FEATURE FILMS SCREENING IN COMPETITION
EASY LISTENING – (USA, 85 min., Narrative) WORLD PREMIERE ^ An aging hipster finds his groove and a pretty young flautist in the very unhip world of Easy Listening. Directed by Pamela Corkey.
THE HOLY LAND – (USA, 96 min., Narrative) ^ A rabbinical student falls in love with a Russian prostitute during a period of suicide bus bombings in contemporary Jerusalem. Directed by Eitan Gorlin.
ISRAEL IN EXILE – (USA, 87 min., Narrative) WORLD PREMIERE ^ An old woman enlists the aid of the Mexican spiritual icon, Guadalupe, to help her son recapture his dream and find his way home. Directed by Juan Ramirez
LEFTY-RIGHT – (USA, 50 min., Narrative) WORLD PREMIERE ^ In this comedy, After hearing a news report about left-handed people dying earlier than right-handers, a telemarketer decides that converting his handedness is his best option for shortening his life span and getting out of a world which seems to have left him behind. Directed by Rae McGrath.
LOUDER THAN BOMBS – (Poland, 92 min., Narrative) NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE ^ On the day of his father¹s funeral, a young man¹s girlfriend tells him she’s emigrating to America in this comedy about love, loss, and barbecue. Directed by Przemyslaw Wojcieszek
THE MALLORY EFFECT – (USA, 96 min., Narrative) WORLD PREMIERE ^ Stalking and revenge are the best medicines for a broken heart. Cast includes up-and-coming super-model Josie Maran. Directed by Dustin Guy
MY FATHER, THE GENIUS – (USA, 80 min., Documentary) WORLD PREMIERE ^ Enlisted to write the biography of her visionary architect father, filmmaker Lucia Small meets her subject head on with a film that exposes the controversial, comical, and inspirational layers of his life. Directed by Lucia Small. Shot on DV.
RONNIE – (USA, 87 min., Narrative) WORLD PREMIERE ^ A young man who is “a little bit different” becomes amorous towards a mentally disabled woman and through a series of mishaps, experiences love, life, death, and the loss of his family. Cast includes Brian Austin Green (“Beverly Hills 90210”) and Aimee Graham (sister of Heather Graham). Directed by Christopher Haifley
STANDING BY YOURSELF – (USA, 57 min., Documentary) US PREMIERE ^ A portrait of eight people living in the emptiness that is Upstate New York. Directed by Josh Koury. Shot on DV
STONE READER – (USA, 140 min., Documentary) WORLD PREMIERE ^ A filmmaker discovers a great unknown book and sets out on a quest to learn why the book and writer vanished. Directed by Mark Moskowitz
THANK YOU FOR THE RUBBISH – (USA, 70 min., Documentary) WORLD PREMIERE ^ An insider of the British press reveals how he has gotten rich through his obsession of scavenging through rubbish, finding discarded documents, and then selling them to story-hungry newspapers. Directed by Iain Jones. Shot on DV.
WHERE HAS ETERNITY GONE – (USA, 49 min., Documentary ) WORLD PREMIERE ^ “A married couple from North Dakota try to defeat Al Gore in the Presidential election with their ability to channel songs from the dead Beatle, John Lennon. Directed by Barney Snow. Shot on DV
SHORT FILMS IN COMPETITION
“Better Life” (USA, 12 min.) ^ Multiple forms of animation allow us to rediscover familiar moments. Directed by Atsuko Kubota.
“Candy Money” – (USA, 10 min.) ^ An intimate look at a day in the life of two entrepreneurial, pre-pubescent boys trying to make a buck in the backwoods of Arkansas. Directed by Chris Strother.
“Delhi House” (USA, 11 min.) WORLD PREMIERE ^ A makeshift “Western” hospital in one of India’s poorest inner-cities attempts to ease the suffering of the untouchables through renegade clinical and rehabilitative practices. Shot on DV. Directed by Jeremiah Zagar.
“The First Story” (USA, 11 min.) NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE ^ An experimental documentary that explores images of power and transportation in the American West. Directed by Cindy Stillwell.
“The Hunger Artist” (USA, 16 min.) WORLD PREMIERE ^ Achingly beautiful stop-motion animation retells this Franz Kafka story about a performer whose art consists of denying himself nourishment. Directed by Tom Gibbons.
“I Know Where I’m Going” (USA, 32 min.) ^ A hypnotic encapsulation of a young woman’s complete passage through romance, cohabitation and the politics of a relationship. Directed by Andrew Semans
“Impressions From Rustaveli” (USA, 14 min.) WORLD PREMIERE ^ Inspired by the prophetic 800 year old manuscript of a Georgian Monk. Directed by Nana Tchitchoua
“Lurch” (Germany, 20 min.) ^ A man with the unlikely job of preserving animal corpses at the Berlin Natural History Museum has a most unusual accident. Directed by Boris Hars-Tschachotin.
“The Man With A DV Cam” (Canada, 10 min.) WORLD PREMIERE ^ Lindsay Farnsworth is a film poet who has just acquired his first Digital Video camera. Watch him learn to express himself in increasingly colorful ways. Directed by Justin Adam & Mike Hawley. Shot on DV.
“P.E.” (USA, 10 min.) WORLD PREMIERE ^ Three girls attempt to get rid of their P.E. teacher instead of having to face the horrors of summer school should they not pass their P.E. final. Shot in wide screen. Directed by M. Stark.
“Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer” (USA, 20 min.) ^ Sastun tells the extraordinary story of American herbologist Rosita Arvigo, who’s quest to explore the healing powers of plants led her to the rainforest of Belize, where she befriended one of the last remaining Maya shamans Don Elijio Panti. Directed by Guido Verweyen.
“Vessel Wrestling” (USA, 13 min.) ^ Hairy, blood-sugar-sex-magic happens around dinnertime in this sensual claymation household. Directed by Lisa Yu.
“Water From the Moon” (USA, 9 min.) WORLD PREMIERE ^ Live action marionettes tell the story of a lonely washerwoman who discovers a winged man in her closet. Directed by Jenny McCracken.
LOUNGE FEATURES
ANCARDIUM (USA, 90 min., Narrative) WORLD PREMIERE ^ A contemporary mystery/thriller. This film will be presented as an interactive audience experience. Directed by Scott Thomas.
FREESTYLE: THE ART OF RHYME (USA, 60 min., Documentary) WORLD PREMIERE ^ Filmed over the course of 8 years, the film follows the living art of some of the best known, as well as unknown, hip-hop MC’s ever to bless the mic. Featuring performances by Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, Mos Def and Slamdance 2001 opening night band, The Roots. Directed by Kevin Fitzgerald.
JESUS CHRIST VAMPIRE HUNTER (CANADA, 85 min., Narrative) WORLD PREMIERE ^ The filmmaking team that won the “Spirit of Slamdance” prize in 2000 with the short, “Harry Knuckles and the Treasure of the Aztec Mummy,” returns to the Lounge and ups the ante with this tale of the ultimate action hero: Jesus Christ. Directed by Lee Demarbre.
ROCKS WITH WINGS (USA, 113 min., Documentary) ^ This compelling documentary follows the ups and downs of a Navajo girls¹ high school basketball team as their coach leads them to the New Mexico state finals. Directed by Rick Derby.
LOUNGE SHORTS
“A.U.R.A.” (Italy, 7 min.) ^ If an artwork loses a bit of its aura at every reproduction, what then happens to humans in the age of cloning? Shot on DV. Directed by Cinzia Rossello.
“Beached” (Ireland, 14 min.) ^ Romance develops between an ice cream vendor and a shy dogwalker in an Irish seaside town. Directed by Karl Golden.
“Border” (USA, 8 min.) ^ An old man and a goose have many things in common until they reach a road block. Directed by Annette Solakoglu.
“Breaker” (USA, 23 min.) ^ A Desperate and unruly teenager invades the life of a man she presumes to be her father. The film pulsates with the raw, live-for-now energy and sexuality found only in adolescence. Shot on DV. Directed by Lisa Robinson.
“Cleave” (USA, 15 min.) ^ An autopsy of a recently-deceased marriage that reveals the simultaneous urge to both cling to and sever the relationship. Director by Hollie Lavenstein.
“Death on a Friendly Border” (USA, 25 min.) ^ This film puts a human face on an international tragedy. An average of one person each day dies crossing the USA’s militarized southern border. Directed by Rachel Antell. Shot on DV
“Der Warter” (The Wait) (Germany, 15 min.) ^ A weak-chinned man finds something he doesn’t want to leave as he waits for his friends to come out a club that he couldn’t get into.
“Drunky” (USA, 3 min.) ^ Our hopeless hero awakens from a drunken stupor to find himself in the bed of another man, leading him into a nightmare world of sex and violence. Shot on DV. Directed by Aaron Augenblick.
“Good Brother” (USA, 16 min.) ^ Two young brothers deeply connected to their small town find innocently resort to painful measures in order to stay put. Directed by Greg Fadell, & Matthew Zacharias. Shot on DV.
“Heaven’s Crossroad” (USA, 35 min.) ^ This striking travelogue through Vietnam asks, “Who is the observer, and who are the observed?” Shot on Video. Directed by Kimi Takesue.
“The Hitch” (USA, (15 min.) ^ Directed by Michael Booth & Damon Herriman A driver picks up a hitchhiker on a deserted country road. But will his passenger win him over before he can carry out his plans?
“Hotel Hidajet” (USA, 10 min.) ^ A curious Bosnian refugee becomes a tour guide, vividly illustrating the plight of survivors in post-war Sarajevo. Shot on DV. Directed by Kelly Nathe.
“Lust is a Woman” (USA, 5 min.) ^ A groping couple in an old movie house is magically transported to the dark woods of Finland where harpies look like Betty Page and ghosts are ready to sew your stuff back together after your girlfriend cuts it to shreds. Directed by Ada Bligaard Soby.
“Modern Day Dreams” (USA, 12 min.) ^ A trilogy of Chaplinesque films exploring the theme of movement engendered by day-to-day life and examining machinery as metaphor for isolation. Shot with the camera Mitchell won at Slamdance 2000 for his short “Elevator World.” Directed by Mitchell Rose
“Pedro + Tony” (USA, 19 min.) ^ It’s the six month anniversary of a dog named Pedro, and his “boyfriend-who-just-happens-to-be-a-chicken.” Tony. They aren’t prepared for the unexpected things that go wrong on their special date. Shot on Beta. Directed by Don Thomas
“Pillow Fight” (USA, 4 min.) ^ Late one night, a young husband is awakened by his sleeping wife. When his patience runs out, three sleepy words turn his attitude around. Directed by Scott Rice.
“Prayer” (Sweden, 18 min.) ^ A mysterious meditative journey through one day of ancient rites in the heart of religious India. accompanied by Veda song, Norweigan jojk and Australian diggeridoo. Directed by Alexa Woolf.
Highlights from the 2001 Slamdance Film Festival in Park City included over $70,000 in cash and prizes awarded to the winning films. Several films were picked up for distribution, Audience Award winner American Chai being the most recent. Almost every film went on to play at other international film festivals. The short film “Bean Cake” won the Palme D’Or for short film at the 2001 Cannes International Film Festival. The 2000 Grand Jury Winner – Frank Novak’s GOOD HOUSEKEEPING – went on to screen in the prestigious Critics’ Week section of the Cannes Film Festival, where it was acquired for US distribution by Shooting Gallery in conjunction with Universal Studios. Alumni include MEMENTO DIRECTOR Chris Nolan (’99 entry FOLLOWING); The Russo Brothers (’97 entry “Pieces”) and MONSTER’S BALL director Marc Forster (’96 entry LOUNGERS). Participation in the Slamdance Film Festival helped to discover these filmmakers and to propel to their next features into production.
Individual tickets will be on sale at the Slamdance box office at the Silvermine in Park City, Utah on January 11, 2002 at 9:00 AM. For more info, call 323-466-1786 or visit the official Slamdance web site.
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