 2020 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

The Sundance Film Festival begins today and runs through February 2nd in Park City, UT. This yearly event showcases new indie cinema from around the world. The fest kicks off with the world premiere of "Miss Americana", a Netflix documentary on one of the biggest pop stars on the planet right now, Taylor Swift with the singer performing after the screening. And while this film doesn't seem to fit perfectly in to the spirit of Sundance, there will be plenty of other interesting features and docs that will be presented which will fill that objective. Vulture has selected seventeen films that are anticipated and you will probably will be hearing more about after their screenings.

Click below to read the article:

17 Films We Are Most Excited To See at Sundance

WINNERS OF THE 2019 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

"Clemency" from writer/director Chinonye Chukwu received the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the 2019 Sundance Film festival. This drama focuses on a female prison warden (Alfre Woodard) who begins to face a personal crisis regarding the death penalty. The feature film debut by Joe Talbot, "The Last Black Man in San Francisco" took the Director Prize and a Special Jury Prize for Creator Collaboration. The film centers on a lonely, young skateboarder (Jimmie Fails) who can't shake the idea of his family losing their Victorian house years ago that his grandfather had built. When the current owners seemed to have moved, he attempts to recreate a home his family once had. And The U.S. Documentary Prize was awarded to Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang for their feature, "One Child Nation" which deals with China’s controversial one-child-per-family policy.

Here is a partial list of winners from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival:

U.S. Dramatic Jury Winners:

Grand Jury Prize: "Clemency"
Directing Award: Joe Talbot, "The Last Black Man in San Francisco"
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Pippa Bianco, "Share"
Special Jury Award (Vision and Craft): Alma Har’el, "Honey Boy"
Special Jury Award (Creator Collaboration): Joe Talbot, "The Last Black Man in San Francisco"
Special Jury Award (Acting): Rhianne Barreto, "Share"

U.S. Documentary Jury Winners:

Grand Jury Prize: "One Child Nation"
Directing Award: Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert, "American Factory"
Special Jury Award (Emerging Filmmaker): Liza Mandelup, "Jawline"
Special Jury Award (Moral Urgency): "Always in Season"
Special Jury Award (Editing): Todd Douglas Miller, "Apollo 11"
Special Jury Award (Cinematography): Luke Lorentzen, "Midnight Family"

Audience Awards:

U.S. Dramatic: "Brittany Runs a Marathon"
U.S. Documentary: "Knock Down the House"
World Cinema Dramatic: "Queen of Hearts"



World Cinema Documentary: "Sea of Shadows"
NEXT Audience Award: "The Infiltrators"

World Cinema Awards:

Dramatic Grand Jury Prize: "The Souvenir"
Directing Award: Lucia Garibaldi, "The Sharks"
Dramatic (Special Jury Award): "Monos"
Special Jury Award for Originality: Makoto Nagahisa, "We Are Little Zombies"



Special Jury Prize (Acting): Krystyna Janda, "Dolce Fine Giornata"
Documentary Grand Jury Prize: "Honeyland"
Documentary Directing Award: Mads Brugger, "Cold Case Hammarskjold"
Documentary Special Jury Award (No Borders): "Midnight Traveler"



Documentary Special Jury Prize (Impact for Change): "Honeyland"
Documentary Special Jury Award (Cinematography): Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma, "Honeyland"

18 MOVIES TO SEE AT THE 2019 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

Year after year, the Sundance Film Festival, which begins today and runs through February 3rd, has become an increasingly important showcase to first screen some of the most interesting and exciting new indie and documentary films that will be seen in the upcoming cinema year. There will be a total of one hundred and twelve movies from around the globe that will be shown at the Park City, Utah event. Emily Yoshida and Bilge Ebiri, film critics for New York magazine, have kindly revealed eighteen movies that they are highly anticipating to see at the fest.

Some that caught my eye from the list include "Velvet Buzzsaw", Dan Gilroy's eerie look in to the art world that re-teams the stars of his feature "Nightcrawler", Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo; "The Souvenir", a coming-of-age tale made more intriguing as it features Tilda Swinton and her real-life daughter, Honor Swinton-Byrne and Naomi Watts playing a freaked-out woman living in a far more dangerous New York during the 1970's in "The Wolf Hour"

Click below to read the article:

18 Movies We Can't Wait to See at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival

COMING SOON

Boots Riley has spent most of his professional career involved in creating music. He has been a part of the political hip-hop act, The Coup, to bring awareness of important causes through song and has teamed-up with like-minded musicians like Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine to organize and rally against social injustice.

So it's a little unexpected that Riley has written and directed his first feature film, "Sorry To Bother You". This wildly outlandish comedy made a major splash in January at the Sundance Film Festival and was recently screened at the South By Southwest fest where it also received plenty of thrilled raves.

Set in Oakland, CA, Lakeith Stanfield (who appeared memorably as a "victim" in "Get Out") stars as a young African-American telemarketer who adapts a "white voice" to become a huge success at his job. It's safe to assume that there will certainly be a political statement to be made in this very out-there satire. The inspired cast includes Tessa Thompson, Terry Crews, Danny Glover, Steven Yeun and Armie Hammer. Patton Oswalt, David Cross and Steve Buscemi are also on board to provide "the white voices".

"Sorry To Bother You" is due in U.S. theaters on July 6, 2018

WINNERS OF THE 2018 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

"The Miseducation of Cameron Post", Desiree Akhavan's moving drama which examines a gay conversion camp, took the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Based on the YA novel by Emily M. Danforth, this '90's set story looks back not so long ago when some felt that all was required was a lot of prayer and some heavy-duty brain-washing to simply make someone no longer gay. Chloë Grace Moretz stars as the title character with Sasha Lane, Forrest Goodluck, John Gallagher Jr. and Jennifer Ehle co-starring. Sara Colangelo took the Directing Prize for her work with an American-set remake of an Israeli film, "The Kindergarten Teacher". Maggie Gyllenhaal plays a New York teacher who is convinced that one of her students is a child prodigy. There were plenty of other honors handed out with special jury awards, audience awards and prizes in world cinema and documentaries.

Here is a partial list of winners from the 2018 Sundance Film Festival:

U.S. Grand Jury Prize: "The Miseducation of Cameron Post"

Directing Award: Sara Colangelo, "The Kindergarten Teacher"



Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Christina Choe, "Nancy"

Special Jury Award – Outstanding First Feature: Reinaldo Marcus Green, "Monsters and Men"



Special Jury Award – Excellence in Filmmaking: Reed Morano, "I Think We’re Alone Now"

Special Jury Award – Acting: Benjamin Dickey, "Blaze"

Special Jury Award – Social Impact Filmmaking: "Crime + Punishment"

Special Jury Award – Creative Vision: "Hale County This Morning This Evening"

Special Jury Award – Breakthrough Filmmaking: "Minding the Gap"

Special Jury Award – Storytelling: "Three Identical Strangers"

U.S. Documentary Award: "Kailash"

U.S. Documentary Directing Award: Alexandria Bombach, "On Her Shoulders"

AUDIENCE AWARDS:

U.S. Dramatic: "Burden"

World Cinema Dramatic: "The Guilty" (Denmark)

U.S. Documentary: "The Sentence"

World Cinema Documentary: "This is Home" (U.S.A)

WORLD CINEMA COMPETITION:

Grand Jury Prize: "Butterflies" (Turkey)

Directing Prize: Isold Uggadtti, "And Breathe Normally" (Iceland, Sweden, Belgium)

Special Jury Prize – Screenwriting: Julio Chavezmontes and Sebastián Hofmann, "Tiempo Compartido (Time Share)" (Mexico, Netherlands)



Special Jury Prize – Acting: Valeria Bertuccelli, "The Queen of Fear" (Argentina, Denmark)

Special Jury Prize – Ensemble Acting: "Dead Pigs" (China)


DOCUMENTARY:

Grand Jury Prize: "Of Fathers and Sons" (Germany, Syria, Lebanon)

Directing Award: Sandi Tan, "Shirkers" (U.S.A.)

THE 20 MOST ANTICIPATED FILMS AT THE 2018 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

The Sundance Film Festival, the annual winter showcase for new indie feature films, shorts and documentaries has begun on January 18th and marks the thirty-fifth year of this Park City, Utah event. There will be 122 feature-length films and 69 short films screened that are part of this year's lineup. With so many films and so little time, it seems impossible to decide exactly what to see. Emily Yoshida and Kyle Buchanan of New York magazine has done everyone a favor by narrowing down to twenty films you should check out whether you are actually going to the fest or when these films make it to your local theaters, possibly later in the year.

Some of the interesting titles include "Wildlife", the directorial debut by actor, Paul Dano and he co-wrote this with his girlfriend, actress, Zoe Kazan ("The Big Sick"); Another feature debut directed by an actor, Idris Elba with "Yardie", a thriller about a young Jamaican man who pursues revenge against the man who killed his brother; "Ophelia", a re-telling of the Shakespeare play, 'Hamlet" but now from this character's point-of-view and stars Daisy Ridley and Naomi Watts; "Private Life", the first film directed by Tamara Jenkins ("Slums of Beverly Hills", "The Savages") in eleven years; "The Kindergarten Teacher" an American remake of the acclaimed 2014 Israeli film and stars Maggie Gyllenhaal; and "Lizzie", another take on the sensational story of Lizzie Borden (I remember the TV-movie from the '70's that starred Elizabeth Montgomery and would love to see that again) and features Chloë Sevigny as the alleged ax murderess and Kristen Stewart as her possible lover.

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The 20 Most Anticipated Films at 2018 Sundance

WINNERS FROM THE 2017 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

The 2017 Sundance Film Festival has come to an end and plenty of awards have been handed out. "I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore", the writing and directing debut of actor, Macon Blair, took the Grand Jury prize at the fest. This comedy-crime thriller is about a depressed woman (Melanie Lynskey) whose home is robbed and finds new purpose as she tracks down the thieves. The film will premiere on Netflix on February 24th. "Dina", a film by Dan Sickes and Antonio Santini about the unusual romance between Dina and Scott, a couple with autism, received the Grand Jury Documentary Prize. The film was picked by The Orchard and will be released later this year.

Here is a list of some of the other awards that were given out:

U.S. DRAMATIC WINNERS:

Grand Jury Prize: "I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore"



Directing Award: Eliza Hittman, "Beach Rats"



Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Matt Spicer and David Branson Smith, "Ingrid Goes West"

Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Director: Maggie Betts, "Novitiate"

Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance: Chanté Adams, "Roxanne Roxanne"

Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Daniel Landin, "Yellow Birds"

U.S. DOCUMENTARY WINNERS:

Grand Jury Prize: "Dina"

Directing Award: Peter Nicks, "The Force"

Special Jury Award for Storytelling: "Strong Island"

Special Jury Award for Editing: Kim Roberts and Emiliano Battista, "Unrest"

AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS:

U.S. Dramatic Audience Award: "Crown Heights"

U.S. Documentary Audience Award: "Chasing Coral"



World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award: "Sueño en Otro Idioma (I Dream In Another Language)" (Mexico/Netherlands)

World Cinema Documentary Audience Award: "Joshua: Teenager Vs Superpower" (U.S.A.)

WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC:

Grand Jury Prize: "The Nile Hilton Incident" (Sweden/Germany/Denmark)

Special Jury Award For Directing: "God’s Own Country" (United Kingdom)

Special Jury Award for Screenwriting: "Pop Aye" (Singapore/Thailand)



Special Jury Award for Cinematic Vision: "Free And Easy" (Hong Kong)

Special Jury Award for Cinematography: "Axolotl Overkill" (Germany)



WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY:

Grand Jury Prize: "Last Men In Aleppo" (Denmark/Syria)

Directing Award: Pascale Lamche, "Winnie" (France/Netherlands/South Africa)

Special Jury Award for Masterful Storytelling: "Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World" (Canada)


Special Jury Award for Commanding Vision: "Motherland" (U.S.A./Philippines)



Special Jury Award for Cinematography: "Machines" (India/Germany/Finland)

NEXT Audience Award: "Gook"

THE 23 MOST ANTICIPATED MOVIES AT THE 2017 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

It's that time of the year again with plenty of movie folk venturing to snowy Utah for the Sundance Film Festival. What type of cinematic treasures will be found at this year's event? Who really knows for sure but Vulture has rounded up over twenty interesting, indie-minded films that will be making their premieres at the first film fest of 2017 which began on January 19th and runs through the 29th. One of these may become a critical and box-office success like "Manchester By The Sea" which received plenty of love at last year's Sundance. Or they could turn out like "The Birth of a Nation" which also received a lot of love at this festival last year but proved to be a disappointment once it reached the general public.

A few I'm curious about include "An Inconvenient Sequel", the sequel to the Oscar-winning global-warming documentary, Luca Guadagnino's ("A Bigger Splash") most definitely controversial "Call Me by Your Name" which involves an affair between a teenage boy and an older man, "Mudbound", Dee Rees' ("Pariah") second feature which involves a racially charged story of families feuding in the post–World War II South and "Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and Trials for a Free Press", a doc involving that controversial courtroom drama.

Click below to check out the entire list:

23 Most Anticipated Movies at Sundance 2017

2016 OUTFEST FILM FESTIVAL

Outfest Los Angeles, the yearly event that showcases the lives of the LGBT communities in cinema, is set to begin on July 7th and running through the 17th. The 2016 film festival will be jammed-packed with an exciting and diverse selection of films, documentaries, shorts, digital series, panels and special events in addition to plenty of fun parties and receptions.

The opening night film, which will be screened at the gorgeous Orpheum Theatre in downtown L.A., will be "The Intervention", the directorial feature debut by actress, Clea Duvall. This delightful comedy, already making an impressive impact at this year's Sundance Film Festival (and won an jury acting prize for star, Melanie Lynskey), is about a group of thirty-something couples who go away together for a weekend trip. However, it's actually an excuse to try and intervene with one friend's toxic relationship but it backfires and creates tension and reveals secrets amongst the rest of the group. In addition to Duvall and Lynskey, the film also stars Natasha Lyonne, Cobie Smulders, Jason Ritter and Alia Shawkat.

The Legacy Project Centerpiece is "Different From the Others", considered to be one of the first gay-themed feature films. It has taken six years to restore this German silent movie from 1919, using stills and film elements from Russia after the Nazis destroyed the original negatives. This final version made it premiere at this year's Berlin Film Festival and focuses on a famed violinist who takes a young student under his wing. A relationship develops between the two men but their careers are threatened when they are blackmailed during the time of Paragraph 175, which criminalized homosexuality in Germany.



"Kiki" will be the Documentary Centerpiece and the film centers on the New York vogue-dancing style made famous in the 1990 doc, "Paris Is Burning"and brings it in to a modern setting.  Now referred to as "Kiki dancing", this winner of the Best Documentary Prize at this year's Berlin Film Festival explores the same issues involving young gay men of color searching for a sense of family and expressing themselves through dance.

Murder and gay porn comes together in a shocking and unexpected way in writer/director Justin Kelly's "King Cobra", the Special Centerpiece screening. Based on a real-life incident, a porn producer (Christian Slater) discovers a bright new star, Brent Corrigan (former Disney actor, Garrett Clayton) and they both enjoy great success. A rival producer (James Franco) and his star (Keegan Allen) are envious and want a piece of the action which leads to violence and death. Alicia Silverstone and Molly Ringwald also appear. Mr. Franco will be given the first James Schamus Award before the screening which honors him as a straight ally bringing LGBT stories to film.

And the Closing Night Gala will be "Other People", the feature debut of "Saturday Night Live" writer, Chris Kelly, This semi-autobiographical comedy focuses on a New York comedy writer (played by Jesse Plemons, last seen in the previous season of "Fargo") returning to Sacramento to care for his ill mother ("SNL"vet, Molly Shannon). The film moves gracefully between humor and heartbreak as we watch him struggling between his recent break-up with a boyfriend, living in an environment he has outgrown and dealing with the health crisis of his parent. It has just been announced that this gala has been moved from the Ford Theatre and now will be held at the Theater at the Ace Hotel in DTLA. There will be a fabulous after-party at the newly restored, 1935 landmark restaurant, Clifton's Cafeteria.

There will also be a tribute to David Bowie with a screening of his vampire camp classic,
"The Hunger", the movie-wrap-up of the cancelled-much-too-soon HBO series, "Looking" and a sneak-peek showing of the all-female remake of "Ghostbusters" which will be shown under the stars at the recently renovated Ford Theatre.



For the complete list of films, events and to purchase tickets, Please click below:

OUTFEST 2016

WINNERS FROM THE 2016 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

"Birth of A Nation", actor Nate Parker's debut as a writer and director, was the undisputed winner of this year's Sundance Film Festival. Not only did the film, about the true-life story of a Virginia slave, Nat Turner (Parker) leading a bloody slavery revolt in 1831, become the highest paid acquisition ever at the fest with a record-breaking $17.5 million by Fox Searchlight but it won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for best dramatic feature. This is the fourth year in a row this has occured beginning with "Fruitvale Station" in 2013, followed by "Whiplash" and "Me & Earl & The Dying Girl". The directing prize went to the team of Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan for their controversial film, "Swiss Army Man" involving the friendship between a stranded man (Paul Dano) on a island and a washed-up corpse (Daniel Radcliffe). The screenwriting award went to Chad Hartigan for his culture shock comedy, "Morris From America" about an African-American father and son moving to Germany with star Craig Robinson winning a Jury Prize for Best Individual Performance.

Here is a partial list of winners from the 2016 Sundance Film Festival:

Grand Jury Prizes:

U.S. Dramatic Feature: "Birth Of A Nation"



Directing: Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, "Swiss Army Man"



Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Chad Hartigan, "Morris From America"



Special Jury Award: Individual Performance: Melanie Lynskey, "The Intervention"



Special Jury Award: Individual Performance: Craig Robinson, "Morris from America"
Special Jury Award: Breakthrough Performance: Joe Seo, "Spa Night"
U.S. Documentary Feature: "Weiner"
World Dramatic Feature: "Sand Storm" (Israel)
Special Jury Award: Acting: Vicky Hernandéz and Manolo Cruz, "Between Sea and Land"(Colombia)
World Cinema Documentary Feature: "Sonita"(Germany/Iran/Switzerland)

Audience Awards:

U.S. Dramatic Feature: "Birth of A Nation"
World Dramatic Feature: "Between Sea and Land" (Colombia)
U.S. Documentary Feature: "Jim: The James Foley Story"

THIRTY ANTICIPATED MOVIES AT THE 2016 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

Lovers of independent cinema will be making the pilgrimage to Park City, Utah for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival today. Founded by actor Robert Redford in 1978, this event is the first major film festival of the year and for eleven days will present dramatic and documentary films including world premieres, shorts, panel discussions, video installations, television programs and live performances.

For the complete list of films, tickets and additional information, please click below:

2016 Sundance Film Festival

If you are attending Sundance, the question becomes "which movies do I go see?" Plenty of blogs and publications offer a few suggestions but /Film Blogging The Reel World  has given thirty movies that are hotly anticipated. Some of these mentioned include Kelly Reichardt's latest, "Certain Women", an ensemble that features Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern. Whit Stillman's "Love &Friendship" is an adaption of Jane Austen's novel "Lady Susan" and re-teams his "The Last Days of Disco" stars Kate Beckinsale and Chloë Sevigny. "Swiss Army Man" has Paul Dano as a man stranded on a desert island and Daniel Radcliffe washes on shore and becomes his lifeless friend. And "Michael Jackson's Journey From Motown To Off The Wall", a documentary by Spike Lee which examines the early career of the pop superstar.

Click below to read the article:

"30 Movies We Can’t Wait to See at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival""

WINNERS FROM THE 2015 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

"Me and Earl and the Dying Girl", adapted from the popular young adult novel of the same name, took home the top prizes at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon directed the offbeat film, which tells the story of a high-school boy falling in love with a girl with leukemia, selected Best Dramatic Feature from both the Grand Jury and the Audience Award. This is the third consecutive time where the same film has won from each voting group following "Fruitvale Station" and "Whiplash", one of this year's Best Picture Oscar nominees. Fox Searchlight won the bidding war for "Dying Girl" but no date set for a U.S release.

Here is a partial list of the Grand Jury and Audience Awards from the 2015 Sundance Film Festival:

Grand Jury Prize: U.S.Dramatic: “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”



Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic: Robert Eggers, “The Witch”

Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic: Tim Talbott, “The Stanford Prison Experiment”



U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Excellence in Editing: Lee Haugen, “Dope”



U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Excellence in Cinematography; Brandon Trost, “The Diary of a Teenage Girl”



U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary: “The Wolfpack”

U.S. Directing Award: Documentary: Matthew Heineman, “Cartel Land”

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary:“The Russian Woodpecker”

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary Directing Award: Kim Longinotto, “Dreamcatcher”

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic: “Slow West”

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic Directing Award: Alanté Kavaïté, “The Summer of Sangaile”

Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic: “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”

Audience Award: U.S. Documentary: “Meru”

Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic: “Umrika”

Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary: “Dark Horse”

20 BUZZED ABOUT FILMS AT THE 2015 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

The eleven-day cinematic experience in Park City, Utah, the Sundance Film Festival begins today. A record of over 12,000 films from across the globe were submitted with only 185 selected to be screened during this event. New York Magazine has put the spotlight on 20 of these films that are eagerly anticipated. Time will tell how much interest will remain after they are actually shown in front of an audience.

Click below to check out some of these films:

20 of This Year’s Big Sundance Films You Need to Know