Superheroes to attend IFC Screening in New York

Originally posted: http://www.slamdance.com/2060786/Superheroes-to-attend-IFC-Screening-in-New-York
Los Angeles – September 26, 2011 – The IFC Center will launch Slamdance’s 2011 On The Road tour on October 7th 2011 for a weeklong engagement. The traveling theatrical showcase will feature the critically acclaimed documentary Superheroes directed by Michael Barnett as well as the award winning short film Hello Caller by Andrew Putschoegl.
This year’s On the Road launch represents a well-established relationship between Slamdance and The IFC Center. Soon after opening, the Center found success with Mad Hot Ballroom, a documentary that premiered and was acquired from Slamdance in 2005. As an advocate for independent films, The IFC Center serves as the ideal starting point for the Festival whose mantra is ‘By Filmmakers For Filmmakers.’ Slamdance’s president and Co-founder Peter Baxter explains “On The Road brings popular Slamdance films to audiences that otherwise would not have the opportunity to see them on the big screen and provides our filmmakers commercial benefits that they otherwise would not receive.”
Superheroes is a profoundly funny, eccentric and inspiring film that chronicles the extraordinary lives of real-life superheroes as they take to the streets to protect and support their communities. Perhaps the most intimidating of the heroes featured in the film are a group of Brooklyn-based vigilantes. Life, Dark Guardian and other superheroes from the New York initiative will be in attendance and participate in a Q&A which will immediately follow the screening.
Eight months after the world premiere of Superheroes at the 2011 festival, the Slamdance team continues to demonstrate a commitment to their alumni. As director Michael Barnett puts it, “The tremendous exposure our film gained from Slamdance helped us sell Superheroes to HBO. Partnering with Slamdance for a theatrical release shows how forward thinking they really are.”
Each screening will begin with Hello Caller about a suicidal woman who makes a call for help with unexpected and hilarious results. “We’re still in shock that Hello Caller is getting a theatrical release,” admits director Andrew Putschoegl. “Short films are hard enough to make, let alone find distribution.”
After the IFC Center, Slamdance’s On the Road tour will travel to Dublin, Ireland; Omaha, Nebraska; Salt Lake City, Utah; Houston, Texas; Seattle, Washington; Juneau, Alaska; Atlanta, Georgia; Los Angeles, California; Vancouver, BC; and Minneapolis, Minnesota.
About Slamdance – As a year-round organization, Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging talent and is dedicated to the nurturing and development of new independent artists and their cinematic vision. For the 2011 Festival, Slamdance received a record number of over 5,000 submissions and is well on the way to surpassing that record with the 2012 festival submissions. No other festival is fully programmed by filmmakers. Slamdance counts among its alumni many notable writers and directors who first gained notice at the festival, including Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight), Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball), Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) and Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity). New filmmakers and writers today realize Slamdance is a great place to launch their careers. In 2010, Slamdance began a Video on Demand partnership with Microsoft and has continued to expand its exhibition efforts theatrically through Slamdance On The Road. New filmmakers and writers today realize Slamdance is a great place to launch their careers. Slamdance 2012 takes place January 20th-26th in Park City and is currently calling for festival entries.