Film Feature: Preview of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival

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Results

‘Results’

Sundance Synopsis: Two mismatched personal trainers’ lives are upended by the actions of a new, wealthy client.

Director: Andrew Bujalski
Cast: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Kevin Corrigan, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Michael Hall, Brooklyn Decker

If you’re looking for the last movie you’d expect Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, or Brooklyn Decker to star in, you can find director Andew Bujalski’s previous movie “Computer Chess” on Netflix. That mega dry anti-romp observed the different relationships between tech aficionados and the computers that they’ve engineered to be chess warriors. For his follow-up, Bujalski seems to be going full-Swanberg, by scooping a list of grade-A talents, and making them play indie ball with material that probably couldn’t be mainstream if it tried. I’m always interested to see how and why low-key directors make the big leap with star power (aside from appeal), and this could be another intriguing case study.

Seoul Searching

‘Seoul Searching’

Sundance Synopsis: “Seoul Searching” is a comedy set in the ‘80s about a group of foreign-born Korean teenagers who meet at a Seoul summer camp to learn what it means to be Korean. The three boys, from the U.S., Mexico, and Germany, then meet three girls who rock their world.

I put this one in my personal program simply for the director, Benson Lee. You may not know the name off the top of your head, but you might have seen or heard of the dance movies he made - “Planet B-Boy,” and that documentary’s feature adaptation, “Battle of the Year.” I didn’t love “Battle of the Year” but I am curious about anyone who makes a flashy narrative out of their doc. That’s enough to make me curious about what they’ll do when working on their own devices, nonetheless with a period coming-of-age film.

Tig

‘Tig’

Sundance Synopsis: This documentary explores comedian Tig Notaro’s extraordinary journey as her life unfolds in grand and unexpected ways, all while she is battle a life-threatening illness and falling in love.

Directors: Kristina Goolsby, Ashley York
Documentary

I don’t follow Tig Notaro’s comedy too closely, but her importance in the comedian scene isn’t lost on me at all. While behind-the-curtain entertainer docs can definitely be hit-and-miss, my interest in better appreciating Notaro is a vivid factor.

Welcome to Leith

‘Welcome to Leith’

Sundance Synopsis: A white supremacist attempts to take over a small town in North Dakota.

Directors: Michael Beach Nichols, Christopher K. Walker
Documentary

Sometimes a thoroughly bananas, strictly one-sentence summary says it all.

What Happened, Miss Simone?

‘What Happened, Miss Simone?’

Sundance Synopsis: Classically trained pianist, dive-bar chanteuse, Black Power icon, and legendary recording artist Nina Simone lived a life of brutal honesty, musical genius, and tortured melancholy. This astonishing epic interweaves never-before-heard recordings and rare footage, creating an unforgettable portrait of one of our least understood, and most beloved artists.

Director: Liz Garbus
Documentary

Like “The Bronze,” this documentary has the coveted intrigue of an Opening Night designation; it very well could be the first film I see at Sundance. Maybe there’s something in this documentary that those who program are especially excited to share with the world — the Sundance powers that be wouldn’t start us on a flat note, would they?