SUNDANCE FEATURES

• FIVE QUESTIONS WITH “I AM NOT A HIPSTER” DIRECTOR DESTIN DANIEL CRETTON

  Fri Jan 27, 2012

  A dubious term to be sure, it seems that one of the pre-reqs for hipster certification is denying that you actually are one. Based on this criterion, Brook, the main character in Destin Daniel Cretton’s feature debut, definitely qualifies. But I Am Not a Hipster is not so much concerned with labels as it is with crafting an intimate, small-scale character portrait. Adrift in San Diego’s music scene, Brook’s lackadaisical lifestyle is interrupted when his family visits with the intention of ...read more

• FIVE QUESTIONS WITH “THE SURROGATE” DIRECTOR BEN LEWIN

  Thu Jan 26, 2012

  Strictly speaking figures, The Surrogate has been the big Sundance winner thus far. Scooped up by Fox Searchlight for a massive $6 million, the film is already reportedly being groomed for next year’s Oscar race. The first narrative feature from filmmaker Ben Lewin since 1994′s Paperback Romance, The Surrogate tells the true story of journalist Mark O’Brien, a polio stricken man who, after living most of his life in an iron lung, decides to try to lose his virginity. Starring ...read more

• FIVE QUESTIONS FOR “GOATS” DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER NEIL

  Wed Jan 25, 2012

  Goats might be Chrisopher Neil’s first feature as director, but he’s worked for years as an acting coach and rehearsal adviser on projects as wide ranging as Adaptation, The Virgin Suicides, and Star Wars: Episode 3 – Revenge of the Sith.  And it’s clear that Neil has accrued quite a stellar reputation among actors, as evidenced by Goats’ impressive ensemble (which includes David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, and relative newcomer Graham Phillips.)  Based on the quirky ...read more

• FIVE QUESTIONS WITH “SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS” DIRECTORS DYLAN SOUTHERN AND WILL LOVELACE

  Tue Jan 24, 2012

  Over LCD Soundsystem’s ten-year career, the band grew from early blog darlings to lauded indie stalwarts. After telegraphing the group’s demise years in advance, band-leader James Murphy officially disbanded LCD last April with a star-studded, marathon-length performance at Madison Square Garden. Now, less than a year later, Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace present Shut Up and Play the Hits, a documentary that follows Murphy and his band-mates in the run-up to and aftermath of their ...read more

• FIVE QUESTIONS WITH “VALLEY OF SAINTS” DIRECTOR MUSA SYEED AND PRODUCER NICHOLAS BRUCKMAN

  Tue Jan 24, 2012

  Musa Syeed’s Valley of Saints is a film warmly awash in setting and culture. Filmed in Kashmir, within the aquatic trading community of Dal Lake, Valley follows Gulzar, a young ferry driver who dreams of moving out of Kashmir, until the arrival of a beautiful American scientist begins to complicate things. Pairing with producer Nicholas Bruckman, Syeed’s first narrative effort patiently probes into a fascinating community (and part of the world) rarely seen on the big screen. Filmmaker: What ...read more