LOS ANGELES, Dec 1, (RTRS): The Sundance Film festival, the top US gathering for independent cinema, on Wednesday unveiled its competitive lineup for 2012, some of which will become the most talked-about movies of the upcoming year. The 58 movies, both narrative features and documentaries, cover a range of topics, but festival organizers said at least one theme emerged among the 16 US features in competition: characters are searching for deeper meaning to their lives in an often confusing and troubling world. “(Filmmakers) seem to be questioning the idea of marriage and family, the whole notion of what family is. I found that a lot — questioning ideas of the American Dream,” festival director John Cooper told Reuters. Overall, 4,042 features films from around the world were submitted for the festival that is backed by Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute for filmmaking and is the premiere US event for movies made outside Hollywood’s major studios.

Critics
Each year, many movies that screen at Sundance will become the darlings of critics in art houses, and some will compete for honors in Hollywood’s awards season. Big successes from previous Sundance festival’s include comedy “Little Miss Sunshine” and documentary “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Cooper said weak economies around the world have challenged filmmakers to search wider and dig deeper for funding to make movies, and that fact has led to more creative thinking and greater focus in the stories heading to silver screens.
“In times of economic crisis, art tends to thrive. I’m not sure why that is, but it seems it just happens,” he said. “A creative bar is set by each year as filmmakers see the films that are successful commercially and with critics, and filmmakers are aware they have to be a little bit better.”
The upcoming 2012 Sundance kicks off on Jan 19 with a series of “Day One” screenings comprised of one feature and one documentary from each of the US films and world cinema sections — movies made outside the United States.
The US first day feature is director Todd Louiso’s “Hello I Must Be Going,” which tells of a 35-year-old woman who moves back into the home of her parents. The Day One US documentary is “The Queen of Versailles,” which tells of a wealthy couple building the biggest house in America — 90,000 square feet — until it is foreclosed upon.

Unravels
Other feature film titles in the US competition include “The End of Love,” which looks at one young father whose life unravels at the death of his wife, and “Middle of Nowhere” about a woman who struggles to maintain her marriage and sense of self after her husband lands in jail.
US documentaries include “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” about the Chinese artist and political activist and “ME at the ZOO,” which tells of video blogger Chris Crocker.
The feature films in the world cinema competition are a wide-ranging bunch that include the title “L,” a Greek movie about a man who lives in his car and is troubled by motorcycle riders, and “The Last Elvis” (“El Ultimo Elvis”), which tells of an Elvis impersonator in Buenos Aires.

Cooper said many of world cinema documentaries take on big topics, especially among documentaries where titles include “1/2 Revolution” about this year’s overthrow of the Egyptian government, and “China Heavyweight” which uses boxing to look at changing lifestyles in that fast-growing country.
They are “saying here’s solutions and telling us what we can do,” said Cooper. “I think that’s the optimistic part. There are a lot of calls to action, which is exciting.”
The competition movies earn much of the attention at Sundance, but there are sections for world premieres that will include major stars, as well as ultra low-budget movies, short films and other movies whose selection will be named in coming days.
Overall, this year’s festival will feature 110 movies from 31 countries and 46 first-time filmmakers. The festival begins on Jan 19, 2012 and runs through Jan. 29.

Also:
LOS ANGELES: Student filmmakers hoping to graduate into the movie industry have a new opportunity, courtesy of online distribution platform SeeFlik.
In conjunction with associated film schools, the platform recently launched a film festival that is showcasing short films. The films compete in two categories, Judges Award and Fans Favorite.
There will be two contests per year, with winners receiving $50,000 in prizes as well as a showcase for talent agencies and studios.
There is no fee to enter the competition. Films are streamed at SeeFlik.com.
The judges for the first Judges Award contest include “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang’’ director Shane Black, “Sideways’’ producer Michael London, “Hoosiers’’ screenwriter and co-producer Angelo Pizzo, “Hotel Rwanda’’ screenwriter Keir Pearson, “Karate Kid’’ screenwriter Robert Kamen and “Lonesome Dove’’ producer Suzanne de Passe.

The deadline for submissions is Jan 8.
“Tens of thousands of emerging artists and filmmakers graduate from college each year and have few options other than the traditional film festivals to have their voices heard,’’ Larry Meli, a longtime cable and TV producer who is the CEO of SeeFlik, said in a statement. “SeeFlik will become the ‘farm system’ for the entertainment industry and we are proud to be able to assist these great talented, and as of yet unrecognized artists.’’
SeeFlik claims to be the first distribution platform exclusively for current undergrad or grad students involved with an accredited film program. The platform is also open to alumni who graduated from a related program five or fewer years ago.
SeeFlik launched with an operating capital of roughly $1 million. Its investors include Wall Street executives Adam Wachter and Jeff Parket, who serve as COO and CFO, respectively.
Associated film schools include University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts; New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts; California State University, Fullerton’s College of Communication; Pepperdine University’s Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture; and the UCLA School of Theater.