Belle Delphine appears in Fantastic Machine by Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck, an official selection of the World Documentary Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute| Photo by Belle Delphine. All photos are copyrighted and may be used by the press only for the purpose of news or editorial coverage of Sundance Institute programs. Photos must be accompanied by a credit to the photographer and/or 'Courtesy of Sundance Institute.' Unauthorized use, alteration, reproduction or sale of logos and/or photos is strictly prohibited.
Sundance/Slamdance Diary #1
The last time I was in Park City for Sundance and Slamdance was 2020. Of course, all shit broke loose a couple months later in March when the zombie apocalypse began (checks notes), COVID pandemic, I mean. Now, I frequently rail against and tense up at the idea of regional fests being a kumbaya experience for filmmakers because the Eric Kohn/Indiewires of the world use that to dismiss the importance or viability of them and the films that screen there business-wise (because, if it doesn’t happen in Europe or Asia or the island of Manhattan then it’s just not important, right?).
BUT…I have missed seeing friends and colleagues during the Sundance/Slamdance experience. And I was reminded of what that experience upon arriving at the Salt Lake City airport (which has gone through serious upgrade, updating, upsomething, because it’s not your grampa’s Salt Lake City airport any more). Anyway, I ran into fellow publicist and friend Annalee Paulo, who kicks all kinds of PR ass at 42 West, and then Andria Wilson Mirza, formerly of Toronto’s Inside Out LGBT fest and the great and prolific filmmaker Fawzia Mirza, who usually has a film at two or three of my film festivals each year.
Then at the traditional Grub Steak dinner (traditional, for me, at least) organized by indie and international film publicist Kathleen McInnis, who I can never praise enough for how she does this job, another cool-ass publicist Maggie Simpson, indie film producer Effie T. Brown (THE INSPECTION), and FANTASTIC MACHINE directors Axel Danielson and Maxmilien Van Aertyck. It gave me an opportunity to romance Effie to get her to come to one of my fests and tell Axel and Max how much I appreciated their film (previewing the interview I would doing with them in a couple days.
I also ran into David Redmond and Ashley Sabin, who are here with their latest documentary KIM’S VIDEO. I talked with Ashley about the fact I put the two of them on their first red carpet at AFI DALLAS in 2008. That’s just fun to think about. For me, at least.
Then screening links film festival time began, because there are A LOT of interviews and reviews to do for this one. Stay tuned…
Oh, one more note – sales that have been reported so far include…
Global video streaming service Prime Video announced today that they has acquired worldwide rights to In My Mother’s Skin, written and directed by Kenneth Dagatan (Ma). In My Mother’s Skin, a horror fairy tale which will make its world premiere in the 2023 Sundance Film Festival’s Midnight Section, tells the story of how a young girl’s duty to protect her dying mother is complicated by her misplaced trust in a beguiling, flesh-eating fairy. The film stars Beauty Gonzalez, Felicity Kyle Napuli, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, James Mavie Estrella, and Angeli Bayani. In My Mother’s Skin is the only non-English language film in Sundance’s Midnight Section this year, and will launch on Prime Video in multiple countries by the end of 2023.
And…
Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights (excluding Benelux, Portugal, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Latin America, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Nordics and Taiwan) to the horror/thriller film Run Rabbit Run.
