#Sundance London

Get Set For A Blockbuster Summer

Smart brands will find plenty of big films in the coming months to associate themselves with, Tom Linay writes.

Sundance, the foremost festival for independent cinema, returned to London last week, kick-starting what promises to be a spectacular summer of film. Hosted by Cineworld at The O2, with its founder, Robert Redford, in attendance, it featured a host of titles that made waves at the parent festival in Utah in January.

Highlights included UK premières for Sundance’s 2013 US Grand Jury Prize: Documentary winner, Blood Brother, and Lake Bell’s directorial debut and the winner of a screen-writing award, In A World. There were also music performances, workshops and Q&As providing a Millennium Dome-shaped Mecca for film lovers.

Film Experts Gather for Sundance London

Robert Redford’s Sundance film festival is back in London for the second year this week for a four-day stint at The O2 between 25 – 28 April. As well as the UK premières of American independent films fresh from the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, there will be panel discussions and filmmaker Q&A’s. The line-up features a series of music gigs making the event a real intersection between the arts.

Sundance London 2012

May 1st, 2012 Author: Tom LinayTags: Cinema Advertising, DCM, Digital Cinema Media, Liberal Arts, Nobody Walks, o2, Picturehouse, Revolver, Safety Not Guaranteed, Sundance London, Tom Linay, Zac Efron

Prior to this year, the world’s most celebrated film festival for independent cinema had previously confined itself to the US, and predominantly Park City, Utah. However, in March 2011 Sundance founder and screen legend Robert Redford announced that the inaugural Sundance London would take place this past weekend at the O2 Greenwich featuring some of the highlights of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival proper and would also feature some special concerts and the usual selection of industry panels and workshops.

Rather than spend a whole weekend at the soulless O2, I opted instead to see a few choice films and have a more relaxed festival experience. From looking at the films selected to be screened, it was quickly obvious to anyone familiar with the line-up from Park City that there was a huge omission. Ben Lewin’s The Surrogate picked up the audience award and the special jury prize at Sundance in January and is already tipped for Oscar success next year. For unknown reasons it was conspicuously absent from the London line-up but despite this there was still plenty to excite lovers of independent cinema. Here’s a short summary of the three films I saw