After months of careful deliberation,the Sundance Film Festival has announced today the official selections for the U.S. and World Cinema Dramatic and Documentary competitions for the 2013 edition of the festival, which will take place January 17-27 in Park City, Utah.
Latin America will be represented in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition by two Chilean films: Crystal Fairy by Sebastián Silva (pictured below right), and El futuro / The Future by Alicia Scherson.
Silva's fourth feature film (La vida me mata, The Maid, Old Cats) is the story of a psychedelic road trip between two Mescaline-fueled strangers. Starring Michael Cera as Jamie, a self-absorbed personality and Gabby Hoffmann as the free and esoteric "woman."
The Future, based on the Roberto Bolaño novella untitled "Una novelita lumpen" and starring Manuela Martelli (Machuca), deals with the aftermath of the death of two children's parents. Bianca begins to smoke while Tomas struggles with his virginity. exploring the dangerous streets of adulthood, Biana meets Maciste, a retired Mr. Universe and searches for a future in his dark mansion.
From Latin America, the World Cinema Documentary Competition will only feature Who is Dayani Cristal? by British filmmaker Marc Silver. An anonymous body in the Arizona desert sparks the beginning of a real-life human drama. The search for its identity leads us across a continent to seek out the people left behind and the meaning of a mysterious tattoo. The film features Gael García Bernal and was co-produced by his production company Canana Films.
Chile has had a good representation at Sundance in the past few years. Silva had premiered his film La nana / The Maid in the 2009 edition of the festival, and went to win the Grand Jury Prize in the World Dramatic competition. In the last edition of the festival last January, Andrés Wood's Violeta se fue a los cielos / Violeta Went to Heaven won the same top prize in the World Dramatic competition, and Marialy Rivas' Joven y alocada / Young and Wild received the World Cinema Screenwriting Award.
