The Sundance Film Festival is passing its midpoint, but there are more world premieres of some of the films that will grace the Specialty Big Screen this year. Beginning last week Movieline posted details about this year's U.S. and World Competition films and filmmakers in their own words. In this round, Kyle Patrick Alvarez (C.O.G.), Matthew Porterfield (I Used to Be Darker), Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland (Shopping), Eliza Hittman (It Felt Like Love) and Jerusha E. Hess (Austenland) preview their films.
[Related: WATCH: Get To Know 5 Sundance Film Festival Filmmakers (And Their Films) AND SUNDANCE: Directors Tease 'Dirty Wars,' 'Fire In The Blood,' 'God Loves Uganda,' 'A Teacher,' 'Narco Cultura']
C.O.G. by Director Kyle Patrick Alvarez [U.S. Dramatic Competition]
Synopsis:
David has it all figured out. His plan—more a Steinbeckian dream—is to spend his summer working on an apple farm in Oregon with his best friend, Jennifer. When she bails out on him, David is left to dirty his hands alone, watched over by Hobbs, the old farm owner and the first in a series of questionable mentors he encounters. First there’s Curly, the friendly forklift operator with a unique hobby, and then Jon, the born-again rock hound who helps David in a time of need. This first film adaptation of David Sedaris’s work tells the story of a prideful young man and what’s left of him after all he believes is chipped away piece by piece.
With such beloved source material come great advantages and immense pressure. Writer/director Kyle Patrick Alvarez proves more than up to the challenge as he delivers a finely wrought story that remains true to both the author’s voice and his own. Jonathan Groff perfectly embodies David and imbues him with abundant wit that masks the uncertainty that he hides. C.O.G. is a funny and poignant portrait of a lost soul searching for himself among the amusing characters in life’s rich pageant. [Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival]
Responses by Kyle Patrick Alvarez
The C.O.G. quick pitch:
C.O.G. is the first film based on any of writer David Sedaris' work. It chronicles the time he spent as a young man working as an apple picker in the Hood River Valley in Oregon.
…and why it's worth seeing at Sundance and beyond:
I think that this is the first (and possibly only) time David Sedaris has allowed anyone to adapt his work before is notable enough. I also think our cast, which includes Jonathan Groff, Corey Stoll, Dennis O'Hare, Dean Stockwell, Casey Wilson, Dale Dickey and Troian Bellisario, is so strong and they're so good in the film, I can't wait for people to see their performances.
About getting permission and other challenges:
The first difficult step was getting Mr. Sedaris to agree to let me turn it into a film. After trying to reach him through more traditional means, I finally decided to just show up at one of his readings and give him a copy of my first film "Easier with Practice". Fortunately, he really enjoyed the film and we started a dialogue. I expressed my sincere intentions with the piece and broke down exactly how I planned on approaching the material. He agreed and has been incredibly giving and gracious ever since.
Financing took a long time as well. Even though people did like my first film and were intrigued and excited about the adaptation, the movie still tackles challenging themes about religion and sexuality. It has quite a dark edge to it that I don't think people will be expecting. Getting the movie made finally was a product of lowering our budget and our shooting days. It meant making production more challenging, but to have the opportunity to finally shoot the script was well worth it.
Shooting on location in Oregon was a truly great experience. We only had 18 days to shoot and encountered heavy rain and bad weather almost every day. We had to shoot up to 9 pages a day so it was always a scramble. Fortunately our crew and cast were so prepared that always met our days. We even shot right in the same areas David was actually in when he wrote the story. At one point our base camp was in the parking lot of the apple factory he had worked in (though we chose to shoot at a different factory).
And how Alvarez assembled his cast:
Mostly through the traditional process of making offers and meeting with the actors. I'm very hands on with casting, so for me it's a process of being very thorough and thinking of the actors out there I love and would be thrilled to work with. I'm still in awe that we got the cast we did in the film. I'm very proud of the work each and every one of them did.
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I Used To Be Darker by Director Matthew Porterfield [NEXT Section]
Synopsis:
When Taryn, a Northern Irish runaway, finds herself in trouble in Ocean City, Maryland, she seeks refuge with her aunt and uncle in Baltimore. But Kim and Bill have problems of their own: they are trying to handle the end of their marriage gracefully for the sake of their daughter, Abby, just home from her first year of college. I Used to Be Darker is a story of people finding each other and letting each other go; of looking for love where they have found it before; and, when that does not work, figuring out where they might find it next.
With his third feature, writer/director Matthew Porterfield focuses his delicate eye on this rip in a family’s fabric and the emotional fallout it causes. Cinematographer Jeremy Saulnier beautifully tracks the bubbling revelations and suburban Baltimore landscape in this quiet story that is enlivened by live performance. [Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival]
Responses by Matthew Porterfield
The I Used to Be Darker quick pitch:
Taryn, A Northern Irish runaway, lands on aunt Kim’s Baltimore doorstep just as Kim is leaving her husband, Bill. Bill and Kim are musicians, partners, and parents, trying to handle the end of their marriage gracefully for the sake of their daughter, Abby, just home from her first year of college. What follows is an honest story of family revelations told with empathy, buoyed by a score of songs written and performed by the principle cast.
…and why it's worth checking out at Sundance and beyond:
If I were being objective I’d say: there’s a real sense of discovery in seeing a new film from a young director at a pivotal stage in his career, starring an incredible cast you’ve never seen before, with songs and images that stick in your head long after you’ve left the theatre. I Used to Be Darker is a film about how we communicate and connect to people through words and music. It’s full of intimate performances that play out in duration, beautifully lensed by Jeremy Saulnier’s handheld 2:35 cinematography. It features raw, risk-taking performances by actors that are new to the screen. For these reasons, and many more, I think it’s a film worth experiencing collectively in a darkened theatre as soon as you possibly can.
About feeling hopeless and no money:
We were one week away from production with no money in the bank. I was feeling hopeless and trying to get stoked by listening to UGK in my car on a trip back from New York. I suddenly had the dumb idea to get the name of the film, I Used to Be Darker, tattooed on my arm as a commitment of faith. Then I had the idea that it might make a good Kickstarter video, so I had my friend record it.
Two days later we launched it on their site. The money we made from the crowd-sourcing campaign came two weeks into production and carried us through as we finalized our other equity deals. But more importantly, the tattoo carried me through an intense period of self-doubt, serving to remind me that I cared a lot about this work, and that others did, too.
There were two notable instances where I found the whole production disappearing down a rabbit hole because of some stuff we’d written in the screenplay that wasn’t working for the camera. Both times, I threw out the script and we built something better and simpler with the actors in the moment. I don’t think I would have had the confidence to do this if it weren’t for the experience of making my second film, Putty Hill, which was entirely improvised, and taught me that directing is as much about releasing control as it is about asserting it.
And insight into the cast:
Amy Belk, my co-writer, met Kim Taylor in a previous life, when they were both teenagers at Bible college in Florida, shortly before Amy got kicked out and Kim dropped out. She shared Kim’s songs with me when we started writing. Even before I met her and had her read for the role, her music and grace informed the story we were crafting. In many ways, Kim was Kim from the start.
I’d been friends with Ned Oldham for years, and knew his music well. When I showed Amy footage of Ned’s bands, Old Calf and The Anomoanon, she wanted to meet him. We drove to Ned’s home in Virginia. He showed us around his big yard, the trees, the garden, the creek, the music studio in the garage. By the end of the day, drinking wine at his table, he was Bill.
I met Deragh Campbell and Hannah Gross at the NY premiere of my second film, Putty Hill. They’d grown up together in Toronto and known each other since they were three days old, as their parents are good friends and actors in the same theatre group. Hannah was studying theatre at NYU and I thought she’d make a great Abby. I auditioned her and offered her the role the next day. Deragh sent me a tape soon after. I had no idea she could hit Taryn’s dialect, but her mom was born in Belfast and she nailed it.
The next step was getting everybody together for a script reading in Baltimore, which we did in April, three months before principle photography. There was so much great energy at that table. Real relationships were born that weekend that we were able to build upon during the shoot. I really love the way it all came together.
About the trailer:
Trailers are tough. I think of this more as a “teaser”. Our editor, Marc Vives, cut it to one of Ned Oldham’s original songs, and I think he did a really good job conveying the mood of the film without revealing too much.
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Shopping by Directors Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland [World Dramatic Competition]
Synopsis:
Living in New Zealand in 1981 amid high racial tension, Willie, a half-Samoan teenager, is coming into his own. With an unpredictable father, Willie spends most of his time working at a department store or taking care of his little brother, Solomon. A chance encounter at work with an eccentric and charming “shopper” named Bennie lures Willie into a world without rules. As Willie begins to find a place in Bennie’s reckless nest of criminals, Solomon grows increasingly vulnerable to their father’s violent tendencies.
Filmmakers Louis Sutherland and Mark Albiston have masterfully conjured brilliant performances from Kevin Paulo and Julian Dennison to portray an authentic and powerful story of brotherly love in a harsh world. After awarding them the Jury Prize for International Short Filmmaking in 2010 for The Six Dollar Fifty Man, the Sundance Film Festival is happy to welcome back Sutherland and Albiston for their feature film debut. [Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival]
Responses by Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland
The Shopping quick pitch:
Shopping is set in New Zealand, 1981. It’s a film about a 16 year old called Willie who falls out with his volatile father and into the company of a 50 year old career criminal called Bennie. As Bennie’s hold over Willie grows he finds himself in over his head; and when his younger brother Solomon is left to fend for himself at home, Willie’s two worlds collide with shattering consequences.
…and what makes the film worth seeing at Sundance and beyond:
Louis Sutherland: Shopping has only been seen a few times by test audiences in an unfinished state (Sundance will be its world premier). We have had some incredible feedback.
Mark Albiston: The consistent feedback in our test screenings is that people leave the theatre but the film stays with them. It’s is an emotional roller-coaster, funny, sad, tragic, uplifting, real. We have followed on from our shorts where we have told a story close to our hearts.
Sutherland: This story is inspired by a certain time in my Life so its come from a very real place and is inspired by characters that we grew up with. Shopping has a strong New Zealand flavor and great characters that can only come from us, but its a story that we feel will resonate with audiences where ever they live.
Challenges the third time around:
Albiston: We faced a number of challenges to make this film. After having two very successful short films Run and The Six Dollar Fifty Man which won at Sundance and Cannes, there was a lot of expectation for our first feature film. It took us a lot longer to write than we both anticipated stretching our development resources and relationships families, and I suppose some of the patience of the investors in Shopping.
Having the experience that we’d had on the shorts helped us to realize that we needed to start with a great story and good stories take time. There were a number of occasions during development when the hill seemed to turn into a mountain. The two of us were constantly reminded each other that we’d been in similar situations and challenges with our shorts and in the end it was this experience that helped us to push through to production.
Sutherland: One of the biggest challenges on a feature film compared to a short, is its size. The duration of production seems very long compared to the length of preproduction. On our shorts we were in pre-production for 2 weeks with the cast for a one week production. With the feature film we had 2 weeks for a six week production schedule. We are firm believers in the power of preparation and the ability to play with the other creators on the film, our cast, the DOP, designer etc. Mark and I really had to push for extra time to be spent here we ended up investing a lot of our time here but it still felt undercooked. WE WILL DEFINITELY BE REFINING OUR PROCESS FOR OUR SECOND FEATURE.
Albiston: I guess its the way that it happens on an indie film you have to add value by investing with a lot of your own time and that was definitely the case with Shopping, but its the special sauce that makes the film unique in many ways. The improvisations – the amazing location that took months to find, the cast that we plucked from the street.
Searching high and low for their lead:
Albiston: Louis and I cast the film ourselves. We wanted to put characters on the big screen that were inspired by our past growing up in the small beachside town called Raumati in New Zealand. Our young street cast actors are the heart beat of the film and are complimented by some great performers like Polish actor Jacek Koman who plays Bennie, a 50 year old career criminal.
Sutherland: We went to almost every school, night club and shopping mall in our region to find our young leads. Kevin Paulo who plays Willie (16yrs) was found at the local mall, Laura Petersen (16 yrs) who plays Nikki was cast at our ex college and Solomon played by Julian Dennison was cast in a massive sweep of the regions primary (elementary) schools. Willie’s mother in the film was played by Maureen Fepuleai, who was also untrained. A friend recommended her to us.
Our other lead cast were chosen through local agencies and keeping an eye on local talent, two of our core cast are ex NZ Drama school students. Jacek Koman was our only well known international actor.
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It Felt Like Love by Director Eliza Hittman [NEXT Section]
Synopsis:
Fourteen-year-old Lila is experiencing an ennui-filled Brooklyn summer. She awkwardly wears a Kabuki-esque mask of sunscreen at the beach and plays third wheel to Chiara, her more experienced friend, and Chiara’s boyfriend, Patrick. Determined to have a love interest of her own, a bravado-filled Lila pursues Sammy, a tough but handsome older boy. Though Sammy doesn’t respond to her overtures, he doesn’t reject her either, and Lila—unable to resist spinning delusional fables of a relationship with him—manipulates herself deeper into his world. When her desperation and posturing carry her too far into unfamiliar territory, her inexperience is exposed, and she is forced to confront reality.
In this film shot from Lila’s point of view and constructed with precise—sometimes startling—imagery and intimate moments, first-time feature writer/director Eliza Hittman confidently constructs a viewing experience that is completely subjective. Bolstered by a perfectly modulated lead performance from Gina Piersanti, It Felt Like Love unflinchingly reveals some of the rawest moments of girlhood in an authentic story of burgeoning identity and sexual awakening. [Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival]
Responses by Eliza Hittman
The It Felt Like Love quick pitch:
It Felt Like Love is about a fourteen year old girl who pursues an older guy she sees on Rockaway beach and her willingness to sexually degrade herself to experience intimacy.
…and why it's worth checking out at Sundance and beyond:
It’s really relatable whether people want to admit it or not. It’s about how far someone is willing to go to feel “loved”. People never want to see themselves as being desperate, it’s part of ourselves that we keep hidden.
The casting challenges:
The biggest challenge was casting the lead role. I wanted the young actress in the main role to actually be young, with palpable vulnerability, and not someone over 18 pretending to be a kid. This legally limited some of the choices I could make and even with those limitations, it was difficult to cast. We scared away several girls early on that I was interested in.
When I approached Gina Piersanti for a callback and let her and her mother read the script, they declined. I was in total despair, because Gina was by far my favorite. I didn’t know what to do and I was in dire straits as the shoot dates loomed. We were afraid we would have to push back another year, but thankfully the script lingered with Gina and her mother. Weeks later they asked for another opportunity to audition. There were lots of back and forth e-mails and questions on how things would be executed. It took a really long time to establish trust, build a relationship, and bring her on board, but eventually she decided to trust me. We also had to deal with a modest budget - we had three lights, no ACs, and used my parents’ basement as a soundstage.
And more about the actors:
I used traditional and non-traditional methods. I had a casting director, Henry Russell Bergstein, who casts on Broadway and is an associate of Doug Aibel’s. He set up several sessions with agent kids. I passed on all of them but one. I also attended a lot of high school plays. I saw the Crucible at LaGuardia and went to a lot of Brooklyn dance classes to find teenage girls. And I hung out in remote parks in Brooklyn, watching guys play handball, hanging out and talking to people. I was looking for certain characteristics in each person, but I also wanted the real deal. Young adults from New York City. Really from New York City. I don’t feel like I need to work with actors with training or people who are pursuing acting, I think anyone can do it if they have qualities that align with the characters.
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Austenland by Director Jerusha E. Hess [U.S. Dramatic Competition]
Synopsis:
Jane’s life-size paper doll of Mr. Darcy and her “I Love Darcy” tote may be tattered, but even in her thirties, she hasn’t grown out of her obsession with all things Jane Austen. Careworn by love, she saves enough to fulfill her dream of stepping into Austen’s world and heads to Austenland for an “immersive” vacation to eschew all things modern. And it couldn’t be more perfect. There’s an imposing manor with verdant grounds for afternoon promenades, rosy-faced servants, trusty steeds for hunting expeditions, gilded drawing rooms for evenings spent in polite conversation, and, yes, gallant young suitors. Unfortunately, due to limited funds, she’s relegated to lesser quarters and drearier costumes than fellow bachelorette guests, but her cares melt away as she catches the eye of a young footman, and she’s swept into a romantic adventure she could never have imagined.
Will fantasy and reality merge for Jane? A wickedly funny, irreverent comedy, featuring a malapropism-peppered performance by Jennifer Coolidge and an impeccable cast of archetypal characters, Austenland hits all the right notes of the Regency era and our curious infatuation with it. [Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival]
Responses by Jerusha E. Hess
The Austenland quick pitch:
Jane Hayes is obsessed with all things Jane Austen. She spends her life savings on an "immersive" vacation to Austenland--a themed resort replete with empire waistlines and sexy footmen. There she navigates fantasy and reality and discovers what it is she really wants.
…and why it's worth seeing at Sundance and beyond:
It is light and fluffy, girly and indulgent, and chalk full of big laughs!
Getting bit and working with an improv queen:
My daughter bit me several times while I was running out the door to set. She wasn't very happy with my working full time.
It was a joy and a challenge to work with such an improv queen Jennifer Coolidge. She would have the entire room in stitches as she came up with lines about regency culture. One favorite was, "in England the bums are in the front"… That might have something to do with the fact that all the footmen wore oddly shaped cod pieces under their funny pants.
And finding the dream cast:
I had a dream cast and beautifully it got put together through a great casting director, Michele Guish, a persistent producer Gina Mingacci and a lot of late night calls and emails from Jared and myself.
Keri Russel epitomizes the delicate regency woman and she was sent an early draft of the script a year before it was even close to being made. I think I begged Bret McKensie to be in the movie after a Flight of the Conchords show when it was just a thought in my head to adapt the book. Some more begging to Jennifer Coolidge at a sound recording of Napoleon Dynamite the animated series (even the book was written with her voice in mind). I was in love with James Callis from his cult following on Battlestar Galactica. And I met J J Field and was immediately smitten. Georgia King is a force to be reckoned with, and hottie Ricky Whittle is charmingly silly and cool. And who doesn't adore Jane Seymour. She is glamorous and perfect. What a team!