Summer Showcase
The Summer Showcase section offers an advance look at this summer’s most talked about independent film releases from the festival circuit. Films in this section are eligible for Audience Awards for Best International Feature, Best Narrative Feature, or Best Documentary Feature.
This moody, meditative Texas noir tells the tale of Casey Affleck’s Bob Guthrie, an outlaw on the run trying to reunite with his wife–the fantastic Rooney Mara–and the daughter he’s never met.
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Directed By: David Lowery
Written By: David Lowery
Produced By: Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Amy Kaufman, Cassian Elwes
Featuring: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Keith Carradine, Nate Parker, Rami Malek, Kennadie Smith, Jacklynn Smith, Robert Longstreet, Charles Baker, Augustine Frizzell, Kentucker Audley, David Zellner
Producing some of the most energetic, riveting and symphonic sounds in jazz today, the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble is comprised of eight brothers raised on Chicago’s South Side and determined to succeed on their own uncompromising terms. (Netherlands/USA)
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Directed By: Reuben Atlas
Produced By: Sam Pollard, Reuben Atlas
Featuring: Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Phil Cohran, Aquilla Sadalla, Maia
Little known outside the movie industry, the legendary Marion Dougherty revolutionized the role of the casting director in movies and TV. This revelatory, star-studded tribute illuminates the secrets of a little understood trade.
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Directed By: Tom Donahue
Produced By: Kate Lacey, Tom Donahue, Ilan Arboleda, Joanna Colbert
Featuring: Clint Eastwood, Al Pacino, Jeff Bridges, Robert Redford, Woody Allen, Glenn Close, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Diane Lane, Martin Scorsese, Jon Voight, Bette Midler, John Travolta
After suffering a mild head injury, Abby starts to pull away from her wife and their sedate, suburban existence. Soon she is another woman–sensual, self-possessed, secretive. Stacy Passon’s directorial debut, anchored by an exquisite lead performance from Robin Weigert, is by turns hilarious, erotic and tender.
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Directed By: Stacie Passon
Written By: Stacie Passon
Produced By: Rose Troche
Featuring: Robin Weigert, Maggie Siff, Johnny Tchaikovsky, Julie Fain Lawrence, Daniel London, Ben Shenkman, Janel Moloney
Snowboarder Kevin Pearce was on the verge of Olympic glory when a horrific crash left him with a traumatic brain injury. This intimate, moving account of his rise, fall and challenging road back examines the glory and peril of extreme sports.
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Directed By: Lucy Walker
Written By: Pedro Kos, Lucy Walker
Produced By: Julian Cautherly, Lucy Walker
Michael Cera plays a callow American in Chile in search of a legendary hallucinogenic cactus, but his mission takes a strange turn when Gabby Hoffman’s hilariously uninhibited Crystal Fairy joins the psychedelic caravan.
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Directed By: Sebastian Silva
Written By: Sebastian Silva
Produced By: Juan de Dios Larrain, Pablo Larrain
Featuring: Michael Cera, Gaby Hoffmann, Agustin Silva, Jose Miguel Silva, Juan Andres Silva
★ US Premiere: Searching for evidence of life among the stars, an international space expedition sets course for a frozen moon of Jupiter. The journey through deep space is perilous, however, and small mistakes have large consequences in this refreshingly realistic, visually inventive look at space exploration.
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Directed By: Sebastián Cordero
Written By: Philip Gelatt
Produced By: Ben Browning
Featuring: Daniel Wu, Sharlto Copley, Christian Camargo, Karolina Wydra, Michael Nyqvist, Anamaria Marinca, Embeth Davidtz, Isiah Whitlock Jr, Dan Fogler
Award-winning filmmaker Alan Berliner documents his cousin and mentor—the gifted poet, critic and translator Edwin Honig—who struggles with Alzheimer’s in this moving and profound examination of memory and identity.
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Directed By: Alan Berliner
Featuring: Alan Berliner
The laconic, chain-smoking Harry Dean Stanton, beloved and iconic actor of more than 200 films, reveals, often in song, glimmers of his fascinating life in this captivating, beautifully composed tribute.
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Directed By: Sophie Huber
Produced By: Christian Davi, Christoph Neracher, Thomas Thümena
Featuring: Harry Dean Stanton
When L.A.’s reigning king of movie voice-overs dies, a not-quite-together vocal coach, played with screwball energy by writer/director Lake Bell, finds herself among the contenders for the coveted but traditionally male crown in this sharp comedy of Hollywood errors.
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Directed By: Lake Bell
Written By: Lake Bell
Produced By: Lake Bell, Mark Roberts, Jett Steiger, Eddie Vaisman
Featuring: Lake Bell, Fred Melamed, Demetri Martin, Michaela Watkins, Ken Marino Rob Corddry, Nick Offerman, Tig Notaro and Alexandra
Assembled from over 500 reels of Super 8 film shot during the Nixon White House by top aides (and Watergate participants) H.R Haldeman, John Ehrlichman and Dwight Chapin, Penny Lane’s documentary provides a unique insider’s view of the most infamous presidency in American history.
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Directed By: Penny Lane
Produced By: Penny Lane, Brian L. Frye
★ World Premiere: Featuring musical visionaries the likes of J Dilla, Madlib, Mayer Hawthorne and Dam-Funk, this chronicle of groundbreaking Los Angeles indie label Stones Throw Records and its enigmatic founder, DJ Peanut Butter Wolf, reveals an unexpected history of tragedy and triumph.
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Directed By: Jeff Broadway
Produced By: Jeff Broadway, Sébastien Bauer
Featuring: Peanut Butter Wolf, Kanye West, Madlib, Common, Questlove, Talib Kweli, Flying Lotus, Mike Diamond
At the center of this heartfelt drama is the tough, compassionate Grace, who supervises at-risk teens at a foster-care facility. But like her charges, she has secret wounds that threaten her own happiness.
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Directed By: Destin Daniel Cretton
Written By: Destin Daniel Cretton
Produced By: Maren Olson, Asher Goldstein, Joshua Astrachan, Ron Najor
Featuring: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Keith Stanfield, Rami Malek
On the surface, popular Sutter Keely seems like the life of the party, and gawky Aimee Finicky a high school loser. But this coming of age drama doesn’t traffic in surface stereotypes. Charged by the emotional honesty of stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, this one goes deep.
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Directed By: James Ponsoldt
Written By: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber
Produced By: Tom McNulty, Shawn Levy, Andrew Lauren
Featuring: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kyle Chandler
On the court, Venus Williams shines as one of the world’s greatest tennis players. But she is also a tireless campaigner, leading the movement for fair pay between female and male players. Trailblazing director Ava DuVernay captures the charisma and resolve of a champion.
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Directed By: Ava DuVernay
Produced By: Ava DuVernay, Howard Barish, Tilane Jones, Libby Geist, Deirdre Fenton, Carol Stiff
Featuring: Venus Williams, Billie Jean King, John McEnroe, Maria Sharapova