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Once again, as the new year starts, so do the hopes for several filmmakers and talent who want to have their films picked up for distribution at the upcoming 2020 Sundance Film Festival. The Festival hosts screenings in Park City, Salt Lake City and at Sundance Mountain Resort, from January 23 \u2013 February 2, 2020.<\/p>\n
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In 2019, we saw a great deal of films that came here and got theatrical distribution. Films like Clemency, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, and Luce not only made to theaters but also introduced a number of emerging talent from Jonathan Majors (The Last Black Man in San Francisco), Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Luce), Lauren \u201cLolo\u201d Spencer (Give Me Liberty) and director Chinonye Chukwu (Clemency) to seeing veterans back in leading role status like Alfre Woodward (Clemency), David Oyelowo (Relic) and Lupita Nyong’o (Little Monsters).<\/p>\n
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This is the year where a record amount of films with black talent, directors, producers and actors, are factoring in the dramatic competition. Tessa Thompson, who established herself as a lead actress when did Justin Simien’s Dear White People years ago, is back again starring in Eugene Ashe’s romantic drama Sylvie’s Love opposite\u00a0Nnamdi Asomugha. Black female directors are on the rise and this festival is the starting point for a number of them including Radha Blank,\u00a0Channing Godfrey Peoples and\u00a0Janicza Bravo among the few.<\/p>\n
Also directors Dee Rees (The Last Thing He Wanted), Justin Simien (Bad Hair), Garrett Bradley (Time), and producers Charles D. King (Blast Beat) and Datari Turner (Nine Days) are returning to the festival with new films.<\/p>\n
U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION<\/strong><\/p>\n The Dramatic Competition offers Festival goers a first look at groundbreaking new voices in American independent film. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include The Farewell, Honey Boy, Clemency, Eighth Grade, Sorry to Bother You and The Miseducation of Cameron Post. 47% of the directors in this year\u2019s U.S. Dramatic Competition are women; 52% are people of color; 5% are LGBTQ+.<\/p>\n The 40-Year-Old Version<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Radha Blank, Producers: Lena Waithe, Radha Blank, Inuka Bacote-Capiga, Jennifer Semler, Rishi Rijani) \u2014 A down-on-her-luck New York playwright decides to reinvent herself and salvage her artistic voice the only way she knows how: by becoming a rapper at age 40. Cast: Radha Blank, Peter Kim, Oswin Benjamin, Reed Birney, Imani Lewis, T.J. Atoms. World Premiere<\/p>\n BLAST BEAT<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Director: Esteban Arango, Screenwriters: Erick Castrillon & Esteban Arango, Producers: Charles D. King, Poppy Hanks, Erick Castrillon, Ty Walker) \u2014 After their family emigrates from Colombia during the summer of \u201899, a metalhead science prodigy and his deviant younger brother do their best to adapt to new lives in America. Cast: Moises Arias, Mateo Arias, Daniel Dae Kim, Kali Uchis, Diane Guerrero, Wilmer Valderrama. World Premiere<\/p>\n Charm City Kings<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Director: Angel Manuel Soto, Screenwriters: Sherman Payne, Chris Boyd & Kirk Sullivan, Barry Jenkins, Producers: Caleeb Pinkett, Clarence Hammond, Marc Bienstock) \u2014 Mouse desperately wants to join The Midnight Clique, the infamous Baltimore dirt bike riders who rule the summertime streets. When Midnight\u2019s leader, Blax, takes 14-year-old Mouse under his wing, Mouse soon finds himself torn between the straight-and-narrow and a road filled with fast money and violence. Cast: Jahi Di\u2019Allo Winston, Meek Mill, Will Catlett, Teyonah Parris, Donielle Tremaine Hansley, Kezii Curtis. World Premiere<\/p>\n Farewell Amor<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ekwa Msangi, Producers: Huriyyah Muhammad, Sam Bisbee, Josh Penn) \u2014 Reunited after a 17 year separation, Walter, an Angolan immigrant, is joined in the U.S. by his wife and teenage daughter. Now absolute strangers sharing a one-bedroom apartment, they discover a shared love of dance that may help overcome the emotional distance between them. Cast: Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, Zainab Jah, Jayme Lawson, Joie Lee, Marcus Scribner, Nana Mensah. World Premiere<\/p>\n Miss Juneteenth<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Channing Godfrey Peoples, Producers: Neil Creque Williams, Jeanie Igoe, James M. Johnston, Toby Halbrooks, Theresa Steele, Tim Headington) \u2014 Turquoise, a former beauty queen turned hardworking single mother, prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the \u201cMiss Juneteenth\u201d pageant, hoping to keep her from repeating the same mistakes in life that she did. Cast: Nicole Beharie, Kendrick Sampson, Alexis Chikaeze, Lori Hayes, Marcus Maudlin. World Premiere<\/p>\n Nine Days<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Edson Oda, Producers: Jason Michael Berman, Mette Marie Kongsved, Matthew Lindner, Laura Tunstall, Datari Turner) \u2014 In a house distant from the reality we know, a reclusive man interviews prospective candidates\u2014personifications of human souls\u2014for the privilege that he once had: to be born. Cast: Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, Bill Skarsg\u00e5rd, Tony Hale, David Rysdahl. World Premiere. Dolby Institute Fellowship<\/p>\n Sylvie\u2019s Love<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Eugene Ashe, Producers: Nnamdi Asomugha, Gabrielle Glore, Jonathan Baker, Matthew Thurm) \u2014 Years after their summer romance comes to an end, an aspiring television producer and a talented musician cross paths, only to find their feelings for each other never changed. With their careers taking them in different directions, they must choose what matters most. Cast: Tessa Thompson, Nnamdi Asomugha, Eva Longoria, Aja Naomi King, Wendi Mclendon-Covey, Jemima Kirke. World Premiere<\/p>\n Zola<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Director: Janicza Bravo, Screenwriters: Janicza Bravo, Jeremy O. Harris, Producers: Christine Vachon, David Hinojosa, Vince Jolivette, Elizabeth Haggard, Dave Franco, Gia Walsh) 2015: @zolarmoon tweets \u201cwanna hear a story about why me & this bitch here fell out???????? It’s kind of long but full of suspense.\u201d Two girls bond over their \u201choeism\u201d and become fast friends. What’s supposed to be a trip from Detroit to Florida turns into a weekend from hell. Cast: Taylour Paige, Riley Keough, Nicholas Braun, Colman Domingo. World Premiere<\/p>\n U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION<\/strong><\/p>\n Here are some American documentaries that illuminate the ideas, people and events that shape the present day. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include APOLLO 11, Knock Down The House, One Child Nation, American Factory,Three Identical Strangers and On Her Shoulders. 45% of the directors in this year\u2019s U.S. Documentary Competition are women; 23% are people of color; 23% are LGBTQ+.<\/p>\n Coded Bias<\/b>\u00a0\/ U.S.A., United Kingdom, China (Director, screenwriter and producer: Shalini Kantayya) \u2014 Exploring the fallout of MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini\u2019s startling discovery that facial recognition does not see dark-skinned faces accurately, and her journey to push for the first-ever legislation in the U.S. to govern against bias in the algorithms that impact us all.\u00a0World Premiere<\/span><\/p>\n Crip Camp<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Directors: Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht, Producers: Sara Bolder, Jim LeBrecht, Nicole Newnham) \u2014 Down the road from Woodstock in the early 1970s, a revolution blossomed in a ramshackle summer camp for disabled teenagers, transforming their young lives and igniting a landmark movement. World Premiere. DAY ONE<\/p>\n Time<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Director: Garrett Bradley, Producers: Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn, Garrett Bradley) Fox Rich, indomitable matriarch and modern-day abolitionist, strives to keep her family together while fighting for the release of her incarcerated husband. An intimate, epic, and unconventional love story, filmed over two decades. World Premiere<\/p>\n WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION<\/strong><\/p>\n Films from emerging filmmaking talents around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years includeThe Souvenir, The Guilty, Monos, Yardie, The Nile Hilton Incident and Second Mother.<\/p>\n Cuties<\/strong> \/ France (Director and screenwriter: Ma\u00efmouna Doucour\u00e9, Producer: Zangro) \u2014Eleven-year-old Amy lives with her mom, Mariam, and younger brother, awaiting her father to rejoin the family from Senegal. Amy is fascinated by disobedient neighbor Angelica\u2019s free-spirited dance clique, a group that stands in sharp contrast to stoic Mariam\u2019s deeply held traditional values. Undeterred by the girls\u2019 initial brutal dismissal and eager to escape her family\u2019s simmering dysfunction, Amy, through an ignited awareness of her burgeoning femininity, propels the group to enthusiastically embrace an increasingly sensual dance routine, sparking the girls\u2019 hope to twerk their way to stardom at a local dance contest.. Cast: Fathia Youssouf, M\u00e9dina El Aidi-Azouni, Esther Gohourou, Ilanah Cami-Goursolas, Myriam Hamma, Ma\u00efmouna Gueye. World Premiere. DAY ONE<\/p>\n This Is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection<\/strong> \/ Lesotho, South Africa, Italy (Director and screenwriter: Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, Producers: Cait Pansegrouw, Elias Ribeiro) \u2014 When her village is threatened with forced resettlement due to reservoir construction, an 80-year-old widow finds a new will to live and ignites the spirit of resilience within her community. In the final dramatic moments of her life, Mantoa\u2019s legend is forged and made eternal. Cast: Mary Twala Mhlongo, Jerry Mofokeng Wa Makheta, Makhoala Ndebele, Tseko Monaheng, Siphiwe Nzima. International Premiere<\/p>\n WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION<\/strong><\/p>\n Documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary international filmmakers working today. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Honeyland, Sea of Shadows, Shirkers, This is Home, Last Men in Aleppo and Hooligan Sparrow.<\/p>\n Softie<\/strong> \/ Kenya (Director and screenwriter: Sam Soko, Producers: Toni Kamau, Sam Soko) \u2014 Boniface Mwangi is daring and audacious, and recognized as Kenya’s most provocative photojournalist. But as a father of three young children, these qualities create tremendous turmoil between him and his wife Njeri. When he wants to run for political office, he is forced to choose: country or family? World Premiere<\/p>\n NEXT<\/strong><\/p>\n Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling populate this program. Digital technology paired with unfettered creativity promises that the films in this section will shape a “greater” next wave in American cinema. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include The Infiltrators, Searching, Skate Kitchen, A Ghost Story and Tangerine. NEXT presented by Adobe.<\/p>\n Spree<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Director: Eugene Kotlyarenko, Screenwriters: Gene McHugh, Eugene Kotlyarenko, Producers: Matthew Budman, Sumaiya Kaveh, John Lang, Eugene Kotlyarenko) \u2014 Kurt Kunkle, a rideshare driver thirsty for followers, has figured out a deadly plan to go viral. As his disturbing livestream is absurdly embraced by the social media hellscape, a comedienne emerges as the only hope to stop this rampage. Cast: Joe Keery, Sasheer Zamata, David Arquette, Kyle Mooney, Mischa Barton, Josh Ovalle. World Premiere<\/p>\n Summertime<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Director: Carlos Lopez Estrada, Screenwriters: Dave Harris, 19 Get Lit Poets, Producers: Kimberly Stuckwisch, Jeffrey Soros, Alisa Tager, Simon Horsman, Diane Luby Lane) \u2014 In the heat of the summer, the lives of 25 strangers collide. A love letter to Los Angeles written and performed by a collective of young spoken word poets. Cast: 19 Get Lit Poets. World Premiere. DAY ONE<\/p>\n PREMIERES<\/strong><\/p>\n A showcase of world premieres of some of the most highly anticipated narrative films of the coming year. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include The Report, Late Night, The Big Sick and Call Me By Your Name.<\/p>\n The Glorias<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Director: Julie Taymor, Screenwriters: Julie Taymor, Sarah Ruhl, Producers: Alex Saks, Lynn Hendee) \u2014 An equal rights crusader, journalist and activist: Gloria Steinem embodies these and more. From her role in the revolutionary women’s rights movement to her travels throughout the U.S. and around the world, Steinem has made an everlasting mark on modern history. A nontraditional chronicle of a trailblazing life. Cast: Julianne Moore, Alicia Vikander, Bette Midler, Janelle Monae, Timothy Hutton, Lorraine Toussaint. World Premiere<\/p>\n The Last Thing He Wanted<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Director: Dee Rees, Screenwriters: Marco Vallalobos, Dee Rees, Producers: Cassian Elwes, Dee Rees) \u2014 A veteran D.C. journalist loses the thread of her own narrative when a guilt-propelled errand for her father thrusts her from byline to unwitting subject in the very story she\u2019s trying to break. Adapted from the Joan Didion novel of the same title. Cast: Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck, Willem Dafoe, Rosie Perez. World Premiere<\/p>\n Wendy<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Director: Benh Zeitlin, Screenwriters: Benh Zeitlin, Eliza Zeitlin, Producers: Dan Janvey, Josh Penn, Paul Mezey, Becky Glupczynski) \u2014 Lost on a mysterious island where aging and time have come unglued, Wendy must fight to save her family, her freedom, and the joyous spirit of youth from the deadly peril of growing up. The classic story of Peter Pan is wildly reimagined in this ragtag epic.Cast: Devin France, Yashua Mack, Gage Naquin, Gavin Naquin, Ahmad Cage, Krzysztof Meyn. World Premiere. Dolby Institute Fellowship<\/p>\n DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES<\/strong><\/p>\n Renowned filmmakers and films about far-reaching subjects comprise this section highlighting our ongoing commitment to documentaries. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Ask Dr. Ruth, Won\u2019t You Be My Neighbor?, RBG, An Inconvenient Sequel and The Hunting Ground.<\/p>\n Giving Voice<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Directors: James D. Stern, Fernando Villena, Producers: James D. Stern, Karen Bove, Fernando Villena, Schoen Smith, Craig Piligian) \u2014 Every year, thousands of high schoolers enter the August Wilson monologue competition for a chance to perform on Broadway. This film follows these students, examining how Wilson and his characters speak to a new generation, inspiring them to listen to his words and find their own voice. World Premiere<\/p>\n MIDNIGHT<\/strong><\/p>\n From horror and comedy to works that defy genre classification, these films will keep you wide awake, even at the most arduous hour. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Greener Grass, Hereditary, Assassination Nation, The Little Hoursand The Babadook.<\/p>\n Bad Hair<\/strong> \/ U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Justin Simien, Producers: Julia Lebedev, Angel Lopez, Eddie Vaisman, Justin Simien) \u2014 In this horror satire set in 1989, an ambitious young woman gets a weave in order to succeed in the image-obsessed world of music television. However, her flourishing career may come at a great cost when she realizes that her new hair may have a mind of its own.Cast: Elle Lorraine, Vanessa Williams, Jay Pharoah, Lena Waithe, Blair Underwood, Laverne Cox. World Premiere. DAY ONE<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.blackfilm.com\/read\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Radha-Blank-Lena-Waithe-300x221.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
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