While half of Hollywood flits from one awards ceremony to another, the other half has packed a slightly more casual wardrobe and headed to Utah, where visionary filmmakers and a mix of A-list celebrities and up-and-coming actors have gathered at the Sundance Film Festival.
While half of Hollywood flits from one awards ceremony to another, the other half has packed a slightly more casual wardrobe and headed to Utah, where visionary filmmakers and a mix of A-list celebrities and up-and-coming actors have gathered at the Sundance Film Festival. It’s the largest independent film festival in the US and showcases new work from American and International filmmakers, and gives us our first glimpse at some of the exciting work that will be winging out way over the coming year.
Head to indiewire.com to check out the reviews for films such as Lynn Shelton’s Laggies, William H. Macy’s Rudderless, Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, Gareth Evans’ The Raid 2, Zach Braff’s Wish I Was Here and Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, Vol. 1 to name a few.
Here are a few highlights screening on Rialto Channel this week:
Starring Catalina Saavedra, Agustín Silva and Claudia Celedón.
Directed by Sebastian Silva.
Premieres Wednesday 29th January, 8.30pm
Remote record here.
Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes in 2010, The Maid launched young Chilean director Sebastian Silva’s career internationally. A well crafted domestic drama about a loyal maid trying to come to terms with her position as the hired help within an affluent family, The Maid features a fabulous performance by Catalina Saavedra as Raquel, who is struggling to deal with relentlessness of looking after the Valdes' family. La Nana (aka The Maid) premiered in American at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Since then, Silva has been a regular at the Festival, premiering two films last year, Magic Magic and his first English language film Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus, starring Michael Cera and Silva’s three brothers.
Starring Anwar Congo, Herman Koto and Syamsul Arifin
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous and Christine Cynn
Premieres Thursday 30th January, 8.30pm
Remote record here.
Horrifying but strangely compelling, this controversial documentary provides an insight into the minds of mass killers by inviting those responsible for the 1965 Indonesian massacres of communists and intellectuals to re-enact their crimes in the style of their favourite Hollywood movies. The premise is as disturbing as it sounds, but it certainly makes for a startling, chilling and unique film. As legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog said: “I have not seen a film as powerful, surreal and frightening in at least a decade.”
Starring Riz Ahmed, Liev Schreiber, Kiefer Sutherland and Kate Hudson.
Directed by Mira Nair.
Premieres Saturday 1st February, 8.30pm.
Remote record here.
This is an adaptation of Moshin Hamid’s 2007 novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Indian filmmaker Mira Nair, well known for films such as Monsoon Wedding, Amelia & Salaam Bombay! As you’d expect from Nair, this is a beautifully crafted film that tells the story of an ambitious young Pakistani (Ahmed) working in New York at a prestigious New York consulting film whose life is turned upside down by 9/11. It’s too thoughtful and gently paced to be a thriller; rather it’s a thoughtful look at how 9/11 has shifted perceptions of international cultures, especially in America.