U.S. Dramatic Competition
The 16 films in this series are world premieres.
“Band Aid”
Director and screenwriter: Zoe Lister-Jones
A couple who can’t stop fighting embark on a last-ditch effort to save their marriage: turning their fights into songs and starting a band.
Cast:
Zoe Lister-Jones, Adam Pally, Fred Armisen, Susie Essman, Hannah Simone, Ravi Patel.
“Crown Heights”
Director and screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
When Colin Warner is wrongfully convicted of murder, his best friend, Carl King, devotes his life to proving Colin’s innocence. Adapted from “This American Life,” this is the incredible true story of their harrowing quest for justice.
Cast: Keith Stanfield, Nnamdi Asomugha, Natalie Paul, Bill Camp, Nestor Carbonell, Amari Cheatom.
“Golden Exits”
Director and screenwriter: Alex Ross Perry
The arrival of a young foreign girl disrupts the lives and emotional balances of two Brooklyn families.
Cast: Emily Browning, Adam Horovitz, Mary-Louise Parker, Lily Rabe, Jason Schwartzman, Chloë Sevigny.
“The Hero”
Director: Brett Haley
Screenwriters: Haley, Marc Basch
Lee, a former Western film icon, is living a comfortable existence lending his golden voice to advertisements and smoking weed. After receiving a lifetime achievement award and unexpected news, Lee reexamines his past, while a chance meeting with a sardonic comic has him looking to the future. Cast: Sam Elliott, Laura Prepon, Krysten Ritter, Nick Offerman, Katherine Ross.
“I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore”
Director and screenwriter: Macon Blair
When a depressed woman is burglarized, she finds a new sense of purpose by tracking down the thieves, alongside her obnoxious neighbor. But they soon find themselves dangerously out of their depth against a pack of degenerate criminals.
Cast:
Melanie Lynskey, Elijah Wood, David Yow, Jane Levy, Devon Graye.
“Ingrid Goes West”
Director: Matt Spicer
Screenwriters: Matt Spicer, David Branson Smith
A young woman becomes obsessed with an Instagram lifestyle blogger and moves to Los Angeles to try to befriend her in real life. Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Wyatt Russell, Billy Magnussen.
“Landline”
Director: Gillian Robespierre
Screenwriters: Elisabeth Holm, Gillian Robespierre
Two sisters come of age in 1990s New York, when they discover their father’s affair–and it turns out he’s not the only cheater in the family. Everyone still smokes inside, no one has a cell phone, and the Jacobs finally connect through lying, cheating, and hibachi. Cast: Jenny Slate, John Turturro, Edie Falco, Abby Quinn, Jay Duplass, Finn Wittrock.
“Novitiate”
Director and screenwriter: Maggie Betts
In the early 1960s, during the Vatican II era, a young woman training to become a nun struggles with issues of faith, sexuality, and the changing church.
Cast: Margaret Qualley, Melissa Leo, Julianne Nicholson, Dianna Agron, Morgan Saylor.
“Patti Cake$”
Director and screenwriter: Geremy Jasper
Straight out of Jersey comes Patricia Dombrowski, a.k.a. Killa P, a.k.a. Patti Cake$, an aspiring rapper fighting through a world of strip malls and strip clubs on an unlikely quest for glory.
Cast: Danielle Macdonald, Bridget Everett, Siddharth Dhananjay, Mamoudou Athie, Cathy Moriarty.
“Roxanne Roxanne”
Director and screenwriter: Michael Larnell
The most feared battle emcee in early-’80s NYC is a fierce teenager from the Queensbridge projects with the weight of the world on her shoulders. At age 14, hustling the streets to provide for her family, Roxanne Shanté is well on her way to becoming a hip-hop legend.
Cast:
Chanté Adams, Mahershala Ali, Nia Long, Elvis Nolasco, Kevin Phillips, Shenell Edmonds.
“To the Bone”
Director and screenwriter: Marti Noxon
In a last-ditch effort to battle her severe anorexia, 20-year-old Ellen enters a group recovery home. With the help of an unconventional doctor, Ellen and the other residents go on a sometimes-funny, sometimes-harrowing journey that leads to the ultimate question: Is life worth living?
Cast:
Lily Collins, Keanu Reeves, Carrie Preston, Lili Taylor, Alex Sharp, Liana Liberato.
“Walking Out”
Directors and screenwriters: Alex Smith, Andrew Smith
A father and son struggle to connect on any level until a brutal encounter with a predator in the heart of the wilderness leaves them both seriously injured. If they are to survive, the boy must carry his father to safety. Cast: Matt Bomer, Josh Wiggins, Bill Pullman, Alex Neustaedter, Lily Gladstone.
“The Yellow Birds”
Director: Alexandre Moors
Screenwriter: David Lowery
Two young men enlist in the Army and are deployed to fight in the Gulf War. After an unthinkable tragedy, the surviving soldier struggles to balance his promise of silence with the truth and a mourning mother’s search for peace.
Cast:
Tye Sheridan, Jack Huston, Alden Ehrenreich, Jason Patric, Toni Collette, Jennifer Aniston.