AN EVENING WITH BEVERLY LUFF LINN & HALF THE PICTURE to play at Sundance London

Sundance London (May 31 – June 3), the Sundance Film Festival’s London spinoff, will present 12 movies from this year’s Park City festival including Jennifer Fox’s The Tale and Debra Granik’s Winer’s Bone follow-up Leave No Trace. The event will open with the UK premiere of Fox’s hit, starring Laura Dern and Elizabeth Debicki, and will close four days later with Granik’s drama, which is also heading to Cannes.

In a conscious move, seven out of the twelve films showing at the festival are directed by women. The selection “champions female voices and highlights some of the broad and excellent women-led work direct from Sundance Utah,” said the festival.

Among guests and filmmakers attending the weekend will be Toni Collette, star of gala film Hereditary, while the festival will also feature the UK premiere of Desiree Akhavan’s The Miseducation Of Cameron Post, winner of the US Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic in January; Skate Kitchen, the tale of female skateboarders and the narrative debut of Wolfpack director Crystal Moselle; and Augustine Frizzel’s debut, comedy Never Goin’ Back.

Aubrey Plaza stars alongside Emile Hirsch and Jermaine Clement in Jim Hosking’s (The Greasy Strangler) comedy, An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn and the festival will also have the UK premiere of Idris Elba’s directorial debut, Yardie.

The festival’s documentary features comprise Amy Adrion’s Half The Picture, which turns a critical eye on the dismal number of female directors working in Hollywood, and Generation Wealth, Lauren Greenfield’s follow-up to the well-received Queen Of Versailles. There will also be a surprise movie screening. Last year’s was Patti Cake$.

There will be panels with directors Fox, Granik and Akhavan while another about the intersection between fiction and non-fiction will comprise Fox, Greenfield and Moselle. UK funders will also take part in a talk. The lineup is curated by the Sundance Institute and UK cinema chain Picturehouse, which hosts the event.

Robert Redford, President & Founder of Sundance Institute, said, “The work of independent storytellers can challenge and possibly change culture, illuminating our world’s imperfections and possibilities. The program we’re bringing to London this year is full of artfully told stories that provoke thought, drive empathy and allow the audience to connect, in deeply personal ways, to the universal human experience.”

Clare Binns, Joint Managing Director Picturehouse Cinemas, added, “We are thrilled to host our third Sundance Film Festival: London at Picturehouse Central, celebrating the best independent cinema direct from Sundance Utah. In the current cinematic climate, we are proud to announce a broad and diverse programme which in this 2018 Sundance London takes pride in championing female voices and encouraging an inclusive industry landscape. Join us for an exciting offering of films, talks and special guest appearances as we continue to explore what’s next for our local and international film industry.”

View this article at Deadline.