The O2, 8 April 2014 — Sundance Institute and The O2 announced today the programme of FREE talks, screenings, events and music performances for the third Sundance London film and music festival, happening at The O2 from 25-27 April. Many of these events will take place in the Festival Hub at Brooklyn Bowl, The O2’s newest entertainment venue, which will be open to the public over the festival weekend.
On-stage talks (the “Brooklyn Bowl Sessions”) were programmed by Sundance Institute, which annually presents the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A. Among the notable participants for these on-stage talks are filmmaker and Emmy Award-winning comedian David Cross (Hits, Arrested Development) and filmmaker David Wain (They Came Together, Wet Hot American Summer, Role Models, Wanderlust). The Truly Independent Visions event will discuss what is takes to create an independent film today with panellists including festival filmmakers and programmer David Courier.
Live music performances at Brooklyn Bowl include UK singer-songwriter Scott Matthews, The Soho Hobo (AKA Tim Arnold) and critically acclaimed harmonic pop group Goldheart Assembly. These acts were secured by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). As already announced, Dele Sosimi and his Afrobeat Orchestra will perform following the film screening of Finding Fela. Additional music performances will take place throughout the festival on the Gibson Pop-Up Stage, programmed by The O2 and Gibson Brands.
John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said, “The Festival Hub at Brooklyn Bowl is a space for celebrating the community of artists and audiences in London who appreciate independent film and music. It extends the experience of the films and music performances on offer, and it further allows artists and audiences to interact with each other and discuss what they’ve seen… and how to pick up a 7-10 split.”
Also announced today was ‘International Premiere: 5 Projects from the Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge,’ a FREE screening event celebrating the international debut of five new short films created by acclaimed independent filmmakers to launch the Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge. Using a global open call-for-entries (now open), submissions from everyday storytellers will compete for five $10,000 USD awards, each with a trip to the 2015 Sundance Film Festival to screen their work. The challenge, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, celebrates imaginative solutions to overcoming the challenges of extreme hunger and poverty. Filmmaker Hank Willis Thomas will attend the screening for a Q&A to follow.
In addition, Sundance London announces the Film Appreciation Event, a FREE event for students interested in careers in film. Students will hear from Sundance Film Festival programmers and watch short films and clips of films featured in the festival. Meanwhile, the Film Quiz on Sunday 27 April is another fun, free event giving audiences the chances to pit their wits against festival directors and the programming team.
Tickets for all Sundance London films, panels and music performances are now on sale online. Music performers include Archive. Sundance London will include 40 films (22 features and 18 shorts), including Fruitvale Station (Director: Ryan Coogler), Blue Ruin (Director: Jeremy Saulnier), Frank (Director: Lenny Abrahamson), Hits (Director: David Cross), They Came Together (Director: David Wain), The Voices (Director: Marjane Satrapi) and The Trip to Italy (Director: Michael Winterbottom). All screenings will take place at Cineworld at The O2.
| Brooklyn Bowl Sessions — FREE lively conversations with filmmakers and talent featured in the festival. | |
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Saturday 26 April, 2:00 p.m. at Brooklyn Bowl
Writer, director, comedian and actor David Cross (Hits, Arrested Development) and filmmaker David Wain (They Came Together, Wet Hot American Summer, Role Models, Wanderlust) will discuss comedy in independent film. |
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Sunday 27 April, 2:00 p.m. at Brooklyn Bowl
Truly Independent Visions — Where better than a bowling alley for truly independent filmmakers to strike up a conversation about cinema outside the box? Bold, innovative, forward-thinking storytelling doesn’t just happen – it takes an active imagination and media technology that supports cinematic innovation. Join intrepid filmmakers who know that you have to throw a lot of gutter balls before you hit a strike. Filmmakers Sydney Freeland (Drunktown’s Finest), Charlie McDowell (The One I Love) and David Zellner (Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter) join Sundance Film Festival Senior Programmer David Courier to discuss what it takes to realize a truly independent vision. |
| FREE Events | |
| Friday 25 April, 3:30 p.m. at Cineworld
Film Appreciation Event — Students interested in careers in film are invited to this FREE event where they will hear from Sundance Film Festival programmers and filmmakers and watch short films and clips of films featured in Sundance London. John Cooper (Director, Sundance Film Festival) and Trevor Groth (Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival) will lead an afternoon of lively conversation as writers, directors and fellow programmers share their experiences and offer advice to inform the future filmmaking you. FREE, with advance registration required online. |
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| Sunday 27 April, 12:30 p.m. at Cineworld
International Premiere: 5 Projects from the Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge — Join us for a FREE screening of five short films commissioned to launch the Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge. This project, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, harnesses the power of independent film to create a global conversation about extreme hunger and poverty. Through an international open call for three-to-eight-minute film submissions that will compete for five $10,000 prizes and trips to the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, the challenge celebrates imaginative solutions real people are creating to overcome the challenges of extreme hunger and poverty. |
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| Sunday 27 April, 4:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Bowl
Film Quiz at Brooklyn Bowl — Celebrate this year’s 30th Anniversary of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A., with a FREE quiz covering three decades’ worth of the best, funniest and most outrageous films, hosted by Chris Hewitt of Empire Magazine. Film fans who think they know their stuff can join filmmakers and Sundance Programmers in an afternoon of Film Trivia. The winning team will walk away with fantastic prizes – and bragging rights! |
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| Music Performers at Brooklyn Bowl — A dynamic showcase of FREE live performances by emerging and established artists and bands from across the musical spectrum. These performances were produced by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), which for years has produced a showcase for attendees of the Sundance Film Festival to experience live music performances. Production provided by Gibson Brands. | |
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Saturday 26 April, 7:30 p.m. at Brooklyn Bowl
Scott Matthews — Scott’s diverse musical taste and experimentations with funk, soul and indie rock inform his career as a solo artist. His four acclaimed albums include his most recent, “Home Part 1.” Scott has headlined tours and toured with some of the world’s most respected artists, including Foo Fighters, Snow Patrol, Rufus Wainwright, Tori Amos and Robert Plant. |
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Saturday 26 April, 8:15 p.m. at Brooklyn Bowl
The Soho Hobo — Tim Arnold (AKA The Soho Hobo) is a songwriter, musician, producer and performer and the former front man of 90’s Britpop band, Jocasta. He has composed for Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Universal music and has subsequently released 14 albums, including the critically acclaimed ‘Secrets of Soho.’ |
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Saturday 26 April, 9:00 p.m. at Brooklyn Bowl
Goldheart Assembly — Following the success of their debut album, harmonic, British pop group Goldheart Assembly have performed everywhere from huge stages at Glastonbury and Reading to tiny bars in Houston, Texas. They also toured extensively with Band of Horses and The Civil Wars, among others. Their second album, Long Distance Song Effects, has received extensive radio play and widespread critical acclaim. |
| Gibson Pop-Up Stage | |
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Friday 25 April, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Saturday 26 April, 12 midday – 8:00 p.m. Sunday 27 April, 12 midday – 8:00 p.m. Gibson Brands, an Official Provider for Sundance London, will deliver an active program of FREE live music performances with the Gibson Pop-Up Stage. Artists will be booked by The O2 and Gibson Brands, with a full line-up to be announced. Gibson Brands will also provide backline amplification and guitars. |
ENDS
Images for Press:
Images for press are available at image.net , sundance.org/images and ftp.premiercomms.com (login ID: sunlon14; password RN85Fh4f). All photos are copyrighted and may be used by press only for the purpose of one-time reproduction and only when including proper image credits and/or ‘Courtesy of Sundance Institute.’ Unauthorized use, alteration or reproduction of logos and photos is strictly prohibited.
All Sundance London Press enquiries:
General / Film – Claire Gascoyne / Patrick Reed / Natasha Unalkat
Online – Elizabeth Taylor
Music – Oliver Lavery
Accreditation – Simone Devlin
Tel: 020 7292 8330
Email: firstname.surname@premiercomms.com or sundancelondon@premiercomms.com
premiercomms.com
Notes to the Editor:
Sundance London
The Sundance London film and music festival is a partnership between Robert Redford, Sundance Enterprises, Sundance Institute and The O2. The third Sundance London will take place from 25-27 April at The O2 and will host the international and UK premieres of films fresh from the 2014 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, U.S.A., as well as live music performances, panels and events.
Sundance London is supported by: Lead Partners – Kickstarter, Sundance Channel Global; Supporting Partners – HP, Internet Explorer, The Langham, London, and the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development ; Media Partners – Empire, The International New York Times, London Live and Time Out; and Official Providers – ASCAP, Cineworld, Dolby, East City Films, Gibson Brands, Heineken, H.R. Owen, Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc, SAGIndie, Talenthouse, the US Embassy London and The Wondering Wine Company.
Robert Redford
Robert Redford is an Academy Award-winning actor, director and producer, a passionate advocate for the arts and a leading environmentalist. He serves as President of the non-profit Sundance Institute, which he founded 30 years ago to foster independence, discovery and new voices in American film and theatre. Mr. Redford also founded the Sundance Channel, Sundance Resort, Sundance Catalog, and Sundance Cinemas and the non-profit Redford Center. Though very different in their activities and independent in their operations, all of Mr. Redford’s Sundance entities share the same core mission he has always held dear: a passionate connection to new artists, new voices and new perspectives. sundancegroup.net
Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a global nonprofit organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Through its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, composers and playwrights, the Institute seeks to discover and support independent film and theatre artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to inform, inspire, and unite diverse populations around the globe. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station, Sin Nombre, An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening, Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Light in the Piazza and Angels in America. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
AEG Europe and The O2
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. It owns or operates some of the world’s best arenas and theatres, numerous sports franchises including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL) and LA Galaxy (MLS), and a collection of companies dedicated to producing, promoting and presenting world-class live entertainment.
In May 2005, AEG Europe announced that it would transform the former Millennium Dome and the surrounding area into the UK’s most exciting and technically advanced music, sport and entertainment destination. It was renamed The O2 and opened in June 2007.
The O2 is the world’s most popular music and entertainment venue. Since opening in 2007, The O2 has been visited by more than 50 million people and picked up awards including Venue of the Year at the Music Week Awards; Venue of the Year at the Event Awards; Venue of the Year at the AEO Awards; Pollstar International Arena of the Year (seven consecutive years); Venue Team of the Year at the Event Awards; Best New Major Concert Venue, Venue of the Year at The Event Services Association and Favourite Venue at the TPI Awards.
In addition to the arena, The O2 is also home to indigO2, which is a live performance space; the British Music Experience; an 11-screen Cineworld complex, Up at The O2 – an experience that allows visitors to walk across the roof of The O2; Brooklyn Bowl, a 12 lane bowling alley, 800 capacity live music space and 130 cover restaurant; and the Entertainment District, which is the same length and breadth of new Bond Street and features 28 bars and restaurants.
AEG employs more than 3,000 staff in over 45 operating companies worldwide. Its international head office is in Los Angeles, and its European headquarters is based in London.
