The world premieres of 16 American narrative feature films.
Safety Not Guaranteed and Middle Of Nowhere
Beasts Of The Southern Wild
(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Benh Zeitlin; Writer: Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin; Stars: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry),
Official Site
Waters gonna rise up, wild animals gonna return from the grave, and everything south of the levee is goin’ under, in this tale of a six-year-old named Hushpuppy, who lives with her daddy at the edge of the world.
World premiere
The Comedy
(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Rick Alverson; Writer: Rick Alverson, Robert Donne, Colm O'Leary; Stars: Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Kate Lyn Sheil, Alexia Rassmusen, Gregg Turkington)
Indifferent even to the prospects of inheriting his father's estate, Swanson whiles away his days with a group of ageing Brooklyn hipsters, engaging in small acts of recreational cruelty and pacified boredom.
World premiere
The End of Love
(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Mark Webber; Writer: Mark Webber; Stars: Mark Webber, Shannyn Sossamon, Michael Cera, Jason Ritter, Amanda Seyfried, Frankie Shaw)
A young father unravels following the loss of the mother of his child.
World premiere
Filly Brown
(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Youssef Delara, Michael D Olmos; Writer: Youssef Delara; Stars: Gina Rodriguez, Jenni Rivera, Lou Diamond Phillips, Edward James Olmos, Emilio Rivera, Chrissie Fit),
Official Site
A Latino girl counts the cost of becoming a rising hip-hop star.
World premiere
For Ellen
(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: So Yong Kim; Writer: So Yong Kim; Stars: Paul Dano, Jon Heder, Jena Malone, Margarita Levieva, Shay Mandigo),
Official Site
A rock musician in the middle of an acrimonious divorce tries to gain access to his six-year-old daughter.
World premiere
Keep The Lights On and For Ellen
The First Time
(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Jonathan Kasdan; Writer: Jonathan Kasdan; Stars: Brittany Robertson, Dylan O'Brien, Craig Roberts, James Frecheville, Victoria Justice)
Two high schoolers meet at a party. Over the course of a weekend, things turn magical, romantic, complicated and funny, as they discover what it's like to fall in love for the first time.
World premiere
Hello I Must Be Going
(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Todd Louiso; Writer: Sarah Koskoff; Stars: Melanie Lynskey, Blythe Danner, Christopher Abbott, John Rubinstein, Julie White)
Divorced, childless, demoralised and condemned to move back in with her parents at the age of 35, Amy Minsky's prospects look bleak – until the unexpected attention of a teenage boy changes everything.
World premiere. Day one film
Keep The Lights On
(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Ira Sachs; Writer: Ira Sachs, Mauricio Zacharias; Stars: Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth, Julianne Nicholson, Souleymane Sy Savane, Paprika Steen),
Official Site
An autobiographically inspired story of a passionate long-term relationship between two men driven by addiction and secrets but bound by love and hopefulness.
World premiere
LUV
(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Sheldon Candis; Writer: Sheldon Candis, Justin Wilson; Stars: Common, Michael Rainey Jr., Dennis Haysbert, Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton)
An 11-year-old boy has a sharp coming-of-age as he spends a day in the company of his uncle.
World premiere
Middle Of Nowhere
(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Ava DuVernay; Writer: Ava DuVernay; Stars: Tracie Thoms, David Oyelowo, Omari Hardwick, Sharon Lawrence, Dondre Whitfield, Renee Victor, Maya Gilbert, Lorraine Toussaint, Edwina Findley, Emayatzy E. Corinealdi, Bob Rumnock, Andy Spencer, Sancho Martin, Bruce Katzman, William 'Bill' Connor),
Official Site
A devoted wife finds her life is on hold whilst her husband is in prison.
World premiere
Beasts Of The Southern Wild and LUV
Nobody Walks
(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Ry Russo-Young; Writer: Lena Dunham, Ry Russo-Young; Stars: John Krasinski, Olivia Thirlby, Rosemarie DeWitt, India Ennenga, Justin Kirk),
Official Site
Martine, a young artist from New York, is invited into the home of a hip, liberal LA family for a week. Her presence unravels the family’s carefully maintained status quo and a mess of sexual and emotional entanglements ensues.
World premiere
Save The Date
(Year: 2012; Director: Michael Mohan; Writer: Jeffrey Brown, Michael Mohan, Egan Reich; Stars: Lizzy Caplan, Alison Brie, Martin Starr, Geoffrey Arend, Mark Webber),
Official Site
As her sister Beth prepares to get married, Sarah finds herself caught up in an intense post-breakup rebound. The two fumble through the redefined emotional landscape of modern day relationships, forced to relearn how to love and be loved.
World premiere
Simon Killer
(Country: France, US; Year: 2011; Director: Antonio Campos; Writer: Antonio Campos; Stars: Brady Corbet, Mati Diop, Michaël Abiteboul, Alex Desjoux, Marc Gaviard, Alexandra Neil, Nicolas Ronchi, Etienne Rotha Moeng, Constance Rousseau, Lila Salet, Solo),
Trailer
A recent college graduate goes to Paris after breaking up with his girlfriend of five years. Once there, he falls in love with a young prostitute and their fateful journey begins.
World premiere
Smashed
(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: James Ponsoldt; Writer: Susan Burke, James Ponsoldt; Stars: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Paul, Octavia Spencer, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally)
Kate and Charlie are a young married couple whose bond is built on a mutual love of music, laughter and... drinking. When Kate decides to get sober, her new lifestyle brings troubling issues to the surface and calls into question her relationship with Charlie.
World premiere
Safety Not Guaranteed
(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Colin Trevorrow; Writer: Derek Connolly; Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karen Soni)
A trio of magazine employees investigate a classified ad seeking a partner for time travel.
World premiere
Simon Killer and Filly Brown
The Sessions (The Surrogate)
(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Ben Lewin; Writer: Ben Lewin; Stars: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H Macy, Moon Bloodgood, Annika Marks, Adam Arkin)
A man in an iron lung hires a sex surrogate to help him lose his virginity.
World premiere