Women Filmmakers to March on Sundance Screens as Well as the Streets
Sundance 2017: Jennifer Aniston, Kristen Stewart and St. Vincent to energize festival as producers, writers and directors of high-profile projects
Matt Donnelly | January 19, 2017 @ 7:05 AM
Last Updated: January 21, 2017 @ 6:17 AM
In the midst of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, powerful Hollywood women will march in protest against President Donald Trump — and their voices will be equally heard in the content playing in films to be screened over the next 10 days.
Marching into the movie houses of Park City are diverse stories from female filmmakers — and a healthy amount of leading ladies pulling double duty as producers.
It’s not just that women are appearing more frequently in below-the-line credits, the lineup has a roundedness of storytelling that inches closer to an ideal form of equal representation.
Jennifer Aniston is executive producing a war movie. Four women are cooking up a horror franchise. One is taking on the sad objectification of a slain toddler beauty queen. Another is turning her relationship drama into rock ‘n’ roll.
Zoe-Lister Jones is the writer-director behind “Band Aid,” in which a feuding couple starts writing and singing rock songs about their relationship troubles as a Hail Mary to stay together. The star of CBS’ “Life in Pieces” also produced her own debut feature under her banner Mister Lister Films.
Magnolia Pictures has “XX,” a groundbreaking horror anthology with some high-profile women directing four vignettes. The project is a billboard decrying the boys club of horror, and looks seriously twisted to boot.
The directors are Karyn Kusama (behind 2016’s criminally underrated “The Invitation”), Roxanne Benjamin (a producer on “V/H/S”), Jovanka Vuckovic and debut filmmaker Annie Clark (whose day job is a musician under the stage name St. Vincent).
Also making her directorial debut in the Shorts program is Clark’s girlfriend, former “Twilight” actress Kristen Stewart. She also scripted “Come Swim,” about a day in a man’s life, a project that has drawn early buzz for its artistry and tone. The short is part of Refinery29‘s Shatterbox Anthology.
Aniston is executive producing and co-starring in Alexandre Moors’ “The Yellow Birds,” based on an acclaimed novel about two young Iraq war vets who are best friends in combat though only one of them returns home. The former “Friends” star plays the mother of the fallen hero — one not weeping in a veil, but driving the narrative by leading an investigation into her son’s death with the help of a tough detective (Jason Patric).
Then there’s “Beach Rats,” a film that’s drawn buzz from several top dealmakers. Writer-director Eliza Hittman’s feature follows a young boy whose terminally ill father has crippled his home life. He’s also dating a young woman and hooking up with older men on a nearby beach.
In the U.S. Dramatic competition, Gillian Robespierre reunites with her “Obvious Child” producer and star Jenny Slate. They’re in town with “Landline,” a look at an analog New York in the 1990s. Specifically, how easy it was to cheat and lie without a GPS tracker.
Althea Jones also has “Fun Mom Dinner” with funny lady Bridget Everett and Toni Collette, which one executive compared to the STX blockbuster “Bad Moms” but with a lot more heart.
And writer-director Maggie Betts comes with “Novitiate,” which centers on Margaret Qualley as an apprentice nun in the 1950s.
In the Documentary competition, Amanda Lipitz has a very strong entry with “Step” — another title dealmakers are talking about — which follows a step team in inner-city Baltimore as they struggle with pending adulthood, social unrest and empowering each other.
Kitty Green looks at the other side of that coin, about the circus surrounding girls pageants and its most famous contestant — JonBenet Ramsey and her tabloid-fodder 1996 murder.
War, toddler beauty queens, unseen horrors, confessions from motherhood and life without cell phones all coming from the minds and elbow grease of women.
“It really comes down to voice,” one agent representing over a dozen of the female-backed films told TheWrap. “But I’m not going to lie, ladies are kicking ass this year.”
14 Hottest Sundance Movies for Sale: From Degenerate Nuns to Sexting Angelenos (Photos)
Park City, Utah, is about to be flush with cash -- and we're not talking about buying apres-ski gear. Here are the most promising sales titles of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
"Brigsby Bear" Kyle Mooney ("SNL") leads an impressive ensemble in what seems to be a millennial take on "The Truman Show." The title refers to a children's TV show made for an audience of one -- a boy named James, whose life changes after the show's abrupt end. Dave McCary directs from a script by Mooney and Kevin Costello. Claire Danes, Mark Hamill, Greg Kinnear and Michaela Watkins co-star.
"The Big Sick" Socially relevant fare that's based on a true story is often a winning combination for Sundance features. "Silicon Valley" star Kumail Nanjiani and girlfriend Emily V. Gordon wrote this true tale of bridging cultural divides among their families while navigating their careers and romance.
"Beach Rats" Multiple programmers, sales agents and content buyers told TheWrap they're all keen to see this thoroughly modern drama from Eliza Hittman. The movie stars Harris Dickinson as a Brooklyn teen with a grim home life, a budding romance with a female friend and a predilection for meeting up with older men he connects with online.
"A Ghost Story" David Lowery reunites with his "Ain't Them Bodies Saints" stars Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck for a chamber drama about a man who dies, and is forced to watch his loved one grieve over expanses of time.
"The Hero" Sam Elliott stars as an aging country legend confronting his demons (territory that netted Jeff Bridges an Oscar in 2010 for “Crazy Heart”). The film also stars "Orange Is the New Black" star Laura Prepon, which may make it hard for Netflix to resist scooping it up.
"Roxanne, Roxanne" As he keeps chugging along the road to the Academy Awards, "Moonlight" star Mahershala Ali comes to Park City with "Roxanne, Roxanne" -- the story of Lolita "Roxanne Shanté" Gooden, who became a fierce rap battle queen at age 14. Chante Adams stars in this real-life story from writer-director Michael Larnell.
"The Yellow Birds" Alexander Moors ("Blue Caprice") offers up this tale of young Iraq war veterans, which boasts hot up-and-coming stars Alden Ehrenreich (the new Han Solo) and Tye Sheridan. The tale unfolds as a mystery, with a fallen hero's mother (Jennifer Aniston) and a tough-as-nails military official (Jason Patric) searching for answers in a young man's death.
"Step" One of numerous hot docs in Park City, Amanda Lipitz’s opus follows a team of step dancers in Baltimore — an inspiring group of inner-city girls living in the midst of social unrest.
"To the Bone" Marti Noxon, a longtime symbol of female empowerment in TV for her work on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "UnREAL," makes her feature directorial debut with a pitch-black comedy about her own struggle with anorexia. The film stars Lily Collins and Keanu Reeves.
"Landline" Director Gillian Robespierre reunites with her "Obvious Child" star Jenny Slate for a tale of lying, cheating and Manhattanite family bonds. Slate produces; Edie Falco, John Turturro, Finn Wittrock and Jay Duplass co-star.
"The Polka King" Jack Black descends on Utah with a meaty role as a Bernie Madoff for the indie music scene. In Maya Forbes’ indie Black plays Polish immigrant Jan Lewan — who became the “King of Pennsylvania Polka” in the 1990s, bribing and cheating investors along the way.
"The Little Hours" Director Jeff Baena continues to surprise, this time with a quiet riot of a film about extremely misbehaving nuns in an Italian hamlet. Reunited with his real-life girlfriend and star Aubrey Plaza ("Life After Beth") and producer Liz Destro, "Little Hours" sees a medieval convent go insane after a sexy day laborer (Dave Franco) moves in.
"Golden Exits" Director Alex Ross Perry and star Emily Browning help bring two infighting New York families together. A prototypical indie drama with pedigree, it co-stars Mary-Louise Parker, Lily Rabe, Jason Schwartzman, Chloe Sevigny, Adam Horowitz and Analeigh Tipton.
"Newness" Drake Doremus ("Like Crazy") returns to Sundance with another drama about young romance. This time, his "Equals" star Nicholas Hoult and newcomer Laia Costa play a contemporary L.A. couple navigating "a social media-driven hookup culture," whose relationship pushes multiple boundaries.
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Streaming companies and indie distributors will battle it out for these movies
Park City, Utah, is about to be flush with cash -- and we're not talking about buying apres-ski gear. Here are the most promising sales titles of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
