Arts Design

BEAUTIFUL STORIES THAT IMPACT YOUR SOUL @ SUNDANCE NOW

Courtesy of Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy. Still from The Tribe.

Today, on the final day of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, we are focused on films that captured pieces of our soul stories that have already begun to make an impact.

THE TRIBE

Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy’s beautiful film, The Tribe, premiered at Cannes and has been building a steady stream of critical acclaim ever since.

The Tribe is a story about Sergey, a new student at a boarding school for the deaf, who must find his way amidst the school’s gang, The Tribe, and their forays into assorted crime and prostitution. He is first shunned, then indoctrinated. But then, Sergey begins to fall in love -- and the Tribe isn’t happy about it.

Performed by a deaf non-professional cast, entirely in sign language, without subtitles or a musical score, The Tribe is often near-silent -- but with exquisitely immersive sound design.

DARK HORSE

Dark Horse tells the story of how a barmaid, Jan Vokes, gathers a band of locals together in a poor mining village in Wales to take on the elite sport of racehorsing by breeding their own horse. Each collaborator agrees to donate 10 pounds a week to the cause.

The group raises a foal, named, “Dream Alliance,” that grows up to become a repository for the group’s dreams and hopes, as the horse overcomes incredible obstacles and odds to become a real “dark horse” of the competition.

Filmmaker Louise Osmond, tells this triumphant underdog story with touching power and inspiration. An uplifting documentary, Dark Horse is a beautiful film that might give you some impetus to dream big yourself.

WILD TALES

We all lose control. It’s very soul-freeing in a way. And we all fantasize about losing control in the most outrageous ways. Wild Tales, an Academy Award nominated film by Argentinian director Damián Szifrón, is a set of six unrelated out-of-control vignettes that take you on a thrilling out-of-control roller coaster ride you will never forget.

From road rage, to a woman scorned, to the brilliant revenge of a guy that just can’t seem to win at anything or with anyone, Szifrón’s elicits perfectly pitched performances with humor and utter madness. This film was one of our Festival favorites.

H.

A modern spin on Helen of Troy --- sort of. This is a story about two Helens, one middle-aged and the other young, in Troy, New York. One obsesses on a "reborn" baby doll, while the other is expecting a child with her noncommittal partner. Their subconscious fears are conjoined with mysterious, almost supernatural forces.

Life gets interesting when a meteor strikes and the two women begin to descend into madness in the strangely beautiful soulful film -- written and directed by Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia.

BROOKLYN

Brooklyn is a beautifully sumptuous period piece as well as a sweeping romance that highlights the talents of young actress Saoirse Ronan.

Adapted from Colm Toibin’s novel, Brooklyn is a tale about Ellis, a young woman who leaves her home in Ireland in the 1950s to live in Brooklyn. The film paints a poignant picture of an immigrant’s struggles between life on both sides of the pond, two different cultures, an old and a new world -- and two loves.

DREAMCATCHER

Dreamcatcher, directed by Kim Longinotto, tells the story of a woman who escaped from a dark and tragic place to bring light and hope to others who shared her plight.

Brenda Myers-Powell was a drug-addicted teenage prostitute working the streets of Chicago. After a violent attack that landed her in serious condition in the hospital, she had an epiphany. We follow her story as she turns her life around and became an advocate for women and girls in her community.

Dreamcatcher dives into the horrific realities of these young women, using verité footage from their points of view. The film carries us through the neglect, violence and exploitation to a new set of more positive possibilities, by beautifully conveying the kindness, generosity, strength, and impact that Myers-Powell was able to offer them.

GIRLHOOD

Girlhood, a film by Director Céline Sciamma, tells the story of sixteen-year old Marieme, who lives in a male-dominated poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Paris. Life and prospects are grim.

Marieme ends up in a girl gang and discovers a new sense of freedom, with a new style, attitude and beautiful new swagger.

THE BLACK PANTHERS: VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION

The Black Panthers, a revolutionary group of activists in the 1960s, once vilified, painted with a broad brush as a pack of violent criminals, are finally portrayed in a truer light in The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, a new documentary by director Stanley Nelson.

For the first time, we hear a more rounded story from people who were there: police, FBI informants, journalists, black and white supporters, detractors, and members of the Panthers, themselves.

As cities burned, Vietnam raged on, and civil rights were trampled, this brave group of young people came together to make change happen and foster a new culture in the United States.

Robert Redford was one of the first to promote the storytelling mission of film. The arc of the story, the story narrative, the filmmaker as storyteller… whether it is a drama or a documentary… the Sundance Institute teaches it its Labs and celebrates it on the screens - it is all about the story.

This year, the 2015 Sundance Film Festival investigates and celebrates writers, directors, producers, actors, cinematographers, editors, production designers, art directors, costume designers, casting directors, sound designers, and composers who bring stories to life on screen in an unprecedented roster of panel discussions called the Art of Film Weekend.

The series begins with The Power of Story: Visions of Independence panel, in which Redford and George Lucas talk about the creative story making process with Leonard Maltin.

Join the conversation on social media with #ArtFilmWeekend.

This will be live streamed on sundance.org.

This week we are celebrating Beautiful Stories, with most of our posts featuring films and performances making their debut right now at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. BeautifulNow will be bringing you stories on location, live from the Festival, so stay tuned here for posts and check our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr pages and BeautifulNow Sundance page for live updates.

Enter your own images and ideas about Beautiful Stories in this week’s creative Photo Competition. Open for entries now until 11:59 p.m. PT on 02.1.15. If you are reading this after that date, check out the current BN Creative Competition, and enter!

PHOTO CREDITS:

Image: Courtesy of Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy. Still from The Tribe.
Image: Courtesy of Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy. Still from The Tribe.
Image: Courtesy of Protagonist Pictures. Still from Dark Horse.
Image: Courtesy of Hook PR. Still from Wild Tales.
Image: Courtesy of Bond Strategy and Influence. Still from H.
Image: Courtesy of HanWay Films. Still from Brooklyn.
Image: Courtesy of Kim Longinotto. Still from Dreamcatcher.
Image: Courtesy of Strand Releasing. Still from Girlhood.
Image: Courtesy of Firelight Films. Still from The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution.
Photo: Courtesy of Sundance. Still from A Walk in the Woods.
Photo: Courtesy of World Travel Tourism Council. Robert Redford.
Photo: Courtesy of Wikipedia. George Lucas.