Hong Kong – 11 August, 2015) With last year’s success of the Sundance Film Festival – Hong Kong Selects, which brought a series of curated American independent films to the city for the first time, Sundance Institute and The Metroplex will once again present the 2015 Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong from September 17 to 27, screening 11 films featured in the Festival at Park City, Utah, U.S.A. Newly added to this year’s festival will be a workshop for young filmmakers and film music composers. Tickets to all events go on sale August 13 for 2014 HK Selects VIP Members and The Metroplex VIP Metropolitans, and open to the general public on August 17 at hk.sundance.org.
11 New Independent Films Make Hong Kong Premieres
with Filmmakers in Attendance
The 2015 Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong will feature 11 films from the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and includes several award winners: Advantageous; Cartel Land; Dope; James White; Me and Earl and the Dying Girl; People, Places, Things; Songs My Brothers Taught Me;The End of the Tour; The Stanford Prison Experiment; The Witch and The Wolfpack. Last year, the Festival presented a wide range of films, including the Hong Kong premiere of Whiplash, which later received five Academy Award nominations, winning three.
Josephine Lam and Stuart Wang, Directors of The Metroplex, said, “The tremendous success of last year’s festival has proven that Hong Kong embraces the creativity of independent filmmaking. With our goal of supporting the strong emerging independent film culture in Hong Kong, we are excited for the continued collaboration with Sundance Institute on the Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong in 2015. We look forward to working with the Sundance Institute team again to bring a world-class film festival to Hong Kong, and to nurture the creativity of local independent filmmakers and foster the interest of new upcoming talent.”
John Cooper, Director of Sundance Film Festival, said, “Building on last year’s impactful cinematic and cultural experience, Sundance Institute returns to Hong Kong with a strong slate of cutting-edge independent films. We programmed this festival with the theme of discovery in mind so this year’s lineup features a range of intriguing dramas, interesting documentaries and light comedies. We are excited to bring filmmakers to share new stories and a unique artistic vision with audiences at the Metroplex.”
This year’s opening film is first-time feature director Crystal Moselle’s stranger-than-fiction documentary The Wolfpack, the true story of six brothers locked away from society in a Manhattan apartment who found a window to the outside through film. The Wolfpack will have its Hong Kong premiere on September 18. The New York-based director won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary in the Festival and will be here in Hong Kong to present her mesmerizing debut documentary feature about six brothers who grew up in a peculiar family, and how their lives are transformed through the power of movies. Moselle will also participate in a post-screening Q&A session with audiences after the September 18 screening.
Other filmmakers and artists attending the 2015 Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong to engage in post-screening Q&As with audiences include Jennifer Phang (Advantageous), Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land), Rick Famuyiwa (Dope), Josh Mond (James White), Jim Strouse (People, Places, Things), Peter Golub (Director, Sundance Institute Film Music Program and Composer,Songs My Brothers Taught Me), Kyle Patrick Alvarez (The Stanford Prison Experiment) and Robert Eggers (The Witch).
New This Year
Sundance Institute and The Metroplex co-host Film Music Day Lab
Learn More About Music Composition for Film and Television
from Renowned Composers
Newly added to this year’s festival is a Film Music Day Lab, providing a full day of knowledge sharing to filmmakers, music composers and audiences interested in music for film and television. This day lab will be led by composer and Director of the Sundance Institute Film Music Program Peter Golub (The Great Debaters, Frozen River) and feature presentations by composers George Clinton (Austin Powers, Wild Things) and Peter Kam(The Warlords, Helios), as well as a demonstration showcasing film music works extracted from the Sundance Institute Film Music Program. Each day lab participant will be awarded a certificate of attendance co-issued by Sundance Institute and The Metroplex. Interested parties can register online via hk.sundance.org with an admission fee of HKD 150 per person.
General audiences and indie-film-lovers can also join the Filmmakers Panel Discussion, taking this rare opportunity to meet a panel of our visiting filmmakers as they share their individual stories of making their films. The panel discussion will be held on 19 September, Saturday, 4pm at The Metroplex, moderated by Trevor Groth (Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival). Interested parties can register online via hk.sundance.org with an admission fee of HKD30 per person. Panelist information and other event details will be available on the same website.
The box office will open on August 13 to 2014 HK Selects VIP Members and The Metroplex VIP Metropolitans for priority booking, and opens to the general public on August 17. Tickets can be purchased at The Metroplex Box Office, Internet Ticketing (hk.sundance.org), Metroplex Internet Ticketing (www.metroplex.com.hk) and Metroplex iPhone and Android Apps Ticketing (HKD 8 handling fee will be charged for each ticket purchased online or via Apps).
Ticket price: Adult – HKD90; Student/Child/Senior – HKD80. Become a VIP Metropolitan to enjoy 20% discount for single tickets and 30% discount for movie ticket package (includes 1 ticket for each film).
The 2015 Sundance Film Festival: Hong Kong is jointly presented by Sundance Institute and The Metroplex, supported by Presenting Sponsor – Zions Bank, Supporting Sponsors – Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Official Provider – Starbucks, Friends of Festival – Barco, Dolby, Hong Kong Film Development Council, Hong Kong Movie, OneCool, Perrier, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, Timable, Uber and U.S. Consulate General for Hong Kong and Macau. Screenings will span across two weekends from September 17 to 27, 2015. For more details, please visit hk.sundance.org or www.facebook.com/SundanceFilmFestivalHK
For inquiries:
Ms. Olivia Yang (olivia.ppp@gmail.com/ 9703-9313)
Ms. Jane Ching (cmanching@gmail.com/ 9082-2572)
Ms. Elizabeth Latenser (Elizabeth_Latenser@sundance.org)
Film Details
The Wolfpack (Director: Crystal Moselle) — The true story of six brothers locked away from society in a Manhattan housing project who found a window to the outside through film. Armed with unprecedented access into the subjects’ world and vast archive of home movies, first-time director Crystal Moselle crafts a fascinating portrait of an extraordinary family and a fascinating coming of age story. Winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. OPENING FILM / HONG KONG PREMIERE
Advantageous (Director: Jennifer Phang, screenwriter: Jacqueline Kim, Jennifer Phang) — A sci-fi story set in a near-future city where soaring opulence overshadows economic hardship, Gwen and her daughter Jules do all they can to hold on to their joy together, despite the instability surfacing in their world. Cast: Jacqueline Kim, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong. Winner of the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Collaborative Vision at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. HONG KONG PREMIERE
Cartel Land (Director: Matthew Heineman) — With unprecedented access, this documentary is a harrowing look at the journeys of two modern-day vigilante groups and their shared enemy – the murderous Mexican drug cartels. Filmmaker Matthew Heineman embeds himself in the heart of darkness as the two groups and the cartel each vie to bring their own brand of justice to a society where institutions have failed. Winner of Directing Award: U.S. Documentary and U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. HONG KONG PREMIERE
Dope (Director and screenwriter: Rick Famuyiwa) — Life changes for Malcolm, a geek who’s surviving life in a tough neighborhood, after a chance invitation to an underground party leads him and his friends into a Los Angeles adventure. Cast: Shameik Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Zoë Kravitz, Kimberly Elise. Winner of U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Excellence in Editing at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. HONG KONG PREMIERE
James White (Director and screenwriter: Josh Mond) — A young New Yorker struggles to take control of his reckless, self-destructive behavior in the face of momentous family challenges. Cast: Chris Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, Makenzie Leigh, David Call. Winner of the Audience Award: NEXT. HONG KONG PREMIERE
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Director: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, screenwriter: Jesse Andrews) — High schooler Greg, who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his best friend Earl, finds his outlook forever altered after befriending Rachel, a girl in his class who has just been diagnosed with cancer. Cast: Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Olivia Cooke. Winner of the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic and Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. HONG KONG PREMIERE
People, Places, Things (Director and screenwriter: Jim Strouse) — Will Henry is a newly single graphic novelist balancing parenting his young twin daughters and a classroom full of students while exploring and navigating the rich complexities of new love and letting go of the woman who left him. Cast: Jemaine Clement, Regina Hall, Stephanie Allynne, Jessica Williams. HONG KONG PREMIERE
Songs My Brothers Taught Me (Director and screenwriter: Chloé Zhao) — Set on the Great Plains and the Badlands of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, this film is a compelling and complex tale that explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home. Cast: John Reddy, Jashaun St. John, Irene Bedard. HONG KONG PREMIERE
The End of the Tour (Director: James Ponsoldt, screenwriter: Donald Margulies) — The story of the five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace, which took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace’s groundbreaking epic novel, “Infinite Jest”. Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Jason Segel, Anna Chlumsky, Mamie Gummer. HONG KONG PREMIERE
The Stanford Prison Experiment (Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, screenwriter: Tim Talbott) — A tense, psychological thriller based on the notorious true story in 1971. Stanford University professor Dr. Philip Zimbardo cast 24 student volunteers as prisoners and guards in a simulated jail to examine the source of abusive behavior in the prison system. The results astonished the world, as participants went from middle-class undergrads to drunk-with-power sadists and submissive victims in just a few days. Cast: Billy Crudup, Ezra Miller, Jack Kilmer, Olivia Thirlby. Winner of Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize and Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. HONG KONG PREMIERE
The Witch (Director and screenwriter: Robert Eggers) — New England, 1630: William and Katherine lead a devout Christian life, homesteading on the edge of an impassible wilderness, with five children. When their newborn son mysteriously vanishes and their crops fail, the family begins to turn on one another. ‘The Witch’ is a chilling portrait of a family unraveling within their own fears and anxieties, leaving them prey for an inescapable evil. Cast: Anya Taylor Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie. Winner of U.S. Dramatic: Directing Award at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.HONG KONG PREMIERE
About The Metroplex
In 2014 The Metroplex opened its doors to the public as a state-of-the-art 9 screen multiplex at the heart of Eastern Kowloon. The Metroplex is a self-operated independent cinema under Hopewell Holdings Limited, showing a wide range of films from Hollywood blockbusters, international award-winning pictures, film festivals, local, specialty and independent films in its 9 silver screens. Located in one of the Group’s investment properties Kowloonbay International Trade and Exhibition Centre (KITEC), The Metroplex has the flexibility in cross platform entertainment such as film/music festivals, live streaming concerts and shows, multimedia conferences, and many other events of similar genre. For more details, please visit www.metroplex.com.hk.
About Sundance Institute
Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, Sundance Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, and new media to create and thrive. The Institute’s signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences to artists in igniting new ideas, discovering original voices, and building a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Sundance Institute has supported such projects as Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Sin Nombre, The Invisible War, The Square, Dirty Wars, Spring Awakening, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Fun Home. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
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