The 2012 Sundance Park City at Midnight, NEXT and New Frontier Film Selections

Below are the lineups for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival’s Park City at Midnight, NEXT <=> and New Frontier film selections. For the festival’s Spotlight section, go here.

Park City at Midnight :

“Black Rock,” U.S.A. (Director: Katie Aselton, Screenwriter: Mark Duplass)

Three childhood friends set aside their personal issues and reunite for a girls’ weekend on a remote island off the coast of Maine. One wrong move turns their weekend getaway into a deadly fight for survival. Cast: Katie Aselton, Lake Bell, Kate Bosworth.

“Excision,” U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Richard Bates, Jr.) — A disturbed and delusional high school student with aspirations of a career in medicine goes to extremes to earn the approval of her controlling mother. Cast: AnnaLynne McCord, Traci Lords, Ariel Winter, Roger Bart, John Waters.

“Grabbers,” Ireland, United Kingdom (Director: Jon Wright, Screenwriter: Kevin Lehane)

When the residents of an idyllic Irish fishing village are attacked by mysterious, blood-sucking sea creatures, a high blood alcohol content could be the only thing that gets them through the night. Cast: Richard Coyle, Ruth Bradley, Russell Tovey, Bronagh Gallagher.

“The Pact,” U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Nicholas McCarthy)

As a woman struggles to come to grips with her past in the wake of her mother’s death, an unsettling presence emerges in her childhood home. Cast: Caity Lotz, Casper Van Dien.

“Shut Up and Play the Hits,” United Kingdom (Directors: Dylan Southern, Will Lovelace)

A documentary that follows LCD Soundsystem front man James Murphy over a crucial 48-hour period, from the day of their final gig at Madison Square Garden to the morning after, the official end of one of the best live bands in the world.

“Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie,” U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim)

After two guys are given a billion dollars to make a movie, their Hollywood dreams run off course and they decide to rehabilitate a run-down shopping mall in an attempt to make the money back. Cast: Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim.

“V/H/S,” U.S.A. (Directors: Adam Wingard, David Bruckner, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg, Radio Silence, Screenwriters: Simon Barrett, David Bruckner, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Radio Silence)

When a group of misfits is hired by an unknown third party to burglarize a desolate house and acquire a rare VHS tape, they discover more found footage than they bargained for. Cast: Joe Swanberg, Calvin Reeder, Adam Wingard, Sophia Takal, Kate Lyn Sheil.

NEXT<=> :

“Compliance,” U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Craig Zobel)

When a prank caller convinces a fast food restaurant manager to interrogate an innocent young employee, no one is left unscathed. Based on true events. Cast: Ann Dowd, Pat Healy, Dreama Walker, Bill Camp, Philip Ettinger.

“I Am Not a Hipster,” U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Destin Daniel Cretton)

Set in the indie music and art scene, this is a character-driven story exploring themes of love, loss and what it means to be creative in the face of tragedy. Cast: Dominic Bogart, Alvaro Orlando, Brad William Henke, Tammy Minoff, Kandis Erickson, Lauren Coleman.

“Kid-Thing,” U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: David Zellner)

A rebellious girl whose existence is devoid of parental guidance, spends her time roaming the land, shoplifting, and vandalizing. Her routine is broken one day while playing in the woods when she hears a woman calling from a mysterious hole in the ground, asking for help. Cast: Sydney Aguirre, Susan Tyrrell, Nathan Zellner, David Zellner.

“Mosquita y Mari,” U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Aurora Guerrero)

A friendship between two 15-year-old Latinas becomes complex as they struggle to recognize the sexual undercurrent in their relationship. Cast: Fenessa Pineda, Venecia Troncoso, Joaquín Garrido, Laura Patalano, Dulce Maria Solis.

“My Best Day,” U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Erin Greenwell)

Karen’s life as a small-town receptionist is turned upside down when the father she never knew calls for a refrigerator repair. That day she encounters a sister addicted to off track betting, a brother struggling with grade school heartache and bullies, and a load of fireworks. Cast: Rachel Style, Ashlie Atkinson, Raúl Castillo, Jo Armeniox, Robert Salerno, Harris Doran.

“Pursuit of Loneliness,” U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Laurence Thrush)

An elderly patient dies in a county hospital leaving no known next of kin. Over the next 24 hours, four central characters try to find a family member to contact regarding the death of this anonymous individual. Cast: Joy Hille, Sandra Escalante, Sharon Munfus, Kirsi Toivanen, Natalie Fouron.

“Sleepwalk With Me,” U.S.A. (Co-directors: Mike Birbiglia and Seth Barrish, Screenwriters: Mike Birbiglia, Ira Glass, Joe Birbiglia, Seth Barrish)

Reluctant to confront his fears of love, honesty, and growing up, a budding standup comedian has both a hilarious and intense struggle with sleepwalking. Cast: Mike Birbiglia, Lauren Ambrose, Carol Kane, James Rebhorn, Cristin Milioti.

“That’s What She Said,” U.S.A. (Director: Carrie Preston, Screenwriter: Kellie Overbey)

Armed with nothing but their addictions and lots of personal baggage, two best friends and a mysterious young interloper battle a series of misadventures on their quest for love in New York City. Cast: Anne Heche, Marcia DeBonis, Alia Shawkat.

“Twenty-Eight Hotel Rooms,” U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Matt Ross)

Seen only as fragments in the secret world of hotel rooms, a long-term affair becomes perhaps the most significant relationship of a couple’s lives. Cast: Chris Messina, Marin Ireland.

New Frontier :

“Bestiaire,” Canada, France (Director: Denis Côté)

The boundaries we place around animals are provocatively and formally explored in this meditation on the relationship between nature and humanity. World Premiere

“An Oversimplification of Her Beauty,” U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Terence Nance)

A quixotic young man humorously courses live action and various animated landscapes as he tries to understand himself after a mystery girl stands him up. Cast: Terence Nance, Namik Minter, Chanelle Pearson. World Premiere

“The Perception of Moving Targets,” U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Weston Currie)

A segmenting journey into the dreams of four neighbors. Cast: Brighid Thomas, Cherie Blackfeather, Gerald Casey, Tom Wood, Jin Camou.

“Room 237,” U.S.A. (Director: Rodney Ascher)

This experimental documentary explores the numerous theories about the real meaning of Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining. World Premiere

“whiteonwhite:algorithmicnoir,” U.S.A., Kazakhstan (Directors: Eve Sussman | Rufus Corporation, Screenwriters: Eve Sussman, Kevin Messman, Jeff Wood)

A computer program assembles raw elements of music, dialogue, sound and footage shot in Kazakhstan into a generative noir mystery film in this live algorithmic performance. Cast: Jeff Wood, Marina Fedorenko.

[For details about New Frontier’s installations etc., go here.]

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