Sundance London Arrives at The O2

A quick glance out of the window will confirm we are not in Utah. And any self respecting film fest fan will know that Sundance has already happened. But in expanding the Sundance Institute empire, founder Robert Redford (pictured) is giving London another bite of the cherry with the inaugural event, Sundance London.

Forever the cornerstone of American independent cinema, the Sundance Film Festival receives over 6,000 films with only 120 selected for the Park City festival in January this year. Sundance London gets 14 and while we’re not really getting any premières, these are all UK premières, which should sweeten the pill of sloppy seconds from Utah and make a rather nice looking four-day festival. If you can get over the fact it’s at the O2 Arena…

An overarching theme that runs throughout the programme is that of music and film, maintaining the close relationship between the two art forms that continues to hold strong in independent cinema. Music headliners Placebo will perform live, complementing their new documentary film, Coming Up For Air while Under African Skies follows Paul Simon’s controversial Graceland tour that saw Simon at the centre of political crossfire as a result of his art.

The now defunct LCD Soundsystem return to our eyes and ears with SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS – their capitalisation, not mine – documenting the last 48 hours of the band as they play Madison Square Garden, what would be their last ever gig.

Faithful to its US counterpart, Sundance London offers a series of special events, talks and labs whichever side of the camera you prefer. Talks include a Documentary Flash Lab, Film Music From the Composers Point of View and Thinking Independently: UK Versus US, tacking the question of the hour – how does the Atlantic divide affect the films we produce?

Tim Hunter’s critically acclaimed River’s Edge, ripe with ’80s nostalgia and blue denim, received its première at Sundance 1987 and now returns to honour Sundance’s origins celebrating the finest in American indie, depicting the lives of a group of youths isolated by rural life and their subsequent sense of moral apathy. The screening will also be followed by a Q&A with Crispin Glover, who played the leader of their wayward ‘family’, Layne. And also George McFly.

Robert Redford will also make a special appearance to introduce a new documentary about the environmental work of HRH Prince of Wales, Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World. Perhaps the most touching, and anticipated event is the world premiere of Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You – A Concert for Kate McGarrigle, an intimate documentary about the singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle which will be followed by a concert by her children, Rufus and Martha Wainwright.

Ones to watch from the main programme of screenings include So Yong Kim’s For Ellen, starring Paul Dano as a wannabe rockstar forced to face the realities of ill-timed pregnancy as he fights for custody of his daughter. Screaming low-fi indie at its loudest with all the trappings of a madcap roadtrip movie and Aubrey Plaza to boot, Colin Trevorrow’s Safety Not Guaranteed enters the world of newspaper personals to find a suitable partner for time travel.

Introducing the unlikely pairing of Julie Delpy and Chris Rock, 2 Days in New York comes from Delpy’s own directorship, rife with ‘Gallic mayhem’ in its exploration of cross cultural relationships. Grand Jury Prize winner, The House I Live In is Eugene Jarecki’s dark documentary shedding light on the failure of America’s so called ‘War On Drugs’. Sundance London also boasts an impressive selection of shorts including Short Film Award Winner Extranjero by North Londoners Daniel Lumb and Crinan Campbell.

Sundance has often been considered more of an industry event where film-makers and lovers could come together in the desert to carve out the path of independent cinema. What Sundance London should get credit for is the more audience-friendly approach to film and film production its programme suggests. But as the Kevin Smith’s, Quentin Tarantino’s and Darren Aronofsky’s who cut their teeth on the indie screens now sit too comfortably in the multiplexes, will there still be space for a film festival devoted to independent cinema? Or could Sundance London add a restorative string to the bow of this once great independent cinema festival?

Sundance London takes place April 26 to 29 at Cineworld in the O2 Arena. Full programme and tickets can be found on: www.sundance-london.com