As luck would have it, two Sundance bound films have already found homes. When the list of titles were announced for this year’s Sundance festivities, those included were a tad underwhelming and we were starting to wonder if it was going to be a lackluster year for the snowy peaks of Park City.
Sundance Selects and Roadside Attractions hope that is not the case, as both have acquired films two weeks prior to the kick off of the prestigious film festival.
Sundance Selects, a sister division of IFC Films, has picked up US rights to Brendan Fletcher‘s “Mad Bastards,” which follows TJ who sets off across the country to the Kimberly region of northwestern Australia to make things right with his estranged 13-year-old son Bullet. The film is described as a raw look at the journey to becoming a man and the personal transformation one must make. The film will premiere at the Sydney Film Festival later this month and you can check out the trailer for the film below.
Roadside Attractions, who two years ago hit a goldmine with the Academy Award winning “The Cove” and this year with the Oscar buzzed “Winter’s Bone” and “Biutiful” hope to carry on the tradition with their latest acquisition, “The Music Never Stopped”. Based on Oliver Sacks’ case study “The Last Hippie,” Jim Kohlberg‘s first feature explores a family divided by the culture clash of the 1960s with JK Simmons, Lou Taylor Pucci, Cara Seymour and Julia Ormond all along for the ride. Another case study of Sacks became the basis for the 1990 Robert De Niro and Robin Williams starrer “Awakenings” and we’re sure the indie shingle would love to have similar success. And it looks like we’re in for a great (and expensive sounding) soundtrack as well.
“We were really moved by such a soulful, true story of a father and son changing their lives through their love of music,” Roadside co-president Howard Cohen said in a statement. “And you can’t beat The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash music in this film.”
Both films will unspool at Sundance which runs from January 20-30. — Aaron Fowler
