KIMBALIANO, Thank You! SUNDANCE WRAP UP

KIMBALIANO is a friend by circumstance.  Firstly, she is the elder Sis to one of my all-time best friends, who I met while in college.  I would say via this route, I have known her for seventeen years.  For my day job, I also happen to work in a related field to KIMBALIANO, although in a different part of the country.  While we haven't had the chance to work together directly, we both have friends of friends who we have each worked with in our careers.  This long-winded tale is leading me here: THANK YOU KIMBALIANO...I am glad to have a trusted, film-loving friend out there, keeping us posted on the really important stuff!

KIMBALIANO's FINAL SUNDANCE REPORT 

Well, the awards were announced last night, and it's always exciting to see which movies I've managed to see while in Utah, and which ones I will have to look out for once I get home. With 118 different movies showing (half of which are in competition), there just isn't enough time to see them all - I managed to fit in 17 of them this past week, not too shabby.

Another movie I think will have a very wide appeal, in addition to LIKE CRAZY and PERFECT SENSE ~see last post~, is THE GUARD.  It is a hysterical Irish movie about a small town, corrupt Irish cop wrapped up into an FBI investigation of an international drug ring. Brendan Gleeson plays the Irish cop and Don Cheadle the uptight FBI agent, and their interaction is classic odd couple. Very very funny and very very inappropriate. A fun time, all around.  The film is written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, brother to Martin McDonagh.  Martin gave us In Bruges in 2008, also starring Brenden Gleeson (as well as a Golden Globe winning turn by Colin Farrell), and it is a fantastic movie.  Perhaps brother John has some of the same sensibilities, but at the very least, give it a try.  Keep an eye out in this as well for MARK STRONG...you know, the Andy Garcia doppelganger?  He is in pretty much everything these days, or so it seems.  I think the only person in more forms of media right now is JAMES FRANCO (Now that guy really is in EVERYTHING!).

Another one of my favorite movies, which ended up winning the Alfred P. Sloan Prize (given to a film which is about science or technology, or has a scientist, engineer or mathematician as a major character) and also a Special Jury Prize was a movie called ANOTHER EARTH. I loved this movie - it's a very minimal movie about an MIT bound girl, Rhoda, who is distracted while driving when another earth, a mirror planet, appears in the sky. She veers into another lane and kills a woman and her son. After a four year stint in jail, she feels the urge to meet the husband who survived. It's a beautifully well acted film, with the sci-fi appearance of another earth serving more as a backdrop to the human story.

Now for the winners - Here at Sundance, the awards are selected by a panel of jurors (a selection of folks from the film industry). There is also an Audience Award given out (we get ballots at the film to vote). On occasion, a really special film wins both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award, like PUSH did a couple years ago (which was later released as a little film called PRECIOUS). This year I was happy to see LIKE CRAZY take home the US Dramatic Grand Jury Prize. I didn't see CIRCUMSTANCE - the audience award winner, so I'll be keeping my eyes out for it. Also, a shout out to BRICK NOVAX, which won the Jury Prize in Short Film making. (BRICK NOVAX on Reel Rhino - also, note the updated and correct spelling).  The full list of awards:

Grand Jury Prize, Dramatic:

Like Crazy

Grand Jury Prize, Documentary:

How To Die In Oregon

World Cinema Jury Prize, Dramatic:

Happy, Happy

World Cinema Jury Prize, Documentary:

Hell and Back Again

Dramatic Audience Award:

Circumstance

Documentary Audience Award:

Buck

World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award:

Kinyarwanda

World Cinema Documentary Audience Award:

Senna

The Best of NEXT Audience Award:

to.get.her

Directing Award, Dramatic:

Martha Marcy May Marlene, directed by Sean Durkin

Directing Award, Documentary:

Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles, directed by Jon Foy

World Cinema Directing Award, Dramatic:

Tyrannosaur, directed by Paddy Considine

World Cinema Directing Award, Documentary:

Project Nim, directed by James Marsh

Waldo Scott Screenwriting Award:

Another Happy Day

World Cinema Screenwriting Award:

Restoration

Documentary Editing Award:

If a Tree Falls

World Cinema Documentary Editing Award:

The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975

Excellence in Cinematography Award, Dramatic:

Pariah

Excellence in Cinematography Award, Documentary:

The Redemption of General Butt Naked

World Cinema Cinematography Award, Dramatic:

All Your Dead Ones

World Cinema Cinematography Award, Documentary:

Hell and Back Again

Special Jury Prize: Dramatic (Acting):

Felicity Jones for “Like Crazy”

Special Jury Prize: Dramatic:

Another Earth

Special Jury Prize: Documentary:

Being Elmo

World Cinema Special Jury Prize: Documentary

Position Among The Stars

World Cinema Special Jury Prize: Dramatic

Tyrannosaur, for acting

Alfred P. Sloan Prize

Another Earth, directed by Mike Cahill

Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award:

Cherien Dabis

The Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking:

Brick Novax pt 1 and 2, Director and Screenwriter: Matt Piedmont

The Jury Prize in International Short Filmmaking :

Deeper Than Yesterday, Director and Screenwriter: Ariel Kleiman

The Shorts Jury Honorable Mentions in Short Filmmaking to:

Choke, Director and Screenwriter: Michelle Latimer

Diarchy, Director and Screenwriter: Ferdinando Cito Filmomarino)es.

The External World, Director and Screenwriter: David O’Reilly

The Legend of Beaver Dam, Director: Jerome Sable; Screenwriters: Jerome Sable and Eli Batalion

Out of Reach, Director and Screenwriter: Jakub Stozek

Protoparticles, Director and Screenwriter: Chema García Ibarra

For the official press release regarding the winners...visit HERE  I'm sad to have the festival over, but there were some great independent movies this year. Keep your eyes out for them and thanks to The Reel Rhino for letting me share my thoughts!!

No, no...my humblest thanks to you, KIMBALIANO!  The Reel Rhino will be back later this week with a review of THE MECHANIC and keep an eye out soon for KIMBALIANO's return as a Reel Rhino regular: INDIE GAL!

Till later, take care...and enjoy this creepy Red State poster...MARCH 16th...I can hardly wait!

RR