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Bradley Rust Gray’s melancholic drama Blood explores how one woman navigates grief in an unfamiliar environment. Carla Juri gives a deeply felt performance as Chloe, a photographer who travels to Japan months after the sudden death of her husband.

Still processing her mourning, Chloe reconnects with friend Toshi while fulfilling a work assignment photographing traditional crafts. Toshi helps guide Chloe as she interacts with new people and places, quietly struggling with regaining meaning in daily life without her partner.

Though separated by language and culture, Chloe finds solace in Toshi’s company and the kindness of others she meets, including his playful young daughter and wise grandmother. Patient shots observe Chloe experiencing the rhythms of a foreign world, sometimes accompanied by reflective conversations that provide fleeting insights into her inner experience. Through Chloe’s eyes, we see both the natural beauty surrounding her and haunting memories still clinging to familiar landscapes.

A grieving photographer on assignment in Japan finds unexpected comfort with an old friend and his precious daughter in I'll Be Your Mirror, which washes over the viewer like a gentle breeze of loss, solace, and rediscovery. Writer/director Bradley Rust Gray meanders at times with an overly artistic intent and sluggish pacing, but achieves his goal of addressing life's most sorrowful tragedy. Death leaves a gaping hole in the hearts of loved ones left behind. Choosing to move forward can feel like an insurmountable obstacle. But the helping hand that lifts you out of darkness may lead to a surprising new embrace.

A Bond Grows After a Love Dies

I'll Be Your Mirror 3/5 RomanceDrama

After her husband's demise, a widow finds comfort with an old friend in Japan. As his care turns romantic, she realizes she must allow herself to love again.

Release Date August 30, 2024Director Bradley Rust GrayCast Carla Juri,...

Strand Releasing has acquired North American rights to “Viet and Nam” which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard.

Directed by Truong Minh Quý, the film tells the passionate love story of two young coal miners who face separation and ultimately make sacrifices to stay together. Represented in international markets by Pyramide International, “Viet and Nam” stars Pham Thanh Hai and Dao Duy Bao Dinh.

“’Viet and Nam’ was one of the most mesmerizing films I’ve seen in awhile, romantic, tragic and tender directed with a unique style that embodies the auteurs we cultivate,” said Marcus Hu of Strand Releasing.

“We are very happy that after its wonderful journey at Cannes in Un Certain Regard, Viet And Nam can now meet the American audience. We are also delighted to collaborate once again with Strand, one of our long-standing partners. We are confident that they...

"At its core, this film is about healing." Strand Releasing has unveiled an official trailer for an indie drama titled I'll Be Your Mirror, made by the indie filmmaker Bradley Rust Gray. This initially premiered back in 2022 at the Sundance Film Festival, but it has been stuck in release limbo for the past few years. Now it's finally opening this summer. Chloe (starring Carla Juri) travels to Japan for work where she is welcomed by an old friend, Toshi. Sliding between the melancholy of loss of her husband and the awe of perspectives changed, she wanders an unfamiliar landscape. I'll Be Your Mirror explores grief and the road to emotional recovery. With a fresh rhythm, and unforgettably rich performances, this subtle study captures the vibrancy of healing. Also starring Takashi Ueno, Issey Ogata, Gustaf Skarsgärd, and Sachiko Ohshima. At Sundance it won a Special Jury Award for "Uncompromising Artistic Vision", but received mostly mixed-to-negative reviews.

Writer/director Bradley Rust Gray is taking audiences on a tour of grief abroad.

The filmmaker’s latest feature, “I’ll Be Your Mirror” (originally titled “Blood”), follows a widow (Carla Juri) who travels to Japan on a business trip. While there, she reconnects with an old friend and reconnects with her lost joie de vivre. The feature debuted at Sundance in 2022.

The official synopsis reads: Chloe (Juri) travels to Japan for work where she is welcomed by an old friend, Toshi (Takashi Ueno). Sliding between the melancholy of the loss of her husband and the awe of perspectives changed, Chloe wanders an unfamiliar landscape.

Issey Ogata, Sachiko Ohshima, and Futaba Okazaki also star.

Filmmaker Gray previously helmed “Salt,” “The Exploding Girl,” and “Jack and Diane.” “I’ll Be Your Mirror” is Gray’s fourth film. The film will debut at the IFC theater in New York, with Paul Dano...

From September 15th until October 30th, I’ll be watching at least one new to me horror film every day, and providing collections of capsule reviews week by week. On Halloween itself, as ever, I’m planning an all day marathon of some of my favourite horror films.

I hope you’ll find it interesting following as I dig further into a genre I’ve always loved, and maybe find some hidden gems along the way yourselves. Week 1’s film can be found right here.

You Might Be The Killer (2018) Dir: Brett Simmons

Sam (Fran Kranz), a camp counsellor running from a masked killer, calls his horror nerd friend Chuck (Alyson Hannigan) for help. Together they figure out that he is in fact the killer, and try to find a way for him to live through the night and, hopefully, stop murdering people.

Meta horror has, for the past decade or so,...

Michelle Williams is still finding ways to honor ex Heath Ledger over a decade after his passing.  According to Entertainment Weekly, director Bradley Rust Gray recently shared that his new movie Blood, which won the Special Jury Award for Uncompromising Artistic Vision at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival last week, was inspired by his friend Williams and her personal experience grieving the 2008 death of Ledger. Gray told the outlet that Williams was originally set to star in the film herself, but later decided that she didn't feel comfortable revisiting such a personal story and stepped down instead.  "We both shared this weight, of death, and the feeling...

This year’s Sundance Film Festival featured 84 feature films, 59 short films, and 26 jury-awarded prizes — with at least 7 of them distributed to Asian productions. Unsurprisingly, most of the Asian award winners revolved around tales of precarity. Shaunak Sen’s Delhi-based ecology-conscious film “All That Breathes” won a Grand Jury Prize in the World Cinema Documentary category. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing’s on-the-ground documentary about Rohingya discrimination in the Rakhine State, “Midwives” won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Excellence in Verite Filmmaking. Maryna Er Gorbach’s Ukraine-Turkey co-production about a family living along the precarious Ukraine-Russian border, “Klondike”, took home the Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic.

Several dramatic films took their pickings, too. Philippines-based Martika Ramirez Escobar’s love letter to cinema, “Leonor Will Never Die,” also was selected for the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Innovative Spirit. Shorts “Night Bus” (Joe Hsieh) and “Warsha” (Dania Bdeir) likewise swept the shorts fiction awards,...

Chicago – The 2022 Sundance Film Festival announced their Grand Jury Prizes on January 28th, and the top films were “Nanny” (U.S. Dramatic), “The Exiles” (U.S. Documentary), “Utama” (World Cinema Dramatic) and “All That Breathes” (World Cinema Documentary).

After nine days, 84 feature films and 59 Short Films, honors were also given for Audience Awards, Festival Favorite Award, Jury Awards for Directing, Screenwriting & Editing and Special Jury Awards.

The list of all award winners are below.

Grand Jury Prize

‘Nanny’

Photo credit: Sundance Film Festival

U.S. Dramatic: “Nanny” directed by Nikyatu Jusu

U.S. Documentary: “The Exiles,” directed by Ben Klein & Violet Columbus

World Cinema Dramatic:: “Utama” (Bolivia/Uraguay/France) directed by Alejandro Loayza Grisi

World Cinema Documentary: “All That Breathes” (India/UK) directed by Shaunak Sen

Audience Awards

Cha Cha Real Smooth

Photo credit: Sundance Film Festival

U.S. Dramatic: “Cha Cha Real Smooth” directed by Cooper Raif

U.S.

Apple has Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic winner for second consecutive year.

Nanny and The Exiles have won the Sundance 2022 US grand jury prizes and Utama and All That Breathes corresponding world cinema honours while Navalny was voted the audience favourite as the festival announced winners on Friday (Jan 28).

Nikyatu Jusu’s supernatural tale of an undocumented Senegalese nanny working in the US claimed the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and The Exiles from Ben Klein and Violet Columbus earned the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary and follows documentarian Christine Choy and she reunites with exiled dissidents from the Tiananmen Square massacre.

NannyU.S. – DRAMATICGrand Jury PrizeNanny (Nikyatu Jusu)Directing PrizeJamie Dack (Palm Trees and Power Lines)Audience Award Cha Cha Real Smooth (Cooper Raiff)Special Jury Award: Uncompromising Artistic Visionblood (Bradley Rust Gray)Special Jury Award: Ensemble CastJohn Boyega, Michael Kenneth Williams, Nicole Beharie, Connie Britton, Olivia Washington, and Selenis Leyva (892)Waldo Salt Screenwriting AwardKD Dávila (Emergency)Descendant U.S. – DOCUMENTARYGrand Jury Prize The Exiles (Ben Klein, Violet Columbus)Directing Prize Reid Davenport (I Didn’t See You There) Audience Award Navalny (Daniel Roher)Jonathan Oppenheim Editing AwardErin Casper and Jocelyne Chaput (Fire Of Love)Special Jury Award: Creative VisionDescendant (Margaret Brown)Special Jury Award: Impact for ChangeAftershock (Paula Eiselt, Tonya Lewis Lee)Utama World Cinema – DRAMATICGrand Jury Prize Utama (Alejandro Loayza Grisi)Directing Prize Maryna Er Gorbach (Klondike)Audience AwardGirl Picture (Alli Haapasalo)Special Jury Award for ActingTeresa Sánchez (Dos Estaciones)Special Jury Award for Innovative SpiritLeonor Will Never Die (Martika Ramirez Escobar...

“Nanny” was the big winner at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, picking up the Grand Jury Prize in the U.S. Dramatic Competition in a virtual awards ceremony Friday.

Cooper Raiff’s “Cha Cha Real Smooth” was also a winner, nabbing the Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic category, while “Navalny,” a late addition to the festival, won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award. The Sundance jury also recognized “The Exiles” in the documentary category and “Utama” in the World Cinematic category.

This year’s Best of the Fest announcement caps off the second year in a row in which the festival was forced to go virtual amid the pandemic.

Although the awards were announced virtually, the emotion was palpable when juror Chelsea Bernard announced that “Nanny” director and screenwriter Nikyatu Jusu had won for her harrowing story of an undocumented nanny working for a privileged couple in New York...

The virtual Sundance Film Festival concluded with a virtual awards show — no host this year, just a series of statements and videos parceled out across two hours by Twitter. It was a strangely anti-climactic way of wrapping a low-key festival, while giving winners a chance to prep polite, crew-inclusive acceptance speeches.

Among the audience prizes, U.S. Dramatic winner “Cha Cha Real Smooth” represents the biggest sale of the festival so far, scooped up by Apple for $15 million — 1,000 times the budget of writer-director-star Cooper Raiff’s shoestring-budgeted debut, “Shithouse.”

The Festival Favorite award went to “Navalny.” This prize, selected by audiences from across all sections of the festival, recognizes a late addition to the lineup (“Navalny” was not announced until this past Monday), protected on account of its political sensitivity, as the documentary tracks Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny while he was recovering from an assassination attempt in Berlin. Accepting the honor,...

The usual prep for Sundance involves a good deal of packing (warm coats, snow-ready boots, a dozen thermals and a lot of Theraflu) and several weeks of intense physical training (wind sprints to better catch fast-moving shuttles, long stairmaster sessions for those screenings at the fourth floor Library theater, extreme-cold endurance tests for long waits to enter the Eccles). This year, the suitcases sat gathering dust in the corner and the regimen was simpler: Practice opening your laptop. Now, close it. Repeat several times a day. Press remote button on,...

by Cláudio Alves

Bradley Rust Gray's Blood nearly put me to sleep. I mean it in a positive way, despite the negative readings such statements usually entail. At times, it felt like watching a 111-minute Asmr video crossed with a stubbornly understated character study. Even the casting appears designed to induce visceral relaxation, from Carla Juri's whispery intonations to Issey Ogata's unmistakable voice. Gray has devised a film of hypnotic qualities, extrapolating its protagonist's search for inner serenity to the audience's experience of movie-watching. At times, like when a gentle song unfurls with lyrics about dozing off, it almost seems as if Blood is winking at the semi-conscious spectator, sharing a joke, giving permission to dream…...

The most powerful, sentimental films are often those that emotionally engage their viewers through their characters’ relatable daily journeys. That’s certainly true for writer-director-producer Bradley Rust Gray’s new drama ‘blood.’ The movie allows its audience to witness actress Carla Juri’s protagonist of the recently widowed Chloe as if they’re her friend, and are sharing the […]

The post 2022 Sundance Film Festival Interview: Bradley Rust Gray and Carla Juri Talk blood (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.

If two people who lack a common language want to communicate, they’ll find a way to communicate. The characters in “blood,” the first new film from Bradley Rust Gray in a decade, don’t exactly lack a common language, but coltish English and crummy Japanese necessitate auxiliary tools for communication, such as food, dance, music, flowers, and art. There may be no purer way for people to bond than preparing a meal together, for instance, no matter where they come from, what tongue they speak, what culture they call their own.

Continue reading ‘blood’ Review: Carla Juri & Takeshi Ueno Carry A Meandering Drama Of Small Gestures [Sundance] at The Playlist.

Editor’s Note: This review was originally published during the 2022 Sundance Film Festival when the film was titled “Blood.”

Swiss actress Carla Juri showed us how far she could push us in the ick-factor department with 2013’s squirmy and riotously distasteful coming-of-age sex comedy “Wetlands.” In “The Exploding Girl” and “Jack and Diane” director Bradley Rust Gray’s gently plaintive soul-searching odyssey “Blood,” his latest low-key, melancholy outing, Juri shows more restraint but packs no less punch as a widow named Chloe. Adrift after the death of her husband, she finds herself in Japan on business, wandering an unfamiliar landscape that also emerges as a backdrop to her mourning. Despite Juri’s commitment, however, the world Rust has built around her (vividly conjuring the magic of on-location Japan) blunts the performance and ultimately leaves just a gossamer, alienating impression.

But how beautiful that scenic backdrop is. Awash in memories of...

A scrapbook collection of serene, observational moments in search of a story, “Blood” runs deep, but only with obscure meaning, so opaque at times that its essence feels unreachable. Writer-director Bradley Rust Gray’s first feature in a decade offers some modest rewards to patient viewers up for a challenge, but this good-natured study of a young widow’s new chapter in life is finally too understated to leave a memorable trace.

Premiering in this year’s U.S. Dramatic Competition at Sundance, “Blood” is exactly the type of unstructured, casually paced indie that requires the immersive experience of the movie theater: dark, big and distraction-free. The irony, of course, is that’s a hard sell these days to spectacle-seeking ticket buyers. Beyond the festival circuit, the film could find a small, committed audience on streaming platforms. Those captivated by the filmmaker’s previous, similarly dispositioned films like “The Exploding Girl” ought to turn up,...

Albeit beautifully shot and made tolerable by the warm presence of Carla Juri in the leading role, blood is a frustratingly indulgent study of emotional recovery after the loss of a loved one. This fourth feature by Bradley Rust Gray is splendidly appointed with locations in Japan and Iceland and an appreciation of emotional openness expressed by all the characters. All the same, the mostly short scenes of recent widow Chloe handling her grief day by day possess little compelling drama and are handicapped by a scruffy Japanese male lead who just doesn’t match up with his appealing female counterpart in any credible way. As with the director’s previous work, you come out of it wondering who this film was made for.

Gray, whose little-seen films over the past two decades are Salt, The Exploding Boy and Jack and Diane, has developed a style that as much as...

Earlier, Sundance announced that its 2022 edition will be hybrid. Most titles will be available online while their in-person festivities start up again in Park City. Their main slate has just gone live as well. Though the festival has a tendency to update their lineup as the festivities grow closer, their competition categories have at least been set in stone.

Naturally, we compiled all of the Asian and Asian diaspora-directed ones we could find so far. Like last year, most Asian titles tend to be in the documentaries. In the World Cinema Documentary Competition, at least 4 entries span from different corners of the continent: India (“All That Breathes”), Myanmar (“Midwives”), Lebanon (“Sirens”), and Israel (“Tantura”). 4 entries revolving around or by Asian diaspora filmmakers make their mark in the US Documentary Competition as well. “Free Chol Soo Lee”, “Jihad Rehab”, “Tiktok.Boom” and “The Exiles” cover fex-Al-Queda extremists, Tiananmen Square exiles, a wrongly-convicted Korean immigrant,...

When You Finish Saving the World The Sundance Institute has announced the films selected for their hybrid 2022 Festival, which will take place in-person in Park City, online, and in arthouse theaters across the United States.U.S. Dramatic COMPETITION892 (Abi Damaris Corbin): When Brian Brown-Easley’s disability check fails to materialize from Veterans Affairs, he finds himself on the brink of homelessness and breaking his daughter’s heart. No other options, he walks into a Wells Fargo Bank and says “I’ve got a bomb.“ Cast: John Boyega, Michael Kenneth Williams, Nicole Beharie, Connie Britton, Olivia Washington, Selenis Leyva. World Premiere.Alice (Krystin Ver Linden): When a woman in servitude in 1800s Georgia escapes the 55-acre confines of her captor, she discovers the shocking reality that exists beyond the treeline…it’s 1973. Inspired by true events. Cast: Keke Palmer, Common, Jonny Lee Miller, Gaius Charles. World Premiere.blood...

Taking place online and in person, the Sundance Film Festival will return for its 2022 edition January 20th through 30th and now the main lineup has been unveiled. With 82 feature-length films representing 28 countries, these films were selected from 14,849 submissions, including 3,762 feature-length films.

Notable titles include Ramin Bahrani’s 2nd Chance, Lena Dunham’s Sharp Stick, Riley Stearns’ Dual, Ricky D’Ambrose’s The Cathedral, two Dakota Johnson-led films, Cha Cha Real Smooth and Am I Ok?, the Bill Nighy-led Ikiru remake Living, Sierra Pettengill’s Riotsville, USA, Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead’s Something in the Dirt, Phyllis Nagy’s Call Jane, W. Kamau Bell’s We Need to Talk About Cosby, Jesse Eisenberg’s When You Finish Saving the World, Kogonada’s After Yang, James Ponsoldt’s Summering, and more.

“The online dimension of the festival was something that after, having done it last year, we valued greatly,” says Tabitha Jackson,...

The smartest choice that filmmaker So Yong Kim made when crafting “Lovesong,” an intimate exploration of the fluid nature of friendship, identity and sexual attraction, comes from the cast. Toplined by Jena Malone and Riley Keough, “Lovesong” leans heavily on the pair’s chemistry and ability to carry a slow-simmering storyline, but even their contributions can only carry the thinly-plotted film so far. While “Lovesong” fails to coalesce, Malone and Keough emerge with two of their best performances yet, bolstered by an on-screen bond that deserves far richer material that what is offered up here.

Read More: ‘Lovesong’ Trailer: Jena Malone and Riley Keough Form an Intimate Bond in So Yong Kim’s Drama

Sarah (Keough) is a stay-at-home mom with a cute kid (played at different ages by Kim’s own cute kids, Jessie Ok Gray and Sky Ok Gray) and a distracted husband (director Cary Fukunaga of season one “True Detective” fame,...

Four years after working together on “For Ellen,” So Yong Kim and Jena Malone reunited for the indie filmmaker’s latest drama “Lovesong,” a tale about two friends whose relationship deepens while on a trip of self-discovery. The film’s first trailer has been released, courtesy of Strand Releasing.

The movie follows Sarah, portrayed by Riley Keough, a woman neglected by her husband who goes on an impromptu road trip with her younger daughter and best friend, Mindy (Malone). Along the way, the friends become physically intimate until Mindy leaves abruptly. After three years of not speaking to each other, the two try to reconnect in the days before Mindy’s wedding. Brooklyn Decker, Amy Seimetz, Marshall Chapman, Ryan Eggold and Rosanna Arquette co-star.

Read More: ‘American Honey’ Exclusive Featurette: Sasha Lane and Riley Keough Discuss Working With Andrea Arnold

Co-written by Kim and Bradley Rust Gray, the feature made...

I’ve never been a young parent who suddenly fell in love with my same-gendered best friend, but boy if Lovesong didn’t nail what it felt like to be in my early twenties. This is a film all about the difficulty to say what you truly want to say, and the distance that crops up between people as a result of that prideful fear. It’s a fear of both rejection and acceptance, what Joni Mitchell was talking about when she warned against expressing honest feeling in “Both Sides Now.” A “no” could end everything between you and this one other person. A “yes” could end everything between you and everyone else.

Sarah (Riley Keough) and Mindy (Jena Malone) are around 23 when we meet them. Sarah already has a young daughter, but her husband, Dean (Cary Joji Fukunaga) is away for months on end for business. She’s lonely...

Exclusive: Charlotte Mickie and her team have come on board to represent international sales on Sundance regular So Yong Kim’s Us Dramatic Competition entry ahead of its world premiere in Park City.

Lovesong will debut on Monday and stars Jena Malone, Riley Keough and Rosanna Arquette. Autumn Productions and Gamechanger Films produced in association with Monofonus Press

The film follows Sarah, a neglected wife, who embarks on a road trip with her daughter and her best friend Mindy, only to have a dramatic falling out with her friend.

Three years later Sarah is forced to come to terms with her feelings for Mindy in the run-up to her friend’s wedding.

The cast includes Brooklyn Decker, Amy Seimetz, Marshall Chapman and Ryan Eggold.

Cassian Elwes of Elevated Film Sales and Kevin Iwashina of Preferred Content jointly represent North America.

Kim wrote Lovesong with her partner Bradley Rust Gray and has produced Gray’s features Jack And Diane and The Exploding Girl...

The Sundance Film institute has released the line-up of film for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Going to Sundance is one of my favorite events of the year. I love going because you never know what kind of movies you're going to see. Sometimes they are great films that amaze and entertain, other times they completely suck ass, but that's all part of the fun of going to the festival. It's an awesome experience for any hardcore movie geek, and if you ever get a chance to go, you need to.

The event takes place in Park City, Utah next year from January 21st to the 31st. It looks like there's a great line-up of movies at next year's event. My favorite portion of the event is the Midnight section because it deals more with geeky genre type movies, but I also enjoy the various sections of other line-ups.

Some of...

The Sundance Film Festival has today revealed the 65 films which are going to make up the 2016 Us and World Cinema Competition Dramatic and Documentary categories, along with those which make up the out-of-competition Next slate. This is a very diverse and interesting list, and one which Sundance Institute executive director Keri Putnam is clearly very excited to show off next year.

“At a time when big-budget blockbusters and free online content are ubiquitous, independent filmmakers continue to be extraordinarily creative, artful and inventive.”

Sundance 2016 will run from January 21st – 31st in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. Check out the full list of movies below and let us know which of these you’re most looking forward to seeing (even if some will inevitably fail to ever reach cinemas).

U.S. Dramatic Competition

Presenting the world premieres of 16 narrative feature films, the Dramatic Competition offers Festivalgoers a...

In last year’s selection of sixteen U.S. Dramatic Competition offerings, it was Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s Me & Earl & the Dying Girl that landed both U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic awards, it was Rick Famuyiwa’s Dope who landed the richest deal ($7 million range), it was Patrick Brice’s The Overnight that had the most post festival momentum, it was Marielle Heller’s The Diary of a Teenage Girl that received a longer term accolades (Bel Powley won Best Actress at the Gothams) and it might be Robert Eggers’ The Witch that becomes the cult item we reference back in a decade from now. This year we accurately predicted ten of the sixteen items below. Among the more familiar folk, we have established names such as Antonio Campos (Christine – see pic of Rebecca Hall above) and So Yong Kim (Lovesong). We have second...

After unexpectedly unveiling their Midnight line-up first, the 2016 Sundance Film Festival have now revealed the 65 films selected for the U.S. Competition, World Competition and out-of-competition Next category. “From diverse backgrounds, places and perspectives, these independent artists are united by the power of their stories and vision. Their films will soon launch onto the global stage, beginning their journeys through our culture. A new year in independent film will start right here—on the mountain—in January,” Robert Redford says.

This year, 120 feature-length films were selected, representing 37 countries and 48 first-time filmmakers, including 28 in competition. These films were selected from 12,793 submissions, including 4,081 feature-length films and 8,712 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 1,972 were from the U.S. and 2,109 were international. 98 feature films at the Festival will be world premieres. Check out the line-up below along with images.

U.S. Dramatic Competition

Presenting the world premieres of 16 narrative feature films, the Dramatic...

Sundance, Berlin, Venice and Toronto film fest programmers would all agree — there is a refined and fertile cinema chez So Yong Kim. In Between Days, Treeless Mountain and For Ellen yield high-end return on subtle emotional footprints. Joining forces with regular collaborators Jena Malone and Riley Keough, production on her fourth feature film began in December of 2014. So one full year to work on Lovesong conceivablely means that a return to Park City – same lieu where she won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance for In Between Days, and premiered For Ellen. is a strong possibility. Set in Tennessee, this is film that looks to be split into two chapters, this stars Jena Malone and Riley Keough in the leads with a supporting cast consisting of Brooklyn Decker, Ryan Eggold, Rosanna Arquette and Amy Seimetz.

Gist: This tells the story of Sarah (Keough) who, with her young daughter in tow,...

Viewers of “Lovesong” are in for one interesting road trip. Deadline reports actresses on the rise Riley Keough and Jena Malone have been tapped to play the leads in the upcoming film. It centers on Mindy (Malone) and Sarah (Keough), two best friends who take a spontaneous road trip along with Sarah’s daughter. Regardless of Mindy’s upcoming marriage, the two friends find a romance is beginning to blossom. Rosanna Arquette, Marshall Chapman, Brooklyn Decker, Ryan Eggold and Amy Seimetz round out the cast. So Yong Kim is directing the film she wrote alongside Bradley Rust Gray, who she collaborates with [...]

The post Indie ‘Lovesong’ Sets Riley Keough and Jena Malone as Leads appeared first on Up and Comers.

Actresses Riley Keough, Jena Malone and a supporting cast comprised of Brooklyn Decker, Amy Seimetz, Marshall Chapman, Ryan Eggold and Rosanna Arquette have all boarded Lovesong, So Yong Kim’s fourth feature film. Deadline reports the road trip romance will film in Tennessee, and will be produced by Alex Lipschultz, Bradley Rust Gray, David Hansen, and Johnny Mac. Mynette Louie, Laura Rister, and Gamechanger Films’ Julie Parker Benello, Dan Cogan, Geralyn Dreyfous, and Wendy Ettinger will executive produce.

Gist: Co-written by Kim and hubby Bradley Rust Gray, this is the tale of best friends Sarah (Keough) and Mindy (Malone) who take off on an impromptu road trip with Sarah’s young daughter in tow and see their deep BFFship develop into a surprising romance – despite the fact that Mindy is about to get married.

Worth Noting: Keough and Malone have previously worked with the Bradley Rust Gray and So Yong Kim team.

Exclusive: For Ellen helmer So Yong Kim has set Jena Malone and Riley Keough to lead Lovesong, the tale of best friends Sarah (Keough) and Mindy (Malone) who take off on an impromptu road trip with Sarah’s young daughter in tow and see their deep BFFship develop into a surprising romance – despite the fact that Mindy is about to get married.

Kim wrote Lovesong with frequent collaborator Bradley Rust Gray, whose own features Jack and Diane and The Exploding Girl were produced by Kim. Lovesong reunites the duo with Keough, who starred in Gray’s Jack and Diane and also starred in a short film Kim directed for designer Miu Miu earlier this year, Spark and Light. Malone appeared in both Jack and Diane and For Ellen.

Also cast in the indie, which is backed by Autumn Productions and Gamechanger Films in association with The Monofonus Press, are Brooklyn Decker (Just Go With It,...

After winning the Best Actress Award at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival for Bradley Rust Gray’s “The Exploding Girl,” Zoe Kazan added a big-budget rom-com (“It’s Complicated”) and more indie dramas (“Meek’s Cutoff”) to her resume, starred on Broadway (“A Behanding in Spokane”) with Christopher Walken, and wrote the charming (and underrated) screenplay for “Ruby Sparks,” in which she starred with her longtime partner Paul Dano. As if that’s not enough, the 29-year-old is back, this time playing identical twin sisters in “The Pretty One.” First-time writer/director Jenée Lamarque’s quirky film also stars Jake Johnson (“New Girl,” “Safety Not Guaranteed,” “Drinking Buddies”), Ron Livingston (“Office Space,” “Swingers”), and John Carroll Lynch (“Fargo”), but the film centers around Kazan’s layered performance as Laurel and Audrey, sisters whose similarity stops at genetics. Laurel is an eccentric wallflower who has never blossomed; she lives at home, cares...

Robert Pattinson ‘Life’: Pattinson to play James Dean photographer and travel companion Dennis Stock Robert Pattinson is keeping himself busy. Pattinson is reportedly going to play Life magazine photographer Dennis Stock in the aptly titled Life, to be directed by Anton Corbijn, himself a photographer. Dane DeHaan is slated to co-star as Stock’s traveling companion and photographic subject James Dean. The screenplay, chronicling the relationship between the young photographer and the Hollywood-legend-to-be, is by Luke Davies. (Photo: Robert Pattinson.) According to The Hollywood Reporter, Iain Canning and Emile Sherman, among whose producing credits are Tom Hooper’s Best Picture Academy Award winner The King’s Speech and the Steve McQueen / Michael Fassbender sex addiction drama Shame, will bring Life to life (sorry, I couldn’t resist) via See Saw Films. FilmNation will reportedly be looking for foreign buyers at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival. As per the Reporter, Life...

(Zoe Kazan recovers from a stressful moment in Bradley Rust Gray's 2009 film "The Exploding Girl")My mindset in talking and writing about film has always stemmed from an inner dialog which goes something like this: "Well if I were out there making movies, I'd surely want someone who can write about my movies with an intelligent, considerate, and rather democratic voice. Someone who would want to start a dialog not start a fight. Someone who just doesn't only want to critique, but really dig down deep and live in the very fiber and marrow of a film. Even if it hurts them. Even if they hate the film I'd want there to be empathy in play." So as corny as that may sound, that's where I...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

So Yong Kim's new film features a bravura turn from Paul Dano as a deadbeat dad. The Korean-American director talks to Andrew Pulver about the echoes with her own life

If you know So Yong Kim's work at all, chances are you will have her pigeonholed as an archetypal Sundance director with a penchant for investigating her own displaced and fatherless life story. Her first two films, In Between Days (2006) and Treeless Mountain (2008) were studies of, respectively, a teenage Korean girl grappling with a new life in Canada, and two young Korean girls seemingly abandoned by their parents. They won a clutch of festival awards, including a Sundance special jury prize.

But now Kim has made a third film, and it couldn't be more of a U-turn. It's called For Ellen, and is about a stumbling, slurring rock'n'roller, complete with chipped black nail varnish, on the skids and far from home,...

Sometimes being offbeat and just a little odd can save a film from getting lost in the shuffle of an increasingly crowded market of independent films, but that ultimately says nothing about whether the film will be any good. It’ll just be memorable. That’s the problem facing Bradley Rust Gray’s Jack and Diane, starring Riley Keough and Juno Temple as the titular couple, a film about aspiring teenaged love that only has one side fighting for it and which takes a very unusual physical toll in the process. The strangeness of those side effects will leave you somewhat intrigued, but that can’t save the film from its tepid love story that never really goes anywhere and characters that fail to develop in any meaningful way.

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The new werewolf-themed love story Jack & Diane arrived in stores this week, and to celebrate all the furry fun, we've assembled a DVD prize package for you to sink your claws into! Read on for details.

Each prize package consists of DVD copies of Jack & Diane, Shrooms, and Pulse. To enter for your chance to win, just send us an E-mail Here including your Full Name And Mailing Address. We’ll take care of the rest.

Jack and Diane, written and directed by Bradley Rust Gray, stars Juno Temple, Riley Keough, Cara Seymour, and Kylie Minogue. The flick has been rated R for strong sexual content including nudity and an assault, bloody violence, language and drinking - all involving teens. Look for it online and in stores on January 8th, 2013.

Special Features

Behind the Scenes Axs TV: A Look at Jack & Diane Theatrical Trailer

Synopsis:

Jack and Diane, two teenage girls,...

Available on DVD and Blu-Ray January 8, 2013

Written and Directed by Bradley Rust Gray (The Exploding Girl, In Between Days) Starring Juno, Riley Keough, Cara Seymour, and Grammy Winner and Pop Icon Kylie Minogue

Synopsis

Jack and Diane, two teenage girls, meet in New York City and spend the night kissing ferociously. Diane’s charming innocence quickly begins to open Jack’s tough skinned heart. But when Jack discovers that Diane is moving … Continue reading →...

After much speculation and of the many candidates, Dane DeHaan has been chosen as the heir apparent to James Franco as the next Harry Osborn in the sequel to The Amazing Spider-man. Director Marc Webb made the announcement on his Twitter.

DeHaan burst onto the scene with his turn in Chronicle, the superhero found footage film from Josh Trank, and has had roles in In Treatment, True Blood, Lincoln, and Lawless. Now he has his chance at stardom, as it’s clear that Marc Webb and company went with the “dark and edgy” side of Harry, and not the dreamy athletic route that had also been rumored. Here’s the press release:

Dane DeHaan will join the cast of the next installment of The Amazing Spider-Man™ along side Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and Shailene Woodley as Columbia Pictures prepares to begin production on the next chapter of the blockbuster franchise,...

Magnolia's Jack & Diane is headed home to Blu-ray and DVD, and we've got all the info you need to decide if you wanna be privy to this extra furry sliver of romance and horror. Read on for details and artwork.

Jack and Diane, written and directed by Bradley Rust Gray, stars Juno Temple, Riley Keough, Cara Seymour, and Kylie Minogue. The flick has been rated R for strong sexual content including nudity and an assault, bloody violence, language and drinking - all involving teens. Look for it online and in stores on January 8th, 2013.

Special Features

Behind the Scenes Axs TV: A Look at Jack & Diane Theatrical Trailer

Synopsis:

Jack and Diane, two teenage girls, meet in New York City and spend the night kissing ferociously. Diane’s charming innocence quickly begins to open Jack’s tough skinned heart. But when Jack discovers that Diane is moving she pushes her away.

Sony has confirmed the casting of Jamie Foxx in The Amazing Spider-Man, along with Shailene Woodley and Dane DeHaan.

The studio issued a press release after director Marc Webb announced on Twitter that he was excited to have DeHaan (above) on board as Harry Osborn, Peter Parker's friend and eventual enemy who was played by James Franco in the Sam Raimi trilogy.

Other actors considered for the role reportedly included Alden Ehrenreich and Brady Corbet along with Sam Claflin, Eddie Redmayne, Douglas Booth and Boyd Holbrook. Redmayne is also said to be on a shortlist for the role of Star-Lord in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.

In The Amazing Spider-Man sequel, Woodley is playing Mary Jane Watson and Foxx has been cast as the villain, Electro, who gains electrical powers after he is struck by lightning.

Foxx told Entertainment Tonight: "Electro is a great character. I met with the director,...

Dane DeHaan will join the cast of the next installment of The Amazing Spider-man along side Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and Shailene Woodley as Columbia Pictures prepares to begin production on the next chapter of the blockbuster franchise, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of production for the studio.

The screenplay is by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner based on a previous draft by James Vanderbilt. The film will be directed by Marc Webb and produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach.

Courtesy of Ctmg./ImageMagick. © 2012 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The casting of DeHaan as Harry Osborn was confirmed this morning in a tweet by Webb (@MarcW) who wrote “Meet Harry Osborn. So excited to have him on board. @danedehaan.” The new film in the Spider-Man saga is set for release in 3D on...

Earlier today, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 director Marc Webb confirmed that Dane DeHaan is portraying Harry Osborn in the superhero sequel. Sony Pictures has issued a press release that also confirms Jamie Foxx has joined the cast as the villainous Electro. Jamie Foxx also revealed a few tidbits about the character in an interview, which you can check out below, along with the official press release.

"Electro is a great character. I met with the director, Marc Webb, I met with Andrew Garfield, and we talked. I think Electro will be an exciting character to play because he's a genius electrician-type person, and he gets the short end of the stick from the whole world, and the next thing you know he turns it on."

Dane DeHaan will join the cast of the next installment of The Amazing Spider-Man alongside Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and Shailene Woodley as...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Jan. 8, 2013

Price: DVD $26.98, Blu-ray $29.98

Studio: Magnolia

Riley Keough and Kylie Minogue pucker up in Jack & Diane.

Part drama, part lesbian romance and part horror, the 2012 independent film Jack & Diane stars the hard-working starlet Juno Temple (Little Birds) and Riley Keough (The Runaways).

Teenage girls Jack (Keough) and Diane (Temple) meet in New York City and spend the night engaged in a helluva make-out session. In very little time, mop-topped Diane’s seeming innocence quickly begins to open skateboarder Jack’s tough skinned heart. But when Jack discovers that Diane is leaving the country in a week, she pushes her away. Unable to grasp her new feelings, Diane’s emotions begin to stir up werewolf-like visions and cause unexplainable violent changes to her body. And so, the two girls must struggle to make sense of their increasingly dangerous experience with first love—and hopefully turn it into an enduring one.

Dane DeHaan will join the cast of the next installment of The Amazing Spider-Man™ along side Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and Shailene Woodley as Columbia Pictures prepares to begin production on the next chapter of the blockbuster franchise, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of production for the studio.

The screenplay is by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and Jeff Pinkner based on a previous draft by James Vanderbilt. The film will be directed by Marc Webb and produced by Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach.

The casting of DeHaan as Harry Osborn was confirmed this morning in a tweet by Webb (@MarcW) who wrote

“Meet Harry Osborn. So excited to have him on board @danedehaan.”

Webb said;

“Dane is an exciting and extraordinary young actor and he is a fantastic addition to our cast.”

The new film in the Spider-Man...

The role of Harry Osborn for Marc Webb’s highly anticipated sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man has officially been landed by actor Dane DeHann. The director announced the casting news earlier this morning via his Twitter account, confirming that DeHaan (Chronicle) is set to portray Peter Parker’s best friend in the upcoming sequel.

Meet Harry Osborn.@danedehaan. twitter.com/MarcW/status/2…

— Marc Webb (@MarcW) December 3, 2012

Actor Dane DeHaan later took to his own Twitter account where he posted the following brief statement, “To say I’m excited is an understatement.”

Official Press Release:

Dane DeHaan will join the cast of the next installment of The Amazing Spider-Man™ along side Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx and Shailene Woodley as Columbia Pictures prepares to begin production on the next chapter of the blockbuster franchise, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of production for the studio.