We hope you’ve had a blast following along on our Sundance adventures. We couldn’t have done it without Amanda Gilmore who did a super job screening over 40+ titles, there every step of the Festival in Park City. As the Festival comes to a wrap, we’ve noticed a major theme of female empowerment over and over in some of this year’s most-buzzed Films and this couldn’t be timelier with #TimesUp and #MeToo being at the forefront of discussion right now. You’ll notice that this year’s top-priced purchase ($10 million) was Misogyny Horror Assassination Nation, centering on female high schoolers who seek revenge on assailants, indicative of the times we are in. The Film starring Odessa Young, Suki Waterhouse, Bella Thorne and Bill Skarsgård will see a release via NEON in America. It appears an early candidate for TIFF 18‘s Midnight Madness Programme.
In fact, Amanda places the Film at the top of her list of favourites from the Festival:
Amanda says, “This year Sundance was filled with Films involving a variety of different storytelling perspectives and a range of genres, including a lot of genre-bending Films.”.
Other Honorable Mentions:
HEREDITARY – Best Horror Film in Years!
TULLY – Would be in her Top Five but technically it was a surprise screening not an official part of the Festival lineup.
THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST – Best young-adult Film people of every age will be touched by!
The latter wound-up winning top prize at the Festival, for U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic Film. The Film by Desiree Akhavan is about a teen girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) who is sent to Conversion Therapy after it is learned she is in a relationship with her female best friend. The Film has yet to find a Distributor and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see it at TIFF ’18.
U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary went to Derek Doneen‘s KAILASH, about Kailash Satyarthi and his fight to end Child Slavery.
Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic went to BURDEN by Director/Writer Andrew Heckler. The Film is about a man who leaves the KKK and falls in love with a woman who questions his behaviour. Garrett Hedlund stars alongside Tom Wilkinson and Andrea Riseborough.
Audience Award: NEXT went to SEARCH, an innovative Film by Aneesh Chaganty and starring Debra Messing and John Cho, about a father’s search for his missing daughter over Social Media and told on screens. Sony Pictures purchased the Film for $5 million.
Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic went to THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER by Director/Writer Sara Colangelo about a teacher who becomes obsessed with a talented child in her class leading to a downward spiral in nurturing him. Maggie Gyllenhaal stars.
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic went to NANCY, by Director/Writer Christina Choe centering on a woman who believes she may have been kidnapped as a child. It also stars Andrea Riseborough, who was hot at the Festival this year with others titles MANDY and BURDEN.
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Excellence in Filmmaking went to I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW, a post-Apocalyptic Drama starring Peter Dinklage and Elle Fanning; Reed Morano directs.
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Achievement in Acting went to Benjamin Dickey who plays songwriting legend Blaze Foley in this Film by Ethan Hawke.
NEXT Innovator Prize was a two-way tie between NIGHT COMES ON (Actress/Director Jordana Spiro) about a troubled teen girl who embarks on a journey with her little sister which could ruin their future, and WE THE ANIMALS (Jeremiah Zagar) about three brothers who push against the love of their parents only to become versions of them.
Complete list of Winners here. We hope to be back again next year!
To catch-up on our Sundance coverage including several Reviews for these Films, click here.
Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong
Burden is the true life story of Mike Burden (Garrett Hedlund) who opens a KKK Museum in South Carolina with fellow Klan members. When he falls in love with Judy (Andrea Riseborough) he makes the choice to leave the KKK and gets taken in by an African-American Reverend (Forest Whitaker).
What makes Burden a standout is that its told through the perspective of a previous Klan member. Writer-Director Andrew Heckler is unforgiving in his depiction of the horrifying acts which the Klan members practice. But also balances the KKK members’ ideals and the African-American ideals equally which entices the story.
Burden also sees Hedlund’s greatest performance to date. His performance is fearless and all-in. Hedlund physically changes his posture, walk and accent to become Burden. There’s also an incredible Ensemble consisting of Tom Wilkinson as the terrifying KKK leader, Riseborough as the passionate single mother and Whitaker as the conflicted Reverend.
Burden screens at Sundance Jan. 21 at 6:15PM at PC Library, Jan. 23 at 12PM at Eccles PC, Jan. 25 at 9:15PM at The MARC PC, Jan. 26 at 9PM at SLC Library, and Jan. 27 at 8:30AM at The Egyptian PC.
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