2006 Sundance Film Festival Announces Spectrum, Frontier and Park City at Midnight Screenings

2006 Sundance Film Festival Announces Spectrum, Frontier and Park City at Midnight Screenings

Original Voices, New Directions and an Eclectic Mix of Films by Promising New Independent Filmmakers to be Featured at the Festival

SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- In the second of four program announcements, Sundance Institute today announced the line-up of out-of-competition films screening in the Spectrum, Frontier and Park City at Midnight categories of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, taking place January 19-29, 2006, in Park City, Utah. This follows yesterday's announcement of the Independent Feature Film and World Cinema Competitions. As the premier showcase for the best new work of American independent and international filmmakers, the Sundance Film Festival screens films that embody creative risk-taking, diversity and aesthetic innovation. Full descriptions of films can be found at www.sundance.org.

For the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, 120 feature films were selected including 84 World Premieres, 18 North American Premieres and 15 U.S. Premieres representing 29 countries with 48 first time feature filmmakers. These films were selected from 3,148 feature submissions composed of 1,764 U.S. feature films and 1,384 international feature films. These numbers represent an increase from 2005 when 1,385 U.S. feature films and 1,228 international films were considered.

"This Festival presents the full spectrum of independent cinema creating a platform for filmmakers that push aesthetic and artistic boundaries outside the mainstream -- from the higher profile films to the more surprising, edgy and experimental films of Frontier and Midnight," said Geoffrey Gilmore, Director of the Sundance Film Festival. "This year we've redefined some categories to create Spectrum -- a section that truly reflects the wide range of independent cinema and the new talent of filmmakers." Spectrum has expanded in scope and size to present 24 out-of-competition dramatic and documentary films from some of the most promising new filmmakers from the U.S. and around the world. The new category draws from films previously in American Spectrum and Special Screenings.

"There are remarkable discoveries to be made in each of these sections," said John Cooper, Director of Programming. "Fresh talent, unique perspectives, and an interest in exploring the issues of our day like race, poverty, war, religion, sexuality, displacement, and globalization. There are also gut-busting comedies, and music documentaries that challenge conventions and experiment with the medium."

Festival films screen in nine sections: Documentary Competition, Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, Spectrum, Frontier, Park City at Midnight, Sundance Collection and Premieres. The selections for the Premieres section will be announced on Wednesday, November 30. The Short Film category will be announced on Monday, December 5. A complete list of films and other information is available at www.sundance.org.

The Sundance Film Festival is a core program of Sundance Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated year-round to the discovery and development of independent film and theatre artists and audiences. 2006 marks the 22nd year of the Festival and the Institute's 25th anniversary. Anniversary- related activities will take place throughout 2006 and will be announced at the Festival.

SPECTRUM

The Spectrum program presents 24 out-of-competition dramatic and documentary works by some of the most promising new independent filmmakers from the U.S. and abroad. Spectrum films are eligible for the Audience Award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. Some Spectrum films presented at the Sundance Film Festival in the past include: GODS AND MONSTERS, MEAN CREEK, OPEN WATER, MARCH OF THE PENGUINS, METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER and RIZE.

The films screening in Spectrum are:
A MATTER OF DEGREES / U.S.A. (Director: Davis Guggenheim) World Premiere.
ADAM'S APPLES / Denmark (Director and Screenwriter: Anders Thomas Jensen)
U.S. Premiere.
ALL ABOARD! ROSIE'S FAMILY CRUISE / U.S.A. (Director: Shari Cookson)
World Premiere.
BATTLE IN HEAVEN / Mexico/France/Germany/Belgium (Director and
Screenwriter: Carlos Reygadas) U.S. Premiere.
BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES: A HIP-HOP HEAD WEIGHS IN ON MANHOOD IN HIP-HOP
CULTURE / U.S.A. (Director: Byron Hurt) World Premiere.
CLEAR CUT: THE STORY OF PHILOMATH, OREGON / U.S.A. (Director: Peter
Richardson) World Premiere.
DREAMLAND / U.S.A. (Director: Jason Matzner; Screenwriter: Tom Willett )
World Premiere.
EVERYONE STARES: THE POLICE INSIDE OUT / U.S.A. (Director and
Screenwriter: Stewart Copeland) World Premiere.
FACTOTUM / U.S.A. (Director: Bent Hamer; Screenwriter: Jim Stark) U.S.
Premiere.
FORGIVING THE FRANKLINS / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Jay Floyd)
World Premiere.
JEWBOY / Australia (Director and Screenwriter: Tony Krawitz) North
American Premiere.
JOURNEY FROM THE FALL / Thailand/U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter:
Ham Tran) North American Premiere.
LA TRAGEDIA DE MACARIO / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Pablo Veliz)
World Premiere.
LEONARD COHEN I'M YOUR MAN / U.S.A. (Director: Lian Lunson) U.S.
Premiere.
MAN PUSH CART / Iran/U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Ramin Bahrani)
North American Premiere.
OFF THE BLACK / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: James Ponsoldt) World
Premiere.
OPEN WINDOW / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Mia Goldman) World
Premiere.
THE PROPOSITION / Australia (Director: John Hillcoat; Screenwriter: Nick
Cave) U.S. Premiere.
PUNCHING AT THE SUN / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Tanuj Chopra)
World Premiere.
SPECIAL / U.S.A. (Directors and Screenwriters: Jeremy Passmore, Hal
Haberman) World Premiere.
WHAT REMAINS / U.S.A. (Director: Steven Cantor) World Premiere.
WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Chris
Paine) World Premiere.
WHO NEEDS SLEEP? / U.S.A. (Director: Haskell Wexler) World Premiere.
WRESTLING WITH ANGELS: PLAYWRIGHT TONY KUSHNER / U.S.A. (Director:
Freida Lee Mock) World Premiere.

FRONTIER

The Festival's Frontier section presents five films that represent new directions in filmmaking and Frontier Live, a live cinematic performance program. Utilizing experimental and innovative aesthetic approaches, work in the Frontier category challenges and provokes. Some Frontier films at Sundance Film Festival presented in the past include: TARNATION and THE JOY OF LIFE.

The films screening in Frontier are:
A DARKNESS SWALLOWED / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Betzy
Bromberg)
CINNAMON / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Kevin Everson) World
Premiere.
OLD JOY / U.S.A. (Director: Kelly Reichardt; Screenwriters: Jonathan
Raymond, Kelly Reichardt) World Premiere.
PINE FLAT / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Sharon Lockhart) World
Premiere.
WILD TIGERS I HAVE KNOWN / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Cam Archer)
World Premiere.

The project presented in Frontier Live is:
OUR SECOND DATE U.S.A. (artists: Jennifer and Kevin McCoy) -- The McCoy's
latest installation is a miniature movie set geared for live robotic
cinema that puts the production, post-production, and exhibition of a
film all in one room.

PARK CITY AT MIDNIGHT

Park City at Midnight offers eight out-of-competition films after-hours that are likely to amuse, surprise, or shock the bleary-eyed viewer and offer a lively last stop in the nightly film-going circuit. Some Midnight films presented at Sundance Film Festival in the past include: THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, SAW, OVERNIGHT, and STRANGERS WITH CANDY.

The films screening in Park City at Midnight are:
AMERICAN HARDCORE / U.S.A (Director: Paul Rauchman; Screenwriter: Steven
Blush) World Premiere.
AWESOME, I FUCKIN' SHOT THAT! / U.S.A. (Director: Nathanial Hornblower)
World Premiere.
THE DESCENT / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Neil Marshall) North
American Premiere.
DESTRICTED / U.S.A. (Directors and Screenwriters: Mathew Barney, Larry
Clark, Gaspar Noe, Marco Brambilla, Sam Taylor Wood) World Premiere.
THE FOOT FIST WAY / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Jody Hill) World
Premiere.
MOONSHINE / U.S.A. (Director: Roger Ingraham; Screenwriters: Roger
Ingraham, Lori Isbell Salvage) World Premiere.
SALVAGE / U.S.A. (Directors and Screenwriters: Josh Crook and Jeff Crook)
World Premiere.
SUBJECT TWO / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Philip Chidel) World
Premiere.

Festival Sponsors

The 2006 Sundance Film Festival sponsors help sustain Sundance Institute's year-round programs to support independent artists, inspire risk-taking and encourage diversity in the arts. This year's Festival community includes: Presenting -- Hewlett-Packard Company, Entertainment Weekly, Volkswagen of America, Inc., and Adobe Systems Incorporated; Leadership Sponsors -- American Express, Delta Air Lines, DirecTV, Intel Corporation and Sprint; Sustaining Sponsors -- Aquafina, Blockbuster Inc., CESAR Food For Small Dogs, L'Oreal Paris, Moviefone, The New York Times, Sony Electronics Inc., Starbucks Coffee Company, Stella Artois(R), Turning Leaf Vineyards, and the Utah Film Commission.

Source: Sundance Institute

CONTACT: Jody Arlington, or Irene Cho, both of Sundance Institute,
+1-801-328-3456

Web site: http://www.sundance.org/

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