2012 Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Competition and Spotlight

Navigate to: U.S. Dramatic Competition, Narrative Premieres, NEXT and Midnight Section and U.S. and World Cinema Documentary Competitions and Premieres.

Sundance2012WorldDramaticCompetition
World Cinema Dramatic Competition

“About the Pink Sky” (Japan) (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, official site, Facebook, interview with Kobayashi, trailer)
Cast: Ai Ikeda, Ena Koshino, Reiko Fujiwara, Tsubasa Takayama, Hakusyu Togetsuan
Directed by: Keiichi Kobayashi

A high-school girl finds a wallet full of money and tracks down its owner, leading to unexpected consequences for the girl and her friends.

“Can” (Turkey) (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, Twitter, trailer)
Cast: Selen Uçer, Serdar Orçin, Berkan Demirbag, Erkan Avci
Written and directed by: Rasit Celikezer

A young married couple live happily in Istanbul, but their decision to illegally procure a child threatens their future together.

 

“Father’s Chair” (A Cadeira do Pai) (Brazil) (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, teaser with no subtitles)
Cast: Wagner Moura, Mariana Lima, Lima Duarte, Brás Antunes
Directed by: Luciano Moura

Following the trail of his runaway teen son, Theo confronts his own identity as a son, a father and a man along the way.

 

“4 Suns” (Czech Republic) (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page)
Cast: Jaroslav Plesl, Aňa Geislerová, Karel Roden, Jiří Mádl, Klára Melíšková
Directed by: Bohdan Sláma

Immature Fogi attempts to straighten up and accept his responsibilities as a new husband and father, as well as role model to his troubled son from a previous relationship, but finds himself unable to change his nature, leaving him to watch haplessly as his family begins to crumble.

 

“L” (Greece) (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, Twitter, iW Meet the Filmmaker profile, teaser)
Cast: Aris Servetalis, Makis Papadimitriou, Lefteris Mathaios, Nota Tserniafski, Stavros Raptis
Directed by: Babis Makridis

A man who lives in his car gets caught up in the undeclared war between motorcycle riders and car drivers.

 

“The Last Elvis” (El Ultimo Elvis) (Argentina) (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, iW Meet the Filmmaker profile, Twitter, trailer)
Cast: John McInerny, Griselda Siciliani, Margarita Lopez
Directed by: Armando Bo (Anonymous Content page)

A Buenos Aires Elvis impersonator who believes that he is the reincarnation of the King struggles to shake free from reality and live his musical dream.

“Madrid, 1987” (Spain) (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, Screen Daily review, teaser)
Cast: José Sacristán, María Valverde, Ramon Fontserè
Written and directed by: David Trueba

The balance of power and desire constantly shifts during the meeting of an older journalist and a young student, of two generations completely foreign to one another.

“My Brother the Devil” (United Kingdom) (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, Facebook, Twitter, iW Meet the Filmmaker profile, Guardian mini-profile)
Cast: James Floyd, Saïd Taghmaoui, Fady Elsayed
Written and directed by: Sally El Hosaini

A pair of British Arab brothers trying to get by in gangland London learn the extraordinary courage it takes to be yourself.

“Teddy Bear” (Denmark) (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, iW Meet the Filmmaker profile, Danish Film Institute site)
Cast: Kim Kold, Elsebeth Steentoft, Lamaiporn Sangmanee Hougaard, David Winters, Allan Mogensen
Directed by: Mads Matthiesen

Dennis, a painfully shy 38-year-old bodybuilder who lives with his mother, sets off to Thailand in search of love.

“Valley of Saints” (India/U.S.) (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, official site, Facebook, Twitter, iW Meet the Filmmaker profile, India Today article, Turnstyle interview)
Cast: Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, Mohammed Afzal Sofi, Neelofar Hamid
Written and directed by: Musa Syeed (Twitter, official site)

Gulzar plans to run away from the war and poverty surrounding his village in Kashmir with his best friend, but a beautiful young woman researching the dying lake leads him to contemplate a different future.

“Violeta Went to Heaven” (Violeta se Fue a Los Cielos) (Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Spain) (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, official site, trailer)
Cast: Francisca Gavilán, Thomas Durand, Luis Machín, Gabriela Aguilera, Roberto Farías
Directed by: Andrés Wood

A portrait of famed Chilean singer and folklorist Violeta Parra filled with her musical work, her memories, her loves and her hopes. 

“Wish You Were Here” (Australia) (IMDb official site, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, Facebook, Twitter, teaser)
Cast: Joel Edgerton, Teresa Palmer, Felicity Price, Antony Starr
Directed by: Kieran Darcy-Smith

Four friends embark on a carefree holiday, but only three return home. Who knows what happened on that fateful night?

“Wrong” (France) (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, official site, Facebook, teaser, clips)
Cast: Jack Plotnick, Eric Judor, Alexis Dziena, Steve Little, William Fichtner
Directed by: Quentin Dupieux (Twitter)

Dolph searches for his lost dog, but through encounters with a nympho pizza-delivery girl, a jogging neighbor seeking the absolute, and a mysterious righter of wrongs, he may eventually lose his mind … and his identity.

“Young & Wild” (Chile) (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, SheWired interview with Rivas)
Cast: Alicia Rodríguez, Aline Kuppenheim, María Gracia Omegna, Felipe Pinto
Directed by: Marialy Rivas

17-year-old Daniela, raised in the bosom of a strict Evangelical family and recently unmasked as a fornicator by her shocked parents, struggles to find her own path to spiritual harmony.

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Spotlight

“Corpo Celeste” (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, Daily MUBI NYFF roundup, official site, official site (Italian), Facebook (Italian), trailer)
Cast: Yle Vianello, Salvatore Cantalupo, Pasqualina Scuncia
Directed by: Alice Rohrwacher

After moving back to southern Italy with her mother and older sister, 13-year-old Marta struggles to find her place, restlessly testing the boundaries of an unfamiliar city and the catechism of the Catholic church.

 

“Declaration of War” (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, official site, Facebook, LAT profile, trailer)
Cast: Valerie Donzelli, Jérémie Elkaïm, César Desseix, Gabriel Elkaïm
Directed by: Valérie Donzelli

A young couple embark upon a painful, enlightening journey when they discover that their newborn child is very ill.

 

“Elena” (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, Cannes listing, East European Film Bulletin feature, trailer)
Cast: Andrey Smirnov, Nadezhda Markina, Elena Lyadova, Alexey Rozin
Directed by: Andrei Zvyagintsev

A meditative, modern-noir tale about an older woman, Elena, who marries the wealthy business man for whom she worked and, when his health fails, is forced to deal with his estranged daughter who threatens her inheritance.

 

“Monsieur Lazhar” (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, official site, official site (French), Facebook (French), trailer)
Cast: Mohamed Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron, Danielle Proulx, Brigitte Poupart
Directed by: Philippe Falardeau

An elegant reflection on loss and death focused on an Algerian immigrant teacher who brings emotional stability to a Montreal middle school class shaken by the suicide of their well-liked teacher.

 

“The Orator” (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, official site, Facebook, trailer)
Cast: Fa’afiaula Sagote, Tausili Pushparaj, Salamasina Mataia, Ioata Tanieluj
Directed by: Tusi Tamasese

A Samoan villager must defend his land and family when they are threatened by powerful adversaries.

 

“Oslo, August 31st” (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, Daily MUBI Cannes roundup, Our inteview with Trier from Toronto, official site, Facebook (Norwegian), trailer)
Cast: Anders Danielsen Lie, Malin Crépin, Aksel M. Thanke, Hans Olav Brenner, Ingrid Olava, Øystein Røger
Directed by: Joachim Trier

One man, one city, 24 hours. Oslo, August 31st is a portrait of contemporary Oslo. A visually striking and quietly shattering drama about a man in deep existential crisis.

 

“The Raid” (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, Our review from Toronto, official blog, trailer)
Cast: Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian, Donny Alamsyah, Ray Sahetapy, Joe Taslim, Pierre Gruno
Directed by: Gareth Huw Evans (Twitter)

All hell breaks loose when an elite SWAT team, given orders to raid a run-down Jakarta apartment building that houses the city’s most notorious crime boss, is forced to fight their way to freedom or die trying.

 

“This Must Be the Place” (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, Daily MUBI Cannes roundup, trailer)
Cast: Sean Penn, Frances McDormand, Judd Hirsch, Eve Hewson, Kerry Condon, Harry Dean Stanton
Directed by: Paolo Sorrentino

A bored, retired rock star sets out to find his father’s executioner, an ex-Nazi war criminal who is a refugee in the U.S.

 

“Where Do We Go Now?” IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, LAT profile of Labaki, official site, Facebook,
Cast: Claude Baz Moussawbaa, Layla Hakim, Nadine Labaki, Yvonne Maalouf, Antoinette Noufaily, Julien Farhat
Directed by: Nadine Labaki (Twitter)

A group of Lebanese women try to ease religious tensions between Christians and Muslims in their village.

 

“Wuthering Heights” IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, Daily MUBI Venice and TIFF roundup, official site, official site (UK), Facebook, UK trailer)
Cast: Kaya Scodelario, James Howson, Solomon Glave, Shannon Beer, Steve Evets, Oliver Milburn
Directed by: Andrea Arnold

A freshly conceived retelling of Emily Bronte’s classic novel about Heathcliff and Cathy, two teenagers whose passionate love for each other creates a storm of vengeance.

 

“Your Sister’s Sister” (IMDb, Sundance Film Listing and Schedule, Sundance press page, Our review from Toronto, Daily MUBI TIFF roundup)
Cast: Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt, Mark Duplass, Mike Birbiglia
Directed by: Lynn Shelton

While still mourning the recent death of his brother, a bereft and confused man finds love and direction in a most unexpected place.

 

Navigate to: U.S. Dramatic Competition, Narrative Premieres, NEXT and Midnight Section and U.S. and World Cinema Documentary Competitions and Premieres.

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