Sundance Film Festival 2011

Attention festival-goers: Sundance Film Festival 2011 is now underway! If you're in Park City, use this as your handy guide to notable screenings and events popping up in the snowy mountain town. If you're stuck elsewhere, consider this your roadmap for navigating all the indie buzz.


9:00 AM: 'Attenberg' screening at the Egyptian Theatre.

There's nothing like kicking off the first full day of festival screenings with a daringly insane Greek film from 'Dogtooth' producer Athina Rachel Tsangari. The film stars Venice winner Ariane Labed as a young woman busy with her cancer-stricken father and using her friend to practice mammalian sexiness, who often mimicks wild animal movements she learned from Sir David Attenborough's animal programs.



11:30 AM: 'Bobby Fischer Against the World' at the Library Center Theatre

Liz Garbus' documentary digs into the world of chess player Bobby Fischer, from child prodigy to chess champion to delusional fugitive. This is also the final project of late editor Karen Schmeer -- 'Sketches of Frank Gehry' -- who was killed by a getaway car almost one year ago, January 29.



1:00 PM: Film
Movement at Filmmaker Lodge

The likes of Harry Belafonte (who is the subject of Sundance flick 'Sing Your Song'), Michael Moore, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and more talk about how film can gain momentum for current social issues. Let's hope they chat about Kurt Kuenne's 'Dear Zachary' changing Canadian law last year.



2:15 PM: 'Incendies' at Prospector Square Theatre

Canada's Oscar submission from filmmaker Denis Villeneuve focuses on twins faced with their dying mother's shocking wish -- to find the father they believed to be dead and the brother they never knew existed. A parallel quest in the past sees the mother searching for her son, who was taken at birth during a war between Christians and Palestinians.



3:00 PM: 'Meek's Cutoff' at Egyptian Theatre

Michelle Williams re-teams with 'Wendy and Lucy' helmer Kelly Reichardt to tell the story of settlers traversing the Oregon Trail in 1845, and the growing distrust the group has with their scout, Stephen Meek (Bruce Greenwood). Does one of them get dysentary while another has to leave most of the meat they shot whilst hunting?



6:15 PM: 'The Future' at Eccles Theatre

Miranda July finally returns with her sophomore feature after festival favorite 'Me and You and Everyone We Know.' This time, she stars as part of a couple who adopt a stray cat and decide to quit their jobs, back away from the Internet and explore new interests. Presumably, this isn't a sci-fi flick about a cat great at mind control.



9:00 PM: 'Tyrannosaur' at Egyptian Theatre

Actor Paddy Considine jumps behind the camera to capture the story of a self-destructive man caught in a world of violence and the Christian charity-shop worker he falls in love with as they both reveal the pain in their lives.



10:00 PM: 7 Fresh Faces in Film Party at TR Suites, 136 Heber St.

The fourth annual event, hosted by Sarah Paulson, will honor Juno Temple ('Kaboom,' 'Little Birds'), Kyle Gallner ('Red State,' 'Little Birds'), Amy Seimetz ('The Off Hours'), Olivia Crocicchia ('Terri'), Thomas Dekker ('Kaboom'), Felicity Jones ('Like Crazy') and Adepero Oduye ('Pariah').



11:30 PM: 'Hobo with a Shotgun' at Library Center Theatre

Finally! After Machete got his shot at stretching beyond 'Grindhouse' trailers and capturing the spotlight, Rutger Hauer's Hobo gets his bloody turn. Sundance's blurb calls it "a legendary display of brutal butt-kicking and meticulous name-taking that is not to be missed."



11:59 PM: 'Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel' at Egyptian Theatre

Those not busy with horror-causing hobos can get a taste of the legendary Roger Corman with Alex Stapleton's new documentary.