Whilst I'm in Venice this week for work, Dark Horizon's Los Angeles junket man Paul Fischer is braving the colder climes of Park City, Utah to attend this year's Sundance Film Festival and deliver this first in a series of reports.

Sundance Film Festival 2006 Report - by 'Paul Fischer'

- Day 1 -

The snow is falling a little heavier than usual but the white landscape masks a more intense and frenetic atmosphere. As one closes into Park City the cell phones can already be heard with mutterings of would be deal makers bemoaning which actor has yet to sign for the next movie. Nothing changes as one slogs through the snow checking in for my 11th Sundance, full of expectations at the hope of seeing an undiscovered morsel such as a Squid and the Whale. One can live in hope.

Friends with Money
Opening night was a perfect Sundance with Nicole Holofcener's wry and sublime comedy drama Friends with Money featuring sterling work from a first rate ensemble. Pic revolves around a quartet of friends each with a demon or two to exorcise, some more than most. The black sheep of the group is Jennifer Aniston as a pot smoking ex teacher working as a maid unlucky in love. Aniston is a revelation here displaying an emotional resonance we rarely see from her in her studio movies. Catherine Keener also shines as a screenwriter dealing with a difficult marriage. Holofcener has an astute ear for dialogue and directs her richly human script with a crisp no nonsense style focusing on character and the realitý of our own human foibles. Dealing with marriage, relationships and friendship in Los Angeles, Friends with Money is exquisitely crafted and a joy to watch a formidable group of actors at the very top of their game. This is an absolute must when Sony Classics releases the film soon.

Lucky Number Slevin
Lucky Number Slevin is one of those films that miraculously creeps up on you and entangles you in an unexpected brilliance. What begins as a series of graphic murders develops into a sly and darkly comic masterpiece enhanced by sublime work on the parts of Josh Hartnett at his best, Lucy Liu, Bruce Willis and a fabulous Ben Kingsley. Hartnett plays a down on his luck guy mistaken for a gambler whose debts land him in bed with two unique gangsters. But here is a film where nothing and nobody are what they seem as it weaves its way through several ingenious twists and turns. At times bloody and sexy, Slevin is a stunning comic thriller, a full throttle gem that is destined for xommercial greatness. The Weinstein Co will release the film in the US in March. Here is another must see out of Sundance.

Kinky Boots
Also caught another fabulous film, the deliriously engaging Kinky Boots. Set in the north of London, Australia's Joel Edgerton stars as a young man who inherits his late father's shoe factory. On the verge of closure, a chance encounter with a vivacious drag queen changrs both of their lives in the most unexpected way. A beautifully crafted film that is hilarious and equally touching, Miramax has a sure fire hit on its hand. The last time Joel Edgerton came to Sundance was 10 years ago an up and comer hanging out wity his friends. This time he has 3 films here and when I caught up with him shorrly after seeing him in Kinky Boots he admits surprise to his renewed success helped by King &rthur. Joel told me that he and his brother have written a script together whuch is a thriller due to start shooting un Australia in July. Nice to see the Aussies do well.

- Day 2 -

Wrestling with Angels
It's up and running as Sundance continues along its hectic course with some interviews and diverse screenings. While it is great to see some strong narrative films, it is also the documentaries that remain a strong line up and two in particular caught my eye. Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner remains a major highlight at this festival. Director Freida Lee Mock unobtrusively explores the evolution of Kushner as artist, son, political activist and gay man, and like a good play, the film is divided into four acts. Through Kushner, we see the added evolution of a country torn apart by war, inequality and a certain didactic politics. The end result is a magnificent film that so eloquently explores what it is like to be both Jewish and gay in 21st century America, both together and separately. The film is at times blisteringly hilarious as well as moving and ferociously intelligent. It's an exquisite work by an Oscar winning filmmaker who lets her complex and fascinating subject tell his story in his own well observed way. Wrestling with Angels had its world premiere here at Sundance and is awaiting distribution.

Thin
HBO's Thin is a chilling exploration of eating disorders in yoiung women, focusing on the lives of patients at Florida's Renfrew Centre, a 40 bed residential facility for the treatment of women with eating disorders. Directed with an understated eloquence by Lauren Greenfield making her feature debut, Thin raises some powerful issues on a tough subject in an age epitomised by media infatuations with body image. The women here range from 15-30 and some will recover, others not so easily. There are no happy endings or simplistic editorialising offered here, but the film also tells as much about treatment facilities as it does about this horrific disorder that plagues 1 out of every 7 woman in this country alone. This is a powerful and engrossing work, which HBO will air on US television in November.

Little Miss Sunshine
It was time to catch up with Australian actress Toni Collette at Sundance with two films beginning with charmingly delightful Little Miss Sunshine. This often uproarious comic gem tells of a family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant thus taking a cross-country trip in their VW bus. On the film Collette, who was last in Sundance 9 years ago with Clockwatchers, commented that "it was nice to see a family in a movie treated with honesty." The actress says that the key to a good comedy is "just keeping it honest" who was last seen in the acclaimed In Her Shoes. Collette is also at Sundance for The Night Listener which she describes as being "very intense". Robin Williams stars as a writer recounting his work on radio with Collette as his obsessive fan. "I'm also a blind character and I was wearing these special lenses." More on my interview with Collette later.

Open Window
In his second film at Sundance Joel Edgerton is paired opposite a luminous Robin Tunney in the sometimes haunting Open Window. The pair play a recently engaged and in love couple whose idyllic existence is shattered when Tunney is brutally raped in the couple's home. The film focuses on how the relationship can survive following such a significant trauma. Featuring two fine performances by the two leads it falls apart with a comically absurd performance by an awful Cybill Shepherd who single handedly hinders an otherwise eloquent romantic drama. With some serious editing of her scenes the film has a better chance. It is also a pity that star Tunney wouldn't do any online interviews for a film that clearly needs exposure.

Wordplay
Who would have thought that a documentary about crosswords and puzzles would turn out to be one of the Festival's most exquisite crowd pleasers and the best film at Sundance that I at least have seen thus far. The film is Wordplay and trust me, this is one doc that will get theatrical release. Focusing in part on an annual crossword contest that takes place in Connecticut, the contest's organiser since its inception is Will Shortz the Crossword Puzzle editor of the New York Times and National Public Radio's 'puzzle master'. This fresh and delightful film explores the art of crossword creation through a variety of characters from Bill Clinton and Jon Stewart who are ardent fans of the Ny Tines crosswords, through to the regular geniuses who enter this annual contest. The film beautifully delves into the mind of those who are ferocious intelectuals and the result is a wonderfully funny, exciting and moving piece. I'm not a crossword fan but Wordplay is a surefire winner.

Come Early Morning
Last up for today was the directorial debut of actress Joey Lauren Adams, with her eloquent and intelligent Come Early Morning, part of the festival's dramatic competition. In what must be her finest performance to date, Ashley Judd plays a contractor in Arkansaws who spends her off time drinking too much beer and sleeping with men she meets in her neighborhood bar. Refusing to 'kiss a man when sober' things change when she meets Cal and perhaps this time she can raise her emotional wall and find true love. Adams proves herself a true arrist with her quietly melancholy portait of southern small town USA. Hers is a script that is emotionally resonant and honest in its study of parental and human relationships. As her camera focuses on Judd we see a character full of emotional scars as Judd gives a remarkable and finely nuanced performance. A hauntingly rich and elegant work by Adams, her future as a director is assured with this beautiful and gentle human drama.