Slamdance Keeps Its Edge With Buzzy Titles and Crypto Tech
21.01.2022 - 19:56
/ variety.com
Nick Clement Like its Park City counterpart, the Slamdance Film Festival has pivoted to an all-virtual affair this year, but it will now get underway Jan. 27, one week after Sundance, its proudly DIY spirit intact.
The 28th edition of Slamdance boasts 23 premieres — 13 world, six North American and four U.S. debuts — and sections such as Department of Anarchy and Experimental Shorts, along with Blockchain Fairy Tales, a collaborative storytelling experiment.“On one hand you can say it’s bad and disappointing when we cannot gather in Park City, but we see the good — the opportunity to reenvision what a festival can be, what Slamdance can be,” says Peter Baxter, Slamdance president and co-founder.
“Our new Slamdance Channel, which will host the festival this year, fits into the bigger picture of a decentralized media future.” Buzzy titles include Clay Tatum’s comedy “The Civil Dead” and Kristen Abate and Steven Tanenbaum’s existential drama “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” which is screening in the new Unstoppable Features category. Per usual for the festival, founded in 1995, films in competition are feature-length directorial debuts without U.S.
distribution, crafted on budgets of less than $1 million. Festival alumni select the lineup, this year choosing the slate from 8,168 submissions.Tatum’s film, which he co-wrote with Whitmer Thomas, involves a misanthropic struggling photographer who just wants to watch TV and eat candy while his wife is out of town.
When a desperate old pal resurfaces, his plans are thwarted, with spooky consequences.“Debuting at Slamdance is just cool. Whit and I view it like this: Our band gets to have our first show in the back of some DIY record store rather than at a high school talent show
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