The 2011 Sundance Film Festival will be expanding beyond the limits of Park City, Utah, and into your living room. This year the heralded festival will be making five films available On Demand for 30 days around their Sundance debut on most major cable systems.
According to /Film, all you need to do to view these five flicks (four of which will be world premieres, one will be a U.S. premiere) is hit your remote’s On Demand button and select the Direct from Sundance Film Festival option.
The featured films and their synopses are as follows:
Uncle Kent ~ Directed by Joe Swanberg
(Premieres at Sundance on Friday, January 21)
Forty-year-old Kent Osborne works out of his sunny Los Angeles home as a cartoonist for a children’s show. During his day, he takes bong hits and hangs out with his fluffy cat. Kent hopes to hook up with Kate, a cute New York journalist he met online on Chatroulette, when she comes to stay for the weekend. Although their time together is sexually loaded—they take raunchy pictures and pick up a bicurious girl on Craigslist—things don’t go quite as Kent imagined. Written by Swanberg and Osborne, the film captures Kent’s existence with comedic charm and understated pathos. No matter how confusing his personal relationships get, he’ll always be Uncle Kent.
Kaboom ~ Directed by Gregg Araki
(Premieres at Sundance on Friday, January 21)
A hyperstylized, pansexual trip, Kaboom is a live-action film born out of the graphic novel aesthetic. Thomas Dekker plays Smith, a film student lusting after his dumb, hunky roommate (aptly named Thor), but after eating a drug-laced cookie, he hooks up with a hot chick, London (Juno Temple). Meanwhile, a bizarre mystery brews involving his lesbian BFF’s obsessive, witchy girlfriend, weird guys in masks who chase him around campus, and a recurring dream about a dead girl. Unrestrained and completely over the top, Kaboom picks up where Araki’s “Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy” of the 1990s left off. With his impeccable craft, rebellious spirit, and outrageous vision intact, Araki remains a true indie master.
These Amazing Shadows ~ Directed by Kurt Norton and Paul Mariano
(Premieres at Sundance on Saturday, January 22)
From Dorothy’s entrance into Oz to the pizza delivery at Ridgemont High, cinematic moments take on iconic levels of meaning in a film lover’s life. As the government-appointed protector of our cinematic legacy, the National Film Registry selects culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant works for preservation in the Library of Congress. From award-winning features to music videos, experimental films to home movies, each registry selection reflects a truth of its time or a standout artistic vision. Through interviews with registry board members, archivists, and notable filmmakers like John Singleton and John Waters, directors Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton demonstrate the way film documents artistic and societal milestones. Guided by a true cinephile’s love of the medium and a treasure trove of archival footage, These Amazing Shadows molds a cultural history from pieces of film, offering a microcosm of the work of the National Film Registry and making a powerful case for film preservation.
Septien ~ Directed by Michael Tully
(Premieres at Sundance on Sunday, January 23)
Eighteen years after disappearing without a trace, Cornelius Rawlings returns to his family’s farm. While his parents are long deceased, Cornelius’s brothers continue to live in isolation on this forgotten piece of land. Ezra is a freak for two things: cleanliness and Jesus. Amos is a self-taught artist who fetishizes sports and Satan. Although back home, Cornelius is still distant. In between challenging strangers to one-on-one games, he huffs and drinks the days away. The family’s high-school sports demons show up one day in the guise of a plumber and a pretty girl. Only a mysterious drifter can redeem their souls on 4th and goal. Triple-threat actor/writer/director (and disturbingly gifted athlete) Michael Tully creates a backwoods world that’s only a few trees away from our own, complete with characters on the edge of sanity that we can actually relate to. A hero tale gone wrong, Septien is funny when it’s inappropriate to laugh, and realistic when it should be psychotic. Goooaaaaaaaaal!
Mad Bastards ~ Directed by Brendan Fletcher
(Premieres at Sundance on Monday, January 24)
TJ is a mad bastard, and his estranged 13-year-old son Bullet is on the fast track to becoming one, too. After being turned away from his mother’s house, TJ sets off across the country to the Kimberly region of northwestern Australia to make things right with his son. Grandpa Tex has lived a tough life, and now, as a local cop, he wants to change things for the men in his community. Crosscutting between three generations, Mad Bastards is a raw look at the journey to becoming a man and the personal transformation one must make. Developed with local Aboriginal communities and fueled by a local cast, Mad Bastards draws from the rich tradition of storytelling inherent in Indigenous life. Using music from legendary Broome musicians the Pigram Brothers, writer/director Brendan Fletcher poetically fuses the harsh realities of violence, healing, and family.
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Sundance will also be hosting a series of satellites screenings throughout the U.S., which will feature other festival selected films. This means a taste of Sundance could be playing in a theater near you. Cities and film details below:
Win Win – Ann Arbor, MI – Michigan Theater
My Idiot Brother – Brookline, MA – Coolidge Corner Theatre
Kaboom – Brooklyn, NY – BAM
The Music Never Stopped – Chicago, IL – Music Box Theatre
The Details – Los Angeles, CA – Vintage Cinemas Vista Theatre
Like Crazy— Madison, WI – Sundance Cinemas Madison
Letters from the Big Man – Nashville, TN – The Belcourt Theatre
Connected: An Autoblogography about Love, Death & Technology – San Francisco, CA – Sundance Kabuki Cinemas
Cedar Rapids – Seattle, WA – The Egyptian Theater
Special post-festival screening of Cedar Rapids in Ann Arbor, MI – Michigan Theater
And of course you can follow our coverage of all things Sundance 2011 here on the Film Stage!
Which of these features are you most likely to seek out?