Grown Up Movie Star Featured at Sundance Film Festival

Grown Up Movie Star, a local feature film written and directed by Adriana Maggs, will make its U.S. premiere tonight at the Sundance Film Festival, thanks in part to more than $390,000 in Provincial Government support.

The Honourable Terry French, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, congratulated Ms. Maggs for being the first Newfoundland and Labrador filmmaker invited to screen at the festival, which began in Park City, Utah, yesterday (January 21) and runs through to January 31.

"The Newfoundland and Labrador film industry is full of potential and with the continued success of our province's young, up-and-coming filmmakers such as Adriana Maggs, it can only get better," said Minister French. "It has been a banner year for the province's film industry. With productions being screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and at Cannes – two of the world's most prestigious film festivals – and now at Sundance, there is no question our province's growing film industry will not only continue to flourish, but maintain a strong presence on the national and international film stage."

The Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation, funded through the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, invested approximately $377,000 (including more than $130,000 through the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Tax Credit), for the overall development of the film, and $5,000 for marketing. An additional $10,000 was provided through the department's Culture Economic Development Program (CEDP) to assist with costs associated with participating at the festival.

Grown Up Movie Star is competing in the festival's World Cinema Narrative Competition, which is by invitation only. The film will be screened five times during the festival, and is the only Canadian narrative drama invited to be screened.

"When talking to filmmakers from other countries – whose feature films are either pushed or pulled in corporate directions to appeal to the masses and compete with blockbuster numbers – I realize how fortunate we are that Newfoundland and Labrador is so supportive of its film industry," said Ms. Maggs. "We essentially get to make the films we want to make. Grown Up Movie Star is not mainstream. It explores dark and difficult topics. But this province's film industry trusted me, and without its generosity and ability to recognize the need for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to tell their own stories through film, we would not be competing in the biggest film festival in the United States."

Budget 2009: Building on Our Strong Foundation, provided more than $2.5 million in operational and equity funding to the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation (NLFDC), and $195,000 in operational and program support to the film industry through the Cultural Economic Development Program, including $65,000 to the Newfoundland Independent Filmmakers Co-operative (NIFCO), and $60,000 to the Film Producers Association of Newfoundland.

For more information about Grown up Movie Star, visit: www.popeproductions.com/en/projects/grown.php. 

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2010 01 22                                                   11:10 a.m.