Sundance 2013: 10 Films Chosen for Screenings Across U.S.

Ten films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival will screen across the country on Jan. 31 as part of an initiative designed to support independent theater and promote the festival, the Sundance Institute announced Monday.

The films will play in Ann Arbor, Mich., Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Nashville, Orlando, San Francisco, and Tucson, Ariz. The filmmakers will be on hand to introduce their works and answer questions from audiences. The country-spanning event, part of the Sundance Film Festival USA initiative, takes place days after Sundance closes; this year’s festival runs Jan. 17-27.

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“The independent film community is thriving, and we attribute that in part to the work of independent theaters across the country that are engaging film-loving audiences throughout the year,” said, John Cooper, director of the Sundance Film Festival, in a statement. “Their support encourages artists to continue pushing boundaries, knowing that audiences are open and excited to connect with their new work.”

Among the movies playing in the one-day program is U.S. dramatic competition film Ain’t Them Bodies Saints, which will play in Los Angeles’ new Sundance Sunset Cinemas and stars Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck. Tickets for each Jan. 31 screening will be available through the theater’s box office.

This year, Sundance will screen 115 feature-length films representing 32 countries; the haul includes projects from 51 first-time filmmakers, including 27 films that are in competition. 

A complete list of the theaters and films appears after the jump.

Ann Arbor, Mich. – The Michigan Theatre www.michtheater.org

The East / U.S.A. (Director: Zal Batmanglij, Screenwriters: Zal Batmanglij, Brit Marling) — An operative for an elite private intelligence firm goes into deep cover to infiltrate a mysterious anarchist collective attacking major corporations. Bent on apprehending these fugitives, she finds her loyalty tested as her feelings grow for the group’s charismatic leader. Cast: Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård, Ellen Page, Toby Kebbell, Shiloh Fernandez, Patricia Clarkson.

Boston – Coolidge Corner Theatre www.coolidge.org

The Lifeguard / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Liz W. Garcia) — A former valedictorian quits her reporter job in New York and returns to the place she last felt happy: her childhood home in Connecticut. She gets work as a lifeguard and starts a dangerous relationship with a troubled teenager. Cast: Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, Martin Starr, Alex Shaffer, Amy Madigan, David Lambert.

Brooklyn  – BAM www.bam.org

Kill Your Darlings / U.S.A. (Director: John Krokidas, Screenwriters: Austin Bunn, John Krokidas) — An untold story of murder that brought together a young Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs at Columbia University in 1944, providing the spark that led to the birth of an entire generation – their Beat revolution. Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen.

Chicago  – Music Box Theatre www.musicboxtheatre.com

Touchy Feely / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lynn Shelton) — A massage therapist is unable to do her job when stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact. Meanwhile, her uptight brother’s foundering dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his “healing touch.” Cast: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney, Ron Livingston, Scoot McNairy, Ellen Page, Josh Pais.

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Houston  – Sundance Cinemas Houston www.sundancecinemas.com

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Lowery) — The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met. Cast: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Nate Parker, Keith Carradine.

Los Angeles  – Sundance Sunset Cinemas www.sundancecinemas.com

Afternoon Delight / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jill Soloway) —  In this sexy, dark comedy, a lost L.A. housewife puts her idyllic hipster life in jeopardy when she tries to rescue a stripper by taking her in as a live-in nanny. Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Juno Temple, Josh Radnor, Jane Lynch.

Nashville  – Belcourt Theatre www.belcourt.org

Mother of George / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Dosunmu, Screenwriter: Darci Picoult) — A story about a woman willing to do anything and risk everything for her marriage. Cast: Isaach De Bankolé, Danai Gurira, Tony Okungbowa, Yaya Alafia, Bukky Ajayi.

Orlando  – Enzian Theater www.enzian.org

A.C.O.D. / U.S.A. (Director: Stuart Zicherman, Screenwriters: Ben Karlin, Stuart Zicherman) — Carter is a well-adjusted Adult Child of Divorce. So he thinks.  When he discovers he was part of a divorce study as a child, it wreaks havoc on his family and forces him to face his chaotic past. Cast: Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O’Hara, Amy Poehler, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clark Duke.

San Francisco – Sundance Kabuki Cinemas www.sundancecinemas.com

In a World… / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Lake Bell) — 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. Cast: Lake Bell, Demetri Martin, Rob Corddry, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino, Fred Melamed.

Tucson, Ariz.  – The Loft www.loftcinema.com

The Spectacular Now / U.S.A. (Director: James Ponsoldt, Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber) — Sutter is a high school senior who lives for the moment; Aimee is the introvert he attempts to “save.” As their relationship deepens, the lines between right and wrong, friendship and love, and “saving” and corrupting become inextricably blurred. Cast: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler.

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