NRW-funded cinema at the Sundance Film Festival

• two films in the Sundance competition
• Bastian Günther’s „Houston“ and Alicia Scherson’s „Il Futuro“
• The Sundance Film Festival takes place in Park City, Utah from 17 – 27 January, 2013

„Houston“ by Bastian Günther and „Il Futuro“ by Alicia Scherson will be competing in the „World Cinema Dramatic“ competition for the coveted Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Both productions were made with funding from the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW.

Bastian Günther’s Drama „Houston“ was shot to a large extent in North Rhine-Westphalia. The story centres on the headhunter Clemens Truschka whose alcohol dependency is increasingly threatening his job as well as his marriage. Wolfram Koch, Jenny Schily and Jens Münchow appear alongside Ulrich Tukur cast in the lead. The film was produced by Lichtblick Media Cologne/Berlin (broadcasters: SWR and HR), and Filmstiftung NRW funded with 300,000 Euros.

„Il Futuro“ is the story of two Chilean teenagers who are forced to eke out a living as orphans in Rome. When they meet the ageing B-movie star Maciste, they hope at last for a better life. Manuela Martelli, Luigi Ciardo and Rutger Hauer play the leads in Alicia Scherson’s adaptation of Roberto Bolaño’s novella „Una novelita lumpen“. Cologne-based Pandora Film produced the film as a German-Chilean-Italian-Spanish co-production. The Film- und Medienstiftung NRW funded the film with 235,000 Euros.

 The legendary Sundance Film Festival has been held in snowbound Park City, Utah (USA) since 1985.

The festival emerged from Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute and is now among the most important events in international independent cinema. This year sees the Sundance Film Festival running from 17 – 27 January, 2013.