Sundance Film Festival begins 10-day showcase of premieres

By SEAN JARAMILLO REVIEWJOURNAL.COM

11 years ago

Robert Redford, founder and president of the Sundance Institute, addresses reporters during the opening news conference of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014 in Park City, Utah. The independent film festival runs Jan. 16-26, 2014. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Film critic Roger Ebert, center, his wife Chaz, left, and their granddaughter Raven Evans, arrive for the Chicago premiere of the the Broadway hit “The Color Purple.” When “Life Itself” debuts Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014, at the Sundance Film Festival it will be the first time Ebert’s wife, Chaz, will see the full documentary about her late husband’s life. “Life Itself” includes footage that director Steve James gathered over the final four months before the famed film critic died last April after a long battle with cancer. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

The 2014 Sundance Film Festival began on Thursday, with 117 feature-length movies set to premiere in Park City, Utah over the next 10 days.

One person who is excited to be there is Robert Redford, who is present following an Academy Awards snub for his performance in “All is Lost.”

In the film, Redford plays a shipwreck survivor and is the only actor. He said that he is more excited about being present for the 30th Sundance than he is upset about the nomination.

“Would it have been wonderful to be nominated? Of course,” Redford said to the Associated Press. “But I’m not disturbed by it or upset by it … I was so happy to be able to do this film because it was independent.”

One of the main films that will debut is “Life Itself,” which is a documentary about the life of the late Roger Ebert.

Ebert’s widow, Chaz, will be seeing the movie in its entirety for the first time when it premieres on Sunday.

Plenty of other films will be of note over the next few days.

”Camp X-Ray,” which stars former “Twilight” star Kristen Stewart, is the story of a military recruit that works as a guard at Guantanamo Bay. Stewart’s ethics are tested when she becomes friends with one of the detained prisoners.

”Dear White People” satires race in the contemporary United States. The movie follows a bi-racial student at an Ivy League school.

“Fed Up” follows Katie Couric and Stephanie Soechtig as they examine the lives of three obese children trying to lose weight and how it relates to the obesity epidemic as a whole.

Other notable films include:

“Finding Fela” which is the story of Fela Kuti, who inspired the Broadway show “FELA!” “Happy Valley” examines the effect of the Jerry Sandusky arrest and trial on the community around Penn State. And “Life After Beth” is a comedy about a man’s girlfriend, played by Aubrey Plaza, dying and coming back to life.