Hot Picks from Sundance

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anyasluxury, anyasushkoblog, film festivals, hot picks, lady susan, love and friendship, miles aheda, movies, sky ladder, southside with you moview, sundance, sundance film festival, swiss army man, the art of cai guo-qiang, tika sumpter

Where better to be at the moment than Utah, home to the ultra cool annual Sundance Film Festival?  This is where all the world’s top independent filmmakers gather to showcase their new work.  So from 21^st – 31^st January, Park City will be abuzz with celebrities, film buffs, directors and fans checking out all that 2016 has to offer for the big screen.  We thought you’d like to know the films that we at Anya Sushko can’t wait to see.  Take a look at our picks below…

Image from Geek Tyran – Sundance Film Festival

“SOUTHSIDE WITH YOU”

Are you a fan of First Dates?!  Well, first dates don’t come much bigger than that between Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle.  Not that we or they knew it then of course, but that’s what makes this film so fascinating.  Based on true-life events and set in Chicago, Southside With You tells the story of a young Harvard Law summer associate meeting and then wooing the woman who was to become his wife and First Lady.  Tika Sumpter and Parker Sawyers star.  We can’t wait to see this one!

Southside With You – Sundance Film Festival

“SWISS ARMY MAN”

This is another title that has caught our eye.  It sounds a bit like Cast Away with a difference.  Hank (Paul Dano) is lost and stranded on a tiny deserted island but things started to look up for him when a dead body (played by Daniel Radcliffe) washes ashore.  With this interesting new companion, Hank comes up with an escape plan and embarks on a big adventure.  Sundance always offers creativity and this film sounds like it gives it to us in spades.

Read review from Slash Film

“MILES AHEAD”

We definitely won’t be missing this portrait of Jazz legend and creative genius, Miles Davis.  The film marks the directorial debut of Academy Award–nominated actor Don Cheadle, who is also co-writer and lead actor.  The superb Ewan McGregor stars as a Rolling Stone journalist.  It sounds pretty dark in places, but we can’t resist the fusion of sultry music, cool images and interesting events that this biopic promises to offer.

Miles Ahead – Sundance Film Festival

“LOVE & FRIENDSHIP”

You can’t beat a good costume drama and this romantic comedy sounds like it could be a smash hit.  It is based on Jane Austen’s unpublished early novella Lady Susan.  The star of the show is Kate Beckinsale, who plays the beautiful widow, Lady Susan Vernon.  Seeking refuge from gossip about a personal indiscretion at her in-laws’ estate, Lady Susan decides to embark on a search for a husband for both herself and her daughter.  And so the fun begins!  The film also stars the wonderful Stephen Fry.

Love & Friendship – Sundance Film Festival

“SKY LADDER: THE ART OF CAI GUO-QIANG“

We couldn’t resist the sound of the this one.  Cai Guo-Qiang is one of the stars of the art world, who is perhaps best known for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.  This documentary film follows him across the world as he creates massive drawings in the sky from fireworks.  The focus of the film is the Sky Ladder, an extraordinary firework event that he pulls off after a series of failed attempts.

Sky Ladder The Art of Cai Guo Qiang – Sundance Film Festival

PACKING AWAY… OUR HEAD DESIGNER ANYA’s TOP FIVE PACKING TIPS

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Packing is one thing that divides the female population – half of us can’t help but find themselves in hysterics and the other half approach the task with enviable ease and sometimes even military precision. Which type are you? Does the idea of having to pack enough things for that long awaited holiday or last minute business trip send shivers down your spine – how do you ensure you’ve got all the right pieces without having to argue excess luggage at the boarding gate and how on Earth is everything meant to arrive looking neat and tidy! Or do you simply write down a list – or even better, roll out the list you’ve created years ago and simply update it, depending on the destination’s climate. Then do you calmly start folding your essentials, filling every centimeter of that suitcase with something worthy, without having to jump and sit on it to forcefully close it, hoping that you haven’t forgotten what is most important.

The Grande Sunburst Travel Handbag in Purple

At our Studio, we have representatives from both packing tribes.  Our Marketing Assistant Sophie takes a very relaxed approached to packing, most often getting the job done the night before and  always thinking “Anything I forget, can be bought at my destination. Unless you are going to the jungle, you are fine!”. Our Founder and Head Designer Anya is far more strategic and meticulously organised. All these years of travelling between her native Latvia and London, as well as lots of business trips in between, have thought her that careful planning and execution is the way to go. “I hate to realise upon arrival that I have left the one thing I really wanted behind. I keep two lists – one for holiday, one for business trips – and I just update them depending on the weather. It’s simple and means I can focus on other things than clothes and accessories – often I have to think about bringing samples, lookbooks, leather swatches, so organisation is key”.

Essentials for packing! The Severina Bag in Rose Red-Moodboard by Sale Servant

We asked the packing supremo that Anya is for her top five packing tips to share with those of us who often face a meltdown in front of a suitcase. You know what we mean – think hand luggage restrictions and conquering them!

Tip 1: Plan ahead. Okay, hardly original, but this is the groundwork that packing is based on. If you don’t know where to start, write down what a usual day would look like – would you wake up, brush your teeth (Toothbrush! Toothpaste!)  and go for a swim (Bikini. Flip Flops.) or would you head out to explore the city (Comfortable footwear. A cross body bag to keep your hands free.). Go on and you will see the list will fall into place – it’s easier than you think.

Travel Essential-The Heart Purse in Powder Pink

Tip 2: Plan your shopping. It’s better to admit, before you even leave, that you will be shopping, wherever you go. Local handmade jewellery at the street market in Marakesh, espadrilles and kaftans in Spain, designer pieces from Macy’s in NYC, a large straw hat from Sardinia. Every place offers special local items that are worth buying – because they will remind you of your trip and will be truly unique and will also come very handy – we are thinking that straw hat for example. Plan in advance so that you don’t double up – leave a tiny corner in your suitcase for that special treat that you will wear the minute you buy it.

Tip 3. Roll, don’t fold. Your clothes that is. This is something we once read in a Diane von Fustenburg interview and it’s so true. Try it with your dresses, jumpers and T-shirts. Rolling them prevents them from creasing and it also means you can be more organised with the space in your suitcase. Don’t leave any corner un-tucked!

Tip 4: Bagpacking. We are not referring to a gap year backpacking trip but to the bags you will take – because walking around with your belongings in a bum bag is not acceptable! We recommend carrying you day-to-day handbag with you – daily handbags are usually larger and airlines are no longer allowed to ask you to fit them within your hand luggage – which was purely barbaric in the first place! At your destination, you will want something lighter and practical – a spacious envelope clutch like the HISS can fit a lot and doubles up as both a day and evening bag . The Heart Purses  can be worn as cross-body during the day when you are sightseeing and then as a clutch when you are partying at night. Their mini size and variety of colours means you can take a few for different outfits!

Perfect Travel Bags!

Tip 5: Congratulations, you have arrived and so has your luggage, hurray! You open your suitcase and find that the one dress you really wanted to wear is creased. Panic! Don’t. Stop, breathe, hang it on a hanger in the bathroom. Now take a very long very hot shower and see the steam iron out the creases. Tried and tested many times. You can thank us later.

Now enjoy your packing and your trip – and don’t forget to take lots of pictures. If you are taking your trusted Anya Sushko bag with you, share your pictures with us and with your permission, we will add them to our Globetrotting Handbags album on social media!