2007 Sundance Film Festival Unveils Remaining Programs

Director of the Sundance Film Festival Geoffrey Gilmore and John Cooper, Director of Programming, today announced the lineup for the fest's out-of-competition slates, including the Park City at Midnight, New Frontier and Premieres programs.

“We are struck by the sheer diversity of independent film in this year’s festival, particularly in the Premieres and Spectrum sections,” said Gilmore. “The range of artistic expression this year -- both directorial and in performances -- gives a special quality to the films presented in Premieres. The Spectrum section truly uncovers the aesthetic experimentation and complex storytelling that is at the heart of emerging independent filmmaking at this moment.”

The announcement includes confirmation of the Salt Lake City opening night film on January 19, Sarah Polley's "Away From Her," a Toronto favorite starring Olympia Dukakis, Gordon Pinsent, Julie Christie, and Michael Murphy in the story of a man coping with the institutionalization of his wife as she falls victim to Alzheimer’s disease. ("Chicago 10," written and directed by Brett Morgen, was previously announced as the Park City opening night film on January 18.) The closing night film in Park City will be the world premiere of Nelson George’s "Life Support," a narrative based on the true story of a woman overcoming crack addiction to become an AIDS activist in the black community, featuring Queen Latifah, Anna Deavere Smith, Wendell Pierce, and Evan Ross.

Highlights from the non-competitive festival programs include "Better Luck Tomorrow" writer-director Justin Lin's new independent feature, "Finishing the Game," among the Park City at Midnight selections -- a comedy that explores the aftermath of martial arts star Bruce Lee's death while filming "Game of Death" as various actors audition to stand in for the role, starring James Franco ("Annapolis"), along with BLT alumni Roger Fan, Sung Kang, Parry Shen and Jason Tobin.

The Park City at Midnight lineup also includes Gregg Araki's druggie comedy "Smiley Face," with Anna Faris and John Cho; the Crispin Glover-directed "It is Fine! Everything is Fine;" and offbeat zom-com (zombie comedy)"Fido," with Carrie-Anne Moss, Billy Connolly and Tim Blake Nelson.

Spectrum program films sure to get a closer look include Hal Hartley's "Fay Grim," Steve Buscemi's "Interview;" "Angel-A," directed by Luc Besson; Katsushiro Otomo's "Bugmaster" -- a period-set fantasy based on a popular manga; and Philippine drama "Tuli" from "Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros" director Auraeus Solito. David Kaplan's NYC Chinatown-set, contemporary Cinderella-style fairytale "Year of the Fish," (profiled in my Filmmaker magazine article, "On the Road to Sundance?") may also garner attention, based on its intense rotoscoped animation style.

The Frontier section, always a haven for experimental and non-commercial film, has been re-christened "New Frontier" and features "Slipstream" from actor-writer-director Sir Anthony Hopkins; the sports pastiche featuring soccer star "Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait" by Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno; and the self-reflexive "Offscreen" from Danish director Christoffer Boe -- about a man obsessed with filming himself.

Meanwhile, the Premiers program will feature the usual specialty studio labels premiering likely box office and awards contenders for 2007. The "Hustle and Flow" filmmaking team of director Craig Brewer and producer Stephanie Allain returns with the Southern drama "Black Snake Moan," starring Christina Ricci as a white-trash sex addict and Samuel L. Jackson as the Bluesman who tries to rescue her, from "Hustle" distributor Paramount, this time on the Vantage label.

"Slums of Beverly Hills" director Tamara Jenkins' new film "The Savages" (Fox Searchlight) will also premiere, featuring Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman in a dysfunctional family dramedy. Multi-hyphenate Mike White returns with "Year of the Dog," starring Molly Shannon in a Paramount Vantage film about a happy-go-lucky secretary whose life is thrown into crisis when her beloved dog dies (Paramount Vantage).

Among the many films still seeking distributors, IndieWire tips several titles in the Premieres program as likely sales targets in the annual Sundance bidding frenzy, including "The Good Night," directed by Gwyneth Paltrow's brother Jack and starring the actress and Penelope Cruz; Jarrett Schaefer's film "Chapter 27" about John Lennon assassin Mark David Chapman, starring Lindsay Lohan and Jared Leto; and Mike Chahill's "King of California," with Michael Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood.

I'd also add "Finishing the Game," since Lin's "Better Luck Tomorrow" did nearly $4 million in theatrical boxoffice for MTV Films/Paramount and Lin's added cachet as an in-demand studio director ("Annapolis," "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift") could add to the pic's allure for distributors. Araki's films are reliable earners (his last, "Mysterious Skin" did about 700K in theaters), which could put "Smiley Face" in contention as well.

"It is Fine! Everything is Fine" is Crispin Glover's directorial debut and could generate some heat based on his name recognition, depending on how it plays to festival audiences -- frequently an unpredictable lot.

Maneuvering on many of the available titles has already started as sales agents, producers reps and publicists sign on with the better-connected films and will continue right through the festival and in some cases for months afterwards.

The full non-competition lineup is available on the Sundance Film Festival website.