Slamdance Sets ‘Film About A Father Who’ To Open 2020 Festival

Patrick Hipes

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Lynne Sachs’ documentary Film About a Father Who has been tapped as the opening-night film of the Slamdance Film Festival, whose 26th edition is set for January 24-30 in Park City.

Sachs shot footage of her father, a pioneering Park City businessman, over a 35-year period from 1984-2019, seeking to attempt to understand the web that connects a child to her parent, and a sister to her siblings. The cinematic exploration of her father offers simultaneous, sometimes contradictory views of one seemingly unknowable man who is publicly the uninhibited center of the frame, yet privately ensconced in secrets. As facts mount, she discovers more about her father than she had hoped to reveal.

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“It takes undeniable courage to discover and reveal shocking truths about one’s family,” said Slamdance festival manager Alina Solodnikova on Wednesday. “Lynne Sachs has done it with unique style, a dry sense of humor and honesty that captivates our programmers. A generation in the making, Film About A Father Who is pulling no punches. We couldn’t imagine a better film to open Slamdance 2020.”

The news comes as Slamdance is ramping up for its 2020 edition, adding more titles to a schedule that already includes the Narrative and Documentary Feature Film Competition and Breakouts sections which were unveiled earlier this month.

New entries today include a special festival event of Andrew Patterson’s The Vast of Night, which won the audience award in its premiere at the fest a year ago. A master class discussion will be geared toward the film’s production and journey from Slamdance to Amazon Studios.

Also new is the world premiere of Steve Markle’s documentary Shoot To Marry added to the Breakouts section, and a shorts lineup of 81 films in six categories. Shorts in the Narrative, Documentary and Animation sections are eligible for the 2020 Oscar-qualifying Shorts competition.

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