CODA big winner at 2021 Sundance Film Festival By David Morgan
February 2, 2021 / 10:56 PM / CBS News CODA, a touching coming-of-age dramedy about a young girl in conflict with her deaf parents and brother as she attempts to pursue singing a talent they cannot fully appreciate received top honors at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
The film received the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Drama, as well as the Audience Award, a director s award for Siân Heder and a special jury award for its ensemble cast, which includes Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durant, Eugenio Derbez and Ferdia Walsh-Peelo. CODA (an acronym for Child Of Deaf Adults) also set a record last week when worldwide distribution rights were picked up by Apple Studios for $25 million the highest sum ever for a film premiering at Sundance.
A documentary about students at an El Paso High School who are interested in pursuing careers in law enforcement.
Director Maisie Crow says 900 schools in Texas have “some sort of criminal justice class or program.” As a Marfa resident herself, who covers the complexities of life along the U.S.-Mexico border through her work as editor-in-chief of the Big Bend Sentinel and Presidio Internacional newspapers, Crow told Texas Standard she was especially interested in exploring the role of law enforcement in Far West Texas.
“One of the things I love most about El Paso is its relationship to Juarez,” Crow said. “It really is one city divided by a border, and these kids really do live a cross-border life. I mean, they have community both in Juarez and in El Paso, and that was very important to me to make that clear in the film.”
Reel Dad: Jockey takes us to the races at Sundance
Mark Schumann
FacebookTwitterEmail
Films that make us feel help us forget the ones that disappoint.
Magically, sometimes surprisingly, good films tell stories that engage our minds, develop characters that touch our hearts, and convey messages that capture our hopes and allay our fears. And when they make us feel we experience marvelous journeys.
Filmmaker Clint Bentley knows his way around a horse track. As the son of a jockey, he holds the hidden layers of such locations in the deep corners of his creative imagination, incorporating moments saved in his memory for crucial moments in his film. And the movie he directs, “Jockey,” grabs us from its first moments with a level of authentic humanity that immediately makes us feel we’re at home. Bentley helps us get to know some people who will stick with us for a long time.
All the best movies we saw at Sundance Film Festival, ranked (including Judas and the Black Messiah ) Brian Truitt, USA TODAY
Replay Video UP NEXT
Instead of roughing it in the cold and snow of Park City, Utah, to get to various screenings at the annual Sundance Film Festival, we ventured toward the couch to watch the best of what independent cinema has to offer in 2021.
Like the other big-time fests in Toronto, New York and elsewhere did in 2020, Sundance went virtual this year because of COVID, but didn t skimp on the cinematic goodness. This year s event included the world premiere of high-profile awards-season contender Judas and the Black Messiah ; projects with stars like Tiffany Haddish, Tessa Thompson and Nicolas Cage; a ton of documentaries featuring the glam-rock duo Sparks; Hollywood legend Rita Moreno; Black Woodstock and a beloved children s show; plus a social media-driven update of Shakespeare s Romeo & Juliet.
Sundance film Jockey lands at Sony Pictures Classics ahead of its premiere
Jockey has found a home with Sony Pictures Classics announcing it has acquired all worldwide rights.
From director Clint Bentley,
Jockey stars Clifton Collins Jr. as an aging jockey on one last run for a championship. Out of nowhere, a young jockey claiming to be his son forces him to contemplate who he’ll be once his career comes to a close.
“Filmmakers Clint Bentley (a formidable directing debut), co-writer Greg Kwedar, and producer Nancy Schafer have made such a good movie, that is engaging, satisfying, visual, and precise cinematic storytelling,” stated Sony Pictures Classics. “Anchored by a truly amazing performance by Clifton Collins Jr., an actor we have admired in so many roles for over 2 decades (from