AND HO! by Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz showing at Sundance
AND HO! by Martha Stephens and Aaron Katz
Starring Paul Eenhoorn and Earl Lynn Nelson
About the Filmmakers:
LAND HO! is the first collaboration between Martha Stephens and Katz, each a rising star in their own right. Stephens' first feature, PASSENGER PIGEONS, premiered at SXSW 2010 and won Chicken and Egg's "We Believe In You" award. This was followed by her second feature, PILGRIM SONG (SXSW 2012). Katz also made his debut at SXSW (in 2006), where he screened his first film, DANCE PARTY, USA. He followed that with QUIET CITY (SXSW 2007), which was nominated for a John Cassavetes Award at the Independent Spirit Awards, and then with COLD WEATHER (SXSW 2010), which was distributed by IFC Films. LAND HO! is the perfect blend of their styles, reflecting each filmmakers' keen sense of humor, as well as their mutually fresh, modern take on filmmaking.
About the Actors:
At LAND HO!'s comedic core are its stars, Paul Eenhoorn and Earl Lynn Nelson, who have an unparalleled onscreen chemistry. While they are well-past retirement age, they are relatively new to the indie film scene - late-in-life ingenues, if you will.
Actors Centre-trained Australian native Eenhoorn has appeared in several films, including Sundance 2007's ZOO, but came into public consciousness in his starring turn in Sundance 2013's THIS IS MARTIN BONNER, which won the Audience Award: Best of NEXT and is nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards.
Unlike Eenhoorn, Nelson isn't a trained actor at all - in fact, like his LAND HO! character, he's a surgeon hailing from Kentucky. His foray into acting came through his being co-director Stephens' cousin - she asked him to appear in PASSENGER PIGEONS. Director David Gordon Green hailed Nelson’s performance as the best of 2010 and subsequently cast him in an episode of EASTBOUND AND DOWN. Nelson's off-the-cuff delivery and irreverent screen presence is refreshingly natural - and yet it's hard to believe that he's relatively new to the acting scene.
About the Film:
Feeling disenchanted with life after retirement, Mitch (Earl Lynn Nelson), a brassy former surgeon, convinces mild-mannered Colin (Paul Eenhoorn), his ex-brother-in-law, to vacation with him in Iceland. The pair sets off in an attempt to reclaim their youth through Reykjavik nightclubs, trendy spas, adventurous restaurants, and rugged campsites. But they quickly discover that you can’t escape yourself, no matter how far you travel.
Nelson and Eenhoorn exude a natural chemistry as Mitch and Colin endearingly bond via their raucous adventures and respective journeys to self-discovery.
Written and directed by independent film wunderkinds Stephens (PILGRIM SONG) and Katz (COLD WEATHER) and executive produced by David Gordon Green, LAND HO! is a bawdy, endearingly shaggy exploration of aging, loneliness, and friendship.
TRT: 96 minutes
Country: USA, Iceland
Language: English
Genre: Comedy
Screenings:
Premiere Screening – Sunday, January 19th, 11:30am (Library, Park City)
Public Screening #2 – Monday, January 20th, 9:00pm (Broadway 6, Salt Lake City)
P&I Screening – Tuesday, January 21st, 3:00pm (Holiday 2, Park City)
Public Screening #3 – Wednesday, January 22nd, 9:00pm (Egyptian, Park City)
Public Screening #4 – Friday, January 24th, 2:45pm (MARC, Park City)
Public Screening #5 – Saturday, January 25th, 12:00pm (SLC Library, Salt Lake City)
