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Canadians make presence felt at Sundance Film Festival
Monday January 25th 2010PARK CITY, UTAH – Whether it’s the snow, the mountains or the fact that our entire filmmaking tradition is a model for independent thinking, Canadians just seem to fit the quirky renaissance rebellion called the Sundance Film Festival.
With two films in competition, three others a part of the midnight madness program and six shorts, the official 2010 Canadian contingent isn’t the biggest in Sundance history, but it’s darn respectable considering entrants were vying for a program spot against 9,816 submissions.
“It’s a huge honour to be admitted to Sundance,” says Lixin Fan, who is here with The Last Train Home. A former broadcast journalist in his native China, Mr. Fan documented the world’s biggest human migration that happens every year as factory workers head out of the cities and cram onto trains bound for small villages for the holidays.
“For a new Canadian like myself, it’s even more significant. I had the chance to make the movie I wanted. For me, that was the most important thing and I didn’t even think of festivals or Sundance when I was making it,” Mr. Fan says.
“So it was a wonderful surprise to be accepted in such an internationally recognized festival as Sundance. I think it’s important there is an understanding of China in the West … and I hope my film will help [the cause].”
Mr. Fan’s sentiments are shared by just about any filmmaker lucky enough to make it into the 10-day festival founded by Robert Redford. With more than 1,000 accredited members of the press in attendance, Sundance affords world exposure for small, low-budget films whose creators don’t have the luxury of a raft of publicists and studio resources.
That means first-time feature directors such as Adriana Maggs, who is here in the international feature competition with the Newfoundland-shot Grown Up Movie Star, can receive international exposure in an instant.
Other Canadians who stand to make a big impression are Toronto’s Vincenzo Natali with the genetic engineering horror reel Splice, Montreal’s Daniel Grou with the Dirty Harry-themed 7 Days (Les 7 jours du Talion) and Eli Craig’s comic take on a Deliverance idea Tucker & Dale vs. Evil – all programmed in the edgy, and sleep depriving, Midnight Madness program.
Even the short filmmakers got new respect at this year’s festival with the addition of an opening night shorts program, and a separate awards ceremony taking place mid-fest. This year’s Canadian shorts lineup includes: David Coquard-Dassault’s Rains (L’Ondee), veteran Cordell Barker’s Runaway, Jamie Travis’s The Armoire, Diego Maclean’s The Art of Drowning, Paul Raphael and Felix LaJeunesse’s Tungijuq, and Vive La Rose from Bruce Alcock.
For a country with a small filmmaking community, Sundance makes everyone feel big. The festival kicked off on Thursday with a premiere of HOWL and continues through to Jan. 31.
Source: The National Post
Front Page, Industry News
Canadians make presence felt at Sundance Film Festival
Monday January 25th 2010PARK CITY, UTAH – Whether it’s the snow, the mountains or the fact that our entire filmmaking tradition is a model for independent thinking, Canadians just seem to fit the quirky renaissance rebellion called the Sundance Film Festival.
With two films in competition, three others a part of the midnight madness program and six shorts, the official 2010 Canadian contingent isn’t the biggest in Sundance history, but it’s darn respectable considering entrants were vying for a program spot against 9,816 submissions.
“It’s a huge honour to be admitted to Sundance,” says Lixin Fan, who is here with The Last Train Home. A former broadcast journalist in his native China, Mr. Fan documented the world’s biggest human migration that happens every year as factory workers head out of the cities and cram onto trains bound for small villages for the holidays.
“For a new Canadian like myself, it’s even more significant. I had the chance to make the movie I wanted. For me, that was the most important thing and I didn’t even think of festivals or Sundance when I was making it,” Mr. Fan says.
“So it was a wonderful surprise to be accepted in such an internationally recognized festival as Sundance. I think it’s important there is an understanding of China in the West … and I hope my film will help [the cause].”
Mr. Fan’s sentiments are shared by just about any filmmaker lucky enough to make it into the 10-day festival founded by Robert Redford. With more than 1,000 accredited members of the press in attendance, Sundance affords world exposure for small, low-budget films whose creators don’t have the luxury of a raft of publicists and studio resources.
That means first-time feature directors such as Adriana Maggs, who is here in the international feature competition with the Newfoundland-shot Grown Up Movie Star, can receive international exposure in an instant.
Other Canadians who stand to make a big impression are Toronto’s Vincenzo Natali with the genetic engineering horror reel Splice, Montreal’s Daniel Grou with the Dirty Harry-themed 7 Days (Les 7 jours du Talion) and Eli Craig’s comic take on a Deliverance idea Tucker & Dale vs. Evil – all programmed in the edgy, and sleep depriving, Midnight Madness program.
Even the short filmmakers got new respect at this year’s festival with the addition of an opening night shorts program, and a separate awards ceremony taking place mid-fest. This year’s Canadian shorts lineup includes: David Coquard-Dassault’s Rains (L’Ondee), veteran Cordell Barker’s Runaway, Jamie Travis’s The Armoire, Diego Maclean’s The Art of Drowning, Paul Raphael and Felix LaJeunesse’s Tungijuq, and Vive La Rose from Bruce Alcock.
For a country with a small filmmaking community, Sundance makes everyone feel big. The festival kicked off on Thursday with a premiere of HOWL and continues through to Jan. 31.
Source: The National Post
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Front Page, Industry News
Canadians make presence felt at Sundance Film Festival
Monday January 25th 2010PARK CITY, UTAH – Whether it’s the snow, the mountains or the fact that our entire filmmaking tradition is a model for independent thinking, Canadians just seem to fit the quirky renaissance rebellion called the Sundance Film Festival.
With two films in competition, three others a part of the midnight madness program and six shorts, the official 2010 Canadian contingent isn’t the biggest in Sundance history, but it’s darn respectable considering entrants were vying for a program spot against 9,816 submissions.
“It’s a huge honour to be admitted to Sundance,” says Lixin Fan, who is here with The Last Train Home. A former broadcast journalist in his native China, Mr. Fan documented the world’s biggest human migration that happens every year as factory workers head out of the cities and cram onto trains bound for small villages for the holidays.
“For a new Canadian like myself, it’s even more significant. I had the chance to make the movie I wanted. For me, that was the most important thing and I didn’t even think of festivals or Sundance when I was making it,” Mr. Fan says.
“So it was a wonderful surprise to be accepted in such an internationally recognized festival as Sundance. I think it’s important there is an understanding of China in the West … and I hope my film will help [the cause].”
Mr. Fan’s sentiments are shared by just about any filmmaker lucky enough to make it into the 10-day festival founded by Robert Redford. With more than 1,000 accredited members of the press in attendance, Sundance affords world exposure for small, low-budget films whose creators don’t have the luxury of a raft of publicists and studio resources.
That means first-time feature directors such as Adriana Maggs, who is here in the international feature competition with the Newfoundland-shot Grown Up Movie Star, can receive international exposure in an instant.
Other Canadians who stand to make a big impression are Toronto’s Vincenzo Natali with the genetic engineering horror reel Splice, Montreal’s Daniel Grou with the Dirty Harry-themed 7 Days (Les 7 jours du Talion) and Eli Craig’s comic take on a Deliverance idea Tucker & Dale vs. Evil – all programmed in the edgy, and sleep depriving, Midnight Madness program.
Even the short filmmakers got new respect at this year’s festival with the addition of an opening night shorts program, and a separate awards ceremony taking place mid-fest. This year’s Canadian shorts lineup includes: David Coquard-Dassault’s Rains (L’Ondee), veteran Cordell Barker’s Runaway, Jamie Travis’s The Armoire, Diego Maclean’s The Art of Drowning, Paul Raphael and Felix LaJeunesse’s Tungijuq, and Vive La Rose from Bruce Alcock.
For a country with a small filmmaking community, Sundance makes everyone feel big. The festival kicked off on Thursday with a premiere of HOWL and continues through to Jan. 31.
Source: The National Post
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