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"After all these years, Sundance is still a place for discovering a new or unexpected filmmaker," said Rena Ronson, co-head of United Talent Agency's independent sales arm. She is hoping that filmmakers such as Jill Soloway, a writer on the TV show "Six Feet Under" who directed the stripper-turned-nanny tale "Afternoon Delight," and Lake Bell, an actress making her directorial debut with "In a World," a story about a second-string voice-over artist, will be among this year's discoveries.
VIDEO: Lake Bell talks directing
It's yet to be seen what will be this year's "Beasts," but high on buyers' list is Jordan Vogt-Roberts' story of three teenage boys in the wilderness, "Toy's House," as is David Lowery's ex-con tale, "Ain't Them Bodies Saints."
Other titles certain to attract a large contingent of buyers are Jerusha Hess' Jane Austen fantasy-camp dramedy "Austenland," starring Keri Russell; Logan and Noah Miller's period western "Sweetwater," starring Ed Harris and January Jones; and Anne Fontaine's intergenerational romantic drama "Two Mothers," with Naomi Watts and Robin Wright. Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, screenwriters on "The Descendants," have directed "The Way, Way Back," starring Steve Carell.
Some documentary filmmakers are hoping their timely — and controversial — subjects will drive sales. "Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer," about the provocative Russian band, is high on buyers' to-see list. So are "Linsanity," about the galvanizing NBA point guard Jeremy Lin, and "Manhunt," a nonfiction take on the search for Osama bin Laden that covers similar ground to this season's drama "Zero Dark Thirty."
The company 72 Productions, run by Jennifer Chaiken and Sebastian Dungan, is taking one such doc to the festival, "Inequality for All," about income inequality. Paraphrasing the director John Cassavetes, Dungan said, "If you're not arguing about the films after you leave the theater, the films haven't been successful."
Some nonfiction titles are well suited to new distribution models. On Tuesday, the on-demand company Gravitas Ventures announced it would debut "Sound City," the Dave Grohl-directed music documentary premiering at Sundance, on VOD in 100 countries simultaneously with its Feb. 1 theatrical release. And at last year's Sundance, sales agent Andrew Herwitz passed on several small minimum guarantee offers for the skateboarding documentary "Bones Brigade: An Autobiography" and decided to let director Stacy Peralta release the film himself, largely through sites such as iTunes and Amazon Instant Video. Backed by a huge social media and merchandising push, "Bones Brigade" has grossed $700,000 in just a few months without traditional theatrical exhibition.
"Any film with a built-in audience can reach that audience more effectively" through sites like iTunes and Amazon, said Herwitz, who is traveling to Sundance with two narrative films — "Computer Chess" and "Interior. Leather Bar" — and three documentaries — "The Crash Reel," "The Moo Man" and "Pandora's Promise." "And unlike a movie theater, you're always there. You can always launch new initiatives to drive people to your film."
