Directors, Editors and EPs Jump from Mad Ave to Park City

Directors, Editors and EPs Jump from Mad Ave
to Park City for Sundance, Slamdance Fests

As usual, a crop of commercial-makers from companies have hit
the slopes in Park City for a few days of indie indulgence
at Sundance and Slamdance.  Let the media mixing begin.
 
By Anthony Vagnoni

Alex Gibney, who directs through Chelsea, has two films at Sundance this year.

Last week, SourceEcreative published a short news brief about two directors who are signed to the US-based production company Chelsea, Alex Gibney and Kevin Macdonald, who were both debuting new feature work at the Sundance Film Festival.  To check out the story, click here.
 
 They represent one small piece of a larger mosaic of TV commercial production and post houses that have been prowling the streets of Park City, either attending or participating in the Sundance Festival or its more alternative doppelganger, Slamdance. 
 
The festival has become as important to EPs and producers who work in advertising content as it's become to the feature film industry, which is always looking for the next breakout indie hit to come out of its screenings. 
 
"For me, Sundance is relevant on two levels," says Chelsea Partner and EP Lisa Mehling, who spoke with SourceEcreative while still bouncing from one event to another.  "It lets you keep an eye on emerging filmmakers, and immerse yourself into a diverse and often poignant pool of creative work that, year after year, never ceases to amaze and inspire me."
 
Nonfiction Unlimited EP Loretta "L.J." Jeneski, also calling in from Park City, adds that "what Sundance provides those of us who work in the ad world is a really stimulating form of cross-pollination.  I think it truly benefits brands and agencies.  I love it."

Moxie Pictures' Richard Ayoade brings his feature debut,  "Submarine," to Sundance.

Among the films screening out-of-competition at Sundance is Richard Ayoade's debut feature "Submarine."  Ayoade directs advertising projects through Moxie Pictures.  The Ben Stiller-produced coming-of-age story, scripted by Ayoade, recently won accolades at the Toronto Film Festival for its depiction of an anti-hero teen in 1980s Wales who embarks on a romance with a young pyromaniac while watching his parents' marriage come apart.  In addition to highly-touted performances from an ensemble cast, led by Craig Roberts, the film also features a collection of original songs by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner. (An interview with Ayoade, taped at the Toronto festival last fall, can be seen here.)
 
The Cambridge-educated director first became known to audiences as a writer and comedic performer on such popular British TV shows "The IT Crowd" and "The Mighty Boosh" before bringing his diverting brand of comedy behind the camera to direct spots for LG and Peugeot, among others.   He's also directed music videos for acts such as Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Kasabian, as well as the 2008 Arctic Monkeys concert film, "At the Apollo."
 

Union Editorial's Sloan Klevin is no stranger to Sundance.

Sloane Klevin, Partner/Editor at the L.A. and New York-based Union Editorial, is at Sundance as a member of this year's US Documentary competition jury. She's joined by Director Jeffrey Blitz ("Lucky," "Spellbound"); cartoonist Matt Groening, creator of "The Simpsons" and "Futurama"; filmmaker Laura Poitras ("My Country, My County" and "The Oath") and Jess Search, Chief Executive of the Channel 4 BRITDOC Foundation.

Klevin is no stranger to Sundance. The jury appointment marks her sixth time at the festival. In 2002, the feature film she edited, Director Patricia Cardoso's "Real Women Have Curves," won the Special Jury Prize for Acting and the Narrative Audience Award. Since editing that film, she edited and co-produced the Oscar, EMMY and Peabody Award-winning documentary "Taxi to the Dark Side," directed by Gibney, as well as two segments of "Freakonomics," directed by Gibney and the directing team known as Loki (Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady).

Union is also in evidence at the festival with the inclusion of "Project Nim," cut by editor Jinx Godfrey, screening in competition in the World Documentary category. The film tells the story of a 1970's American experiment to teach a chimpanzee to communicate through sign language. This year will mark Godfrey and director James Marsh's second time at Sundance together; they first attended in 2008 with "Man on Wire," also directed and cut by Marsh and Godfrey, respectively. That film won the World Cinema Audience Award in the Documentary category.
 
Finally, director Zal Batmanglij's film, "The Sound of My Voice," a psychological narrative about a couple infiltrating a cult, which features post-production work by Union's Los Angeles office, will be screening in the festival's NEXT category.

"The Interrupters," from Director Steve James of Nonfiction Unlimited.

Nonfiction Unlimited's Academy Award-nominated director Steve James ("Hoop Dreams," "Stevie," "Prefontaine") took audiences on a journey from crime to trust to redemption in his new feature documentary, "The Interrupters,"  which premiered on the festival's second day. Produced by Kartemquin Films, Chicago and Rise Films, London, the film tells the story of three dedicated individuals who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they themselves once perpetrated. 

"The Interrupters" is James' fourth film to premiere at Sundance, and marks the filmmaker's return to some of the same streets and neighborhoods he so memorably traversed in "Hoop Dreams."  Shot over the course of a year, the film captures a period in Chicago when it became a national symbol for inner-city violence. The "violence interrupters" at the center of the film work for an innovative organization called CeaseFire, which is the brainchild of Dr. Gary Slutkin, an epidemiologist who for ten years battled the spread of cholera and AIDS in Africa.  Slutkin believes that the spread of violence mimics that of infectious diseases, and so the treatment should be similar: go after the most infected, and stop the infection at its source.  Their work is fraught with moral quandaries, forcing the interrupters to step between adversaries, who are often people they know.  As they venture into their communities, they confront the importance of family, the noxious nature of poverty, and the role of race.
 

Nonfiction's Stacy Peralta has been named to the Sundance Alumni Advisory Board.

Also, Nonfiction Director Stacy Peralta has been named to The Sundance Institute's first-ever Alumni Advisory Board, which is made up of notable filmmakers honored at festivals past. Peralta's contribution to Sundance includes "Dogtown & Z-Boys," which won the Documentary Directing Award in 2001; "Riding Giants," the opening night film in 2004; and "Made in America," which screened at the Festival in 2008.

"It's exciting to see these two Sundance veterans back in Park City, Stacy in an advisory role and Steve with another touching portrait of inner-city America," says Jeneski.  "They're both looking forward to once again working on advertising projects."

Additional Sundance participants include Director Peter D. Richardson, who is represented for TV commercials by Food Chain Films.  Richardson's controversial documentary, "How to Die In Oregon," about that state's experiences with physician-assisted suicide, was recently reviewed in the New York Times.  (Editor's Note: the film won the Grand Jury Prize in the US Documentary Competition at Sundance, with the award presented to Richardson on Saturday, Jan. 29, by Matt Groening, who was on the documentary jury.)

Also on hand at Sundance are three titles from filmmakers associated with the New York-based production company Washington Square Films.  "Here" is the first narrative feature from director Braden King, which tells the story of a complex relationship between an Armenian photographer and an American cartographer. It stars Ben Foster and Lubna Azabal.  "Salvation Boulevard," directed by George Ratliff, is the story of an evangelical preacher who frames an ex-hippie for a crime. It stars Pierce Brosnan and Jennifer Connelly. Also on tap is "Margin Call," directed by J.C. Chandor, about a dramatic 24‐hour period during the collapse of a major Wall Street firm. It stars Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany and Demi Moore.  "Margin Call" was produced by Washington Square Films, with Joshua Blum serving as Executive Producer and Head‐of‐Production Anna Gerb acting as Co‐Producer.

Brick Novax, edited by jumP's David Trachtenberg, won the jury prize for short films.

jumP Editor Davd Trachtenberg was represented at the Festival with "Brick Novax,"  a short film written and directed by Matt Piedmont that screened in the US Narrative Shorts category.  The film is the fictional story of a down-on-his-luck legend named Brick Novax, former musician, astronaut and CEO. It was shot in stop-motion style using action figures, and was originally produced for HBO's Funny or Die Presents, Season 2.  (Editor's Note: The films, Parts 1 and 2, took home the Jury Prize for Short Films at the Festival.)
 

Elsewhere in Park City, you can find a team from Hollywood-based Mirror Films, which was in town with films and screenings that took place at the X-Dance Action Sports Film Festival and Slamdance, two of the longest running alternative festivals that run concurrently with Sundance.
 
Mirror Films' Doug Walker, a Director/Editor, brought his short doc title "Rhag" to Slamdance.  "I'm very proud of this film, because it is a story about an artist and his life," explains Walker. "Having worked for a long time in advertising, this gave me an opportunity to do something that was completely fresh and new."  To screen a trailer from the short, click here.
  
Walker came to directing after an accomplished 19-year career as an editor, most notably at Filmcore, now Beast. His creative editorial work has garnered several Clios and a Cannes Lion award. He began directing with Mirror in 2007, and has directed spots for Nike, US Cellular and the University of North Carolina.
 
"Rhag" was selected as one of four films chosen for the Special Screenings program at Slamdance. It chronicles the life of the painter and experimental composer Roy Henry Alexander Grover. Walker's next documentary, "Lost & Found," will take audiences on a journey to uncover the stories of some of the most famous surfers in history.
 
Mirror Films' Owner/Executive Producer Eric Barrett is also the Managing Director/EP of  the X-Dance Festival, which merges the worlds of extreme sports and filmmaking. The three-day festival kicked off on January 22, with events in Park City and Salt Lake City.  
 
For Barrett, managing and guiding the X-Dance Festival has been a labor of love, uniting his two great passions, extreme sports and film. "I've been involved with X-Dance from its start because I love action sports and am an athlete myself," Barrett says.  "The festival has single-handedly revolutionized this genre into one that showcases films with substance. The films now are story-driven, and these filmmakers are better storytellers because of X-Dance and what our festival has given the community."

Published 26 January, 2011; Updated 31 January, 2011