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Exclusive: Natalie Portman has joined the voice cast for French director Ugo Bienvenu’s upcoming animated feature Arco about a boy who uses rainbows to travel through time and his adventures as he gets stuck in the wrong era.

Portman is also producing with Sophie Mas under their joint Paris and New York banner MountainA with Félix de Givry at Paris-based Remembers.

Taking its cue from the fantasy premise that rainbows are time machines, the movie revolves around 10 year old rainbow-child Arco, who lives in the distant future, 2932.

His maiden journey in his multi-colored suit does not go to plan. He loses control and veers off course to land in a near future, 2075, where Iris, a girl the same age as Arco, witnesses his fall and then makes it her mission to get him home.

Arco

Arco is the first feature for Bienvenu after short films Maman and L’entretien and comic books.

Ugo Bienvenu (aka Ugo), the popular French illustrator and comics author of “Préférence système,” is partnering up with veteran producer Valerie Schermann on his animated feature debut “Arco.”

An ambitious science-fiction film, “Arco” is being co-developed and co-produced by Remembers, the outfit launched by Bienvenu and Félix de Givry, and Schermann at Akaba. The project was previously presented by the Cartoon Movie forum and has already sparked interest from several distributors.

Bienvenu, who grew up in Guatemala, Tchad, Paris and Mexico, graduated from the Gobelins school, studied at CalArts, and has so far created five graphic novels targeting young adults, notably “Paiement accepté,” and “Préférence.”

He also previously co-wrote and co-directed the mini-series “Antman,” as well as several shorts, including the animated title “Maman” (with Kevin Manach) which competed at Annecy in 2013. Aside from his career in comics and films, Bienvenu is also creating exclusive content, including commercials for the Paris Opera,...

An elegy to 90s dance culture, a ramshackle teen bromance and that old humbug Bill Murray enliven this week’s offerings

Can a film actually pulsate with melancholy? Mia Hansen-Løve’s lovely, electric Eden (Metrodome, 15) seems to. Both a euphoric celebration of 1990s dance culture and a wistful post-party elegy for lives left behind when the lights go up, it lets the heart soar only to break it in mid-air. Hansen-Løve, now rivalling her husband, Olivier Assayas, for gliding formal grace, wrote the film with her brother Sven, a former club DJ: the fuzzy high of controlling a crowd through beats is conveyed with first-hand knowledge, as is the crushing comedown when that power is relinquished, as real life and advancing age intervene.

Félix de Givry, an actor who can turn from puppyish to hangdog as the light changes, sharply plays Sven’s alter ego in Paul, a prodigious Parisian...

Mia Hansen-Løve recreates the heady rush of 90s Paris clubland in an evocative essay on youth and experience

Oh, to have been young and French at the dawn of the Parisian house music scene, when Daft Punk were but a glint on a robot’s headpiece. Eden is a fictionalised account of those days from Mia Hansen-Løve, based on the experiences of her brother and co-writer Sven Hansen-Løve, a DJ and scenester reincarnated here as Paul (Félix de Givry). Much more expansive than Hansen-Løve’s previous pieces (Father of My Children, Goodbye First Love), Eden spans 20 years and depicts a life as exalted as the title suggests. Even viewers not initiated in techno and garage arcana are likely to yield to the swimmy rush mustered by the film and its bustling soundtrack.

Related: Eden: 'There was no film that took club culture seriously'

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Mia Hansen-Løve: " I feel I became an adult very young …"

All four of Mia Hansen-Løve’s feature films are autobiographical in one way or another. Eden is explicitly based on Hansen-Løve’s older brother, Sven, a former dee-jay who co-wrote this incidental history of the French Touch music scene. Running parallel to the ascendancy of Daft Punk, Eden stretches from the early 1990s to the recent past, chronicling 20 years in the life of a Parisian DJ named Paul (Félix de Givry). Hansen-Løve (34), whose husband (and father of her daughter six-year-old Vicky) is director Olivier Assayas, tells Richard Mowe about working with Sven, growing up fast, the music scene and her next outing with Isabelle Huppert.

Richard Mowe: Tell me about your relationship with the music scene you portray in the film?

Mia Hansen-Løve: When I started writing the film I thought that this was going to be my most joyful film so far.

Chicago – When it comes to how dance music evolved in the last thirty years, there was a ground zero that was launched right here in Chicago. House music, or Garage House, were inspired beats that were mixed from a DJ source in front of the dancers, creating a brand new club scene. The late DJ Frankie Knuckles was one of the pioneers, and his legacy eventually reached Paris, where it was discovered and re-invented in fresh and different forms. A new film called “Eden” explores that phenomenon, and it features Félix de Givry as a Paris DJ in the 1990s and 2000s, based on the life of the co-writer of the film, Sven Hansen-Løve.

The other writer, and director, was Sven’s sister Mia Hansen-Løve, who came up with the story as a warts-and-all tribute to what her brother – and DJ practitioners like Daft Punk – were doing to make that scene happen.

Read More: Review: 'Eden' is a Refreshing Spin on the History of Electronic Music Editor's Note: Indiewire's Springboard column profiles up-and-comers in film worthy of your attention. Félix de Givry has only two film credits to his name, but at 23-years-old the French sometimes-actor has it going on. He made his screen debut with a small role in Olivier Assayas' "Something in the Air," which led to him being cast as the lead in Mia Hansen-Løve's acclaimed film about the birth of French electronic music, "Eden" (now out in select theaters). Despite his lack of onscreen experience, Givry is a natural in "Eden," embodying a fictionalized version of Hansen-Løve's DJ brother, Sven, on whose story the film is based. He carries the film with total ease and confidence, plus he's easy on the eyes and speaks fluent English, which bodes well for his future career prospects as an actor.

Mia Hansen-Løve’s potently amorphous music drama Eden follows Paul (Félix De Givry), a French electronic dance DJ, over two decades, and you could be forgiven for finding his 131-minute odyssey wandering, unfocused, and overlong. The defense admits that Hansen-Løve is militantly casual in how she tells Paul’s story, and that the way the movie skips from dance space to dance space, track to track, and love affair to love affair can leave you wondering if there’s any “there” there. Who is this man? What does he do for a living again? But Hansen-Løve — like her partner, Olivier Assayas in Summer Hours and The Clouds of Sils Maria — has a near-supernatural instinct for finding the right form (and degree of formlessness) to induce a sense of transience, of something being lost before it even fully registers. Her last film was called Goodbye, First Love, and Eden is another long,...

Inspired and co-written by director Mia Hansen-løve's brother, Sven Hansen-løve, "Eden" serves to document the origins of the electronic music scene in France, from which mega starts like Daft Punk emerged. This intimate portrayal takes the frivolous image of the DJ and turns on its head to deliver a casually elegant, humanistic, and musically intoxicating tale about the trials and errors in one man’s life.

Carried by its start Félix de Givry, who plays a fictionalized version of Sven, the story expands over a decade of heartbreak, drug abuse, disappointments, and personal realizations that transform a boy who fell in love with the innovation of underground tunes into a man who has to accept that a different path might more suiting.

With only two feature films in his resume De Givry is relatively a new face in the international scene, but he is certainly on the rise and developing many more projects besides his acting career. His relationship with both Mia and Sven influenced his performance profoundly and that is reflected with sincerity on the screen.

Our conversation started like most discussing the intricacies of making the film, and evolved into a very enjoyable chat that reveal how much of film buff De Givry is and his diverse interests within the industry.

Aguilar: This is a very sensitive portrayal of a DJ beyond what we might expect when we think of the profession these days. What was your approach to the character and to the movie in general?

Félix de Givry: I met Mia very early on in the process of making this movie. We met one and a half years before shooting and because the movie was so hard to finance we spent a lot of time together talking about it. The film was originally designed to be two features films or a four-hour film. She did it almost like "Carlos," the Olivier Assayas film, which is two parts. When I read the script it was a huge, huge project. During this time we talked about the character, but we also talked about so many different things that we became very close and so the approach to the character was very natural in a way. By the time we started shooting it was like we had already made the film together and it was just a matter of shooting it. Mia has such a subtle approach to everything. I always felt like I was in her hands, and that's how the character is. He is someone who left his life in the hands of someone else and didn't really decide over it.

Aguilar: Was it more difficult or touchy for both of you and Sven since it's such a personal story inspired by his reality at some point?

Félix de Givry: We always felt there was a third person. There is this boundary between fiction and reality which is, for me, something vital. That's how she feels she is able to survive. It's like two mirrors looking at each other, which creates this sort of infinity. That's why she keeps making films about things that surround her. Her next film is loosely based on her mom, "Father of My Children" was based on her previous producer. They are always about something close to her. There is a strange relationship between all of this and I think that also allows the film to be very sincere. Either you get it and get drawn into the film or you don't get it and it won't be a attractive film for you because there is not really a plot or a climax, but I think that's what's interesting. It would have been greater as a four-hour film. This film is a shrunken version of the four-hour film. "Boyhood" is three hours, imagine if "Boyhood" was one hour an a half. It wouldn't have the same effect.

Aguilar: Did you learn anything about yourself by playing someone so complex?

Félix de Givry: it's funny because I learned as much from the character's life and the events in it as from the experience of making the movie. It's not really about what mistakes to avoid or a particular event or love story - even though it is kind of scary not to be able to have a family, kids, and have many regrets -but it's really about the overall experience. I also discovered that I have a passion for cinema and making this film made it grow even bigger. It made be more intellectually involved in movies, which was very important when making the film. The other thing I learned about was the connection between human beings, between Mia, her brother, and I. This is something not directly connected to the movie, but I leaned a lot about evolving in the middle of colorful characters and crazy people [Laughs]. Also because the movie was hard to finance there was a lot of pressure and financial issues. It was really an experience..

Aguilar: Seems like you were part of the film beyond just being the lead actor

Félix de Givry: Yes, I even helped the producer find some more money. [Laughs]

Aguilar: What was your experience with this type of music before the film? Did you ever DJ or was an entire new world for you?

Félix de Givry: I was a little bit more connected to electronic music than most people my age. I used to organized some parties in Paris, and so I had this sort of relationship with it, but not directly with the roots of electronic music or the beginning of it. I wasn't really aware of what happened in the 90s because it's not a very documented era. It was really underground. Traditional media was not talking about it, and there was no social media yet. It's sort of strange because it happened I'm between the 80s and the 2000s. I think this underground scene of raves could only exist at that time. I can't imagine it today. I went to a rave party in Paris a few weeks ago, which was illegal, but the next day I saw people posting pictures on Facebook. It's not really secret anymore.

Aguilar: Back then you had to actually go to the gig to hear the music, you couldn't just download it.

Félix de Givry: Exactly. Also, to create this music, which is different than now with the internet, you had to go and dig into stores and find the music. The DJ's job was something different back then. I learned all that for the movie. I had this intuition or this idea that it was different but I had to go deeper. When I was a teenager electronic music was already huge. It's been huge for maybe the last 15 years or at least the last decade. I'm 22 so it was definitely very huge when I was a teenager. I was not aware that the French people that were involved in the beginning of electronic music were so few people. In your subconscious you have this idea that it was always something big. But if you talk about it with Sven or his friends, they'll tell you that it was about 100 people that were going to the same events and going to same record stores. Daft Punk were not international superstars, it was a little, little scene. I learned about this through making the movie.

Aguilar: What I gather from your character is that he grows up with these group of people, and then some of them, like Daft Punk, blow up, but he never does. It seems like after several trials he has to regroup and look for something else. I wouldn't say is about lost dreams but maybe there is some of that in it?

Félix de Givry: The thing is that I don't think he really wanted it to happen. Like I said, there is this sort of boundary between real life and the film. There is this sort of difference between Sven and the character, but I think Sven's real dream is to be a writer. His real dream wasn't music, music came on his path and was something like a ready-to-eat cake that was in front of him. But now he is starting to get into his real dream of writing and being committed to write. I think if he went that much into music it was because it was easy at first. You earn money easily, it's exciting, and you are in the middle of something great, but maybe it was the wrong path. I don't think he is jealous of Daft Punk or that there is a rivalry, because he never wanted to be that big in music. For me the thing that illustrates that the most is that he never really produced music. You can be big as a DJ, but if you really want to be big, like all the big names from back then or now, you have to produce. These are people who have produced songs that became hits, and people are going to see them to the clubs because they know they are going to play the hits they produced. I think Sven was a witness of that era but not really an actor or a player in it. Now he is starting to get into his real path which is writing. The four-hour version of the movie delved even more into his writing.

Aguilar: How does Mia work? Is there room for any improvisation in a film like this or does it all have to go by the script?

Félix de Givry: It's a lot like it is on the script, but she is very open to suggestions. She really knows what she wants and she does a lot of takes, like in between 20 and 30 takes. This is also because is the first project that she didn't shoot on film. It was like "Whoo! I can do as many takes as I want" [Laughs]. But even then it was still a bit limited because of a new law in France regarding working overtime, so she was still kind of cut short by that. She was very precise, but at the same time, as I told you, we trusted each other so much that everything was always soft and gentle. We never really had a fight. The shooting was very physical, Mia and I were there every day. There were a lot of night shoots, and it was very tough as it took a few months to shoot. It was a tough film. I don't know if you've ever met Mia, but she very skinny and sweet, you don't know how she handles all that. She definitely knows what she wants, an it was a very pleasant experience, especially because we became very good friends through this process. Maybe we'll make another film together.

Aguilar: What does the title "Eden" mean to you? I know it comes from the pamphlet that was distributed in this raves, but it really could encompass many elements of the film.

Félix de Givry: Eden is a lost paradise, for me that's the most coherent meaning. I think it's even funnier that it's also the title of the pamphlet they created at that time while living it. The pamphlet is one of the only things that documents this time because there are interviews. Sven did interviews with Daft Punk. If you really read it - I've read all the issues thought there are only around 10 of them - you realize they were direct witnesses of what was happening. It's kind of crazy that they called it "Eden" as if they already knew that it was a lost paradise, that it wouldn't last. They predicted this lost paradise.

Aguilar: What are you doing next now that "Eden" is finally coming out here in the U.S? Does that open more doors?

Félix de Givry: In France I refused a lot of films because I only want to work on great films, and there are not that many great films. I'm taking to an American director and to an Israeli director about two indie films. I think that's the type of films I want to do. I'm also doing two short films in October and November. But I also have my company in France with some friends, we have a music label, we are producing films, and we are creating a clothing line as well. We are very busy, the music label is doing quite well. We produce music videos and short films as well.

Aguilar: Seems very fitting that you were involved in music while being part of a film like this

Félix de Givry: There is actually some of the music I've produced in the film. But we are also developing our first feature film by a French director who is a friend. I'm sort of in between right now. I want to act in other films but only if they are good. I became quite good friends with Josh Mond of BorderLine Films who directed "James White." He works with Antonio Campos and Sean Durkin in this sort of collective way. I think they are very interesting. I would like to do what they do but in France.

Aguilar: Would you like to direct? Is that part of your future plans?

Félix de Givry: Yes! [Laughs], I'm really in the middle of a time crisis right now between being a producer and an artist. I started to realize this in "Eden," because I was so involved in the film. I was not a producer but it was almost like if I was also a producer. Then I thought to myself, "Yeah but I'm also considered talent, I'm not really on the producing side." It's all blurry in my head right now, I don't know where I'm gonna go. I would love to do a film with the Coen brothers, as an actor that kind of a dream. Although I was kind of disappointment with their jury choices at Cannes.

Aguilar: Where you there?

Félix de Givry: I was at Cannes for two days for a Louis Garrel, a French actor who directed a film. The film is called "Les Deux Amis" it was part of the Critics' Week. He is the son of Philippe Garrel.

Aguilar: What was your favorite film at Cannes?

Félix de Givry: I didn't see a lot but I saw "The Lobster" and I liked it. Have you seen it?

Aguilar: I haven't but I really like his films. "Dogtooth" is fantastic.

Félix de Givry: It's sort of absurd. We are producing a film in September that's sort of like that,absurd reality, which is more real than surreal. The elements are assumed like a reality. I think there is an interesting approach there, whereas most absurd films are fantasies. I also saw Joachim Trier's film "Louder Than Bombs," I love his films.

Aguilar: It seems like a great number of international directors are making films in English

Félix de Givry: Yeah it's kind of the trend, to be an indie Norwegian director and then you do a film with Jesse Eisenberg. All these directors have the same passion for the same American actors like Jesse Eisenberg. I know Mia really likes him, or Greta. Did you see or hear anything good about other films at Cannes?

Aguilar: I heard good things about "Son of Saul," and I was surprised that the Jacques Audiard film "Dheepan" won.

Félix de Givry: I was surprised too. The jury's choices were strange.

Aguilar: I mean he is a great director and he'd never won before, maybe that's why.

Félix de Givry: He is a good director but he is not the greatest.

Aguilar: Well he seems to be very well regarded in France, but maybe you'll be at Cannes soon with a film.

Félix de Givry: I hope [Laughs]

“Eden” opens today in L.A. at The Nuart and in NYC at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and the IFC Center...

‘Tis the season of barbecues, and caipirinhas in lawn chairs, and firecrackers on the roof, and dancing in your backyard until the neighbors call the cops. For all this sweaty fun, you’ll need a soundtrack. Enter Sven Hansen-Løve, the co-writer and inspiration for Eden, a “shimmering memoir” of a film tracing 20 years in the life of Paul (Félix de Givry), a semi-successful Parisian DJ who had the misfortune of coming up in the late ‘90s at the same time as Daft Punk. (Think an electronic dance music Inside Llewyn Davis with those robots as the spectre of out-of-reach success rather than Bob Dylan.) Sven, brother of director Mia Hansen-Løve, lived some version of that life, and the film plays out like the peaks and valleys of an endless night of clubbing. It begins as a portrait of the burgeoning Parisian Edm scene, where Paul finds a niche in the...

Eden is a low-key film about a high-energy musical genre, but its languid pace and episodic storytelling turn out to be entrancing rather than enervating. Appropriately, for a film tracking a French DJ’s rise and descent, it is sometimes more useful to pay attention to the beats and lyrics on the soundtrack than the dialogue in the screenplay. That the prose doesn’t rise to the level of the pulsating house music is a tad disappointing, considering that the story is loosely autobiographical: director Mia Hansen-Løve’s brother, Sven, was a disc jockey for two decades.

Sven also co-wrote the drama, which spans more than 20 years, beginning in November 1992. Eden focuses on Paul (newcomer Félix de Givry), a musician in the garage house subgenre trying to catch his big break in his hometown of Paris. One half of a musical duo named Cheers, he yearns to find an audience...

All four of Mia Hansen-Løve’s feature films are autobiographical in one way or another, but it’s nevertheless surprising that “Eden” is the one which most transparently reveals who she is. For one thing, “Eden” is explicitly based on somebody else: Hansen-Løve’s older brother, Sven, a former DJ who co-wrote this sprawling incidental history of the French Touch music scene (listen to all of the music in the film here). An intimate epic running parallel to the ascendancy of Daft Punk, "Eden" stretches from the early ‘90s to the recent past, chronicling 20 years in the increasingly stagnant life of a Parisian DJ named Paul (Félix de Givry). He's obsessed with bringing Edm to the masses, but his focus far outstrips his talent, and it soon becomes clear (to everyone else) that his mild early success is the beginning of a long road to nowhere. A delicate character study...

If you had a pretty, shirtless French boy in your bed and he was begging you to stay in Paris with him forever, you might find his exotic entreaties hard to resist. And yet, Greta Gerwig manages the impossible in this exclusive clip from the acclaimed electronic-music drama Eden, gently rebuffing the advances of Paul (Félix de Givry), whose crush on this American expat comes as his career as a dance-music DJ begins to take off. The film is Paul's story, and director Mia Hansen-Løve based the character on her brother Sven, himself a popular former DJ. That lends Eden (opening tomorrow, June 19) an intriguing level of verisimilitude, never more so than when two of Paul's DJ friends, Thomas and Guy-Man, surge to supremacy as the masked faces behind Daft Punk. If you're looking for a beautifully shot chronicle of the last two decades of the electronic-music scene, then Eden...

The other day, I saw a college kid wearing a T- shirt that said, "In school now just to be a wage slave later." I seriously considered giving the kid a hug. And I could've easily regarded it as some ironic hipster shit. But after watching the talented Mia Hansen-Løve's new film Eden, it hit me as extremely poignant. Co-written by her brother Sven, the film is a sprawling and epic look back at the 90s' French electronic dance music scene. And they do an amazing job capturing the look and feel of that decade. But more so, the film is about life. Eden charts about 20 years in the life of Paul (Félix de Givry), starting in 1992. He is a big raver and into...

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

French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve's new film Eden, an ambitious survey of the hedonistic 90s French club music scene, as well as poignant observation on life and time passing, was one of my favorite films I saw last year. To promote its theatrical release in the Us, the film's star Félix de Givry and co-writer/DJ Sven Hansen-Løve (and brother of Mia) were in town. I was very eager to talk about the film and the 90s with the two.I love when things get nerdy in interviews. Obviously de Givry and Hansen-Løve knew what they were talking about but you can tell they are very passionate about what they do. This is one interview I'll remember fondly in the years to come.TwitchFilm: I talked with Mia (Hansen-Løve)...

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

In The Garden Of Garage: Hansen-Løve Recounts Brother’s Coming of Age During the Rise of House Music

Thanks to her brother Sven’s involvement in the popularization of French house music as a young DJ and club promoter throughout the 90s, director Mia Hansen-Løve grew up baptized in the propulsive wash of beats and samples that make up garage music. Her latest film, Eden, fictionalizes her brother’s Inside Llewyn Davis-esque music career with an authentic eye and ear for the electronic dance music scene as it metamorphosizes over the course of twenty rough and tumble years of spinning soulful dance tracks, snorting copious amounts of blow and trying desperately manage to both finances and romances.

Deeply personal in its portrayal of artistic passion and the intimate repercussions that come with banging one’s head against a metaphoric professional wall, Hansen-Løve’s film aches with nostalgia and heartbreak...

The sweat, the pulse, the energy, and most importantly, the music — these were the ingredients that fuelled the disco/house/garage/electronic scene in Europe in the ‘90s, and it forms the backdrop to "Eden," Mia Hansen-Løve's love letter to the era. And today, we have an exclusive clip from the film. Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne and Vincent Macaigne lead the movie that follows Paul, who comes of age in the underground scene, forms a DJ collective, and becomes an integral part of the music movement. And as you'll see in the scene below, Paul has his own tastes and opinions, which makes him stand out in the club crowd and forge new friendships, as he continues to find ways to satisfy his passion for electronic music. Also featuring Brady Corbet, Laura Smet and Greta Gerwig, "Eden" opens on June 19th. The scene below features "Follow Me" by...

Read More: Toronto Review: 'Eden' is a Refreshing Spin on the History of Electronic MusicThe film industry and the music industry collided at Monday's New York premiere of Mia Hansen-Løve's "Eden," which traces the evolution of French House music. In both industries, technology is threatening to outpace the creative process and two worlds find themselves scrambling together to reinvent business models in an oversaturated market. Or, as Félix de Givry, the star of "Eden," puts it, "Because of the digital process, art is easier. There are less high expectations. It's not the best thing, but it's part of democracy." This ever-evolving landscape is the setting of "Eden," an "Inside Llewyn Davis"-like portrait of a musician chasing something significantly less idealistic than fame: sustainability. Hansen-Løve wrote the film with her brother, Sven Løve, a '90s electronic DJ on...

Ah, the 1990s, when the world turned upside down and nothing would ever be the same again! But enough about me, what about the French electronic dance music scene? Mia Hansen-Løve's Eden is "a sprawling and epic look back" at that particular scene, according to our own Dustin Chang. "But more so," he continued, "the film is about life." Here's a little more from his review after seeing it at the New York Film Festival: Eden charts about 20 years in the life of Paul (Félix de Givry), starting in 1992. He is a big raver and into music. He and his friend Stan (Hugo Conzelman) form a garage (Paul affectingly explains - house music with more soul and disco) DJ duo called Cheers, despite his mom...

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

For a certain generation, nothing evokes summer more than slinky electronic beats pulsating through a sweaty night as you dance until the sun breaks the horizon. Before massive festivals and Las Vegas superclubs rendered electronic dance music mainstream, kids were packing cramped warehouses and underground bars to hear the hottest tunes —this is the era Mia Hansen-Løve captures in the upcoming "Eden." Starring Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne and Vincent Macaigne with appearances by Brady Corbet, Laura Smet and Greta Gerwig, the film is based on the Paris-based French Touch scene of the '90s and follows Paul as he dives into rave culture. Here's the official synopsis: Eden is an affecting trip into the electronic dance movement in Paris whose rhythms echo its textures and feeling. Based on the experiences of Hansen-Løve's brother (and co-writer) Sven, the film follows Paul (Félix de...

Read More: Toronto Review: 'Eden' is a Refreshing Spin on the History of Electronic Music After premiering to raves on the festival circuit last fall, Mia Hansen-Løve's spellbindingly rhythmic film "Eden" is hitting theaters stateside. The film drew acclaim out of its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, with the bulk of the praise going towards its alternatingly exhilirating and melancholic tonal template. Its official synopsis reads, "'Eden' is an affecting trip into the electronic dance movement in Paris whose rhythms echo its textures and feeling. Based on the experiences of Hansen-Løve's brother (and co-writer) Sven, the film follows Paul (Félix de Givry), a teenager in the underground scene of early-nineties Paris. Rave parties dominate that culture, but he's drawn to the more soulful rhythms of Chicago's garage house. He forms a DJ collective named Cheers (as, in a parallel storyline, two of his friends form.

Park City, Utah – There are too many films and not enough time between shuttle shuffles and line waiting to cover the festival day by day. So, in pure improvised festival-going fashion, I’ll now be posting reviews for material that I see, but necessarily in viewing order. Enjoy!

A Walk in the Woods

‘A Walk in the Woods’

Image credit: Sundance Institute

A human being who looks better at his current age than I ever will in my entire life, Robert Redford has a sprightly screen presence that has carried him through thick and thin, even brutal storms that live-or-die on his charisma (Aka “All is Lost,” one of the best films of 2013). For his next adventure, Redford goes softer than a survival story, but nonetheless into an amusing jaunt with “A Walk in the Woods.”

Based on the nonfictional accounts by New Hampshire writer Bill Bryson, Redford embodies the author as an amusing smart-ass,...

Eden

Written by Mia Hansen-Løve and Sven Hansen-Løve

Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve

France, 2014

I suppose it’s a right of passage of sorts to find your own music scene and counterculture when you’re growing up. And I suppose many of us try our hand at the artistry of it all. And I suppose some of us never really make it. I just never realized until this film how underwhelming it could be to watch it all happen on screen. You could argue that Eden is trying to point out how underwhelming the whole experience is, but did the film have to be so underwhelming too to make that happen?

Mia Hansen-Løve’s film follows the 20-year journey of a young French DJ named Paul, who gets caught up in the house and electro scene that propelled Daft Punk to stardom. Daft Punk is even represented in peripheral roles by...

Burning Down the House –Talking Heads, Nymphomaniac

It makes sense that an auteur as provocative and anarchic as Lars von Trier would use something as lyrically anarchic as the Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House”, a track whose title is taken relatively literally as we watch Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) burn the car of her sex addiction therapist. Von Trier, to his credit, is a bit more clever than to use the track merely as an on the nose piece of revenge on Joe’s part; her burning the car comes immediately after her self-proclamation of being a Nymphomaniac, a title she finds empowering. She’s not only burning down that car, she’s burning down the entire paradigm of how we think about female sexuality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVv94T5LF0c

Six Zero Two, We Are the Best!

Sung by the most reserved member of adolescent...

Whenever I go to the Sundance Film Festival, the movies that I look forward to seeing most are the Park City At Midnight films. Those are the crazy fun genre movies that a lot of you would also enjoy watching. Sundance has announced the movie lineup for those film as well as the films in the Spotlight and New Frontier sections. It looks like there are a lot of cool movies that are going to be worth watching this year. Especially in the Park City At Midnight lineup. I'm really excited about going this year! Check out the Competition movie line-up here.

Park City At Midnight

From horror flicks to comedies to works that defy any genre, these unruly films will keep you edge-seated and wide awake.

Cop Car / U.S.A. (Director: Jon Watts, Screenwriters: Christopher D. Ford, Jon Watts) — Two 10-year-old boys steal an abandoned cop car. Cast: Kevin Bacon,...

John Nein was not always a Senior Programmer at the Sundance Film Festival — it’s only been eight years. When he began at Sundance in 2002 he was always watching movies of course. More than that, like John Cooper said, he just didn’t shut up when he was in the room; he was opinionated and spoke his opinions. He also always liked international cinema as he was born in Ireland and grew up in The Netherlands, Belgium and London where his father worked for international companies. When he was 12 he came to the U.S.

The programmers at Sundance do not have a strict formal assignment of areas they program; they see all the films of all the sections, but like his father, international was always of great interest. The same is true for myself, although out of the 118 feature films selected out of 4,105 feature length submissions, many of the U.S. films look great to me as well. For instance, I am so happy that Matt Sobel’s “ Take Me To The River ” which won the prize at Us in Progress this past November in Wroclaw, Poland at The American Film Festival is in the Next section.

John: This year on Day One, January 22, 2015, the Festival will feature one of each type of film shown at the Festival: one shorts program, a U.S. documentary, a U.S. dramatic, an international documentary and an international dramatic which will be the first ever Lithuanian film in Competition, a lesbian love story that is stylish and smartly directed by Alanté Kavaïté with two fantastic actors, Julija Steponaitytė and Aistė Diržiūtė. Actually " The Summer of Sangaile” is a coproduction of Lithuania, France, and Holland . I think Alanté lives in France.

There ares 29 countries represented and 45 first-time filmmakers.

Sydney: I know the Chileans love Sundance. Last year Alejandro Fernández Almendras said in our interview about “To Kill a Man” that Sundance is very important for Chile. I am also a longtime fan of Sebastian Silva since “The Maid”. Two years ago he had two films, “Crystal Fairy” and “Magic, Magic” in Sundance, so why is this Chilean film not in World Competition but in Next?

John: I’m glad Alejandro said that. Yes we like Chile too. They make many good films. But “Nasty Baby” by Sebastian Silva is a U.S. film, about people living in Brooklyn.

He lives in U.S. and has spent a lot of time here. He knows Brooklyn and yet his curiosity and his view of it is that of an outsider. He knows these people because he watches and listens so well. “

Sydney: “Bridesmaids” star and co-writer Kristen Wiig stars. A short promo of “Nasty Baby” was shown to buyers while it was in post-production in Cannes and Toronto. The Chilean production company of Juan de Dios Larrain and Pablo Larrain, Fabula, produced “No” as well as Sebastian’s later films. Papi Boye and Violaine Pichon’s production and international sales agent Versatile out of France along with the film’s international sales agent Funny Balloons — also based in France – helped finance this U.S. Production.

John: World Cinema is now 10 years old. Overall, the Competition sections have evolved over the years. We have a sense of emerging directors here. We have come of age.

All our films are of emerging filmmakers. Either first time directors or highly anticipated second or third features. Of all the festivals worldwide, Sundance has the strongest program of emerging talent. Watch these filmmakers over the next years. Like “Homesick” by Anna Sewitsky. Her previous film “Happy, Happy” showed at Sundance in 2011 and took the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema. “Happy, Happy” also became the Norwegian Official entry for the Academy Awards® .

Sydney: TrustNordisk sold “Happy, Happy” to more than 50 countries, so they must be poised to sell this one as well.

John: But not all the second and third films are from filmmakers whose first films were at Sundance, although Canada’s “ Chorus” director Francois Delisle showed “The Meteor” at Sundance two years ago.

And “Glassland”, was a very anticipated second film. The first film by director and screenwriter, Gerard Barrett, "Pilgrim Hill” won the Galway Film Festival and was very sought after and was signed with a U.S. agent then. “Sangaile" is also a second feature.

Look at the international films in the Premieres section and you will see some international filmmakers there, like “ Brooklyn” which is an immigrant story directed by John Crowley and written by Nick Hornby whose film “Wild” is now playing .

Sydney: I see from IMDbPro that Hanway has already sold Middle Eastern rights to Front Row Entertainment who must have pre-bought “Brooklyn” in Cannes or Toronto.

John: Of the 12 films in World Cinema the less expected films come from Turkey, “Ivy” by the talented director Tolga Karacelik. This is his second film. His first was “Toll Booth” which Global Initiative distributed in the U.S. The Dp on this was Nuri Bilge Ceylan (“Winter’s Sleep”)’s Dp on “Winter’s Sleep”, Gökhan Tiryaki. It is about guys stuck on a freighter whose company goes bankrupt. Power dynamics play out.

Sydney: Have there been Oscar nominated films in Sundance (Aside from “Whiplash” and “Boyhood”)?

John: Yes, “Man on Wire” was not last year but it was foreign. “Ida” was in Spotlight last year and maybe Sundance increased its visibility. Three others were in Sundance last year:

“To Kill a Man” is Chile’s submission, “Difret” which won the Audience Award is Ethiopia’s submission this year and “Liar’s Dice” from India was in World Competition last year. It is a very artful film. We knew it would do well with the critics, but it did extremely well with the audience too. A couple of films in Spotlight will probably be nominated next year. Watch for them.

Sydney : We haven’t even discussed the World documentaries.

John : Are there any that stand out for you?

Sydney: Yes, “Chuck Norris vs. Communism”, from U.K., Romania and Germany. Chuck Norris?

John: How interesting it is that something like Chuck Norris means something very different to others. It is a sign of cultural differences between us. Chuck Norris shows how independent films built a community of counter culture against an authoritarian government.

Sydney: I also notice that there are six docs from the U.K. Out of 12 films.

John: Yes we noticed and discussed that. U.K. really supports documentary filmmaking. Great work is coming out of the U.K. And many of the films are about different countries, so it doesn’t fit so simply into a U.K. pigeon hole.

Sydney : Yes I see “Chuck Norris” is about Romania, “Dreamcatcher” is about teenage prostitution, “How to Change the World” is about Greenpeace, “Listen to Me Marlon” is about a famous U.S. actor, “The Russian Woodpecker” is about a Ukrainian survivor of Chernobyl.

Thank you John for your insights. I think we have a lot to look at here. Thank you for taking this time to talk with me. See you at Sundance!

For a full list thus far of Sundance films, see below.

U.S. Dramatic Competition

Advantageous / U.S.A. (Director: Jennifer Phang, Screenwriters: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang) — In a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter, Jules, do all they can to hold on to their joy, despite the instability surfacing in their world. Cast: Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Kim.

The Bronze / U.S.A. (Director: Bryan Buckley, Screenwriters: Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch) — In 2004, Hope Ann Greggory became an American hero after winning the bronze medal for the women's gymnastics team. Today, she's still living in her small hometown, washed-up and embittered. Stuck in the past, Hope must reassess her life when a promising young gymnast threatens her local celebrity status.Cast: Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Stan, Haley Lu Richardson, Cecily Strong. Day One Film

The D Train / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel) — With his 20th reunion looming, Dan can’t shake his high school insecurities. In a misguided mission to prove he's changed, Dan rekindles a friendship with the popular guy from his class and is left scrambling to protect more than just his reputation when a wild night takes an unexpected turn. Cast: Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor, Mike White, Kyle Bornheimer.

The Diary of a Teenage Girl / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Marielle Heller) — Minnie Goetze is a 15-year-old aspiring comic-book artist, coming of age in the haze of the 1970s in San Francisco. Insatiably curious about the world around her, Minnie is a pretty typical teenage girl. Oh, except that she's sleeping with her mother's boyfriend. Cast: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni, Kristen Wiig.

Dope / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Rick Famuyiwa) — Malcolm is carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles while juggling college applications, academic interviews, and the Sat. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself. Cast: Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Blake Anderson, Zoë Kravitz, A$AP Rocky.

I Smile Back / U.S.A. (Director: Adam Salky, Screenwriters: Amy Koppelman, Paige Dylan) — All is not right in suburbia. Laney Brooks, a wife and mother on the edge, has stopped taking her meds, substituting recreational drugs and the wrong men. With the destruction of her family looming, Laney makes a last, desperate attempt at redemption. Cast: Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Thomas Sadoski, Mia Barron, Terry Kinney, Chris Sarandon.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl / U.S.A. (Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Screenwriter: Jesse Andrews) — Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia. Cast: Thomas Mann, Rj Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon.

The Overnight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Patrick Brice) — Alex, Emily, and their son, Rj, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family "playdate" becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on. Cast: Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, Judith Godrèche.

People, Places, Things / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: James C. Strouse) — Will Henry is a newly single graphic novelist balancing being a parent to his young twin daughters and teaching a classroom full of college students, all the while trying to navigate the rich complexities of new love and letting go of the woman who left him. Cast: Jemaine Clement, Regina Hall, Stephanie Allynne, Jessica Williams, Gia Gadsby, Aundrea Gadsby.

Results / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — Two mismatched personal trainers' lives are upended by the actions of a new, wealthy client. Cast: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Kevin Corrigan, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Michael Hall, Brooklyn Decker.

Songs My Brothers Taught Me / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Chloé Zhao) — This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home. Cast: John Reddy, Jashaun St. John, Irene Bedard, Taysha Fuller, Travis Lone Hill, Eléonore Hendricks.

The Stanford Prison Experiment / U.S.A. (Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Screenwriter: Tim Talbott) — This film is based on the actual events that took place in 1971 when Stanford professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo created what became one of the most shocking and famous social experiments of all time. Cast: Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Michael Angarano, Tye Sheridan, Johnny Simmons, Olivia Thirlby.

Stockholm, Pennsylvania / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Nikole Beckwith) — A young woman is returned home to her biological parents after living with her abductor for 17 years. Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cynthia Nixon, Jason Isaacs, David Warshofsky.

Unexpected / U.S.A. (Director: Kris Swanberg, Screenwriters: Kris Swanberg, Megan Mercier) — When Samantha Abbott begins her final semester teaching science at a Chicago high school, she faces some unexpected news: she's pregnant. Soon after, Samantha learns that one of her favorite students, Jasmine, has landed in a similar situation. Unexpected follows the two women as they embark on an unlikely friendship. Cast: Cobie Smulders, Anders Holm, Gail Bean, Elizabeth McGovern.

The Witch / U.S.A., Canada (Director and screenwriter: Robert Eggers) — New England in the 1630s: William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life with five children, homesteading on the edge of an impassable wilderness. When their newborn son vanishes and crops fail, the family turns on one another. Beyond their worst fears, a supernatural evil lurks in the nearby wood. Cast: Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Lucas Dawson, Ellie Grainger.

Z for Zachariah / U.S.A. (Director: Craig Zobel, Screenwriter: Nissar Modi) — In a post-apocalyptic world, a young woman who believes she is the last human on Earth meets a dying scientist searching for survivors. Their relationship becomes tenuous when another survivor appears. As the two men compete for the woman's affection, their primal urges begin to reveal their true nature. Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine.

U.S. Documentary Competition

Sixteen world-premiere American documentaries that illuminate the ideas, people, and events that shape the present day.

3½ Minutes / U.S.A. (Director: Marc Silver) — On November 23, 2012, unarmed 17-year-old Jordan Russell Davis was shot at a Jacksonville gas station by Michael David Dunn. 3½ Minutes explores the aftermath of Jordan's tragic death, the latent and often unseen effects of racism, and the contradictions of the American criminal justice system.

Being Evel / U.S.A. (Director: Daniel Junge) — An unprecedented, candid portrait of American icon Robert "Evel" Knievel and his legacy.

Best of Enemies / U.S.A. (Directors: Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon) — Best of Enemies is a behind-the-scenes account of the explosive 1968 televised debates between the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr., and their rancorous disagreements about politics, God, and sex.

Call Me Lucky / U.S.A. (Director: Bobcat Goldthwait) — Barry Crimmins was a volatile but brilliant bar comic who became an honored peace activist and influential political satirist. Famous comedians and others build a picture of a man who underwent an incredible transformation.

Cartel Land / U.S.A., Mexico (Director: Matthew Heineman) — In this classic Western set in the 21st century, vigilantes on both sides of the border fight the vicious Mexican drug cartels. With unprecedented access, this character-driven film provokes deep questions about lawlessness, the breakdown of order, and whether citizens should fight violence with violence.

City of Gold / U.S.A. (Director: Laura Gabbert) — Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jonathan Gold casts his light upon a vibrant and growing cultural movement in which he plays the dual roles of high-low priest and culinary geographer of his beloved Los Angeles.

Finders Keepers / U.S.A. (Directors: Bryan Carberry, Clay Tweel) — Recovering addict and amputee John Wood finds himself in a stranger-than-fiction battle to reclaim his mummified leg from Southern entrepreneur Shannon Whisnant, who found it in a grill he bought at an auction and believes it to therefore be his rightful property.

Hot Girls Wanted / U.S.A. (Directors: Jill Bauer, Ronna Gradus) — Hot Girls Wanted is a first-ever look at the realities inside the world of the amateur porn industry and the steady stream of 18- and 19-year-old girls entering into it.

How to Dance in Ohio / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandra Shiva) — In Columbus, Ohio, a group of teenagers and young adults on the autism spectrum prepare for an iconic American rite of passage — a spring formal. They spend 12 weeks practicing their social skills at a local nightclub in preparation for the dance.

Larry Kramer in Love and Anger / U.S.A. (Director: Jean Carlomusto) — Author, activist, and playwright Larry Kramer is one of the most important and controversial figures in contemporary gay America, a political firebrand who gave voice to the outrage and grief that inspired gay men and lesbians to fight for their lives. At 78, this complicated man still commands our attention.

Meru / U.S.A. (Directors: Jimmy Chin, E. Chai Vasarhelyi) — Three elite mountain climbers sacrifice everything but their friendship as they struggle through heartbreaking loss and nature’s harshest elements to attempt the never-before-completed Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru, the most coveted first ascent in the dangerous game of Himalayan big wall climbing.

Racing Extinction / U.S.A. (Director: Louie Psihoyos) — Academy Award-winner Louie Psihoyos (The Cove) assembles a unique team to show the world never-before-seen images that expose issues surrounding endangered species and mass extinction. Whether infiltrating notorious black markets or exploring humans' effect on the environment, Racing Extinction will change the way you see the world.

(T)Error / U.S.A. (Directors: Lyric R. Cabral, David Felix Sutcliffe) — (T)Error is the first film to document on camera a covert counterterrorism sting as it unfolds. Through the perspective of *******, a 63-year-old Black revolutionary turned FBI informant, viewers are given an unprecedented glimpse of the government’s counterterrorism tactics, and the murky justifications behind them.

Welcome to Leith / U.S.A. (Directors: Michael Beach Nichols, Christopher K. Walker) — A white supremacist attempts to take over a small town in North Dakota.

Western / U.S.A., Mexico (Directors: Bill Ross, Turner Ross) — For generations, all that distinguished Eagle Pass, Texas, from Piedras Negras, Mexico, was the Rio Grande. But when darkness descends upon these harmonious border towns, a cowboy and lawman face a new reality that threatens their way of life. Western portrays timeless American figures in the grip of unforgiving change.

The Wolfpack / U.S.A. (Director: Crystal Moselle) — Six bright teenage brothers have spent their entire lives locked away from society in a Manhattan housing project. All they know of the outside is gleaned from the movies they watch obsessively (and recreate meticulously). Yet as adolescence looms, they dream of escape, ever more urgently, into the beckoning world.

World Cinema Dramatic Competition

Twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.

Chlorine / Italy (Director: Lamberto Sanfelice, Screenwriters: Lamberto Sanfelice, Elisa Amoruso) — Jenny, 17, dreams of becoming a synchronized swimmer. Family events turn her life upside down and she is forced move to a remote area to look after her ill father and younger brother. It won't be long before Jenny starts pursuing her dreams again. Cast: Sara Serraiocco, Ivan Franek, Giorgio Colangeli, Anatol Sassi, Piera Degli Esposti, Andrea Vergoni. World Premiere

Chorus / Canada (Director and screenwriter: François Delisle) — A separated couple meet again after 10 years when the body of their missing son is found. Amid the guilt of losing a loved one, they hesitantly move toward affirmation of life, acceptance of death, and even the possibility of reconciliation. Cast: Sébastien Ricard, Fanny Mallette, Pierre Curzi, Genevieve Bujold. World Premiere

Glassland / Ireland (Director and screenwriter: Gerard Barrett) — In a desperate attempt to reunite his broken family, a young taxi driver becomes entangled in the criminal underworld. Cast: Jack Reynor, Toni Collette, Will Poulter, Michael Smiley. International Premiere

Homesick / Norway (Director: Anne Sewitsky, Screenwriters: Ragnhild Tronvoll, Anne Sewitsky) — When Charlotte, 27, meets her brother Henrik, 35, for the first time, two people who don't know what a normal family is begin an encounter without boundaries. How does sibling love manifest itself if you have never experienced it before?Cast: Ine Marie Wilmann, Simon J. Berger, Anneke von der Lippe, Silje Storstein, Oddgeir Thune, Kari Onstad. World Premiere. Isa: TrustNordisk

Ivy / Turkey (Director and screenwriter: Tolga Karaçelik) — Sarmasik is sailing to Egypt when the ship's owner goes bankrupt. The crew learns there is a lien on the ship, and key crew members must stay on board. Ivy is the story of these six men trapped on the ship for days. Cast: Nadir Sarıbacak, Özgür Emre Yıldırım, Hakan Karsak, Kadir Çermik, Osman Alkaş, Seyithan Özdemiroğlu. World Premiere

Partisan / Australia (Director: Ariel Kleiman, Screenwriters: Ariel Kleiman, Sarah Cyngler) — Alexander is like any other kid: playful, curious and naive. He is also a trained assassin. Raised in a hidden paradise, Alexander has grown up seeing the world filtered through his father, Gregori. As Alexander begins to think for himself, creeping fears take shape, and Gregori's idyllic world unravels. Cast: Vincent Cassel, Jeremy Chabriel, Florence Mezzara. World Premiere

Princess / Israel (Director and screenwriter: Tali Shalom Ezer) — While her mother is away from home, 12-year-old Adar’s role-playing games with her stepfather move into dangerous territory. Seeking an escape, Adar finds Alan, an ethereal boy that accompanies her on a dark journey between reality and fantasy. Cast: Keren Mor, Shira Haas, Ori Pfeffer, Adar Zohar Hanetz. International Premiere

The Second Mother / Brazil (Director and screenwriter: Anna Muylaert) — Having left her daughter, Jessica, to be raised by relatives in the north of Brazil, Val works as a loving nanny in São Paulo. When Jessica arrives for a visit 13 years later, she confronts her mother's slave-like attitude and everyone in the house is affected by her unexpected behavior. Cast: Regina Casé, Michel Joelsas, Camila Márdila, Karine Teles, Lourenço Mutarelli. World Premiere

Slow West / New Zealand (Director: John Maclean, Screenwriters: John Maclean, Michael Lesslie) — Set at the end of the nineteenth century, 16-year-old Jay Cavendish journeys across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves. He is joined by Silas, a mysterious traveler, and hotly pursued by an outlaw along the way. Cast: Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Rory McCann, Ben Mendelsohn, Brooke Williams, Caren Pistorius. World Premiere

Strangerland / Australia, Ireland (Director: Kim Farrant, Screenwriters: Fiona Seres, Michael Kinirons) — When Catherine and Matthew Parker's two teenage kids disappear into the remote Australian desert, the couple's relationship is pushed to the brink as they confront the mystery of their children's fate. Cast: Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes, Hugo Weaving, Lisa Flanagan, Meyne Wyatt, Maddison Brown. World Premiere

The Summer of Sangaile / Lithuania, France, Holland (Director and screenwriter: Alanté Kavaïté) — Seventeen-year-old Sangaile is fascinated by stunt planes. She meets a girl her age at the summer aeronautical show, nearby her parents’ lakeside villa. Sangaile allows Auste to discover her most intimate secret and in the process finds in her teenage love, the only person that truly encourages her to fly. Cast: Julija Steponaitytė, Aistė Diržiūtė. World Premiere. Isa: Films Distribution.

Umrika / India (Director and screenwriter: Prashant Nair) — When a young village boy discovers that his brother, long believed to be in America, has actually gone missing, he begins to invent letters on his behalf to save their mother from heartbreak, all the while searching for him. Cast: Suraj Sharma, Tony Revolori, Smita Tambe, Adil Hussain, Rajesh Tailang, Prateik Babbar. World Premiere

World Cinema Documentary Competition

Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary international filmmakers working today.

The Amina Profile / Canada (Director: Sophie Deraspe) — During the Arab revolution, a love story between two women — a Canadian and a Syrian American — turns into an international sociopolitical thriller spotlighting media excesses and the thin line between truth and falsehood on the Internet. World Premiere

Censored Voices / Israel, Germany (Director: Mor Loushy) — One week after the 1967 Six-Day War, renowned author Amos Oz and editor Avraham Shapira recorded intimate conversations with soldiers returning from the battlefield. The Israeli army censored the recordings, allowing only a fragment of the conversations to be published. Censored Voices reveals these recordings for the first time. World Premiere

The Chinese Mayor / China (Director: Hao Zhou) — Mayor Geng Yanbo is determined to transform the coal-mining center of Datong, in China’s Shanxi province, into a tourism haven showcasing clean energy. In order to achieve that, however, he has to relocate 500,000 residences to make way for the restoration of the ancient city. World Premiere

Chuck Norris vs Communism / United Kingdom, Romania, Germany (Director: Ilinca Calugareanu) — In 1980s Romania, thousands of Western films smashed through the Iron Curtain, opening a window to the free world for those who dared to look. A black market VHS racketeer and courageous female translator brought the magic of film to the masses and sowed the seeds of a revolution. World Premiere. Producers Rep: UTA

Dark Horse / United Kingdom (Director: Louise Osmond) — Dark Horse is the inspirational true story of a group of friends from a workingman's club who decide to take on the elite "sport of kings" and breed themselves a racehorse. World Premiere

Dreamcatcher / United Kingdom (Director: Kim Longinotto) — Dreamcatcher takes us into a hidden world seen through the eyes of one of its survivors, Brenda Myers-Powell. A former teenage prostitute, Brenda defied the odds to become a powerful advocate for change in her community. With warmth and humor, Brenda gives hope to those who have none. World Premiere

How to Change the World / United Kingdom, Canada (Director: Jerry Rothwell) — In 1971, a group of friends sails into a nuclear test zone, and their protest captures the world’s imagination. Using rare, archival footage that brings their extraordinary world to life, How to Change the World is the story of the pioneers who founded Greenpeace and defined the modern green movement. World Premiere. Day One Film

Listen to Me Marlon / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Stevan Riley, Co-writer: Peter Ettedgui) — With exclusive access to previously unheard audio archives, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career and extraordinary life away from the stage and screen, the film fully explores the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely in Marlon’s own voice. World Premiere

Pervert Park / Sweden, Denmark (Directors: Frida Barkfors, Lasse Barkfors) — Pervert Park follows the everyday lives of sex offenders in a Florida trailer park as they struggle to reintegrate into society, and try to understand who they are and how to break the cycle of sex crimes being committed. International Premiere

The Russian Woodpecker / United Kingdom (Director: Chad Gracia) — A Ukrainian victim of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster discovers a dark secret and must decide whether to risk his life by revealing it, amid growing clouds of revolution and war. World Premiere

Sembene! / U.S.A., Senegal (Directors: Samba Gadjigo, Jason Silverman) — In 1952, Ousmane Sembene, a Senegalese dockworker and fifth-grade dropout, began dreaming an impossible dream: to become the storyteller for a new Africa. This true story celebrates how the “father of African cinema,” against enormous odds, fought a monumental, 50-year-long battle to give Africans a voice. World Premiere

The Visit / Denmark, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Norway (Director: Michael Madsen) — “This film documents an event that has never taken place…” With unprecedented access to the United Nations' Office for Outer Space Affairs, leading space scientists and space agencies, The Visit explores humans' first encounter with alien intelligent life and thereby humanity itself. "Our scenario begins with the arrival. Your arrival." World Premiere

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Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling populate this program. Digital technology paired with unfettered creativity promises that the films in this section will shape a “greater” next wave in American cinema. Presented by Adobe.

Bob and the Trees / U.S.A., France (Director: Diego Ongaro, Screenwriters: Diego Ongaro, Courtney Maum, Sasha Statman-Weil) — Bob, a 50-year-old logger in rural Massachusetts with a soft spot for golf and gangsta rap, is struggling to make ends meet in a changed economy. When his beloved cow is wounded and a job goes awry, Bob begins to heed the instincts of his ever-darkening self. Cast: Bob Tarasuk, Matt Gallagher, Polly MacIntyre, Winthrop Barrett, Nathaniel Gregory. World Premiere

Christmas, Again / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Charles Poekel) — A heartbroken Christmas tree salesman returns to New York, hoping to put the past year behind him. He spends the season living in a trailer and working the night shift, until a mysterious woman and some colorful customers rescue him from self-destruction. Cast: Kentucker Audley, Hannah Gross, Jason Shelton, Oona Roche. North American Premiere

Cronies / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Larnell) — Twenty-two-year-old Louis doesn’t know whether his childhood friendship with Jack will last beyond today. Cast: George Sample III, Zurich Buckner, Brian Kowalski. World Premiere

Entertainment / U.S.A. (Director: Rick Alverson, Screenwriters: Rick Alverson, Gregg Turkington, Tim Heidecker) — En route to meeting with his estranged daughter, in an attempt to revive his dwindling career, a broken, aging comedian plays a string of dead-end shows in the Mojave Desert. Cast: Gregg Turkington, John C. Reilly, Tye Sheridan, Michael Cera, Amy Seimetz, Lotte Verbeek. World Premiere

H. / U.S.A., Argentina (Directors and screenwriters: Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia) — Two women, each named Helen, find their lives spinning out of control after a meteor allegedly explodes over their city of Troy, New York. Cast: Robin Bartlett, Rebecca Dayan, Will Janowitz, Julian Gamble, Roger Robinson. World Premiere

James White / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Josh Mond) — A young New Yorker struggles to take control of his reckless, self-destructive behavior in the face of momentous family challenges. Cast: Chris Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, Makenzie Leigh, David Call. World Premiere

Nasty Baby / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sebastian Silva) — A gay couple try to have a baby with the help of their best friend, Polly. The trio navigates the idea of creating life while confronted by unexpected harassment from a neighborhood man called The Bishop. As their clashes grow increasingly aggressive, odds are someone is getting hurt. Cast: Sebastian Silva, Tunde Adebimpe, Kristin Wiig, Reg E. Cathey, Mark Margolis, Denis O'Hare. World Premiere

The Strongest Man / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kenny Riches) — An anxiety-ridden Cuban man who fancies himself the strongest man in the world attempts to recover his most prized possession, a stolen bicycle. On his quest, he finds and loses much more. Cast: Robert Lorie, Paul Chamberlain, Ashly Burch, Patrick Fugit, Lisa Banes. World Premiere

" Take Me To The River " / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Matt Sobel) — A naive California teen plans to remain above the fray at his Nebraskan family reunion, but a strange encounter places him at the center of a long-buried family secret.Cast: Logan Miller, Robin Weigert, Josh Hamilton, Richard Schiff, Ursula Parker, Azura Skye. World Premiere. Producer rep: Cinetic Media

Tangerine / U.S.A. (Director: Sean Baker, Screenwriters: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch) — A working girl tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart. Cast: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, Mickey O'Hagan, Alla Tumanyan, James Ransone. World Premiere

Spotlight

Regardless of where these films have played throughout the world, the Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love.

6 Desires: Dh Lawrence and Sardinia / United Kingdom, Italy (Director: Mark Cousins) — In winter 1921, Dh Lawrence and his wife journeyed to Sardinia, and he chronicled their experiences in Sea and Sardinia. Now, Mark Cousins retraces Lawrence’s footsteps. The film is conceived partly as a letter to Lawrence — or “Bert” — a detail that’s typical of the film’s inviting sense of conversational intimacy.International Premiere

'71 / United Kingdom (Director: Yann Demange, Screenwriter: Gregory Burke) — ‘71 takes place over a single night in the life of a young British soldier accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, he must survive the night alone and find his way to safety. Cast: Jack O'Connell, Paul Anderson, Richard Dormer, Sean Harris, Barry Keoghan, Martin McCann.

99 Homes / U.S.A. (Director: Ramin Bahrani, Screenwriters: Ramin Bahrani, Amir Naderi, Bahareh Azimi) — A father struggles to get back the home that his family was evicted from by working for the greedy real-estate broker who's the source of his frustration. Cast: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern, Tim Guinee, Cullen Moss, J.D. Evermore.

Aloft / Spain, France, Canada (Director and screenwriter: Claudia Llosa) — Aloft tells the story of a struggling mother, Nana, and her evolution to becoming a renowned healer. When a young artist tracks down Nana's son 20 years after she abandoned him, she sets in motion an encounter between the two that will bring the meaning of their lives into question. Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Cillian Murphy, Mélanie Laurent, William Shimell. North American Premiere

Eden / France (Director: Mia Hansen-løve, Screenwriters: Mia Hansen-løve, Sven Hansen-løve) — Mia Hansen-løve's electronic-dance-music epic follows the rise and fall of a DJ (based on her brother, Sven, a contemporary of Daft Punk) who gets into the rave scene in 1994 and spends the next 20 years navigating the French club scene. Cast: Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne, Greta Gerwig, Brady Corbet, Arsinee Khanjian, Vincent Macaigne.

Girlhood / France (Director and screenwriter: Céline Sciamma) — Oppressed by her family, dead-end school prospects, and the boys law in the neighborhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of free-spirited girls. She changes her name and dress, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping to find a way to freedom. Cast: Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré, Idrissa Diabaté, Simina Soumaré.

The Tribe / Ukraine (Director and screenwriter: Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy) — Set at a Ukrainian boarding school for the deaf, the film’s narrative unfolds purely through sign language without the need for employing subtitles or voiceover, resulting in a unique, never-before-seen cinematic experience that engages the audience on a new level. Cast: Grigoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova, Rosa Babiy, Alexander Dsiadevich.

White God / Hungary (Director: Kornél Mundruczó, Screenwriters: Kata Wéber, Kornél Mundruczó, Viktória Petrányi) — When young Lili is forced to give up her beloved dog, Hagen, because its mixed-breed heritage is deemed “unfit” by The State, she and the dog begin a dangerous journey back toward each other. Cast: Zsófia Psotta, Sandor Zsótér, Szabolcs Thuróczy, Lili Monori, László Gálffi, Lili Horváth. U.S. Premiere

Wild Tales / Argentina, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Damián Szifrón) — Inequality, injustice, and the demands of the world cause stress and depression for many people. Some of them, however, explode. This is a movie about those people. Vulnerable in the face of an unpredictable reality, the characters of Wild Tales cross the thin line dividing civilization and barbarism. Cast: Ricardo Darín, Julieta Zyberberg, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Darío Grandinetti, Erica Rivas, Oscar Martínez.

Park City At Midnight

From horror flicks to comedies to works that defy any genre, these unruly films will keep you edge-seated and wide awake.

Cop Car / U.S.A. (Director: Jon Watts, Screenwriters: Christopher D. Ford, Jon Watts) — Two 10-year-old boys steal an abandoned cop car. Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Shea Whigham, Camryn Manheim. World Premiere

The Hallow / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Corin Hardy, Screenwriters: Corin Hardy, Felipe Marino) — When a London-based conservationist is sent to Ireland to survey an area of ancient forest believed by the superstitious locals to be hallowed ground, he unwittingly disturbs a horde of terrifying beings and must fight to protect his family. Cast: Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton, Michael Smiley. World Premiere

Hellions / Canada (Director: Bruce McDonald, Screenwriter: Pascal Trottier) — Teenage Dora Vogel must survive a Halloween night from hell when malevolent trick-or-treaters come knocking at her door. Cast: Chloe Rose, Robert Patrick, Rossif Sutherland, Rachel Wilson, Peter DaCunha, Luke Bilyk. World Premiere

It Follows / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Robert Mitchell) — After a strange sexual encounter, a teenager finds herself haunted by nightmarish visions and the inescapable sense that something is after her. Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe.

Knock Knock / U.S.A. (Director: Eli Roth, Screenwriters: Eli Roth, Nicolas Lopez, Guillermo Amoedo) — Two beautiful young girls walk into a married man's life and turn a wild fantasy into his worst nightmare. Cast: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana De Armas, Aaron Burns, Ignacia Allamand, Colleen Camp. World Premiere

The Nightmare / U.S.A. (Director: Rodney Ascher) — A documentary-horror film exploring the phenomenon of sleep paralysis through the eyes of eight people. They (and a surprisingly large number of others) often find themselves trapped between the sleeping and awake realms, unable to move but aware of their surroundings while subject to disturbing sights and sounds. World Premiere

Reversal / U.S.A. (Director: J.M Cravioto, Screenwriters: Rock Shaink, Keith Kjornes) — A gritty psychological thriller about a young woman chained in a basement of a sexual predator and manages to escape. However, right when she has a chance for freedom, she unravels a hard truth and decides to turn the tables on her captor. Cast: Tina Ivlev, Richard Tyson, Bianca Malinowski. World Premiere

Turbo Kid / Canada, New Zealand (Directors: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell, Screenwriters: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell) — In a post-apocalyptic future, The Kid, an orphaned outcast, meets a mysterious girl. They become friends until Zeus, the sadistic leader of the Wasteland, kidnaps her. The Kid must face his fears, and journey to rid the Wasteland of evil and save the girl. Cast: Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Aaron Jeffery, Edwin Wright. World Premiere

New Frontier Films

The Forbidden Room / Canada (Directors: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Screenwriters: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Robert Kotyk) — A submarine crew, a feared pack of forest bandits, a famous surgeon, and a battalion of child soldiers all get more than they bargained for as they wend their way toward progressive ideas on life and love. Cast: Geraldine Chaplin, Caroline Dhavernas, Roy Dupuis, Udo Kier, Charlotte Rampling, Karine Vanasse. World Premiere

Liveforever / Colombia, Mexico (Director: Carlos Moreno, Screenwriters: Alberto Ferreras, Alonso Torres, Carlos Moreno) — Driven by the music and dancing she finds along the way, a teenager leaves home willing to try anything her provocative and tolerant city has to offer, even if she burns out in the process. Inspired by the best-selling novel "Que viva la música" by Andres Caicedo. Cast: Paulina Davila, Alejandra Avila, Luis Arrieta, Juan Pablo Barragan, Nelson Camayo, Christian Tappan. World Premiere

The Royal Road / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jenni Olson) — This cinematic essay, a defense of remembering, offers up a primer on the Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, butch identity and Alfred Hitchcock'sVertigo — all against a contemplative backdrop of 16mm urban California landscapes. Cast: Jenni Olson, Tony Kushner. World Premiere

Sam Klemke's Time Machine / Australia (Director: Matthew Bate) — Sam Klemke has filmed and narrated 50 years of his life, creating a strange and intimate portrait of what it means to be human. World Premiere

Station to Station / U.S.A. (Director: Doug Aitken) — Station to Station is composed of 60 individual one-minute films featuring different artists, musicians, places, and perspectives. This revolutionary feature-length film reveals a larger narrative about modern creativity. World Premiere

Things of the Aimless Wanderer / Rwanda, United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Kivu Ruhorahoza) — A white man meets a black girl, then she disappears. The white man tries to understand what happened to her while also trying to finish a travelogue. Things of the Aimless Wanderer is a film about the sensitive topic of relations between “locals” and Westerners, about paranoia, mistrust, and misunderstandings. Cast: Justin Mullikin, Grace Nikuze, Ramadhan Bizimana, Eliane Umuhire, Wesley Ruzibiza, Matt Ray Brown. World Premiere

New Frontier Installations

1979 Revolution Game

Artists: Navid Khonsari, Vassiliki Khonsari

1979 Revolution Game presents an innovative approach to non-fiction storytelling. Designed to engage players with an immersive "on the ground" experience of the Iranian Revolution, the game integrates an emotionally impactful narrative with interactive moral choices and intuitive touchscreen gameplay while remaining true to history.

Assent

Artist: Oscar Raby

This immersive documentary uses virtual reality technology to put the user in the footsteps of Director Oscar Raby's father, who in 1973 was a 22-year-old army officer stationed in the north of Chile, on the day when the Caravan of Death came to his regiment.

Birdly

Artist: Max Rheiner

Flying is one of the oldest dreams of humankind. Birdly is an experiment to capture this dream, to simulate the experience of being a bird from a first-person perspective. This embodiment is conducted through a full-body virtual reality setup.

Dérive

Artist: François Quévillon

This interactive installation uses the audience’s body motions and positions to explore 3-D reconstructions of urban and natural spaces that are transformed according to live environmental data, including meteorological and astronomical phenomena.

Evolution of Verse

Artist: Chris Milk

Chris Milk, working with visual effects powerhouse Digital Domain and virtual reality production company Vrse.works, has created this photo-realistic CGI-rendered 3-D virtual reality film that takes the viewer on a journey from beginning to new beginning.

Kaiju Fury!

Artist: Ian Hunter

A dark energy experiment leads to a devastating attack by monstrous Kaiju, and you are standing at ground zero — all in 360-degree, stereoscopic 3-D cinematic virtual reality. You will "be there" as the beasts lay waste to a crumbling city and humanity makes its last stand. Cast: Susie Abromeit, Bill Lippincott, Daniel Martin, Brian Dodge, Vincient Chiantelli.

Paradise

Artist: Pleix

Paradise is certainly not paradisiacal if you look at it through our eyes. But neither is it totally devoid of humor, melancholy and absurdity. Perhaps it is first and foremost life as it is, and then a touch exaggerated in the digital overdrive.

Perspective; Chapter I: The Party

Artists: Rose Troche, Morris May

A young college woman attends a party with the intention of shedding her "shy girl" persona. At the same party, a young man is after a similar reinvention. They meet, drink, and misinterpreted signals turn into things that cannot be undone. Virtual reality simulators let viewers experience both characters. Cast: Tabitha Morella, Caleb Thomas, Zachary Zagoria, Anna Grace Barlow.

Possibilia

Artists: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert

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99 Homes

Following yesterday’s announcement of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival’s In-Competition films, the festival has released its lineup of Spotlight, Park City At Midnight and New Frontier Films.

Among the lineup is 99 Homes, Ramin Bahrani’s Middle-America drama on foreclosures starring Michael Shannon and Andrew Garfield. The film premiered at Toronto and Venice earlier this year and will finally get a release early in 2015. Joining it are the British Independent Film Award-nominated ’71, and the much hyped Eden from Mia Hansen-Løve and Girlhood from Céline Sciamma.

On the At Midnight circuit, the hot ticket is Knock Knock from Director Eli Roth and starring Keanu Reeves in what Deadline describes as a “psychosexual home invasion pic”.

Also included in this announcement is a lineup of New Frontier art installations that will be visible across Park City, including one called Way to Go by artist Vincent Morisset, a big collaborator with Arcade Fire.

We’ve been appreciating the clearly defined, distributor friendly, solid eight Spotlight section since it’s inception a couple of years back. In 2014 we had sugary, critic darlings from the world film festival circuit in films from Pawel Pawlikowski, Steven Knight and a solid foursome from Cannes from the likes of Jeremy Saulnier, Ritesh Batra, Jim Jarmusch and Alain Guiraudie. This year we have a pair from Berlin (Aloft, ’71), four films from Cannes (Girlhood, The Tribe, White Dog, Wild Tales), one from Venice (99 Homes), one from Tiff (Eden) and Mark Cousins’ London BFI preemed, 6 Desires: Dh Lawrence and Sardinia. This really is a cinephile’s wetdream.

6 Desires: Dh Lawrence and Sardinia/ United Kingdom, Italy (Director: Mark Cousins) — In winter 1921, Dh Lawrence and his wife journeyed to Sardinia, and he chronicled their experiences in Sea and Sardinia. Now, Mark Cousins retraces Lawrence’s footsteps. The film is conceived partly as a...

It’s less than two months until the streets and theaters of Park City are going to be packed with filmmakers, film fans and buyers attending the 2015 Sundance Film Festival from January 22 to February 1. Yesterday the Robert Redford-founded fest announced its U.S. and World Cinema dramatic and documentary competition selections along with the pics in its Next section. Today, with some Andrew Garfield, Keanu Reeves, Greta Gerwig, Kevin Bacon and Charlotte Rampling starrers among them, Sundance revealed its non-competitive Spotlight and Park City At Midnight slates along with the films and installations of the New Frontier category - see the full list below.

Like yesterday’s slate announcements there are some big, big screen names appearing at Sundance this year. Garfield, who has that other gig as certain webslinger, is in the Ramin Bahrani-directed 99 Homes with Michael Shannon and Laura Dern. Having played at Tiff and Venice,...

One day after announcing the World and Us Drama and Documentary Competition entries for both, Sundance revealed the films in the Spotlight and Park City at Midnight programs, as well as the films and art installations that will be part of the New Frontiers program at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Drew McWeeny will be handling the Park City at Midnight announcement, just as he'll be handling our coverage of the Midnight slate from Sundance. The Spotlight program is set aside for films that may have played in festivals around the world or even domestically, but have support amidst the Sundance selectors. The high profile entries in the Spotlight program include Kornél Mundruczó's "White God," which won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes last summer. It's the story of a girl who has to give up her mixed-breed dog and the journey girl and dog take to be reunited.

The 2015 selection includes a strong Latin American flavour, led by Eli Roth’s Chilewood psychosexual Park City At Midnight entry Knock Knock starring Keanu Reeves and Lorenza Izzo.

Mexico-based Dark Factory’s thriller Reversal also premieres in the section, while the New Frontier film slate includes Carlos Moreno’s Liveforever from Colombia-Mexico.

Spotlight — Sundance programmers’ tribute to their favourite films of 2014 — includes Argentinean box office smash and Academy Awards submission Wild Tales (pictured) from Damián Szifrón.

Among the Midnight films are Rodney Ascher’s sleep paralysis documentary The Nightmare, Bruce McDonald’s Hellions from Canada, Cop Car from the Us starring Kevin Bacon and Irish-uk forest-set The Hallow from Corin Hardy.

Spotlight selections also feature Yann Demange’s feted UK thriller ‘71, Kornél Mundruczó’s Hungarian drama White God and Mia Hansen-Løve’s Eden from France. Canadian auteur Guy Maddin is back withThe Forbidden Room, which he co-directed with Evan Johnson, in New Frontier...

AFI Fest 2014 presented by Audi today announced this year’s Jury and Audience Awards for features and short films included in the festivals New Auteur and Shorts programs. The New Auteurs section highlights first and second-time feature film directors and the Shorts selections represent diverse and varied international perspectives. Grand Jury Awards were presented to Self Made (Boreg), which received the New Auteurs Critics’ Award, and to The Tribe (Plemya), which received the Vizio Visionary Special Jury Award. Buffalo Juggalos by Scott Cummings received the Live Action Short Award, and Yearbook by Bernardo Britto received the Animated Short Award. Special Jury Award winners went to GÜEROS and Violet. Red Army, GÜEROS, 10,000 Km and The Midnight Swim received Audience Awards.

Select award-winning films will screen again today at the Chinese 6 Theatres. Admission is available to AFI Fest 2014 pass holders and the general public via the rush line, which begins forming one...

"Every substrata of music geekdom deserves a period piece as intimate as Eden, Mia Hansen-Løve's swan song for the golden era of French house music," writes Steve Macfarlane at Slant. "Félix de Givry plays Paul, a fictionalized rendition of Hansen-Løve's co-writer/brother, Sven, first appearing as a vaguely dopey scene kid with a by and large reactive personality. He falls hard as a teenager for garage music" and "an early set piece sees a baby-faced Daft Punk world-premiering 1996's 'Da Funk' at a house party." We've got more reviews and the trailer. » - David Hudson...

"Every substrata of music geekdom deserves a period piece as intimate as Eden, Mia Hansen-Løve's swan song for the golden era of French house music," writes Steve Macfarlane at Slant. "Félix de Givry plays Paul, a fictionalized rendition of Hansen-Løve's co-writer/brother, Sven, first appearing as a vaguely dopey scene kid with a by and large reactive personality. He falls hard as a teenager for garage music" and "an early set piece sees a baby-faced Daft Punk world-premiering 1996's 'Da Funk' at a house party." We've got more reviews and the trailer. » - David Hudson...

The other day, I saw a college kid wearing a T- shirt that said, "In school now just to be a wage slave later." I seriously considered giving the kid a hug. And I could've easily regarded it as some ironic hipster shit. But after watching the talented Mia Hansen-Løve's new film Eden, it hit me as extremely poignant. Co-written by her brother Sven, the film is a sprawling and epic look back at the 90s' French electronic dance music scene. And they do an amazing job capturing the look and feel of that decade. But more so, the film is about life. Eden charts about 20 years in the life of Paul (Félix de Givry), starting in 1992. He is a big raver and...

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

Eden

Written by Mia Hansen-Løve and Sven Hansen-Løve

Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve

France, 2014

The lights flesh hypnotically, the room is sweaty, everyone is rolling, and the song plays on and on, pounding so hard you think you’ll collapse from the vibrations from the sound waves. And yet, you feel completely alive. At least Paul (Félix de Givry) does, in Mia Hansen-Løve’s film Eden, which the rise and fall of a young up-and-coming DJ in Paris.

Few films sprawl like Hansen-Løve’s latest, which spans twenty years, surveying the landscape of garage, techno, and house music, bumping into the likes of Daft Punk. It’s a film that is packed with an incredibly energy, specifically through music, but what is critical about this idea is that the energy is attached to that music. It would be far more frivolous and forgetful were the energy to simply exist as the...

Broad Green Pictures has acquired North American distribution rights to director Mia Hansen-Løve's “Eden,” which recently made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, the company announced Tuesday. Bgp plans to release the film in Spring 2015. The company previously acquired “99 Homes” and “Samba” out of Toronto. “Eden” stars Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne and Vincent Macaigne, with appearances by Brady Corbet, Laura Smet and Greta Gerwig. Also read: Andrew Garfield's Eviction Drama '99 Homes’ Sells to Upstart Distributor The movie will make its U.S. debut at the New York Film Festival. Mia Hansen-Løve co-wrote the...

The fledgling financier-producer-distributor continues to make waves, taking North American rights to its third film out of Toronto.

Mia Hansen-Løve’s Eden premiered in Canada and will receive its Us premiere at the New York Film Festival.

Bgp plans a spring 2015 release for the story starring Félix de Givry as a teenager in the early 90s electronic dance scene in Paris. Pauline Etienne and Vincent Macaigne also star.

Hansen-Løve co-wrote the screenplay with her brother Sven Hansen-Løve. Charles Gillibert of CG Cinema produced.

Grégoire Melin and Ram Murali of Kinology negotiated the Eden deal on behalf of the filmmakers, with Broad Green executives Asher Goldstein and Shawn Xu.

Broad Green previously acquired 99 Homes and Samba out of Toronto.

Perhaps making a more robust offer than IFC Films (who released her last pair of features in Goodbye First Love and The Father of My Children), Gabriel and Daniel Hammond’s Broad Green Pictures have landed Mia Hansen-Løve’s Eden, a track-heavy fourth feature film which had it’s world premiere, not in Venice but at Tiff. Essentially building their 2015 calendar year with 2014 Toronto Film Fest preemed items, after picking up 99 Homes and Samba, this third grab in less than three weeks means the outfitter isn’t afraid of committing to auteur-driven art-house projects with perhaps a broader appeal. Bgp plans to release the film in Spring 2015.

Gist: This follows Paul (Félix de Givry), a teenager in the underground scene of early-nineties Paris. Rave parties dominate that culture, but he’s drawn to the more soulful rhythms of Chicago’s garage house. He forms a DJ collective named Cheers (as,...

Broad Green Pictures, which announced its presence on the distribution scene in Toronto with a marquee $3 million deal for 99 Homes, has acquired North American rights to Mia Hansen-Løve’s Eden. The pic, set in the underground electronic dance movement in early-’90s Paris, had its world premiere in Toronto and is playing the New York Film Festival that kicks off Friday.

Broad Green plans a spring 2015 release for the pic, which follows Paul (Félix de Givry), a teenager drawn to the more soulful rhythms of Chicago’s garage house than rave music forms a DJ collective named Cheers (two of his friends form another one called Daft Punk, who float throughout the movie). Together they plunge into the ephemeral nightlife of sex, drugs, and endless music. Pauline Etienne, Vincent Macaigne co-star with appearances by Brady Corbet, Laura Smet and Greta Gerwig. The deal was negotiated by Grégoire Melin and Ram...

Eden

Dear Danny,

How I look forward to your Wavelengths reports! They always strike me not so much as write-ups on the festival’s experimental end but as reports from a parallel world where extraterrestrial colors, patterns, and movements are the ecstatic norm. And, as a cinephile who gravitates mostly toward more classical narratives, I find these journeys into pure form both daunting and liberating. Which leads me to your closing question—how indeed to make your way through so many titles and programs? I try to balance out my dyed-in-the-wool auteurist side with a more exploratory side, catching films from established directors along with ones from unfamiliar talents. An exhilarating gamble, if a risky one. We only have so much time, after all: Blink and a day is gone.

Or, in the case of Eden, blink and two whole decades have drifted by. Mia Hansen-Løve is a director keenly attuned to temporality,...

Mia Hansen-Løve's Eden is "a film about the folly of insisting on dreaming of youth after youth," writes Kiva Reardon for Cinema Scope. "The party begins in 1992, as Paul (a fresh-faced Félix de Givry) aspires to become the next big DJ, like his pals Daft Punk. In between parties, lovers (including Greta Gerwig playing Greta Gerwig) and snorting lines of coke, Paul finds some minor success spinning records while at the same time spinning his wheels. Time marches on, while Paul insists on remaining lost in the (increasingly outdated) music. Suddenly (for him), it’s 2013: he’s broke, 32, and living back at home. The party, as the song goes, is over." We're collecting reviews as they come out of Toronto. » - David Hudson...

Mia Hansen-Løve's Eden is "a film about the folly of insisting on dreaming of youth after youth," writes Kiva Reardon for Cinema Scope. "The party begins in 1992, as Paul (a fresh-faced Félix de Givry) aspires to become the next big DJ, like his pals Daft Punk. In between parties, lovers (including Greta Gerwig playing Greta Gerwig) and snorting lines of coke, Paul finds some minor success spinning records while at the same time spinning his wheels. Time marches on, while Paul insists on remaining lost in the (increasingly outdated) music. Suddenly (for him), it’s 2013: he’s broke, 32, and living back at home. The party, as the song goes, is over." We're collecting reviews as they come out of Toronto. » - David Hudson...

French auteur Mia Hansen-Løve presents us with a personal journey through the wild life of sex, drugs and Edm, as seen in the first released trailer for “Eden.” Co-written by Mia’s brother Sven Hansen-Løve (who was involved in the French Touch scene as a DJ), “Eden” spans multiple decades starting from the ’90s to tell a coming-of-age story whilst also tracing the rise of electronic dance music in the cities of Paris, Chicago, and New York. Félix de Givry stars as Paul, a French teenager who pursues a career in the underground music scene by teaming up with his friend, [...]

The post Watch: Félix de Givry and Greta Gerwig in First Trailer for Mia Hansen-Løve’s ‘Eden’ appeared first on Up and Comers.

Opening Night – World Premiere

Gone Girl

David Fincher, USA, 2014, Dcp, 150m

David Fincher’s film version of Gillian Flynn’s phenomenally successful best seller (adapted by the author) is one wild cinematic ride, a perfectly cast and intensely compressed portrait of a recession-era marriage contained within a devastating depiction of celebrity/media culture, shifting gears as smoothly as a Maserati 250F. Ben Affleck is Nick Dunne, whose wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) goes missing on the day of their fifth anniversary. Neil Patrick Harris is Amy’s old boyfriend Desi, Carrie Coon (who played Honey in Tracy Letts’s acclaimed production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) is Nick’s sister Margo, Kim Dickens (Treme, Friday Night Lights) is Detective Rhonda Boney, and Tyler Perry is Nick’s superstar lawyer Tanner Bolt. At once a grand panoramic vision of middle America, a uniquely disturbing exploration of the fault lines in a marriage,...