2007 Sundance Film Festival Short Films Now Available on iTunes

2007 Sundance Film Festival Short Films Now Available on iTunes

Sundance Institute and Sundance Channel Make Festival Short Film Viewing An Anytime, Anywhere Experience

PARK CITY, Utah, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Sundance Institute and Sundance Channel today announced that the first selection of short films from the 2007 Sundance Film Festival are immediately available for download via The iTunes Store (http://www.itunes.com/). The availability of these, and upcoming shorts, on iTunes signifies Sundance's commitment to exposing filmmakers' work to a broad audience by leveraging new technologies, as well as extending the reach of the Festival to include film lovers beyond Park City.

"It's an exciting time for us to offer short filmmakers the opportunity to expose their work to audiences outside of the Festival through iTunes," said John Cooper, Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival. "The quality of this year's shorts represents creative, independent filmmaking at its best and further strengthens our commitment to providing new avenues to showcase Sundance films."

Fans will now be able to use iTunes to discover filmmaking's newest voices, working in the short film format, freed from the constraints of traditional feature length storytelling.

Representing filmmakers from around the world -- with subjects embracing a wide range of emotions, cinematic and storytelling styles -- Sundance short films can be purchased and downloaded from iTunes for $1.99.

This year's short films embody a diverse collection of voices recounting universal tales of redemption, acceptance and self discovery through innovative filmmaking styles that exemplify the range of the human condition. Whether humorous or heartbreaking, the showcased shorts exude a unique creative energy and aesthetic appeal that is traditional to Sundance films and filmmakers.

The available selections include:

Dramatic Shorts

A Nick in Time - Director, Be' Garrett

An old school barber recounts a story from his past to teach a lesson to a troubled young man.

Aftermath of Meadow Lark - Directors, David and Nathan Zellner

While on the way to a mariachi recital, a devastating car crash forces a mother and her two sons to confront the truth about their past.

Black and White Trypps Number 3 - Director, Ben Russell

The transformation of a rock audience's collective freak-out into a trance ritual of the highest spiritual order.

Bobby Bird: The Devil In Denim- Director, Carson D. Mell

Aging rock musician Bobby Bird explains the origins of his many tattoos with the aid of flashbacks.

Conversion - Director, Nanobah Becker
Christian missionaries make a catastrophic visit to a Navajo family.

Cubs (UK) - Director, Tom Harper

Ben is desperate to join a gang of inner-city kids, but when he's finally given the chance, he discovers that initiation comes at a price.

Death to the Tinman - Director, Ray Tintori

How the OZ Tin Woodsman lost his limbs, and his lover, and how he tried to get his life back.

Der Ostwind - Director, Kohl Glass

In search of a worthy opponent, a German WWI ace accepts the challenge of a mysterious and seemingly invincible American pilot only to discover the true price of honor.

The Grass Grows Green - Director, Jesus Beltran

A Marine's complicated relationship with life and death from behind the recruiting office desk.

Happiness - Director, Sophie Barthes

One evening after work, Iwona buys a box of happiness in a strange discount store and has to decide what to do with it.

Infinite Delay - Director, Kadet Kuhne

A restrained subject surrenders herself to a sublime state of waiting in a mysterious underwater world.

Interview - Director, Charles Burmeister

After a failed job interview, Mark must face his girlfriend and defend his decision to wear a wrinkled shirt.

Light Work I - Director, Jennifer Reeves

Found images from 20th century educational films are sewn together with melted down pharmaceuticals affixed directly to the film, forming a concentrated fusion with pulsating electronic sounds, bass clarinet, and organ.

Little Farm - Director, Calvin Reeder

A family moves to a small farm for a fresh start, and things change for them.

Move Me - Director, Jonathan Pulley

Over the course of a last evening, Graham must find a way to say good-bye before his relationship with his father slips away completely.

The Tragic Story of Nling (Canada) - Director, Jeffrey St. Jules

In his struggle to survive beyond the walls of slum city, a man soon finds that he is no more humane than his animal friend.

The Tube With a Hat (Romania) - Director, Radu Jude

A boy from a small village wakes up his father and persuades him to go to the city to fix their TV.

Songbird - Director, John Thompson

A delicious tale about marriage, revenge, household pets and unusual eating habits.

Additionally, Sundance will offer free podcasts for fans on iTunes, featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the Sundance Film Festival and its filmmakers, including a special interview with short filmmakers. Topics will range from independent video gaming to social networking to opportunities in documentary funding, in addition to live musical performances from Park City.

Since 1991 Sundance Film Festival has provided a showcase for short filmmakers and their films. Fueled by artistic expression and free from the conventions of feature-length films, shorts have the ability to transcend boundaries of traditional storytelling. Over the years, the Sundance Film Festival Shorts Program has become a prime source of discovering filmmaking's newest voices, including Todd Haynes, Spike Jones, Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, David O'Russell, Tamara Jenkins, Nicole Holofcener and Alexander Payne.

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is the premier showcase for U.S. and international independent film. Held each January in Park City, Sundance Resort, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, Utah, the Festival is a core program of the Sundance Institute, a nonprofit cultural organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Presenting 125 dramatic and documentary feature-length films in nine distinct categories and over 70 short films each year, the Sundance Film Festival has introduced American audiences to some of the most innovative films of the past two decades. The official website of the Sundance Film Festival, http://www.sundance.org/ shares the Festival experience beyond the streets of Park City with a global audience through the streaming of short films, filmmaker interviews, and current news and box office information.

Sundance Institute

Dedicated year-round to the development of artists of independent vision and to the exhibition of their new work, Sundance Institute celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2006. Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, the Institute has grown into an internationally recognized resource for thousands of independent artists through its Film Festival and artistic development programs for filmmakers, screenwriters, composers, playwrights and theatre artists. The original values of independence, creative risk-taking, and discovery continue to define and guide the work of Sundance Institute, both with U.S. artists and, increasingly, with artists from other regions of the world.

Sundance Channel

Under the creative direction of Robert Redford, Sundance Channel is the television destination for independent-minded viewers seeking something different. Bold, uncompromising and irreverent, Sundance Channel offers audiences a diverse and engaging selection of films, documentaries, and original programs, all uncut and commercial free. Launched in 1996, Sundance Channel is a venture of NBC Universal, Showtime Networks Inc and Robert Redford. Sundance Channel operates independently of the non-profit Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival, but shares the overall Sundance mission of encouraging artistic freedom of expression. Sundance Channel's website address is http://www.sundancechannel.com/.

Source: Sundance Institute; Sundance Channel

CONTACT: Cynthia Wornham of Sundance Institute, +1-310-360-1981,
cynthia_wornham@sundance.org, Sarah Eaton of Sundance Channel,
+1-212-708-8043, sarah.eaton@sundancechannel.com; or Ayn Allen of mPRm Public
Relations +1-323-933-3399, AAllen@MPRM.com

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

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