The Sundance 2014 Film Festival Roundup

Lucy Shaw, Research and Insight Executive, Digital Cinema Media, submits her final roundup report from the Sundance Film Festival 2014 and shares her thoughts on her time in Park City, Utah.

If the sign of a good Sundance is falling asleep before your plane even leaves the runway, I can safely hold my hands up and say I had the best time ever. Twelve films, countless Diet Cokes and a sighting of Elijah Wood later, here is my final round up from the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

My highlight from the final week of the festival was Rudderless, actor William H Macy’s directorial debut, starring Billy Crudup as Sam, a father coming to terms with the death of his son. Shunning his previous life and drinking away his pain, Sam begins to move on when he discovers his late son’s musical talent. Playing his son’s songs at an open-mic night Sam meets Quentin (a fantastic performance by Anton Yelchin) a young musician, and together they form a rock-band that changes both of their lives. A bittersweet comedy with an amazing soundtrack, and fantastic performances from the whole cast, this is definitely one to look out for.

I’ve already mentioned this on my look-forward to see list, and I was glad I managed to get a seat at the premiere of Happy Christmas. Director, Joe Swanberg reunites with Anna Kendrick following last year’s Drinking Buddies. Kendrick stars as Jenny a twenty-something who, following a breakup, moves to Chicago to live with her older brother and his family. Jenny’s relationship with her sister-in-law Kelly (played by the under-rated Melanie Lynskey) is initially strained, but they bond over their mutual disappointment with the lives they are leading. Completely improvised, with a twelve page outline replacing a script, this is a short, but sweet look into the all too real ups and downs of family life.

So Sundance is over for another year, and until next year, all we can do is wait eagerly for some of these films to reach our shores. Whiplash was undoubtedly the star of the festival, winning the top prizes for the US Dramatic Feature and being bought by Sony Pictures for a reported $3m. If I were a betting person I would expect to see this make an appearance at the London Film Festival later this year.