Sundance Institute Announces Film and Music Lineup for Sundance NEXT FEST, Aug. 12-14
FRIDAY: Lovesong + Shamir
SATURDAY: Morris from America » White Girl » Goat + Sunflower Bean SUNDAY: Downtown & Dirty Shorts » Under the Shadow » The Greasy Strangler + Big Freedia
Flying Lotus aka steve Makes Directorial Debut with World Premiere Short Film, Royal
Sundance NEXT FEST (August 12-14) revealed that NOLA based rapper Big Freedia, known as the “Queen of Bounce,” has been added to the program and will close out the three-day festival celebrating film, music, and the renegade spirit of independent artists at the Theatre at Ace Hotel Downtown LA. Big Freedia’s performance will take place Sunday, August 14, following the presentation of Royal, a short film by Flying Lotus, and the Los Angeles premiere of The Greasy Strangler.
For more information and quotes from Big Freedia, please click here for her Sundance Q&A. Tickets ($15-25) are on sale NOW at sundance.org/next
Sundance NEXT FEST Film & Music Lineup | August 12-14, 2016
| Friday, August 12, 8:00 p.m. |
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Lovesong / U.S.A. (Director: So Yong Kim, Screenwriters: So Yong Kim, Bradley Rust Gray) — Neglected by her husband, Sarah embarks on an impromptu road trip with her young daughter and her best friend, Mindy. Along the way, the dynamic between the two friends intensifies before circumstances force them apart. Years later, Sarah attempts to rebuild their intimate connection in the days before Mindy’s wedding. Cast: Jena Malone, Riley Keough, Brooklyn Decker, Amy Seimetz, Ryan Eggold, Rosanna Arquette. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE |
| Shamir — 20-year-old Shamir’s androgyne croon recalls Nina Simone and moves in and out of soul, r&b, house, disco, rap and pop – in the tradition of Prince, Grace Jones, David Bowie and Madonna. His albums include “Northtown” and “Ratchet,” an ecstatic dance-pop record that sparkles with the grit of a desert geode. | |
| Saturday, August 13, noon | |
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Morris from America / U.S.A., Germany (Director and screenwriter: Chad Hartigan) — Craig Robinson stars as the father of 13-year-old Morris; though they have just relocated to Germany, Morris won’t let anything stop his pursuit of hip-hop stardom and the girl of his dreams in this hilarious and heartwarming coming-of-age comedy. Cast: Markees Christmas, Craig Robinson, Carla Juri, Lina Keller, Jakub Gierszał, Levin Henning. Winner of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic and the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Individual Performance – Craig Robinson at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE
Followed by a talent show featuring participants from Los Angeles youth arts organizations. Hosted by Morris from America star Craig Robinson. |
| Saturday, August 13, 4:00 p.m. | |
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White Girl / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Elizabeth Wood) — Summer, New York City: A college student goes to extremes to get her drug dealer boyfriend out of jail. Cast: Morgan Saylor, Brian ‘Sene’ Marc, Justin Bartha, Chris Noth, India Menuez, Adrian Martinez. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE
Followed by a conversation with director and screenwriter Elizabeth Wood and a special guest. |
| Saturday, August 13, 8:00 p.m. | |
| Goat / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Neel, Screenwriters: David Gordon Green, Andrew Neel, Michael Roberts) — Reeling from a terrifying assault, a 19- year-old boy pledges his brother’s fraternity in an attempt to prove his manhood. What happens there, in the name of “brotherhood,” tests both the boys and their relationship in brutal ways. Cast: Nick Jonas, Ben Schnetzer, Virginia Gardner, Danny Flaherty, Austin Lyon. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE | |
| Sunflower Bean — Sunflower Bean find magic within friction. The New York trio’s full-length debut album, Human Ceremony, emerges at the intersection of dreamy modern psychedelica and urgent, fuzzed-out bliss. That push-and-pull colors the aural tapestry of these three musicians called “NYC’s Coolest Young Band” by Rolling Stone. | |
| Sunday, August 14, noon | |
| Too Legit | Downtown & Dirty Shorts, Hosted by Nick Kroll — A wide-ranging showcase of some of the funniest short films from the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, hosted by one of the funniest guys we know: Nick Kroll. The Festival is widely considered the premier showcase for short films and the launchpad for many now-prominent independent filmmakers. Screening at Sundance NEXT FEST are:
● Affections (Director and screenwriter: Bridey Elliott) ● The Procedure (Director and screenwriter: Calvin Lee Reeder), winner of the Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction ● A Reasonable Request (Director: Andrew Laurich, Screenwriters: Gabriel Miller, Andrew Laurich) ● Thunder Road (Director and screenwriter: Jim Cummings), winner of the Short Film Grand Jury Prize ● Too Legit (Director and screenwriter: Frankie Shaw) |
| Sunday, August 14, 2:00 p.m. | |
| Short Film Master Class — The Short Film Master Class is a half-day event of panel discussions and Q&As with filmmakers and Sundance Institute Short Film Programmers, providing real world advice on the art of making shorts, focusing on narrative storytelling. The event will conclude with a networking reception. Tickets are $75 and include access to Downtown & Dirty Shorts at noon. | |
| Sunday, August 14, 4:00 p.m. | |
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Under the Shadow / United Kingdom, Jordan, Qatar (Director and screenwriter: Babak Anvari) — Tehran, 1988: As the Iran-Iraq War rumbles into its eighth year, a mother and daughter are slowly torn apart by the bombing campaigns on the city coupled with the country’s bloody revolution. As they struggle to stay together amidst these terrors, a mysterious evil stalks through their apartment. Cast: Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi, Ray Haratian, Arash Marandi. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE
Followed by a conversation between director and screenwriter Babak Anvari and a special guest. |
| Sunday, August 14, 8:00 p.m. | |
| Royal (Director: Steven Ellison, a.k.a. Flying Lotus) — Unearthed from Los Angeles’s worst quake nightmare. The story of Royal begins where the curses of human survival have left off. Inside the dark rooms and dim minds of Missy and Kenneth. Some of the strangest secrets find their way out from behind the curtain, revealing wounds that may never heal.
WORLD PREMIERE |
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| The Greasy Strangler / U.S.A. (Director: Jim Hosking, Screenwriters: Jim Hosking, Toby Harvard) — When Big Ronnie and his son Brayden meet lone female tourist Janet on Big Ronnie’s Disco Walking Tour—the best and only disco walking tour in the city—a fight for Janet’s heart erupts between father and son, and the infamous Greasy Strangler is unleashed. Cast: Michael St. Michaels, Sky Elobar, Elizabeth De Razzo, Gil Gex, Jesse Keen, Joe David Walters. LOS ANGELES PREMIERE | |
| Known as the “Queen of Bounce,” Big Freedia is a NOLA based rapper who’s brought the Bounce movement — a vibrant twist on hip-hop — to a worldwide stage with her hit reality show on Fuse TV. Featured earlier this year on Beyoncé’s “Formation” track, Big Freedia’s third full-length studio album is due out this fall. | |
Sundance Institute
Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, Sundance Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, and new media to create and thrive. The Institute’s signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences to artists in igniting new ideas, discovering original voices, and building a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Sundance Institute has supported such projects as Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Sin Nombre, The Invisible War, The Square, Dirty Wars, Spring Awakening, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Fun Home. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles
Ace Hotel Downtown Los Angeles makes its home in the historic United Artists building in Downtown LA. Built in 1927 for the maverick film studio, the ornate, storied and vibrant Theatre and the 14story Spanish Gothic office tower that fronts it have been lovingly retrofitted into a modern hotel enlivening the building’s historical soul with the scrupulous attention to detail that Ace has built its reputation on. It’s the kind of project that we dream about, and we’re honored to stand as a spiritual anchor at the heart of the Broadway Theater District’s vibrant modern renaissance.
