Sundance

Saturday, January 27----A series of "last minute" deals were announced in the past 24 hours that have made this Sundance a very positive one for film buyers and sellers. While there will undoubtedly be more announcements in the coming days, these acquisition pick-ups underscores the Festival's growing importance as not only a treasure trove of American indies, but of international fare as well.

This was evident with the announcement that ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS, a Danish documentary by Eva Mulvad and Anja Al Erhayem, has been acquired by Women Make Movies, a specialty distribution company that promotes the works of femme directors. The film, which won the Silver Wolf competition at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in December (IDFA) presents the compelling story of a young Afghani woman who ran for election in Afghanistan's first parliamentary elections in 2005.

One of the most high profile projects screening here found distribution within hours of its world premiere, after an all night bidding war broke out. KING OF CALIFORNIA, the feature debut of Mike Cahill, with a powerhouse cast that toplines Michael Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood, had its first screening on Wednesday evening at the Eccles Center. Distributors lined up at the condo complex of uber-agent Cassian Elwes of The William Morris Agency in a bidding contest that went into the wee hours. By Thursday morning, the victor was the newly re-energized First Look Pictures, which already had Gregg Araki's SMILEY FACE and controversial drama AN AMERICAN CRIME screening at the Festival. First Look, under the presidency of Ruth Vitale, has come out swinging as a major player on the acquisitions front after a few low key years on the sidelines.

Another off-beat film with an interesting cast also has found a home. THE TEN, a Twilight Zone omnibus film that screened in the Midnight section earlier this week, has been jointly acquired by ThinkFilm and City Lights Home Entertainment. The deal, reported at $4.5 million, will see ThinkFilm handling theatrical distribution, while City Lights will oversee DVD and digital distribution. Both companies will share the revenue from all distribution. The film, which is divided into ten separate stories with the Ten Commandments as a unifying theme, has an eclectic cast that includes Winona Ryder, Famke Janssen and Paul Rudd.

The Sundance sales frenzy has even crossed over into the Slamdance Film Festival, the "totally indie" parallel event that has unspooled to capacity crowds in Park City. Seventh Art Releasing, a Los Angeles-based distribution company that mainly picks up documentary films, decided to opt for a fiction feature this time. OVER THE GW (GW stands for the George Washington Bridge, which connects New York and New Jersey), is directed by 24-year-old newcomer Nick Gaglia. The film is based on the true story of corrupt drug rehabilitation clinics that prey upon teen addicts and their parents in order to build a cult. Seventh Art is currently distributing JONESTOWN, a documentary portrait of the Jonestown Massacre of the 1970s orchestrated by cult leader Jim Jones, and obviously sees OVER THE GW as mining the same territory.

Sandy Mandelberger
Sundance Online Dailies Editor