The Sundance Film Festival announced Friday morning that filmmaker Lucy Walker’s “Untitled Buena Vista Social Club Documentary” would not premiere at the 2017 fest as previously announced. The Sundance Institute only learned that the film would not play late on Thursday.
“We at Broad Green are disappointed that we will not be able to premiere this compelling documentary at this year’s Sundance Film Festival,” Broad Green Pictures said in a statement. “The film’s post production process has taken longer than expected and thus the decision was made to wait to introduce the film to audiences until it can be presented in its best possible iteration.”
The film, which at one point carried the title “The Flowers of Life: Social Club Buena Vista,” revisited the Cuban band Buena Vista Social Club, also the subject of filmmaker Wim Wenders’ eponymous doc from 1999.
Here’s the official synopsis released previously by Sundance:
“As the sun sets on the careers of Cuba’s finest musicians, the Buena Vista Social Club, we get their side of the whole story, which stretches back to the beginning of the Cuban Republic, through the Grammy-winning 1998 album and Wim Wenders’ film, up to the new Cuba today.”
With approximately two months between Sundance acceptance letters and premieres, many filmmakers struggle to finish the post-production process in time for the fest. They are faced with having to finish editing their films, completing sound design (including sound effects, score and mix) and mastering the picture (including color correction and special effects), often on a shoestring budget.
All Sundance screenings of “Untitled Buena Vista Social Club Documentary” are being replaced with other films in the lineup. Walker did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.