Remember Don LaFontaine? He’s the movie trailer guy; the “In a world…” guy. You know, the deep, gravelly voice that announced countless movie trailers in the ‘80s and ‘90s. LaFontaine, who has now left us, left a hole in the movie industry as grand and deep as his legendary baritone rumble. In the fictional world of In a World…, Lake Bell’s writer/director debut (she also stars), three voiceover artists bite, backstab, and dupe each other as they battle it out to assume LaFontaine’s now vacant throne.

Carol (Bell) is a smart-ass semi-slacker and aspiring voiceover artist with a kind heart. Her dad thinks her dream of voiceover success is a big joke and treats her like a loser. He happens to be the biggest winner of them all, Sam Sotto (the invaluable Fred Melamed), a pot-bellied egomaniac with a voice as smooth and rich as molasses and the most successful voiceover artist since LaFontaine (he’s still bitterly jealous of the deceased because, as you’ve probably surmised, he’s a self-involved dick.) Sam’s protégé is young, big-shot voiceover artist Gustav Werner (Ken Marino), a McMansion-owning scumbag whose douchiness is only matched by his mentor’s. He finds Carol’s dream just as laughable as Sam does. The two buddies are successful trailer guys, but from their bloated egos you’d think they were the biggest stars in showbiz (they conspire by the pool, they make snide one-liners at swanky parties, they spit misogynistic vitriol in the sauna.)

When a career-defining trailer gig opens up (for a sort of feminist Hunger Games-ish mega-blockbuster), Sam and Gustav are considered (mostly by themselves) top contenders, but Carol’s been quietly building steam in the industry herself, even (unknowingly) beating out Gustav for a few gigs. She’s wriggled her way into the dark horse position, and the jockeying turns into a maelstrom, with Sam backstabbing Gustav, Gustav sleeping with Carol (he corners her in a secret room full of oddities in his mansion and makes out with her nose), and Carol shoving her dad’s disgust for her ambition right back in his face.

The film is also a family drama, an ensemble comedy, a Hollywood satire, and a cute romance, with some feminist through lines thrown in for good measure. This is its biggest setback; there are so many subplots and asides at work that it becomes narratively scatterbrained and unwieldy. Dimitri Martin plays Louis, Bell’s nerdy-nice-guy producer and love interest. They make a nice pairing, and Martin’s shy tip-toeing is sweet. In other romantic news, the always on-point Michaela Watkins plays Bell’s sister, Dani, who’s happily married to Moe (Rob Corddry), though she flirts with danger as her eye wanders to her dashingly European boss, Jason O’Mara. Oh, and then there’s the family dynamic between Carol, Dani, Sam, and his creepily young girlfriend.

These subplots are acted very, very well by the cast, which is brimming with standouts (Nick Offerman, Geena Davis, and even Eva Longoria also join the fray.) However, what ends up happening is they detract from Bell’s guided tour of the sleazy, cutthroat world of voiceover actors, which is In a World…’s best asset; it provides the most interesting, unique, and hilarious moments. I only wish Bell made more room for it.

What’s really great about Carol’s storyline is that it ends on a note of female empowerment which is incredibly uplifting and fulfilling. I grew to care about Carol very much, and to see her come out the other side the way she does made me leave the film happy. It just feels like Bell was so dead-set on fitting every clever idea she had into the script that she ended up with a busier script than it needed to be. Still, In a World… is a clever, character-centric comedy that’s got a great cast and is framed by such a strangely peculiar backdrop that it sets itself apart.

In a World trailer

Ever wanted an autograph from the lovely Lake Bell? Well here is your chance. Way Too Indie is giving away a signed movie poster of Bell’s upcoming film In A World, a film that she wrote, starred, and directed. The film is about a voice actor who tries to find her voice in a cutthroat world of movie trailer voice-overs. In A World opens in select theaters on August 16th.

Way Too Indie is giving away: an exclusive In A World movie poster autographed by Lake Bell to one (1) random winner. Roadside Attractions will be supplying the material.

How do you enter the giveaway?

Leave a comment or Email Me your favorite movie trailer.

For additional giveaway entry Tweet at us your favorite Lake Bell role: @WayTooIndie #InAWorld

Take the movie trailer voiceover quiz

Synopsis

“An underachieving vocal coach is motivated by her father, the king of movie-trailer voice-overs, to pursue her aspirations of becoming a voiceover star. Amidst pride, sexism and family dysfunction, she sets out to change the voice of a generation.”

Watch the trailer for In A World

Read our interview with Lake Bell

Do not forget to check out our interview with Lake Bell where she explains why she’s so fascinated by accents, what British people think of Americans, her writing process, and more.

In Lake Bell’s (Childrens Hospital, No Strings Attached) directorial debut, In a World, she examines the complex relationships of a group of people involved in the ultra-exclusive world of voice acting. Bell sat with us to talk about why she’s so fascinated by accents, the “sexy baby” epidemic, what British people think of Americans, her writing process, and more.

In a World opens this Friday, August 16^th.

The voice acting world serves as the framework for the film, but it’s not what the movie’s about.
Totally. It’s the umbrella.

Right. It’s not at the core of the film, but it’s obvious that voice acting is fascinating to you. What do you find so alluring about it?
I’ve always been interested in voice and sound—the mechanism, the muscles…the tool that it is. As a young girl, I thought accents and languages were mysterious, and people who had an accent were more sophisticated and interesting. I wanted to learn how to do them, and I had an ear for it. It was something I could do. My dad could do it, too. I started honing in on the skill, and my parents thought it was funny, so I ended up doing them a lot. I started hounding people about their accents and later, in drama school, started recording people and their accents. I collected accents like someone collects stamps. When I studied radio plays in England, the idea for characterization via this tool was really inspiring. It’s kind of the ultimate acting, because it’s without the judgment of what you look like, so people can’t say, “You’re too fat. You’re too thin. You’re too tall. You’re too brunette. You’re too blonde.” Anything. “You’re too female.” I could be a guy, I could be a different nationality, whatever.

And you do play a guy in the movie, right?
I do!

That’s something cool to have on the resume.
Totally! (laughs) I hope I get many more voiceover gigs. I love it so much. But yeah, it’s the blind voice, without judgment. You can be anybody.

I agree that people with accents are generally more mysterious and intriguing. You went to school in England. I have a feeling that they don’t find our American accents intriguing.
I would say in some parts of the world it is…maybe not mysterious (laughs) but it’s intriguing. I used to think the same thing. We don’t have a tremendously beautiful accent, but when I went to England, I was the only American in my college. We had people from Australia, we had people from Scotland, and all those people had to get rid of their accents and find a neutral accent of Received Pronunciation, or RP, which is basically BBC English. The Scottish and Australian people had to get rid of their accents to get to neutral, but I was also one of those people. I had this American accent that I had to get to neutral. I remember when they first said that to me I was shocked. I was like, “You guys have all the accents! I don’t know what you’re talking about.” As Americans, we’re so ethnocentric. We think that everybody else has the accents and we don’t, but in fact, I was just another foreign student that had an accent to get rid of. That was a nice role-reversal. I lived in France at one point and at first, even in England, everyone’s kind of tough on you for being American. They don’t want to make you feel like you’re special at all. They’re like, “Fuck you, we don’t care!” Then, you realize as you become friends with people that they’re so intrigued and so jazzed on American culture, and that made me feel less bad. Initially, when I’d move to different countries, I’d always be like, “Oh god, this is such a bummer. They hate me.”

So they don’t think we’re all jerks over there.
I mean…

They do! (laughs)
As a country, there are a lot of jerks here. When you see Americans when you’re traveling, don’t you think, “Oh god!” and put your hands on your head?

Totally. It’s embarrassing.
It is embarrassing. Too loud! What’s interesting about the American accent, just very technically, is that it’s more resonant, and therefore travels farther. So, the actual accent is louder than other accents.

Interesting. Is it the shapes we make with our mouths?
Yeah. The shapes we make, and where we place it in our mouths. Australians are the same way. They have a louder accent as well. Australian isn’t one of my accents, but [the sounds] are further back [in the mouth] and more resonant. It’s annoyingly louder than other ones. A British accent is quieter. A French accent is also very quiet. It’s just because it’s in the front of the mouth and not supported in the same way.

You’re obviously a whiz at this stuff. Is that why you chose to set the film in the voiceover world?
Sure. I had a lot to say about it.

And “sexy baby” as well! (“Sexy baby” is an incredibly annoying and idiotic American female accent that can be heard on numerous reality shows and in Nordstroms across the nation. It sounds exactly as the name implies—like a squeaky, high-pitched baby that wants to fuck you. It’s a monstrosity.)
Yeah, “sexy baby.” I’m haunted and offended by it.

But now you have to hear it all the time because you’re traveling with the movie!
It’s OK because it’s really fun traveling with the movie and being in all these airports and really seeing it everywhere in the nation. It’s not exclusive to California. Everyone says it comes from the valley, and it does, to an extent, originate there. But it has blossomed, or festered, I should say, into something that is so rampant and its own beast. It’s so unsavory for perfectly smart women to be speaking this way. It’s really bad when you hear mothers and wives taking it on to be sort of sexually relevant.

Wow, I’ve never heard mothers speak like that.
There are some reality shows where women in their 40’s talk like that.

Shows that shall not be named (laughs.) The movie is all about the characters and their relationships and interactions with one another. You didn’t want this to be a “voice actor movie”, right? You wanted to focus on the characters.
Correct. What I can speak to and what I feel like my forte is as a writer is to investigate the relationships and also not be on my soapbox, but definitely discuss cultural trends that apply to this woman finding her voice in a very real way, but also in an emotional way, and helping other girls find their voices and combating her father. It’s definitely a coming-of-age story that I felt needed a world that supported the comedic beats, but also was relevant in her journey. That’s why the voice actor world felt like the right place.

It fit.
Yeah, it fit beautifully for me. It’s also just something I like. I had a lot to say about it, I had a lot of characters in my head around it, I had a lot of interactions that I could envision happening, and it was colorful. Even if it’s just colorful in sound, there’s a multitude of angles and ways into the story.

Was the writing process pretty smooth? Was it quick?
I’d say it took a year-and-a-half to two years for the script to gestate and, you know, that’s 20-something drafts. Writing, for me—because I have the luxury of not having a deadline, being able to write when I want to write, what I want to write, and not doing it for anyone but myself—sometimes takes longer, however, the actual writing process is smooth, because I only arrive to write when I want to. When I’m writing, it’s on my own accord.

Let’s talk a bit about Fred Melamed.
He’s a great man. He’s a teddy bear. I’m so proud of his performance and his dedication to committing to that role and being despicable and tragic at the same time, and also, just delivering a hilarious, egomaniacal character.

When he starts crying it’s just amazing.
Oh my god. He’s so committed. It’s beautiful. So yeah, I’m thankful to him.

For this monthly staff feature we came to the conclusion that because not everyone on the staff has been to the same festivals, thus having the opportunities to see the same films, that each writer from the staff would list their own individual Top 5 Films of 2013 (So Far). You can tell just by looking at our lists that there is a wide range of quality films that have been released at the halfway mark of 2013. While we wait to see what upcoming gems 2013 will bring us, here are the best films of the year so far.

Blake’s Top 5

2013, what a year you’ve been so far for us film going folk. You’ve made me cry (A Haunted House, Aftershock), you’ve made me laugh (Warm Bodies in a good way, A Good Day to Die Hard in a bad way) and you’ve had me cheering from the rafters (Gareth Evan’s Safe Haven, Fast and Furious 6). You were better than the first half of 2012 so keep up the good work. Picking my favorite 5 films of the year so far has proven to be a malicious act. I’ve seen some great films. There are easily more than five and since I can only have that amount, I shall list what barely misses here. These are my, as Roger Ebert would call them, Special Jury winners: Graceland, The Silence, The Act of Killing, The Place Beyond the Pines, and Side Effects.

#1  Spring Breakers

#2  Reality

#3  The Hunt

#4  Upstream Color

#5  The Lords of Salem

Bernard’s Top 5

My top two films of the year so far are interchangeable, as they’re both brilliant, but in different ways. Before Midnight is nearly flawless—I was floored by every facet of it. Sarah Polley’s documentary/family-drama/soap-opera/whodunit, Stories We Tell, is a Frankenstein’s monster of personal filmmaking goodness that exists outside any genre. These two films are absolute beasts, and there are miles between them and the rest of the movies I saw this year. That said, it would be amazing if a film in the last half of 2013 can top them somehow. Fingers crossed!

#1  Before Midnight

#2  Stories We Tell

#3  Simon Killer

#4  You’re Next

#5  Like Someone In Love

Amy’s Top 5

I had the opportunity to see so many great films at this year’s Sundance London Film Festival, but only a few have so far have had confirmed releases, In a World will be heading to the UK this September. It was a tremendous comedy written, directed and performed by Lake Bell – I would recommend anyone to go see it when it hits cinemas! I also had the chance to see Mud at the festival and loved every minute of it. Stoker, (directed by Chan-wook Park, Oldboy) was a phenomenal film – its stunning visuals and intense storyline had me utterly gripped throughout, sincerely recommend for those who like Park’s style. Warm Bodies was a great film that turned our expectations of a zombie film upside down, making the dead come alive and love again. I really did not think I would take to Sightseers as much as I did, most of the film I was thinking – “what the hell is going on” – but the last few scenes had me in stitches. Looking forward to seeing: This is the End, The East, and Before Midnight.

#1  In a World

#2  Mud

#3  Stoker

#4  Warm Bodies

#5  Sightseers

CJ’s Top 5

I’ve never seen a year where my two favourite films (at this time) are documentaries, let alone ones that push the capabilities of documentary filmmaking and cinema itself into new directions. I had an internal debate about my placement of both films on this list. Do I give the #1 spot to the film with the most societal and moral impact, or the film with the most cinematic impact? In the end I couldn’t choose, so I let them both share the top spot. The other three are all terrific, and Bernard has explained enough why Before Midnight is great, but these first two shook me to the core. Other films that barely made the cut: Spring Breakers, Side Effects, The Place Beyond The Pines, Valentine Road.

#1 (tie)  Leviathan and The Act of Killing

#3  Before Midnight

#4  Beyond The Hills

#5  Hors Satan

Ananda’s Top 5

Perhaps it’s the celebration of the end of a long recession, but of 2013’s film offerings thus far, the ones that have seemed strongest to me are all of a lighter fare. Granted I haven’t seen A Hijacking, Mud, or The Stories We Tell (which would probably make this list because I have a huge girl-crush on Sarah Polley). I can wait for the fall to indulge in the heavier stuff, including all those festival films not yet released (Blue is the Warmest Color, holler). But sometimes lighter is better. From the bottom, This is the End is the best buddies-in-a-crises film I’ve seen since Shaun of the Dead and had my abs hurting for days. A three-quel on my list? I’m just as shocked, but when Hollywood’s wittiest writer, Shane Black, unites with the world’s wittiest superhero, Iron Man (played by the man Black was born to write for, Robert Downey Jr.) it’s a match made in Marvel heaven. Upstream Color isn’t easier to follow than Shane Carruth’s first film Primer, but was much easier to accept and had a lovely hum to it. It’s no secret I’m a sucker for films of the dark and twisty variety, and Stoker manages to be elegant with its seductive spookiness. Frances Ha, at the top of my list, stroke some realistic chords with this urban-dwelling 20-something, and Greta Gerwig shines as she makes what could be an aimless hipster, a relatable heroine. All in all, 2013 has me feeling rather positive thus far. Honorable Mentions: Side Effects (The twists and pacing of Ocean’s 11 with the gravitas of Contagion) and since we’re keeping it light with my list Warm Bodies successfully paired young love and zombies to my great delight.

#1  Frances Ha

#2  Stoker

#3  Upstream Color

#4  Iron Man 3

#5  This is the End

Dustin’s Top 5

It is not all that surprising that three of the top five films I have seen so far in 2013 had played at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. But only one of those (Nebraska) is allowed to be on this list as the other two (Like Father, Like Son and The Great Beauty) do not meet our prerequisite of having a hard 2013 U.S. release date yet. But because 2013 has been a solid year for films so far, it was not difficult to find two other films to take their place. And it will only get better during the fall festival circuit and awards season. Though I saw Ulrich Seidl’s hard-to-watch yet stimulating Paradise: Love last year, it is still the top film for me with a 2013 release date. A few films that just missed the cut for me were: To The Wonder, 28 Hotel Rooms, and The Act of Killing. I should also include a few films that I have not seen yet: Mud, Fruitvale Station, Before Midnight, and Post Tenebras Lux.

#1  Paradise: Love

#2  The Place Beyond the Pines

#3  Upstream Color

#4  Frances Ha

#5  Nebraska

Short Term 12

SXSW film-goers pegged this picture pretty well when they gave it the audience award a few months ago. Destin Cretin’s second feature in as many years is an honest crowd pleaser that leaves you feeling all warm inside. Brie Larson, in an exceptional dramatic turn, and a solid John Gallagher Jr., mentor a very good ensemble cast as the head staff at foster care facility named Short Term 12. Cretin skillfully reveals that the bright faculty of this care center emerged from a similar backgrounds as many of the children they oversee. He does so with a script that skirts the many clichés of a ‘troubled kids’ drama and renders his characters painfully clear. In a post-screening Q and A he admitted to working in a facility similar to the one depicted in the film and conducting hours of interviews with workers and children as research.

Short Term 12 often deals in extreme emotions and Cretin guides his actors skillfully into restrained performances, yet at times the filmmaking fails to follow suit. Too often the production sound falls to a dreamy silence as the music, an excellent score from young composer Joel West, pumps up the emotion when audiences are already right there with the film. So many recent filmmakers have adopted a “naturalist”, documentary, or handheld style that it feels like the new norm. It’s more shocking to see carefully executed dolly shots and classical editing than shaky close-ups in low lighting. In Short Term 12, Cretin with long time cinematographer Brett Pawlak, execute this style to a tee and allow their actors to shine. Cretin and his team craft a beautiful film about nontraditional families using traditional storytelling.

RATING: 8

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

David Lowery’s unclear and unconvincing script extinguishes what could have been a fiery noir burning with lust and violence. His story contains many great crime genre staples—a love struck criminal, a beautiful country girl, a menacing father figure, lusty cops, and a prison escape; not to mention it’s set in the 30s. The industrious Lowery has lured immense talent to his film but fails to deliver even an ounce of the proposed excitement.

Full Review of Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

RATING: 5

In a World

Lake Bell, a lovely character actor, makes her feature debut as writer/director with the unique comedy In a World. She draws from an impressive Rolodex of friends, such as Children’s Hospital co-stars Rob Courdry, Ken Marino, and Nick Offerman. Bell delights in filling most of the cast with comedians who all excel in dramatic turns. In a World works because it is not just silly nonsense like many of this summer’s comedies, but a compelling father daughter story set in the goofy, yet interesting, niche world of Hollywood voiceover artists.

Bell plays, Carol, a shiftless layabout who specializes in voice coaching dialects because she thinks she cannot make it in the cutthroat would of voice acting, dominated by her father, Sam, played by the marvelous Fred Melamed. Sam seems comfortable to pass the torch to a younger voice stud named Gustav when studios revive the classic movie trailer phrase, “In a World…” for a new round of epic Hunger Games/Twilight-esque films, but Carol begins booking voice over gigs of her own and throws a wrench into this male dominated world. On paper the plot seems a bit trite, but the wealth of supporting characters, touching family drama, and beautiful performances all around make for a great time. Bell perfectly balances the laughs with the drama and never lets the story get too silly or too dire. She crafts a wonderful and heartfelt comedy that also addresses serious issues of family relationships and feminism in Hollywood yet remains entertaining throughout. I look forward to more films from Bell.

RATING: 7

What an incredible experience Sundance London Film Festival was. The line-up was so exciting and I knew right away I was in for a brilliant week, that I would be able to witness some of this year’s worthy hits.

The festival was primarily focused on the films they were showcasing, and their schedule also included some fantastic panel events that film fans and press were invited to attend. Sundance London is not just about the films however, they also provide live music events, which unfortunately I did not really have any desire to attend. The Sundance institute has always been about films and their filmmakers; they promote independent filmmaking and moreover, they’re very good at it. Introducing a sub festival for music at the London event seemed slightly disconcerting and even though I did not take part in this aspect I don’t believe many people understood its connection with Sundance.

A.C.O.D Panel Event

If it is the Sundance Institutes intention to focus on music as well as film at its London festival then it may need to work on why they are doing so and what relevance it has with Sundance. Aside from this minor criticism, the festival was a wonderful experience and being hosted at the hugely popular o2 arena, I believe it will only grow and improve over the years. With this all said, it is worth noting that this was only the second year of Sundance London and that it is too early to judge the festival’s success, but what I will say is that I had a fantastic time and that I will be attending again next year – unless between now and January some miracle happens and I’m able to jet off and attend the Utah experience!

Sundance London Stage

Top 3 Films From Sundance London

In a World

What I loved most about In a World was its ability to really involve the audience. The comedic relationships and witty one liners were so incredibly well written that you cannot help but love Lake Bell’s directorial debut. There was nothing at all that I could fault or criticize throughout the entire film, I simply loved it.

Emanuel and the Truth about Fishes

Francesca Gregorini’s depiction of the hardship of losing loved ones and dealing with life’s uncontrollable curve balls was so wonderfully visualised. It had such a personal feel to it that you could not ignore that the director’s heart and soul were being laid bare for the world to see. She did so with such taste and beauty that many of whom I spoke with after shared my love for what we had just seen. Emanuel and the Truth about Fishes is truly a cinematic achievement.

Mud

I was totally taken aback by Mud as I had not known what the story was about at all, I had just heard that it included stellar performances and an intriguing narrative. They were not wrong – it was without a doubt one of the best films to come out of Sundance this year. Mud displays beautiful friendships and an alternative love story, giving Matthew McConaughey, what critics are describing as the performance of a lifetime and I’d have to agree.

In A World

What a fantastic, honestly hilarious comedy. Perfect in every sense of the word, In a World defines my idea of funny. This is the directorial debut for Lake Bell, and yet you really would not know it – she brought to the table a vision and with that a solid script; which deservedly won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance, Utah in January.

Carol Solomon (Lake Bell) is a struggling vocal coach, teaching actors how to speak with different accents. This is how we are introduced to Bell’s character, she receives a phone call asking if she could work with Eva Longoria to develop her cockney accent – the auditorium is in fits of laughter as we hear Longoria trying to pronounce “slapper”, just a few seconds into the film. From then on, almost every scene has you involuntarily bursting out laughing as Bell knows exactly what the audience finds funny.

Though lacking in confidence, Carol seems to get lucky in scoring her first big ‘gig’ and attempts to pursue a career in voice acting, something she has always dreamed. Her father, Sam Sotto, the reigning king of movie-trailer-voice-over artists, has never wanted her daughter to follow in his footsteps and becomes insanely jealous of her success.

Dealing with issues of sexism, Bell highlights the hardship women can face in a male dominated industry, however this is not the focal point of In a World and during a Q&A at the end, she described it as being something she wanted to include but never to force onto the audience.

In a World is a wonderfully charming and extremely witty comedic gem directed, written and starred in by Lake Bell – I look forward for its international release.

RATING: 9.5

Touchy Feely

Lynn Shelton’s Touchy Feely has, so far, gathered mixed reviews and unfortunately I got to see why. I went into the film very open minded and came away feeling confused and largely disappointed. Nevertheless, there can be a lot said for the powerful depiction of energy and balance within life and relationships, something that Shelton has always done a great job with in her films.

We presume that from the Touchy Feely poster of Abby and that the entire sequences of events that occur are related to this character’s lifestyle – that Touchy Feely is about her. Yet once the credits role, I felt that it highlighted her brothers personal progression and even his daughter Jenny’s development so much more than any other – that Abby’s final ‘realisation’ was a mere after thought. If this was what the film intended, that the whole storyline and focus would shift along with the balance of energy then it would seem to make a lot more sense.

Stick around Way Too Indie for a full review of Touchy Feely coming soon.

Being from the UK with only a select few film festivals to attend each year, Sundance London offers British film-fans the chance to access the UK premiere of the fantastic films that were premiered in Utah earlier this year. Redford himself will be attending the press conference this morning at 11am as will Festival Programmer John Cooper, I am very eager to hear their welcoming messages. All films that will have their UK premiere have their maker in attendance at the festival this year. So we will be hearing from Lake Bell, In a World, Lynn Shelton, Touchy Feely and Francesca Gregorni, Emanuel and the Truth about Fishes and more.

Today, the 2nd Sundance London Film and Music Festival opens its doors to the press. Londoners and films buffs from all over the UK are given the opportunity to be a part of the Sundance experience starting tomorrow through the 28th.

This festival introduction includes my top three films I am looking forward to seeing at Sundance London

Touchy Feely

Sundance regular, Lynn Shelton had her third film premiered this January at the festival and will be screening again in London at the end of the week. Shelton’s Your Sisters Sister of 2012 was one of my favourite films of the year so I’m extremely eager to see recurring actress Rosemarie DeWitt take the lead in Touchy Feely. As Dustin said in Way Too Indies Top 10 Most Anticipated Films Playing Sundance – “If it is anything like her previous films, we should expect a film with less script thus more natural feeling dialog, which helps maker her films so genuine”.

In A World

Coming away with the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: US Dramatic in January, In A World “brings us into an idiosyncratic world where one woman fights the odds and family finds her voice”. This is Lake Bell’s directorial debut and showcasing her incredible talent also wrote and stars in this comedy. The story delves into the world of the Hollywood voice over talent with Carol Solomon a (Bell) a struggling vocal coach who is both irritated but pushed by her renowned famous voice over artist father, Sam Sotto. Pursuing her dream to be a voice-over star, Carol lands her first voice-over gig which entangles her in a web of dysfunction, sexism, unmitigated ego, and pride.

A.C.O.D

Stuart Zicherman’s A.C.O.D (Adult Children of Divorce) is a comedy whose cast includes some very familiar faces, including Adam Scott (Parks and Rec), Amy Poehler (also Parks and Rec), Jessica Alba (Sin City) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim).

Adam Scott’s character becomes aware that he was once a participant in a study about children of divorce and is sought out to undergo a follow-up study as an adult. His participation in the present-day is where the comedy ensues as his younger brother is getting married which brings his divorced parents back together, causing a lot of awkward friction.

Reviews at present for A.C.O.D have not been kind, judging it as an “amusing but formulaic man-in-crisis comedy” (The Guardian) – however, I am keeping an open mind and very much looking forward to seeing some of the fantastic Parks and Rec actors together in a feature film among others.

Sundance 2013 has come to a close after what seems like an especially strong year. The jury and audience awards were just announced this weekend and the big winner appears to be Fruitvale. The drama, covered in our first Sundance round-up as one of the titles gaining buzz, won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for the U.S. Dramatic competition. Last year the Jury award went to Beasts of the Southern Wild while the audience award was given to The Sessions (which was originally titled The Surrogate at Sundance). Both of those movies have gone on to get Oscar nominations, so with Fruitvale we might have an Oscar contender on our hands if it gets released this year. The Weinstein Company has the distribution rights, and while no release date has been given it won’t be surprising if we get to see the film in a prime awards season slot this fall/winter.

Other award winners include: Blood Brother, a documentary about an American volunteering in India which won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for Documentaries; Bradford Young, whose work as cinematographer on Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and Mother of George got him the Cinematography Award for both films; Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley earning the Acting Award for their highly praised work in The Spectacular Now; and two of our most anticipated Sundance titles, In A World and Upstream Color, both took home a Writing and Sound Design award respectively.

Full list of 2013 Sundance Film Festival winners below

U. S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic:
Fruitvale

U. S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary:
Blood Brother

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic:
Jiseul

World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary:
A River Changes Course

Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic:
Metro Manila

Audience Award: World Cinema: Documentary:
The Square

Audience Award: U. S. Dramatic presented by Acura:
Fruitvale

Audience Award: U.S. Documentary presented by Acura:
Blood Brother

Audience Award: Best of NEXT:
This is Martin Bonner

Directing Award: U. S. Dramatic:
Afternoon Delight

Directing Award: U. S. Documentary:
Cutie and the Boxer

Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic:
Crystal Fairy

Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary:
The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear

Cinematography Award: World Cinema Dramatic:
Lasting

Cinematography Award: U. S. Documentary:
Dirty Wars

Cinematography Award: U. S. Dramatic:
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

Cinematography Award: U. S. Dramatic:
Mother of George

Cinematography Award: World Cinema Documentary:
Who Is Dayani Cristal?

U. S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement in Filmmaking:
Inequality for All

U. S. Documentary Special Jury award for Achievement in Filmmaking:
American Promise

U. S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting:
Miles Teller & Shailene Woodley, The Spectacular Now

U. S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Sound Design:
Shane Carruth & Johnny Marshall, Upstream Color

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award:
Circles

World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award:
Pussy Riot — A Punk Prayer

Editing Award: World Cinema Documentary:
The Summit

Editing Award: U. S. Documentary:
Gideon’s Army

Screenwriting Award: World Cinema Dramatic:
Wajma (An Afghan Love Story)

Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic:
In A World…

Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize:
Computer Chess

With 2012 behind us and the Oscars only weeks away, the year in film for 2013 is just about to get underway. Park City, Utah is home to the Sundance Film Festival, a showcase for new independent films in America and (to a lesser degree) the rest of the world. Despite running at the start of the year, Sundance has premiered plenty of films that have eventually gone on to successful runs at the box office and award shows. If you want an example, look no further than last year when Beasts of the Southern Wild premiered to raves and ended up with four Oscar nominations including Best Picture.

So now with Sundance already getting underway, will there be another film ready to ride a wave of success all the way to awards season at the end of the year? Since Way Too Indie won’t be attending the festival this year we won’t be able to see any of the films playing yet, but we’ve gone through the festival line-up and picked the movies we’re most excited to watch. If you want to check things out yourself, the Sundance 2013 line-up can be seen here.

Way Too Indie’s Top 10 Most Anticipated Films Playing Sundance Film Festival 2013

Before Midnight (dir: Richard Linklater, Premieres)
Back in 1995 Richard Linklater released Before Sunrise, a simple but enjoyable film about an American (Ethan Hawke) and a French woman (Julie Delpy) spending the day together in Vienna. Nine years later Linklater, Hawke and Delpy reunited for Before Sunset which found the two characters reuniting in France. Sunset turned out to be one of Linklater’s best movies, and ever since then people have been wondering if a third film would ever get made. Now, nine years after Before Sunset, the three have reunited again for Before Midnight. It remains to be seen whether or not Midnight will live up to the quality of Sunrise and Sunset, but either way it’ll be nice to catch up with Jesse and Celine again. [C.J.]

Before Midnight

Touchy Feely (dir: Lynn Shelton, U.S. Dramatic)
Lynn Shelton is no stranger when it comes to Sundance, Touchy Feely will be her third film in a row that will play at the festival. Her previous film, Your Sister’s Sister, was one of my favorite films of 2012, so I was naturally excited to hear that she would be presenting a new film this year. Back again for a lead role is Rosemarie DeWitt who plays a free-spirited massage therapist but develops a mysterious aversion to bodily contact, which makes her job intolerable to do. Shelton explains that the film is “Literally and figuratively about attempting to live in your own skin.” If it is anything like her previous films, we should expect a film with less script thus more natural feeling dialog, which helps maker her films so genuine. [Dustin]

Touchy Feely

Concussion (dir: Stacie Passon, U.S. Dramatic)
When the line-up was announced I ran through the lists as quick as I could, looking for familiar names and faces, I picked up on the storylines I thought I’d like instantly, and ignored one or two I knew I wouldn’t. Looking through the list again, with personal taste and bias set aside, I noticed quite a few more that had originally got tossed aside. I saw the film still that promoted Concussion on the festival’s programme for U.S. Dramatic and was drawn in to read more. The woman looked exhausted yet beautiful; I read the small description below and was eager to find the About the Director video. Written and directed by Stacie Passon, one of the many female directors amid the Sundance 2013 line-up, the film depicts the life of a married lesbian couple, and primarily focuses on one woman’s struggle of feeling alone, jealous and ultimately sexually abandoned by the person she thought loved her the most – an interesting and diverse storyline. [Amy]

Concussion

Upstream Color (dir: Shane Carruth, U.S. Dramatic)
It has been nearly 10 years since Shane Carruth took Park City by storm with his debut film Primer. Since then his name has barely been mentioned, except for a “special thanks” credit in Looper, until just recently when Sundance made its lineup announcement. Sticking the genre he knows best, Upstream Color looks as if it is another science fiction mind-trip from Carruth. Amy Seimetz plays a woman who has been drugged and brainwashed by a small-time thief. She ends up falling in love with someone who may also be under the same influence. The film has generated a lot of buzz around the internet, making people wonder if he could once again win the Grand Jury Prize. [Dustin]

Upstream Color

I Used To Be Darker (dir: Matt Porterfield, NEXT)
Back in 2010 Matt Porterfield released Putty Hill, a radical and surprisingly powerful film that slowly built up a following of critics who passionately supported it. Shot on an incredibly low budget over 12 days, Putty Hill stood out for its gorgeous cinematography, excellent use of unprofessional actors (including pop singer Sky Ferreira) and unorthodox format that made it feel like a hybrid between documentary and fiction. Two years later Porterfield has returned, this time to a bigger venue, and will hopefully make a bigger name for himself. The story in I Used To Be Darker involves an Irish runaway staying with her American aunt and uncle whose marriage is falling apart. Going by the trailer it looks like Porterfield might have another winner in store. [C.J.]

I Used To Be Darker

Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes (dir: Francesca Gregorini, U.S. Dramatic)
There’s an unintentional theme occurring with my choice of films, being that they’re all directed by women, this one however, is a film that gains greater depth given that the auteur is female. Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes represents the personal story Francesca Gregorini has portrayed through a young female character whose mother died at child birth, therefore leaving her daughter with a missing piece to her life. The director admits that this film is autobiographical as being unable to bare children she relates to the main character’s difficulties and hardship. Francesca Gregorini lays out her feelings and emotions towards loss and despair for the world to witness through this promising, very moving film. [Amy]

Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes

Mud (dir: Jeff Nichols, Spotlight)
Mud opened to a warm reception when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year, where it was in competition for the esteemed Palme d’Or award. Though Jeff Nichols’ previous thriller Take Shelter was certainly worth a watch, Mud looks like it could be an even more intense thriller than his previous work. The first trailer for the first recently surfaced on the web, just ahead of its U.S. premiere, and it certainly looks promising. Matthew McConaughey appears to have found his niche in playing the “bad guy” role recently, first with Killer Joe and now with this. [Dustin]

Mud

We Are What We Are (dir: Jim Mickle, Midnight)
Anyone who considers themselves a fan of horror films should keep their eye on Jim Mickle. Years ago his debut feature Mulberry Street, about a virus in New York City that turned people into rat-like creatures, was overlooked by people when it got released in After Dark’s “8 Films to Die For” series. Years later Mickle finally started to make a name for himself with Stake Land, an ambitious film about a vampire apocalypse. Now Mickle has returned with We Are What We Are, a dark story about a family trying to keep its horrifying traditions alive. A remake of the 2010 Mexican film with the same title, Mickle has proven himself to be a unique and talented director in the horror genre and we can only hope that his latest movie will continue that trend. [C.J.]

We Are What We Are

In a World (dir: Lake Bell, U.S. Dramatic)
Trying to keep updated with all Sundance news and updates I immediately began following almost all the directors of the official selection on Twitter in search of more information. Lake Bell was one of the later profiles I came across, and now she feels a very familiar personality and a director whose work I am really eager to see. After reading some of her seriously happy, excitable and endearing tweets towards In a World and watching the interview she gave about the film I picked up instantly on her wonderful charm and have high hopes for In a World to surprise Sundance. [Amy]

In a World

Stoker (dir: Park Chan-Wook, Premieres)
Park Chan-Wook is known best for his Vengeance Trilogy, which includes his outstanding film that previously earned him a trip to Sundance, Oldboy. This year he will be bringing his first attempt at an English-language based film, about a woman who is dealing with the recent passing of her father when a mysterious yet charming family member shows up that she has never met before. Soon she starts to suspect this family member may have some ulterior motives. Stoker is said to be a cross between a psychological thriller and a horror film, so with a veteran like Park Chan-Wook at the helm, consider this writer highly intrigued. [Dustin]

Stoker

Other films we are looking forward to

Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s writing and directorial debut Don Jon’s Addiction; George Tillman Jr.’s passion project The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete; teenage drama Very Good Girls; Midnight line-up films including S-VHS (the sequel to V/H/S), Hell Baby, Magic Magic and In Fear; Calvin Reeder’s sure to be divisive The Rambler; Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling`s follow-up to Sound of My Voice called The East; and Blue Caprice, a drama based on the Beltway sniper attacks. The Sundance film festival officially started today in Park City, Utah and will continue through January 27th.