Dec 9, 2013
Artist Development
Seven films that have received support from the San Francisco Film Society’s Filmmaker360 program will have their world premieres at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. As the festival made its final round of feature film announcements for its January event, it was revealed that Kat Candler’s Hellion will screen in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, Sara Colangelo’s Little Accidents and Ira Sachs’ Love is Strange will appear in the Premieres category and both Gillian Robespierre’s Obvious Child and Michael Tully’s Ping Pong Summer will be included in the festival’s popular NEXT <=> program. In addition to these narrative projects, two films enrolled in the SFFS Project Development program will have their world premieres in the U.S. Documentary Competition: Marmato, directed by Mark Grieco, and The Overnighters, directed by Bay Area-based filmmaker Jesse Moss. Funded by San Francisco Film Society grants and incubated with the support of various Filmmaker360 programs, these exciting and varied films are poised to make a splash on the country’s biggest stage for independent film.
“It was thrilling to hear that so many of the films that we have championed are going to be introduced to the world at one of most important events for independent cinema in the U.S.,” said Michele Turnure-Salleo, director of Filmmaker360. “We’ve been huge fans of these projects for a long time and we’ve gotten to know each of them very well, so it’s immensely satisfying to see them getting the great start they deserve. It feels like an annual tradition now, traveling to Utah to witness films we’ve helped come to life hit public screens for the first time, and we’ll be there in January, cheering loudest of them all.”
Filmmaker360, the San Francisco Film Society’s filmmaker support program, offers unparalleled assistance and opportunities designed to foster creativity and further the careers of independent filmmakers nationwide and oversees one of the largest film grant programs in the country, which disperses nearly $1 million annually to incubate and support innovative and exceptional films. Other services offered by Filmmaker360 include project development and fiscal sponsorship, FilmHouse residencies offering free office space to filmmakers in any stage of production, Off the Page script workshops, and more. For more information visit sffs.org/filmmaker360.
SAN FRANCISCO FILM SOCIETY-SUPPORTED FILMS AT SUNDANCE 2014
Hellion, directed by Kat Candler, U.S. Dramatic Competition
When his delinquent behavior forces his little brother to be taken away, a motocross-obsessed teenager and his emotionally absent father must take responsibility for their destructive behavior to bring him home.
• Fall 2013 SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grant winner: $70,000 for postproduction (more info)
Little Accidents, directed by Sara Colangelo, Premieres
In a small American coal town, the disappearance of a boy draws a young miner, the lonely wife of a mine executive and a local 14-year-old together in a web of secrets.
• Fall 2013 SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grant winner: $50,000 for postproduction (more info)
Love is Strange, directed by Ira Sachs, Premieres
A multi-generational story of love and marriage, Love is Strange depicts the delicate nature of any two people trying to build a long life together, and the possibility of love to grow deeper, and richer, with time.
• Fall 2013 SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grant winner: $70,000 for postproduction (more info)
Marmato, directed by Mark Grieco, U.S. Documentary Competition
Colombia is the center of a new global gold rush, and Marmato, a historic mining town, is the new frontier. Filmed over the course of nearly six years, Marmatochronicles how townspeople confront a Canadian mining company that wants the $20 billion in gold beneath their homes.
• Currently enrolled in the SFFS Project Development program (more info)
Obvious Child, directed by Gillian Robespierre, NEXT <=>
An honest comedy about what happens when Brooklyn comedian Donna Stern gets dumped, fired, and pregnant, just in time for the worst/best Valentine’s Day of her life.
• Participated in the SFFS “Off the Page” screenwriting workshop in January 2013 (more info)
The Overnighters, directed by Jesse Moss, U.S. Documentary Competition
Desperate, broken men chase their dreams and run from their demons in the North Dakota oil fields. A local Pastor’s decision to help them has extraordinary and unexpected consequences.
• Currently enrolled in the SFFS Project Development program (more info)
Ping Pong Summer, directed by Michael Tully, NEXT <=>
1985. Ocean City, Maryland. Summer vacation. Rap music. Parachute pants. Ping pong. First crushes. Best friends. Mean bullies. Weird mentors. That awkward, momentous time in your life when you’re treated like an alien by everyone around you, even though you know deep down you’re as funky fresh as it gets.
• Fall 2012 SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grant winner: $50,000 for postproduction (more info)
San Francisco Film Society-supported projects in the 2013 Sundance lineup presented earlier this year Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station, which premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition and went on to win both the festival’s Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award in the narrative category; Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson’s American Promise; Zachary Heinzerling’s Cutie and the Boxer; Jacob Kornbluth’s Inequality for All; and Shaul Schwarz’s Narco Cultura.
For additional information visit sffs.org/filmmaker360.