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It seems like there will be no shortage of Los Angeles-set features about musicians trying to follow their dreams this fall. Before La La Land arrives in December, we have Dreamland, another independent drama that seems a touch less romantic. Directed by Robert Schwartzman, it follows Johnny Simmons as a down-and-out pianist trying to make it work in the City of Angels.

Ahead of a release next week, the first trailer has now arrived for the film that premiered earlier this year at Tribeca. We’ve been impressed by Simmons in Scott Pilgrim, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, 21 Jump Street, and even Whiplash (the short), so hopefully a leading role suits him well here. Check out the trailer and soundtrack preview below for the film also starring Amy Landecker, Jason Schwartzman, Frankie Shaw, Noël Wells, Beverly D’Angelo, and Talia Shire.

Los Angeles musician Monty Fagan is going through a rough patch.

Updated with details and quotes: The Sundance Film Festival awards ceremony tonight in Park City saw a dramatic dual decision and strong political voices to put a cap on a hot-deals festival. Like last year, when Whiplash took both the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award on its way to an Best Picture Oscar nomination, the much-sought Me And Earl And The Dying Girl took both this year.

“I want to dedicate this to all the young filmmakers in my hometown of Laredo, Texas,” said director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon onstage. Fox Searchlight and Indian Paintbrush teamed to land the pic earlier this week after frenzied bidding, with a 2015 release planned. The Jesse Andrews script follows Greg, who is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But...

CAA is “Sleeping With Other People,” UTA is taking “The D Train,” Alicia Van Couvering is “Digging for Fire” and WME will award “The Bronze”...

Buyers will be out in full force this week in Park City but with so many options to choose from, it helps to have a cheat sheet to prioritize the must-see acquisition titles at Sundance. After talking to buyers and sellers alike, here are the 10 most promising titles with the loudest buzz heading into this year’s festival.

The Bronze (WME)

What’s the Deal?: The highlight of Sundance’s opening night lineup is this raunchy comedy from director Bryan Buckley featuring co-writer Melissa Rauch in what could prove to be a star-making performance. The “Big Bang Theory” actress plays a washed-up Olympic gymnast whose local celebrity is threatened by the arrival of a promising young gymnast seeking a mentor. Sundance describes the foul-mouthed protagonist as “a lovably loathsome character who makes Tonya Harding look like Grace Kelly,” so perhaps this will be the next “Bad Words?”

First Screening: Thursday, Jan. 22, 9:30 p.m. – Eccles

Digging for Fire (Alicia Van Couvering)

What’s the Deal?: Jake Johnson and Rosemarie DeWitt play East L.A. parents on the verge of a nervous breakdown as they juggle marital and parenting duties. Things get weird when she enjoys a night on the town with her girls and he takes the opportunity to invite his buddies over for smoking, drinking and carousing. Joe Swanberg’s latest may be his most commercial film yet, and it certainly features his most high-profile cast. Between Anna Kendrick, Orlando Bloom, Brie Larson, Sam Rockwell, Chris Messina, Jenny Slate, Melanie Lynskey, Timothy Simons, Ron Livington, comedian Mike Birbiglia and veterans Sam Elliott and Judith Light, there’s someone for everyone.

First Screening: Monday, Jan. 26, 9:45 p.m. – Eccles...

John Nein was not always a Senior Programmer at the Sundance Film Festival — it’s only been eight years. When he began at Sundance in 2002 he was always watching movies of course. More than that, like John Cooper said, he just didn’t shut up when he was in the room; he was opinionated and spoke his opinions. He also always liked international cinema as he was born in Ireland and grew up in The Netherlands, Belgium and London where his father worked for international companies. When he was 12 he came to the U.S.

The programmers at Sundance do not have a strict formal assignment of areas they program; they see all the films of all the sections, but like his father, international was always of great interest. The same is true for myself, although out of the 118 feature films selected out of 4,105 feature length submissions, many of the U.S. films look great to me as well. For instance, I am so happy that Matt Sobel’s “ Take Me To The River ” which won the prize at Us in Progress this past November in Wroclaw, Poland at The American Film Festival is in the Next section.

John: This year on Day One, January 22, 2015, the Festival will feature one of each type of film shown at the Festival: one shorts program, a U.S. documentary, a U.S. dramatic, an international documentary and an international dramatic which will be the first ever Lithuanian film in Competition, a lesbian love story that is stylish and smartly directed by Alanté Kavaïté with two fantastic actors, Julija Steponaitytė and Aistė Diržiūtė. Actually " The Summer of Sangaile” is a coproduction of Lithuania, France, and Holland . I think Alanté lives in France.

There ares 29 countries represented and 45 first-time filmmakers.

Sydney: I know the Chileans love Sundance. Last year Alejandro Fernández Almendras said in our interview about “To Kill a Man” that Sundance is very important for Chile. I am also a longtime fan of Sebastian Silva since “The Maid”. Two years ago he had two films, “Crystal Fairy” and “Magic, Magic” in Sundance, so why is this Chilean film not in World Competition but in Next?

John: I’m glad Alejandro said that. Yes we like Chile too. They make many good films. But “Nasty Baby” by Sebastian Silva is a U.S. film, about people living in Brooklyn.

He lives in U.S. and has spent a lot of time here. He knows Brooklyn and yet his curiosity and his view of it is that of an outsider. He knows these people because he watches and listens so well. “

Sydney: “Bridesmaids” star and co-writer Kristen Wiig stars. A short promo of “Nasty Baby” was shown to buyers while it was in post-production in Cannes and Toronto. The Chilean production company of Juan de Dios Larrain and Pablo Larrain, Fabula, produced “No” as well as Sebastian’s later films. Papi Boye and Violaine Pichon’s production and international sales agent Versatile out of France along with the film’s international sales agent Funny Balloons — also based in France – helped finance this U.S. Production.

John: World Cinema is now 10 years old. Overall, the Competition sections have evolved over the years. We have a sense of emerging directors here. We have come of age.

All our films are of emerging filmmakers. Either first time directors or highly anticipated second or third features. Of all the festivals worldwide, Sundance has the strongest program of emerging talent. Watch these filmmakers over the next years. Like “Homesick” by Anna Sewitsky. Her previous film “Happy, Happy” showed at Sundance in 2011 and took the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema. “Happy, Happy” also became the Norwegian Official entry for the Academy Awards® .

Sydney: TrustNordisk sold “Happy, Happy” to more than 50 countries, so they must be poised to sell this one as well.

John: But not all the second and third films are from filmmakers whose first films were at Sundance, although Canada’s “ Chorus” director Francois Delisle showed “The Meteor” at Sundance two years ago.

And “Glassland”, was a very anticipated second film. The first film by director and screenwriter, Gerard Barrett, "Pilgrim Hill” won the Galway Film Festival and was very sought after and was signed with a U.S. agent then. “Sangaile" is also a second feature.

Look at the international films in the Premieres section and you will see some international filmmakers there, like “ Brooklyn” which is an immigrant story directed by John Crowley and written by Nick Hornby whose film “Wild” is now playing .

Sydney: I see from IMDbPro that Hanway has already sold Middle Eastern rights to Front Row Entertainment who must have pre-bought “Brooklyn” in Cannes or Toronto.

John: Of the 12 films in World Cinema the less expected films come from Turkey, “Ivy” by the talented director Tolga Karacelik. This is his second film. His first was “Toll Booth” which Global Initiative distributed in the U.S. The Dp on this was Nuri Bilge Ceylan (“Winter’s Sleep”)’s Dp on “Winter’s Sleep”, Gökhan Tiryaki. It is about guys stuck on a freighter whose company goes bankrupt. Power dynamics play out.

Sydney: Have there been Oscar nominated films in Sundance (Aside from “Whiplash” and “Boyhood”)?

John: Yes, “Man on Wire” was not last year but it was foreign. “Ida” was in Spotlight last year and maybe Sundance increased its visibility. Three others were in Sundance last year:

“To Kill a Man” is Chile’s submission, “Difret” which won the Audience Award is Ethiopia’s submission this year and “Liar’s Dice” from India was in World Competition last year. It is a very artful film. We knew it would do well with the critics, but it did extremely well with the audience too. A couple of films in Spotlight will probably be nominated next year. Watch for them.

Sydney : We haven’t even discussed the World documentaries.

John : Are there any that stand out for you?

Sydney: Yes, “Chuck Norris vs. Communism”, from U.K., Romania and Germany. Chuck Norris?

John: How interesting it is that something like Chuck Norris means something very different to others. It is a sign of cultural differences between us. Chuck Norris shows how independent films built a community of counter culture against an authoritarian government.

Sydney: I also notice that there are six docs from the U.K. Out of 12 films.

John: Yes we noticed and discussed that. U.K. really supports documentary filmmaking. Great work is coming out of the U.K. And many of the films are about different countries, so it doesn’t fit so simply into a U.K. pigeon hole.

Sydney : Yes I see “Chuck Norris” is about Romania, “Dreamcatcher” is about teenage prostitution, “How to Change the World” is about Greenpeace, “Listen to Me Marlon” is about a famous U.S. actor, “The Russian Woodpecker” is about a Ukrainian survivor of Chernobyl.

Thank you John for your insights. I think we have a lot to look at here. Thank you for taking this time to talk with me. See you at Sundance!

For a full list thus far of Sundance films, see below.

U.S. Dramatic Competition

Advantageous / U.S.A. (Director: Jennifer Phang, Screenwriters: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang) — In a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter, Jules, do all they can to hold on to their joy, despite the instability surfacing in their world. Cast: Jacqueline Kim, James Urbaniak, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong, Jennifer Ehle, Samantha Kim.

The Bronze / U.S.A. (Director: Bryan Buckley, Screenwriters: Melissa Rauch, Winston Rauch) — In 2004, Hope Ann Greggory became an American hero after winning the bronze medal for the women's gymnastics team. Today, she's still living in her small hometown, washed-up and embittered. Stuck in the past, Hope must reassess her life when a promising young gymnast threatens her local celebrity status.Cast: Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Stan, Haley Lu Richardson, Cecily Strong. Day One Film

The D Train / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Jarrad Paul, Andrew Mogel) — With his 20th reunion looming, Dan can’t shake his high school insecurities. In a misguided mission to prove he's changed, Dan rekindles a friendship with the popular guy from his class and is left scrambling to protect more than just his reputation when a wild night takes an unexpected turn. Cast: Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor, Mike White, Kyle Bornheimer.

The Diary of a Teenage Girl / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Marielle Heller) — Minnie Goetze is a 15-year-old aspiring comic-book artist, coming of age in the haze of the 1970s in San Francisco. Insatiably curious about the world around her, Minnie is a pretty typical teenage girl. Oh, except that she's sleeping with her mother's boyfriend. Cast: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni, Kristen Wiig.

Dope / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Rick Famuyiwa) — Malcolm is carefully surviving life in a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles while juggling college applications, academic interviews, and the Sat. A chance invitation to an underground party leads him into an adventure that could allow him to go from being a geek, to being dope, to ultimately being himself. Cast: Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Blake Anderson, Zoë Kravitz, A$AP Rocky.

I Smile Back / U.S.A. (Director: Adam Salky, Screenwriters: Amy Koppelman, Paige Dylan) — All is not right in suburbia. Laney Brooks, a wife and mother on the edge, has stopped taking her meds, substituting recreational drugs and the wrong men. With the destruction of her family looming, Laney makes a last, desperate attempt at redemption. Cast: Sarah Silverman, Josh Charles, Thomas Sadoski, Mia Barron, Terry Kinney, Chris Sarandon.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl / U.S.A. (Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Screenwriter: Jesse Andrews) — Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia. Cast: Thomas Mann, Rj Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, Molly Shannon.

The Overnight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Patrick Brice) — Alex, Emily, and their son, Rj, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family "playdate" becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on. Cast: Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling, Jason Schwartzman, Judith Godrèche.

People, Places, Things / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: James C. Strouse) — Will Henry is a newly single graphic novelist balancing being a parent to his young twin daughters and teaching a classroom full of college students, all the while trying to navigate the rich complexities of new love and letting go of the woman who left him. Cast: Jemaine Clement, Regina Hall, Stephanie Allynne, Jessica Williams, Gia Gadsby, Aundrea Gadsby.

Results / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski) — Two mismatched personal trainers' lives are upended by the actions of a new, wealthy client. Cast: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Kevin Corrigan, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Michael Hall, Brooklyn Decker.

Songs My Brothers Taught Me / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Chloé Zhao) — This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home. Cast: John Reddy, Jashaun St. John, Irene Bedard, Taysha Fuller, Travis Lone Hill, Eléonore Hendricks.

The Stanford Prison Experiment / U.S.A. (Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Screenwriter: Tim Talbott) — This film is based on the actual events that took place in 1971 when Stanford professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo created what became one of the most shocking and famous social experiments of all time. Cast: Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Michael Angarano, Tye Sheridan, Johnny Simmons, Olivia Thirlby.

Stockholm, Pennsylvania / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Nikole Beckwith) — A young woman is returned home to her biological parents after living with her abductor for 17 years. Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cynthia Nixon, Jason Isaacs, David Warshofsky.

Unexpected / U.S.A. (Director: Kris Swanberg, Screenwriters: Kris Swanberg, Megan Mercier) — When Samantha Abbott begins her final semester teaching science at a Chicago high school, she faces some unexpected news: she's pregnant. Soon after, Samantha learns that one of her favorite students, Jasmine, has landed in a similar situation. Unexpected follows the two women as they embark on an unlikely friendship. Cast: Cobie Smulders, Anders Holm, Gail Bean, Elizabeth McGovern.

The Witch / U.S.A., Canada (Director and screenwriter: Robert Eggers) — New England in the 1630s: William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life with five children, homesteading on the edge of an impassable wilderness. When their newborn son vanishes and crops fail, the family turns on one another. Beyond their worst fears, a supernatural evil lurks in the nearby wood. Cast: Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Lucas Dawson, Ellie Grainger.

Z for Zachariah / U.S.A. (Director: Craig Zobel, Screenwriter: Nissar Modi) — In a post-apocalyptic world, a young woman who believes she is the last human on Earth meets a dying scientist searching for survivors. Their relationship becomes tenuous when another survivor appears. As the two men compete for the woman's affection, their primal urges begin to reveal their true nature. Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Margot Robbie, Chris Pine.

U.S. Documentary Competition

Sixteen world-premiere American documentaries that illuminate the ideas, people, and events that shape the present day.

3½ Minutes / U.S.A. (Director: Marc Silver) — On November 23, 2012, unarmed 17-year-old Jordan Russell Davis was shot at a Jacksonville gas station by Michael David Dunn. 3½ Minutes explores the aftermath of Jordan's tragic death, the latent and often unseen effects of racism, and the contradictions of the American criminal justice system.

Being Evel / U.S.A. (Director: Daniel Junge) — An unprecedented, candid portrait of American icon Robert "Evel" Knievel and his legacy.

Best of Enemies / U.S.A. (Directors: Morgan Neville, Robert Gordon) — Best of Enemies is a behind-the-scenes account of the explosive 1968 televised debates between the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr., and their rancorous disagreements about politics, God, and sex.

Call Me Lucky / U.S.A. (Director: Bobcat Goldthwait) — Barry Crimmins was a volatile but brilliant bar comic who became an honored peace activist and influential political satirist. Famous comedians and others build a picture of a man who underwent an incredible transformation.

Cartel Land / U.S.A., Mexico (Director: Matthew Heineman) — In this classic Western set in the 21st century, vigilantes on both sides of the border fight the vicious Mexican drug cartels. With unprecedented access, this character-driven film provokes deep questions about lawlessness, the breakdown of order, and whether citizens should fight violence with violence.

City of Gold / U.S.A. (Director: Laura Gabbert) — Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Jonathan Gold casts his light upon a vibrant and growing cultural movement in which he plays the dual roles of high-low priest and culinary geographer of his beloved Los Angeles.

Finders Keepers / U.S.A. (Directors: Bryan Carberry, Clay Tweel) — Recovering addict and amputee John Wood finds himself in a stranger-than-fiction battle to reclaim his mummified leg from Southern entrepreneur Shannon Whisnant, who found it in a grill he bought at an auction and believes it to therefore be his rightful property.

Hot Girls Wanted / U.S.A. (Directors: Jill Bauer, Ronna Gradus) — Hot Girls Wanted is a first-ever look at the realities inside the world of the amateur porn industry and the steady stream of 18- and 19-year-old girls entering into it.

How to Dance in Ohio / U.S.A. (Director: Alexandra Shiva) — In Columbus, Ohio, a group of teenagers and young adults on the autism spectrum prepare for an iconic American rite of passage — a spring formal. They spend 12 weeks practicing their social skills at a local nightclub in preparation for the dance.

Larry Kramer in Love and Anger / U.S.A. (Director: Jean Carlomusto) — Author, activist, and playwright Larry Kramer is one of the most important and controversial figures in contemporary gay America, a political firebrand who gave voice to the outrage and grief that inspired gay men and lesbians to fight for their lives. At 78, this complicated man still commands our attention.

Meru / U.S.A. (Directors: Jimmy Chin, E. Chai Vasarhelyi) — Three elite mountain climbers sacrifice everything but their friendship as they struggle through heartbreaking loss and nature’s harshest elements to attempt the never-before-completed Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru, the most coveted first ascent in the dangerous game of Himalayan big wall climbing.

Racing Extinction / U.S.A. (Director: Louie Psihoyos) — Academy Award-winner Louie Psihoyos (The Cove) assembles a unique team to show the world never-before-seen images that expose issues surrounding endangered species and mass extinction. Whether infiltrating notorious black markets or exploring humans' effect on the environment, Racing Extinction will change the way you see the world.

(T)Error / U.S.A. (Directors: Lyric R. Cabral, David Felix Sutcliffe) — (T)Error is the first film to document on camera a covert counterterrorism sting as it unfolds. Through the perspective of *******, a 63-year-old Black revolutionary turned FBI informant, viewers are given an unprecedented glimpse of the government’s counterterrorism tactics, and the murky justifications behind them.

Welcome to Leith / U.S.A. (Directors: Michael Beach Nichols, Christopher K. Walker) — A white supremacist attempts to take over a small town in North Dakota.

Western / U.S.A., Mexico (Directors: Bill Ross, Turner Ross) — For generations, all that distinguished Eagle Pass, Texas, from Piedras Negras, Mexico, was the Rio Grande. But when darkness descends upon these harmonious border towns, a cowboy and lawman face a new reality that threatens their way of life. Western portrays timeless American figures in the grip of unforgiving change.

The Wolfpack / U.S.A. (Director: Crystal Moselle) — Six bright teenage brothers have spent their entire lives locked away from society in a Manhattan housing project. All they know of the outside is gleaned from the movies they watch obsessively (and recreate meticulously). Yet as adolescence looms, they dream of escape, ever more urgently, into the beckoning world.

World Cinema Dramatic Competition

Twelve films from emerging filmmaking talents around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles.

Chlorine / Italy (Director: Lamberto Sanfelice, Screenwriters: Lamberto Sanfelice, Elisa Amoruso) — Jenny, 17, dreams of becoming a synchronized swimmer. Family events turn her life upside down and she is forced move to a remote area to look after her ill father and younger brother. It won't be long before Jenny starts pursuing her dreams again. Cast: Sara Serraiocco, Ivan Franek, Giorgio Colangeli, Anatol Sassi, Piera Degli Esposti, Andrea Vergoni. World Premiere

Chorus / Canada (Director and screenwriter: François Delisle) — A separated couple meet again after 10 years when the body of their missing son is found. Amid the guilt of losing a loved one, they hesitantly move toward affirmation of life, acceptance of death, and even the possibility of reconciliation. Cast: Sébastien Ricard, Fanny Mallette, Pierre Curzi, Genevieve Bujold. World Premiere

Glassland / Ireland (Director and screenwriter: Gerard Barrett) — In a desperate attempt to reunite his broken family, a young taxi driver becomes entangled in the criminal underworld. Cast: Jack Reynor, Toni Collette, Will Poulter, Michael Smiley. International Premiere

Homesick / Norway (Director: Anne Sewitsky, Screenwriters: Ragnhild Tronvoll, Anne Sewitsky) — When Charlotte, 27, meets her brother Henrik, 35, for the first time, two people who don't know what a normal family is begin an encounter without boundaries. How does sibling love manifest itself if you have never experienced it before?Cast: Ine Marie Wilmann, Simon J. Berger, Anneke von der Lippe, Silje Storstein, Oddgeir Thune, Kari Onstad. World Premiere. Isa: TrustNordisk

Ivy / Turkey (Director and screenwriter: Tolga Karaçelik) — Sarmasik is sailing to Egypt when the ship's owner goes bankrupt. The crew learns there is a lien on the ship, and key crew members must stay on board. Ivy is the story of these six men trapped on the ship for days. Cast: Nadir Sarıbacak, Özgür Emre Yıldırım, Hakan Karsak, Kadir Çermik, Osman Alkaş, Seyithan Özdemiroğlu. World Premiere

Partisan / Australia (Director: Ariel Kleiman, Screenwriters: Ariel Kleiman, Sarah Cyngler) — Alexander is like any other kid: playful, curious and naive. He is also a trained assassin. Raised in a hidden paradise, Alexander has grown up seeing the world filtered through his father, Gregori. As Alexander begins to think for himself, creeping fears take shape, and Gregori's idyllic world unravels. Cast: Vincent Cassel, Jeremy Chabriel, Florence Mezzara. World Premiere

Princess / Israel (Director and screenwriter: Tali Shalom Ezer) — While her mother is away from home, 12-year-old Adar’s role-playing games with her stepfather move into dangerous territory. Seeking an escape, Adar finds Alan, an ethereal boy that accompanies her on a dark journey between reality and fantasy. Cast: Keren Mor, Shira Haas, Ori Pfeffer, Adar Zohar Hanetz. International Premiere

The Second Mother / Brazil (Director and screenwriter: Anna Muylaert) — Having left her daughter, Jessica, to be raised by relatives in the north of Brazil, Val works as a loving nanny in São Paulo. When Jessica arrives for a visit 13 years later, she confronts her mother's slave-like attitude and everyone in the house is affected by her unexpected behavior. Cast: Regina Casé, Michel Joelsas, Camila Márdila, Karine Teles, Lourenço Mutarelli. World Premiere

Slow West / New Zealand (Director: John Maclean, Screenwriters: John Maclean, Michael Lesslie) — Set at the end of the nineteenth century, 16-year-old Jay Cavendish journeys across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves. He is joined by Silas, a mysterious traveler, and hotly pursued by an outlaw along the way. Cast: Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Rory McCann, Ben Mendelsohn, Brooke Williams, Caren Pistorius. World Premiere

Strangerland / Australia, Ireland (Director: Kim Farrant, Screenwriters: Fiona Seres, Michael Kinirons) — When Catherine and Matthew Parker's two teenage kids disappear into the remote Australian desert, the couple's relationship is pushed to the brink as they confront the mystery of their children's fate. Cast: Nicole Kidman, Joseph Fiennes, Hugo Weaving, Lisa Flanagan, Meyne Wyatt, Maddison Brown. World Premiere

The Summer of Sangaile / Lithuania, France, Holland (Director and screenwriter: Alanté Kavaïté) — Seventeen-year-old Sangaile is fascinated by stunt planes. She meets a girl her age at the summer aeronautical show, nearby her parents’ lakeside villa. Sangaile allows Auste to discover her most intimate secret and in the process finds in her teenage love, the only person that truly encourages her to fly. Cast: Julija Steponaitytė, Aistė Diržiūtė. World Premiere. Isa: Films Distribution.

Umrika / India (Director and screenwriter: Prashant Nair) — When a young village boy discovers that his brother, long believed to be in America, has actually gone missing, he begins to invent letters on his behalf to save their mother from heartbreak, all the while searching for him. Cast: Suraj Sharma, Tony Revolori, Smita Tambe, Adil Hussain, Rajesh Tailang, Prateik Babbar. World Premiere

World Cinema Documentary Competition

Twelve documentaries by some of the most courageous and extraordinary international filmmakers working today.

The Amina Profile / Canada (Director: Sophie Deraspe) — During the Arab revolution, a love story between two women — a Canadian and a Syrian American — turns into an international sociopolitical thriller spotlighting media excesses and the thin line between truth and falsehood on the Internet. World Premiere

Censored Voices / Israel, Germany (Director: Mor Loushy) — One week after the 1967 Six-Day War, renowned author Amos Oz and editor Avraham Shapira recorded intimate conversations with soldiers returning from the battlefield. The Israeli army censored the recordings, allowing only a fragment of the conversations to be published. Censored Voices reveals these recordings for the first time. World Premiere

The Chinese Mayor / China (Director: Hao Zhou) — Mayor Geng Yanbo is determined to transform the coal-mining center of Datong, in China’s Shanxi province, into a tourism haven showcasing clean energy. In order to achieve that, however, he has to relocate 500,000 residences to make way for the restoration of the ancient city. World Premiere

Chuck Norris vs Communism / United Kingdom, Romania, Germany (Director: Ilinca Calugareanu) — In 1980s Romania, thousands of Western films smashed through the Iron Curtain, opening a window to the free world for those who dared to look. A black market VHS racketeer and courageous female translator brought the magic of film to the masses and sowed the seeds of a revolution. World Premiere. Producers Rep: UTA

Dark Horse / United Kingdom (Director: Louise Osmond) — Dark Horse is the inspirational true story of a group of friends from a workingman's club who decide to take on the elite "sport of kings" and breed themselves a racehorse. World Premiere

Dreamcatcher / United Kingdom (Director: Kim Longinotto) — Dreamcatcher takes us into a hidden world seen through the eyes of one of its survivors, Brenda Myers-Powell. A former teenage prostitute, Brenda defied the odds to become a powerful advocate for change in her community. With warmth and humor, Brenda gives hope to those who have none. World Premiere

How to Change the World / United Kingdom, Canada (Director: Jerry Rothwell) — In 1971, a group of friends sails into a nuclear test zone, and their protest captures the world’s imagination. Using rare, archival footage that brings their extraordinary world to life, How to Change the World is the story of the pioneers who founded Greenpeace and defined the modern green movement. World Premiere. Day One Film

Listen to Me Marlon / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Stevan Riley, Co-writer: Peter Ettedgui) — With exclusive access to previously unheard audio archives, this is the definitive Marlon Brando cinema documentary. Charting his exceptional career and extraordinary life away from the stage and screen, the film fully explores the complexities of the man by telling the story uniquely in Marlon’s own voice. World Premiere

Pervert Park / Sweden, Denmark (Directors: Frida Barkfors, Lasse Barkfors) — Pervert Park follows the everyday lives of sex offenders in a Florida trailer park as they struggle to reintegrate into society, and try to understand who they are and how to break the cycle of sex crimes being committed. International Premiere

The Russian Woodpecker / United Kingdom (Director: Chad Gracia) — A Ukrainian victim of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster discovers a dark secret and must decide whether to risk his life by revealing it, amid growing clouds of revolution and war. World Premiere

Sembene! / U.S.A., Senegal (Directors: Samba Gadjigo, Jason Silverman) — In 1952, Ousmane Sembene, a Senegalese dockworker and fifth-grade dropout, began dreaming an impossible dream: to become the storyteller for a new Africa. This true story celebrates how the “father of African cinema,” against enormous odds, fought a monumental, 50-year-long battle to give Africans a voice. World Premiere

The Visit / Denmark, Austria, Ireland, Finland, Norway (Director: Michael Madsen) — “This film documents an event that has never taken place…” With unprecedented access to the United Nations' Office for Outer Space Affairs, leading space scientists and space agencies, The Visit explores humans' first encounter with alien intelligent life and thereby humanity itself. "Our scenario begins with the arrival. Your arrival." World Premiere

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Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling populate this program. Digital technology paired with unfettered creativity promises that the films in this section will shape a “greater” next wave in American cinema. Presented by Adobe.

Bob and the Trees / U.S.A., France (Director: Diego Ongaro, Screenwriters: Diego Ongaro, Courtney Maum, Sasha Statman-Weil) — Bob, a 50-year-old logger in rural Massachusetts with a soft spot for golf and gangsta rap, is struggling to make ends meet in a changed economy. When his beloved cow is wounded and a job goes awry, Bob begins to heed the instincts of his ever-darkening self. Cast: Bob Tarasuk, Matt Gallagher, Polly MacIntyre, Winthrop Barrett, Nathaniel Gregory. World Premiere

Christmas, Again / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Charles Poekel) — A heartbroken Christmas tree salesman returns to New York, hoping to put the past year behind him. He spends the season living in a trailer and working the night shift, until a mysterious woman and some colorful customers rescue him from self-destruction. Cast: Kentucker Audley, Hannah Gross, Jason Shelton, Oona Roche. North American Premiere

Cronies / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Michael Larnell) — Twenty-two-year-old Louis doesn’t know whether his childhood friendship with Jack will last beyond today. Cast: George Sample III, Zurich Buckner, Brian Kowalski. World Premiere

Entertainment / U.S.A. (Director: Rick Alverson, Screenwriters: Rick Alverson, Gregg Turkington, Tim Heidecker) — En route to meeting with his estranged daughter, in an attempt to revive his dwindling career, a broken, aging comedian plays a string of dead-end shows in the Mojave Desert. Cast: Gregg Turkington, John C. Reilly, Tye Sheridan, Michael Cera, Amy Seimetz, Lotte Verbeek. World Premiere

H. / U.S.A., Argentina (Directors and screenwriters: Rania Attieh, Daniel Garcia) — Two women, each named Helen, find their lives spinning out of control after a meteor allegedly explodes over their city of Troy, New York. Cast: Robin Bartlett, Rebecca Dayan, Will Janowitz, Julian Gamble, Roger Robinson. World Premiere

James White / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Josh Mond) — A young New Yorker struggles to take control of his reckless, self-destructive behavior in the face of momentous family challenges. Cast: Chris Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, Makenzie Leigh, David Call. World Premiere

Nasty Baby / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Sebastian Silva) — A gay couple try to have a baby with the help of their best friend, Polly. The trio navigates the idea of creating life while confronted by unexpected harassment from a neighborhood man called The Bishop. As their clashes grow increasingly aggressive, odds are someone is getting hurt. Cast: Sebastian Silva, Tunde Adebimpe, Kristin Wiig, Reg E. Cathey, Mark Margolis, Denis O'Hare. World Premiere

The Strongest Man / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Kenny Riches) — An anxiety-ridden Cuban man who fancies himself the strongest man in the world attempts to recover his most prized possession, a stolen bicycle. On his quest, he finds and loses much more. Cast: Robert Lorie, Paul Chamberlain, Ashly Burch, Patrick Fugit, Lisa Banes. World Premiere

" Take Me To The River " / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Matt Sobel) — A naive California teen plans to remain above the fray at his Nebraskan family reunion, but a strange encounter places him at the center of a long-buried family secret.Cast: Logan Miller, Robin Weigert, Josh Hamilton, Richard Schiff, Ursula Parker, Azura Skye. World Premiere. Producer rep: Cinetic Media

Tangerine / U.S.A. (Director: Sean Baker, Screenwriters: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch) — A working girl tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart. Cast: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor, Karren Karagulian, Mickey O'Hagan, Alla Tumanyan, James Ransone. World Premiere

Spotlight

Regardless of where these films have played throughout the world, the Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love.

6 Desires: Dh Lawrence and Sardinia / United Kingdom, Italy (Director: Mark Cousins) — In winter 1921, Dh Lawrence and his wife journeyed to Sardinia, and he chronicled their experiences in Sea and Sardinia. Now, Mark Cousins retraces Lawrence’s footsteps. The film is conceived partly as a letter to Lawrence — or “Bert” — a detail that’s typical of the film’s inviting sense of conversational intimacy.International Premiere

'71 / United Kingdom (Director: Yann Demange, Screenwriter: Gregory Burke) — ‘71 takes place over a single night in the life of a young British soldier accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, he must survive the night alone and find his way to safety. Cast: Jack O'Connell, Paul Anderson, Richard Dormer, Sean Harris, Barry Keoghan, Martin McCann.

99 Homes / U.S.A. (Director: Ramin Bahrani, Screenwriters: Ramin Bahrani, Amir Naderi, Bahareh Azimi) — A father struggles to get back the home that his family was evicted from by working for the greedy real-estate broker who's the source of his frustration. Cast: Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon, Laura Dern, Tim Guinee, Cullen Moss, J.D. Evermore.

Aloft / Spain, France, Canada (Director and screenwriter: Claudia Llosa) — Aloft tells the story of a struggling mother, Nana, and her evolution to becoming a renowned healer. When a young artist tracks down Nana's son 20 years after she abandoned him, she sets in motion an encounter between the two that will bring the meaning of their lives into question. Cast: Jennifer Connelly, Cillian Murphy, Mélanie Laurent, William Shimell. North American Premiere

Eden / France (Director: Mia Hansen-løve, Screenwriters: Mia Hansen-løve, Sven Hansen-løve) — Mia Hansen-løve's electronic-dance-music epic follows the rise and fall of a DJ (based on her brother, Sven, a contemporary of Daft Punk) who gets into the rave scene in 1994 and spends the next 20 years navigating the French club scene. Cast: Félix de Givry, Pauline Etienne, Greta Gerwig, Brady Corbet, Arsinee Khanjian, Vincent Macaigne.

Girlhood / France (Director and screenwriter: Céline Sciamma) — Oppressed by her family, dead-end school prospects, and the boys law in the neighborhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of free-spirited girls. She changes her name and dress, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping to find a way to freedom. Cast: Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré, Idrissa Diabaté, Simina Soumaré.

The Tribe / Ukraine (Director and screenwriter: Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy) — Set at a Ukrainian boarding school for the deaf, the film’s narrative unfolds purely through sign language without the need for employing subtitles or voiceover, resulting in a unique, never-before-seen cinematic experience that engages the audience on a new level. Cast: Grigoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova, Rosa Babiy, Alexander Dsiadevich.

White God / Hungary (Director: Kornél Mundruczó, Screenwriters: Kata Wéber, Kornél Mundruczó, Viktória Petrányi) — When young Lili is forced to give up her beloved dog, Hagen, because its mixed-breed heritage is deemed “unfit” by The State, she and the dog begin a dangerous journey back toward each other. Cast: Zsófia Psotta, Sandor Zsótér, Szabolcs Thuróczy, Lili Monori, László Gálffi, Lili Horváth. U.S. Premiere

Wild Tales / Argentina, Spain (Director and screenwriter: Damián Szifrón) — Inequality, injustice, and the demands of the world cause stress and depression for many people. Some of them, however, explode. This is a movie about those people. Vulnerable in the face of an unpredictable reality, the characters of Wild Tales cross the thin line dividing civilization and barbarism. Cast: Ricardo Darín, Julieta Zyberberg, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Darío Grandinetti, Erica Rivas, Oscar Martínez.

Park City At Midnight

From horror flicks to comedies to works that defy any genre, these unruly films will keep you edge-seated and wide awake.

Cop Car / U.S.A. (Director: Jon Watts, Screenwriters: Christopher D. Ford, Jon Watts) — Two 10-year-old boys steal an abandoned cop car. Cast: Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Shea Whigham, Camryn Manheim. World Premiere

The Hallow / Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Corin Hardy, Screenwriters: Corin Hardy, Felipe Marino) — When a London-based conservationist is sent to Ireland to survey an area of ancient forest believed by the superstitious locals to be hallowed ground, he unwittingly disturbs a horde of terrifying beings and must fight to protect his family. Cast: Joseph Mawle, Bojana Novakovic, Michael McElhatton, Michael Smiley. World Premiere

Hellions / Canada (Director: Bruce McDonald, Screenwriter: Pascal Trottier) — Teenage Dora Vogel must survive a Halloween night from hell when malevolent trick-or-treaters come knocking at her door. Cast: Chloe Rose, Robert Patrick, Rossif Sutherland, Rachel Wilson, Peter DaCunha, Luke Bilyk. World Premiere

It Follows / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Robert Mitchell) — After a strange sexual encounter, a teenager finds herself haunted by nightmarish visions and the inescapable sense that something is after her. Cast: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Daniel Zovatto, Jake Weary, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe.

Knock Knock / U.S.A. (Director: Eli Roth, Screenwriters: Eli Roth, Nicolas Lopez, Guillermo Amoedo) — Two beautiful young girls walk into a married man's life and turn a wild fantasy into his worst nightmare. Cast: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana De Armas, Aaron Burns, Ignacia Allamand, Colleen Camp. World Premiere

The Nightmare / U.S.A. (Director: Rodney Ascher) — A documentary-horror film exploring the phenomenon of sleep paralysis through the eyes of eight people. They (and a surprisingly large number of others) often find themselves trapped between the sleeping and awake realms, unable to move but aware of their surroundings while subject to disturbing sights and sounds. World Premiere

Reversal / U.S.A. (Director: J.M Cravioto, Screenwriters: Rock Shaink, Keith Kjornes) — A gritty psychological thriller about a young woman chained in a basement of a sexual predator and manages to escape. However, right when she has a chance for freedom, she unravels a hard truth and decides to turn the tables on her captor. Cast: Tina Ivlev, Richard Tyson, Bianca Malinowski. World Premiere

Turbo Kid / Canada, New Zealand (Directors: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell, Screenwriters: Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell) — In a post-apocalyptic future, The Kid, an orphaned outcast, meets a mysterious girl. They become friends until Zeus, the sadistic leader of the Wasteland, kidnaps her. The Kid must face his fears, and journey to rid the Wasteland of evil and save the girl. Cast: Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Aaron Jeffery, Edwin Wright. World Premiere

New Frontier Films

The Forbidden Room / Canada (Directors: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Screenwriters: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Robert Kotyk) — A submarine crew, a feared pack of forest bandits, a famous surgeon, and a battalion of child soldiers all get more than they bargained for as they wend their way toward progressive ideas on life and love. Cast: Geraldine Chaplin, Caroline Dhavernas, Roy Dupuis, Udo Kier, Charlotte Rampling, Karine Vanasse. World Premiere

Liveforever / Colombia, Mexico (Director: Carlos Moreno, Screenwriters: Alberto Ferreras, Alonso Torres, Carlos Moreno) — Driven by the music and dancing she finds along the way, a teenager leaves home willing to try anything her provocative and tolerant city has to offer, even if she burns out in the process. Inspired by the best-selling novel "Que viva la música" by Andres Caicedo. Cast: Paulina Davila, Alejandra Avila, Luis Arrieta, Juan Pablo Barragan, Nelson Camayo, Christian Tappan. World Premiere

The Royal Road / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jenni Olson) — This cinematic essay, a defense of remembering, offers up a primer on the Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, butch identity and Alfred Hitchcock'sVertigo — all against a contemplative backdrop of 16mm urban California landscapes. Cast: Jenni Olson, Tony Kushner. World Premiere

Sam Klemke's Time Machine / Australia (Director: Matthew Bate) — Sam Klemke has filmed and narrated 50 years of his life, creating a strange and intimate portrait of what it means to be human. World Premiere

Station to Station / U.S.A. (Director: Doug Aitken) — Station to Station is composed of 60 individual one-minute films featuring different artists, musicians, places, and perspectives. This revolutionary feature-length film reveals a larger narrative about modern creativity. World Premiere

Things of the Aimless Wanderer / Rwanda, United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Kivu Ruhorahoza) — A white man meets a black girl, then she disappears. The white man tries to understand what happened to her while also trying to finish a travelogue. Things of the Aimless Wanderer is a film about the sensitive topic of relations between “locals” and Westerners, about paranoia, mistrust, and misunderstandings. Cast: Justin Mullikin, Grace Nikuze, Ramadhan Bizimana, Eliane Umuhire, Wesley Ruzibiza, Matt Ray Brown. World Premiere

New Frontier Installations

1979 Revolution Game

Artists: Navid Khonsari, Vassiliki Khonsari

1979 Revolution Game presents an innovative approach to non-fiction storytelling. Designed to engage players with an immersive "on the ground" experience of the Iranian Revolution, the game integrates an emotionally impactful narrative with interactive moral choices and intuitive touchscreen gameplay while remaining true to history.

Assent

Artist: Oscar Raby

This immersive documentary uses virtual reality technology to put the user in the footsteps of Director Oscar Raby's father, who in 1973 was a 22-year-old army officer stationed in the north of Chile, on the day when the Caravan of Death came to his regiment.

Birdly

Artist: Max Rheiner

Flying is one of the oldest dreams of humankind. Birdly is an experiment to capture this dream, to simulate the experience of being a bird from a first-person perspective. This embodiment is conducted through a full-body virtual reality setup.

Dérive

Artist: François Quévillon

This interactive installation uses the audience’s body motions and positions to explore 3-D reconstructions of urban and natural spaces that are transformed according to live environmental data, including meteorological and astronomical phenomena.

Evolution of Verse

Artist: Chris Milk

Chris Milk, working with visual effects powerhouse Digital Domain and virtual reality production company Vrse.works, has created this photo-realistic CGI-rendered 3-D virtual reality film that takes the viewer on a journey from beginning to new beginning.

Kaiju Fury!

Artist: Ian Hunter

A dark energy experiment leads to a devastating attack by monstrous Kaiju, and you are standing at ground zero — all in 360-degree, stereoscopic 3-D cinematic virtual reality. You will "be there" as the beasts lay waste to a crumbling city and humanity makes its last stand. Cast: Susie Abromeit, Bill Lippincott, Daniel Martin, Brian Dodge, Vincient Chiantelli.

Paradise

Artist: Pleix

Paradise is certainly not paradisiacal if you look at it through our eyes. But neither is it totally devoid of humor, melancholy and absurdity. Perhaps it is first and foremost life as it is, and then a touch exaggerated in the digital overdrive.

Perspective; Chapter I: The Party

Artists: Rose Troche, Morris May

A young college woman attends a party with the intention of shedding her "shy girl" persona. At the same party, a young man is after a similar reinvention. They meet, drink, and misinterpreted signals turn into things that cannot be undone. Virtual reality simulators let viewers experience both characters. Cast: Tabitha Morella, Caleb Thomas, Zachary Zagoria, Anna Grace Barlow.

Possibilia

Artists: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert

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The Sundance Film Institute announced the U.S. dramatic, world dramatic, U.S. documentary, world documentary and Next selections for the 2015 Sundance Film Festival today. The premier film festival in the United States, Sundance is coming off a banner 2014 edition that brought films earning year-end kudos such as "Whiplash," "Boyhood," "Dear White People," "Obvious Child" and "The Skeleton Twins" into the world. The 2015 slate just looks just as intriguing and, according to the festival, perhaps more emotional and challenging. In a statement from the Institute, the festival's director, John Cooper, remarked, "The selections for our 2015 Festival will take audiences on a wild ride of emotional extremes. With approaches ranging from comedic to dramatic, genre to documentary, experimental to short, independent filmmakers are bravely illuminating new opportunities for understanding and empathy.” Festival founder and cinema icon Robert Redford added, "The work of independent artists inevitably reflects the state of our culture...

The Deauville Film Festival heads have unveiled the make-up of the 40th edition of the fest, and naturally this coming September, we’ve got a Sundance-infused edition being readied for the North West coastal town. Celebrating several new American indie auteurs, noteworthy filmmakers from Park City include Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night), A.J. Edwards (The Better Angels), Mark Jackson (War Story) and Damien Chazelle’s much acclaimed Whiplash. Also found in the 14 In Comp slate we find Nathan Silver’s Uncertain Terms — which our Nicholas Bell called “uneasy, uncomfortable, and certainly uncertain”. Also on tap: the French premieres of Before I Go to Sleep and director Chris Messina’s Alex of Venice. Here is the full selection and you can make a detour here to see who is being celebrated at the fest.

In Competition:

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Ana Lily Amirpour

I Origins,...

Opening Night – World Premiere

Gone Girl

David Fincher, USA, 2014, Dcp, 150m

David Fincher’s film version of Gillian Flynn’s phenomenally successful best seller (adapted by the author) is one wild cinematic ride, a perfectly cast and intensely compressed portrait of a recession-era marriage contained within a devastating depiction of celebrity/media culture, shifting gears as smoothly as a Maserati 250F. Ben Affleck is Nick Dunne, whose wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) goes missing on the day of their fifth anniversary. Neil Patrick Harris is Amy’s old boyfriend Desi, Carrie Coon (who played Honey in Tracy Letts’s acclaimed production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) is Nick’s sister Margo, Kim Dickens (Treme, Friday Night Lights) is Detective Rhonda Boney, and Tyler Perry is Nick’s superstar lawyer Tanner Bolt. At once a grand panoramic vision of middle America, a uniquely disturbing exploration of the fault lines in a marriage,...

It seems as if the 2014 Toronto Film Festival lineup is more or less set. I'm not expecting any major additions after today's announcement and have taken another look at my current list of most likely films I'll be screening while in town, though this is largely based on title and director alone as I have yet to really dig into the titles unfamiliar to me so it's possible a few may find their way into the mix once all is said and done. That said, if you think there are some I'm missing please let me know... don't want to overlook anything. Note, I will be in Toronto from September 3-10 and expect I'll see about 18 movies maximum while I'm there. Right now the full list below is 48 movies not including the four I've already seen (but have yet to review) and the one I don't think I'll even have a chance to see.

Bill Murray starrer St. Vincent will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival as part of this week’s wave of programming that includes Discovery.

The Discovery section includes the upcoming world premiere of Stories Of Our Lives, a portmanteau of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex testimonies by anonymous filmmakers from Kenya.

Selections include first-looks of Ross Katz’s Us comedy Adult Beginners, Sarah Leonor’s French Legion drama The Great Man, Isidora Marras’ Chile-Argentinian psychothriller I Am Not Lorena and UK drama X + Y.

“Christopher Nolan, Steve McQueen, Lynne Ramsay and David Gordon Green all presented their first features in our Discovery section,” said Tiff artistic director Cameron Bailey. “It’s a great place to spot new talent first.”

Besides St. Vincent, Festival Additions includes concert film cum road movie Roger Waters The Wall, while the world premiere of Krzysztof Zanussi’s Foreign Body takes its place among the Masters strand.

Tiff Docs arrivals...

Posters for a trio of non-superhero, non-franchise movies have landed online, and we thought it prudent to share. Briefly: Whiplash – Our own Matt Goldberg is quoted on the Whiplash poster for this dark drama, which stars Miles Teller as an aspiring jazz drummer who studies under a ruthless instructor (J.K. Simmons). I’m actually quoted on the trailer myself, as the film was one of the breakout hits of this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The pic opens in theaters on October 10th. Read Matt’s review here. Before I Go to Sleep – A poster and release date have been unveiled for this thriller starring Nicole Kidman as a woman with no memory. Secrets are subsequently revealed about the true nature of her doctor (Mark Strong) and husband (Colin Firth). The film opens in theaters on October 31st. Laggies – Only half-heads are glimpsed in the debut poster for Lynn Shelton...

Sony Pictures Classics has released the brand new poster from the upcoming film Whiplash, starring Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons.

The film will play at the Toronto International Film Festival in September as part of the Special Presentations program.

Andrew Neyman is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats.

Terence Fletcher, an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man’s life. Andrew’s passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, as his ruthless teacher continues to push him to the brink of both his ability-and his sanity.

Damien Chazelle's Whiplash has certainly caught the attention of critics from Park City to the Croisette and I'll finally be seeing the film very soon in preparation for the Toronto Film Festival, but today Sony Classics has released the first poster for the movie reminding us just how much everyone has enjoyed it. Whiplash stars Miles Teller as Andrew Neyman, an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats. Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man's life. Andrew's passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession,...

Written and directed by Damien Chazelle (Grand Piano, The Last Exorcism Part II), Whiplash is scheduled for theatrical release through Sony Pictures Classics on October 10th, 2014. Andrew Neyman is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats. Terence Fletcher, an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man's life. Andrew's passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, as his ruthless teacher continues...

Last year, the London Film Festival was bookended by a pair of Tom Hanks movies. This year, the fest is going in a different direction with opening- and closing-night films set during World War II. The event will open with The Imitation Game on October 8 and now has set David Ayer’s Fury as the capper on October 19. The pic stars Brad Pitt, Shia Labeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña, and Jon Bernthal. Pitt and Ayer are confirmed to attend the closing-night festivities in Leicester Square with screenings to be simulcast to cinemas across the UK. The film is set in April 1945 as the Allies make their final push in the European Theater. A battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy (Pitt) commands a five-man Sherman tank crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines where they face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany. Written and directed by Ayer,...

Manglehorn, Birdman and Whiplash among the titles set to play at the Zurich Film Festival.

The 10th Zurich Film Festival (Sept 25 – Oct 5) has revealed its first tranche of gala screenings:

Manglehorn, David Gordon GreenBirdman, Alejandro González IñárrituMy Old Lady, Israel HorovitzNational Gallery, Frederick WisemanThe Cut, Fatih AkinThe Wonders, Alice RohrwacherWhiplash, Damien Chazelle.

Us director David Gordon Green, who presented his film Joe at last year’s Zff, will return to Zurich with new drama Manglehorn, starring Al Pacino as a locksmith in a small town who never got over the love of his life.

Alejandro González Iñárritu, who picked up an honorary Golden Eye Award at Zff in 2011, returns with Birdman, starring Michael Keaton as a faded star famous for his portrayal of a superhero who intends to claw back his previous success by working on a new Broadway project.

Both Manglehorn and Birdman will receive their world premieres at the Venice Film Festival, as will Fatih Akin...

The Sundance Film Festival, held yearly in Park City, Utah, isn't a place where you get much consensus. People love and hate films to wild degrees, with few critics actually agreeing on a film that undisputedly won them over. But this year, everybody seemed to adore "Whiplash." The film, which stars Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons, went on to win the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at Sundance, played at Cannes and will head into the fall with two prominent festival slots at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival. Our exclusive poster (below) hammers that point home -- this is a movie that people loved and you definitely need to see.

Instead of the typical "floating head" poster or one with a lot of negative space, the poster is composed of big, bold text from critics reviews, everyone from the New York Daily News to Grantland to Entertainment Weekly.

Another year, another New York Film Festival with an outstanding line-up of indies and foreign films to dazzle New York City audiences. The 52nd New York Film Festival has revealed their full main slate line-up, featuring everything from the Dardennes to Godard to Bennett Miller's Foxcatcher (one of my favorite films from Cannes) to Cronenberg, Mike Leigh, Olivier Assayas, with Damien Chazelle's Sundance fave Whiplash tossed in there, too. Three other highly anticipated films have already been announced: Gone Girl, PTA's Inherent Vice, and Birdman to close the fest. But plenty of other great films will be showing. Now that we're based out of New York City, the Nyff is our home base fall film festival and they also put on a great show, light years ahead of Tribeca in terms of cinematic content, organization, beautiful venues, and the overall experience. I can't recommend it enough, and I...

Maggie

New photos are out from Henry Hobson's "Maggie" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Midwestern farm dad coping with the fact that his young daughter (Abigail Breslin) has been infected by a virus during a zombie apocalypse. The film is slated to premiere this Fall at the Toronto International Film Festival. [Source: Empire]

13

CBS Films has announced plans for a film adaptation of Jason Robert Brown's stage musical "13". Bert V Royal will pen the script while Laurence Mark ("Dreamgirls") and Bob Boyett will produce.

The musical itself follows a 13-year-old boy from New York who relocates to small-town Indiana and concocts an ill-judged plan to make friends. [Source: Screen]

The Light Between Oceans

DreamWorks has locked down a September start date in New Zealand and Australia for filming on Derek Cianfrance's "The Light Between Oceans" based on the M.L. Stedman novel. Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Rachel Weisz star.

The story...

The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced the full slate of this year's 52nd annual event, and as usual it's a tightly curated assortment of world cinema. World premieres previously announced include David Fincher's "Gone Girl" (opening night) and Paul Thomas Anderson's "Inherent Vice" (centerpiece), but in addition, there are a slew of North American premieres at the event. They include Dominik Graf's "Beloved Sisters," Mathieu Amalric's "The Blue Room," Asia Argento's "Misunderstood," Bertrand Bonello's "Saint Laurent" and Alice Rohrwacher's "The Wonders." Sony Classics will have a solid presence, bringing Sundance hit "Whiplash" and Cannes sensations "Foxcatcher" and "Mr. Turner." Also previously announced, Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Birdman" will serve as closing night presentation. Check out the full lineup below. The 52nd annual New York Film Festival runs Sept. 26 - Oct. 12. Opening Night Gala Selection "Gone Girl" Director: David Fincher Centerpiece Gala...

The 52nd New York Film Festival will run from September 26th to October 12th, and as per usual, it’s set to be packed to the gills with promising movies. This year, the Film Society of Lincoln Center has managed to lock down a bevy of highly promising titles, including major Oscar contenders (Foxcatcher, Inherent Vice) and entries from acclaimed directors like David Cronenberg (Maps to the Stars) and Mike Leigh (Mr. Turner).

Nyff 2014 will see the world premiere of David Fincher’s mystery thriller Gone Girl, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, as its opening night selection. The world premiere of Paul Thomas Anderson’s hotly anticipated detective film Inherent Vice will serve as the festival’s centerpiece film. And ambitiously shot drama Birdman, from director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, will make its U.S. premiere as the closing night selection.

Other huge titles making an appearance at Nyff 2014 include Foxcatcher,...

Back in May we showed you a very intense clip from Whiplash featuring J.K. Simmons throwing a chair at Miles Teller. Now take that scene and turn it up to 11 because holy hell this fill trailer might make your stomach turn. Writer/director Damien Chazelle’s Sundance award-winning drama is on the top of my must-see movies this year and if our own Chris Bumbray’s review is any indication, it’s going to be worth checking out. He mentioned that Simmons “has...

Whiplash has released its first trailer.

Jk Simmons and Miles Teller star in the drama, which won two awards at the Sundance Film Festival.

Written and directed by Damien Chazelle, it follows a young jazz drummer (Teller) fighting to succeed in an exclusive conservatory.

But the tutelage of his ruthless instructor (Simmons) might either make or break him.

The film won the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize for the Us dramatic category at Sundance.

Read our Whiplash review - "savagely funny, gripping and exhilarating"

Whiplash will open on October 10 in the Us. A UK release date is yet to be announced.

Whiplash was my favorite movie at Sundance this year, and it's still easily one of the best movies that I've seen all year. A trailer for this amazing film has finally been released online and you need to watch it. This is one of those movies that everyone needs to see, it's just so damn good! It's got an amazing story, strong characters and it's ridiculously intense.

The movie stars Miles Teller as Andrew Neyman, a young jazz drummer who attends one of the top music schools in the country under the guidance of the school’s fearsome maestro of jazz named Terence Fletcher, played by J.K. Simmons.

Both of these actors give the best performances of their careers in this movie. Make sure to read our review of it here. Now watch the trailer! The movie is set to be released on October 10th.

Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash garnered immense acclaim at Sundance and only improved its stellar rep after being included in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. By all accounts, it’s one of the very best musical dramas in recent memory, thanks to its tight direction, thrilling story, dramatic tone and wholly compelling performances from Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons. And with its participation in the Toronto International Film Festival now set, something tells me that we’re going to be talking about Whiplash all the way up until its theatrical release in October.

An extremely tense and compelling new trailer for the movie is making the rounds online, keeping the focus squarely on Simmons’ vicious and ruthless band conductor and Teller’s struggling musical prodigy. Both performances look superb, and Chazelle’s script seems primed to provide a terrific showcase for both actors.

If I’m counting correctly, Teller has had exactly...

Drum roll please… Whiplash, the Sundance wowing, Grand Jury prize winning, buzz gathering indie has released its first trailer. The debut of director Damien Chazelle (who also won the jury prize at Sundance last year for the short film that grew into this feature), Whiplash is the story of a teenage jazz drummer and his brilliant/bullish/bonkers teacher. Miles Teller (Divergent, That Awkward Moment, soon to be Mr Fantastic…) plays musical prodigy Andrew Neyman to J.K. Simmons’ ruthless Mr Fletcher – an orchestra leader who seems to take...

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After winning both the Us Grand Jury Award and the Audience Award at the year’s Sundance Film Festival, news on Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash (based on the director’s short film) has been pretty quiet. Luckily we now have a trailer for the film, which stars the up-and-coming Miles Teller as a young expert drummer attempting to join one of America’s most prestigious jazz orchestras, and the always-great J.K. Simmons as his sadistic band instructor. The film looks much more intense than one might expect, as Simmons’ methods are brutal and abusive, and will no doubt have major repercussions on Teller’s psyche and relationship to the craft he holds near and dear to him. The film also features Paul Reiser, who we don’t see much of anymore, so it is nice to see him around. Whiplash opens in Us theaters on October 10, 2014.

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The post Drumroll, please,...

We have a feeling this is going to be a good one. Miles Teller tests his limits in the new trailer from Sony Pictures' "Whiplash."

Released on Thursday (July 24), the clip reveals what happens when a jazz drum player tries so desperately to be perfect that he endures plenty of physical and psychological punishment, especially from his music teacher portrayed by J.K. Simmons.

The Damien Chazelle written and directed film is set to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival before opening in theaters October 10.

Check out the trailer below!

Do you miss the days when J.K. Simmons was a sadistic, sociopath prison rapist? Nowadays, he’s not so much into the dangerous manipulation and sex abuse – not when there’s a steady line of cop, military and general “authority figure” roles that let Simmons speak to us with his particular manner of sarcastic wisdom. But all those lectures on what we don’t know about our insurance have gotten a little stale. It’s time for Simmons to reclaim his rightful place on the “please stop screaming at me, sir” throne. He’ll do so with Whiplash, this year’s Sundance darling that stars Miles Teller as a young jazz drummer who just wants to make it big, man, and Simmons as the big man who will guide Teller to his dreams of being the next Buddy Rich. Oh, and Simmons’ preferred method of musical instruction is screaming so close to your face that his saliva...

What does it take to become a legend? How much strain, anxiety, and suffering does a person have to endure to achieve perfection, to rise to the highest echelons of their craft? How much must a person sacrifice? Most importantly, when the dust settles and they’ve met their goals, is the cost of greatness really worth it? These are the core questions posed by Whiplash, 2014′s Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury prize and Audience Award winner, which has received its first trailer.

The film, which is on its way to theaters for a fall 2014 release, comes courtesy of Damien Chazelle. It’s his sophomore effort following his 2009 debut, and the second screenplay he has credits on this year to focus on the competitive, cutthroat world of top tier musicianship (following March’s Grand Piano). Whiplash promises to be much ...

Click to continue reading ‘Whiplash’ Trailer: March To The Beat...

You’ve likely already seen the first clip from Whiplash, the Sundance award-winner that comes bearing positive buzz and plenty of praise for director Damien Chazelle and stars Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons. The initial trailer, which shows more of the film’s tone, is online courtesy of Yahoo!.Teller is Andrew Neyman, an ambitious 19 year-old jazz drummer who attends a high-profile music conservatory, where legendary teacher Terence Fletcher (Simmons) rules the roost.But though Fletcher initially comes across as an encouraging mentor, Andrew discovers that reaching for perfection comes with a price, as Fletcher is actually hot-tempered, oft-maniacal bully. Soon, Andrew is suffering under Fletcher’s yoke, driving himself to the limit and worrying those around him.Featuring Melissa Benoist, Austin Sowell, Paul Reiser and Jayson Blair among its cast, Whiplash is set for release in the States on October 10. It’s still frustratingly listed as simply "2014" over here,...

It made a splash opening Sundance, wowed Cannes and will likely get awards mentions later this year -- so "Whiplash" will leave a mark. Watch the first trailer ahead of its Toronto Film Festival play this fall. Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons star for writer-director Damien Chazelle ("Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench" and scribe behind this year's "Grand Piano"), playing respective 19-year-old drummer-protégé and tough-as-nails mentor locked up at a Manhattan music academy, pitted against one another in the attempt to become a percussion legend. This intense, high-anxiety film has been described as "'Full Metal Jacket' with drums," with ferocious lead performances and a fine visual palette. Amidst the fare that typically comes with a fall season, Sony will give "Whiplash" a release on October 10.  Watch our exclusive video interview with Miles Teller here, and read our...

After we called Whiplash "the Sundance Film Festival's Strongest Opener in Years," it went on to win both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at the festival. This is what all the hype was about. Opening October 10, the film features Miles Teller playing a young drummer aspiring for greatness and J.K. Simmons as his drill-sergeant-esque jazz-band conductor. If you don't get enough of Simmons screaming and hitting Teller here, may we direct you to the slap-filled clip we posted two months ago. And if that isn't enough of that stuff, there's also a Fifty Shades of Grey movie coming.

Following the first clip released back in May, Sony Pictures has debuted the first trailer for Whiplash. The studio picked up writer-director Damien Chazelle's critically-acclaimed drama at the Sundance Film Festival in January, before it went on to win both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. The plot centers on Miles Teller's Andrew, a freshman at a prestigious music school who wants to be the best jazz drummer in the world. His first step in that journey is learning under the abrasive Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), whose abusive methods puts Andrew's talents to the ultimate test. Take a look at what everyone was buzzing about at Sundance this January with the latest footage from this upcoming drama, arriving in theaters October 10.

Whiplash follows Andrew (Miles Teller), a first-year college student as he begins his quest to become the core drummer of the top jazz orchestra in the country.

The first Whiplash trailer from writer/director Damien Chazelle’s has landed online. The movie stars one of my favorite rising stars Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now) as an aspiring jazz drummer who reaches for greatness under a ruthless instructor, played by J.K. Simmons. It looks like a great tension-fueled experience starring Teller as a student jazz drummer who aspires to greatness under a crazy instructor, played by J.K. Simmons.

Whiplash opens in theaters on October 10th 2014, watch the trailer below:...

After wowing audiences and critics at Sundance and Cannes, Damien Chazelle's Whiplash heads to Toronto next, but today we get the first trailer for the movie starring Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons. In Whiplash, Teller plays Andrew Neyman, an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats. Terence Fletcher (Simmons), an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man's life. Andrew's passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, as his ruthless teacher continues to push him to the brink of both his ability -- and his sanity. Sony...

The first trailer for Damien Chazelle‘s award-winning feature directorial debut “Whiplash” plays out like a horror movie, as Miles Teller discovers his seemingly perfect life is about to unravel. Teller plays an ambitious young drummer named Andrew who wants to be one of the best. Things appear to be going his way — until J.K. Simmons, as his professor, turns into something of a raving, abusive lunatic despite earlier signs that he'd be a good mentor. Also read: Miles Teller's Sundance-Winning ‘Whiplash’ Headlines Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight Lineup Having projectiles launched at his head, being slapped and thoroughly humiliated in front of his.

Sony Classics has another packed slate this season, but with all eyes on Cannes darlings "Foxcatcher" and "Mr. Turner," Damien Chazelle's "Whiplash" is a lurking threat that could be a powerful little shock to the system. The film premiered on opening night at Sundance in January, two years after Chazelle took a scene from it in the form of a short film to the Park City fest to test the waters. Sony Classics picked it up and took it to Cannes where it played in the Directors' Fortnight sidebar and we'll probably see it turn up at Telluride and/or Toronto. It provides Miles Teller with an incredible opportunity (I was immensely impressed with him in "The Spectacular Now") and on the fringe, J.K. Simmons is a bundle of dynamite. HitFix's Drew McWeeny was mostly positive out of Sundance. Writing about Simmons in particular, he offered that "it is...

Miles Teller stars as an aspiring jazz drummer with dues to pay in the first trailer for Damien Chazelle‘s “Whiplash.” The film, which won both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, follows Andrew (Teller),a first-year music student training under the guidance of the ruthless band conductor, Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), who at one point even slaps Andrew in front of his peers. But physical abuse and public humiliation apparently aren’t enough to make Andrew simply quit. ”I wanna be one of the greats,” Andrew says to his girlfriend, Nicole (Melissa Benoist), in a [...]

The post Watch: Miles Teller and Melissa Benoist in First ‘Whiplash’ Trailer appeared first on Up and Comers.

"I want to be one of the greats." Sony Pictures Classics has debuted the first trailer for Damien Chazelle's Whiplash, the biggest breakout hit of Sundance 2014 - it won both the Audience Award and Grand Jury prize. The film stars Miles Teller as an up-and-coming jazz drummer studying under the stern, hard-ass tutelage of Terence Fletcher, played by J.K. Simmons. It's an intense, riveting, exciting film that is all about overcoming the struggles of success and persisting against failure in pursuit of passion. I really love this film, and wrote in my review "It's invigorating, it's exciting and amusing to watch, it will challenge some to think about their own lives in a new way, and it will put Chazelle on the map as a filmmaker to believe in." Here's the first official trailer for Damien Chazelle's Whiplash, originally from Yahoo: Whiplash is both written and directed by American filmmaker Damien Chazelle,...

Fresh off a prestigious Tiff selection, Sony Pictures Classics has released the first Whiplash trailer for writer/director Damien Chazelle’s Sundance award-winning drama. The film stars Miles Teller as a student jazz drummer who aspires to greatness under a ruthless instructor, played with palpable intensity by J.K. Simmons. I caught the film at Sundance, and this trailer does a great job of conveying the pic’s tone. It’s essentially a story about the cost of striving for artistic perfection, but it almost plays out as a small-scale horror film with Simmons wholly embodying the role of a relentless teacher. Teller does excellent work here as well, and he's already making plans to reteam with Chazelle on another feature. Hit the jump to watch the Whiplash trailer, click here to read Matt’s review, and click here to watch Steve’s interview with Teller from Sundance. Whiplash also stars...

J.K. Simmons torments Miles Teller in Whiplash, pushing the kid beyond his breaking point in the name of excellence. Teller plays a young drummer who aspires to greatness; Simmons plays the elite music academy instructor whose teaching methods are anything but gentle. Miss a beat, and he’ll spin a cymbal at your head like Captain […]

The post ‘Whiplash’ Trailer: J.K. Simmons Is a Vicious Perfectionist appeared first on /Film.

A movie about jazz drumming doesn't immediately sell itself as the most dazzlingly engaging prospect. However, writer/director Damien Chazelle has put together something truly exciting with "Whiplash," which created a buzz at Sundance, continued the noise at Cannes Directors' Fortnight, and is now heading to the Toronto International Film Festival where it will likely continue the beat of strong praise from critics. Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons are the one-two punch leads of this drama, about an ambitious young jazz drummer who aspires to be the best, but finds himself tested emotionally and physically by his teacher and mentor. It looks like powerful stuff, with our critic in Park City noting that the filmmaking and performances are "full of bravado and swagger," which is certainly in evidence here. (And in case you're wondering, yes, Teller really does play the drums.) "Whiplash" opens on October 10th. Watch below.

Miles Teller (star of the upcoming "Fantastic Four" reboot) is an aspiring jazz drummer in the new trailer for "Whiplash," a Sundance favorite that earned raves earlier this year. But unfortunately for Teller's character, Andrew, he has to deal with the most terrifying teacher ever, in the form of Terence Fletcher, played with ferocity by J.K. Simmons.

Terence is verbally and physically abusive, going so far as to slap Andrew across the face in front of a room full of musicians, then taunt him for crying by calling him a "worthless pansy ass." Just when you think Terence can't get any worse, he continues on a campaign of psychological torture so discrete that his words seep into Andrew's very being as the young drummer vies for Terence's approval.

"I want to be one of the greats," Andrew says as he justifies Terence's behavior -- and putting up with it --...

Much like back to school sales in mid July, in our books, Tiff’s first announcement wave reminds us that the end of summer is upon us (we heart fall film festival bliss) and it also gets our team of journalists heading to Tiff in Charlie Foxtrot pickle of a situation as the Docs, Midnight Madness, Vanguard & Wavelengths get revealed in the weeks to come making for scheduling overload. Of star-struck, tickets sale friendly list of showy red carpet items mentioned today, we find our usual set of Oscar bait items (how odd that Quebecois helmers Jean-Marc Vallee and Philippe Falardeau both present tear-jerker items with Reese Witherspoon), acquisitions titles, and more importantly, our first look at items that are pretty much guaranteed a showing at this year’s Telluride and Venice Film Festivals. On tap, we have Mia Hansen-Løve’s Eden, Christian Petzold’s Phoenix, Noah Baumbach’s While...

The Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) has fired its awards season opening salvo, announcing a slew of world premieres for the September edition, which will close with Alan Rickman’s A Little Chaos.Scroll down for full list

Not to be outdone by the New York Film Festival, which has staked a claim to the world premieres of Gone Girl and Inherent Vice, and Venice, which will open with Birdman, artistic director Cameron Bailey and his team announced on Tuesday (22) close to 50 galas and special presentations.

Two factors are certain to ratchet up the sense of anticipation heading into September. Most of these titles are without Us distribution and that said, it remains to be seen which films will qualify for a coveted first-weekend slot.

Tiff top brass made it clear earlier this year that any title that sneaks into Telluride will be forced to screen after the first four days of the festival. Tiff runs from...

The 39th Toronto International Film Festival has announced its initial slate of galas and special presentations, which includes 37 world premieres and several films with Oscar ambitions. The Judge, which stars Robert Downey Jr. as a big-city lawyer who reluctantly returns home and ends up defending his revered father (Robert Duvall) against criminal charges, will have its world premiere in Toronto. His Avengers pal, Chris Evans, will unveil his own directorial debut in Toronto, titled Before We Go.

Also noteworthy: James Gandolfini’s final film, The Drop, which also stars Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace; another Jason Reitman Toronto world premiere,...

This morning the first wave of the 2014 Toronto Film Festival lineup was announced and so far it's an impressive list of films including films from Noah Baumbach, Mike Leigh, David Gordon Green, Jason Reitman, Bennett Miller, David Cronenberg, Antoine Fuqua, Edward Zwick, Mikael Roskam, David Dobkin and many others. One surprising detail is there was no announcement of an opening film so along with everything below there is still at least one biggie on the way, and while they say it has nothing to do with their "premiere" mandate, I wouldn't be surprised if it might be Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Birdman and they're waiting to see if it will be the North American premiere. Then again, could Birdman open both Toronto and Venicec But what else could it bec Maybe David Ayer's Furyc No chance for Christopher Nolan's Interstellar... or is therec Probably the films announced so far...

The Toronto International Film Festival announced its initial wave of 2014 premieres and galas this morning and it features some familiar awards titles, some big stars and some unexpected studio titles. Among the major studio films, David Dobkin's "The Judge" with Robert Downey Jr. and Antoine Fuqua's "The Equalizer" each received gala slots and should premiere over the festival's opening weekend. Other announced galas so far include Bennett Miller's acclaimed "Foxcatcher," which debuted at Cannes, and Mike Binder's "Black and White" starring Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer and Anthony Mackie. Toronto has also scheduled special gala screenings for David Cronenberg's "Map to the Stars" with Julianne Moore and Robert Pattinson, François Ozon's "The New Girlfriend," Ed Zwick's "Pawn Sacrifice" with Tobey Maguire, Lone Scherfig's "The Riot Club," Jean-Marc Vallée's "Wild," Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano's "Samba" and Shawn Levy's "This is Where I Leave You...

We talk to producer Jason Blum about The Purge: Anarchy, Parnormal Activity 5, making horror on a budget, and being a Hollywood rebel...

Interview

Although he's been a successful Hollywood movie producer since the mid-90s, it was the gigantic, unexpected popularity of Paranormal Activity which brought Jason Blum and his production company Blumhouse Productions to the world's attention. Since that film landed in 2007, his company's been responsible for a range of low-budget yet often very effective genre films, ranging from Insidious in 2010, via Barry Levinson's The Bay in 2012, to alien invasion flick Dark Skies in 2013.

Last year also saw the release of another surprise hit for Blumhouse: The Purge, a lean, flawed mix of sci-fi, horror and home invasion thriller directed by James DeMonaco. The sequel, The Purge: Anarchy, is out this week, and it's a successful expansion of the first film's premise, as its futuristic violence spills out...

Early Tuesday morning, the Toronto International Film Festival will announce its initial wave of films for the 2014 edition of the festival. As usual, there will be a slew of films that have played at either Cannes or Sundance, a number of star-filled projects looking for distribution, some broader studio films that may or may not be awards season fodder and then, of course, the potential Oscar players. Toronto has long had to juggle landing the best premieres with Venice, but more recently has found their thunder stolen by a little festival in Colorado that actually has Academy members in attendance: Telluride. Tiff has reportedly threatened less-prestigious galas or slots after Wednesday (gasp! not after Wednesday!), but for the most part, Hollywood's studios seem to have taken it all with a collective yawn. Toronto is important, yes. What's best for each individual film's release and publicity campaign is slightly more important.