2019 Sundance Film Festival Underway With Six Screen Ireland Titles in Official Selection
Posted: 25th January 2019
The 2019 Sundance Film Festival is currently underway with six Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland films in Official Selection. The line-up includes one new Irish feature, Lee Cronin’s The Hole in the Ground starring Irish actress Seána Kerslake; three international co-productions, Sophie Hyde’s Animals, Sacha Polak’s Dirty God and Anne Sewitskey's Sonja: The White Swan; alongside two Irish documentaries, Garry Keane and Andrew McConnell’s GAZA and Kim Longinotto’s Shooting the Mafia.
About the Films and Screening Info
The Hole in the Ground
Trying to escape her broken past, Sarah O’Neill (Seána Kerslake) is building a new life on the fringes of a backwood rural town with her young son Chris (James Quinn Markey). A terrifying encounter with a mysterious neighbour shatters her fragile security, throwing Sarah into a spiralling nightmare of paranoia and mistrust, as she tries to uncover if the disturbing changes in her little boy are connected to an ominous sinkhole buried deep in the forest that borders their home.
The Hole in the Ground is directed by Lee Cronin and stars Seána Kerslake (A Date for Mad Mary) with the title produced by John Keville and Conor Barry for Savage Productions.
Screening Times
Friday, January 25th 11:45 PM Egyptian Theatre Park City
Saturday, January 26th 12:00 PM Temple Theatre Park City
Wednesday, January 30th 6:00 PM Tower Theatre Salt Lake City
Friday, February 1st 11:59 PM Library Center Theatre Park City
Animals
A fierce and unapologetic celebration of female friendship, Animals is an intimate, funny and bittersweet examination of the challenges of turning talent into action, and being a modern woman, with faults, longings and competing desires.
Animals is an Irish/Australian/UK co-production, directed by Sophie Hyde, with Cormac Fox producing for Ireland’s Vico Films alongside Sarah Brocklehurst, Rebecca Summerton and Sophie Hyde. The film stars Holliday Grainger (My Cousin Rachel) and Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development).
Screening Times
Monday, January 28th 9:45 PM Eccles Theatre Park City
Tuesday, January 29th 8:30 AM The MARC Theatre Park City
Thursday, January 31st 9:00 PM Broadway Centre Cinema 6 Salt Lake City
Saturday, February 2nd 5:30 PM Prospector Square Theatre Park City
Dirty God
Dirty God is a powerful film about motherhood, courage and self-acceptance. Jade is a young mother recovering from an acid attack that has left her with severe facial burns. Her face has been reconstructed, but her beauty is gone. Distanced from her daughter, Jade finds solace in the hidden world of online liaisons where she uncovers the passion and connection she's craved. But when her life is turned upside down once more, those around can do little to halt her descent. As her family life and friendships start to crumble, Jade takes drastic action, finally finding the path back to her daughter and herself.
The film is an Irish/Dutch/UK/Belgian co-production, with Conor Barry and John Keville on board as Irish producers for Savage Productions, alongside Viking Film (NL), Emu Films (UK) and A Private View (BE).
Screening Times
Saturday, January 26th 2:30 PM Prospector Square Theatre Park City
Sunday, January 27th 11:45 PM Park Avenue Theatre Park City
Monday, January 28th 6:00 PM Broadway Centre Cinema 6 Salt Lake City
Thursday, January 31st 9:00 AM Temple Theatre Park City
Friday, February 1st 3:00 PM Park Avenue Theatre Park City
Sonja: The White Swan
The inventor of modern ice skating, Sonja Henie was always surrounded by her family, never alone, and with an appetite for money, men, parties and alcohol. After eleven World Championships and three Olympic gold medals as a figure skater, she set out to conquer Hollywood. Her first film in 1937 breaks the box office by selling the most tickets in the world that year. She becomes one of the best paid actresses in Hollywood. But after thirteen movies and two unhappy marriages both the audience and her loved ones start to leave her. And Sonja can’t stand to be alone.
Sonja lived a remarkable life on the ice, in Hollywood, and in her private life. But what does the star do when the spotlight is turned off?
The film is an Irish/Norwegian/Swedish/Danish co-production, with Tristan Orpen Lynch and Aoife O'Sullivan on board as Irish producers for Subotica.
Screening Times
Tuesday, January 29th 6:30 PM Eccles Theatre Park City
Wednesday, January 30th 9:00 AM Eccles Theatre Park City
Friday, February 1st 11:30 AM Prospector Square Theatre Park City
Saturday, February 2nd 9:00 PM Salt Lake City Library Theatre Salt Lake City
GAZA
This documentary brings together an eloquent, resilient, funny and courageous group of souls, on whose lives the world lens is often trained, without ever capturing their true essence; their struggle, survival, resilience and sense of family, which goes to the very heart of humanity and human nature. The film unfolds a portrait of the ordinary people of Gaza who attempt to lead meaningful lives beyond the rubble of perennial conflict. Free of the cliché of news reportage, GAZA reveals a complex land of intrigue and highlight the beauty of the human condition and the warmth and humour that lies bubbling beneath the surface of this truly remarkable place.
The documentary is directed and produced by Garry Keane and Andrew McConnell for Real Films and Brendan Byrne for Fine Point Films alongside Paul Cadieux.
Screening Times
Tuesday, January 29th 3:00 PM Park Avenue Theatre Park City
Wednesday, January 30th 11:45 AM Egyptian Theatre Park City
Thursday, January 31st 12:30 PM Redstone Cinema 1 Park City
Friday, February 1st 9:00 AM Park Avenue Theatre Park City
Saturday, February 2nd 12:00 PM Salt Lake City Library Theatre Salt Lake City
Shooting the Mafia
In sharp contrast to the all-pervasive romanticised and glamorised media image of the Sicilian Mafia, Kim Longinotto's feature documentary Shooting the Mafia, unflinchingly explores the stark reality of life, and death, under the oppressive yoke of the Corleonesi Mafia. Photographer Letizia Battaglia stood up to the Mafia and it is through her lens that we enter this world of ritualised slaughter, omertà, semi-religious oppression and feudal control. The scale of the mafia’s brutality and power is revealed through a combination of rare archive footage, newsreel and personal photographs and memories. The power of Letizia's photography and the bravery and dedication of people like her helped to finally bring to an end the brutal reign of a bunch of small town thugs who's reign of fear reached as far as the Italian presidency.
The documentary is directed by Kim Longinotto and produced by Niamh Fagan for Lunar Pictures.
Screening Times
Friday, January 25th 8:30 PM Egyptian Theatre Park City
Saturday, January 26th 6:30 PM Redstone Cinema 1 Park City
Sunday, January 27th 9:00 PM Salt Lake City Library Theatre Salt Lake City
Wednesday, January 30th 3:00 PM Sundance Mountain Resort Screening Room Sundance
Thursday, January 31st 2:30 PM Prospector Square Theatre Park City
Friday, February 1st 9:00 AM Temple Theatre Park City