Slamdance

2012 Slamdance Line-Up Announced; New Images from True Independent Films

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 16th, 2011 at 8:15 am

I love Sundance and it will have more than its fair share of truly indie films.  However, when your movie stars Bruce Willis (Lay the Favorite) or Chris Rock (2 Days in New York) or Kirsten Dunst (Bachelorette), it’s not really an “indie”.  It’s a low-budget drama or comedy.  The Slamdance Film Festival, on the other hand, is comprised of true indies.  It runs concurrently with Sundance and its motto is “By Filmmakers, For Filmmakers” because it’s the only festival fully programmed by filmmakers.  If you’re at Sundance and want to take a break from the crush of long lines and want to see a movie you’ll probably never see anywhere else, head over to Slamdance.

Hit the jump for the list of 18 features and 10 documentaries playing at the 2012 Slamdance Film Festival, which runs from January 20 – 26th in Park City, Utah.  We’ve also included images from the films.

ATROCIOUS Trailer

by Matt Frisch    Posted: January 14th, 2011 at 9:14 pm

A Spanish-language horror film called Atrocious will be making its American debut at the Slamdance  Film Festival this month, and the trailer for it has just hit the web.  27-year-old Mexican writer/director Fernando Barreda Luna is behind this one, and comparisons are already being made to Paranormal Activity.  The plot revolves around Spanish police “discovering” hours of camera footage while in the middle of trying to solve a gruesome murder case.  This footage shows would-be urban legend investigators siblings (played by real life brother and sister Cristian and July Quintanilla) exploring a summer home while on vacation.  As things start to go bump in the night, the two of them are able to record everything for us to see.

Slamdance program notes describe the film as being one that “claws its way into your brain, burying itself deep in your mind, so that it stays with you long, long after the credits have rolled.”  Some early reviews have also agreed, calling it a solid-entry in the relatively new faux-documentary horror genre.  To watch the trailer and see what all the hype is about yourself, hit the jump.

Director Gerard Johnson and Peter Ferdinando Exclusive Video Interview TONY

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: February 6th, 2010 at 10:31 am

If you live in the UK, a really dark and gritty thriller called Tony opened yesterday (in limited release), and it’s also on VOD and DVD Monday.  Written and directed by first time feature film director Gerard Johnson and starring Peter Ferdinando, Tony follows a week in the life of an alienated psychopath with severe social problems.

I saw a screening at Slamdance last week and thought the film was great.  You’d never know it was Johnson’s first film, and when you find out he it for 80,000 pounds, it’s even more impressive.  If you’re a fan of dark thrillers, I definitely recommend checking Tony out.  It hits DVD in the US in April.

Anyhow, when I was in Park City for the Film Festivals, I got the chance to speak with Gerard Johnson and Peter Ferdinando about Tony.  We talked about making the film, where the idea came from, how they were able to make it for such little money, and they talk about they want to make next which is an English version of Bad Lieutenant.  It’s a fantastic interview so check it out.  Again, if you’re in the UK, check out Tony…it’ll surprise you.

Slamdance Announces Competition Films – 18 Films Selected From 5,000 Submissions

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: December 10th, 2009 at 7:24 am

Slamdance, Sundance’s indie little brother, has announced the 18 films that will be playing in competition next month.  While the economy might be slowing down, there was no shortage of submissions, as Slamdance reports they had 5,000 films vying for a spot in the Festival.  Of the 18 films in competition, ten are narrative, eight are documentaries, and eleven are world premieres.

“The quality of indie filmmaking is getting higher while productions costs are getting lower,” said Slamdance prexy and co-founder Peter Baxter. “Far apart from the apparent industry downturn, there appears a great sense of what is possible rather than impossible with our submissions.”

Of course this year will be very interesting at Slamdance after the success Paranormal Activity.  If you didn’t know, Activity screened at the 2008 Festival and has since made over $100 million at the domestic box office.  It wouldn’t surprise me to see a few more buyers looking for a repeat performance.

Check out the list of films playing in competition after the jump.

Steven Soderbergh’s AND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE to Premiere at Slamdance

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: December 9th, 2009 at 3:24 am

While Sundance usually gets all the press and the big premiere’s, Steven Soderbergh will be premiering his new documentary And Everything is Going Fine at the 2010 Slamdance Film Festival.  The documentary is about writer and performer Spalding Gray, who committed suicide in 2004.

In other Slamdance news, Soderbergh will also participate in the Slamdance Filmmaker Summit, which, according to Variety, is a “gathering that aims to invite filmmakers, both in Park City and virtually, to collectively craft a new charter for storytelling and content distribution, with and by the global filmmaking community, that can succeed by using new technology.”

The summit and the premiere will take place on Jan. 23^rd.

Get Spooked by the New PARANORMAL ACTIVITY Trailer and Poster

by Ramses Flores    Posted: September 16th, 2009 at 10:30 am

I’ve talked about how I like to try to keep up to date with the latest buzz when it comes to horror films in the past.  It always feel like every year we get that one movie which begins to cause buzz through word of mouth screenings mixed with festival runs and then it just turns into a waiting game to see when that film comes out.  Last year we had the pretty great Spanish horror film, “REC”, and this year we have “Paranormal Activity”.

I first started hearing about the film when it was shown at last year’s Slamdance and now one year and a half later the film finally has a trailer and is coming out in a few weeks.  I keep reading about how scary this “Blair Witchesque” film about a couple setting up a camera in their bedroom after they suspect they are being haunted by a demonic spirit is.  Now that I’ve seen the trailer I’m definitely intrigued and I just hope it lives up to its hype.  You can see the trailer for yourself when you hit the jump along with the poster.

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