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Exclusive: Participants include Germany’s Sol Bondy, Jennifer Fox [pictured] from the Us, and Canada’s Lauren Grant.

Trans Atlantic Partners (Tap), the intensive training and networking programme for European Canadian and American producers, has announced the 26 participants selected for this year’s programme.

Partners on the initiative, which is now four years old, are the Erich Pommer Institut in Potsdam, Germany (the creator of Tap), Strategic Partners in Halifax, Canada and Ifp in New York. The scheme also includes observer producers from India and Mexico.

Tap is supported by the Media Mundus Programme of the European Union, by Telefilm Canada, and Vff (Verwertungsgesellschaft der Film- und Fernsehproduzenten mbH) Germany.

The three training modules are taking place in Berlin, Halifax and New York City between June and September 2013. The selected producers also participate in the Atlantic Film Festival’s Strategic Partners and the Ifp’s Independent Film Week in New York.

Nadja Radojevic...

The role of Sara in BBC America’s sci-fi drama Orphan Black has been given to Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany.

Sarah, an outsider, orphan and street-wise chameleon who has a murky past and tenuous future after she witnesses a woman’s suicide. After deciding to assume the identity of the dead stranger who looks just like her, Sarah learns that she and the dead woman are clones. As she searches for answers, Sarah discovers that there are more out there.

Additional castings will be announced shortly and filming is set to begin on the 10-episode series in October in Toronto by Temple Street Productions.

“Tatiana possesses all the intensity, charm and range that this complex role requires,” said Perry Simon, General Manager, Channels, BBC Worldwide America. “She has all the makings of a breakout star.”

“We are extremely excited about Orphan Black, and as soon as we saw Tatiana perform,...

Some people may know him as Brandon Walsh, others Richard Fitzpatrick; whatever you call Jason Priestley, you can also add “director” to that title. THR tells us that the former heartthrob is making his feature-length debut in the form of Cas & Dylan, for Montefiore Films.

Tatiana Maslany (The Vow) has already signed to lead the “dark road-trip comedy about a 61-year-old dying man who plans to end his life on his own terms. That quest takes a detour when the man ends up on the lam with an eccentric 22-year-old woman.” There’s no word as to who will be playing Maslany‘s elder counterpart. Jessie Gabe (Being Erica) wrote the script; Mark Montefiore will produce.

This isn’t the first time Priestley has stepped behind the camera, however, as he directed episodes of Call Me Fritz, Haven, Beverly Hills: 90210, and the 1999 documentary about The Barenaked Ladies, Barenaked America. I...

On International Women's Day, the director of the female film-makers' festival, which opens tonight, insists it has balance

Birds Eye View started out as a positive response to the fact that women make up only 7% of film directors (a statistic that remains accurate for Hollywood, and that has fluctuated between 6-15% in the UK over the last few years), and around 10-18% of screenwriters (depending on which year, and which side of the Atlantic). That's 6-18% of the creative vision in the world's most powerful medium. We live in a visual culture, and what we see on screen profoundly affects the way we see ourselves and each other. Film offers us an incredible thing – an immersive trip into someone else's universe, someone else's vision of the world. But if that vision is dominated by men then we are missing out on so much complexity, richness, diversity and creativity.

It staggers...

The nominees for the 31st Annual Genie Awards, Canada’s answer to the Oscars, were unveiled at simultaneous press conferences in Montreal and Toronto yeseterday. After being snubbed by the major Hollywood awards, only receiving 1 nomination and win for Paul Giamatti at the Golden Globes, Barney’s Version has been highly recognized by Canadian audiences. This is no surprise as its source material is a novel from beloved Canadian treasure Mordecai Richler and the film was partially shot in Montreal. Barney’s VersionIncendies leads the pack with 11 nominations including Best Motion Picture and populating most of the acting categories including one for Paul Giamatti for a Performace by an Actor in a Leading Role and Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for Dustin Hoffman. Following closely is the other Canadian darling this year, Incendies , which garnered 10 nominations such as Adapted Screenplay (Denis Villeneuve) and Performance by an Actress...

Richard J. Lewis’ “Barney’s Version,” a festival favorite and big-screen version of the Mordecai Richler, garnered 11 nominations — including Best Motion Picture and Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Paul Giamatti) — to lead the way for the 31st Annual Genie Awards, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

Denis Villeneuve’s “Incendies,” a contender this year for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards, was next with 10 nominations, including Best Motion Picture and Achievement in Direction.

The Genies will be handed out on Thursday, March 10, at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The following is a list of nominees in some of the major categories.

Best Motion Picture

“10 ½”

Pierre Gendron

“Les amours imaginaires” (“Heartbeats”)

Xavier Dolan, Carole Mondello, Daniel Morin

“Barney’s Version”

Robert Lantos

“Incendies”

Luc Déry, Kim McCraw

Splice

Steven Hoban

Achievement in Direction

Podz

“10 ½”

Xavier Dolan

“Les amours imaginaires” (“Heartbeats”)

Denis Villeneuve

“Incendies”

Vincenzo Natali...

Richard J. Lewis’ “Barney’s Version,” a festival favorite and big-screen version of the Mordecai Richler, garnered 11 nominations — including Best Motion Picture and Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Paul Giamatti) — to lead the way for the 31st Annual Genie Awards, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

Denis Villeneuve’s “Incendies,” a contender this year for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards, was next with 10 nominations, including Best Motion Picture and Achievement in Direction.

The Genies will be handed out on Thursday, March 10, at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The following is a list of nominees in some of the major categories.

Best Motion Picture

“10 ½”

Pierre Gendron

“Les amours imaginaires” (“Heartbeats”)

Xavier Dolan, Carole Mondello, Daniel Morin

“Barney’s Version”

Robert Lantos

“Incendies”

Luc Déry, Kim McCraw

Splice

Steven Hoban

Achievement in Direction

Podz

“10 ½”

Xavier Dolan

“Les amours imaginaires” (“Heartbeats”)

Denis Villeneuve

“Incendies”

Vincenzo Natali...

Yesterday, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television (Acct) announced the nominees for the 31rst Genie Awards, Canada's own Oscars.

Best Motion picture:

* 10 1/2

* Les amours imaginaires

* Barney's Version

* Incendies

* Splice

Best Actor in a Leading Role:

* Jay Baruchel in The Trotsky

* Paul Giamatti in Barney's Version

* Robert Naylor in 10 1/2

* Timothy Olyphant in High Life

* François Papineau in Route 132

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

* Martin Dubreuil in 10 1/2

* Dustin Hoffman in Barney's Version

* Alexis Martin in Route 132

* Callum Keith Rennie in Gunless

* Rossif Sutherland in High Life

Best Actress in a Leading Role:

* Lubna Azabal in Incendies

* Tatiana Maslany in Grown Up Movie Star

* Molly Parker in Trigger

* Rosamund Pike in Barney's Version

* Tracy Wright in Trigger

Best Actress In a Supporting Role:

* Sonja Bennett in Cole

* Anne-Élizabeth Bossé in Les amours imaginaires

* Minnie Driver in Barney's Version

* Terra Hazelton in Fubar 2

* Mary Walsh in Crackie

Best Adapted Screenplay:

* Michael Konyves...

Paul Giamatti's new movie "Barney's Version" is leading all nominees for the upcoming Genie Awards in Canada with 11 nods. The film has edged out Canada's Best Foreign Language Oscar hopeful, "Incendies", which has landed 10 nominations. The two movies will compete for the Best Film prize at the independent cinema awards in March, along with "10 1/2", "Les Amours Imaginaires" and "Splice".

Giamatti will compete with Jay Baruchel (The Trotsky), Robert Naylor (10 1/2), Francois Papineau (Route 132) and Timothy Olyphant (High Life) for the Best Actor award, while the Best Actress race will be run by Lubna Azabal (Incendies), Tatiana Maslany (Grown Up Movie Star), Molly Parker (Trigger), Tracey Wright (Trigger) and Rosamund Pike (Barney's Version).

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television will hand out the honors on March 10.

Given the recent furore over certain Sky Sports presenters being a bunch of sexist bastards, it seems a relevant time to celebrate the female contribution to cinema – which is still largely unappreciated with women directors still making up a small percentage of directors and other creatives. But they’re awesome and they’ve now got their own festival to show off their work.

We’ve been sent over the press release and festival line up. The Bird’s Eye View Film Festival takes place in London from March 8th – 17th. The programme includes new films, documentaries, retrospectives and panel discussions.

From the press release:

The hotly anticipated Birds Eye View Film Festival 2011 (Bev) programme has been announced by Rosamund Pike at a private launch event on 25 January. The Festival returns for its seventh annual celebration of women filmmakers from 8-17 March at BFI Southbank, the Ica the Southbank Centre, with...

I don't know what's with Newfoundlanders, but they seem to not only enjoy making coming-of-age stories, but also excel in it. Obviously, Adriana Maggs's Grown Up Movie Star isn't perfect, but it sure has its charms.

Set in Newfoundland, a Canadian province in the Atlantic Ocean, the film is about coming out of the closet as much as it is about the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Ray (Shawn Doyle) is a former NHL player whose career ended after being convicted of drug trafficking. Now, he's back in his childhood town, has no sense of purposes and tries to raise his two daughters - Ruby (Tatiana Maslany) and Rose (Julia Kennedy) - in any possible way. In fact, Shawn's wife (Maggie Meyer) left him in order to make it big in Hollywood.

Ruby, who is the film's heroine, dreams of leaving her small town. At school, she develops a...

One of the coolest film festivals in Australia is Possible Worlds -- Sydney's Canadian Film Festival -- which always manages to attract some interesting and high profile Canadian films for their Australian and, occasionally, world premieres.

This year is no different, and they have just unveiled their full program, which includes Australian premiere of the Julianne Moore/Liam Neeson psychological thriller Chloe, and the world premieres of Brian Trenchard-Smith's sci-fi thriller Arctic Blast and the Margaret Atwood documentary In The Wake of The Flood.

Here's the full press release:

The fantastic program for Possible Worlds, Sydney's Canadian Film Festival has been announced and is showcasing the best new films made in Canada from August 2 to August 8 in a number of Sydney venues including Dendy Opera Quays and Dendy Newtown.

 The dynamic program is filled with a mixture of intelligent and entertaining events including premiere screenings, filmmaker Q&A's, industry talks and parties.

Tatiana Maslany gives what should be a career-defining, star-making performance as a teenage girl on the cusp of sexual maturity. In this bleak Canadian drama, she plays Ruby, who, along with her 11-year-old sister, Rose, is abandoned by their mother when she runs off to L.A. to chase dreams of being a movie star. Left in the hands of their alcoholic, emotionally stunted former hockey player father Ray, Ruby and Rose form a dysfunctional family of sorts. But with self-absorbed, adolescent Ray still figuring out who he is, Ruby finds herself rebelling until she’s spiraling out of control on her way to becoming the town floozy.

While it starts out as a regular enough family drama, “Grown Up Movie Star” quickly becomes much darker, tackling Ruby’s sexual experimentation, homosexuality and pedophilia. The writing, acting and direction are all spot-on, though, so the descent into grimmer, more harrowing...

Opening night for La's Lgbt Film Festival, Outfest is tonight, and to get ready, we've been profiling the four first-time filmmakers the festival is putting the spotlight on for their 4 in Focus program. The past three days, we've profiled the following three filmmakers and films: Adriana Magg's "Grown Up Movie Star" "I wanted to explore oppression, forgiveness, and sexual awakenings in differences ages and states of being. Whether the awakening ...

Opening night for La's Lgbt Film Festival, Outfest is tonight, and to get ready, we've been profiling the four first-time filmmakers the festival is putting the spotlight on for their 4 in Focus program. The past three days, we've profiled the following three filmmakers and films: Adriana Magg's "Grown Up Movie Star" "I wanted to explore oppression, forgiveness, and sexual awakenings in differences ages and states of being. Whether the awakening ...

Coming off special jury awards for acting at this year's Sundance Film Festival and Newfest, Adriana Maggs's first feature "Grown Up Movie Star," arrives at Outfest with surging buzz. Says Outfest, "Teenager Ruby dreams of following her mother to Hollywood where they will be big stars, but she's stuck in a small Canadian town with her annoying little sister, her irresponsible father and his sexually aggressive best friend. As she awakens ...

Coming off special jury awards for acting at this year's Sundance Film Festival and Newfest, Adriana Maggs's first feature "Grown Up Movie Star," arrives at Outfest with surging buzz. Says Outfest, "Teenager Ruby dreams of following her mother to Hollywood where they will be big stars, but she's stuck in a small Canadian town with her annoying little sister, her irresponsible father and his sexually aggressive best friend. As she awakens ...

Despite some laugh-outloud one-liners and sitcom vignettes, Grown Up Movie Star (2009) [official site] is a wholly uneven film whose less-than-credible narrative achieves a measure of traction through some credible performances, most notably Tatiana Maslany (who won a Special Jury prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival). Her characterization of out-of-control teenager Ruby smolders and glints with what Pam Grady has described as a "precocious but extremely naïve" sexuality. But for as much as this film wants to explore the minefield of a young girl's sexual awakening, it ends up being more farce than fact, and more abusive than affectionate. This is certainly not a film to argue a case for gay parenting. Doe-eyed Shawn Doyle, who plays Ruby's dad Ray, negotiates an internalized homophobia through one note--which is first loud, then louder--and though I can appreciate director Adriana Maggs' narrative device of aligning Ruby's sexual awakening alongside her father's, I'm left ambivalent...

Outfest 2010 will kick off with "Howl," Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's portrait of Allen Ginsberg, and close with J.B. Ghuman's high school-set musical "Spork."

Organizers said Wednesday that the 28th edition of the gay and lesbian film festival will screen 147 pics -- 60 features and 87 shorts -- from 23 countries during the July 8-18 event.

"Howl," which stars James Franco, Jon Hamm and David Strathairn, will be presented at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles as part of the opening-night gala. There, actress Jane Lynch will receive this year's Outfest Achievement Award, to be presented by fellow "Glee" cast member Chris Coffer and director Paris Barclay.

Other gala screenings on tap include Cheryl Dunye's hybrid thriller/documentary "The Owls," screening as the U.S. Dramatic Centerpiece, and the feature debut from Outfest Screenwriting Lab fellow Javier Fuentes-Leon, "Undertow" (Contracorriente), the International Dramatic Centerpiece.

The fest will celebrate...

Until women reach a 50-50 parity with men directors, my mission continues to count the women directors in upcoming and recent film festivals (and an occasional informal glance at what’s selling in the markets). Women’s films in Berlin reflect women’s place in the world both in content and in the numbers of women represented as directors, producers, writers, etc. John Cooper of Sundance stresses the increasing and possibly 50-50 parity of women producers, but I am looking at the directors. As March is Women’s History Month (and all the other months are Men’s History Month according to Gloria Steinem’s L.A. Times Article of March 4, 2010) this blog is in honor of all women everywhere.

Congratulations to Kathryn Bigelow for winning the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture. La Times puts into perspective the fact that the Best Director Oscar went to Kathryn Bigelow...

Jennifer Lawrence, actor"Winter's Bone"Jennifer Lawrence had to fight tooth and nail to land the part of Ree Dolly, the iron-willed protagonist of the hardscrabble drama "Winter's Bone." The film—which picked up Sundance's Grand Jury Prize for dramatic feature and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and was acquired for distribution by Roadside Attractions—tracks 17-year-old Ree's search for her drug-dealing father, as well as her struggle to support her poverty-stricken family and still make it through high school.Initially, the filmmakers concluded that Lawrence, 19, was "too pretty" to take on such a dark, stripped-down sort of role. "They said I wasn't right," she recalls. "So to prove to them that that was in fact not true, I chased them all the way to New York. They probably thought I was crazy. I think I was going 50 hours without sleep, so that could've had something to do with me looking the part: 'You look hideous.

Animal Kingdom, The Red Chapel, Restrepo, and Winter's Bone Earn Grand Jury Prizes

Audience Favorites Feature Contracorriente, happythankyoumoreplease, Waiting For Superman, and Wasteland

Park City, Ut-The Jury, Audience, Next, and other special award-winners of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival were announced tonight at the Festival's Awards Ceremony hosted by David Hyde Pierce (star of The Perfect Host which premiered in this year's Park City at Midnight section) in Park City, Utah. Highlights from the Awards Ceremony can be seen on the Festival website, www.sundance.org/festival.

Films receiving Jury Awards were selected from four categories: U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition and World Cinema Documentary Competition. All films in competition were also eligible for Sundance Film Festival Audience Awards as selected by Festival audiences. The U.S. Audience Awards presented by Honda and World Cinema Audience Awards were announced by Louis C.K. Joseph Gordon Levitt...

Debra Granik’s dark thriller Winter’s Bone took home the Grand Jury Prize for dramatic competition and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Based on a novel by Daniel Woodrell, the film is about a young girl searching for her missing, meth-making father in the harsh conditions of the Ozark Mountain. Roadside Attractions acquired the rights and is planning a summer release.

“How I Met Your Mother” star Josh Radnor directorial debut, the indie romantic-comedy HappyThankYouMorePlease, won the Audience Award for dramatic competition. It has not inked a distribution deal, but reportedly has several interested buyers. The ensemble cast includes Radnor, Malin Akerman, Richard Jenkins, and Kate Mara.

In documentaries, Restrepo earned the Grand Jury kudos and Paramount’s Waiting for Superman won the audience award.

The biggest surprise was Mark Ruffalo’s first film, Sympathy for Delicious, grabbing a special jury prize after being generally panned by critics.

Sundance 2010 Winners: Winter’S Bone, Animal Kingdom, Restrepo, The Red Chapel Sundance 2010 special jury prizes went to the following: Sympathy for Delicious, directed by Mark Ruffalo and written by Christopher Thornton, who starred as a recently paralyzed DJ hooked on faith healing (Orlando Bloom plays a rocker in this one); Josh Fox’s documentary GasLand, about the effects of natural gas on air and water; and Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath’s Enemies of the People, a chronicle of Cambodia’s troubled modern history. Additionally, Tatiana Maslany won a special jury prize for breakout performance for her precocious teenager in Adriana Maggs‘ Grown Up Movie Star. The cinematography awards went to Zak Mulligan for Diane Bell’s Obselidia; Kirsten [...]...

"Winter's Bone" was the big winner at the Sundance Film Festival, taking home both the U.S. dramatic jury prize and the Waldo Salt screenwriting award.

The awards were announced in Park City, Utah Saturday (Jan. 30) to close out the festival.

Roadside Attractions recently acquired the North American rights to writer/director Debra Granik's sophomore film "Winter's Bone." The mystery follows teen Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) who is searching for her drug-dealing dad in the Ozarks.

"Restrepo," an examination of the Second Platoon stationed in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan, was awarded the U.S. documentary prize.

In the world category, the dramatic jury prize went to David Michod's coming-of-age film "Animal Kingdom," while the documentary prize went to Mads Brugger's "The Red Chapel."

Additional Sundance Film Festival prizes/awards

Special Jury Prizes:

Dramatic - "Sympathy for Delicious"

Documentary - "Gasland"

World Cinema Dramatic Breakout Performance - Tatiana Maslany,...

The Sundance Film Festival closed with the announcement of its annual awards which included some surprises.

The biggest winner was "Winter's Bone" which took home the Grand Jury Prize (Drama). The story of an Ozark Mountain girl hunting for her missing father also took home the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. Grand Jury Prize (Documentary) went to "Restrepo" which follows a platoon in one of Afghanistan's most strategically crucial valleys.

The World Cinema Jury Prize (Drama) went to David Michôd's Australian crime drama "Animal Kingdom", while the World Cinema Jury Prize (Documentary) went to Danish entry "The Red Chapel" about three quite different people visiting North Korea under the guise of a cultural exchange visit.

Over in the audience-voted categories, Josh Radnor's New York-set comedy "happythankyoumoreplease" and Davis Guggenheim's public education system doco "Waiting for Superman" took home the Audience Awards for dramatic and documentary selections respectively. Javier Fuentes...

Another Sundance Film Festival has come and gone, and tonight, January 30th, 2010, the award winners for this year’s fest were announced. Hosted by David Hyde Pierce, the presenters consisted of this year’s jurors including Morgan Spurlock, Ondi Timoner, Lisa Schwarzbaum, Parker Posey and more.

Here is the list of winners. Embed links take you to Wamg reviews of that film:

Grand Jury Prize: Documentary – Restrepo

Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic – Winter’S Bone

World Cinema Jury Prize: Documentary – The Red Chapel

World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic – Animal Kingdom

Audience Award: Documentary – Waiting For Superman

Audience Award: Dramatic – happythankyoumoreplease

World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary – Wasteland

World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic – Contracorriente (Undertow)

Best of Next – Homewrecker

Directing Award: Documentary – Smach His Camera

Directing Award: Dramatic – 3 Backyards

World Cinema Directing Award: Documentary – Space Tourists

World Cinema Directing Award: Dramatic – Southern District

Documentary Editing Award – Joan Rivers – A Piece Of Work

World...

Sundance has announced the 2010 Award Winning films and Animal Kingdom, The Red Chapel, Restrepo, and Winter’s Bone earned Grand Jury Prizes while Contracorriente, happythankyoumoreplease, Waiting For Superman, and Wasteland won the Audience Awards. Also, Homewrecker won Best of the Next Award.

While I attended the Sundance Film Festival for over a week and saw 20 something films, the only film I managed to catch from the above list was happythankyoumoreplease yesterday afternoon. But after my screening ended, the audience was clapping. Clearly, people really liked the film and since it hasn’t sold yet, winning the audience award should help Josh Radnor’s film land distribution. Also, it’s a really sweet romcom with a good cast. Hit the jump for more on the Awards winners including the complete list:

While winning Grand Jury prizes is great for any film, I’ve always found Audience Award winners to be a...

Sundance put a punctuation mark on this year's festival with their awards announcement -- emcee (and "The Perfect Host" star) David Hyde Pierce rapped the name of nearly every festival film over the Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow." (Hyde Pierce joked, "it was Redford's idea.") Here are the winners:

Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Dramatic Film: Debra Granik's "Winter's Bone" (Roadside Attractions picked up the film and will likely distribute in the summer.)

Special Jury Prize for U.S. Dramatic Film: Mark Ruffalo's "Sympathy for Delicious"

Directing Award, Dramatic Category: Eric Mendelsohn for "3 Backyards"

Directing Award, Documentary Category: Leon Gast for "Smash His Camera"

The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini for "Winter's Bone"

Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary: Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington's "Restrepo"

Special Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary: Josh Fox's natural gas drilling doc...

Debra Granik's "Winter's Bone" was the big winner in Park City Saturday night, as it won both the dramatic competition grand jury prize and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Earlier in the day, the gritty drama secured North American distribution through Roadside Attractions for release later this year.

The film, about an unflinching Ozark Mountain girl trudging through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her missing father, was adapted from the Daniel Woodrell novel by Granik and Anne Rosellini. Granik's previous film, the 2004 Sundance entry "Down to the Bone," won her a dramatic directing award.

The rest of the awards were fairly well spread around at the Saturday night ceremony hosted by David Hyde Pierce, who starred in the Park City at Midnight entry "The Perfect Host" this year.

 

To kick off the evening, Pierce came on stage in knit cap rapping to...

[Our thanks again to Splice director Vincenzo Natali for an inside look at his Sundance experience.  He checks in here with his final word from the festival.]

A few days have passed since the last entry. The feverish pace of the festival is waning. Tired, bloodshot eyes peer out from sallow faces as the full effect of countless screenings and parties extract their toll on the hapless denizens of Park City.

After another 2 Am post-screening Q & A for Splice (my third), I too am feeling the giddy crush of too many waking hours and unhealthy doses of rich food, coffee and alcohol.  I can't discount a day of skiing (my first ever), which mostly entailed body-and -ego-crushing nose-dives into pristine snow.  Age is no longer on my side, and I have to admit that this life-style is not sustainable.  Thankfully, this is the end. Tomorrow, Sundance 2010 will be a pleasant memory, evidenced only by the fading bruises gifted to me by my ski poles.

Splice had a pretty good run here. The reviews have been very positive,...

"Grown Up Movie Star", writer/director Adriana Maggs' Newfoundland-lensed Canadian dramatic feature, turned down by the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, but currently screening @ Sundance, will be released January 29, 2010 through Mongrel Media.

Produced by Maggs, Shawn Doyle, Jill Knox-Gosse and Paul Pope cast includes Shawn Doyle, Tatiana Maslany, Jonny Harris, Andy Jones, Julia Kennedy and Sherry White.

"...Once a town hero, disgraced NHL star 'Ray' (Doyle) returns home to Newfoundland from the Us following a drug conviction, only to have his wife 'Lillian' leave him for another man and aspirations of stardom. With Lillian gone, Ray flails from woman to woman trying to find a replacement for her. At loose ends for lack of guidance,Ray's daughter 'Ruby' (Maslany) is becoming increasingly curious about her own sexuality and, in a desperate plea for attention, puts herself in increasingly risky situations.

"...She begins spending more and more time with Ray's best...

As I said in Toronto and again at the Hof Flm Festival, until there is parity between male and female directors I will continue to look at women directors. I heard the other day that the number of women directors is actually decreasing in the television world.

Here are some quick facts on Sundance this year:

If you include shorts- 51 women directors are represented at Sundance.

In the Premiere section, out of 16 films 7 have women directors.

John Cooper, Director, Sundance Film Festival, brought it to my attention that "Low Budget is dominated by the boys still but that is changing with Lynn Shelton, Katie Aselton etc stepping up. Even there, many have women producers. I have a hunch in the indie creative producer world women dominate. Like I said, that is just a hunch I have never done a study."

Sundance Film Festival is showing approximately 115 features. Of those 25 (20%) are...

With filmmakers from Iraq, Bolivia, India and out of all places, Greenland, it's no wonder that many of the filmmaker names selected in Sundance's 2010 edition World Cinema Dramatic Competition are drawing a blank stare. Among those that we do know we find Taika Waititi returning to the festival (after the little seen charmer Eagle vs. Shark) with a set in the 80's pic called Boy, and David Michod will be coming to the festival as the scribe for Hesher, and as the the writer-director of Animal Kingdom starring Guy Pearce. - With filmmakers from Iraq, Bolivia, India and out of all places, Greenland, it's no wonder that many of the filmmaker names selected in Sundance's 2010 edition World Cinema Dramatic Competition are drawing a blank stare. Among those that we do know we find Taika Waititi returning to the festival (after the little seen charmer Eagle vs. Shark) with a set...

Sundance released their slate for 2010. It includes:43 documentaries on the Middle East12 films about friends who 'discover' something33 movies about people you've never heard about1 comedyHopefully the lineup this year is strong but it doesn't look that way compared to last year. Last year we had Push (Precious), that Lil Wayne documentary that never went anywhere, Mystery Team which might make my top ten, Moon, Mike Tyson documentary, Cold Souls. Just so much last January that was excellent. I hope I don't go out therer and freeze my tail off just to see...I don't know, a documentary about a former Pakistani prime minister or something silly like that.Here's the lineup so far: Premieres To showcase the diversity to contemporary independent cinema, the Sundance Film Festival Premieres section offers the latest work from American and international directors as well as world premieres of highly anticipated films. Presented by Entertainment Weekly.

The Sundance Film Festival, the world's main event for independent cinema, runs Jan. 21-31, 2010 in Park City, Utah.

Sundance is noted for discovering/launching the best indie titles, including the most recent, 2009's "Precious" and "An Education".

The 2010 Festival received 2,080 submissions for narrative features and 1644 docs, totaling 3,724 films viewed by fest programmers for final selections.

Presenting sponsors are Entertainment Weekly, Hp, Honda and Sundance Channel, bolstered by support from the Sundance Institute.

According to Fest founder, actor/director Robert Redford there will not be as much 'glitz $ hoopla' surrounding Sundance as there was in Toronto at Tiff.

"We don't do red carpet and we don't have government officials and executives who demand this sort of thing, so we decided we didn't need that kind of opening night," he said.

The 2010 Sundance Competition Lineup will include:

"Blue Valentine", directed by Derek Cianfrance, "Douchebag", directed by Drake Doremus, "The Dry Land", directed...

I feel a special bond with the Sundance Film Festival. Not because I’ve been there, but because the guy in charge of it this year, John Cooper, shares my name. Because we share this bond, I feel that I’m able to take license in referring to the man as Coop for the rest of this article.

For the annual event held in Park City, Utah from January 21-31, thousands of films are submitted and screened — this year, 3,724 films were viewed by the festival’s ten programmers. I wonder when they slept.

Coop has high hopes for the festival as a whole:

“We may even be going into a golden age for independent films, in that the technology will make it possible for the films to be made and for audiences to see them. The industry is going through a major evolutionary stage right now, there’s no doubt about that,...

Sundance released their slate for 2010. It includes:43 documentaries on the Middle East12 films about friends who 'discover' something33 movies about people you've never heard about1 comedyHopefully the lineup this year is strong but it doesn't look that way compared to last year. Last year we had Push (Precious), that Lil Wayne documentary that never went anywhere, Mystery Team which might make my top ten, Moon, Mike Tyson documentary, Cold Souls. Just so much last January that was excellent. I hope I don't go out therer and freeze my tail off just to see...I don't know, a documentary about a former Pakistani prime minister or something silly like that.Here's the lineup so far: U.S. Documentary Competition This year’s 16 films were selected from 862 submissions. Each film is a world premiere. Bhutto(Directors: Jessica Hernandez and Johnny O'Hara; Screenwriter: Johnny O'Hara)—A riveting journey through the life and work of recently assassinated Benazir Bhutto,...

The Sundance Film Festival has unveiled the lineup of films playing in competition from January 21 through January 31, 2010. The early fest typically debuts some of the best films the year has to offer, like 2009’s Precious, (500) Days of Summer, and Moon.

I’m bummed I won’t be in Park City, Utah next month because the lineup looks great, and these are just the films playing in competition. Here’s a few that stood out to me:

The Allen Ginsberg trial film Howl starring James Franco, a documentary by Alex Gibney (a truly great filmmaker) on Jack Abramoff, Mark Ruffalo’s directorial debut Sympathy for Delicious, a doc about Joan Rivers, the directorial debut of “How I Met Your Mother” star Josh Radnor titled Happythankyoumoreplease (I wrote a glowing script review of it here), Hesher with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman, and Blue Valentine starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams.

I...

Sundance Film Festival 2010 is a little over a month away and that means we can now bring you a list of the competition films that will be playing. Here you go boys and girls… enjoy!

Documentary Competition

“Blue Valentine” – Directed by Derek Cianfrance, written by Cianfrance, Cami Delavigne and Joey Curtis, a portrait of an American marriage that charts the evolution of a relationship over time. With Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Mike Vogel, John Doman. “Douchebag” – Directed by Drake Doremus, written by Lindsay Stidham, Doremus, Jonathan Schwartz and Andrew Dickler, in which a man about to be married takes his younger brother on a wild goose chase to find the latter’s fifth-grade girlfriend. Features Dickler, Ben York Jones, Marguerite Moreau, Nicole Vicius, Amy Ferguson, Wendi McClendon-Covey. “The Dry Land” – Directed and written by Ryan Piers Williams, in which a returning U.S. soldier tries to reconcile his experiences overseas with his life in Texas.

Photo: Sundance Today the Sundance Institute announced the films that will be in competition at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival in both the U.S. and International dramatic and documentary categories. The festival will run from January 21-31 in Park City, Utah. There are a few changes this year as there will be no opening-night picture and the festival will take select festival films to eight cities during as the fest plays out.

Last year notable films such as this year's major Oscar contenders Precious and An Education debuted at Sundance 2009 as did audience and critical favorite (500) Days of Summer.

As for this year's crop I have highlighted a few titles among the list below in red, but I have primarily done so considering the names attached to the pictures not necessarily based on any advanced buzz I've heard around any of the films. Names to look out for include Ryan Gosling,...

The Sundance Film Festival is where some of the great films of the year will get their first viewings, and if you don’t believe me, here’s just some of the great films this year that made their debut at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival: Precious, World’s Greatest Dad, Big Fan, Bronson, Moon and even (500) Days of Summer, which I didn’t care for but made a big splash.

The festival is where buzz starts happening and now Sundance has released the list of which films will be in competition for 2010. Keep in mind that there are plenty of other films which play out of competition and can be just as great. But some of the big names fighting for the crown are the Allen Ginsberg obscenity trial film Howl starring General Hospital’s James Franco, Hesher starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo’s directing debut Sympathy for Delicious,...

And the first announcement is upon us and includes quite a few movies we've already reported on.. What does that include?

The incredible looking Estonian drama The Temptation of St. Tony for which we got the exclusive trailer on a while ago. It's by Veiko Õunpuu who did the incredible Sügisball and I'm greatly looking forward to seeing this.

From Spencer Susser, the director of the incredible zombie short I love Sarah Jane comes Hesher, his first feature which stars Jgl!

David Michôd's Australian thriller Animal Kingdom which stars Guy Pearce.

From Taiki Waititi, director of Eagle vs Shark comes Boy which we previously reported on, but then it was known as The Volcano.

Full list after the break!

U.S. Documentary Competition

This year’s 16 films were selected from 862 submissions. Each film is a world premiere.

Bhutto (Directors: Jessica Hernandez and Johnny O'Hara; Screenwriter: Johnny O'Hara)—A riveting...