Park City, UT Sundance Institute announced today the program of short films selected to screen at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, January 22 to February 1 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. The 2015 Short Film program is comprised of 60 short films selected from 8,061 submissions. The Festival is the centerpiece of the year-round public programs for the Institute, which also hosts 24 residency labs and grants more than $2.5 million to independent artists each year.Mike Plante, Senior Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival, said, This years short filmmakers have broken through their limited timeframe with a high level of artistry and story that will resonate with audiences long after each film has ended.
Sundance Institute and the Festival have long supported the creation and exhibition of short films. A record 8,161 short films were submitted for consideration for the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Notable Institute alumni who started their careers with short films include Wes Anderson, Todd Haynes, Spike Jonze, Debra Granik, Paul Thomas Anderson, David O. Russell, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Tamara Jenkins and Jason Reitman. In addition to the short film program at the Festival, the Institute also hosts daylong workshops for short filmmakers and a program of short films that screens in theaters across the country.
The Short Film program is presented by YouTube.
U.S. NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS
Actresses / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jeremy Hersh) The film follows the relationship between a young, aspiring actress and an established off-Broadway star.
A.D. 1363, The End of Chivalry / U.S.A., New Zealand (Director and screenwriter: Jake Mahaffy) A little-known historical catastrophe leads to the definitive end of the era of chivalry and questing.
Color Neutral / U.S.A. (Director: Jennifer Reeves) A color explosion sparkles, bubbles, and fractures in this handcrafted 16mm film. Jennifer Reeves utilizes an array of mediums and direct-on-film techniques to create this exuberant, psychedelic morsel of cinema as material.
Dog Bowl / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Gordy Hoffman) A heartbroken girl spiraling through life stumbles upon the true nature of her existence after stealing the vest off of a service dog.
Hugh the Hunter / U.S.A. (Director: Zachary Heinzerling, Screenwriters: Zachary Heinzerling, Jesse Soursourian) This fable, inspired by the artwork of Hugh Hayden, follows a fictitious hunter of the Scottish Highlands on a daylong quest to capture the elusive red grouse.
A Million Miles Away / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jennifer Reeder) Melancholy as survival strategy: A woman on the edge of failing and a pack of teenage girls simultaneously experience a supernatural coming-of-age. The transformation unravels to the infectious beat of a heavy metal anthem rearranged as a lamentation.
Mulignans / U.S.A. (Director: Shaka King, Screenwriters: Shaka King, Kristan Sprague) mulignan(s) /moo.lin.yan(s)/ n. 1. Italian-American slang for a Black man. Derived from Italian dialect word for eggplant. See also: moolie. Source: Urban Dictionary and pretty much every mob movie ever.
Myrna the Monster / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ian Samuels) A heartbroken alien dreamer from the moon transitions into young adult life in Los Angeles just like any other 20-something.
Oh Lucy! / Japan, Singapore, U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Atsuko Hirayanagi) Setsuko, a 55-year-old single so-called office lady in Tokyo, is given a blonde wig and a new identity, Lucy, by her young unconventional English-language teacher. Lucy awakens desires in Setsuko she never knew existed.
Pink Grapefruit / U.S.A. (Director: Michael Mohan, Screenwriters: Michael Mohan, Chris Levitus) A young married couple bring two of their single friends to Palm Springs for a long weekend. It does not go as planned.
Rabbit / France, U.S.A. (Director: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Screenwriters: Laure De Clermont-Tonnerre, Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold) A therapist working in tandem with a correctional facilitys Pet Partnership Program entrusts a small rabbit to a female prisoner. In the confinement of her cell, will the inmate be able to transcend her circumstances and connect with the animal?
SMILF / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Frankie Shaw) A young single mother struggles to balance her old life of freedom with her new one as mom. It all comes to a head during one particular nap-time when Bridgette invites an old friend over for a visit.
Stop / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Reinaldo Marcus Green) A young mans livelihood is put to the test when he is stopped by the police on his way home.
Superior / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Erin Vassilopoulos) A stranger passing through town sparks a teenage girls desire to distinguish herself from her identical twin sister. As one sister struggles to break free, the other insists on preserving their distinctive bond.
INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE SHORT FILMS
Back Alley / France (Director and screenwriter: C cile Ducrocq) Suzanne, a prostitute for 15 years, has her turf, her regular johns, and her freedom. One day, however, young African prostitutes settle nearby, and she is threatened.
The Chicken / Germany, Croatia (Director and screenwriter: Una Gunjak) The day-to-day life of a six-year-old girl growing up during unstable times in Sarajevo is shaken up when a chicken joins her family.
Daytimer / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Riz Ahmed) London, 1999: A young boy gives school and home the slip to attend his first daytime rave.
Followers / United Kingdom, Australia(Director and screenwriter: Tim Marshall) Lynn, an elderly woman stricken with grief after her husbands death, finds solace in an apparition of Jesus on the swimming trunks of a young gay man at her adult swimming class.
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