FROZEN RIVER was one of my favorite movies from last few years, so you can imagine my excitement when I found out I was interviewing the cinematographer from it, Reed Morano. This year she’s back with another grey, wintry tundra palate, FOR ELLEN, a custody-based drama starring Paul Dano.

Although the editing is slow and the shots are long, it makes you re-appreciate the observational style of filmmaking where you have time to get into the characters’ thoughts and emotions. And since Dano is a superb actor with a seriously long career ahead of him – think Daniel Day Lewis (his fictional father in Dano’s debut hit, THERE WILL BE BLOOD).

Originally from Nebraska, Morano is based in Brooklyn now. She has been to Sundance in previous years, but this is the first year she has two films in the festival: SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS, a narrative feature-turned-documentary about LCD Soundsystem’s final show at Madison Square Garden, (in the Park City at Midnight category), and FOR ELLEN (U.S. Dramatic Competition).