Acclaimed drama and the project of the September 2007 class, Trucker (starring Michelle Monaghan and Nathan Fillion), is now available on iTunes. Cinematical's Erik Davis wrote: "Monaghan finally delivered the sort of performance I've known was trapped somewhere inside her, hidden behind a variety of big, flashy Hollywood films." Download here.
Winter's Bone, the project of the May 2009 6-week class, won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance 2010 film festival. Eric Kohn of indieWIRE, writes that the film is "An elegant, soft spoken noir," and the characters' conflicts of interests "…places the drama in such a meditative world that the antagonism morphs into a tone poem with random inflections of genre conventions." And Justin Chang of Variety writes that Winter's Bone is "…utterly enveloping." The film was directed by Debra Granik, written by Granik and Anne Rosellini (Down to the Bone, Sundance 2004) and edited by TEC instructor Affonso Gonçalves, who was assisted by TEC alums Naomi Goodman and Tory Stewart.
Lance Edmands (TEC Alum '04) and Myna Joseph (TEC Alum '01) are two of the twelve filmmakers chosen every year by the Sundance Institute to attend the "Screenwriters Lab," a five-day screenwriting workshop that takes place at the Sundance Resort in Utah. Edmands was selected for his project entitled Bluebird, and Joseph was chosen for her script, My Favorite Nightmare. The workshop promotes artistic freedom and encourages filmmakers to explore new methods of storytelling. Attendees of this year's "Screenwriters Lab" include filmmakers from China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, in addition to the United States. For more information on the "Screenwriters Lab" please visit their website.
Cold Weather, the project of the July 2009 six-week class, is one of six films that SXSW has announced so far. The narrative is about a former forensic science major and avid reader of detective fiction played by Cris Lankenau (Quiet City), who, after making a mess of his life in Chicago, returns to his hometown of Portland, Oregon. There, he, his sister Gail played by Trieste Kelly (Bored to Death), and new friend Carlos become embroiled in something unexpected.This is the third film director, Aaron Katz, has premiered at SXSW.
Garbage Dreams, the project of the Jan 2008 six week class, was reviewed today in the NY Times. Jeannette Catsoulis writes, "Expertly weaving personal fears, family tensions and political action (the zabbaleen don’t whine; they strive to modernize), Garbage Dreams records the tremblings of a culture at a crossroads." The film is on the short list for an Academy Award and screens at the IFC center starting NYC January 6th. Full review here.
Sundance has announced the festival's closing night film to be Twelve, directed by Joel Schumacher. The films stars Kiefer Sutherland, Chace Crawford, Ellen Barkin and Emma Roberts. Alums Ron Dulin and Kate Abernathy were assistants on the film.
The Missing Person, the project of the November 2007 six-week class, is listed as one the the "Best Films of 2009" by the editors at IFC.com. Of the main character, Alison Wilmore writes, "Rosow is a man out of time, à la Elliott Gould in The Long Goodbye…" The film premiered at Sundance last year and was edited by TEC alum/instructor Mollie Goldstein. See IFC's full list of 2009's best films here.
Alum Jenny Lee is post supervising the narrative Bass Ackwards, which will premiere in the "NEXT" category -- a new section at Sundance 2010 that spotlights innovative, low-budget filmmaking. Alum Naomi Goodman was the assistant editor on happythankyoumoreplease, competing in the narrative category.
Film critic Mark Olsen picks Sorry, Thanks, the project of the January 2008 class, as 2009's "Best First Feature" and ranks it #2 among the year's "Best Undistributed Films" in his Indiewire "Annual Critics Survey." Full list here.
Garbage Dreams, the project of the January 2008 6-week class, will have a one-week run January 6-12, 2010 at the IFC Center in NYC. The documentary was recently shortlisted for an Academy Award and last month screened at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam, the largest doc fest in the world.