JURY AWARDS:

Grand Jury Prize, Dramatic: Winter’s Bone, directed by Debra Granik

Sundance Synopsis: “Deep in the Ozark Mountains, clans live by a code of conduct that no one dares defy—until an intrepid teenage girl has no other choice. When Ree Dolly’s crystal-meth-making father skips bail and goes missing, her family home is on the line. Unless she finds him, she and her young siblings and disabled mother face destitution. In a heroic quest, Ree traverses the county to confront her kin, break their silent collusion, and bring her father home.”

Grand Jury Prize, Documentary: Restrepo, directed by Tim Hetherington & Sebastian Junger

Sundance Synopsis: “In 2008 Sebastian Junger (The Perfect Storm) and Tim Hetherington dug in with the men of Second Platoon for a year. Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley, a stronghold of al Qaeda and the Taliban, has proven to be one of the U.S. Army’s deadliest challenges. It is here that the platoon lost their comrade, PFC Juan Restrepo, and erected an outpost in his honor. Up close and personal, Junger and Hetherington gain extraordinary insight into the surreal combination of backbreaking labor and deadly firefights that are a way of life at Outpost Restrepo.”

World Cinema Jury Prize, Dramatic: Animal Kingdom, directed by David Michôd

Sundance Synopsis: “Welcome to the jungle known as the Melbourne underworld. Animal Kingdom uses this edgy locale to unspool a gripping tale of survival and revenge. Pope Cody, an armed robber on the run from a gang of renegade detectives, is in hiding, surrounded by his roughneck friends and family. Soon, Pope’s nephew, Joshua “J” Cody, arrives and moves in with his hitherto-estranged relatives. When tensions between the family and the police reach a bloody peak, “J” finds himself at the center of a cold-blooded revenge plot that turns the family upside down.”

World Cinema Jury Prize, Documentary: The Red Chapel (Det Røde Kapel), directed by Mads Brügger

Sundance Synopsis: “A journalist with no scruples and two Danish/Korean comedians—one a self-proclaimed “spastic”—travel to North Korea under the guise of a cultural exchange. On the pretext of being a small Danish theatre group, named The Red Chapel, they are allowed into the country, but unbeknownst to the North Koreans, cultural exchange is not really what they have in mind. Mads Brügger, the journalist; Simon, the straight man; and Jacob, the spastic, use humor to challenge one of the world’s most notorious regimes. The troupe rehearse under the watchful eye of government officials brought in to “collaborate” on their performance and make it more palatable for the Korean regime. They are shown the important historical sights by a female government employee, who smothers poor Jacob with motherly affection.”

The Best of NEXT: Homewrecker, directed by Todd Barnes & Brad Barnes

Sundance Synopsis: “Mike is a locksmith. He’s also a prisoner on work release, but you wouldn’t know it. He’s just trying to focus on his house calls and reconcile with his ex-girlfriend—until Margo hijacks his day. A live-wire kook, who’s certain her boyfriend is cheating on her, Margo bulldozes Mike into spying on the alleged cad. The result: an all-day adventure with a (seemingly) stolen vehicle, a visit to an unlikely drug dealer, and a low blood-sugar attack. Potential trouble follows these two around—but maybe something good will come of it.”

Special Jury Prize, Documentary: GasLand, directed by Josh Fox

Sundance Synopsis: “It is happening all across America—rural landowners wake up one day to find a lucrative offer from an energy company wanting to lease their property. Reason? The company hopes to tap into a reservoir dubbed the “Saudi Arabia of natural gas.” Halliburton developed a way to get the gas out of the ground—a hydraulic drilling process called “fracking”—and suddenly America finds itself on the precipice of becoming an energy superpower.”

Special Jury Prize, Dramatic: Sympathy for Delicious, directed by Mark Ruffalo

Sundance Synopsis: “Recently paralyzed DJ “Delicious” Dean battles the mean streets of Los Angeles, struggling to survive in his wheelchair. Yearning to walk again, and fighting to spark the ashes that were once his career, Dean turns to the dubious world of faith healing and gets much more than he bargained for. Lured by easy money and the heat of fame, Dean sells out to an unstable rock band, stomping the dreams of so many who see him as their only hope. World-famous DJ “Delicious” must now tackle his own worst demon—himself—if he is ever to conquer his “handicap” and find true healing.”

World Cinema Special Jury Prize: Documentary: Enemies of the People, directed by Rob Lemkin & Thet Sambath

Sundance Synopsis: “The Khmer Rouge slaughtered nearly two million people in the late 1970s. Yet the Killing Fields of Cambodia remain unexplained. Until now. Enter Thet Sambath, an unassuming, yet cunning, investigative journalist who spends a decade of his life gaining the trust of the men and women who perpetrated the massacres. From the foot soldiers who slit throats to Pol Pot’s right-hand man, the notorious Brother Number Two, Sambath records shocking testimony never before seen or heard. Having neglected his own family for years, Sambath’s work comes at a price. But his is a personal mission. He lost his parents and his siblings in the Killing Fields. Amidst his journey to discover why his family died, we come to understand for the first time the real story of Cambodia’s tragedy.”

More Awards:

Excellence in Cinematography, Dramatic: Zak Mulligan for Obselidia

Excellence in Cinematography, Documentary: Kirsten Johnson & Laura Poitras for The Oath

Waldo Scott Screenwriting Award: Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini for Winter’s Bone

Excellence in Directing, Dramatic: Eric Mendelsohn for 3 Backyards

Excellence in Directing, Documentary: Leon Gast for Smash His Camera

Excellence in Editing, Documentary: Penelope Falk for Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

The Alfred P. Sloan prize for a feature film with science as a theme, or featuring a scientist, engineer, or mathematician main character, was awarded to Obselidia, directed by Diane Bell, at this year’s Sundance.

AUDIENCE AWARDS:

Audience Award, Dramatic: HappyThankYouMorePlease, directed by Josh Radnor

Audience Award, Documentary: Waiting for Superman, directed by Davis Guggenheim

World Cinema Audience Award, Dramatic: Contracorriente (Undertow), directed by Javier Fuentes-Leõn

World Cinema Audience Award, Documentary: Wasteland, directed by Lucy Walker

Jennifer Lawrence Stars in Winter's Bone

Winter’s Bone, a touching thriller set in the Ozark mountains, won the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Dramatic Film at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival on the same day that Roadside Attractions bought North American distribution rights in a mid-six figure deal. Roadside expressed enthusiasm for the film even before its accolades:

“With Winter’s Bone, Debra Granik has crafted a classic detective story, a nail-biting thriller and an unbelievably touching family drama, all in one film,” said Dustin Smith, head of Acquisitions and Business Affairs, in a press release. “It’s everything Sundance is about. It’s everything independent film is about. And it’s everything I go to the movies for. We cannot wait to help Debra and her team get this film in front of as many people as humanly possible.”

The story of “Winter’s Bone,” based on a novel by Daniel Woodrall, follows a teenage girl who must find her meth-making father after he puts her family home up for bail. Director Debra Granic, who co-wrote the script with Annie Rosellini, also won the Festival’s Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. She spent three years researching the proud, hidden communities of Southern Missouri before filming, using locals to help craft the dialogue in the script.

Roadside plans to release the film this summer, and The Sundance Institute will show the film tomorrow at The Eccles Center as part of their free exhibition to locals.

Watch Film Clips:

Dallas filmmaker Clay Liford made the Sundance short, “My Mom Smokes Weed” as part of a personal exploration. His producer told him to do something about his own life — to make himself uncomfortable. So Liford, a screwball comedic writer by trade, wrote a semi-autobiographical screenplay about his mom’s weed habit.

“It was more or less something to face the embarrassment of my mom doing drugs,” he said in an interview during the Sundance Film Festival, where his short debuted to Park City.

Given Liford’s Texan background, he probably has more reason to be sheepish about his aging mother’s pot habit than he might in other parts of the country. Watching the movie from Park City, where even Realtors are known to indulge, it’s a little harder to feel shocked.

The plot revolves around a semi-fictional son goes with his geriatric mom “downtown” to replenish his mother’s weed supply. They visit a home filled with big black men in beanies, a half-naked weightlifter and a token white weirdo in a wife beater. These weed peddlers work at places like Starbucks and do bong hits all day. They urge him to smoke weed, saying things like, ”I don’t really remember asking you,” when he refuses their offer.

Given the film’s comical portrayal of pot as an underground “rap video” drug, it’s easy to see how it won Grand Jury Prizes in conservative Texas, but din’t resonate the same way to a more liberal Sundance crowd. Not that audiences didn’t love it anyway. There’s a reason this film was selected for Sundance — it’s cleverly written, well acted and smartly executed. But in an age where Natalie Portman, Brad Pitt and the last three presidents have openly admitted to indulging (and even magazines like Marie Claire have published features on executive women who prefer weed over booze), the era of urban drug deals with scary black guys seems passé. Even if deals like that still happen. Liford should have sent his mom to a college campus. Kids during finals would have gladly given her a deal for returning some of their loot as brownies.

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Ryan in Jack Goes Boating

Sundance veteran Philip Seymour Hoffman never had designs on film directing before giving the role a shot with “Jack Goes Boating,” but the indie icon and stage actor, who recently starred in Robert Glaudini’s successful off-Broadway play rendition, took the reigns to “Jack” with ease in his first attempt, creating one of the sweetest hidden gems at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

“Jack Goes Boating” follows an optimistic limo driver whose life revolves around reggae music and aspirations of a job at the MTA. His only friends are fellow driver Clyde (John Ortiz) and his wife, Lucy (Daphne Rubin-Vega). When the couple set him up Connie (Amy Ryan), a quirky introvert with a warmth that draws Jack, he breaks out of his comfort zone to win her heart, even taking swimming lessons so he can take her rowing — a date they’ve planned six months from their fist.

As Jack’s relationship with Connie evolves, the fragile nature of Clyde and Lucy’s emerges, forcing Jack and Connie to face the reality that some romances don’t survive the long-haul in real life. Their tender optimism in spite of this uncertainty leaves the film on a touching note, intensified by the real friendships among the four actors, who all knew each other for years before making the film.

“Jack Goes Boating” may not have scored the early buzz that some films landed, but its relatability could make it a sleeper hit with a chance to earn wider distribution.

by Teresa Chavez

I went in to the Bhutto documentary expecting the usual and came out pleasantly suprised. We are all aware of who Benazir Bhutto was and we all watched her struggle for Pakistan. What else is there, really? Directors Jennifer Hernandez and Johnny O’Hara, had not only the vision but the fortitude, to create an honest depiction of a very important life. They included an abundance of rare footage and something you don’t always get in a documentary….the candor of both sides. The film focuses on the history of Benzir Bhutto’s rise to Prime Minister of Pakistan and then asks living relatives their opinion on who she really was, what she really wanted, and how she really died. Her children comment throughout the film on her mothering skills, her strength, and her true love for Pakistan. Her husband, the current Premiere of Pakistan, who was imprisoned for 11 years on unsubstantiated charges, offers an honest accounting of what really happened and why, his candor is fearless. In all fairness, the opposing opinions are offered, mainly from Benazir’s own niece. The film is not only intriguing, but appeals to the sense of injustice. It presents both sides cleanly and leaves the verdict up to the viewer, a true mark of a great documentary. It intrigues, provokes, and educates, leaving the viewer to ponder the ways of our world.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister and Opposition Leader Benazir Bhutto at her home in Dubai on 4th December 2004. (Photo by Lichfield/Getty Images).

See Bhutto: January 30th, Noon, Prospector Square, Park City

go to :www.sundance.org for more information

British filmmaker Jim Owen never expected his 10-minute film about a “blowie” to get any publicity, let alone an award at the Sundance Film Festival. Owen decided to make the quirky comedy as a break from writing a darker feature film, using his co-writer Rachel Stubbings and her stand-up comedian friend Sam Pamphilon in the roles of a couple who decide to get hilariously honest with each other.

By Chelsea Shapard, Official Park City Voyeur

Muhammed Yunis, Nobel Peace Prize winner

It seems only fitting to have one of the most anticipated films of the Sundance Film Festival be about poverty, finances and banking. After a tumultuous year in the financial world, replete with record job losses, the documentary To Catch a Dollar: Muhammad Yunus Banks on America brings hope to the poverty stricken while opening the eyes of the fortunate. Receiver of the Nobel Peace Prize, Muhammad Yunus is attacking poverty one group of women at a time, and Sundance has now opened his idea to the world.

As Robert Redford said in his opening press conference, this is one of those stories that matter. Showing the Grameen bank’s trials and successions in Queens, New York, To Catch a Dollar shows the workings of the Grameen bank in the United States. The idea of the bank is to empower women through loans of $500 to $3,000 in social based lending where they are placed in groups of three to five women and count each other accountable for their payments on their loans. With a meeting, in person, once a week, the women are able to become more powerful in their own business endeavors while also learning the responsibilities of making and keeping themselves financially sound.

In a panel discussion held at the Bing Bar on Monday, Yunus also added that the bank is really about the individual and the woman’s effort to improve her own life. When somebody asked how much of a need there really was in the United States for such a bank, Yunus pointed to the increase in pawn shops, payday loans offices, and the many other ways people attempt to get money quick without considering the repercussions. He said that places such as these are a sign that the American Banking system is not working. And as Dr. Yunus addressed an “overwhelming similarity rather than difference between other countries and the United States,” even against completely different levels of poverty between a place such as Bangladesh to America, he said the home run for this movie would be the increase in demand for his program in all areas of the United States and the world.

So go “Catch a Dollar” — but if you miss it, don’t miss out on the world-changing idea by Dr. Yunus with his book Banker to the Poor.

by Gail Sander

Sam and Stef are getting married in 6 days.  Big brother Sam, the botanist, and little brother Tom, the artist, haven’t spoken in 2 years.  Stef just knows that they have drifted apart but doesn’t know why.  Without Sam knowing, she shows up at Tom’s door and gives him no options for not attending the wedding.  When Stef arrives home with Tom, Sam is less than thrilled.  The boys agree to pretend to get along for Stef’s sake.  In the course of pretending, Sam displays his ‘have to be in control’ personality while Tom continues to be the shy ‘I don’t really want to be involved’ kind of guy.  While digging through a box of Tom’s old stuff that Sam has been holding, they discover a tin can containing love notes from Tom’s fifth grade girlfriend.  This leads to a review of their yearbook, and further a $40 search online, and voila’, a list of three Mary Barger’s that might fit the bill.  Forced by Sam, and to Stef’s disbelief, the road trip is on and the quest begins to find Mary Barger and bring her back to fill Tom’s opening for a needed date to the wedding.  They might not find Mary Barger, but they find each other and life will never be the same.

Depending on who was viewing this movie; guys might laugh all the way through, while girls might think it was sadly funny. Either way, the movie will leave you thinking about a lot of things and happily viewing the events of the road trip through Tom’s artwork.  Personally, I laughed, I felt sad and I would see this again because I thoroughly enjoyed every second of this film.  You won’t regret taking the time to be able to judge for yourself.

For more information: www.sundance.org

Director:  Drake Doremus

Screenwriters:  Lindsay Stidham, Drake Doremus, Jonathan Schwartz, Andrew Dickler

Cast:  Marguerite Moreau, Nicole Vicius, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Amy Ferguson, Andrew Dickler and Ben York Jones.

by Gail Sander

Prompted at the request of the Ginsberg family, Directors/Screenwriters Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman worked their magic in the portrayal of the 1950’s portion of life for American poet, Allen Ginsberg.   The plan was to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the creation of the poem, ‘Howl’, a controversial celebration of a variety of the members of the ‘Beat Generation’, along with critiques of how Ginsberg interpreted materialism and conformity as destructive forces in the United States.

Allen Ginsberg spent the first part of his life being afraid of who he really was.  When he was finally able to get past that fear, he produced his best work.  The subsequent legal case for publishing what was being interpreted as obscene, was  brought against his publisher, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, for actually turning the original performance piece of ‘Howl’ into print.  Judge Clayton Horn ruled that the poem was not obscene and set precedence for future publication. 

The film is overwhelming successful with its combined presentation of the black and white filming for the beatnik reading rooms and personal flashbacks, the color filming for the court room trial and the Ginsberg interview and the creative animation used to physically bring Ginsberg’s words of ‘Howl’ to life on the screen.  The artful use of reflection throughout the film brought added significance to many scenes and all who view this will appreciate the wonderful details of clothing, glasses, wallpaper and large bottles of wine from that generation.  The cast members portrayed their characters to perfection.  I definitely enjoyed this film and encourage you to see it and make the call for yourself.

Directors/Screenwriters:  Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman

Cast includes:  James Franco, Mary-Louise Parker, David Strathairn, Jeff Daniels, Bob Balaban, Treat Williams, Jon Hamm and Alessandro Nivola.

go to: www.sundance.org for more information