News

Nach der gerade auf die Plattform gekommenen „Pauline“ bleibt Disney+ bei deutschen Originals im Genre, wenn Thriller, Film noir und Vampire bei der Serie „City of Blood“ aufeinandertreffen, die einen prominenten Cast hat.

(v.l.n.r., hintere Reihe) Amelie von Kienlin, Philipp Kadelbach, Benjamina Mirnik-Voges, Jenny Schily, Christian Honeck, Soma Pysall, Franz Hartwig, Michelangelo Fortuzzi, Susanne Kapitzky, Philip Peschlow; Lars Eidinger, Lea Drinda, Mouataz Alshaltouh, Kathleen Morgeneyer (Credit: TWC)

Showrunner Philipp Kadelbach und die Produktionsfirma Amusement Park („Im Westen nichts Neues“) setzen für Disney+ die deutsche Original-Serie „City of Blood“ um. Im achtteiligen Thriller-Format nach der Graphic Novel „Berlinoir“ von Reinhard Kleist und Tobias O. Meißner spielen unter anderem Lea Drinda, Soma Pysall, Mouataz Alshaltouh, Franz Hartwig, Jördis Triebel, David Schütter, Jenny Schily, Dagmar Manzel, Melika Foroutan, Jan Georg Schütte und Lars Eidinger mit.

Seit Mitte März entsteht in Berlin, Prag und deren Umgebung die Serie über eine Welt...

Presents “Dark Woods” A Topic Original Directed by: Sven Bohse (“Ku’damm 56”) Written by: Stefan Kolditz Starring: Matthias Brandt (“Babylon Berlin”), Karoline Schuch, August Wittgenstein (“Das Boot”), Silke Bodenbender, Nicholas Ofczarek (“Pagan Peak”), Jenny Schily (“Tatort”), Hildegard Schmahl (“We Children from Bahnhof Zoo”), Hanno Koffler, Anne Werner, Janina Fautz, and Mirco Kreibich Produced by: Maren Knieling In the …

The post Check out The Trailer! True Crime Miniseries “Dark Woods” | Streaming Exclusively on Topic in May appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

Exclusive: Features from Sandra Nettelbeck, Thomas Stuber, Caroline Link and Burhan Qurbani on slate for German outfit.

New features by Sandra Nettelbeck, Thomas Stuber, Burhan Qurbani and Oscar-winner Caroline Link are being lined up by the Ludwigsburg/Berlin-based production company Sommerhaus Filmproduktion, which was launched by producers Jochen Laube and Fabian Maubach at the end of last year with Beta Film’s Jan Mojto as partner.

The first project to go into production this year will be the melancholic romantic comedy What Does Not Kill Us (Was Uns Nicht Umbringt) by writer-director Sandra Nettelbeck in August with a cast including August Zirner, Sophie Rois, Christian Berkel, Bjarne Mädel and Jenny Schily.

The German-language film will mark Nettelbeck’s return to filmmaking in Germany after working abroad for more than ten years on films including Helen and Mr. Morgan’s Last Love. It will also link to the director’s internationally successful romantic comedy Mostly Martha (Bella Martha) with...

Now in its 9th year German Currents Festival of German Film is a fixture on the cultural calendar of Hollywood. Over the past years, thousands of audience members enjoyed Oscar-nominated German cinema, engaged in Q&As with top German talent, tasted German cuisine during the opening night gala and experienced contemporary German culture in the historical setting of the Egyptian Theater.

This year, German Currents will go beyond its regular film screenings, adding a pre-event on Oct. 5th with a screening of Sundance TV’s “Deutschland 83” followed by a Q&A with director Edward Berger and Golden Globe nominated composer Reinhold Heil. In addition, the festival will include a Tribute to Roland Emmerich and a Q&A with the filmmaker himself, added afternoon matinees throughout the weekend, the exhibit “Brilliant Dilletantes – Subculture in Germany in the 1980s” and a concert of the German Techno DJ, Westbam.

German Currents will also have its opening night red carpet event, followed by the film “We are Young, We are Free” (L.A. Premiere), plus Q&A’s with top German filmmakers, nightly screenings, including the Us Premiere of “B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West Berlin 1979 - 1989” and a free children’s morning screening of “The Pasta Detectives,” as well as a filmmaker brunch.

The festival takes place at: Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA – 90028

Tickets can be purchased Here.

Monday, Oct 5, 7:00 pm

“Deutschland 83” Screening and Panel Discussion German Currents Pre-Event Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, 5750 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90036 Free Admission | RSVP required [email protected]

Pilot episode screening of the Sundance TV original series “Deutschland 83." A gripping coming-of-age story and spy thriller set in Germany in the 80’s. Divided Germany in 1983: during a peak period for Cold War tensions between East and West. Marting Rauch, a wide-eyed 24-year-old East German soldier plucked from obscurity, goes undercover as a West German soldier for the East German Secret Service. With Jonas Nay, Alexander Nay, Maria Schrader, Sonja Gerhardt. Following the screening will be a Q&A with director and Grimme Awardee Edward Berger and Golden Globe nominated composer Reinhold Heil, moderated by Thomas Mikusz.

Saturday, Oct 17, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

German Currents Pre-Event Reception and introduction to the Exhibition: “Brilliant Dilletantes- Subculture in Germany in the 1980’s”. 18th Street Art Center, 1639 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404 Admission is free with RSVP Here

Presented with the support of Dublab, DJ Michael Stock will provide an evening of music from the era.

Curated by Mathilde Weh, (Visual Arts, Goethe-Institut, Munich), this extensive multi-media exhibition includes a diverse selection of photos, posters, albums and cassettes, as well videos and interactive sound stations. Highlighting the work of the bands Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft/D.A.F. (Düsseldorf), Der Plan (Düsseldorf), Die Tödliche Doris (Berlin), Einstürzende Neubauten (Berlin), Freiwillig Selbstkontrolle/ F.S.K. (Munich), Ornament und Verbrechen (East Berlin), and Palais Schaumburg (Hamburg) as well as various artists, filmmakers and designers from West and East Germany, this exhibition presents the most comprehensive survey to date of this extraordinarily innovative subculture. The exhibition runs Oct 5th – Oct 23rd

Thursday, Oct 22nd, 7:00 pm (Gala Opening Night)

“We Are Young. We Are Strong” (“Wir sind jung. Wir sind stark”) Los Angeles Premiere Directed by Burhan Qurbani Germany (2014), 116 min, German with English subtitles

International Sales: Beta. No. America is available.

August of 1992. Three years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, anti-immigrant attacks targeting a refugee shelter on the outskirts of the former East German city of Rostock culminate in the notorious “Night of the Fire.” Following three days of violence, nearly 3,000 rioters, neo-Nazis and bystanders set fire to the shelter, trapping Vietnamese refugees and a group of journalists inside. Qurbani’s controversial film recounts the hours leading up the evening’s startling events as experienced by three very different characters: Lien, a young Vietnamese immigrant, caught in a struggle for survival; Stefan, an insecure youth, who, along with his friends participates in the night’s riots; and Stefan’s father Martin, an ambitious local politician torn between advancing his career by remaining silent, and standing up for his ideals, taking action to stop the riots. Qurbani meticulously recreates the look and feel of the era, when many East German cities struggled with unemployment and feelings of isolation from the West, exposing the complex issue of xenophobia in a country thought to have been healed by German reunification.With Devid Striesow, Jonas Nay, Trang Le Hong.

Director Burhan Qurbani is confirmed to attend.

Friday, Oct 23rd, 10:00am (Private screening for schools)

“The Pasta Detectives” (“Rico, Oskar und die Tieferschatten”) Los Angeles Premiere | Winner Best Children Film German Film Awards Directed by Neele Leana Vollmar Germany (2014), 96 min, German with English subtitles

20th Century Fox Germany Production. Watch for "The Pasta Detectives 2"

International Sales: Beta No. America is available.

At the heart of this adaptation of German author Andreas Steinhöfel’s wildly popular children’s book is ten-year-old Rico, the only child of a working-class single mother in Berlin. Although quick to describe himself as a “Lowly gifted child” who can’t tell his left from his right and whose thoughts often “rattle around in his head like balls in a bingo cage,” Rico is compassionate, observant, and makes the best of his short-comings. Often left on his own, Rico spends most of his time close to home or visiting the quirky tenants in his apartment building. One day Rico meets Oskar, a “highly gifted” younger boy who is obsessed with safety statistics and prone to wearing a helmet. Despite their differences, the two boys complement each other and become fast friends. When Oskar suddenly goes missing, Rico suspects a notorious local kidnapper “Mr. 2000” and sets out to find and rescue his new friend. With an emphasis on teamwork and friendship, Vollmar’s film is a fresh and endearing take on the classic “buddy-film” suitable for the whole family. With Anton Petzold, Juri Winkler, Katharina Thalbach.

Friday, Oct 23rd, 7:30 pm – Double Feature

“Jack” Los Angeles Premiere | Best Film: Silver German Film Awards Directed by Edward Berger Germany (2014), 103 min, German with English subtitles

Tiff 2015.

International Sales: PIcture Tree. No. America is available.

Ten year old Jack (Ivo Pietzcker) is frequently left alone by his loving, but hopelessly incompetent young mother (Luise Heyer). Forced to care for himself and his six-year-old half-brother, Manuel (Georg Arms) for extended periods of time, Jack selflessly acts as the head of the household. When Manuel is accidentally injured, Jack is blamed and is placed in a long-term foster care facility, leaving Manuel with their mother. Lonely, homesick and bullied by other children, Jack decides to escape and head home to Berlin, only to find that what little order he had established has crumbled. Once again abandoned by their mother, the boys take to the streets on a desperate odyssey to find not only their mother, but a sense of stability. Co-written by Nele Mueller-Stöfen, Berger’s screenplay and precise direction coax refreshingly unaffected performances from the two child actors. Cinematographer Jens Harant’s camera provides essential gritty realism, capturing the city from the unique vantage point of the lonely boys. With: Ivo Pietzker, Luise Heyer, Georg Arms. Director Edward Berger is confirmed to attend.

Friday, Oct 23rd, 9:30 pm (approximately) – Double Feature

“Schmitke” Los Angeles Premiere Directed by Stepán Altrichter Germany (2014), 90 min, German and Czech with English subtitles

Like his once state-of-the-art “C 174” wind turbine, 57 year-old German engineer Julius Schmitke (Peter Kurth) is past his prime. No longer models of efficiency both creak and groan under the strain of their daily duties. A man of few words, Schmitke leads a banal, solitary life, but, intrigued by reports of a hermit, known as “Bear-Man” found living alone in the woods; Schmitke begins to dream of deep, dark forests. When a model C 174 breaks down outside a small Czech town on the German border, Schmitke and his slacker subordinate Gruber are sent to repair it. Here, the engineers encounter an odd assortment of townspeople, and the undeniable allure and danger of the impenetrable Ore Mountain forest. The next day, Gruber mysteriously vanishes and Schmitke is drawn to the woods. Katharina Grischkowski’s extraordinary sound design, contrasts the creaking of the C 174 with the eerie stillness of the forest, heightening the surreal atmosphere provided by Christian Pirjol’s haunting cinematography. Altrichter, who also co-wrote the screenplay, deftly balances the bizarre and the beautiful in this desolate, deadpan, comic mystery. With Peter Kurth, Johann Jürgens, Petr Vrsek.

Saturday, Oct 24th, 10:00am

“A Tribute to Roland Emmerich – from "The Noah’s Ark Principle" to "Independence Day" and "Stonewall” Goethe-Institut Los Angeles, 5750 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90036 Free Admission | RSVP by Oct. 19th required: [email protected] This event is produced by Gaba – the German American Business Association

Roland Emmerich (Director/Writer/Producer) is one of the world’s most talented and sought-after directors. His career began in his native Germany. He studied film at the University of Television and Film Munich where his student film “The Noah’s Ark Principle“ went on to open the 1984 Berlin Film Festival. His body of work includes movies such as “Independence Day”, “Stargate”, “10,000Bc” and “White House Down”, to name just a few.

Emmerich recently wrapped “Independence Day: Resurgence”, the next epic chapter in the “Independence Day “universe. The original 1996 film redefined the event movie genre by shattering opening weekend and total box office records to become the first movie in history to gross over $500m internationally. The new film mixes a cast of new and familiar faces -- Liam Hemsworth, Jeff Goldblum, Jessie User, Bill Pullman, Maika Monroe, Sela Ward, and Judd Hirsh -- flashing forward 20 years when the nations of Earth must unite to protect the planet against the aliens' return and only a few brave men and women can bring the world back from the brink of extinction. Emmerich’s latest film, “Stonewall”, is a drama about the Stonewall Riots in 1969 New York, which sparked the Lgbt civil rights movement. The film stars Jeremy Irvine and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

In addition, to his work in film and television, Emmerich has made considerable contributions to many charities, including but not limited to the Cambodian Children’s Fund and the Los Angeles Lgbt Center. The Q&A will be moderated by journalist Dierk Sindermann.

Following the panel:

“Filmmaker Brunch” Following the “Tribute to Roland Emmerich” will be a filmmaker brunch at the Goethe Institute. Meet filmmakers and talent attending the festival while enjoying a continental breakfast by Downtown La’s Bier Beisl Imbiss This brunch is sponsored by German Consulate Los Angeles and Bier Beisl Imbiss

Saturday, Oct 24th, 5:30pm (Matinee)

“Who am I- No system is safe” (“Who am I- Kein System ist sicher”) Los Angeles Premiere | Bavarian Film Prize for Best Direction. Tiff 2014. Directed by Baran bo Odar Germany (2014), 110 min, German with English subtitles

International Sales: Trust Nordisk. No. America is available.

Young Berlin computer whiz-turned hacker Ben (Tom Schilling) feels more at home in the virtual world than he does in the real one. When the charismatic and revolutionary hacker Max (Elyas M’Barek) asks Ben to put his skills to use and “hack the world,” they form the collective “Clay” (Clowns Laughing At You). Instead of lofty political goals, the group shocks the world with humor and guerilla-like pranks. As the team’s popularity drives them to take bigger, bolder risks, they soon attract the attention of the German Secret Service. Just as Ben begins to feel like he finally belongs somewhere, he’s forced to figure out how to escape not only from his law enforcement pursuers, but his dangerous new friends. This stylish, surprising, and exceptionally timely fast-paced cyber thriller moves seamlessly between the real and the virtual, leaving the audience guessing long after the film is over. With Tom Schilling, Hannah Herzsprung, Elyas M’Barak.

Saturday, Oct 24th, 8:30pm

“B-Movie: Lust and Sound in West Berlin” Us Premiere. Berlin Ff 2015 Directed by Jörg A. Hoppe, Klaus Maeck, Heiko Lange Germany (2015), 92 min, German with English subtitles

International Sales: Edel

An Essay-Film narrated by producer and musician Mark Reeder, B-Movie is a fast-paced collage of unreleased film and TV footage, photos, and original interviews compiled by Hoppe, Maeck, and Lange and dramatized scenes that illustrate Reeder’s account of the music, art and chaos in West Berlin of the 1980s. The walled-in city, which became a cultural inter-zone and creative melting pot for avant-garde sub- and pop- culture unlike anywhere else in Europe, attracted “brilliant dilettantes,” squatters, artists, musicians, and world famous celebrities alike. Reeder left Manchester, England for Berlin in 1979 and soon found himself at the center of this dynamic cultural hub, meeting and often working with legendary bands and artists. Including interviews and archival footage from Joy Division, Blixa Bargeld (Einstürzende Neubauten), Die Toten Hosen, Nick Cave, Gudrun Gut, Die Aerzte, Nena, Christiane F. and Westbam, B-movie offers an intimate portrait of the constantly changing cultural constellations of the city, from the Geniale Dilletanten, to the Love Parade, and ending with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Director Klaus Maeck and German DJ Westbam are confirmed to attend.

Saturday, Oct 24th, 11:00pm

DJ Westbam: Free Concert in the Egyptian Theater Courtyard

Hardly any DJ can look back on such a long and exciting career as Westbam, who since 1983 has provided the right music for the night for more than 15 million fans worldwide. A pioneer of DJ culture in Germany and Europe alike, Westbam was the first DJ in Germany to mix his own tracks rather than just play record after record, the first German DJ invited to play the big stages in the heyday of acid house in the UK, the first German DJ to sell over 2 million records, the founder of the first big rave event in Germany, the legendary “Mayday”, and the only DJ to have DJed at every “Loveparade,” producing every “Loveparade anthem” since. Featured in Jörg A.Hoppe, Klaus Maeck & Heiko Lange’s film "B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989," Westbam will perform live at the Egyptian Theatre following the film’s screening at the German Currents Film Festival. Please note: Ticket holders for the screening of “B-movie” receive priority admission to the concert. A Standby line for “concert only” begins after the box office closes for the screening at the Egyptian Theatre.

Sunday, Oct 25th, 4:00 pm (Matinee)

“Age of Cannibals” (“Zeit der Kannibalen”) Los Angeles Premiere | Prix Europe for Most Innovative Television Fiction Script. Berlin Ff 2014. Directed by Johannes Naber Germany (2013), 93 min, German and English with English subtitles

Cut-throat business consultants Öllers and Niederländer travel the world without ever really seeing it. In advising companies on how to ruthlessly maximize profits, the two have managed to insulate themselves from the dangerous locations where they conduct business by never leaving their various 5-star hotels. Models of ruthless efficiency, both hope to secure partnerships at their nameless company. When Bianca, a newly hired younger female colleague, is sent to assist in the negotiations, her constant critique of her colleagues’ unscrupulous behavior with clients and hotel staff alike is unsettling to the executives, who pride themselves on their ability to remain emotionally disconnected. Confined within the walls of their hotel, the protagonists reach grotesque extremes, accentuating the feel of a chamber play within Stefan Weigl’s screenplay. The perfectly directed darkly comedic performances offer critique of contemporary global economics. When the dangers of the outside world (experienced only through the occasional sounds of distant explosions or gunfire) find their way inside, the three models turn out to be incompetent. With Sebastian Blomberg, Devied Striesow, Katharina Schüttler.

Sunday, Oct 25th, 6:30 pm – Double Feature

“Dora or The Sexual Neuroses of our Parents” (“Dora oder die sexuellen Neurosen unserer Eltern”) Us Premiere. Berlin Ff 2015 Directed by Stina Werenfels Switzerland/ Germany (2013-2015), 90 min, German with English subtitles

International Sales: Wide

Mentally disabled Dora (Victoria Schulz) has spent much of her 18 years under psychotropic sedatives. When her mother, Kristin (Jenny Schily), decides to stop the medication, Dora’s world begins to open. Determined to experience the world, love, and sex, Dora enters into a relationship with an unscrupulous perfume salesman (Lars Eidinger) who is eager to take advantage of her newfound lust for life. Though Dora’s parents are horrified by her relationship and her eventual pregnancy, they must determine how to both protect their daughter as well as allow her to make her own choices as an adult. Lukas Strebel’s award winning innovative camerawork capture’s not only Dora’s transformation, but also her perspective through p.o.v. In adapting Lukas Bärfuss’ challenging play, director Stina Werenfels and co-writer Boris Treyer emphasize the perspectives and parallel struggles of both mother and daughter, examining broader issues of female sexuality, agency, and motherhood. With Victoria Schulz, Jenny Schily, Lars Eidinger. Director Stina Werenfels is confirmed to attend.

Sunday, Oct 25th, 8:30 pm (approximately) – Double Feature

“Gruber is Leaving” (“Gruber Geht”) Los Angeles Premiere | Beijing Iff: Best Music Directed by Marie Kreutzer Austria (2015), 104 min, German with English subtitles

John Gruber (Manuel Rubey) is the epitome of arrogance. In his mid-thirties, and living in his own world, he has it all; the right job, car, designer apartment in Vienna. In between business trips, nightclubs, and countless one-night stands, the dry-witted cynic has little left for anyone else, and this is just how he likes it. When he meets Berlin-based DJ Sarah (Bernadette Heerwagen), his self-styled world is turned on its head. For it is Sarah, who after their night together, reads him the diagnosis explaining that a tumor is to blame for his recent stomach problems. Gruber‘s superman facade quickly crumbles, sending him on a binge of drugs, alcohol and bar fights in an attempt to cope. With a new regimen of chemotherapy and a growing infatuation with Sarah, Gruber slowly begins to drop his guard. But will he really change? Kreutzer’s faithful adaptation of Doris Knecht’s best-selling novel is strengthened by Cinematographer Leena Koppe’s ability to capture Gruber’s darkly comical transition from cold and distant loner, to a man on a journey to find himself. With Manuel Rubey, Doris Schretzmayer, Ulrike Beimpold.

Ramon Zürcher’s student project turned festival darling debut is an odd, wholly original work that bears little resemblance to anything of recent memory. Essentially a non-narrative dinner party film about the physical beauty of our relationships with the spaces, beings and objects that make up the environments of our daily lives, Zürcher’s melancholic ballet of apartment maneuvering is strangely mesmerizing. Children are children, teens are teens, animals act as they will, objects are animated by those around, and parents reflect, fearing the years are slipping away, leading the old into the darkness and the young to pessimistic enlightenment. Born from a film school workshop presided over by slow cinema legend Béla Tarr and inspired by Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”, The Strange Little Cat resembles neither, transcending the doom and gloom of his mentor and source material for something vibrantly new.

If there is a protagonist in Zürcher’s production,...

New films from Hal Hartley, James Franco, Gus Van Sant among lineup.

Eighteen features - including seven documentaries - have been selected for the Berlinale’s Panorama programme.

Among the selection are new films from Hal Hartley, Doze Niu Chen-Zer, Jk Youn and The Yes Men.

Hartley concludes his filmic trilogy with Ned Rifle while Justin Kelly’s Gus Van Sant-produced debut I Am Michael stars James Franco as a gay activist in the 1980s.

54: The Director’s Cut

USA

By Mark Christopher

With Ryan Phillippe, Salma Hayek, Mike Myers, Sela Ward, Mark Ruffalo

World premiere

Chorus

Canada

By François Delisle

With Sébastien Ricard, Fanny Mallette, Pierre Curzi, Geneviève Bujold

European premiere

Der letzte Sommer der Reichen (The Last Summer of the Rich)

Austria

By Peter Kern

With Amira Casar, Nicole Gerdon, Winfried Glatzeder

World premiere

Dora oder Die sexuellen Neurosen unserer Eltern (Dora or The Sexual Neuroses of Our Parents)

Switzerland / Germany

By Stina Werenfels...

Jury includes Golden Leopard-winning director Angelina Maccarone, actress jenny Schily and producer Jochen Laube.

The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the jury that will award the fourth “Made in Germany – Perspektive Fellowship” to a young director prior to the Berlinale.

Part of the Berlinale’s Perspektive Deutsches Kino section, the fellowship supports young German filmmakers in developing a project, material and screenplay. The €15,000 fellowship is funded by watch manufacturer Glashütte Original.

Eligible to participate were all directors who had a film in the Perspektive programme in 2014.

Press screenings of the Perspektive 2015 will kick off on Jan 19 with the presentation of this fellowship to a young talent from the 2014 edition.

The new jury members, all of whom will attend the award ceremony, are director Angelina Maccarone, actress Jenny Schily and producer Jochen Laube. Film journalist Knut Elstermann will host the occasion and invite the press in the name of the Berlinale to talk with the new fellowship holder...

In a Word: Pulchritude

Buried in Cannes’ most unassuming and roundly ignored sidebar, Acid (an acronym for what translates to “The Association for the Distribution of Independent Cinema”), Ramon Zürcher’s Berlin-preemed debut The Strange Little Cat was among the most assured, original, and moving films to screen on the Croisette’s 2013 batch, a feat all the more remarkable in that the picture was made by a film student. The project is bound to carry some intrigue for anyone aware of the fact that the idea for the film originated from a seminar session conducted by Béla Tarr, yet the story behind that will have to be reserved for the film’s Q&A sessions, as the decidedly un-Tarr-esque film feels nothing like the Hungarian master’s cinema – nor that of pretty much anyone else.

Contained almost entirely in the domain of a cramped German apartment, the film could be...

The words "student film" can strike terror in the bravest of hearts, but fear not The Strange Little Cat.

Made by filmmaker Ramon Zürcher while he was still attending the German Film and Television Academy, this odd little wonder captures the delicate textures and shadowy half-secrets of family life, mapping them out in a mosaic of fragmented dialogue and half-poetic, half-prosaic images.

A brother and sister (Luk Pfaff and Anjorka Strechel) have come home to their family's Berlin flat for a visit. Their much younger sister Clara (Mia Kasalo), a self-possessed elf, practices her nascent writing skills by drawing up a shopping list; an uncle (Armin Marewski) shows up to fix the washing machine; their mother (Jenny Schily) busies herself about the kitchen, re...

Stars: Jenny Schily, Mia Kasalo, Anjorka Strechel, Luk Pfaff | Written and Directed by Ramon Zürcher

Review by Scott Clark of Cinehouse

Hands down the hardest film to talk about at Toronto’s International Film Festival this year is The Strange Little Cat, a charming study into the quant and often bizarre realities of everyday family life.

Very loosely (almost unthinkably) based on Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Ramon Zurcher’s first feature is an exercise in mastery on many levels. The keen and prying eye he exudes into every facet of the busy household can at points seem mundane and others alien but nearly always utterly riveting. The mechanics of household relations seem to spiral silently into a weird dance as a family convenes for a celebration. As each member pops in and out of the films’ frame we are presented odd short narratives from each in an attempt to reveal...

The Strange Little Cat (Das merkwürdige Kätzchen)

Written and directed by Ramon Zürcher

Germany, 2013

A terrific chamber piece that illustrates one crisp fall Saturday afternoon in the life of one family, Ramon Zürcher’s film is a sumptuous journey of visual storytelling that fills its claustrophobic spaces with the animated pace of modern life and its quiet revelatory moments. Loosely inspired by Kafka’s novella Metamorphosis, and with comparisons made to Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman and the raucous hubbub of Thomas Vinterberg’s Festen, The Strange Little Cat is a hypnotic film that places its focus on the comings and goings of a family preparing a dinner for an ailing matriarch.

The film is peppered by family members ducking in and out of frame, almost with the fervor of actors in a stage play, as though busying themselves behind the scenes with the preparations for a final, defining performance.

Now that the dust has settled and the behemoth Tiff is in our rear-view mirror, the Ioncinema.com team are comparing notes, grading films and looking back at our personal experiences, our rapport with the films we saw and the characters that vividly remain with us. Among our favorite fest recaps, our discerning fivesome (Eric Lavallee, Jordan M. Smith, Nicholas Bell, Leora Heilbronn, Caitlin Coder) have created a Top 20 List of New Faces from the 2013 of up-and-coming actors and actresses (of all age demos) that stole some thunder in lead or supporting player roles. Here they are:

#20. Zoe Levin (Palo Alto, Beneath the Harvest Sky)

Unlike the characters of Emily and Tasha in Gia Coppola’s Palo Alto and Aron Gaudet & Gita Pullapilly’s Beneath the Harvest Sky, Zoe Levin‘s future is a a bright one. Respectively playing a teens suffering from suburban and country-setting ennui, in Palo Alto...

Robert Redford, President & Founder of Sundance Institute said, “Every great film starts with an idea, and it is a testament to artists that they continually find new ideas, new stories, new points of view and new ways of sharing them, year after year. We look forward to hearing from these artists not just through their words and images onscreen but also through the larger dialogue they create with audiences at our Festival and beyond.”

John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “The films, both documentary and narrative, selected for our 2013 Festival have a particular immediacy and fearlessness to them showing us that independent film is as vibrant, creative and relevant as ever. Filmmakers are telling raw, powerful stories that are sure to create new energy in audiences and communities across the globe in the months to come.”

For the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, 113 feature-length films were selected, representing 32 countries and 51 first-time filmmakers, including 27 in competition. These films were selected from 12,146 submissions (429 more than for 2012), including 4,044 feature-length films and 8,102 short films. Of the feature film submissions, 2,070 were from the U.S. and 1,974 were international. 98 feature films at the Festival will be world premieres.

In addition, the Festival presents feature-length films in the Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, New Frontier, Premieres and Documentary Premieres sections. Those announcements, as well as selections for the Short Film section, are forthcoming.

On Day One, January 17, 2013, the Festival will screen one narrative film and one documentary from both the U.S. and World Cinema competitions, as well as one shorts program.

A selection of films from the 2013 Festival will also be presented at the second Sundance London film and music festival, April 25-28 at The O2.

Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, “Each year at this time we look forward with great anticipation and excitement to the discovery of new voices at the Sundance Film Festival. The Festival continues to reflect the spirit of innovation and creativity in independent cinema, not only in the stories themselves but also in how the films are produced and making their way to audiences.”

U.S. Dramatic Competition

The world premieres of 16 American narrative feature films.

Afternoon Delight/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway) — In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch.

Ain't Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine.

Austenland/ U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Jerusha Hess, Screenwriters: Jerusha Hess, Shannon Hale) — Thirtysomething, single Jane is obsessed with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice. On a trip to an English resort, her fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman become more real than she ever imagined.Cast: Keri Russell, Jj Feild, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, Georgia King, James Callis.

C.O.G./ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kyle Patrick Alvarez) — In the first ever film adaptation of David Sedaris' work, a cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path. Cast: Jonathan Groff, Denis O'Hare, Corey Stoll, Dean Stockwell, Casey Wilson, Troian Bellisario.

Concussion / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Stacie Passon) — After a blow to the head, Abby decides she can't do it anymore. Her life just can't be only about the house, the kids and the wife. She needs more: she needs to be Eleanor.Cast: Robin Weigert, Maggie Siff, Johnathan Tchaikovsky, Julie Fain Lawrence, Emily Kinney, Laila Robins.

Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Francesca Gregorini) — Emanuel, a troubled girl, becomes preoccupied with her mysterious, new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother. In offering to babysit her newborn, Emanuel unwittingly enters a fragile, fictional world, of which she becomes the gatekeeper. Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Jessica Biel, Alfred Molina, Frances O'Connor, Jimmi Simpson, Aneurin Barnard.

Fruitvale/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ryan Coogler) — The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family and strangers on the last day of 2008. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz, Ahna O'Reilly, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray.

In a World.../ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lake Bell) — An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation. Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed.

Kill Your Darlings/ U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen.

The Lifeguard / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Liz W. Garcia) — A former valedictorian quits her reporter job in New York and returns to the place she last felt happy: her childhood home in Connecticut. She gets work as a lifeguard and starts a dangerous relationship with a troubled teenager. Cast: Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, Martin Starr, Alex Shaffer, Amy Madigan, David Lambert.

May in the Summer/ U.S.A., Qatar, Jordan (Director and screenwriter: Cherien Dabis) — A bride-to-be is forced to reevaluate her life when she reunites with her family in Jordan and finds herself confronted with the aftermath of her parents’ divorce. Cast: Cherien Dabis, Hiam Abbass, Bill Pullman, Alia Shawkat, Nadine Malouf, Alexander Siddig. Day One Film

Mother of George / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Dosunmu, Screenwriter: Darci Picoult) — A story about a woman willing to do anything and risk everything for her marriage.Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Anthony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi.

The Spectacular Now/ U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber) — Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to "save." As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and "saving" and corrupting become inextricably blurred. Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler.

Touchy Feely/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother's foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.”Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais.

Toy's House/ U.S.A. (Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Screenwriter: Chris Galletta) — Three unhappy teenage boys flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny. Or at least that’s the plan. Cast: Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Alison Brie.

Upstream Color/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shane Carruth) — A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins.

U.S. Documentary Competition

The world premieres of 16 American documentary films.

99% - The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film/ U.S.A. (Directors: Audrey Ewell, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read, Nina Kristic) — The Occupy movement erupted in September 2011, propelling economic inequality into the spotlight. In an unprecedented collaboration, filmmakers across America tell its story, digging into big picture issues as organizers, analysts, participants and critics reveal how it happened and why.

After Tiller/ U.S.A. (Directors: Martha Shane, Lana Wilson) — Since the assassination of Dr. George Tiller in 2009, only four doctors in the country provide late-term abortions. With unprecedented access, After Tiller goes inside the lives of these physicians working at the center of the storm.

American Promise / U.S.A. (Directors: Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson) — This intimate documentary follows the 12-year journey of two African-American families pursuing the promise of opportunity through the education of their sons.

Blackfish/ U.S.A. (Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite) — Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer.Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.

Blood Brother/ U.S.A. (Director: Steve Hoover) — Rocky went to India as a disillusioned tourist. When he met a group of children with HIV, he decided to stay. He never could have imagined the obstacles he would face, or the love he would find.

Citizen Koch/ U.S.A. (Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin) — Wisconsin – birthplace of the Republican Party, government unions, “cheeseheads” and Paul Ryan – becomes a test market in the campaign to buy Democracy, and ground zero in the battle for the future of the Gop.

Cutie and the Boxer/ U.S.A. (Director: Zachary Heinzerling) — This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.

Dirty Wars/ U.S.A. (Director: Richard Rowley) — Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill chases down the truth behind America’s covert wars.

Gideon's Army / U.S.A. (Director: Dawn Porter) — Gideon’s Army follows three young, committed Public Defenders who are dedicated to working for the people society would rather forget. Long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads are so common that even the most committed often give up.

God Loves Uganda/ U.S.A. (Director: Roger Ross Williams) — A powerful exploration of the evangelical campaign to infuse African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right. The film follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting “sexual immorality” and missionaries trying to convince Ugandans to follow biblical law.

The Good Life/ U.S.A. (Directors: Sean Fine, Andrea Nix Fine) — Dr. Leslie Gordon and Dr. Scott Berns fight to save their only son from Progeria, a rare and fatal disease for which there is no treatment or cure. In less than a decade, their work has led to significant advances.

Inequality for All/ U.S.A. (Director: Jacob Kornbluth) — In this timely and entertaining documentary, noted economic-policy expert Robert Reich distills the topic of widening income inequality, and addresses the question of what effects this increasing gap has on our economy and our democracy.

Manhunt/ U.S.A., United Kingdom (Director: Greg Barker) — This espionage tale goes inside the CIA’s long conflict against Al Qaeda, as revealed by the remarkable women and men whose secret war against Osama bin Laden started nearly a decade before most of us even knew his name.

Narco Cultura / U.S.A. (Director: Shaul Schwarz) — An examination of Mexican drug cartels’ influence in pop culture on both sides of the border as experienced by an La narcocorrido singer dreaming of stardom and a Juarez crime scene investigator on the front line of Mexico’s Drug War.

Twenty Feet From Stardom/ U.S.A. (Director: Morgan Neville) — Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead – until now. Day One Film

Valentine Road / U.S.A. (Director: Marta Cunningham) — In 2008, eighth-grader Brandon McInerney shot classmate Larry King at point blank range. Unraveling this tragedy from point of impact, the film reveals the heartbreaking circumstances that led to the shocking crime as well as its startling aftermath.

World Cinema Dramatic Competition

Twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.

Circles/ Serbia, Germany, France, Croatia, Slovenia (Director: Srdan Golubovic, Screenwriters: Srdjan Koljevic, Melina Pota Koljevic) — Five people are affected by a tragic heroic act. Twenty years later, all of them will confront the past through their own crises. Will they overcome guilt, frustration and their urge for revenge? Will they do the right thing, at all costs? Cast: Aleksandar Bercek, Leon Lucev, Nebojsa Glogovac, Hristina Popovic, Nikola Rakocevic, Vuk Kostic. World Premiere

Crystal Fairy / Chile (Director and screenwriter: Sebastián Silva) — Jamie invites a stranger to join a road trip to Chile. The woman’s free and esoteric nature clashes with Jamie’s acidic, self-absorbed personality as they head into the desert for a Mescaline-fueled psychedelic trip. Cast: Michael Cera, Gabby Hoffmann, Juan Andrés Silva, José Miguel Silva, Agustín Silva. World Premiere. Day One Film

The Future/ Chile, Germany, Italy, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Alicia Scherson) — When their parents die, Bianca starts to smoke and Tomas is still a virgin. The orphans explore the dangerous streets of adulthood until Bianca finds Maciste, a retired Mr. Universe, and enters his dark mansion in search of a future. Cast: Manuela Martelli, Rutger Hauer, Luigi Ciardo, Nicolas Vaporidis, Alessandro Giallocosta. World Premiere

Houston/ Germany (Director and screenwriter: Bastian Günther) — Clemens Trunschka is a corporate headhunter and an alcoholic. Drinking increasingly isolates him from his life and leads him away from reality. While searching for a CEO candidate in Houston, his addiction submerges him into his own darkness. Cast: Ulrich Tukur, Garret Dillahunt, Wolfram Koch, Jenny Schily, Jason Douglas, Jens Münchow. World Premiere

Jiseul / South Korea (Director and screenwriter: Muel O) — In 1948, as the Korean government ordered the Communists’ eviction to Jeju Island, the military invaded a calm and peaceful village. Townsfolk took sanctuary in a cave and debated moving to a higher mountain. Cast: Min-chul Sung, Jung-won Yang, Young-soon Oh, Soon-dong Park, Suk-bum Moon, Kyung-sub Jang. International Premiere

Lasting / Poland, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Jacek Borcuch) — An emotional love story about two Polish students who fall in love with each other while working summer jobs in Spain. An unexpected nightmare interrupts their carefree time in the heavenly landscape and throws their lives into chaos. Cast: Jakub Gierszal, Magdalena Berus, Angela Molina. World Premiere

Metro Manila / United Kingdom, Philippines (Director: Sean Ellis, Screenwriters: Sean Ellis, Frank E. Flowers) — Seeking a better life, Oscar and his family move from the poverty-stricken rice fields to the big city of Manila, where they fall victim to various inhabitants whose manipulative ways are a daily part of city survival. Cast: Jake Macapagal, John Arcilla, Althea Vega. World Premiere

Shopping / New Zealand (Directors: Mark Albiston, Louis Sutherland, Screenwriters: Louis Sutherland, Mark Albiston) — New Zealand, 1981: Seduced by a charismatic career criminal, teenager Willie must choose where his loyalty lies – with a family of shoplifters or his own blood. Cast: Kevin Paulo, Julian Dennison, Jacek Koman, Alistair Browning. World Premiere

Soldate Jeannette/ Austria (Director: Daniel Hoesl) — Fanni has had enough of money and leaves to buy a tent. Anna has had enough of pigs and leaves a needle in the hay. Cars crash and money burns to shape their mutual journey toward a rising liberty. Cast: Johanna Orsini-Rosenberg, Christina Reichsthaler, Josef Kleindienst, Aurelia Burckhardt, Julia Schranz, Ines Rössl. World Premiere

There Will Come a Day/ Italy, France (Director: Giorgio Diritti, Screenwriters: Giorgio Diritti, Fredo Valla, Tania Pedroni) — Painful issues push Augusta, a young Italian woman, to doubt the certainties on which she has built her existence. On a small boat in the immensity of the Amazon rain forest, she faces the adventure of searching for herself. Cast: Jasmine Trinca, Anne Alvaro, Pia Engleberth. World Premiere

Wajma (An Afghan Love Story)/ Afghanistan (Director and screenwriter: Barmak Akram) — A young man in Kabul seduces a girl. When she tells him she’s pregnant, he questions having taken her virginity. Then her father arrives, and a timeless, archaic violence erupts – possibly leading to a crime, and even a sacrifice. Cast: Wajma Bahar, Mustafa Abdulsatar, Haji Gul, Breshna Bahar. World Premiere

What They Don't Talk About When They Talk About Love/ Indonesia (Director and screenwriter: Mouly Surya) — Mouly Surya’s film explores the odds of love and deception among the blind, the deaf and the unlucky sighted people at a high school for the visually impaired. Cast: Nicholas Saputra, Ayushita Nugraha, Karina Salim, Anggun Priambodo, Lupita Jennifer. World Premiere

World Cinema Documentary Competition

Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary filmmakers working today.

Fallen City / China (Director: Qi Zhao) — Fallen City spans four years to reveal how three families who survived the 2008 Sichuan earthquake to embark on a journey searching for hope, purpose, identity, and to rebuild their lives in a new China torn between tradition and modernity. North American Premiere

Fire in the Blood/ India (Director: Dylan Mohan Gray) — In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Western governments and pharmaceutical companies blocked low-cost antiretroviral drugs from reaching AIDS-stricken Africa, causing 10 million or more unnecessary deaths. An improbable group of people decided to fight back. North American Premiere

Google and the World Brain/ Spain, United Kingdom (Director: Ben Lewis) — In the most ambitious project ever conceived on the Internet, Google has been scanning the world's books for 10 years. They said the intention was to build a giant digital library, but that involved scanning millions of copyrighted works. World Premiere

The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear/ Georgia, Germany (Director: Tinatin Gurchiani) — A film director casting a 15-23-year-old protagonist visits villages and cities to meet people who answer her call. She follows those who prove to be interesting enough through various dramatic and funny situations. North American Premiere

The Moo Man/ United Kingdom (Directors: Andy Heathcote, Heike Bachelier) — A year in the life of heroic farmer Steve, scene stealing Ida (queen of the herd), and a supporting cast of 55 cows. When Ida falls ill, Steve’s optimism is challenged and their whole way of life is at stake. World Premiere

Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer / Russian Federation, United Kingdom (Directors: Mike Lerner, Maxim Pozdorovkin) — Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial: the three young artists or the society they live in? World Premiere

A River Changes Course/ Cambodia, U.S.A. (Director: Kalyanee Mam) — Three young Cambodians struggle to overcome the crushing effects of deforestation, overfishing, and overwhelming debt in this devastatingly beautiful story of a country reeling from the tragedies of war and rushing to keep pace with a rapidly expanding world. World Premiere

Salma/ United Kingdom, India (Director: Kim Longinotto) — When Salma, a young girl in South India, reached puberty, her parents locked her away. Millions of girls all over the world share the same fate. Twenty-five years later, Salma has fought her way back to the outside world. World Premiere

The Square (El Midan) / Egypt, U.S.A. (Director: Jehane Noujaim) — What does it mean to risk your life for your ideals? How far will five revolutionaries go in defending their beliefs in the fight for their nation? World Premiere

The Stuart Hall Project/ United Kingdom (Director: John Akomfrah) — Antinuclear campaigner, New Left activist and founding father of Cultural Studies, this documentary interweaves 70 years of Stuart Hall’s film, radio and television appearances, and material from his private archive to document a memorable life and construct a portrait of Britain’s foremost radical intellectual. World Premiere

The Summit / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Nick Ryan) — Twenty-four climbers converged at the last stop before summiting the most dangerous mountain on Earth. Forty-eight hours later, 11 had been killed or simply vanished. Had one, Ger McDonnell, stuck to the climbers' code, he might still be alive.International Premiere

Who is Dayani Cristal?/ United Kingdom (Director: Marc Silver) — An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. World Premiere. Day One Film

Next <=>

Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling. Digital technology paired with unfettered creativity proves the films selected in this section will inform a “greater” next wave in American cinema.

Blue Caprice/ U.S.A. (Director: Alexandre Moors, Screenwriters: R.F.I Porto, Alexandre Moors) — An abandoned boy is lured to America and drawn into the shadow of a dangerous father figure in this film inspired by the real life events that led to the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks. Cast: Isaiah Washington, Tequan Richmond, Joey Lauren Adams, Tim Blake Nelson, Cassandra Freeman, Leo Fitzpatrick.

Computer Chess /U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — An existential comedy about the brilliant men who taught machines to play chess – back when the machines seemed clumsy and we seemed smart. Cast: Patrick Riester, Myles Paige, James Curry, Robin Schwartz, Gerald Peary, Wiley Wiggins.

Escape from Tomorrow/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Randy Moore) — A postmodern, surreal voyage into the bowels of "family" entertainment; an epic battle begins when an unemployed, middle-aged father loses his sanity during a close encounter with two teenage girls on holiday. Cast: Roy Abramsohn, Elena Schuber, Katelynn Rodriguez, Annet Mahendru, Danielle Safady, Alison Lees-Taylor.

I Used to Be Darker/ U.S.A. (Director: Matthew Porterfield, Screenwriters: Amy Belk, Matthew Porterfield) — A runaway seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore, only to find their marriage ending and her cousin in crisis. In the days that follow, the family struggles to let go while searching for things to sustain them. Cast: Deragh Campbell, Hannah Gross, Kim Taylor, Ned Oldham, Geoff Grace, Nick Petr.

It Felt Like Love / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Eliza Hittman) — On the outskirts of Brooklyn, a 14-year-old girl’s sexual quest takes a dangerous turn when she pursues an older guy and tests the boundaries between obsession and love.Cast: Gina Piersanti, Giovanna Salimeni, Ronen Rubinstein, Jesse Cordasco, Nick Rosen, Case Prime.

Milkshake/ U.S.A. (Director: David Andalman, Screenwriters: David Andalman, Mariko Munro) — In mid-1990's America, we follow the tragic sex life of Jolie Jolson, a wannabe thug (and great-great-grandson of legendary vaudevillian Al Jolson) in suburban DC as he strives to become something he can never be – black. Cast: Tyler Ross, Shareeka Epps, Georgia Ford, Eshan Bay, Leo Fitzpatrick, Danny Burstein.

Newlyweeds/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Shaka King) — A Brooklyn repo man and his globetrotting girlfriend forge an unlikely romance. But what should be a match made in stoner heaven turns into a love triangle gone awry in this dark coming-of-age comedy about dependency. Cast: Amari Cheatom, Trae Harris, Tone Tank, Colman Domingo, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Adrian Martinez.

Pit Stop/ U.S.A. (Director: Yen Tan, Screenwriters: Yen Tan, David Lowery) — Two working-class gay men in a small Texas town and a love that isn't quite out of reach. Cast: Bill Heck, Marcus DeAnda, Amy Seimetz, John Merriman, Alfredo Maduro, Corby Sullivan.

A Teacher/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Hannah Fidell) — A popular young teacher in a wealthy suburban Texas high school has an affair with one of her students. Her life begins to unravel as the relationship comes to an end. Cast: Lindsay Burdge, Will Brittain, Jennifer Prediger, Jonny Mars, Julie Phillips, Chris Dubeck.

This is Martin Bonner/ U.S.A.(Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Martin Bonner has just moved to Reno for a new job in prison rehabilitation. Starting over at age 58, he struggles to adapt until an unlikely friendship with an ex-con blossoms, helping him confront the problems he left behind. Cast: Paul Eenhoorn, Richmond Arquette, Sam Buchanan, Robert Longstreet, Demetrius Grosse.

The Sundance Film Festival®

A program of the non-profit Sundance Institute®, the Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most ground-breaking films of the past two decades, including sex, lies, and videotape, Maria Full of Grace, The Cove, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, An Inconvenient Truth, Precious, Trouble the Water, and Napoleon Dynamite, and through its New Frontier initiative, has showcased the cinematic works of media artists including Isaac Julien, Doug Aitken, Pierre Huyghe, Jennifer Steinkamp, and Matthew Barney. The 2013 Sundance Film Festival® sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Hp, Acura, Sundance Channel and Chase Sapphire PreferredSM; Leadership Sponsors – Directv, Entertainment Weekly, Focus Forward, a partnership between Ge and Cinelan, Southwest Airlines, Sprint and YouTube; Sustaining Sponsors – Adobe, Canada Goose, Canon U.S.A., Inc., CÎRoc Ultra Premium Vodka, FilterForGood®, a partnership between Brita® and Nalgene®, Hilton HHonors and Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Intel Corporation, L'Oréal Paris, Recycled Paper Greetings, Stella Artois® and Time Warner Inc. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development, and the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations will defray costs associated with the 10-day Festival and the nonprofit Sundance Institute's year-round programs for independent film and theatre artists. www.sundance.org/festival

Sundance Institute

Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is a global, nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to nurturing artistic expression in film and theater, and to supporting intercultural dialogue between artists and audiences. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to unite, inform and inspire, regardless of geo-political, social, religious or cultural differences. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival and its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, film composers, playwrights and theatre artists, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Amreeka, An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening, Light in the Piazza and Angels in America. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

GeekTyrant will once again be excitedly attending the Sundance Film Festival in 2013! They've released their full line up of competition films for the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary, as well as the out-of-competition Next <=> section.

It looks like there's a lot of great films for us, and anyone who is attending, to check out this year. I love going up to Sundance, it's always a great mix of different movies... some great, some good, some bad, and some that are completely awful. I'm always looking forward to seeing them though! There's kind of rush going in to watch a movie I hardly know anything about. It's a rare thing for me these days to be able to do that.

Below you'll find the full Press Release that includes all of the films that have been announced. Please look them over and let us know which ones interest...

Sixteen films are set to compete in the dramatic category at next year's Sundance Film Festival in January, with exactly half of those films directed by women - a new record for the festival which will be in its 29th year.

Approximately 113 feature-length films representing 32 countries were selected for Sundance for next year including 27 films in competition and 51 films from first-time directors. Many of the key categories were announced today.

While the Utah-based film festival only occasionally showcases films that have true mainstream crossover potential, this year sees more audience friendly fare in competition even it is still specifically targeting the art house crowd.

The fest in January this year was dominated by the rave reviews for its Grand Jury Prize winner "Beasts of the Southern Wild" which, upon moving to a more mainstream release, scored many accolades but just $13 million in worldwide box-office.

U.S. Dramatic Competition

Afternoon Delight...

If you ever managed to see Shane Carruth‘s Primer, you’re probably a very confused person. That’s to say, the 2004 time-travel flick strove to be as realistic as possible, and by realistic, we mean completely mind-boggling. Saying that, Primer remains one of the most intriguing movies of the past decade (even if we still can’t figure it out), which means that the promise of a second movie from writer/director Curruth is something to be excited about.

Though it was rumored that the poor guy couldn’t get funding sorted for a second feature, it appears he finally got it made: Upstream Color will premier at Sundance 2013, presumably to grant everybody another headache with a bizarre-sounding story about two people who become a single organism.

Sundance, of course, exists to showcase the best and brightest in indie film. Next year’s festival takes place from January 17-27 in Park City,...

Mostly populated by unknowns filmakers (at least to us), among the dozen titles in Sundance’s World Dramatic Comp we do find some familair auteurs such as Sean Ellis’ (from Cashback fame) who returns with Metro Manila, we have Srdan Golubovic’s Circles (see still above – a drama we thought might end up playing in Cannes earlier this year) and finally, Sebastián Silva whose latest Crystal Fairy (not to be confused with Magic Magic which also stars Michael Cera) will open the fest. Here are the twelve selections of which eleven are world preems.

Circles / Serbia, Germany, France, Croatia, Slovenia (Director: Srdan Golubovic, Screenwriters: Srdjan Koljevic, Melina Pota Koljevic) — Five people are affected by a tragic heroic act. Twenty years later, all of them will confront the past through their own crises. Will they overcome guilt, frustration and their urge for revenge? Will they do the right thing, at all costs?...

Every year, the festival circuit kicks off with a huge bang – Sundance.

It’s one of the biggest festivals for independent films around the world, taking over Park City, Ut every January, to bring together some of the biggest and finest names in the independent filmmaking world.

The line-up has now been announced for the Us and World Competition categories, along with Next, giving us a great first look at what we have to look forward to in January – and, looking ahead, at some of the films that will be coming to Sundance London in April 2013.

The first slew of films show incredible promise, with David Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, James Ponsoldt’s The Spectacular Now, and Lynn Shelton’s Touchy Feely leading the Us Dramatic category with so much potential.

Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints features an all-star cast, headed up by Rooney Mara,...

The 2013 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 17-27 and today the fest unveiled their competition slates including film in the Dramatic, Documentary, World Cinema Dramatic, Word Cinema Documentary and Next competitions. As always, these lineups are incredibly hard to predict, but amid this group there are a few interesting titles. The Dramatic competition includes Jill Soloway's Afternoon Delight, a dark comedy starring Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor and Jane Lynch that centers on a L.A. housewife who hires a stripper as a live-in nanny. I had not heard of David Lowery's Ain't Them Bodies Saints, but a cast that includes Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker and Keith Carradine is immediately appealing, while the plot compares itself to Terrence Malick's Badlands and Bonnie & Clyde telling a story of Bob Muldoon and Ruth Guthrie, two young outlaws who are brought down by the authorities in the hills of Texas.

Title: Sleeping Sickness Director: Ulrich Köhler Cast: Pierre Bokma, Jean-Christophe Folly, Jenny Schily, Hippolyte Girardot, Maria Elise Miller and Sava Lolov From the start of “Sleeping Sickness,” you get a clear impression that this film will be more tedious than interesting. A German family is stopped by local police on a Cameroon highway, they ask the patriarch of the family, Ebbo Velten (Pierre Bokma), if his family have their passports. The police are looking for a bribe, but what they find is a long drawn out scene that suppose to unveil how off putting and fascinating Ebbo is, but they come up with nothing, except a small amount of money....

Officials from the 61st Berlin Film Festival on Tuesday unveiled the Competition program for this year’s event. It includes 22 films, 16 of which will be competing for the awards.

In addition there will be two special screenings: In solidarity with the convicted Iranian director Jafar Panahi, his film “Offside” will be presented on Feb. 11, the anniversary of the Iranian Revolution. Also, the European premiere of Werner Herzog’s 3-D documentary “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” will be shown as a special screening in the Berlinale Palast.

The winner of the Golden Bear will be announced at the festival awards ceremony on Feb. 19.

The following is the complete Berlinale Competition program.

“A Torinói Ló” (“The Turin Horse”) Hungary/France/Germany/Switzerland

Directed by Béla Tarr

With János Derzsi, Erika Bók, Mihály Kormos

World premiere

“Almanya – Willkommen in Deutschland” (“Almanya”) Germany

By Yasemin Samdereli – debut film

With Vedat Erincin, Fahri Yardin, Aylin Tezel,...