The Sundance Film Institute announced the U.S. dramatic, world dramatic, U.S. documentary, world documentary and NEXT selections for the 2015 Sundance Film Festival today. The premier film festival in the United States, Sundance is coming off a banner 2014 edition that brought films earning year-end kudos such as “Whiplash,” “Boyhood,” “Dear White People,” “Obvious Child” and “The Skeleton Twins” into the world. The 2015 slate just looks just as intriguing and, according to the festival, perhaps more emotional and challenging.
In a statement from the Institute, the festival's director, John Cooper, remarked, “The selections for our 2015 Festival will take audiences on a wild ride of emotional extremes. With approaches ranging from comedic to dramatic, genre to documentary, experimental to short, independent filmmakers are bravely illuminating new opportunities for understanding and empathy.”
Festival founder and cinema icon Robert Redford added, “The work of independent artists inevitably reflects the state of our culture and the times in which we live. Their stories are often irreverent, challenging, compelling and unexpected, and not only possess the power to move and hopefully inspire audiences, but also to speak to our shared humanity.”
This year Sundance will once again premiere four different films on opening day from four different categories including “The Bronze” (U.S. dramatic), “The Summer of Sangaile” (world dramatic) and “How to Change the World” (world documentary). The festival will announce which U.S. documentary will premiere at a later date.
Sundance's most prestigious category is the U.S. dramatic competition. A recent trend continues as the slate features a number of returning filmmakers including “Stanford Prison Experiment's” Kyle Patrick Alvarez (“C.O.G.”), “Advantageous'” Jennifer Phang (“Half-Life”), “People, Places, Things'” James C. Strouse (“Grace is Gone,” “The Winning Season”), “Results'” Andrew Bujalski (“Computer Chess”) and “Z for Zachariah's” Craig Zobel (“Compliance”).
Notable actors with films in the dramatic competition this year include “Z for Zachariah's” Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie and Chris Pine; Jack Black and James Marsden in “The D Train”; Josh Charles and Sarah Silverman in “I Smile Back”; “Diary of a Teenage Girl's” Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni and Kristen Wiig; Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling and Jason Schwartzman in “The Overnight”; Nick Offerman and Connie Britton in “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”; and Colbie Smulders in both “Results” and “Unexpected.”
A full list of the U.S. dramatic competition films on the next page.
U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION
“Advantageous”
U.S.A.
Director: Jennifer Phang, Screenwriters: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang
In a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter, Jules, do all they can to hold on to their joy, despite the instability surfacing in their world.
Cast: Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Kim.
“The Bronze”
U.S.A.
Director: Bryan Buckley, Screenwriters: Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch
In 2004, Hope Ann Greggory became an American hero after winning the bronze medal for the women's gymnastics team. Today, she's still living in her small hometown, washed-up and embittered. Stuck in the past, Hope must reassess her life when a promising young gymnast threatens her local celebrity status.
Cast: Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Stan, Haley Lu Richardson, Cecily Strong.
“The D Train”
U.S.A.
Directors and screenwriters: Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel
With his 20th reunion looming, Dan can”t shake his high school insecurities. In a misguided mission to prove he's changed, Dan rekindles a friendship with the popular guy from his class and is left scrambling to protect more than just his reputation when a wild night takes an unexpected turn.
Cast: Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor, Mike White, Kyle Bornheimer.
“The Diary of a Teenage Girl”
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Marielle Heller
Minnie Goetze is a 15-year-old aspiring comic-book artist, coming of age in the haze of the 1970s in San Francisco. Insatiably curious about the world around her, Minnie is a pretty typical teenage girl. Oh, except that she's sleeping with her mother's boyfriend. Cast: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni, Kristen Wiig.
“Dope”
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Rick Famuyiwa
Malcolm is carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles while juggling college applications, academic interviews, and the SAT. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself.
Cast: Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Blake Anderson, Zoë Kravitz, A$AP Rocky.
“I Smile Back”
U.S.A.
Director: Adam Salky, Screenwriters: Amy Koppelman, Paige Dylan
All is not right in suburbia. Laney Brooks, a wife and mother on the edge, has stopped taking her meds, substituting recreational drugs and the wrong men. With the destruction of her family looming, Laney makes a last, desperate attempt at redemption.
Cast: Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Thomas Sadoski, Mia Barron, Terry Kinney, Chris Sarandon.
“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl”
U.S.A.
Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Screenwriter: Jesse Andrews
Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia.
Cast: Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon.
“The Overnight”
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Patrick Brice
Alex, Emily, and their son, RJ, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family “playdate” becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on.
Cast: Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, Judith Godrèche.
“People, Places, Things”
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: James C. Strouse
Will Henry is a newly single graphic novelist balancing being a parent to his young twin daughters and teaching a classroom full of college students, all the while trying to navigate the rich complexities of new love and letting go of the woman who left him.
Cast: Jemaine Clement, Regina Hall, Stephanie Allynne, Jessica Williams, Gia Gadsby, Aundrea Gadsby.
“Results”
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski
Two mismatched personal trainers' lives are upended by the actions of a new, wealthy client.
Cast: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Kevin Corrigan, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Michael Hall, Brooklyn Decker.
“Songs My Brothers Taught Me”
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Chloé Zhao
This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home.
Cast: John Reddy, Jashaun St. John, Irene Bedard, Taysha Fuller, Travis Lone Hill, Eléonore Hendricks.
“The Stanford Prison Experiment”
U.S.A.
Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Screenwriter: Tim Talbott
This film is based on the actual events that took place in 1971 when Stanford professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo created what became one of the most shocking and famous social experiments of all time.
Cast: Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Michael Angarano, Tye Sheridan, Johnny Simmons, Olivia Thirlby.
“Stockholm, Pennsylvania”
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Nikole Beckwith
A young woman is returned home to her biological parents after living with her abductor for 17 years.
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cynthia Nixon, Jason Isaacs, David Warshofsky.
“Unexpected”
U.S.A.
Director: Kris Swanberg, Screenwriters: Kris Swanberg, Megan Mercier
When Samantha Abbott begins her final semester teaching science at a Chicago high school, she faces some unexpected news: she's pregnant. Soon after, Samantha learns that one of her favorite students, Jasmine, has landed in a similar situation. Unexpected follows the two women as they embark on an unlikely friendship.
Cast: Cobie Smulders, Anders Holm, Gail Bean, Elizabeth McGovern.
“The Witch”
U.S.A., Canada
Director and screenwriter: Robert Eggers
New England in the 1630s: William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life with five children, homesteading on the edge of an impassable wilderness. When their newborn son vanishes and crops fail, the family turns on one another. Beyond their worst fears, a supernatural evil lurks in the nearby wood.
Cast: Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Lucas Dawson, Ellie Grainger.
“Z for Zachariah”
U.S.A.
Director: Craig Zobel, Screenwriter: Nissar Modi
In a post-apocalyptic world, a young woman who believes she is the last human on Earth meets a dying scientist searching for survivors. Their relationship becomes tenuous when another survivor appears. As the two men compete for the woman's affection, their primal urges begin to reveal their true nature.
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine.
The 2015 Sundance Film Festival runs from Jan. 22 through Feb. 1, 2015. Look for complete coverage from Park City before and during the festival on HitFix.