Noémie Merlant on Sundance Player ‘Jumbo,’ Feature Directorial Debut ‘Mi Lubita’

Despite being shut out of most major awards shows this season, women filmmakers will not go gentle into that good night. Instead they’re pushing back even harder, carving out a space for themselves in tentpole productions, petitions to the Directors Guild and with #GiveHerABreak, a campaign aimed at the Academy Awards’ lack of representation.

For his new LP5, John Moreland went big. The acclaimed Oklahoma singer-songwriter's 11-song set, out Feb. 7 and premiering exclusively on Billboard today (Feb. 6), was produced by Matt Pence and represents the fullest sonic footprint Moreland has made on any of his solo albums.

Tom Paul can finally exhale. At the end of each November, for more than 20 years, the New York-based sound designer turns nocturnal. Forgoing sleep means he’ll have just enough time to complete the sound edit and mix for the multitude of films he was hired to work on that are premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, the most recent edition of which wrapped on Sunday.

While U.S. attention in recent years has focused on the supposed hordes of “invading” illegal immigrants seeking to cross the southern border, “Identifying Features” is about a separate but related concern: The alarming if unknowable number of those immigrants who go missing, often robbed, kidnapped and/or killed, before they ever reach our soil.

PARK CITY, Utah — What do “Reservoir Dogs,” “Napoleon Dynamite,” “Clerks” and “Wet Hot American Summer” all have in common? The Sundance Film Festival.

David de Gea

Indie powerhouse A24 is closing in on worldwide distribution rights to Miranda July’s long-awaited third feature film “Kajillionaire,” insiders close to the deal told Variety, fighting off numerous other interested parties in a competitive situation.

Anne Hathaway enjoyed a rare public night out with her husband, Adam Shulman, on Monday night. 

Sony Pictures Classics has teamed with Sony’s Stage 6 Films to oversee the global release of Heidi Ewing’s feature narrative debut “I Carry You With Me (Te Llevo Conmigo),” a gay love story about two men who immigrate to the United States. The deal follows the movie’s enthusiastic reception at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The romantic drama debuted to multiple standing ovations in Park City, where it was shown in the NEXT section. It will be released later this year.

The tale of the McDonald’s Monopoly-game heist was one hell of a story. Indeed, it seems to have been too much story for “McMillions,” a documentary series premiering at Sundance ahead of a bow on HBO, to tell — even with the benefit of six episodes.

Amid the snow-covered mountains of Park City, Utah – South African filmmakers, producers, and directors have made a strong representation this year at Sundance – the largest independent film festival in the US.

Benh Zeitlin hasn’t made a film in seven years since he exploded onto the scene with his Best Picture Oscar-nominated “Beasts of the Southern Wild” in 2013. Coming out of hibernation, the director’s “Wendy,” a take on J.M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan,” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival Sunday. Well, was his eagerly anticipated followup worth the wait?

Searchlight Pictures is near to closing a deal for the worldwide rights to Sundance Midnight section title The Night House.Rebecca Hall stars in the thriller from David Bruckner (The Ritual), playing a widow who uncovers her deceased husband's secrets.Ben Collins andLuke Piotrowski penned the screenplay for the movie, which also starsSarah Goldberg, Stacy Martin, Evan Jonigkeit, and Vondie Curtis-Hall.David Goyer, Keith Levine, and John Zois produced the movie, with Sebastien Raybaud,Francois

Searchlight Pictures is closing in on the worldwide distribution rights to “The Night House,” a supernatural thriller that premiered to strong reviews at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, insiders close to the deal said.

Ahead of its Jan. 27 world premiere at Sundance, nine posters have been released for the surreal drama Nine Days.The film, which marks the feature film directorial debut of Edson Oda, stars Winston Duke as a man who is interviewing souls who are vying for the opportunity to be born.

Skol! 

By Mike Fleming Jr

In today’s film news roundup, Legion M is launching its Film Scout mobile app, the first round of Oscar presenters are unveiled, Verve is expanding its book-to-screen business, “Gladiator” producer David Franzoni boards an American Indian project, and XYZ announces promotions.