Sundance Film Festival: Asia Is Set for 23-26 September; Program Announced, Will Take Place Virtually

08/09/2021

Clockwise from top left: Try Harder!, John and the Hole, Passing, and Luzzu are just four of the features that will screen at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival: Asia.

JAKARTA - The Sundance Institute and XRM Media, with support from IDN Media, announced today the program of feature films and panel discussions for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival: Asia, taking place online 23-26 September 2021. The films will be available for viewing online in Indonesia, and digital screening passes for online screenings will be available beginning on Wednesday, 15 September; buy yours at sundancefilmfestivalasia.org.

The festival will present eight feature films from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, selected for Indonesia by the Festival's programming team in collaboration with XRM Media and IDN Media. Alongside the inspiring film program, panel discussions on TikTok (@SundanceFFAsia) and Sundance Collab will drive audience conversations on various topics, with distinguished speakers from the local Indonesian filmmaking community and international filmmakers. During the weekend, an announcement of the Best Short Film Jury Award for the Short Film Competition will be presented. Plus, as a build-up to the Festival, a private workshop intensive designed to invigorate Southeast Asian regional talents will also take place.

We're delighted to be launching our first edition of Sundance Film Festival: Asia with an exciting group of fiction and documentary films that will be available throughout Indonesia, said Kim Yutani, Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival. It's a privilege to be able to bring the independent spirit of Sundance to a dynamic film community in Indonesia, and we look forward to connecting with local audiences and supporting Indonesian artists through our workshops and panel discussions.

THE LINEUP The four narrative and four documentary films selected for the inaugural Festival are:

Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir / U.S.A. (Director: James Redford, Producers: Karen Pritzker, Cassandra Jabola) - Amy Tan has established herself as one of America's most respected literary voices. Born to Chinese immigrant parents, it would be decades before the author of The Joy Luck Club would fully understand the inherited trauma rooted in the legacies of women who survived the Chinese tradition of concubinage. Documentary

The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet / Argentina (Director: Ana Katz, Screenwriters: Ana Katz, Gonzalo Delgado, Producers: Laura Huberman, Ana Katz) - Sebastian, a man in his thirties, works a series of temporary jobs and he embraces love at every opportunity. He transforms, through a series of short encounters, as the world flirts with possible apocalypse. Cast: Daniel Katz, Julieta Zylberberg, Valeria Lois, Mirella Pascual, Carlos Portaluppi. Narrative

Try Harder! / U.S.A. (Director: Debbie Lum, Producers: Debbie Lum, Lou Nakasako, Nico Opper) - In a universe where cool kids are nerds, the orchestra is world class and being Asian American is the norm, seniors at Lowell High School compete for the top prize: admission to the college of their dreams. Documentary

John and the Hole / U.S.A. (Director: Pascual Sisto, Screenwriter: Nicol s Giacobone, Producers: Elika Portnoy, Alex Orlovsky, Mike Bowes) - A nontraditional coming-of-age story, set in the unsettling reality of John, a kid who holds his family captive in a hole in the ground. Cast: Charlie Shotwell, Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Ehle, Taissa Farmiga. Narrative

Luzzu / Malta (Director and Screenwriter: Alex Camilleri, Producers: Rebecca Anastasi, Ramin Bahrani, Alex Camilleri, Oliver Mallia) - Jesmark, a struggling fisherman on the island of Malta, is forced to turn his back on generations of tradition and risk everything by entering the world of black market fishing to provide for his girlfriend and newborn baby. Cast: Jesmark Scicluna, Michela Farrugia, David Scicluna. Narrative

Passing / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Rebecca Hall, Producers: Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Margot Hand, Rebecca Hall) - Two African-American women who can pass as white choose to live on opposite sides of the color line in 1929 New York in an exploration of racial and gender identity, performance, obsession and repression. Based on the novella by Nella Larsen. Cast: Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, Andr Holland, Alexander Skarsg rd, Bill Camp. Narrative

Users / U.S.A., Mexico (Director: Natalia Almada, Producers: Elizabeth Lodge Stepp, Josh Penn) - A mother wonders, will my children love their perfect machines more than they love me, their imperfect mother? She switches on a smart-crib lulling her crying baby to sleep. This perfect mother is everywhere. She watches over us, takes care of us. We listen to her. We trust her. Documentary

Writing with Fire / India (Directors and Producers: Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh) - In a cluttered news landscape dominated by men, emerges India's only newspaper run by Dalit women. Armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her journalists break traditions on the frontlines of India's biggest issues and within the confines of their own homes, redefining what it means to be powerful. Documentary

THE PANELS Additional topics to be confirmed.

IDN Media presents Film Outlook: Indonesian Film Industry from 2016 Boom, Pandemic Era, to Post-Pandemic Potential (11 a.m. WIB, live-streamed on TikTok at @SundanceFFAsia)

After president Joko Widodo opened Negative Investment List, foreign investors started to invest in Indonesian film for several sectors, including new cinema branches and production. In 2016 until early 2020, Indonesian film audiences increased significantly, but everything stopped after COVID-19 became a global pandemic. Established industry insiders Mira Lesmana (founder of Miles Films), Angga Sasongko (founder of Visinema Pictures), and Chand

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Sundance Film Festival: Asia Is Set for 23-26 September; Program Announced, Will Take Place Virtually

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