Arts & Entertainment

Obama romance heads for Sundance

Photo Courtesy: IM Global

A romantic drama about Barack Obama's first date with future wife Michelle is among the titles set to be screened at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

Southside With You recreates the summer afternoon in 1989 when the future US president wooed his future First Lady, then Michelle Robinson, in Chicago.

Other films in the line-up include Swiss Army Man, a road movie in which Daniel Radcliffe plays a corpse.

Sundance's 2016 edition runs from 21 to 31 January in Park City, Utah.

The annual cinema showcase was founded by actor Robert Redford to promote independent movie-making.

Ellen Page, Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss and pop singer Nick Jonas are among the established names who appear in other films featured in the programme.

The event will open on 21 January with Other People, a film about a struggling comedy writer who returns to his childhood home to care for his sick mother.

This year's festival will see US actors Nate Parker and Clea DuVall unveil their feature directorial debuts, respectively entitled The Birth of a Nation and The Intervention.

The former is a biopic of Nat Turner, the leader of an 1831 slave revolt in Virginia, while the latter tells of friends who join forces to "save" a couple's marriage.

Documentaries included in the line-up include films about James Foley, the US journalist killed by the so-called Islamic State in 2014, and another about the Sandy Hook shootings of December 2012.

The world documentary strand, meanwhile, will host the premiere of The Lovers and the Despot, a British film about a South Korean director and actress who claimed to have been kidnapped by North Korean dictator and cinephile Kim Jong-il.

"From diverse backgrounds, places and perspectives, these independent artists are united by the power of their stories and vision," said Redford in a statement.

"Their films will soon launch onto the global stage, beginning their journeys through our culture. A new year in independent film will start right here - on the mountain - in January."

Recent success stories to have made their debuts at Sundance include Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station and 2015 Oscar-winner Whiplash.

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Obama romance heads for Sundance

Photo Courtesy: IM Global

A romantic drama about Barack Obama's first date with future wife Michelle is among the titles set to be screened at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

Southside With You recreates the summer afternoon in 1989 when the future US president wooed his future First Lady, then Michelle Robinson, in Chicago.

Other films in the line-up include Swiss Army Man, a road movie in which Daniel Radcliffe plays a corpse.

Sundance's 2016 edition runs from 21 to 31 January in Park City, Utah.

The annual cinema showcase was founded by actor Robert Redford to promote independent movie-making.

Ellen Page, Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss and pop singer Nick Jonas are among the established names who appear in other films featured in the programme.

The event will open on 21 January with Other People, a film about a struggling comedy writer who returns to his childhood home to care for his sick mother.

This year's festival will see US actors Nate Parker and Clea DuVall unveil their feature directorial debuts, respectively entitled The Birth of a Nation and The Intervention.

The former is a biopic of Nat Turner, the leader of an 1831 slave revolt in Virginia, while the latter tells of friends who join forces to "save" a couple's marriage.

Documentaries included in the line-up include films about James Foley, the US journalist killed by the so-called Islamic State in 2014, and another about the Sandy Hook shootings of December 2012.

The world documentary strand, meanwhile, will host the premiere of The Lovers and the Despot, a British film about a South Korean director and actress who claimed to have been kidnapped by North Korean dictator and cinephile Kim Jong-il.

"From diverse backgrounds, places and perspectives, these independent artists are united by the power of their stories and vision," said Redford in a statement.

"Their films will soon launch onto the global stage, beginning their journeys through our culture. A new year in independent film will start right here - on the mountain - in January."

Recent success stories to have made their debuts at Sundance include Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station and 2015 Oscar-winner Whiplash.

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