By Ray Pride Pride@moviecitynews.com
Condé Nast Plucks Bouquet Of Sundance Shorts
‘Russian Roulette,’ ‘Stop’ and ‘{The And} Marcela & Rock’ Shown at Sundance Film Festival
Park City, Utah (January 27, 2015) – Following on the successful launch of The New Yorker Short Films series last month, Condé Nast Entertainment (CNÉ) announces the acquisition of three films from the 2015 Sundance Film Festival’s shorts lineup: “Stop” directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, a gripping and timely drama about race and public authority; “{The And} Marcela & Rock” directed by Topaz Adizes, from a series of poignant documentaries on love and relationships; and “Russian Roulette” directed by Ben Aston, a story of an astronaut and a lonely London girl finding companionship on the Web.
The acquisition of these new shorts expands THE SCENE’s growing catalogue of award-winning original films, including festival favorites like “Burt’s Buzz” starring Burt’s Bees founder Burt Shavitz, Dustin Guy Defa’s short film “Person To Person, “Me + Her” directed by Joseph Oxford and “Yearbook” directed by Bernardo Britto.
“The New Yorker Shorts series is proof that independent voices can thrive on Condé Nast Entertainment’s curated, digital-first platforms,” said Jed Weintrob, Vice President and Head of Production Condé Nast Entertainment. “We’re thrilled to introduce The Scene’s viewers to wildly impressive new talents such as Topaz Adizes, Ben Aston and Reinaldo Marcus Green—and it is a validation of our faith that the world of independent film is key to delivering remarkable original content to our audiences.”
Films include:
Stop
Director and screenwriter: Reinaldo Marcus Green
A “must see” short according to Indiewire, “Stop” is a portrayal of a young student athlete whose livelihood is put at risk when he is stopped by the police on his way home. The nine-minute drama set in Red Hook, Brooklyn, offers a poignant and timely look at race in America. Films by Reinaldo Marcus Green have been selected as official selections in many film festivals around the world including Sundance, Festival de Cannes, Telluride, and the Los Angeles Film Festival, and have garnered distribution and been televised by popular networks such as BET and HBO.
“I’m excited to share ‘Stop’ on a platform with such vast global reach and seemingly endless distribution capabilities, while helping filmmakers find new and innovative ways to reach mass audiences,” said Mr. Green.
{The And}
Director: Topaz Adizes
{The And} is an interactive digital series exploring the intimate spaces of modern day relationships. CNE will release a total of five short films profiling real-life couples created for this series, starting with the short documentary “{The And} Marcela & Rock.” This authentic portrait explores the dedication between an ex-convict and the woman whose love guides him on a better path. Topaz Adizes is an award winning writer, director and storyteller. His films have been selected to Cannes (BOY), Sundance (Trece Años, Laredo Texas, {The And} Marcela & Rock), IDFA, SXSW, Cinéma Du Réel, and other festivals around the world.
“We at The Skin Deep are so excited to partner our content from ‘{The And}’ with Condé Nast Entertainment to help broaden the reach of our interactive documentarytheand.us,” said Mr. Adizes.
Russian Roulette
Director: Ben Aston
London becomes a little less lonely when Lucy meets a libidinous cosmonaut on Chatroulette.
Directed by the acclaimed Ben Aston, “Russian Roulette” was written by Oli Fenton and produced by Ryan Bennet, and featured at festivals around the world including the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. A graduate of London Film School, his graduation film “He Took His Skin Off For Me” premiered at the Palm Springs Shortfest 2014, and has been selected for the BFI London Film Festival, Fantastic Fest and several more.
“It’s an unbelievably surreal privilege to have a film we made for our friends come to Sundance and find a home with Condé Nast Entertainment. We can’t wait to share Russian Roulette with a new and much larger group of friends,” said Mr. Aston.
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About Condé Nast Entertainment (CNÉ)
Condé Nast creates the world’s best content for the world’s most influential audiences, attracting millions of consumers across its twenty industry-leading print and digital media brands: Vogue, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Brides, Self, GQ, The New Yorker, Condé Nast Traveler, Details, Allure, Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, Epicurious, Wired, W, Lucky, Golf Digest, Golf World, Teen Vogue and Ars Technica.
The company launched Condé Nast Entertainment in 2011 to develop film, television and digital video programming.
For more information on Condé Nast, visit condenast.com or follow us on Twitter @CondeNast and @CNE.
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