Netflix and Amazon lead Sundance London 2017 line-up
David Farnor | On 25, Apr 2017
Sundance London returns this summer, and Netflix and Amazon are leading the line-up for 2017.
The streaming giants dominated the Utah festival this year, snapping up every indie gem they could find to join their growing libraries of exclusive titles. After last year’s acquisition of Manchester by the Sea saw Amazon Studios bag its first Oscars, the online firm outbid rivals to score The Big Sick in a record $12 million deal, also securing the US rights to prison drama Crown Heights. Both will have their international premieres this June at the London event.
Directed by Michael Showalter and starring Zoe Kazan and Kumail Nanjiani, The Big Sick sees Pakistan-born comedian Kumail and grad student Emily fall in love, only to struggle as their cultures clash, and Emily contracts a mysterious illness. Matt Ruskin’s Crown Heights follows Colin Warner, who is wrongfully convicted of murder, prompting his best friend, Carl King, to devote his life to proving Colin’s innocence. Adapted from This American Life, the true story won the Audience Award: US Dramatic at Sundance.
They will be joined by three titles acquired by Netflix this January: Chasing Ice follow-up Chasing Coral, The Incredible Jessica James and Russian doping documentary Icarus, which was bagged for $5 million, one of the largest non-fiction purchases in Sundance’s history.
Jeff Orlowski’s Chasing Coral (Winner of the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary) charts the disappearance of coral reefs around the world at an unprecedented rate. Bryan Fogel’s Icarus (U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award) sets out to uncover the truth about doping in sports, as a chance meeting with a Russian scientist transforms his story from a personal experiment into a geopolitical thriller. Jim Strouse’s The Incredible Jessica James stars Jessica Williams and Chris O’Dowd in a story about an aspiring NYC playwright, who is struggling to get over a recent breakup.
It is not just Netflix and Amazon bringing the streaming credentials to Sundance’s UK cousin, though: the 95-minute theatrical program of seven short films selected from this year’s Festival also includes Fish Story, directed by Charlie Shackleton, whose latest film was Fear Itself, an original movie for BBC iPlayer.
Sundance London runs from 1st to 4th June at Picturehouse Central in London, with 14 feature films in total direct from this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Selected by the Sundance Institute programming team in collaboration with Picturehouse, the festival will open with the International premiere of Miguel Arteta’s Beatriz at Dinner, and it will close with the UK premiere of David Lowery’s critically acclaimed A Ghost Story, starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara.
For the first time, the programme will also include a Surprise Film, which promises festivalgoers an exclusive chance to catch an audience hit from this year’s festival in Park City. Additionally, the Sundance Film Festival: London will introduce an Audience Favourite award for 2017, giving festivalgoers the chance to vote for their favourite features, with the winner announced at the close of the festival.
Festival passes are on sale now for the event, with priority booking for Picturehouse Members and Passholders opening today. Individual tickets will then be on general sale to the public from 9.30am on Tuesday 2nd May. For more information, visit the official website at www.picturehouses.com/sundance, or for the latest on Sundance VOD acquisitions, click here.