Slamdance Film Review: The Republic of Rick

Slamdance Film Review: The Republic of Rick
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Opening with one of the most elaborate—and arguably historically inaccurate—reenactments of the Battle of the Alamo ever put together, The Republic of Rick is awkwardly hilarious right from the get-go.
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Sundance Film Review: Alive Inside: A Story of Music & Memory

Sundance Film Review: Alive Inside: A Story of Music &...
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In Alive Inside, Michael Rossato-Bennett follows social worker Dan Cohen, who uses the connective power of music to reach otherwise unreachable people suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. With first-hand footage, we see the music of Louis Armstrong, The Beatles and others bring people essentially back from the dead—their loved ones and fellow patients marvel as the subjects recall memories and emotions that have been blacked out for years … read more

Slamdance Film Review: Elliot

Slamdance Film Review: Elliot
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In a stunning tribute to amateur filmmaking, this documentary follows Elliot—an overwhelmingly amateur filmmaker who is on a journey to become a cult icon as Canada’s first action hero. 
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Sundance Film Review: Locke

Sundance Film Review: Locke
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 I can’t believe I watched 85 minutes of a man driving a car, at night, by himself, without getting bored. Ivan Locke, played by Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises)—the sole visible actor in the film—begins driving home from a construction site the night before the biggest job of his career as a successful construction foreman. If I had known this film was just a guy in a car, I wouldn’t have seen it. The writing, directing and acting were all spot-on. I could have ridden around with Hardy and listened to him talk for another half-hour, at least. … read more

Slamdance Film Review: Copenhagen

Slamdance Film Review: Copenhagen
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Shot in the beautiful city of (you guessed it) Copenhagen, Denmark, the film follows 28-year-old William (Gethin Anthony) as he searches for his grandfather with nothing to guide him besides a letter.
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Sundance Film Review: Only Lovers Left Alive

Sundance Film Review: Only Lovers Left Alive
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Only Lovers Left Alive is Jarmusch’s take on the vampire genre, and the Jarmuschian way of underplaying the “mainstream” draw is the film’s strength. Any violence and seduction that usually defines the myth is all implied. … read more

Slamdance Film Review: Waiting for Mamu

Slamdance Film Review: Waiting for Mamu
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In Kathmandu, Nepal, the children of convicted citizens are sent to prison with their parents until they are old enough to make it on their own or until their parents are released.
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Sundance Film Review: Lilting

Sundance Film Review: Lilting
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 Director Hong Khaou beautifully captures the unique story of Junn, a woman whose son—her only connection to the world around her—dies tragically, leaving her in discomfort and suspension in a rest home as her deceased son’s boyfriend, Richard, struggles to help her while coming to terms with his own loss and guilt. … read more

Think of the Children! Tumbleweeds Joins Forces With Sundance

Think of the Children! Tumbleweeds Joins Forces With Sundance
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With the Tumbleweeds Film Festival, now in its fourth year, already making waves with its age-appropriate programming with locals, the efforts of Patrick Hubley and his colleagues were noticed by an even larger organization, the Sundance Film Festival. … read more

DIY or Die: An Interview with Peter Baxter of Slamdance

DIY or Die: An Interview with Peter Baxter of Slamdance
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“I think that over the years, the gatekeepers—the studio gatekeepers—have now become fewer, because I think with a film festival like Slamdance, the way that it’s programmed has shown that you don’t have to then be anointed, as it were, by a studio member to say that you can come in and now you can do this. Slamdance has played its part in helping to break down that barrier.” … read more