The Sundance Institute has announced the films selected for the US and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary Competitions and the out-of-competition NEXT <=> section of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, which will run from January 17-27 in Utah.
The UK has a particularly strong showing in the World Documentary Competition line-up, with films including John Akomfrah's The Stuart Hall Project (about the anti-nuclear campaigner, not the It's A Knockout presenter), Andy Heathcote and Heike Bachelier's film about the year in the life of a farmer, The Moo Man, and Who is Dayani Cristal? about the drama sparked by the discovery of an anonymous body in the Arizona desert, directed by Marc Silver.
Other UK co-productions include Kim Longinotto's Salma, about the plight of a young Indian girl once she hits puberty, internet exploration Google And The World Brain, directed by Ben Lewis, Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin's Pussy Riot - A World Prayer, about the incarcerated Russian punk band and UK/Irish co-production The Summit, about 24 climbers on the world's most dangerous mountain.
And in the World Narrative Competition, Broken director Sean Ellis returns with Metro Manila, about a man and his family struggling to get by in the Philippines.
Robert Redford, President & Founder of Sundance Institute said, “Every great film starts with an idea, and it is a testament to artists that they continually find new ideas, new stories, new points of view and new ways of sharing them, year after year. We look forward to hearing from these artists not just through their words and images onscreen but also through the larger dialogue they create with audiences at our festival and beyond.”
Festival director John Cooper added: “The films, both documentary and narrative, selected for our 2013 Festival have a particular immediacy and fearlessness to them showing us that independent film is as vibrant, creative and relevant as ever. Filmmakers are telling raw, powerful stories that are sure to create new energy in audiences and communities across the globe in the months to come.”
For the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, 113 feature-length films were selected, representing 32 countries and 51 first-time filmmakers, including 27 in competition. These films were selected from 12,146 submissions (429 more than for 2012), including 4,044 feature-length films and 8,102 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 2,070 were from the U.S. and 1,974 were international. 98 feature films at the Festival will be world premieres.
In addition to those announced today, the Festival presents feature-length films in the Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, New Frontier, Premieres and Documentary Premieres sections. Those announcements, as well as selections for the Short Film section, are forthcoming.
On Day One, January 17, 2013, the Festival will screen one narrative film and one documentary from both the U.S. and World Cinema competitions, as well as one shorts program.
A selection of films from the 2013 Festival will also be presented at the second Sundance London film and music festival, April 25-28 at The O2.
Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said: “Each year at this time we look forward with great anticipation and excitement to the discovery of new voices at the Sundance Film Festival. The Festival continues to reflect the spirit of innovation and creativity in independent cinema, not only in the stories themselves but also in how the films are produced and making their way to audiences.”
You can see details of the US Dramatic Competition line-up here and US Documentary line-up here, with more coming soon.
