Clare Sidoti
Staff Writer
Film Buffs get happy! Sundance will be holding a second festival this year and all those devotees who have frozen their way through the dead of January in Park City, Utah, can rejoice. Not only is this festival to be held in summer but it will be set under the sunny skies of Los Angeles.
Next Weekend will be a four-day film festival, The Sundance Institute announced today. Held as an extension of the NEXT section of the Sundance Film Festival, the August festival will feature screenings, panels, parties and filmmaker workshops. Basically everything you love about the Utah festival, but without frostbite.
The NEXT section was launched in 2010 and features “pure bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling”. A mixture of films that have previously screened at the Sundance Film Festival as well as “films of a like-minded attitude” from other spring/summer festivals and some new films, John Groth, Director of Programming, hopes that the event will “encourage film lovers to get out and embrace opportunities to celebrate independent films”.
Robert Redford, Sundance president and founder, said in a statement: “The best part of independent filmmaking is the freedom to tell your stories your own way, to take risks and not be beholden to convention of any kind… At the core of Next Weekend are artists that are taking risks and pushing boundaries.”
Festival Director John Cooper added that: “At its core, NEXT WEEKEND is really about expanding the audience for independent film, and expanding the types of films that reach these audiences. And I think in some ways we’re looking to expand upon our own ideas of what a film festival can be.”
The event will take place August 8-11, 2013 at Sundance Cinemas and additional venues across LA. The festival schedule will be announced in the summer.
Sounds totally amazing, right?! Is this something you would check out if you’re in the LA area?
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