Slamdance Film Festival unveiled the remainder of its 2015 lineup on Monday, including its Special Screenings, Beyond and Shorts programs.
The Park City, Utah festival kicks off on Jan. 23 with the world premiere special screening of “Bloodsucking Bastards.” Fran Kranz (“Cabin in the Woods”) and Pedro Pascal (“Ben Hur”) star in the Brian James O’Connell film, which will be followed by Slamdance’s Opening Night Party.
Other highlights form the newly announced programs include the world premiere of “Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World,” the documentary about the 5-year-old leukemia patient who used the Make-A-Wish Foundation to become Batkid, and the North American premiere of “Alphas,” a fully crowdfunded feature from Greek director Stathis Athanasiou. Also included is Bill Plympton’s “Footprints,” which also made the Oscar short list for the Best Animated Short category.
The Shorts competition showcases 42 American and 26 International productions in the Narrative, Documentary, Animation, Anarchy and Experimental sections.
Slamdance revealed the first part of its 2015 lineup on Dec. 1, which included the documentary and narrative features which will be competing for the festival’s Jury Awards, Audience Awards and the Spirit of Slamdance Award. Among the films were Brander Kramer’s “Ratter,” starring Ashley Benson (“Spring Breakers”), and “Dennis Rodman’s Big Bang in Pyongyang,” which explores the former NBA star’s unlikely friendship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
“We’re constantly amazed by the cinematic diamonds we discover every year through our blind submissions,” said Festival Director Anna Germanidi in a statement. “There’s so much talent behind these films we’ve announced today, and we can’t wait to see what these Slamdancers do next.”
“This year’s film slates continue to show the diversity of powerful indie filmmaking around the globe,” added Co-founder and President, Peter Baxter.
The 21st Slamdance Film Festival takes place Jan. 23 to Jan. 29, 2015 in at the Treasure Mountain Inn in Park City, Utah.
Here are the Special Screenings, Beyond and Shorts programs:
SPECIAL SCREENINGS PROGRAM
“Alpha” – Director: Stathis Athanasiou; Screenwriters: Stathis Athanasiou, Pedro Olalla
(Greece) North American Premiere
A conforming bourgeois woman, Alpha, refuses to help a fugitive in fear that her life will be put in danger, a 21st century retelling of Antigone’s myth about the current, political status quo.
Cast: Serafita Grigoriadou, Tasos Karakyklas
“Bloodsucking Bastards” – Director: Brian James O’Connell; Screenwriters: Ryan Mitts, Dr. God
(USA) World Premiere
When an office worker at a soul-crushing company loses his coveted promotion to his longtime nemesis, he begins to fear for more than his job as strange disappearances and bizarre deaths suggest the office is turning into a haven for the undead.
Cast: Fran Kranz, Pedro Pascal, Joey Kern, Joel Murray, Emma Fitzpatrick, Yvette Yates, Justin Ware, Marshall Givens
“Footprints” – Director: Bill Plympton
(USA)
A gullible man goes on a quest to find a mysterious, destructive monster, only to arrive at a surprising revelation.
“Think Ink” – Director: Wally Chung; Screenwriter: Emily Hu
(USA) World Premiere
A young coffee stain dreams of becoming a professional inkblot for psychological testing.
BEYOND PROGRAM
“Batkid Begins: The Wish Heard Around the World” – Director: Dana Nachman; Screenwriters: Dana Nachman, Kurt Kuenne
(USA) World Premiere
5-year old Miles Scott has spent half his life battling leukemia. Now, it’s his wish to be Batman. Why not turn San Francisco into Gotham City?
Cast: Miles Scott, Natalie Scott, Nick Scott, Patricia Wilson, Eric Johnston, Mike Jutan, Jen Wilson, Teresa Clovicko
“Birds of Neptune” – Director: Steven Richter; Screenwriter: Steven Richter, Flavia Rocha, Michael Lea
(USA) World Premiere
After the death of their parents, Mona builds an illusory image of herself while her sister Rachel finds solace in her music – until a man enters their world and sees an opportunity to assert control.
Cast: Britt Harris, Molly Elizabeth Parker, Kurt Conroyd, Christian Blair, Lauren Monet Luiz
“Concrete Love” – The Böhm Family – Director & Screenwriter: Maurizius Staerkle Drux
(Germany) North American Premiere
A look into the complex dynamics within the family of Germany’s premiere architect Gottfried Böhm, as they lose their emotional center, Gottfried’s wife Elisabeth.
Cast: Gottfried Böhm, Elisabeth Böhm, Stephan Böhm, Peter Böhm, Paul Böhm
“Female Pervert” – Director & Screenwriter: Jiyoung Lee
(USA) World Premiere
Phoebe is a lonely video game designer seeking a true connection in the modern world, but her perversions are hard to suppress. Will she be able to change? Or will she accept her fate as a female pervert?
Cast: Jennifer Kim, Skizz Cyzyk, Brian Cafferty, Joshua Mikel, Jesse Price, Kate McManus, Taylor Proctor, Eddie Ray
“The Trouble with Dot & Harry” – Director & Screenwriter: Gary Walkow
(USA) World Premiere
An American writer finds himself caring for two ridiculously smart and articulate British children and discovers an unexpected sense of purpose in life.
Cast: Neil Morrissey, Theadora Walkow-Foster, Harry Walkow-Foster
NARRATIVE SHORTS PROGRAM
“09:55-11:05, Ingrid Ekman, Bergsgatan 4B” – Directors & Screenwriters: Cristine Berglund, Sophie Vukovic
(Sweden) North American Premiere
Ingrid has decided to deal with cancer on her own, but when home care employee Frida knocks on her door she awakens feelings that Ingrid can’t shut out.
Cast: Lisbeth Zachrisson, Cristine Berglund, Hélene Parment
“2580” – Director & Screenwriter: Bryce Richardson
(USA)
A man’s memory fails him, derailing his plans to work out.
Cast: Vince Edgehill, Irina Brovina, Max Bernstein
“Detritus” – Director: T.J. Misny; Screenwriter: Kaija Matiss
(USA) North American Premiere
A girl emerges from the depths, carrying with her an unusual burden.
Cast: Kaija Matiss
“Drama” – Director & Screenwriter: Guan Tian
(USA)
A couple is having sex in the car when they realize there are no more condoms left.
Cast: Ni Yan, Guan Tian, Shi Sun, Yanyu Dong
“Hitori” – Director: Raymond Carr; Screenwriters: Raymond Carr, Wade Tilton
(USA)
In a world made entirely out of puppeteers, a boy is trying to get back to where he came from.
Cast: Wade Tilton, Kiera Robbins, Melissa Brewer, Tim Hand
“In Search of the Miraculous” – Director & Screenwriter: Sam Kuhn
(USA) World Premiere
A seventeen-year-old aristocrat, expecting to be married to a rich claimant by her mother, falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated ‘Ocean Wave.’
Cast: Erik Jensen, Marta King, Daiva Z, Michael Harmon
“Intruders” – Director & Screenwriter: Santiago Menghini
(Canada)
In the aftermath of a deadly haunting in a small suburban home, an omnipresent entity causes havoc in the private lives of a young boy, an unsuspecting teen and an absent minded inspector.
Cast: Joshua Young, Charles Sirard Blouin, Sarianne Cormier, Alain Gendreau
“Invaders” – Director & Screenwriter: Jason Kupfer
(USA)
A pair of home invaders consider their potential character choices just prior to their planned invasion.
Cast: Ricky Wayne, Jordan Woods-Robinson
“Last Base” – Director & Screenwriter: Aslak Danbolt
(UK/Norway) North American Premiere
Joachim is retiring from base-jumping to become a father for the first time, but first he will stop at nothing to pull off his very last jump.
Cast: Petter Width Kristiansen, Kenneth Ã…kerland Berg, Edda Grjotheim, Richard Olsen
“Models” – Director & Screenwriter: Jérémi Roy
(Canada) World Premiere
An exploration of the tortuous relation between a photographer and her model.
Cast: Léa Roy-Bernatchez, Dominick R. Chartrand
“Off Season” – Director & Screenwriter: Elinor Nechemya
(Israel)
Wandering through a mysterious seaside resort, Zohar seeks clues for her father’s absence from a family vacation.
Cast: Mika Altman, Kareen Ophir, Itzik Arviv, Tamir Lyfshiz
“Peter On Your Mind” – Director: Joe Pickett; Screenwriters: Joe Pickett, Larry Pierce
(USA) World Premiere
Larry Pierce, the raunchiest country music singer in America, confronts a cheating wife, his painful memories, and every country music video cliché known to man.
Cast: Larry Pierce, Cassie J. Sneider, Al Robinson
“Que La Nuit Soit Douce” – Director: Frédéric Recrosio; Screenwriters: Frédéric Recrosio, Jean-Luc Barbezat
(Switzerland) World Premiere
8-year old Alice and her 5-year old brother visit their dying grandfather in the hospital and take matters into their own hands.
Cast: Alice Barbezat, Anthony Bubloz, Claude Blanc
“Role Play” – Director & Screenwriter: Brynach Day
(UK) North American Premiere
In rural Wales, three children explore the adult world.
Cast: Leah Ponchaud, Dan Middleton, Sam Caple, Elizabeth Healey
“Running Season” – Director: Grayson Moore; Screenwriters: Grayson Moore, Nigel Turgeon-Mannion
(Canada)
Arthur Zimmer attempts to sell his late father’s house on Prince Edward Island, just as severed feet have been turning up on the island’s shores.
Cast: Peter Spence, Richard Clarkin, Sarah Orenstein, Mike Wilmot
“Salad Days” – Director & Screenwriter: Will Welles
(USA) World Premiere
Just a normal couple out on a normal picnic on a normal nice day. Nothing out of the ordinary to see here…nothing at all.
Cast: Nick Fesette, Kira Pearson
“Salt” – Director: Ugla Hauksdóttir; Screenwriters: Ugla Hauksdóttir, Markus Englmair
(Iceland) North American Premiere
A lonesome boy who has just moved to a small village tries to befriend a mysterious girl, but their encounter leads to unexpected consequences.
Cast: Alex Elí Schweitz Jakobsson, Diljá Valsdóttir, Pálína Jónsdóttir, Haukur Ingi Jónasson
“Stay Awake” – Director & Screenwriter: Jamie Sisley
(USA) World Premiere
Two brothers, a mother, songs from the seventies, Xanax, and a woman named Vicki.
Cast: Owen Campbell, David Rysdahl, Rebecca Harris, Lori Brown-Niang
“A Tenista” – Director: Daniel Barosa; Screenwriters: Humberto Palmas, Daniel Barosa
(Brazil) North American Premiere
Troubled by a deep secret, Ju runs late for her tennis class.
Cast: Bianca Melo, Gabriel Godoy, Renata De Paula, Stefane Eskelsen
“The Tide Keeper” – Director & Screenwriter: Alyx Duncan
(New Zealand)
An aging fisherman dreams the spirit of the sea right into his bed.
Cast: Lee Stuart
“Topography of a Hotel” – Director & Screenwriter: Cedric Cheung-Lau
(USA) World Premiere
A boy working at his parents’ hotel meets a woman waiting for her lover.
Cast: Shondale Seymour, Joe Salling
“Unknown Unknown” – Director & Screenwriter: Ed Flynn
(USA) World Premiere
An errant ginger sends a peckish man on an existential journey through the bowels of a twenty-four hour grocery store.
Cast: Ed Flynn, Susan Monts-Bologna, Jack Bronis, Sarah Jane Murray
“Viking” – Directors: Sam & Ben Callis; Screenwriter: Sam Callis
(UK) World Premiere
Armed with aphorisms and a need for revenge, a woman’s childhood lies buried with her father’s corpse until she finally digs up the cause of her miserable life.
Cast: Sophie Thompson, Andrew Lancel, Joe May
“Waterfall” – Director & Screenwriter: Charlie Cole
(USA) World Premiere
A young girl is haunted by her inability to help her brother while he’s drowning.
Cast: Dulcey Culotta, Holden Culotta, Kevin Michael Barbaro
“Working Title” – Director: Irina Arnaut
(USA)
A filmmaker emboldened and tormented by her creative ambition, her artistic and cinematic predecessors, and even by her DP, careens through a cavalcade of cultural influences before erupting in a deceptively charming slapstick routine.
Cast: Irina Arnaut, Justin Drobinski
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS PROGRAM
“The Columbarium” – Director: Tyler Trumbo
(USA)
As the long-time caretaker of close to 80,000 deceased at the San Francisco Columbarium, Emmitt Watson cannot help but see life in the midst of death.
Cast: Emmitt Watson
“Dolphin Lover” – Director: Kareem Tabsch
(USA) World Premiere
The true story of a man with a porpoise.
Cast: Malcolm J. Brenner
“Love Song for the Apocalypse” – Director: David Ridgen
(Canada) World Premiere
Urban explorers, or urbexers, illegally enter abandoned places and make use of them in a variety of creative ways.
Cast: Jerm IX, Ninja IX, Terapr0, Rashomon
“Marie” – Director: Jadina Lilien
(USA)
A portrait of Marie and her daily visits to the local diner as she philosophizes about life.
Cast: Marie Lytwn, Andrew Tsatsimas
“Mujer” – Director: Sofia Canales
(USA)
Three Latinas of different generations take pleasure in helping each other bathe, dress up, and cook dinner.
Cast: Rosa Emma Estrada, Rosa Emma Canales, Emily Judith Canales
“N6-4Q: Born Free” – Director: Sasha Gransjean
(USA/Japan) World Premiere
As it falls apart, Kyoto’s life becomes the vehicle for a message seen through the lens of technology.
Cast: Takuto Kawabe
“The Solitude of Memory” – Director: Juan Pablo González
(Mexico/USA) US Premiere
A meditative portrait about a Mexican father mourning the untimely death of his son.
Cast: José Bolaños, Jesus Bolaños
“Stella Walsh” – Director: Rob Lucas, Screenwriters: Rob Lucas, Steve Felix
(USA)
Almost fifty years after her stunning gold medal win in the women’s 100 meter dash, Stella Walsh was shot and killed in Cleveland, Ohio, exposing the truth about her ambiguous gender.
Cast: Stella Walsh, Grace Butcher, Dan Coughlin, Chuck Schodowski
ANIMATION SHORTS PROGRAM
“Busking Tales” – Director: Adriana Copete
(Colombia/USA) North American Premiere
A patchwork of memories about undesirables, cheap-goods-hustlers, and buskers in a city undergoing constant transformation.
Cast: Juis Garay, Camilo De La Espriella
“Butter Ya’ Self” – Director: Julian Petschek
(USA) US Premiere
A banana and a hot dog bun are famous.
Cast: Katrina Recto, Jacob Gibson, Julian Petschek
“Cruising” – Director: Zachary Zezima
(USA)
The chaotic and cacophonous world of forced fun aboard an insular cruise ship seen through the eyes of a young boy.
“Defragmentation” – Director: Saebyul-Hwangbo
(South Korea) US Premiere
A woman’s lifetime of emotionally-charged events are altered to retain only the happy memories, in a process similar to the defragmentation of a computer hard drive.
Cast: Jinwoong-Moon, Saebyul-Hwangbo
“Half Wet” – Director: Sophie Koko Gate
(England) North American Premiere
“We are all born as wet as a banana, about 75% water” – the whimsical ruminations of a love-stricken man in a surreal, watery landscape.
Cast: Keiran P Chantrey, Paul Williams
“Hipopotamy” – Director: Piotr Dumala
(Poland) North American Premiere
Naked women and children bathe in a river. They are secretly observed and gradually approached by a group of naked men.
“Hopkins & Delaney LLP” – Director: Sean Buckelew
(USA)
A drily humorous look at mundane workplace culture, as an important client visits a law office to discuss his copyright infringement suit.
Cast: Chris Sullivan, Ethan Clarke
“Horse” – Director: Shen Jie
(China) US Premiere
Five chapters about a horse are repeated and cut with escalating, violent revelations.
“La-Gar-To” – Director: Miguel Jiron
(USA) US Premiere
Traveling to Nicaragua with his family, a young boy finds the world a weirder, scarier, and more iguana-filled place.
Cast: Daniel Jiron, Gabriela Jiron
“Myszochujek” * – Director: Kristof Babaski
(Poland/UK)
A lost 1957 sexually provocative Polish animation, about a mouse with a very playful body part.
*Out of competition
“The Pride of Strathmoor” – Director: Einar Baldvin
(USA)
In 1927, a racist Southern pastor works himself into a frenzy over a local boxing match between a white man and a black man.
Cast: Geoffrey Gould
“Sports” – Director: Brian Smee
(USA)
Observe the conclusion to today’s marathon, told from the grotesque and colorful point of view of a proud burger flipper.
Cast: Sean Buckelew, Rachel Ho
“Tears of Inge” – Director: Alisi Telengut
(Canada)
A cloud of tiny particles forms a shifting, emotionally-charged vision inspired by the phenomenon of mother camels rejecting their offspring after a painful childbirth.
Cast: Qirima Telengut
“Upon the Rock” – Director: James Bascara
(USA)
A man leading a Sisyphean life suddenly has a euphoric vision, then undergoes a dysphoric transformation.
EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS PROGRAM
“Agrabagrabah” – Director: Calvin Frederick
(USA) World Premiere
September 11, 1991/2001/2057.
“Fort Morgan” – Director: Alexander Stewart
(USA)
Following an intricate geometric diagram, a star-shaped fort grows of its own accord like an oyster shell or a crystal.
“The Handeye (Bone Ghosts)” – Directors: Anja Dornieden, Juan David Gonzalez Monroy
(Germany)
A distinguished flea hypnotizes the ghost of a distinguished man.
“I’ve Got The World On A String” – Director: Spencer Holden
(USA) World Premiere
I only had a string, a camera, and a need to create.
“Nothing” – Director: LJ Frezza
(USA)
The nothing moments from a show about nothing.
“Pure Concentricity” – Director: Evan Mann
(USA) World Premiere
Shaving cream concentrically envelopes the organic world.
“Red Luck” – Director: Mike Olenick
(USA)
Anonymous notes, a jump rope, an overgrown yard, a crumpled piece of tinfoil, a baseball bat and a drill guide a group of individuals towards violence, sexual perversion and an inevitable encounter with Red Luck.
Cast: Andrew Cherry, Barry Horschakt, Todd Finney, Andy Pak
“The Take-Up” – Director: Patrick Tarrant
(UK) US Premiere
An A/V mystery is unspooled when a digital camera looks through the take-up reel of the instructional film we hear.
ANARCHY SHORTS PROGRAM
“Cosmic Egg” – Director: Matt Reed
(USA) North American Premiere
A journey through other realities leads to a familiar place.
“Day 40” – Director: Sol Friedman, Screenwriters: Evan Morgan, Sol Friedman
(Canada)
An animated retelling of the Noah’s Ark story, where various unholy activities fill the great ship as the animals discover the darker side of their nature.
Cast: John Boylan, Rowie Huberman
“Deviance” – Director & Screenwriter: Aron Kantor
(USA)
The proprietor of a corner store entertains a rich fantasy of each of his customers in this celebration of the perversity that lies just below the surface in even the least suspecting people.
Cast: Larry Kitagawa, Courtney Trouble, Jerrod Littlejohn, Andy Clements
“Gun Shy” – Director & Screenwriter: Sam Goetz
(USA) World Premiere
Every cop has that one event, that one memory they just can’t shake.
Cast: Jason B. Nicholas, Michael Goetz, Joseph K. Gannon
“Ill Will” – Director & Screenwriter: Lester Brown
(UK)
An old man gets revenge after being assaulted by a local teenager for seeing something he shouldn’t have.
Cast: David Kirk, Quesy Yankey
“Ocean Five” – Director & Screenwriter: Vito Trupiano
(USA)
A young tourist’s night in Miami.
Cast: Gordon Maxwell, Alan Rodriguez
“Out of Reach (Rain Night)” – Director & Screenwriter: Pablo Diartinez
(Belgium/Netherlands) US Premiere
A nameless poet wanders through Brussels, seeking shelter from the rain.
Cast: Hein Wollants, Colum Hatchell, Victoria Giraldo, Erik Parys
“A Peaceful Man” – Director & Screenwriter: Harrison Norris
(Australia)
Beaten within an inch of his life, a peaceful man has a gruesome epiphany through violence.
Cast: Judd Wild, John Walton, Zach McGowan
“Pond” – Director: Josh Shaffner
(USA)
Two mythical creatures inhabit a forest where uncomfortable truths manifest themselves through deformation of figure.
“Sea Devil” – Director & Screenwriter: Dean C. Marcial, Brett Potter
(USA)
In the summer of 2012, an unmanned fishing boat surfaced on the Biscayne Bay in Miami. Its passengers were never found.
Cast: Antoni Corone, Mario Ernesto Sanchez, Taylor Rouviere, Moise Brutus
“Thinking About” – Director: Stephen Engstrom, Screenwriters: Stephen Engstrom, David1 Rowson, Catherine Engstrom
(Australia) World Premiere
An experimental game show goes awry as a mysterious apparition infiltrates a contestant’s mind.
Cast: Stephen Engstrom, Manon Ouimet, Brenton Douglas, Aurora Legget
“Unicorn” – Director & Screenwriter: Grace Nayoon Rhee
(USA) World Premiere
Girl and Boy meet little strangers.
Cast: Jason Davis, Meghan Tryon
“Viscera” – Director: Lauren Morrison
(USA)
As houseguests blissfully ignore the provenience of their food, the reality of their consumption takes on a monstrous form.
Cast: Eva Sinotte, Rose Arscott, Gyasi Silas, Jesse March
“Zerogon – Director & Screenwriter: John Mattiuzzi, Joshua Planz
(USA) World Premiere
A lonely creature, on a lonely planet, abducted into the false allure of a computer generated world.
Cast: John Mattiuzzi