Sundance Film Festival: London Goes Online

Leo Barraclough
·3 min read

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The organizers of Sundance Film Festival: London, the U.K. iteration of the Park City indie pic fiesta, are to hold a boutique event online, running Aug. 7-9.

Sundance London, organized by Sundance Institute and Picturehouse Cinemas, was due to run May 28-31, but was postponed due to the COVID pandemic.

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The festival will now present three feature films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, selected by the Sundance Institute programming team together with Picturehouse. Each U.K. premiere screening will be followed by a Q&A with the film teams.

The program will open with “Uncle Frank,” which is directed, written and produced by Alan Ball (“American Beauty,” “True Blood”) and stars Paul Bettany. “Luxor,” directed by Zeina Durra (“The Imperialists Are Live”) and starring Andrea Riseborough, will premiere on Aug. 8. The event will close with “Boys State,” directed by Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine, and winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at Sundance.

Festival passholders will have access to a short film program, which includes the U.K. premiere of eight short films.

The festival will also host a series of panel discussions, which will be free to view worldwide.

“Transatlantic: Directors in Conversation” will see five leading U.K. and U.S. independent filmmakers, Janicza Bravo (“Zola”), Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”), Romola Garai (“Amulet”), Justin Simien (“Bad Hair”), and Julie Taymor (“The Glorias”), engage in a discussion of their careers, creative processes, and films from the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

Jeff Deutchman, exec VP of acquisitions and production at Neon, and Julia Oh, senior commissioning executive, Film4, will be among the guests for “(Re)Imagining the Future of Independent Film.” They will examine the “complexities of the independent filmmaking landscape,” and reimagine what “the future of film can and should look like.”

Tabitha Jackson, director of the Sundance Film Festival, said: “As a proud Brit in my first year as festival director, and despite all the challenges of this moment, I am especially pleased that we are able to celebrate Sundance Film Festival: London with a tight selection of films, conversations and special guests on our new digital platform. Although we will not be gathering in person, the power of the work remains undimmed and we’re eager for it to reach audiences in the comfort and safety of their homes.”

Clare Binns, joint managing director of Picturehouse Cinemas, added: “We are thrilled to still be able to bring the best independent cinema direct from Utah’s Sundance Film Festival to our U.K. audiences in these unprecedented times. We look forward to hosting the festival again in the future at Picturehouse Central, but in the meantime join us for some Sundance fun, (which we could all do with) and the exciting offering of the best of thought provoking and cinematic films, Q&As and talks as we all navigate through this current situation.”

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