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Everyone tells filmmakers to write what they know, so Nina Conti wrote a movie about a woman who can’t stop pretending to be a monkey.

If you know much about ventriloquism, Conti’s name should be instantly familiar to you. The actress and comedian, a fixture in the worlds of live theatre and comedy for the past quarter century, is best known for her signature Monkey puppet, whose sweet and unexpressive face masks an unfiltered, cynical personality. She’s performed with Monkey in a variety of stage shows, and incorporated it into a performance in frequent collaborator Christopher Guest’s 2006 film “For Your Consideration.”

Now, she’s adding a new job to her monkey-centric resume: filmmaker. Conti directs and stars in the new film “Sunlight,” which she co-wrote with comedian Shenoah Allen, who stars alongside her. The film follows a suicidal man who befriends a woman who refuses to...

We've likely all had very strange reactions to a great trauma in our lives, be it the death of a loved one, the loss of a treasured lover, intimate abuse. Or at least we might have thought about doing something crazy, or even becoming someone else. Letting someone else, some latent personality traits take over to do those strange things that you don't feel capable of. That's what happens with one understandable traumatized, and in plain speak, (understandably) messed up person, and she takes someone along for this crazy ride, in Sunlight. Directed by Nina Conti, British actress and comedian most well-known for her appearance in For Your Consideration, and co-written by and co-starring Conti and Shenoah Allen, it's a road trip with some distinct...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

"We're going to leave our old lives behind, tear up the road ahead, and cause a travesty!"...

Nina Conti (Family Tree) isn’t monkeying around in Collider’s exclusive trailer debut for the comedy creative’s film, Sunlight. While audiences have known her and seen her perform on stage and in front of the camera as an actress, comedian, and ventriloquist, her latest project gives her another hat to wear — that of a filmmaker. The title, which is presented by the legendary Christopher Guest, not only marks Conti’s feature-length directorial debut but also blends her famed ventriloquist act with a screenplay co-penned alongside her co-star and frequent collaborator, Shenoah Allen (Breaking Bad). The first look at the trailer reveals one woman’s attempt to leave her toxic relationship behind and move towards new opportunities. She’ll just get there in her own way — which means staying hidden underneath a giant monkey suit.

At the top of the teaser, we meet Roy (Allen), a man down on...

The feature directorial debut of actress and comedian Nina Conti, “Sunlight,” reimagines Monkey, one of the characters she performs in her ventriloquist act, as the human-sized alter ego of a woman on the run from a toxic relationship. In addition to wearing multiple hats behind the scenes of the film, Conti wears two costumes, playing both the woman and the monkey.

“The monkey is much easier,” she tells Variety.

Principal photography took place in Albuquerque, N.M., just a few dozen miles from the Santa Fe International Film Festival, where the film screened on Oct. 19 with Conti and executive producer Christopher Guest in attendance. Speaking in the El Dorado Hotel lobby right after the screening, she exuded a joyful relief that “Sunlight” was well-received by festival attendees; the film’s completion and current festival run marks the payoff to a journey that began more than 20 years ago when she first...

We’re introduced to Roy at his lowest point, alone in a motel room with nothing left to live for. But fate has other plans when a surprise visitor bursts through the door – or should I say, bursts through wearing a full-body monkey costume. Under the flashy fur lies Jane, a woman fleeing her past who saves Roy from ending his life. With her bold personality and wild ideas, Monkey whisks our depressed protagonist away on an outrageous road trip that will challenge everything he thought he knew.

Played by comedian Nina Conti in her directorial debut, Monkey is as freewheeling and fiery as the simian persona Conti has brought to stages worldwide. Joining her is Shenoah Allen as the straight-laced Roy, thrown for a loop by this bizarre stranger with grand schemes of starting a business.

As their van barrels across the deserts of New Mexico, banter and hijinks...

Comedian and ventriloquist Nina Conti makes her directorial debut with Sunlight, it will premiere in Edinburgh in August.

Nina Conti comes from a showbiz family, her father being noted actor Tom Conti. Nina trained with theatre director Ken Campbell, which is explored in the documentary Her Master’s Voice. Conti is best known for her ventriloquism, performing with a variety of characters, the best known of which is the sardonic Monkey.

Conti has now made her feature directorial debut with Sunlight.

The plot “follows two people on the edge of life who find purpose and romance through an unlikely connection, escaping the darkness in search of some sunlight. Disappearing into a monkey costume and creating a new persona, Jane strives to break free from a toxic relationship when she encounters a suicidal radio show host, Roy, who presents a path to freedom. After hitting the open road in Roy’s Airstream,...

The UK industry gathered at the Cannes UK pavilion yesterday (May 16) to celebrate the work of the eight projects taking part in this year’s Cannes Great 8 showcase.

Christopher Andrews’ Bring Them Down starring Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott, Sean Dunn’s The Fall Of Sir Douglas Weatherford and Marianne Elliott’s The Salt Path were among the eight titles taking part, with filmmakers taking to the stage to discuss their projects.

Scroll down to see the full line-up

The only documentary in this year’s line-up is Witches, from Elizabeth Sankey, in which the filmmaker explores the unexpected connections...

The BFI is once again heading to the Cannes Market with its so-called Great 8 — a selection of projects from first and second-time filmmakers that it will present to international buyers.

Now in its seventh year, the 2024 Great 8 showcase is funded and produced by the BFI and the British Council, with support from the Great Britain & Northern Ireland campaign, BBC Film, and Film4. The list includes Portuguese filmmaker Laura Carreira’s feature On Falling, produced by Jack Thomas-o’Brien for Sixteen Films. The full list of titles are:

Brides – director Nadia Fall, writer Suhayla El-Bushra Bring Them Down – director/writer Christopher Andrews The Fall Of Sir Douglas Weatherford – director/writer Sean Dunn On Falling – director/writer Laura Carreira The Salt Path – director Marianne Elliott, writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz Sunlight – director Nina Conti, writers Shenoah Allen, Nina Conti Surviving Earth – director/writer ​​Thea Gajić Witches – director/writer Elizabeth Sankey

With 2022 and 2023 editions taking place online,...

Christopher Andrews’ Bring Them Down starring Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott, Sean Dunn’s The Fall Of Sir Douglas Weatherford and Marianne Elliott’s The Salt Path, featuring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, are among the eight films taking part in the Great 8 showcase, which presents new UK feature films from first-and second-time UK filmmakers to international distributors and festival programmers.

Now in its seventh year, the 2024 Great 8 showcase is funded and produced by the BFI and the British Council, with support from the Great Britain & Northern Ireland campaign, BBC Film and Film4.

In preparation for Cannes, unseen footage from...

Exclusive: British comedian and writer Nina Conti has wrapped production on Sunlight, a comedy road movie set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that marks her debut as a feature director. Check out the first-look image above.

Conti directs from a screenplay by Shenoah Allen. Conti and Allen both star in the pic, with Christopher Guest serving as an Executive Producer. Metro International is handling international sales and plans to launch the pic on the festival circuit in early 2024.

Billed as a “hilariously dark and unconventional love story,” the pic follows two people on the edge of life who find purpose and romance through an unlikely connection, escaping the darkness in search of some sunlight.

Full synopsis reads: Disappearing into a monkey costume and creating a new persona, Jane strives to break free from a toxic relationship when she encounters a suicidal radio show host, Roy, who presents a path to freedom.

Some goofy banter and catchy folk ditties are the best thing about this hammy, predictable British comedy

This only fitfully amusing but affable British comedy features Mark Chavez and Shenoah Allen as two American brothers, both struggling actors, who inherit a sprawling country estate from their grandfather (voiced by Geoffrey Palmer, who narrates from beyond the grave). However, their plans to sell up and settle their debts hit a snag when they find a comely housekeeper (the eminently likable Emily Bevan) and her aged grandmother (Sara Kestelman, giving it full-on Little Edie realness with a turban and disdainful side glances) squatting in the property. Writer-director James Kibbey and the cast occasionally lob in a bit of well-timed goofy banter but the plotting is too predictable and the performances too hammy and broad, especially the gurning, grating Allen. Jaunty, silly folk ditties brighten up the soundtrack, especially a last daft tune...

These are The Pajama Men. They are Shenoah Allen on the left and Mark Chavez on the right. They are a comedy duo from New Mexico, and after a successful stint at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe a few years back, they became really popular in the UK and Australia. Chances are, you’ve never heard of them. Well, Prepare To Change Everything You Ever Knew About Not Knowing Them. Mark says, “We’re a little weird on paper. We’re hard to describe and not in a crazy way like a different color you’ve never imagined is hard to describe.” So let’s look at a clip. I like this clip because I love impressions of bats. Basically, their act consists of them weaving together a ton of hilarious characters whilst wearing Pj’s. They started wearing pajamas because they do so many different characters that they didn’t have time to change outfits,...

Sundance has announced the short films that will be playing at this year’s Festival. Some of the notable filmmakers include James Franco, Spike Jonze, Rory Kennedy, Patrik Eklund and Paper Heart director Nicholas Jasenovec.

Also, as Sundance points out in the press reelease:

The Sundance Film Festival’s shorts program has long been established as a discovery for directors, including: Wes Anderson, Todd Haynes, Paul Thomas Anderson, David O Russell, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Tamara Jenkins, Ted Demme, Tim Blake Nelson, Alexander Payne, Paul Dinello, Martin McDonagh, and Jason Reitman.

Since there are so many short films playing at the Festival, hit the jump for the full press release, which lists the categories, the films, and the synopses.

2010 Sundance Film Festival Announces Short Film Program

70 Short Films Chosen from a Record 6,092 Submissions

Program of Four Short Films by Spike Jonze, Rory Kennedy, Patrik Eklund; and François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy,...

First the features, which were unveiled last week; and now the shorts.

I haven’t looked through the list yet, but I will eventually. Feel free to flag any for me if you’re aware.

For now, here’s the full press release I received:

2010 Sundance Film Festival Announces Short Film Program

from Sundance Film Festival | Press Releases

Park City, Ut- Sundance Institute announced today the program of short films selected to screen at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. This year the Festival’s Short Film Program comprises 70 short films from U.S. and international filmmakers selected from 6,092 submissions up 8% over 2009. The 2010 Sundance Film Festival runs January 21-31 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. The complete list of films is available at www.sundance.org/festival.

As previously announced, the Festival will break tradition by foregoing the conventions of one opening night film and instead focus on...