Skip to main content

Sundance Film Festival · 2011

Sundance Film Festival 2011

US Dramatic Competition

This year’s 16 films were selected from 1,102 submissions. Each is a world premiere.

Programme

16 films · 7 reviews

Jump to a film

Another Earth

Review preview for Another Earth

A close, thoughtful and unexpectedly moving film.

Paul Griffiths · 4 out of 5
On the eve of the discovery of a duplicate Earth, a tragedy irrevocably alters the lives of two strangers.

(Country: US; Year: 2010; Director: Mike Cahill; Writer: Mike Cahill, Brit Marling; Stars: William Mapother, Brit Marling, Jordan Baker, Ana Kayne, Meggan Lennon, Diane Ciesla, Matthew-Lee Erlbach, Niecy Cerise) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

Another Happy Day

A pair of reckless siblings are dragged into a chaotic family wedding by their overwrought mother.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Sam Levinson; Stars: Demi Moore, Kate Bosworth, Jeffrey DeMunn, Ellen Barkin, Ellen Burstyn, Thomas Haden Church)

Benavides Born

A high school senior in a forgotten town has earned admission to the University of Texas at Austin but can't afford to go. Her one shot is a scholarship for winning the State Powerlifting Championship.

(Country: US; Year: 2010; Director: Amy Wendel; Writer: Daniel Meisel, Amy Wendel; Stars: Corina Calderon, Jeremy Ray Valdez, Joseph Julian Soria, Julia Vera, Julio Cedillo, Leticia Magaña, Julian Works, Amanda Rivas, Erika Cervantes, Jaime Medeles, Gustavo Gomez, Manuel Garcia, Hector Machado, Gloria Gutierrez, Rudy Treviño) , Official site

Circumstance

A wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain a teenager's growing sexual rebellion and her brother's dangerous obsession.

(Country: US, Iran; Year: 2010; Director: Maryam Keshavarz; Writer: Maryam Keshavarz; Stars: Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy, Reza Sixo Safai, Soheil Parsa, Nasrin Pakkho) , Official site

Gun Hill Road

After three years in prison, Enrique returns to the Bronx to find his wife estranged and his teenage son stumbling towards a transformation that will put the fragile bonds of their family to the test.

(Country: US; Year: 2010; Director: Rashaad Ernesto Green; Writer: Rashaad Ernesto Green; Stars: Judy Reyes, Esai Morales, Vincent Laresca, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Franky G, Miriam Colon, Vanessa Aspillaga, Robert Prescott, Robin de Jesus, Gleendilys Inoa, Felix Solis, Flaco Navaja, Jeff Lima, Ephraim Benton, Ty Jones)

HERE

On assignment to create a new, more accurate satellite survey of Armenia, an American cartographer forms a powerful bond with an Armenian expatriate and art photographer.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Braden King; Writer: Braden King, Dani Valent; Stars: Ben Foster, Lubna Azabal, Alla Sahakyan, Narek Nersisyan, Nick Wagner, Ruzanna Shar, Armen Hayrapetyan, Garik Chepchyan, Vahag Stepanyan, Yvette Ghazaryan, Kchachatryan Davit, Aivart Amikyan, Ara Hakobyan, Vahan Hoveyan, Karapet Aleksanyan) , Official site

Higher Ground

A frustrated young mother turns to a fundamentalist community for answers, but after years of dogma and loss, she must find the courage to ask the questions that will help her reclaim her life.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Vera Farmiga; Writer: Carolyn Briggs, Tim Metcalfe; Stars: Donna Murphy, Vera Farmiga, John Hawkes, Bill Irwin, Dagmara Dominczyk, Joshua Leonard, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Norbert Leo Butz, Michael Chernus, Nina Arianda, Boyd Holbrook, Sean Mahon, Lucy Owen, Natalie Thomas, Booker James Winter)

Homework

Quirky, rebellious George has no ambitions other than to cut his next class. But one day, one girl gives him the perfect reason to figure out who he really is.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Gavin Wiesen; Writer: Gavin Wiesen; Stars: Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano, Elizabeth Reaser, Sam Robards, Alicia Silverstone, Blair Underwood, Rita Wilson, Jarlath Conroy, Sophie Curtis, Ann Dowd, Marcus Carl Franklin, Ann Harada, Dan Leonard, Maya Ri Sanchez)

The Ledge

A police officer looks to talk down a young man lured by his lover's husband to the ledge of a high rise, where he has one hour to contemplate a fateful decision.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Matthew Chapman; Writer: Matthew Chapman; Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Patrick Wilson, Liv Tyler, Terrence Howard, Christopher Gorham, Monica Acosta, Jaqueline Fleming, Jillian Batherson, Mike Pniewski, Mindy Caraccioli, Amber Gaiennie, Dean J. West, Sean Paul Braud, Melody Noel, Thomas C. Daniel)

See: Sundance Film Festival Diary Day 2: The Ledge and Win Win

Little Birds

Amid the stark landscape of the Salton Sea, two 15-year-old girls test the limits of their friendship when one follows the other to Los Angeles, only to discover that the boredom of home may be better than learning to survive in the big city.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Elgin James; Writer: Elgin James; Stars: Kate Bosworth, Kay Panabaker, Leslie Mann, Juno Temple, Kyle Gallner, Neal McDonough, Carlos Pena, David Warshofsky, JR Bourne, Lauren Pennington, Kathleen Gati, Chris Coy, Lydia Blanco, Katie Nehra, Scotty Noyd Jr.)

Like Crazy

Review preview for Like Crazy

Offers plenty of uncomfortably familiar observations for anyone engaged in a relationship that is either long-distance, or just long-term.

Anton Bitel · 4 out of 5
A British student and an American find their love tested by a long-distance relationship.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Drake Doremus; Writer: Drake Doremus, Ben York Jones; Stars: Felicity Jones, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence, Chris Messina, Alex Kingston, Finola Hughes, Charlie Bewley, Keeley Hazell, Jamie Thomas King, Oliver Muirhead, Ben York Jones, Katie Wallack, Kayla Barr, Iris Taylor Cameron)

Full review

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Review preview for Martha Marcy May Marlene

As a moody, atmospheric study of paranoia, it is hard to beat.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A woman is traumatised after fleeing a cult.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: T Sean Durkin; Writer: T Sean Durkin; Stars: Sarah Paulson, Hugh Dancy, John Hawkes, Brady Corbet, Elizabeth Olsen, Louisa Krause, Maria Dizzia, Julia Garner, Christopher Abbott, Diana Masi, Allen McCullough, Michael Chmiel)

Full review See: Keeping score: Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurrians talk about Last Days In The Desert, Enemy and Wolfpack , New York Film Festival: Diary piece - Fassbender, Cronenberg, Durkin, Olsen, Payne talk about clothes and authenticity , New York Film Festival: Photo Gallery Three , Sundance 2011: Martha Marcy May Marlene, Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same and Restless City

On The Ice

Review preview for On The Ice

We lurch between environments where there is no freedom at all and where one might get away with anything, and the effect is morally dizzying.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
After a fight in which their friend is killed, two Alaskan teenagers try to cover up what happened and keep their mutual secret.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Andrew Okpeaha MacLean; Writer: Andrew Okpeaha MacLean; Stars: Josiah Patkotak, Frank Qutuq Irelan, Teddy Kyle Smith, Adamina Kerr, Sierra Jade Sampson) , Official site

Full review

Pariah

Review preview for Pariah

Pariah is not apologetic or even coy about the high school senior's lesbianism, nor is it graphic or titillating in presenting it.

Anton Bitel · 3.5 out of 5
A teenager juggles conflicting identities and endures heartbreak in a desperate search for sexual expression.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Dee Rees; Writer: Dee Rees; Stars: Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Aasha Davis, Kim Wayans, Charles Purnell, Sahra Mellesse) , Official site

Full review

Take Shelter

Review preview for Take Shelter

An astounding film.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
After experiencing visions of impending catastrophe, an ordinary man takes extraordinary measures - but can he trust the evidence of his own senses?

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Jeff Nichols; Writer: Jeff Nichols; Stars: Michael Shannon, Katy Mixon, Shea Whigham, Jessica Chastain, Kathy Baker, Ray McKinnon, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Robert Longstreet, Guy Van Swearingen, Bart Flynn, Tova Stewart, Charles Moore, Scott Knisley, Sheila Hullihen, Stutz Bearcat)

Full review

Terri

Review preview for Terri

A refreshingly intelligent film with skillfully drawn characters.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
An unhappy, overweight boy with a difficult home life finds inspiration in a deputy headteacher who loves to break the rules.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Azazel Jacobs; Writer: Patrick Dewitt, Azazel Jacobs; Stars: Jacob Wysocki, John C. Reilly, Creed Bratton, Diane Salinger, Olivia Crocicchia, Bridger Zadina, Jenna Gavigan, Tara Karsian, Jessica D. Stone, Melanie Abramoff, Mary Anne McGarry, Jamie Lee Redmon, Justin Prentice, Curtiss Frisle, Lisa Hoover)

Full review See: Sundance 2011 diary piece, capsule reviews of Terri, Ticket To Paradise and a chat with Richard Ayoade