"GIRLS", DISTRIBUTION DEALS, HORROR FLICKS, AND FESTIVAL PICKS...SLAMDANCE IS EVERYWHERE!June 15, 2012 – Slamdance has been the leader in discovering new talent with truly unique voices like Christopher Nolan (Dark Knight Rises) and Lena Dunham (HBO's "Girls") for nearly two decades. We'd like to take a moment to spotlight some summer success stories from Slamdance alums as we encourage the next batch of visionaries to SUBMIT to the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival.
Slamdance Alum, Lena Dunham's "Girls" is a hit!
Congratulations are in order to Slamdance alumnus, Lena Dunham whose short film, DEALING, premiered at the 2008 Festival. The 15-minute short about a 13-year-old art dealer introduced the world Dunham’s comic voice at the 2008 Slamdance Film Festival and paved the way for her first feature, Tiny Furniture, which earned an Independent Spirit Award in 2011 and is now part of the Criterion Collection. Lena returned to Park City in 2012 to preview her ballsy new HBO comedy “Girls” at Sundance. The 25-year-old filmmaker's new series brilliantly sums up the miseries of youth: drugs, diseases, abortions, shitty jobs, and awkward sex.
Bindlestiffs sign distribution and theatrical release deal with Kevin Smith!
BINDLESTIFFS, directed by Andrew Edison, won the Audience Award at the 2012 Slamdance World Premiere. Kevin Smith's Smodcast Pictures is "proud as fuck" to have acquired BINDLESTIFFS as their flagship film for the new distribution company. According to Smith, BINDLESTIFFS is “pushing the envelope in comedy in a way I fundamentally can’t anymore.” The film begins its theatrical tour in select cities this summer. Check out the new BINDLESTIFFS TRAILER presented by Kevin Smith. 'You'll laugh so hard, you'll barf your teeth out!'
Chad Kinkle's Jugface has wrapped production!
Chad Kinkle won the 2011 Slamdance Screenwriting Competition for his screenplay JUGFACE, which tells the story of a teen, pregnant with her brother's child, who tries to escape from a backwoods community when she discovers she must sacrifice herself to a creature in a pit. JUGFACE was picked up by Modernciné and has recently wrapped production. The film is directed by Kinkle and produced by Andrew van den Houten. The cast includes Larry Fessenden (I Sell the Dead) and Sean Young (Bladerunner). According to Kinkle, "Slamdance changed my life. Winning the screenplay award has led to the production of my first feature. It feels great, but it's hard to take in. It's a little overwhelming."
Welcome to Pine Hill continues to earn top awards!
WELCOME TO PINE HILL won the Grand Jury Award at the 2012 Slamdance World Premiere for its poetic and emotionally honest depiction of one man's final journey in life. "Slamdance was the perfect fit for us and our film," says WELCOME TO PINE HILL Producer, Elisabeth Holm. "Intimate, thoughtful, provocative, genuine, community-minded, fiercely independent, and fearlessly passionate, Slamdance is indeed 'by filmmakers, for filmmakers' and exactly what I love about being a part of this world." The film has continued to gain the attention of the film festival circuit receiving Jury awards in Atlanta, Sarasota and most recently, Seattle. Check out this Slamdance TV interview with writer/director Keith Miller in which he discusses his approach to DIY filmmaking.
Upcoming Slamdance Alumni screenings:
IN THEATERS:
–Your Sister's Sister by Lynn Shelton (Alum / WE GO WAY BACK won Grand Jury Award at Slamdance 2006)
@ LA FILM FEST: June 14-24, 2012
–Beasts of the Southern Wild by Benh Zeitlin (Alum / EGG at Slamdance 2005 and THE ORIGINS OF ELECTRICITY at Slamdance 2006). Watch The Origins of Electricity in the Slamdance Showcase!
–Neil Young Journeys by Jonathan Demme (Slamdance 2012)
–Magic Mike by Steven Soderbergh (Alum / AND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE at Slamdance 2010)
–It’s a Disaster by Todd Berger (Alum / SCENESTERS at Slamdance 2010 and HOLIDAY ROAD at Slamdance 2012)
–Gayby by Jonathan Lisecki (Spirit of Slamdance Award 2010)
–Soil by Meejin Hong (Slamdance 2012)
–Thumb Snatchers from the Moon Cocoon by Brad Schaffer (Slamdance 2012)
–Kudzu Vine by Josh Gibson (Slamdance 2012)
–Another Bullet Dodged by Landon Zakheim (Slamdance 2012)
–Laura Keller by Mo Perkins (Alum and Programmer / A QUIET LITTLE MARRIAGE won Grand Jury Award at Slamdance 2009)
–First Birthday by Andrew Ahn (Alum / ANDY at Slamdance 2011)
–Hellion by Kat Candler (Alum / ROBERTA WELLS at Slamdance 2004)
@ OUTFEST: July 12-22, 2012
–Heavy Girls by Axel Ranisch (Spirit of Slamdance Award 2012)
–Solipsist by Andrew Huang (Special Jury Award for Experimental Short at Slamdance 2012)
@ GENE SISKEL FILM CENTER in Chicago: June 22-28, 2012
–Be Good by Todd Looby (Alum / SON OF NONE won a Special Jury Award at Slamdance 2011)
Submissions for the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival are now open. Join the ranks of these notable alums and SUBMIT TO SLAMDANCE!
By Ben Hethcoat
ben@slamdance.com
Congratulations are in order to Slamdance alumnus, Lena Dunham whose short film, DEALING, premiered at the 2008 Festival. The 15-minute short about a 13-year-old art dealer introduced the world Dunham’s comic voice at the 2008 Slamdance Film Festival and paved the way for her first feature, Tiny Furniture, which earned an Independent Spirit Award in 2011 and is now part of the Criterion Collection. Lena returned to Park City in 2012 to preview her ballsy new HBO comedy “Girls” at Sundance. The 25-year-old filmmaker's new series brilliantly sums up the miseries of youth: drugs, diseases, abortions, shitty jobs, and awkward sex.
Bindlestiffs sign distribution and theatrical release deal with Kevin Smith!
BINDLESTIFFS, directed by Andrew Edison, won the Audience Award at the 2012 Slamdance World Premiere. Kevin Smith's Smodcast Pictures is "proud as fuck" to have acquired BINDLESTIFFS as their flagship film for the new distribution company. According to Smith, BINDLESTIFFS is “pushing the envelope in comedy in a way I fundamentally can’t anymore.” The film begins its theatrical tour in select cities this summer. Check out the new BINDLESTIFFS TRAILER presented by Kevin Smith. 'You'll laugh so hard, you'll barf your teeth out!'
Chad Kinkle's Jugface has wrapped production!
Chad Kinkle won the 2011 Slamdance Screenwriting Competition for his screenplay JUGFACE, which tells the story of a teen, pregnant with her brother's child, who tries to escape from a backwoods community when she discovers she must sacrifice herself to a creature in a pit. JUGFACE was picked up by Modernciné and has recently wrapped production. The film is directed by Kinkle and produced by Andrew van den Houten. The cast includes Larry Fessenden (I Sell the Dead) and Sean Young (Bladerunner). According to Kinkle, "Slamdance changed my life. Winning the screenplay award has led to the production of my first feature. It feels great, but it's hard to take in. It's a little overwhelming."
Welcome to Pine Hill continues to earn top awards!
WELCOME TO PINE HILL won the Grand Jury Award at the 2012 Slamdance World Premiere for its poetic and emotionally honest depiction of one man's final journey in life. "Slamdance was the perfect fit for us and our film," says WELCOME TO PINE HILL Producer, Elisabeth Holm. "Intimate, thoughtful, provocative, genuine, community-minded, fiercely independent, and fearlessly passionate, Slamdance is indeed 'by filmmakers, for filmmakers' and exactly what I love about being a part of this world." The film has continued to gain the attention of the film festival circuit receiving Jury awards in Atlanta, Sarasota and most recently, Seattle. Check out this Slamdance TV interview with writer/director Keith Miller in which he discusses his approach to DIY filmmaking.
Upcoming Slamdance Alumni screenings:
IN THEATERS:
–Your Sister's Sister by Lynn Shelton (Alum / WE GO WAY BACK won Grand Jury Award at Slamdance 2006)
@ LA FILM FEST: June 14-24, 2012
–Beasts of the Southern Wild by Benh Zeitlin (Alum / EGG at Slamdance 2005 and THE ORIGINS OF ELECTRICITY at Slamdance 2006). Watch The Origins of Electricity in the Slamdance Showcase!
–Neil Young Journeys by Jonathan Demme (Slamdance 2012)
–Magic Mike by Steven Soderbergh (Alum / AND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE at Slamdance 2010)
–It’s a Disaster by Todd Berger (Alum / SCENESTERS at Slamdance 2010 and HOLIDAY ROAD at Slamdance 2012)
–Gayby by Jonathan Lisecki (Spirit of Slamdance Award 2010)
–Soil by Meejin Hong (Slamdance 2012)
–Thumb Snatchers from the Moon Cocoon by Brad Schaffer (Slamdance 2012)
–Kudzu Vine by Josh Gibson (Slamdance 2012)
–Another Bullet Dodged by Landon Zakheim (Slamdance 2012)
–Laura Keller by Mo Perkins (Alum and Programmer / A QUIET LITTLE MARRIAGE won Grand Jury Award at Slamdance 2009)
–First Birthday by Andrew Ahn (Alum / ANDY at Slamdance 2011)
–Hellion by Kat Candler (Alum / ROBERTA WELLS at Slamdance 2004)
@ OUTFEST: July 12-22, 2012
–Heavy Girls by Axel Ranisch (Spirit of Slamdance Award 2012)
–Solipsist by Andrew Huang (Special Jury Award for Experimental Short at Slamdance 2012)
@ GENE SISKEL FILM CENTER in Chicago: June 22-28, 2012
–Be Good by Todd Looby (Alum / SON OF NONE won a Special Jury Award at Slamdance 2011)
Submissions for the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival are now open. Join the ranks of these notable alums and SUBMIT TO SLAMDANCE!
By Ben Hethcoat
ben@slamdance.com