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The Sundance London Film and Music Festival returns to the capital this weekend and the lineup of film and music events looks to build on the solid foundation established last year.

It’s an exciting time for Independent film with the trailblazing success of the Sundance festival in Utah sparking off dozens of initiatives, the Raindance festival is a notable and vibrant example, and Sundance London is looking to do more than replicating the success of its American cousin.

When we reported on the lineup we singled out Michael Winterbottom’s The Look of Love, a biopic of self-styled King of Soho Paul Raymond, and Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color, his highly anticipated follow-up film to 2004’s Primer. However there are many more excellent films playing across the various strands and we wanted to shine our spotlight on some of the films to look forward to.

All the films playing at the festival can be found by clicking here, but hold off on that clicking until we’ve given you a few names to look out for.

Our interview with John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival and Trevor Groth, Director of Programming for the Sundance Film Festival can be found here and you can see all of our coverage for Sundance here, and, importantly, here’s the link to book tickets and join in the fun.

Let’s get started…

Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes

Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes (International Premiere)

(Director and screenwriter: Francesca Gregorini)

Synopsis: Emanuel, a troubled girl, becomes preoccupied with her mysterious, new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother. In offering to babysit her newborn, Emanuel unwittingly enters a fragile, fictional world, of which she becomes the gatekeeper. Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Jessica Biel, Alfred Molina, Frances O’Connor, Jimmi Simpson,Aneurin Barnard.

This is Gregorini’s follow-up to her 2009 coming-of-age film Tanner Hall and the narrative discourse on motherhood and dealing with the loss of a loved one shows a maturation of style and subject.

Blurring the lines of reality and fiction the film is itself a mixture of darkly comic and surreal nightmare and much praise has been placed on the shoulders of Kaya Scodelario who impressed recently in Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights.

The fine cast probe the unsteady ground of new relationships and the spike of maternal instincts with fervour and sensitivity. The film played very well in Park City and earned a Grand Jury Prize nomination for its writer and director.

For more information, showing dates and times, and to book tickets for this film click here.

In a World

In a World… (International Premiere)

(Director and screenwriter: Lake Bell)

Synopsis: An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation. Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed.

 

This is the feature debut of writer/director/star Lake Bell and has the spirit of Sundance in spades. The Sundance jury were so taken with Bell’s work that they awarded her with the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award in Utah earlier this year.

Fred Melamed and Demetri Martin are front and centre in the supporting cast and through the vessel of a struggling voice over artist Bell captures the egos and the inanities of modern Hollywood life. Talking with MSN about channeling her ‘inner trailer voice’ she says,

I had been channeling it for my entire life. It was I had to make an entire movie about it in order to play with it. It is something that I enjoy profoundly, and I don’t know where, I think it starts from the idea of this blind voice that you can be anyone, that you can be any social level, any race, any gender even.

For more information, showing dates and times, and to book tickets for this film click here.

Muscle Shoals

Muscle Shoals (UK Premiere)

(Director: Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier)

Synopsis: Down in Alabama Rick Hall founded FAME Studios and gave birth to the Muscle Shoals sound. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Gregg Allman, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Alicia Keys, Bono and others bear witness to the greatest untold American music story.

We wrote about this one in our Music and Film Events to See at Sundance London piece earlier this month, click here to read what it’s all about and details of a very special gig happening at the festival.

For more information, showing dates and times, and to book tickets for this film click here.

| Courtesy Film Still From "Touchy Feely".

Touchy Feely (International Premiere)

(Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton)

A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother’s foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.” Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais.

A new film from the director of Humpday and Your Sister’s Sister is always worth looking out for, and following an excellent showing in Sundance earlier in the year Touchy Feely comes to Sundance London with great expectations.

That the film deals with turmoil in the family is no surprise but it takes a keen eye to unlock the drama therein. With a touch of the surreal Shelton’s film takes physical transformation to mirror and spark emotional conflict to great effect. And the film has Allison Janney in it so there’s really no reason not to see this one as soon as possible, right?

For more information, showing dates and times, and to book tickets for this film click here.

Shane Carruth in Upstream Color

Upstream Color (UK Premiere)

(Director and screenwriter: Shane Carruth)

A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig, Thiago Martins. Winner of a U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Sound Design at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival

Carruth became famous for his 2004 film Primer, with its realistic and non-sensational depiction of the discovery and consequence of time-travel. It was a film which demanded repeat viewings and a careful sense of concentration to uncover the intricacies of the narrative. To say his follow up film, Upstream Color, comes highly expected in an understatement.

When the film debuted in Park City this film prompted a cavalcade of praise and insistence on the absence of too much information relayed to those who had not yet seen the film. I’ll respect that, suffice to say that Carruth’s work is enigmatic and rich and Upstream Color does well to make good on the promise of Primer.

For more information, showing dates and times, and to book tickets for this film click here.

Sleepwalk With Me

Sleepwalk With Me (European Premiere)

(Director: Mike Birbiglia, Screenwriters: Mike Birbiglia, Ira Glass, Joe Birbiglia, Seth Barrish)

Synopsis: Reluctant to confront his fears of love, honesty, and growing up, a budding standup comedian has both a hilarious and intense struggle with sleepwalking. Cast: Mike Birbiglia, Lauren Ambrose, Carol Kane, James Rebhorn, Cristin Milioti.

This film by comedian Mike Birbiglia premiered at Sundance last year to great praise and is another example of the writer/director/star making a big impact with their debut film. Insomnia and the various evils which come with everyday life are the foundation here and Birbiglia’s true life stories, written as part of his comedy sets, wraps love, life and the futility of a career in comedy into a fine film.

It has done extremely well in the year since it debuted and it comes to London with an extended Q&A with director and screenwriter Mike Birbiglia, moderated by comedian Jimmy Carr.

For more information, showing dates and times, and to book tickets for this film click here.

Steve Coogan in The Look of Love

The Look of Love

(Director: Michael Winterbottom, Screenwriter: Matt Greenhalgh)

The true story of British adult magazine publisher and entrepreneur Paul Raymond. A modern day King Midas story, Raymond became one of the richest men in Britain at the cost of losing those closest to him. Cast: Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, Tamsin Egerton.

Coogan and Winterbottom reunite for another tall tale based in murky real life. Previously their collaborations, 24 Hour Party People, A Cock and Bull Story and recently The Trip, have given Coogan free rein to create his characters within the specified boundaries of reality and in targeting the larger-than-life King of Soho The Look of Love should be one to watch at this year’s festival.

With Chris Addison, Stephen Fry, David Walliams and Matt Lucas in the supporting cast Winterbottom is surrounding Coogan with some great comic actors however some of his best work is in mining the human drama behind the laughter and the controversial life of Paul Raymond gives them both ample opportunity to do this.

For more information, showing dates and times, and to book tickets for this film click here.  Our review of the film can be found here.

The Moo Man

The Moo Man (UK Premiere)

(Directors: Andy Heathcote, Co-director: Heike Bachelier)

Synopsis: A year in the life of heroic farmer Steve, scene stealing Ida (queen of the herd), and a supporting cast of 55 cows. When Ida falls ill, Steve’s optimism is challenged and their whole way of life is at stake.

This British documentary by Andy Heathcote was shot over a period of four years and follows dairy farmer Steve Hook as he fights against the supermarkets making inroads on his livelihood. The film is, of course, about far more than a herd of cows and a balance sheet and Hook’s family and his relationship with his cows take provide an emotional insight into a vanishing way of life.

In a great interview with The Telegraph Hook says of the project,

It started being about one farmer bucking the trend and taking on the supermarkets, but in the end what came across most strongly was the characters of the cows. Like humans they are all different characters. But they are beautiful animals and worthy of the red carpet treatment.

Whether the cows come to London for a Sundance red carpet isn’t clear but it’s a great indication of the variety on offer at this year’s festival.

For more information, showing dates and times, and to book tickets for this film click here.