The 32nd Slamdance Film Festival opens tomorrow in LA, unveiling the work of new filmmakers. Christopher Nolan, Bong Joon-ho and Sean Baker are among the filmmakers whose early work was showcased at Slamdance; will another cinema icon emerge from this year’s program?
Here’s my Slamdance festival preview. I’ve had a chance to sample some of this year’s program and here are my recommendations.
MUST SEE
- The Key: This offbeat French fable brings us unexpected characters and takes them into an even more unexpected world. Bruno and Alain, strangers to each other, are each, despite living in the middle of Paris, completely devoid of connection to other humans. Both the disagreeable, prickly Bruno and the more passive Alain remain essentially invisible to others – and anchored to a profound loneliness. The two are suddenly waylaid by a third man, Z, who invites them back to his place, which turns out to be one of those gloriously posh Parisian apartments, with high ceilings and a grand piano. The three new friends are getting to know each other when Z surprises them with a revelation that I won’t spoil. Fascinated, Alain and Bruno embrace Z’s highly unconventional lifestyle, but will it fulfill their lives? In his first narrative feature, writer-director Paul G. Sportiello explores what he calls “hidden people”. What makes a “nobody”? Is it a bad thing to be a nobody? Is it better to be comfortable in one’s own skin? Every aspect of this highly original storytelling serves to introduce Sportiello as an especially promising auteur. North American premiere at Slamdance.
OTHER SLAMDANCE HIGHLIGHTS
- Dump of Untitled Pieces: In this Turkish dark comedy, photography student Asli (Manolya Maya), a law school dropout, and her oddball roomie face eviction from their bohemian flat unless they can raise the rent money ASAP. They embark on a campaign to sell her portfolio to art dealers, careening through the the non-touristy neighborhoods of Istanbul and confronting the unwelcome realities of commerce (foreign buyers want tragedy). Their escapades are funny, but the humor in this first feature by writer-director Melik Kuru is primarily character-driven. Is the stubborn Asli an uncompromising artist or a slacker posing as an artist to avoid getting a real job? Kuru’s clever, surprise ending give us a clue. Beautifully shot in black-and-white in a cinéma vérité style by cinematographer Baris Aygen. North American premiere at Slamdance.
- The Lemieurs: This cinéma vérité doc chronicles over a year in the lives of a Minnesota family as they meet the inevitabilities of life. Five middle-aged brothers must face the increasing frailty of their aged mother, while three cousins from the younger generation run the family’s funeral home. The stories of the family members are fittingly bookend by two funerals and anchored by the spirited matriarch. At once intimate and unsparingly clear-eyed, The Lemieurs is absorbing and brimming with humanity. First feature for director Sammy LeMieur. World premiere at Slamdance.
Slamdance festival passes are SOLD OUT, but you will be able to sample at least some of these films on the Slamdance Channel from February 24 thru March 6.