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Rotting in the Sun is now showing exclusively on Mubi in the series Chaos Theory: A Sebastián Silva Retrospective.Chilean director Sebastián Silva and influencer-comedian Jordan Firstman joined us earlier this year to talk about their collaboration on Rotting in the Sun, now streaming exclusively on Mubi.In the film, Silva and Firstman play off-kilter versions of themselves. When Silva's character embarks on a solo trip to a gay nudist beach to cure his existential woes, he's saved from drowning by none other than Instagram celebrity Jordan Firstman—a peppy foil to the downtrodden, ketamine-fueled Sebastián. A huge fan of Sebastián's films, Jordan pitches his new project, an indulgent-sounding riff on Curb Your Enthusiasm called You Are Me. But when Sebastián suddenly goes missing, Jordan embarks on a wild, quasi-detective journey through Mexico City to uncover the truth.In this conversation, Silva and Firstman chat about the making of this "post-covid existential comedy,...

Rotting in the Sun streams exclusively on Mubi (almost) globally starting September 15, 2023.This week's episode features:Sebastián Silva (Chile), a director, screenwriter, singer, and painter. Over the past fifteen years, he has established himself as one of the most singular and prolific voices in Latin American cinema. His filmography—consisting of eight feature films to date, and characterized by a bold, dark humor—talks about contemporary issues like the clash between social classes, racial struggle, and suicide.In 2009, his second feature film, The Maid, was the first Chilean film to be nominated for a Golden Globe for best international feature, and also won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. Since then, many of Silva’s films have premiered at Sundance, including Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus, Tyrel, and Nasty Baby; the latter film won the Teddy Award at the Berlinale in 2015.Catalina Saavedra (Chile), a film, theater and television actress.

After a multi-year hiatus, Pablo Stoll, who broke out with directing partner Juan Pablo Rebella on such hits as “25 Watts” and “Whisky,” is back in the director’s seat, albeit on his own, with “Summer Hit” (“El Tema del Verano”), a zombie pic now shooting on the beaches of Uruguay.

Presented at last year’s Cannes Producers Network, film is co-produced by Temperamento Films (Uruguay), Ice End Content (Chile) and La Unión de los Ríos (Argentina) in association with Nadador Cine (Uruguay).

Ice End Content is the new production shingle formed by Chile’s Florencia Larrea, producer of “My Tender Matador,” and Rodrigo Susarte, director of “The Monster Within,” who are pitching their dark comedy series, “Frankie,” at Sanfic Industria.

Stoll’s fifth feature film starts out as a post-pandemic summer romantic comedy but transforms into a scam film and finally one about the living dead. “Is it possible to...

Broken English Productions, the Latinx production arm of financier Grandave Capital, is boarding “The Monster Within,” the elevated genre film from Chile’s Forastero.

The move follows the worldwide sales rights pick up of Forastero’s “My Tender Matador” by Grandave Capital’s sales arm, Grandave Int’l, at the Venice Film Festival.

“As we want to finance high quality projects, it was an easy decision to continue to do business with Forastero,” said Grandave Capital president Stanley Preschutti, adding: “When you see the additional production companies involved with ‘The Monster Within’ and the projects they have done, that decision was even easier.”

Broken English Productions joins a team of European, North American and Latin American co-producers that apart from Forastero include Denmark’s Space Rocket Nation, the label of Lene Børglum and Nicolas Winding Refn; Canada’s 1976 Productions and Argentina’s Tornado Cine, founded by producers Alejandro Israel and Ezequiel Borovinsky.

Latin TV personality Ana María Polo and Chile’s Forastero, producer of the Golden Globe-nominated film “The Maid,” are teaming to develop and produce a feature based on her renowned Telemundo show “Caso Cerrado.”

Polo will play a leading role in the movie.

Diego Ayala, co-scribe on Netflix musical bio series “Luis Miguel” and Nicolás López hit comedy “Sin filtro,” has been tapped to write the film.

Ángel Zambrano, a former Svp of content for Turner Latin America and founder of development company Condeco, is joining the project as executive producer.

“Caso Cerrado: La Película” will roll during the second half of the year in México, Panamá and the Caribbean, among other locations. It is planned for release in early 2021.

A popular Cuban-American lawyer, Polo has hosted her hit court show “Caso Cerrado” for more than 18 years in which it has broadcast across the U.S. and 22 Latin American countries.

Over the past nine years, writer/director Sebastián Silva has completed his checklist, by premiering a film in all five categories of the Sundance narrative feature program. The winsome The Maid. The surehanded Crystal Fairy and The Magical Cactus (read review). The disturbing Magic Magic (read review). The polarizing Nasty Baby. Each was more unpredictable than the last. On top of all that, this year’s Tyrel is among his most mature and unique films to date. Ever the provocateur, Silva toys with our expectations, all while crafting an elegantly authentic portrait of toxic masculinity.

Tensions build and dissipate like tides while his camera glides through a mesmerizing weekend of debauchery.…...

Buenos Aires — Oscar-winning Chilean producer Juan de Dios Larraín (“A Fantastic Woman”), Sebastián Freund, co-creator of Chile’s biggest ever B.O. hit, “Stefan vs. Kramer,” and Gabriela Sandoval, co-director of Sanfic, Chile’s biggest film event, Sanfic festival, are joining forces to haul Chile’s much vaunted cinema into the 21st century.

They will be joined by Sergio Gándara, Chile’s top TV producer, Macarena Cardone, from Invercine&Wood, and Gastón Chedufa, from Las Minas.

A hint of their roadmap looks likely to be heard Wednesday evening at Ventana Sur, when Freund and Sandoval deliver a short speech before a CinemaChile cocktail, traditionally a mid-market social milestone at Latin America’s biggest movie-tv market. If it ain’t broke….? Since a new generation of filmmakers, making up the so-called Newest Chilean Cinema – Sebastián Lelio, Alicia Scherson, Matías Bize – burst onto the scene at the 2005 Valdivia Festival, Chilean filmmakers have won...

Sebastián Silva’s scathing, scorched-earth take on bro culture, code-switching and how best buddies double as bitter underminers kicks off with a mistake. Two guys are pushing their car down an upstate New York road, shooting the shit. One of them is waiting for his friends to come along and get them, since they’re all converging on a pal’s house in the Catskills for a long guys’ weekend. The other is essentially along for the ride, as his apartment back in Manhattan is filled with his girlfriend’s family.

How does “Tyrel” differ from Sebastián Silva’s earlier films? “It was an actual screenplay,” he explained during an interview at the IndieWire Studio at the Sundance Film Festival this January. It was far from the Chilean filmmaker’s first time in Park City — “The Maid,” “Crystal Fairy,” “Magic Magic,” and “Nasty Baby’ all premiered there as well — but its editing process required an evolution in his style.

Silva credits much of that to editor Sofia Subercaseaux, who was with him in the IndieWire Studio. “What was very heroic from Sofia is that these movies are shot in a very unorthodox way. We rarely turn the camera off, you know, when we do takes…It’s a movie that didn’t take that long to shoot, but it takes a long time to edit.”

“I know what the movies are about before you’re shooting them. I feel like we...

Film Factory Ent has released the first international trailer for the hotly-anticipated third feature from up-and-coming Chilean director Che Sandoval, “Dry Martina.”

The film was a hit at Argentina’s Ventana Sur market where Film Factory Ent. pounced on international distribution rights to the film after it screened at the Copia O – a section where near complete or finished films are presented to sales agents.

Produced by Chile’s Forastero with Argentina’s Rizoma films co-producing, “Dry Martina” is Sandoval’s third feature following “Much Better Than You,” an alcohol-fueled Mumblecore look into the Santiago nightlife, and his debut, “You Think You’re the Prettiest, But You Are the Sluttiest.”

The high-end visuals and big step-up in production values from Sandoval’s previous films mark a sea change in the director’s career, from niche indie projects on shoestring budgets which drew a cult following and made Sandoval a talent to track,...

Ben Kingsley is not a tall man, but he looms awesomely large in writer-director Brad Silberling’s “An Ordinary Man,” whose slyly misleading title refers to what becomes of a notorious Bosnian Serb general living in what used to be Yugoslavia — a monster guilty of torture, murder, and other unforgivable crimes who has spent the subsequent years attempting to blend in. The versatile actor, whose performances have run the gamut of good and evil from Gandhi to “Sexy Beast” maniac Don Logan, settles somewhere in the middle here, which isn’t at all what one might expect when playing the country’s most wanted war criminal. Still, it’s the right answer in a goulash-heavy character study that’s ultimately more interested in human psychology than unresolved world politics.

Kingsley’s domineering lead performance is worth the price of admission alone, although “An Ordinary Man” is actually a two-hander, divided...

Few working filmmakers toy with expectations better than Sebastian Silva, whose movies weave and bob around familiar genre tropes, teasing certain outcomes without taking the most obvious route. From the dark domestic comedy of “The Maid” to the whimsical hipster antics of “Nasty Baby” that give way to a haunting criminal twist, the Chilean-born, America-based director excels at capturing uneasy social gatherings that devolve into chaos.

“Tyrel” is one of his less-adventurous offerings, but it still fits neatly into a career steeped in innovative explorations of human behavior, this one aided to a large degree by a first-rate Jason Mitchell performance that enriches the movie’s topical themes on race. The story of a cabin party in the Catskills, it finds Tyler (Mitchell) as the sole black man at an otherwise all-white weekend of drunken debauchery. While it shares some DNA with “Get Out,” it lacks the innovative genre twists.

After breaking out with “The Maid” in 2009, director Sebastián Silva has been inching his way toward working with bigger stars without losing his personal storytelling voice. He teamed with Michael Cera for back-to-back movies “Crystal Fairy & The Magical Cactus” and “Magic Magic,” and then worked with Kristen Wiig on “Nasty Baby.” Now he’s once […]

The post Will Ferrell, Catherine Keener & Michael Cera Are All Aboard For Sebastian Silva’s ‘Captain Dad’ appeared first on The Playlist.

Will Ferrell, Catherine Keener and Michael Cera are set to star in the dark family vacation comedy "Captain Dad" which Sebastian Silva ("The Maid") pens and directs.

Rich Peelman (Ferrell) gives his wife Linda (Keener) the gift of a lifetime for her birthday: a trip through the Caribbean on a sailboat with all six of their kids and their partners.

Stubborn, competitive and overly confident in his sailing abilities that are clearly out of sync with reality, Rich is determined that the vacation be run on his terms. But things do not go according to plan.

Anne Carey, Archer Gray and Christine Vachon will produce.

Source: Deadline...

Exclusive: Will Ferrell is set to star in Captain Dad alongside Catherine Keener and Michael Cera. The dark twist on the family vacation comedy will be written and directed by Golden Globe-nominated Sebastian Silva (The Maid) and produced by Anne Carey and Archer Gray with Christine Vachon and Killer Films exec producing. Protagonist Pictures is handling international sales here at Cannes. UTA Independent Film Group packaged the film and will handle the domestic sale…...

An abrupt shift of register undermines Sebastián Silva’s tale of a gay couple who help a friend get pregnant

The Chilean director Sebastián Silva made a striking debut with his black comedy The Maid, then went manically astray with the tourists-in-trouble diptych Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus and Magic Magic. Nasty Baby finds him on firmer ground, up to a point. Silva himself and Tunde Adebimpe (from the band TV on the Radio) play a gay couple who agree to help a friend (Kristen Wiig) get pregnant by artificial insemination. The film, which is set in New York, starts as an amiably loose-limbed improv comedy of bohemian pretensions: Silva’s character is an artist whose latest project has adults playing babies. At the end, however, Nasty Baby veers into an incongruously brutal register and the shift feels utterly jarring – as was no doubt intended. But this is one of...

Sebastián Silva’s bizarre movie borders on incoherence but holds interest in its acting and direction

Whoa! This week’s Wtf moment comes from the Chilean director Sebastián Silva, responsible for the Losey-esque class satire The Maid and the disturbing thriller Magic Magic. This is a strange, unclassifiable piece of work, bordering on craziness and incoherence but acted and directed with such quiet vehemence that it has some interest. (Interestingly, the co-producer is Pablo Larraín, whose eerie satire The Club is in UK cinemas.) Nasty Baby attempts to cross social satire with extreme confrontation (a la Straw Dogs) and finally noir farce. Silva plays Freddy, a conceptual artist in Brooklyn working on a video piece featuring him playing a baby, in which he also casts his partner, Mo (Tunde Adebimpe). He is donating sperm to their friend Polly, played by Kristen Wiig, who is longing for an actual baby. Wiig...

2015 was definitively an interesting year for Chilean cinema. It was present at most of the major festivals in the world, and it generated some buzz regarding its good moments once again, something that has been the talk of the town since 2009 and the premiere in Sundance of Sebastian Silva's The Maid. Nevertheless, it was actually a quieter year, one that demonstrated more than ever that the filmmaking power of the country resides in its documentaries above anything else. As we are citizens of the world, we try to make sense of our position in it, as well as our recent history and how we should react to it.Masterful directors returned to making movies, some new filmmakers arose and for the most part it...

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

Chilean Cinema has been taking over festivals and the screens of all the world, and little by little cinephiles have been recognizing the splendid moment that has been having for the past five to six years. Only this year, for example, we had the release of The Pearl Button, directed by the legendary Patricio Guzmán, on a limited release and later view-able through Fandor. Or Nasty Baby, directed by Sebastián Silva, who still lives off the dividends of his 2009 film The Maid that stormed audiences back in 2009. >> - Jaime Grijalba...

Chilean Cinema has been taking over festivals and the screens of all the world, and little by little cinephiles have been recognizing the splendid moment that has been having for the past five to six years. Only this year, for example, we had the release of The Pearl Button, directed by the legendary Patricio Guzmán, on a limited release and later view-able through Fandor. Or Nasty Baby, directed by Sebastián Silva, who still lives off the dividends of his 2009 film The Maid that stormed audiences back in 2009. >> - Jaime Grijalba...

Read More: Sundance Institute Announces 2015 Documentary Film Program Selections Ahead of its 20th anniversary, Rooftop Films has just awarded 13 cash and service grants to alumni filmmakers. Winners of the Garbo NYC Feature Film Grants are Kitty Green, who will receive a monetary grant of $15,000 to help her finish her work on her latest documentary "Casting JonBenet," and Sebastian Silva, who will receive a grant of $10,000 to finish his work on his feature "Demon Me." "Casting JonBenet," a stylized documentary about the infamous murder of child model JonBenet Ramsey will be Green's sophomore feature after her 2013 documentary debut "Ukraine Is Not a Brothel." Silva has earned acclaim for his films such as "The Maid," "Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus" and this year's "Nasty Baby." Green and Silva join a distinguished group of past Rooftop Filmmakers Fund grantees, including Ana Lily Amirpour...

Bob Dylan will appear in animated form at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival in “Bob Dylan Hates Me,” which will debut in the same shorts program as “The Chickening,” the bizarre animated short film that had Midnight audiences clucking at the Toronto International Film Festival this fall. Both films were included in the Sundance Institute’s announcement of 72 short films that will screen at the festival, which takes place Jan. 21-31 in Utah. Sebastian Silva, one of the festival’s favorite sons who has premiered “The Maid,” “Magic Magic” and “Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus” at Sundance, returns once again with.

Chicago – “Nasty Baby” is a family film, with a family that consists of a gay/mixed race couple, and their best girlfriend who wants to have a baby with them. This unconventionality is made less remarkable simply because the characters are all motivated by their own fragile egos – which sometimes is good, and sometimes not so much.

The director is Sebastián Silva, who also wrote the screenplay and plays a lead role as Freddy, part of the gay couple. His partner is Mo (Turide Adebimpe), and the couple’s baby maker is Polly, portrayed exquisitely by Kristin Wiig. Their determination, fueled by Polly’s biological clock, creates a tense atmosphere that leads to a troubling situation. It is, however, an authentic slice of life, and wickedly realized by the acting and production team.

Kristen Wiig and Sebastián Silva in ‘Nasty Baby’

Photo credit: The Orchard

Sebastián Silva was born in Chilé,...

Nasty Baby is a daring film. A story that begins as one familiar thing only to gradually develop into its polar opposite. This is an intimate portrait of a group of characters that grow into family unit just in time to face an unthinkable challenge, which comes in the form of a dark tonal shift courtesy of the film’s writer, director and star Sebastián Silva (The Maid, Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus). Silva’s penchant for pushing his character out of their comfort zones often produces shocking results, but nothing in his filmography will quite prepare you for the direction that this latest endeavor ultimately takes.

Nasty Baby is the first of Silva’s films in which he’s cast himself as the lead. He plays Freddy, a gay, Brooklyn-based artist set to mount a multimedia exhibition of what he calls nasty babies, adults acting like or photoshopped as children.

Sebastián Silva’s Nasty Baby provokes reaction. It’s a murder story disguised as a low-fi Brooklyn comedy. It eases you into a world of artists in Brownstones, liberal family structures and artisanal cappuccinos and then sucker-punches your expectations with a late in the game twist. The polarizing response to Silva’s choice to derail the expected narrative was felt even before the film premiered. According to the director the film was rejected from the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival with the caveat that if he changed the ending they may reconsider. The film ended up premiering at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and will be seen in limited release Oct. 23rd, before an on-demand release a week later.

The film follows contemporary artist/filmmaker Freddy (Silva starring for the first time) and his best friend Polly (Kristen Wiig) as they try to make good on Polly’s desire to have a kid.

An award-winning festival favorite by Sebastián Silva (“The Maid”), Nasty Baby centers on Freddy (Silva), a Brooklyn-based artist who, with his boyfriend, Mo (Tunde Adebimpe), and their best friend, Polly (Kristen Wiig), is trying to have a baby. As this trio deals with the complications of conception and creating the “new normal” family, their bliss is clouded by a series of confrontations with an annoying neighbor who just might be a madman. The movie stars Sebastián Silva, Tunde Adebimpe, Kristen Wiig, Reg E. Cathey, and Alia Shawkat. “Nasty Baby” opens in select theaters in New York City and Los Angeles on October 23 and OnDemand on October 30.

The post Nasty Baby Gets A New Trailer and Movie poster appeared first on Shockya.com.

The first trailer is out for the new Kristen Wiig-led indie drama "Nasty Baby" which gets a limited theatrical release starting October 23rd followed by a VOD release a week later.

Wiig plays a woman trying to get pregnant with the help of her best friends, gay couple Freddy (Sebastian Silva) and Mo (Tunde Adebimpe) in Brooklyn.

Sebastian Silva, who also directed "The Maid" and "Magic Magic," helms the surprising looking project which seems to have an unexpected thriller vibe at points.

The delicate relationship between employer and servant is skilfully subverted and scrutinised in this funny, serious study of class in modern-day Brazil

The perennially fascinating and tactless subject of 21st-century servitude is the theme of this well acted and absorbing film – to be compared with Sebastián Silva’s 2009 gem The Maid, and, from much further back, Joseph Losey’s 1960 classic The Servant.

What happens when the live-in help get above themselves? And how does the supposedly liberal and relaxed employer class find a way of expressing its fastidious distaste and unease? It is the story of a rich Brazilian family in São Paulo and their housekeeper Val, wonderfully played by Regina Casé. She has been a nanny to the son of the house, as well as all her other duties, earning enough to send money home to pay for the care of her own daughter Jéssica, whom she has not seen for 10 years.

An Other Mother: Muylaert Scores International Breakout with Class Conscious Character Study

Brazilian director Anna Muylaert gets her first crack at international renown with her fourth narrative feature, The Second Mother, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival where it snagged a special jury prize for acting before taking home an audience award on its next stop at the Berlin International Film Festival. Walking a fine line of between character study vs. social class soap box, Muylaert successfully avoids potential contrivances with a heartfelt portrait of its central character, allowed a significant arc presented with great eloquence from its leading performer, Regina Case, a local Brazilian icon now in her fifth decade as a celebrated actor.

Val (Case) is a domestic worker who lives with her wealthy employers Dona Barbara (Karine Teles) and Carlos (Lourenco Mutarelli) in Sao Paulo, tending to all the domestic chores associated with the house and...

With apologies in advance to Patricio Guzmán and Alejandro Jodorowsky, Pablo Larraín might be Chile’s greatest working filmmaker today. Certainly in the narrative field (Guzmán is a documentary guy), Larraín is practically unparalleled, though it should be said with Sebastian Silva (“Nasty Baby,” “The Maid”), Sebastián Lelio (“Gloria”) and others doing terrific work, Chilean cinema has never been healthier. Read More: Berlin Review: Pablo Larrain's Mordant, Disturbing, Astounding 'The Club' Larraín is firing on all cylinders. After completing his Pincochet/Chilean ‘70s military coup trilogy (“Tony Manero,” “Post Mortem,” and “No”) and landing in Cannes or Venice for every picture, the filmmaker pivoted from developing American films (a “Scarface” remake) and knocked out “The Club” earlier this year which he wrote and shot in a matter of months, only to win the Grand Jury Prize in Berlin (our glowing review from Berlin called it...

Sebastian Silva opened his recent Master Class at the Ifp Made in NY Media Center with a YouTube clip of an 80-year-old woman nearly falling out of her harness while skydiving. "I've somehow lost interest in indie film, even though I'm really pushing to keep making them," he said. "But stuff like this is really inspiring to me. It's something that nobody could ever write and direct." Read More: Sebastian Silva on Why Toronto Rejected 'Nasty Baby' and How 'Quirk is Bad' This perfectly sums up the ethos of Silva's filmmaking. After breaking onto the scene with the 2009 Sundance premiere "The Maid," Silva has emerged as one of the leading voices in indie film. He espouses spontaneity; his films play like time capsules of the social moment, using naturalistic dialogue to communicate contemporary anxiety in an often humorous way. In a time when indie films are being made for millions of dollars,...

Media Luna's lineup of predominantly women-centric and Spanish language films is very attractive for Ficg's upcoming market this March 6 - 16th.

"Flocking" by Beata Gårdeler won the Crystal Bear for Best Feature at Berlinale 2015

Synopsis: The small village community is convinced that the young Jennifer is lying, when she claims to have been raped by classmate Alexander. Evidence and court decisions mean nothing, where grown-up people lay down their own rules and laws to stick with the flock.

(Sweden 2015; Drama/Thriller) Based on true stories.

"Two Women" by Vera Glagoleva. Starring Ralph Fiennes ("The Grand Budapest Hotel," "The English Patient") and Sylvie Testud ("La Vie en Rose," "Lourdes")

Synopsis: Natalya is married to a land baron. Her feelings for her son’s attractive new tutor will confront her with her own daughter and turn her devoted life into a complex web of unappreciated love, lust and jealousy. (Russia, France, Latvia 2014; Drama)

"3 Beauties"(3 Bellezas) by Carlos Caridad-Montero (Venezuela 2014; Comedy) Miss Venezuela. When obsession for beauty and cosmetic surgery is taken too far.

Synopsis:Perla is obsessed with having a beauty queen in the family and she is willing to do whatever it takes to make her dream come true. Including destroying her own family.

"No Thank You" by Samuli Valkama (Finland 2014; Comedy) - Based on the Anna-Leena Härkönen bestseller, “Ei Kiitos”, published by Otava, the novel now exceeds 110.000 printed exemplars and "No Thank You" became a Box Office hit in Finland!

Synopsis: Heli’s husband is not in the mood. After many years of marriage a shoulder massage is the highest form of intimacy for him. When subtle hints, nice words and fetching clothes won’t help, Heli turns to increasingly direct action — in vain! Then she meets the attractive Jarno, a stunning young man. Soon she will discover what she wants, and what she doesn’t want in life.

"The Mud Woman" (La Mujer de Barro) by Sergio Castro San Martín (Chile & Argentina 2015; Drama) Starring Catalina Saavedra (Best actress at Sundace Film Festival for “The Maid”) World Premiere at Berlinale Forum 2015.

Synopsis: Maria and her daughter Teresa leave near the border between Chile and Argentina. Ten years have passed, since she last worked in the vineyard's harvest season. Now Maria has to earn some extra money and decides to return at the plantation… not knowing she will have to face her unsolved past.

"Baby Steps" by Barney Cheng (USA, Taiwan 2015; Comedy/Drama) From Oscar-winning producer of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Eat Drink Man Woman" and "The Wedding Banquet" by Ang Lee. Starring the award-winning actress Ah-Leh Gua ("The Wedding Banquet" and" Eat Drink Man Woman").

Synopsis: Danny and his boyfriend long to have a baby. The complex world of international surrogacy is further complicated by Danny's well-meaning but extremely meddlesome Mother who wants to control every aspect of the process all the way from Taipei.

"Internet Junkie" by Alexander Katzowicz (Argentina, Mexico & Israel 2015; Dark Comedy/Erotic) Starring Antonio Birabent ("Wild Tango"), Angela Molina ("That Obscure Object of Desire," "The Things of Love") and special appearance of Arturo Ripstein (Director of "No One Writes to the Colonel," "The Queen of the Night")

Synopsis: Inside the virtual world... A soldier looking for lovers, a teenager searching for porn, a mother in need of friends, a graduated looking for a job, women waiting to find the love of their life and the best –or any- lover in the area... outside the virtual world no one is what they seem.

"Get Married If You Can" (Casese Quien Pueda) by Marco Polo Constandse (Mexico 2014; Comedy) Box Office hit in Mexico! - Third highest-grossing film of all time – Starring Martha Higadera ("Street Kings," "Amar te duele"), Luis Gerardo Méndez ("Cantinflas") and Michel Brown ("Pasión de Gavilanes" – TV)

Synopsis: Ana is obsessed with her big dream wedding. Daniela is focused on her career, no time for marriage. When Ana finds out her fiancé is cheating on her and Daniela falls in love with her best friend they discover that the only true path to marriage is love.

"Sweet Girls" by Jean-Paul Cardinaux & Xavier Ruiz (Switzerland 2015; Dark Comedy) Generational clash, when a hopeless young generation meet an aged population.

Synopsis: Elodie and Marie are two teenagers that face the lack of opportunities offered by the housing crisis. They come up to an extreme solution: empty the apartments unjustly occupied by “the old people” who, at her eyes, are responsible of the current social imbalance. In this journey, they will discover that there are human beings, just as lost and forgotten by society as they are.

"Perfect Obedience" (Obediencia Perfecta) by Luis Urquiza (Mexico 2014; Drama) Based on a true story, the scandal related to the priest Marcial Maciel, the Head of "The Legion of Christ” (Los Legionarios de Cristo). Montreal (Best Film), Cine Ceará (Best Director, Best Actor)

Synopsis: A young seminarian will endure a hard spiritual journey to reach Perfect Obedience. His mentor, captivated by his fragility and innocence, will guide him to complete psychological and physical surrender.

"Buzzard" by Joel Potrykus (USA 2014; Dark Comedy, Drama) Joel Potrykus won Best Emerging Director and Special Mention for Best First Feature at Locarno 2012 for his film “Ape”. At this year’s Locarno, he won Special Mention from the Independent Juries and Prices in 2014 for his new feature “Buzzard”.

Synopsis: Marty is a small-time con artist drifting from one scam to the next. When his latest ruse goes awry, mounting paranoia forces him to leave his lousy temp job and hide out in his co-worker's basement. Until eventually he flees to Detroit with nothing but a pocket full of bogus checks, his Power Glove, and a bad temper.

"Unlucky Plaza" by Ken Kwek (Singapore 2014; Thriller, Dark Comedy) Ken Kwek’s previous compilation of shortfilms “Sex.Violence.FamilyValues - three dirrty stories from the world's cleanest city-“ was banned by the Singapore and Malaysia government in 2012. World Premiere Toronto 2014.

Synopsis: Sky has a debt to the mafia and hopes to convince his wife to sell her parent’s flat. Looking for a way out, she rents the flat to an evicted single father, while unintentionally setting into motion a series of unfortunate events.

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Following its premieres at the Sundance Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the event's Teddy Award, Sebastian Silva's dark comedy "Nasty Baby" has been acquired for North American distribution by The Orchard. The company's latest buy came on the heels of their recent Sundance buying spree, during which The Orchard picked up rights to Patrick Brice's "The Overnight," Joe Swanberg's "Digging for Fire" and Matthew Heineman's documentary "Cartel Land." The film marks Silva's third English-language feature following "Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus" and "Magic Magic." He's also known for the Chilean films "The Maid" and "Old Cats." "Nasty Baby" stars Silva as one half of gay couple trying to have a baby in Brooklyn with their best friend (Wiig). Their plans are disrupted by growing harassment from a menacing neighborhood local known as...

Nathaniel reporting from Sundance with three quick takes

Dope

The biggest sale at Sundance was this no-stars comedy about three geeky high school seniors who are obsessed with 90s hip hops (that's a character detail and joke factory -- not the plot). Malcolm (Shameik Moore joyfully charismatic in the lead role) a Straight A student who dreams of Harvard and his two best friends Jib (Tony Revolori - just as strong as he was in Grand Budapest Hotel) and Diggy (Kiersey Clemons from Transparent in her feature debut) live in "The Bottoms" an impoverished crime-ridden neighborhood. Malcolm gets mixed up with Dom (Rakim Mayers aka A$AP Rocky), a local dope dealer, and soon the three friends are on the run from cops, drug dealers, gang members and continually out of frying pans and into other fires. The film it most reminded me of is Go (1999) for its parade of memorable characters,...

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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The first still from Kristen Wiig's upcoming “Nasty Baby” just landed, and we’re hopeful that means there’s plenty more (including a trailer) on the horizon. Having entered post-production, though still without a release date or festival appearance announced, hopes are already high for the film, which is written and directed by Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Silva ("The Maid"), who also co-stars (that's him in the photo next to Wiig). TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe joins as Silva's boyfriend, and Wiig plays their best friend and surrogate in the couple’s quest to have a baby. Here’s the full synopsis: Nasty Baby centers around a Brooklyn couple, Freddy and his boyfriend Mo, who are trying to have a baby with the help of their best friend, Polly. Freddy is an artist, and his latest work is all about babies – it’s clear he’s dying to be a father.

In part it looks like a horror-thriller, but Magic Magic is more an unnervingly plausible depiction of mental breakdown, and it features a couple of career-high performances

Chilean director Sebastián Silva gave us a clever and disturbing psycho-chiller of domestic servitude in his 2009 movie The Maid, then teamed up with Michael Cera for the peyote-dream road movie Crystal Fairy. Now he reunites with Cera for Magic Magic, a film with some mannerisms that make it look like a horror-thriller, although it is more a disquieting and unnervingly plausible depiction of mental breakdown. Juno Temple takes her career to the next level with this artless, raw performance, something to be compared with Catherine Deneuve in Polanski's Repulsion, and Cera comes into his own as a natural villain and the nastiest piece of work to be seen in the cinema all year. Temple is Alicia, who has come to Chile to hang...

Michael Cera is a chauvinist partyhound in a gently subversive Chilean companion to Y Tu Mamá También

Chilean writer-director Sebastián Silva follows 2009's sly social satire The Maid with this gently subversive road trip, a younger, scruffier sibling to Alfonso Cuarón's Y Tu Mamá También. A newly dopey Michael Cera is the chauvinist partyhound whose plans of doing mescaline in the Atacama desert with his travelling companions are hijacked by hippychick Gaby Hoffmann; she's soon confounding everyone with her advocacy of karmic cleansing and female body hair. Crucially, the gag isn't that she's some aberrant freak, but that these little boys don't know how to react to her – and Hoffmann's nudity is so self-assuredly confrontational it's scant surprise she's since been tapped to appear on TV's Girls. Stretches of improv with passers-by means the film can resemble one of those What the Director Did on His Holidays doodles, yet...

The endearingly dorky actor has acquired a taste for less likeable roles. Next, he's tripping across Chile – literally – for his new film Crystal Fairy

Michael Cera's acting like a real jerk these days. He's the guy who made his name in 2007 as a superdweeb in Superbad, hapless yet endlessly endearing, and subsequently mined similar territory in Juno and Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. Today, that awkward dork is all but dead and buried. In last year's apocalypse comedy This Is The End he presented a 180-degree subversion of his public image: playing himself, the real Michael Cera was apparently an obnoxious irritant who blew coke in people's faces. In his next two films he is equally insufferable. He also wants to show us his vagina. But more on that later.

In Sebastián Silva's new film (full title: Crystal Fairy & The Magical Cactus), Cera is Jamie, an American in Chile,...

Chicago – What to Watch is back! Miss us? Every week, we roll out 5-10 of the latest films and TV shows to be released on DVD, Blu-ray, and various streaming services. This week’s highlights include a few classics, a cult hit, a couple of recent comedies, and a family flick. In the order we’d advise buying or renting them…

The Vivien Leigh Anniversary Collection

Photo credit: Cohen Media Group

“The Vivien Leigh Anniversary Collection”

Another Wtw, another Cohen Media Group release. Seriously, the good folks at Cohen have been doing an amazing job of finding relatively obscure classics and recent foreign films and polishing them like they’re beloved worldwide. They’re rivaling Criterion and Scream Factory as studios for which every release truly matters. Their latest is a collection of four early films from the legendary Vivien Leigh, an actress best-known for “Gone with the Wind” and a true Hollywood icon.

Director Sebastián Silva is now known for Sundance award-winner “The Maid” and the recent Michael Cera film “Crystal Fairy,” but before establishing his lofty international reputation, he debuted with “Life Kills Me,” which the Global Lens series springs from the vault for a welcome reassessment. Life and death come wrapped in a mutual embrace, both absurd and poignant, in this smart comedy about an unlikely friendship between a grieving cinematographer and a morbidly obsessed drifter. At work on a seriously schlocky, low-budget horror film, Gaspar is still reeling from the untimely death of his beloved older brother when he meets Alvaro at yet another premature funeral. A mildly sociopathic young man with an unyielding curiosity for the dark side, Alvaro soon coaxes Gaspar out of his shell in unexpected ways. The savvy film site Twitch calls “Life Kills Me” the “film equivalent of a Smiths song: the chirpy, stylish exterior...

Sebastián Silva is a Chilean director, and maybe in this time and age, the most well-known director born in Chile today -- the best-known Chilean director ever award would go to the masterful Raúl Ruiz -- and it's easy to see why. His movies get releases and are usually accepted in important festivals, like Cannes and Valdivia, and more importantly, he has managed to premiere all his films, starting with 2009's The Maid (La nana), at Sundance, and always getting an award out of it.In 2013, we've seen releases of the two movies that he premiered at Sundance this year, first a theatrical release of the Michael Cera/Gaby Hoffman drug-fueled comedy Crystal Fairy, and later a home video release of his Michael Cera/Juno Temple psychological...

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

Your film stars a who’s who of young, on-the-rise actors who carry brand-name recognition within the independent film world: Michael Cera (“Arrested Development”), talented and versatile British actress Juno Temple (“Killer Joe," “Jack And Diane," “The Dark Knight Rises,"“The Three Musketeers,” Emily Browning (“Sucker Punch,” "Sleeping Beauty") and Catalina Sandino Moreno (breakthrough actress and star of “Maria Full of Grace”). Your filmmaker, Sebastián Silva, is the celebrated director behind of 2009’s excellent indie “The Maid” (Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner), your cinematographer, Christopher Doyle, is well regarded as one of the most excellent DPs on the planet, and your film debuts at the prestigious 2013 Sundance Film Festival. So, bearing all those riches in mind, your movie goes straight to DVD...why exactly? Perhaps two films by the same director with the same actor (Silva's "Crystal Fairy" starring Cera also unspooled at Sundance — review...

Chicago – I suppose it was only a matter of time before Sebastián Silva delved into the brooding waters of psychodrama. There are countless moments in his previous pictures—from Catalina Saavedra’s piercing Bette Davis stare in “The Maid” to Michael Cera’s hallucinogenic agony in “Crystal Fairy”—that threaten to spiral into horrifying derangement.

How sad that Silva’s meticulously executed, visually stunning “Magic Magic” has been dumped on DVD by the unfeeling hands of Sony, while the director’s inferior “Crystal Fairy” scored a limited theatrical release. Not only is “Magic” an exponentially better film than “Fairy,” it’s also one of the most gripping portraits of a psychological meltdown in recent memory (it would’ve made a fine big screen double bill with Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine”). Relegating any film co-lensed by Christopher Doyle (“In the Mood for Love”) to a small screen premiere is a...

You've got to hand it to director Sebastian Silva... he has certainly defied all expectations. After scoring a little arthouse hit with 2009's festival fave "The Maid," Silva didn't cash in those chips for something mainstream, but instead pivoted around and let his freak flag fly. He teamed up with Michael Cera for two movies that dropped this year, the druggy road trip "Crystal Fairy" and the Polanski-esque thriller "Magic Magic." His next move? How about a comedy about two gay men looking to have a baby? Yep, that's the premise of the bluntly titled "Nasty Baby," and even more, Silva is working a pretty serious Rolodex in casting this one. He's nabbed hot comedienne Kristen Wiig and TV On The Radio frontman and sometimes actor Tunde Adebimpe (you probably recognize him from "Rachel Getting Married") for the movie that will see two men (Adebimpe and Silva himself), who enlist...

Earlier this year at Sundance, Chilean director Sebastian Silva ("The Maid") made a splash with two very different movies. The first, "The Crystal Fairy," was a trippy road comedy that starred Michael Cera and Gabby Hoffman and saw a limited theatrical release this summer from IFC Films (read our review here). The other Silva joint was an equally trippy but far darker film that also co-starred Michael Cera called "Magic Magic," which will be released on DVD this week from Sony. It stars Juno Temple as a young girl who descends into madness while visiting her sister abroad (it involves many sleepless nights, hypnotism, a memorable use of a Knife song and finally some kind of witchcraft). We got to talk to Temple about what it was like working with Silva, what her reference points were for the character, and asked about what she's got coming next—Robert Rodriguez's...

Chicago – It’s a sad day in modern American distribution when a film as highly praised and perversely intriguing as Sebastián Silva’s “Magic Magic” fails to acquire a theatrical release. The very notion of a Sundance darling co-lensed by Christopher Doyle getting unceremoniously dumped on DVD is too maddening to contemplate. At a time when Disney labels a formulaic misfire like “The Lone Ranger” as a “risk,” it’s depressing to see a company like Sony Pictures follow suit.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

Anyone who’s seen Silva’s 2009 masterpiece, “The Maid,” is well aware that the director operates far outside the cozy constraints of genre, allowing his narratives to evolve as organically and unpredictably as his character do. What starts out as an unsettling dark comedy may end up as an endearingly bittersweet drama or vice versa. Without taking gambles on films that challenge the most obvious of expectations, Hollywood risks boring its audience into oblivion.

Michael Cera plays selfish American Jamie in Crystal Fairy, a road trip movie about his character’s pursuit to have a drug experience in Chile with a San Pedro cactus, which offers mescaline when properly prepared. In this story written and directed by Sebastián Silva, Cera is joined by Silva’s brothers, but also Gaby Hoffmann, a free-spirited young woman who teaches Jamie an unexpected lesson in the importance of compassion.

Silva is previously known for directing The Maid, a dark comedy set in Chile. Along with Crystal Fairy, Silva directed Magic Magic also with Cera, which is set to be released on VOD in the near future.

In an exclusive phone interview, I talked to Silva about his film, the non-reinvention of Michael Cera, the difference of American audiences’ film interpretations compared to other countries, Crystal Fairy‘s evil film twin, and more.

Crystal Fairy opens in Chicago on...

DVD Release Date: Aug. 6, 2013

Price: DVD $26.99

Studio: Sony

Michael Cera terrorizes Chile in Magic Magic.

Michael Cera (Youth in Revolt), Juno Temple (Killer Joe), Emily Browning (Sucker Punch) and Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace) star in the 2013 thriller Magic Magic from Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Silva (The Maid).

Far from home, Alicia (Temple) arrives in South America Chile to vacation with her cousin, Sarah (Browning). When Sarah is suddenly called away, Alicia is stuck on a remote island off Chile with three of Sarah’s friends, including Barbara (Moreno) and Brink (Cera), an American exchange student with a sadistic streak. Off-balance and unable to sleep, Alicia begins to spiral into a nightmarish scenario that includes ancient indigenous rites, disturbing animal behavior, hypnotic trances, and the growing threat of danger.

The R-rated film makes its commercial premiere in the U.S. on DVD following its rollout to the Cannes, Sundance and Edinburgh film festivals.

After a successful run as part of the Park City at Midnight program during this year's Sundance, we finally have the home video specs for Sebastian Silva's Magic, Magic. Read on for details.

From the Press Release

From award-winning Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Silva (The Maid) comes the acclaimed thriller Magic Magic, available August 6th on DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Starring Juno Temple (Killer Joe, The Dark Knight Rises), Emily Browning (Sucker Punch, The Uninvited), Catalina Sandino Moreno (Che, Maria Full of Grace), Michael Cera (Juno, Superbad), and Agustín Silva (Crystal Fairy, The Maid), the film tells the chilling story of a naive young tourist (Temple) whose road trip across Chile with friends turns into a waking nightmare. Magic Magic invoked terror in audiences and praise from critics at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. The film “offers a more than entertaining diversion from the typical blood and guts of the genre,...