"The Future" Q&A With Miranda July

"I couldn't think of a more perfect film to start the 'Premieres' section of the festival," John Cooper said on stage at the Eccles last night before the premiere of Miranda July's "The Future." "I love it when filmmakers return to Sundance. I've been waiting for this film for a long time. I didn't even know what the film was, but when Miranda July is making a film, I pay attention. I think she's one of the great poets of our time, even if she works in the medium of film."

Cooper then introduced July herself, who joked about the size of the Eccles, Sundance's largest screening venue.

"When they tell you you're going to premiere in the Eccles for your first screening," July said. "All the first conversations seem to have this number: 1,200. 'It's a 1,200 seater... 1,200 people... 1,200, 1,200...' So I've been carrying you around - all of you - since November. As far as I'm concerned we're all already incredibly close."

July's 1,200 new friends would spend the next 90 minutes in her world. "The Future" - a whimsical take on a couple (played by July and Hamish Linklater in an adorable and potentially breakout performance) in the midst of mid-thirties - should easily please fans of the artist and filmmaker. Layered and often quite abstract, it's a film that likely takes time or even multiple viewings to fully digest. I'm still not 100% sure whether I fully embraced what July had to offer, but I most certainly fell in love with many moments and ideas in "The Future."

"I always feel like it's hard to think of questions right away and usually your questions come to you the next day or even night," July said after the film. "So one option is that we could do the Q&A after another movie at the same time tomorrow night? Which might be confusing for that movie but I bet your questions would be really good."

Despite July's suggestion, the Q&A did indeed occur last night. Watch it in its entirety here.