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today’s forecast
What to expect at the festival on Saturday 21st January
Doug Liman’s amazing Sundance documentary “justice,” This article, which delves into sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, is almost certain to make waves in Hollywood, Washington and beyond in the coming days.
As Lyman and producer Amy Hardy told a packed audience at the Park Avenue Theater after its premiere on Friday, the film has already sparked new hints about Kavanaugh, but it could spark a bidding war. There’s also potential: Finished the night before the festival and joining the lineup for the added opening press conference on Thursday, ‘Justice’ hasn’t aired yet, but stands as the festival’s most talked-about title so far. is rapidly establishing. (Story Her syndicate colleague Dan He executives alongside Corgan Liz Her Garbus, who serves as her producer, is no stranger to Sundance’s documentary on her topical celebrity. Oscar-nominated.)
However, it is unclear whether “Justice” has any effect beyond creating conversation. It featured an expert who backed the veracity of existing claims against Kavanaugh (which he denies), and how Republicans in the White House and Senate launched an FBI investigation into the claims after Kavanaugh’s nomination. It highlights reports by The Times’ Jackie Calmes and others that it suppressed But spurring an “actual investigation with subpoena authority,” as Hardy said on Friday, is another matter altogether. Saturday and Sunday’s political talk shows may tell us how far the ripple effect has gone. —Matt Brennan
Read more: ‘People Are Scared’: Inside the Surprise Brett Kavanaugh Documentary Premiere at Sundance Film Festival
Queue
movies worth queuing for
Alden Ehrenreich and Phoebe Dinever in “Fair Play.”
(Sundance Institute)
Guaranteed by debut director’s enthusiasm and veteran skill, Chloe Domont’s first feature film, “fair play,” It turns the drama of Wall Street upside down, replacing stock trading and bond issuance with swept caresses and withered disdain. When Emily (Phoebe DyNever) receives a promotion that her fiancée and fellow analyst Luke (Alden her Ehrenreich) was hoping for, their relationship becomes a minefield of mutual insecurities. There was a high income harassment boys club. Immediately, the film emerges as a taut, spectacular and troubling erotic thriller about the permanence of sex roles and their brutal coercion, with Reed’s oil-and-vinegar chemistry and Domont’s shady-to-trash supernatural. A bright eye will enliven every occasion. Scattered alleys and downtown dives, for example, meet sophistication. Watching their relationship unravel, I was just as enamored as the market crash. Think of it as a mind-bending “margin call.” (Eccles Theater, 9am MT Sunday) —Matt Brennan
This former classical piano student couldn’t be more talented or dedicated to come so close to the International Chopin Piano Competition, a prestigious event held every five years that attracts etude and nocturne enthusiasts around the world. bottom.Still, anyone who has ever attempted to master an instrument will appreciate Jakub Piątek’s tense and moving documentary. “pianoforte” — This follows a handful of amazingly talented young contenders who make (or don’t) progress in the 2021 competition — some of your sweaty memories are sure to come back. Mountain Resort, 2:55 PM MT) —Justin Chan
working lunch
Keeping up with Movers and Shakers during the festival
Cynthia Erivo in “Drift”.
(Sundance Institute)
Producers Émilie Georges and Naima Abed’s indie single Paradise City began by working primarily on genre films, including the 2013 version of We Are What We Are, a remake of the Mexican cannibal horror film of the same name. But their involvement in Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name earned Georges a Best Picture nomination and took the production and management company to a new level.
The duo relaunched Paris and London-based Paradise City last year with a broader mandate and slate of films with cinematic talent defying borders and genre restrictions. their Sundance special, “Drift” Cynthia Erivo stars as the daughter of a government loyalist who flees worn-out Liberia and struggles to survive on a Greek island by any means necessary. Haunted by her memories, she befriends an American tour guide, played by Aria Shawkat.
Adapted from the 2013 novel Markers That Measure Drift by Suzanne Farrell and Alexander McSick, the film is the English-language debut of Singaporean director Anthony Cheng. Cannes Film Festival.
Ryan Faughnder of The Wide Shot spoke to Georges and Abed about breaking down walls to make a funny movie. “Drift” premieres at the Eccles Theater on Sunday at 12:30 PM MT.
Please tell us how you became involved in “drift”.
bed: This is a combination of long relationships and exciting projects. Emily has known this director since 2010. He was originally from Singapore and then lived in London with his family. His films The Art He House He found success on the circuit. One of his fellow producers on Call Me By Your Name, Peter Spears, contacted me and brought me this script. I started talking to Anthony about this and he responded. We then turned to developing this further and he decided how to make this his own.
Was it difficult to make?
bed: As a matter of fact, funding a film like this was very difficult. Because it’s a very minimalist approach. Unlike your typical Hollywood movie, it tackles a difficult subject right from the start.
Georges: It is very execution dependent. This is difficult to sell or give value on paper. By the way, that’s part of the excitement. I am very excited to see where the market is.
Interestingly, your company, Paradise City, essentially started out by focusing on genre films and expanded at a time when genre films were very hot in Hollywood. Essentially, business seems to be going in the opposite direction.
bed: and we were very successful [genre], that too. It was funny because it was a bit groundbreaking, right? And it was largely guided by our tastes. Whether it’s Luca Guadagnino or Asghar Farhadi, many international filmmakers are breaking out and expanding their foreign or foreign language-adjacent content. We never observed them as trends and always feel like we were guided by what we wanted to do.
As Guadagnino transitioned from making dramas like Call Me By Your Name to making horror-type films like Suspiria (2018) and last year’s Bones and All, what’s the difference? A perfect example of what is happening.
bed: he is so unique But in every sense of the word, I think all barriers have been removed: this foreign language wall, the arthouse/mainstream wall, the fame wall. For people like us, who have shown their talents without any bans, it has been very beneficial. I have worked with the producers.
Georges: Over the years, we’ve been very specialized in bridging cultures and filmmakers to new horizons. An Italian director who speaks multiple languages with his actors. And now it can be seen in “Drift”.
bed: [“Drift” has] A Singaporean director living in London, a British Nigerian star (Erivo), an Iraqi-American actress (Shawkat) and a US and European producer.
Georges: And then there was the funds that could be collected from all over the world.
The indie film business has always been international. But what you describe is an increasing level of cross-border collaboration between artists, producers and investors. Because they want to see a culture different from theirs.
bed: You can see their interest and curiosity. Also, from a creative point of view, I have a curiosity to explore new horizons and work with different people. Now it’s much easier to say: I really want to work with that person, so I will send them a message. There is a desire for artists in general to collaborate, but what is the framework for that? And how do you convince people that this is doable? That’s where the producer sits.
happy hour
Panels, talks, parties and more where you can find us in Park City today
From left, Nicole Hannah Jones, Shoshana Guy and Roger Ross Williams at the Television Critics Association. Hulu’s “The 1619 Project” panel in Pasadena earlier this month.
(Stewart Cook/Hulu)
To distract myself from Slack and Twitter for an hour, I song house (UTA private estate, location not disclosed) Barry’s Lift Class — There’s nothing like a little leather shoe report! And there’s still an offer at 8:50. Enough, I’m focused on Saturday afternoon’s bountiful panel.
As an overworked editor, I couldn’t help but be captivated by the Sundance Institute’s original article. “Big Conversation: Going Nowhere? About Burnout and Attention Crisis” (Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St., 2pm MT) features the unexpected trio of food media guru Ruth Reichle, “Magazine Dreams” star Jonathan Majors, and New Yorker cartoonist Adrian Tomine. Discusses “the constant expectations of creators in a highly productive and connected culture.”
Not helping my own attention crisis are Nicole Hannah Jones and Roger Ross Williams, the team behind ‘The 1619 Project’, one of the most anticipated TV series of the year. am.Part of Onyx Collective Storytellers Showcase (The Box at the Ray, 1768 Park Ave., 2pm MT).Or invite only The women of the Sundance Celebration (The Park, 950 Iron Horse Drive, 2:00 PM MT) with Maryam Keshavarz, Noora Niasari and Sierra Urich on art and the Iranian women’s uprising; It features conversations about experiences. Also in the same time period.
We joked that we needed a Hermione Granger-esque time-turner to get everything we wanted to do at Sundance, but we didn’t mean it literally. —Matt Brennan
photo booth
Daisy Ridley was photographed at the Los Angeles Times Studios at the Sundance Film Festival presented by Chase Sapphire on January 20 in Park City, Utah.
(Mariah Toger/Los Angeles Times)
Daisy Ridley, the star and producer of Rachel Lambert’s off-kilter romantic comedy “Sometimes I Think About Dying,” was just one of the familiar faces to stop by The Times Studios on Friday. Be sure to check out our full gallery of Fest portraits to see some very specials to Jonathan Majors and the cast of ‘Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Like I’m Kinda Left Out’. Join us in asking important questions.
