The 2022 Sundance Film Festival has come and gone leaving in its wake a plethora of films, music, conversation, and virtual space.
Acura continued on as the Official Vehicle and a Presenting Sponsor of the Sundance Film Festival for the 12th consecutive year offering the independent film community and fans gathering virtually for the 2022 Sundance Film Festival a unique experience at AcuraWatchParty.com. Virtual Sundance programming from Acura included important conversations and activations with like-minded entertainment and media partners focusing on supporting diversity in film, along with A-list filmmakers and talent.
Embracing the creative spirit of the Sundance film community, Acura debuted a new four-part anime series, Chiaki’s Journey, during the Festival. Chiaki’s Journey featured a young hero’s quest to overcome multiple challenges on her path toward victory while offering viewers a first look at Acura’s trio of all-new Type S performance models: 2022 TLX Type S sport sedan, 2022 MDX Type S 3-row SUV, and 2022 NSX Type S supercar.
In staying true to form the 2022 emergent Sundance Film Festival theme of ‘Fighting the System” rang true as eloquently stated by Festival Programming Director, Kim Yutani, with art “made against the odds, under challenging circumstances, (with filmmakers) being inventive in how they’re telling their stories, in the way they explore intimacy, just creating films in a way that is imaginative.” during an interview for Vanessa Zimmer’s ‘Fighting the System’ Emerges as Major Theme in 2022 Lineup.
As the Delta and Omicron variants raged, Sundance bent on implementing updated COVID protocols over the holidays. At last, with the risk factors too great for the filmgoing populace the well-thought and deeply discerned decision was made to go virtual. Fortunately, Shari Frilot, Chief Curator of New Frontier, and a Harvard grad, stepped up and went where no man had gone before and created a vast virtual entity adeptly called “The Spaceship” where art, film, and multimedia converged and sent the 2022 Sundance Film Festival into the stratosphere allowing for parties, mingling, conversation, and film and artistic viewings.
Navalny, Festival Favorite Award, Audience Award: U.S. Documentary Presented by Acura
A still from Navalny, an official selection of the U.S. Documentary section at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
In August 2020, a plane traveling from Siberia to Moscow made an emergency landing. One of its passengers, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was deathly ill. Taken to a local Siberian hospital and eventually evacuated to Berlin, doctors confirmed that he had been poisoned with Novichok, a nerve agent implicated in attacks on other opponents of the Russian government. President Vladimir Putin immediately cast doubt on the findings and denied any involvement.
While recovering, Navalny and his team — already with a large social media following in tow — partnered with the data investigative journalism outlet Bellingcat as well as other international news organizations to investigate his attempted assassination and find proof of the Kremlin’s involvement. In NAVALNY, filmmaker Daniel Roher reveals a courageous and controversial would-be president at the precipice of sacrificing everything in order to bring reform to his homeland. —BT (Sundance.org)
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute).
Director Sophie Hyde and Writer Katy Brand’s, Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, stars Dame Emma Thompson, as a retired schoolteacher who has yet to experience the joy of sex. Enter Daryl McCormack as the young and debonnaire sex worker, Leo Grande. What starts out as a cold transactional relationship ends up as a deep, warm, caring transactional relationship opening hearts and minds to a retelling of modern love. Picked up by Searchlight Pictures and scheduled to stream exclusively on Hulu. Four stars.
Elizabeth Banks appears in Call Jane by Phyllis Nagy, an official selection of the Premieres section at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Wilson Webb.
Phyllis Nagy’s Call Jane, set in the mid to late 1960’s follows the pursuit of women’s rights led by Elizabeth Banks, progressive suburbanite wife, and homemaker, Joy, who discovers a more engaging life in helping women get safe medical procedures for their unwanted or life-endangering pregnancies. Nagy wrote the 2015 Douglas Sirkian style melodrama, Carol, directed by Todd Haynes. Jane has a similar look with a joyous, optimistic, and forward-looking narrative. Four stars.
Emily The Criminal (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute)
Emily The Criminalfrom Director John Patton Ford addresses the fallout from the collateral damage of a young woman’s college experience and relationship troubles. Aubrey Plaza portrays Emily, a young woman who went to college on student loans, partied, got an education, then received an assault conviction for her role in a relationship fight. Unable to land suitable work with her criminal record, Emily becomes a “dummy shopper,” in an illegal, underworld enterprise. Fast-paced, this psychological, neo-thriller reverberates an age-old adage, “desperate people do desperate things.” Highly recommended. A top pick.
EMERGENCY
Emergency, the recipient of the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic, harkens the impact racism can have on life-threatening, real-life situations and its ramifications on human potential. Told through a darkly comedic lens with moments of “throw it all at the kitchen sink” style of comedy. Guaranteed to “shock, enlighten, and infuriate.” From two-time Sundance alum Carey Williams (2021’s modern, social media retelling of “Romeo and Juliet,” R#J), based on his 2018 Sundance short film of the same name. Excellent writing and strong acting. Four stars.
To The End (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute)
Director Rachel Lears, whose Lears 2019 Sundance film Knock Down the House followed four women who ran insurgent congressional campaigns in 2018, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Cori Bush. The film won the Audience Award and the Festival Favorite Award and was shortlisted for an Oscar and nominated for an Emmy. Lears 2022 offering, To The End, is a visionary look behind the scenes of a philosophical movement, social and political, where young people have rejected the cynicism and complacency of a power structure that has failed to meaningfully address the existential threat faced by climate change. Told through the narratives of four instrumental leaders and women of color — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Varshini Prakash, Alexandra Rojas, and Rhiana Gunn-Wright. This is more than the Green New Deal. It’s planetary survival. Four stars.
Oscar de la Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez appear in La Guerra Civil by Eva Longoria Bastón, an official selection of the Premieres section at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
La Guerra Civil, directed and produced by Eva Longoria Bastón tells the story of two of Mexico’s greatest lightweight modern-era boxers, American-born Oscar De La Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez. More than a boxing story, Longoria Bastón shapes the narrative through the Mexican and Mexican-American cultural lens. What emerges is a very intimate look at both boxers and their impact on the dichotomy of what it means to be Mexican and what it means to be Mexican-American. Four stars.
The Worst Person In The World (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute).
The Worst Person in the World directed by Joachim Trier is the third part of his Oslo trilogy. A beautifully made film with a first-time film portrayal for the lead actress, Renate Reinsve. The film is told through Reinsve’s character and is about finding one’s place in the world. In the film’s introduction, Trier referred to the film as a Norwegian romantic comedy told in twelve separate chapters with an epilogue and a prologue. Originally premiered in competition at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival (with Renate Reinsve winning Best Actress for her performance).
Chiqui (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute).
Chiqui, an indie episodic set in the 1980s was a romp. It’s 1987. Chiqui and Carlos emigrate from Colombia to New Jersey to find a better life for themselves and their unborn son. Upon their arrival, they quickly realize that the American dream is not as easy to achieve as they thought. The cast and crew – simply superb.
Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute).
Downfall: The Case Against Boeing. One of the most anticipated films of the festival from acclaimed director, Rory Kennedy. Kennedy’s films are well-researched and provide astute socio-cultural insights. Downfall’s production values were exceptional resulting in a very polished film revealing shifts in cultural norms undoubtedly contributing to the untimely and tragic Max 737 plane crashes. Scheduled for a February 13th Netflix release followed by a theatrical run. A Netflix and Moxie Films Production. Four stars.
Chloe Okuno
Watcher, Chloe Okuno’s, multi-layered suspenseful horror, drama, thriller features Maika Monroe as a young, blonde female coping with life in a foreign country. Monroe delivers a highly competent and strong performance. The non-diegetic soundtrack added immensely to the suspense and featured Max Richter’s “Moment in Paris.” Undeniable Charade and Rear Window Hitchcockian influences Shot on location in Bucharest, Romania. Four stars.
Maika Monroe appears in Watcher by Chloe Okuno, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance.
As the festival inched closer to its end, after nine days, 84 feature films and 59 short films, the juries deliberated and the audience voted. The 26 jury-awarded and six audience-awarded prizes recognized “achievement in global independent storytelling.” Bold, intimate, and culture-shifting stories prevailed across categories, with Grand Jury Prizes awarded to Nanny (U.S. Dramatic), The Exiles (U.S. Documentary), Utama (World Cinema Dramatic), and All That Breathes (World Cinema Documentary). Audience Awards were presented to Navalny (U.S. Documentary), Cha Cha Real Smooth (U.S. Dramatic), Girl Picture (World Cinema Dramatic), The Territory (World Cinema Documentary), Framing Agnes (NEXT), with Navalny winning the Festival Favorite Award.
Joana Vicente
“Today’s awards represent the determination of visionary individuals, whose dynamic work will continue to change the culture and create discourse throughout the year,” said Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente. “This year’s entire program has proven that no matter the context, independent storytelling remains a pivotal tool in expanding critical dialogues, and these stories will and must be shared.”
Tabitha Jackson
“The 2022 Sundance Film Festival once again met our audience wherever they happened to be,” added Sundance Film Festival Director Tabitha Jackson, “Whether you watched from home or one of our seven satellite screens, this year’s Festival expressed a powerful convergence; we were present, together, as a community connected through the work. And it is work that has already changed those who experienced it.”
Kim Yutani
“We are so grateful for this year’s jurors who brought their expertise and passion to their decision-making process,” said the Festival’s Director of Programming Kim Yutani, “We congratulate the award winners and we’re so thankful to each and every film in the program that made the 2022 Sundance Film Festival such a huge success.”
The awards announcement marked a key point of the 2022 Festival, where 84 feature-length and 59 short films — selected from 14,849 submissions — were showcased online via the Festival’s online platform; a selection of the program played at 7 Satellite Screen locations across the United States.
The 2022 Sundance Film Festival jurors were: Chelsea Barnard, Marielle Heller, and Payman Maadi for U.S. Dramatic Competition; Garrett Bradley, Joan Churchill, and Peter Nicks for U.S. Documentary Competition; Andrew Haigh, Mohamed Hefzy, and La Frances Hui for World Cinema Dramatic Competition; and Emilie Bujès, Patrick Gaspard, and Dawn Porter for World Cinema Documentary Competition. Joey Soloway was the juror for the NEXT competition section. Penelope Bartlett, Kevin Jerome Everson, and Blackhorse Lowe juried the Short Film Program Competition.
Until next year, I’ll see you at the movies!
Larry Gleeson, left, with Hollywood starlet, Angie Dickinson. (Photo credit: HollywoodGlee)
Having watched Adam McKay’s latest film, Don’t Look Up, I am pleased to report the emergent theme ‘Fighting the System’ for the upcoming Sundance Film Festival, slated for January 20th to the 30th, 2022.
By Vanessa Zimmer
Two years of hunkering down in the face of a worldwide pandemic, battered almost daily by political divisiveness and racial strife, tends to make one rebellious.
It makes sense, then, to see that defiant spirit reflected in the 2022 Sundance Film Festival program lineup — as well as a tendency for filmmakers to experiment during the lockdown with different ways of telling their stories, often crossing genre lines in the process.
“The films we saw this year were really made against the odds, under challenging circumstances, (with filmmakers) being inventive in how they’re telling their stories, in the way they explore intimacy, just creating films in a way that is imaginative,” says Kim Yutani — the Festival’s director of programming since 2018 — in a Zoom interview. Yutani, who started out programming short films for the Sundance Institute 15 years ago, is quietly passionate about the 2022 lineup.
Festival programmers, who this year painstakingly whittled down 3,762 feature-length submissions to the final 82 selections — and that doesn’t count Shorts, Midnight, and other film categories; total submissions were 14,849 — strive to create a balanced slate of films each year. Under Yutani’s direction, this team seeks films that are meaningful and inspiring, in addition to being simply entertaining.
“We want films that entertain because it’s a festival,” Yutani stresses. “I go to festivals to be entertained, but also to have those very significant, meaningful moments… where the conversations are inspired by the films that we are seeing, the filmmakers we are discovering, the work that is launched at Sundance that we will continue to talk about throughout the year — through, hopefully, awards season.”
She adds that last part with a broad smile because she knows what she’s talking about. Yutani has seen Sundance-supported films like Judas and the Black Messiah, The Father, and Promising Young Woman, and their casts and crews, perform strongly in countless awards competitions, including the Oscars.
Below, dive into some of Yutani’s initial observations about the 2022 Sundance Film Festival lineup.
Fighting the System
Thandiwe Newton stars in God’s Country.
As the 2022 lineup came together: “One of the themes that we saw emerge this year was around fighting the system,” Yutani said. “And that felt very connected to the times we’ve been living through.”
From the pursuit of democracy to the battle over control of women’s bodies — “and also just calling into question institutions, corporations, these big establishments” — that theme surfaced time and again across the 82 feature films, both fictional and documentary, Yutani says.
Examples:
DOWNFALL: The Case Against Boeing (Premieres), a Rory Kennedy documentary that explores two deadly Boeing 737 crashes and looks at “the cost of human life through corporate greed,” says Yutani.
God’s Country (Premieres), which finds a Black college professor, played with intensity by Thandiwe Newton, consistently undermined and fought prejudice at every turn.
Master (U.S. Drama), also portraying racism in an academic setting, follows three Black women at an elite New England university. It enfolds a supernatural element, which leads us to the next theme Yutani observes in the 2022 films:
Genre-Blending
FINAL CUT imagines what could happen when real zombies infiltrate a zombie movie.
Typically, the Festival’s Midnight section showcases horror and psychological thrillers, and it will at the 2022 Festival as well, but some of those elements infiltrated other categories in lively fashion. “It seems to me that artists were experimenting and looking at how they were telling their stories by using genre tropes,” says Yutani.
Examples:
FINAL CUT (Premieres), a “delightful film about making a low-budget zombie movie,” as Yutani describes it. “It’s kind of a love letter/romp to filmmaking.” Bérénice Bejo is entertaining: “I have never seen her quite like this, giving roundhouse kicks, a very physical performance, very funny performance,” says Yutani.
Resurrection (Premieres), a suspenseful film starring Rebecca Hall as a single mother haunted by her past. “It goes off the rails in the best possible way,” quips Yutani.
First-Time Sundance Directors
First-time feature-film director Reid Davenport shot I Didn’t See You There from the seat of his wheelchair.
Thirty-nine of the 92 feature-film directors, or 42%, in the lineup are directing their very first feature film. “That really speaks to the nature of discovery at Sundance,” Yutani says, and offers proof that Festival programmers are always looking for new and provocative voices.
Examples:
Leonor Will Never Die (World Drama), by Filipina director (and screenwriter) Martika Ramirez Escobar, is a film hilariously described as the story of a retired filmmaker who falls into a coma after television land on her head and becomes the action hero of her unfinished screenplay. Essentially, this is also a “love letter to filmmaking,” says Yutani.
The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future (World Drama), by Chilean director (and co-screenwriter) Francisca Alegria, a film described by Yutani as an ambitious project that imagines a world where the dead come and go with the living — and which “speaks very meaningfully about the environment.”
Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul (Premieres), by director and screenwriter Adamma Ebo, a mockumentary that “takes a hilarious look at Black religious institutions,” with strong performances from Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall, according to Yutani.
I Didn’t See You There (U.S. Documentary), in which Reid Davenport tells a first-person story from his wheelchair; it is “powerful,” “emotional,” and “inventive,” says Yutani.
When You Finish Saving the World (Premieres), an “exciting debut film” by Jesse Eisenberg and starring Julianne Moore. Eisenberg has been at the Festival before as an actor, but never before as a director (and screenwriter).
Sharp Stick (Premieres), by Lena Dunham, the story of a naive 26-year-old woman living on the fringes of Hollywood. Dunham has been a producer and actor at the Festival, but she appears for the first time as a Sundance director (and screenwriter) at the Festival in 2022 . “It’s exciting to see (Dunham) come back as a major voice in independent cinema,” says Yutani, adding with a laugh: “She takes us into a gray area, challenging audiences — as is her way.”
Strong Biographical Documentaries
Fellow comedian Amy Poehler tells the story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in Lucy and Desi.
The Festival typically screens several films about real people, and 2022 brings in documentaries on some of today’s brightest and most controversial. “These characters who are part of the public consciousness, we want to have deeper dives, to understand them more,” says Yutani.
Examples:
jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy (Premieres), a documentary, by Clarence “Coodie” Simmons and Chize Ozah, with never-before-seen footage from 21 years in the life of musical icon Kanye West
The Princess (Premieres), a documentary, by Ed Perkins, on Princess Diana that challenges much of what we think we know about the people’s princess
La Guerra Civil (Premieres), Eva Longoria Bastón’s documentary on the legendary rivalry between boxers Oscar De La Hoya and Julio César Chávez
Lucy and Desi (Premieres), a documentary directed by actor and comedian Amy Poehler that testifies not only to Lucille Ball’s influence on comedy but also to her acute business sense — as well as the position of power attained by the Cuban-born Desi Arnaz. The film is featured on opening night in Salt Lake City.
We Need to Talk About Cosby (Premieres), a documentary by comedian W. Kamau Bell that examines the public and private persona of comedian and actor Bill Cosby, who was abruptly released from prison this summer after his sexual assault conviction was overturned.
Sundance Film Festival Announces 2022 Short Films & ‘From The Collection’ Retrospective Titles in Celebration of Sundance Institute’s 40th Anniversary
59 Short Films to Debut During 2022 Festival; An Additional 40 Titles That Premiered in Previous Editions of Sundance Will Screen As Well
Park City, UT — The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the Short Film program for the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, as well as the “From the Collection” program, a line-up of 40 short films that will screen online during the Festival to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the nonprofit Sundance Institute. The 2022 short films will all screen in programs or preceding features in-person in Utah, the majority of them will screen online along with the 40th collection, and a small collection will screen in person at seven Satellite Screens venues around the country during the Festival’s second weekend. The Festival takes place from January 20-30, 2022.
Kim Yutani, the Festival’s Director of Programming, said “Short films are such a vital part of the independent storytelling culture that Sundance Institute has consistently put its full support behind. We’re all happy for the opportunity this year’s hybrid in-person and online Festival model is providing us with: to show the present and future of the form alongside some of the most beloved shorts that have screened at the Festival during its history.”
The 59 short films for the 2022 program were selected from an all-time-high 10,374 submissions. Of these submissions, 4,701 were from the U.S., and 5,673 were international. The 2022 program represents work from 26 countries.
The 40 “From the Collection” shorts have all screened in Park City previously and include early works from talent such as Garrett Bradley, Destin Daniel Cretton, Cheryl Dunye, Nash Edgerton, Tamara Jenkins, and Taika Waititi. This selection will play on-demand on the Festival’s online platform through the Explorer Pass and be available to all pass holders from January 20–30 and complement the 59 short films that are premiering in-person and online as part of the 2022 Festival program.
“Our shorts programming team was honored to curate films for this special presentation. With the 2022 Festival celebrating our ability to converge again, it feels especially rewarding to take a look back and appreciate the storytelling community we’ve built and the conversations we’ve helped nurture over time,” said Mike Plante, Senior Programmer, Short Film. “The films selected for the ‘From the Collection’ program run the stylistic and subject matter gamut, and many of the filmmakers behind them have deepened their connection to the Institute in the years since these shorts first premiered in Utah. We’re so excited for audiences to rediscover them as part of their Sundance experience next January.”
The Sundance Film Festival Short Film Program has always been the section of the Festival where most artists have their first experience at Sundance–since the 1980s, the Institute has recognized the creative risk-taking potential behind this abbreviated art form and screened shorts from documentary to animation, narrative to experimental, becoming a launchpad for independent storytellers. Past alumni of the Short Film Program include Andrea Arnold, Lake Bell, Damien Chazelle, Destin Daniel Cretton, Jay and Mark Duplass, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Debra Granik, Rashaad Ernesto Green, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Todd Haynes, Lynne Ramsay, Dee Rees, Joey Soloway, Taika Waititi and many others.
The Institute’s ongoing support for short films extends internationally and year-round, with select Festival shorts presented as a traveling program, at theaters in the U.S., Canada, and Europe each year, and short films and filmmakers participating in regional and virtual online Master Classes geared towards supporting emerging shorts-makers in several cities.
Khozy Rizal’s Makassar is a City for Football Fans, screening in the International Live Action section, has been named the winner of the Sundance Film Festival: Asia Short Film Competition, and Percolate Galactic’s Rendang of Death, screening in the International Animation section, was named Finalist in the Sundance Film Festival: Asia Short Film Competition.
The 2022 Sundance Film Festival Short Film program is presented by Southwest Airlines®.
Of the ‘From the Collection’ projects announced today, 10 won awards during the year they premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
The 2022 Sundance Film Festival Short Films are:
U.S LIVE-ACTION SHORT FILMS Appendage / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Anna Zlokovic, Producers: Alex Familian, Anna Zlokovic, Matthew Green) — A young fashion designer must make the best of it when her anxiety and self-doubt physically manifest into something horrific. Cast: Rachel Sennott, Eric Roberts.
Champ / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Hannah Peterson, Producers: Taylor Shung, Alex Coco) — After basketball practice one night, Genevieve reveals a dark secret about their coach to her teammates. Wielding strategy and grit off the court, Genevieve works together with her teammates to find a way to retaliate. Cast: Eva Noblezada, Lulu Davis, Iris Cook, Madison Holden. World Premiere.
Chaperone/ U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Sam Max, Producers: Russell Kahn, Sam Max, Lio Mehiel, Patrick Murray, Katie Schiller) — An unnamed figure picks up a young man in his car. As the two drive together, and settle into an austere rental house in the country, the details of their arrangement become guttingly clear. Cast: Zachary Quinto, Russell Kahn. U.S. Premiere.
Close Ties to Home Country / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Akanksha Cruczynski, Producer: Felicia Ferrara) — Millennial immigrant Akanksha waits for her sister’s visit from India — they haven’t seen each other in nine years! Meanwhile, she’s dogsitting the fancy Frenchie of Instagram influencers India and Harry, who themselves are on a trip to India’s namesake. Cast: Akanksha Cruczynski, Bisou [Timothée], Cassie Kramer, Simon Hedger, Sophia Rafiqi.
Daddy’s Girl / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Lena Hudson, Producers: Clea DeCrane, Thomas Matthews, Lena Hudson ) — A young woman’s charming but overbearing father helps her move out of her wealthy, older boyfriend’s apartment. Cast: Tedra Millan, Peter Friedman. World Premiere.
F^¢K ‘€M R!GHT B@¢K/ U.S.A. (Director: Harris Doran, Screenwriters: Harris Doran, Emmanuel ‘DDm’ Williams, Producers: Doris Casap, Harris Doran, James Burkhalter, Haley Geffen) — A queer, Black, aspiring Baltimore rapper must outwit his vengeful day-job boss in order to avoid getting fired after accidentally eating an edible. Cast: Emmanuel ‘DDm’ Williams, Kara Young, Catherine Curtin. World Premiere.
Hallelujah / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Victor Gabriel, Producer: Duran Jones) — In Compton, California, two brothers stuck in arrested development have to figure out how to handle their annoying, fried-chicken-hating, bookworm nephew, as he attempts to hang himself with a garden hose. Cast: Bruce A. Lemon, Richard Nevels, Stephen Laroy Thomas, Mariah Pharms, Damon Rutledge, Maelina Gibson. World Premiere.
Huella / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Gabriela Ortega, Producers: Helena Sardinha, Rafael Thomaseto) — When the death of her grandmother unleashes a generational curse, a disenchanted flamenco dancer resigned to a desk job is forced to experience the five stages of grief through a visit from her female ancestors. Cast: Shakira Barrera, Denise Blasor, Carla Valentine.
IF I GO WILL THEY MISS ME / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Walter Thompson-Hernández, Producer: Stuart McIntyre) — Lil’ Ant is obsessed with Pegasus, the Greek mythological character, since first learning about him at school in Watts, California. He begins to notice imaginary airplane people around his home, and yearns to fly with them. Cast: Anthony Harris Jr. World Premiere.
Starfuckers/ U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Antonio Marziale, Producer: Eli Raskin) — An intimate evening between a film director and an escort is disrupted when a familiar face arrives. Cast: Antonio Marziale, Cole Doman, Jonathan Slavin. World Premiere.
Training Wheels / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Alison Rich, Producers: Olivia Aguilar, Bridgett Greenberg, Laura Schwartz, Peter Principato) — A socially inept woman rents one man to prepare for another. Cast: Alison Rich, George Basil, Jack Cutmore-Scott, Zeke Nicholson, Kathy Yamamoto. World Premiere. DAY ONE
While Mortals Sleep / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Alex Fofonoff, Producer: Matthew James Reilly) — When a cold case novelist’s career implodes, she seeks refuge at her friend’s remote vacation home. Upon arrival, she encounters a strange couple who claim to be the caretakers. As tensions build, a dark secret begins to emerge. Cast: Carie Kawa, Grace Morrison, Will Brill. World Premiere.
Work / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: April Maxey, Producer: Skylar Andrews) — Unable to move on from a breakup, Gabi, a queer Latina freelance editor, impulsively drops into an old job at an underground lap dance party, where she unexpectedly runs into a friend from her past. Cast: Marisela Zumbado, Elaine Whae. World Premiere.
You Go Girl! / U.S.A. (Director: Shariffa Ali, Screenwriters: Shariffa Ali, Kamilah Long, Courtney Williams) — Audrey, a New York City comedian who can make a joke of any situation, faces a staggering challenge in the beautiful mountains of Oregon. Can this city woman overcome her fears and rise? Cast: Tiffany Mann. World Premiere.
INTERNATIONAL LIVE ACTION SHORT FILMS Breathe/ New Zealand (Director and Screenwriter: Stephen Kang, Producer: Mhairead Connor) — At twelve years old, gifted Jaehee uses an unorthodox healing method that propels her into conflict with her overbearing father. Cast: Gloria Zhang, CJ Hwang. World Premiere.
Bump / Canada (Director and Screenwriter: Maziyar Khatam, Producer: Anya Chirkova) — A young man’s unwillingness to let go of a trivial encounter leads him to seek retribution. Cast: Maziyar Khatam, Dylan Ray Hatton. U.S. Premiere.
Egúngún (Masquerade) / Nigeria (Director and Screenwriter: Olive Nwosu, Producer: Alex Polunin) — In search of healing, a young woman returns home, to her birthplace: Lagos, Nigeria. Cast: Sheila Chukwulozie, Teniola Aladese.
The Headhunter’s Daughter / Philippines (Director and Screenwriter: Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan, Producer: Hannah Schierbeek) — Leaving her family behind, Lynn traverses the harrowing roads of the Cordilleran highlands to try her luck in the city as a country singer. Cast: Ammin Acha-ur. World Premiere.
Love Stories on the Move / Romania (Director and Screenwriter: Carina Gabriela Dașoveanu, Producer: Carina Gabriela Dașoveanu) — Lili, a taxi driver, is trying to save her marriage with Dani, an amateur fisherman. Her fares expose Lili to several love stories really different from her own. Cast: Ilinca Hărnuț, Andi Vasluianu. North American Premiere.
Maidenhood / Mexico (Director: Xochitl Enriquez Mendoza, Screenwriters: Xochitl Enriquez Mendoza, Samuel Sánchez Tual, Producer: Eréndira Hernández) — Catalina submits to the tradition of her people to demonstrate her purity and worth as a woman to her beloved, but her body betrays her and she fails to demonstrate her chastity. Cast: Emma Aquilar Malacara, Héctor Ortíz Valdovinos, Mayra Sérbulo, Maira Jiménez Desales. World Premiere.
MAKASSAR IS A CITY FOR FOOTBALL FANS / Indonesia/France (Director and Screenwriter: Khozy Rizal, Producers: John Badalu, Bruno Smadja, Khozy Rizal) — In a city where men have to go crazy about football, Akbar has to pretend to love the game in order to prevent rejection from his new college friends. Cast: Sabri Sahafuddin, Muh. Saleh Hasanuddin, Atdriansyah Arismunandar. North American Premiere.DAY ONE
Motorcyclist’s Happiness Won’t Fit Into His Suit / Mexico (Director: Gabriel Herrera, Screenwriters: Gabriel Herrera, Stefanie Reinhard, Producer: Susana Bernal) — There he sits, proudly on his beautiful motorbike, which he would never loan to anyone. He is certain that he alone can explore the jungle. A playful role-reversal reenactment, taking aim at the hubris of colonial conquerors. Cast: David Illiescas, Ángel Morales.
Orthodontics / Islamic Republic of Iran (Director and Screenwriter: Mohammadreza Mayghani, Producers: Mohammadreza Mayghani, Baran Sarmad) — Teenage girl Amitis, who always has headgear as part of orthodontic treatment, suddenly does something strange to her friend, Sarah. Cast: Maryam Hossieni, Yas Farkhondeh, Arezou Ali. North American Premiere.
Precious Hair & Beauty / United Kingdom (Director and Screenwriter: John Ogunmuyiwa, Producers: Sophia Gibber, Tony Longe, Lene Bausager) — An ode to the mundanity and madness of the high street, told through the window of an African hair salon. Cast: Tomi Ogunjobi, Adjani Salmon, Kemi Lofinmakin, Michael Akinsulire. U.S. Premiere. DAY ONE
Reckless / Sweden (Director and Screenwriter: Pella Kågerman, Producers: Eliza Jones, Markus Waltå) — Stockholm, 2121: an underwater city is blasted into the bedrock. In a society on the verge of being crushed by mounting water pressure, Nikki’s highest wish is to get back together with her ex-boyfriend. Cast: ElleKari Bergerud, Amed Bozan. International Premiere.
THE RIGHT WORDS / France (Director and Screenwriter: Adrian Moyse Dullin, Producer: Lucas Tothe) — Kenza and her little brother Mahdi regularly humiliate one another on social media in cruel ways. As they travel by bus, Kenza puts her brother to the test: professing his love for Jada, the girl that he loves. Cast: Yasser Osmani, Sanya Salhi, Aya Halal.
Sandstorm (Mulaqat)/ Pakistan (Director and Screenwriter: Seemab Gul, Producers: Abid Aziz Merchant, Seemab Gul) — Zara, a teenage girl, shares a sensual dance video with her virtual boyfriend, who begins to blackmail her into meeting him in person. Will Zara give in to this stranger’s increasing demands or will she set herself free? Cast: Parizae Fatima, Hamza Mushtaq.
Shark / Australia (Director: Nash Edgerton, Screenwriters: Nash Edgerton, David Michôd, Producers: Michele Bennett, Lucia Nicolai, Marcello Paolillo) — The continuing adventures of Jack, who loves to prank. But in his latest relationship, he may have finally met his match. Cast: Rose Byrne, Nash Edgerton.DAY ONE
Tundra / Cuba (Director: José Luis Aparicio, Screenwriter: Carlos Melian, Producers: Leila Montero, Daniela Muñoz, Gabriel Aleman, Jose Luis Aparicio) — Walfrido dreams of the Red Woman, whose image persists and becomes an obsession. Something tells him she is near. Over the course of a day, Walfrido will follow her trail as he travels through the suburbs of an infested city. Cast: Mario Guerra, Neysi Alpizar. North American Premiere.
Warsha / France/Lebanon (Director and Screenwriter: Dania Bdeir, Producer: Coralie Dias) — A Syrian migrant working as a crane operator in Beirut volunteers to cover a shift on one of the most dangerous cranes, where he is able to find his freedom. Cast: Khansa. World Premiere.
A wild patience has taken me here / Brazil (Director and Screenwriter: Érica Sarmet, Producers: Lívia Perez, Silvia Sobral, Érica Sarmet) — Tired of loneliness, a middle-aged motorcyclist goes to a lesbian party for the first time. There she meets four young queers who share their home and affections. An encounter of generations, a tribute to those who brought us here. Cast: Zélia Duncan, Bruna Linzmeyer, Camila Rocha, Clarissa Ribeiro, Lorre Motta. North American Premiere.
U.S. NONFICTION SHORT FILMS Chilly and Milly / United States (Director and Screenwriter: William David Caballero, Producers: William David Caballero, Elaine Del Valle) — Exploring the director’s father’s chronic health problems, as a diabetic with kidney failure, and his mother’s role as his eternal caretaker. A combination of 3D-modeled/composited characters, with cinema verité scenes from a documentary shot over 13 years ago. World Premiere.
Deerwoods Deathtrap / United States (Director: James P. Gannon, Producers: James P Gannon, Joseph K Gannon, Matt Ferrin, April Gannon, Chris Cipriano, James D Cochran) — Fifty years ago, Betty and Jack were hit by a train and survived. This is their story. Subjects: Elizabeth Gannon, John W Gannon. World Premiere. Kicking the Clouds/ United States (Director: Sky Hopinka) — An experimental documentary centered on a 50-year-old cassette tape of a Pechanga language lesson between the director’s grandmother and great-grandmother, and contextualized by an interview with his mother in his Pacific Northwest hometown. World Premiere.
Long Line of Ladies / United States (Directors: Rayka Zehtabchi, Shaandiin Tome, Producers: Garrett Schiff, Pimm Tripp-Allen, Rayka Zehtabchi, Sam Davis, Dana Kurth) — A girl and her community prepare for her Ihuk, the once-dormant coming of age ceremony of the Karuk and Yurok tribes of Northern California. World Premiere.DAY ONE
The Martha Mitchell Effect/ United States (Directors: Anne Alvergue, Debra McClutchy, Producers: Beth Levison, Judith Mizrachy) — She was once as famous as Jackie O. And then she tried to take down a President. Martha Mitchell was the unlikeliest of whistleblowers: a Republican wife who was discredited by Nixon to keep her quiet. Until now. World Premiere.
The Panola Project/ United States (Directors and Screenwriters: Rachael DeCruz, Jeremy S. Levine, Producers: Jeremy S. Levine, Rachael DeCruz) — Highlighting the heroic efforts of Dorothy Oliver to keep her small town of Panola, Alabama safe from COVID-19. A chronicle of how an often-overlooked rural Black community came together in creative ways to survive.
Stranger Than Rotterdam with Sara Driver / United States (Directors: Lewie Kloster, Noah Kloster, Screenwriter: Sara Driver) — In 1982, the completion of Jim Jarmusch’s sophomore film, Stranger Than Paradise, hinged on producer Sara Driver’s willingness and ability to smuggle one of the world’s rarest and most controversial films across the Atlantic Ocean. U.S. Premiere. DAY ONE
Sub Eleven Seconds / United States (Director: Bafic, Producers: Chloe Sultan, Mahfuz Sultan, Virgil Abloh) — A rumination on time, loss, and hope, and a poetic imagining of the quest of Sha’Carri Richardson, a young track & field athlete, to achieve her dream of qualifying for the Olympic Games. World Premiere.
ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (Udeyonv) (What They’ve Been Taught)/ United States (Director: Brit Hensel, Producers: Taylor Hensel, Adam Mazo, Kavi Pillay, Tracy Rector) — This film explores expressions of reciprocity in the Cherokee world, brought to life through a story told by an elder and first language speaker. World Premiere.
What Travelers Are Saying About Jornada del Muerto/ United States (Director: Hope Tucker) — Visitors and residents of New Mexico’s Tularosa Basin, site of the first detonation of an atomic bomb, contribute to the production of public memory as they offer reckonings and advice about making “the journey of the dead.”
You’ve Never Been Completely Honest / United States (Director and Screenwriter: Joey Izzo, Producers: Andy Ruse, Jesy Odio) — Through animation and reenactment, bringing to life Gene Church’s original, never-before-heard interview where he recounts harrowing physical torture and brainwashing he endured at a secretive 4-day business seminar in California, 1970. Cast: Phil Burgers, Pat Healy, Max Baumgarten, Bill O’Neill, Ian Bratschie, Demorge Brown, Brian Lee Hughes. World Premiere.
INTERNATIONAL NONFICTION SHORT FILMS $75,000 / France/Mali (Director and Screenwriter: Moïse Togo) — Highlighting the biological aspect of albinism, a genetic and hereditary abnormality that affects not only pigmentation, but also and above all the physical and moral conditions of people with albinism.
Displaced / Kosovo (Director and Screenwriter: Samir Karahoda, Producer: Eroll Bilibani) — In postwar Kosovo, driven to keep their beloved sport table tennis alive, two local players wander from one obscure location to another carrying with them their club’s only possession: their tables. U.S. Premiere.
Listen To the Beat of our Images / French Guiana/France (Directors: Audrey Jean-Baptiste, Maxime Jean-Baptiste, Producer: Gérard Azoulay) — Sixty years ago, France decided to establish its space center in French Guiana. 600 Guianan people were expropriated to allow France to realize its dream of space conquest. This film gives a voice to a silenced population made invisible.
Prayers for Sweet Waters / South Africa/United Kingdom (Director: Elijah Ndoumbe, Producer: Naeem Dxvis) — Stories intersect across vivid realities and dreamscapes to submerge us into the worlds of three transgender sex workers living in Cape Town, South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lead Artists: Flavirina Nana, Gulam Petersen, Wes Leal.
U.S. ANIMATION SHORT FILMS the HORK/ United States (Director: Nicole Stafford) — In an alternate dimension, the stoic god of Power-Unrecognized waits for unrelenting Greed to come and consume her power. World Premiere.
Meal on the Plate / United States/China (Director and Screenwriter: Chenglin Xie, Producers: Chenglin Xie, Michelle Yu Du) — You are what you eat. In a world where people start to look like the thing they eat most, you can take this quite literally. When a newcomer prefers different eating habits, the visible consequences turn the world upside down. North American Premiere.
Soft Animals / United States/United Kingdom (Director: Renee Zhan, Producer: Jesse Romain) — Two ex-lovers cross paths in a train station. Their animal instincts take over as they reminisce. Cast: Paul Panting, Joanna Ruiz.
We Are Here / United States (Directors: Doménica Castro, Constanza Castro, Producers: Doménica Castro, Constanza Castro) — What is it like to walk this land in the shoes of an immigrant under 30? Reflections of the people that immigrated to the U.S. as children are a reminder to look beyond citizenship. Cast: Dulce Valencia, Deron Ingraham, Valeria Marchesi. World Premiere.
INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION SHORT FILMS Bestia / Chile (Director: Hugo Covarrubias, Screenwriters: Martín Erazo, Hugo Covarrubias, Producers: Tevo Díaz, Hugo Covarrubias) — The life of a secret police agent during the Chilean military dictatorship. Her relationship with her dog, her body, her fears and frustrations all reveal grim fractures in her mind and in the country. U.S. Premiere.
THE FOURTH WALL / Islamic Republic of Iran (Director and Screenwriter: Mahboobeh Kalaee, Producer: Mahboobeh Kalaee) — Home and family, relationships, desires, wishes: all captured in a kitchen. The stuttering boy is alone there, playing with his imagination. North American Premiere.
Goodbye Jerome! (Au revoir Jérôme!) / France (Directors and Screenwriters: Gabrielle Selnet, Adam Sillard, Chloé Farr, Producer: Moïra Marguin) — Having just arrived in paradise, Jerome sets out to find his wife Maryline. In the course of his search, he sinks into a surreal and colorful world in which no one seems to be able to help him. International Premiere. DAY ONE
Night Bus / Taiwan (Director and Screenwriter: Joe Hsieh, Producers: Wan Lin Lee, Joe Hsieh, Joe Chan) — On a late-night bus, a panicked scream shatters the night’s calm. A necklace is stolen, followed by a tragic and fatal road accident. The series of intriguing events that follows reveal love, hatred, and vengeance. Cast: Shu Fang Chen, Ming Hsiu Tsai, Yu Fang Lee, Shing Ming Wang, Shang Sing Guo, Pi Li Yeh.
Rendang of Death / Indonesia (Directors: Percolate Galactic, Andri “Yujin Sick”, Screenwriter: Ryan S. Jackson, Producers: Percolate Galactic, Michaela C. Levi, Samantha K. Jackson) — In a quaint Padang restaurant, filled with people enjoying their lunch break, two bros put their friendship to the test when it turns out that only one plate remains of their favorite dish: The Rendang of Death. Featuring: Alva “Dom” Delanova, Sandy Octavia G, Muhammad “Adjuy” Fajrur Rahmat, Unit Satuan Bengkel, Angelica Kosasih, PS Jati.
Socrates’ Adventures in the Under Ground/ Mexico (Director and Screenwriter: Aria Covamonas, Producer: Aria Covamonas) — A Marxist-Leninist-Maoist revision of the Allegory of the Cave, filled with talking animals who shall be late and bourgeois queens who would like to see you without head, exactly as Plato intended. U.S. Premiere.
Swallow the Universe / France (Director and Screenwriter: Nieto, Producer: Nicolas Schmerkin) — A blood-and-thunder saga of a young child lost in Manchuria’s deep jungles. His sudden presence creates complete anarchy in the fauna’s primitive world, until then perfectly organized.
Sweet Nothing / Switzerland (Directors and Screenwriters: Joana Fischer, Marie-Christine Kenov, Producer: Jürgen Haas) — Rosa is sunbathing in her garden while the gardener is working next door. She watches the gardener, increasingly intoxicated by the tender way he handles the flowers. Voice Actors: Luana Brügger, Michael Lörli. U.S. Premiere.
Zoon / Germany (Director: Jonatan Schwenk, Screenwriters: Jonatan Schwenk, Merlin Flügel, Producer: Jonatan Schwenk) — Residing in a dark swamp at the bottom of a nocturnal forest, a group of gleaming axolotls pursue lustful games. The creatures relish nuzzling one another and nibbling their companions’ limbs. World Premiere.
FROM THE COLLECTION SHORT FILMS 575 Castro St. / U.S.A (Director: Jenni Olson) — Set to the original audio cassette recorded by Harvey Milk in November 1977 to be played “in the event of my death by assassination.” Non-Fiction. 2009 Sundance Film Festival
All Water Has a Perfect Memory / U.S.A., Mexico (Director:Natalia Almada) — A poignant, experimental documentary that explores the effects of tragedy and remembrance on a bicultural family. Non-Fiction. 2002 Sundance Film Festival
Alone/ U.S.A. (Director: Garrett Bradley, Producers: Lauren Domino, Dolly Turner) — An investigation into the layers of mass incarceration and its shaping of the modern Black American family, seen through the eyes of a single mother in New Orleans, Louisiana. Non-Fiction. 2017 Sundance Film Festival, Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction
Boneshaker / U.S.A. (Director: Nuotama Frances Bodomo, Producers: Shruti Ganguly, Alana Pryor Ackerman) — Lost in America, an African family travels to a Louisiana church to find a cure for its problem child. Fiction. 2013 Sundance Film Festival
Brotherhood / Tunisia, U.S.A., Canada, Qatar (Director: Meryam Joobeur, Producer: Annick Blanc, Maria Gracia Turgeon) — Tension rises between a hardened Tunisian shepherd and his son when the latter returns home after a long journey with a new wife. Fiction. 2019 Sundance Film Festival
Bugcrush / U.S.A. (Director: Carter Smith, Producer: Erin Wile) — A small-town high school loner’s fascination with a dangerously seductive new kid leads him into something much more sinister than he ever could have imagined. Fiction. 2006 Sundance Film Festival, Jury Prize Short Filmmaking
The Burden / Sweden (Director: Niki Lindroth von Bahr, Producer: Kalle Wettre) — In a dark musical enacted in a modern marketplace situated next to a large freeway, employees of various commercial venues deal with boredom and existential anxiety by performing cheerful musical turns. The apocalypse is a tempting liberator. Animation. 2018 Sundance Film Festival
Butter Lamp / France, China (Director: Hu Wei, Producer: Julien Féret) — A photographer weaves unique links among nomadic families Fiction. 2014 Sundance Film Festival
Charlie and the Rabbit / U.S.A. (Directors and Producers: Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, Robert Machoian, ) — Charlie, a four-year-old who loves Bugs Bunny, decides to hunt a rabbit of his own. Fiction. 2010 Sundance Film Festival
Counterfeit Kunkoo / India (Director: Reema Sengupta, Producers: Kunal Punjabi, Surekha Sengupta) — Smita discovers a strange prerequisite to renting a home in middle-class Mumbai, a city that houses millions. She would make an ideal tenant, except for one glaring flaw — she is an Indian woman without a husband. Fiction. 2018 Sundance Film Festival
Deer Flower / U.S.A., South Korea (Director: Kangmin Kim, Producers: Kijin Kim, Giulia Caruso. Music: Kohyang, Daniel Eaton, Namkook In, Louis Lopez, Joseph Santa Maria) — Dujung, an elementary school student, goes to a farm in the suburbs with his parents. While his parents believe that the farm’s expensive and rare specialty will strengthen their son’s body, Dujung suffers side effects. Animation. 2016 Sundance Film Festival
Do No Harm / Hong Kong (Director: Roseanne Liang, Producer: Hamish Mortland) — 3 a.m. 1980s Hongjing. In an aging private hospital, a single-minded surgeon is forced to break her physician’s oath when violent gangsters storm in to stop a crucial operation. Fiction. 2017 Sundance Film Festival
Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma/ U.S.A. (Director: Topaz Jones, rubberband., Producers:Simon Davis, Eric McNeal, Luigi Rossi, Jason Sondock, Kevin Storey) — The Black ABCs were born in 1970, when Black educators in Chicago developed alphabet flash cards to provide Black-centered teaching materials to the vastly white educational landscape. Fifty years later, 26 scenes provide an update to their meanings. Non-Fiction. 2021 Sundance Film Festival, Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction
Family Remains / U.S.A. (Director: Tamara Jenkins, Producers: Scott Macaulay, Robin O’Hara) — A mother and daughter are marooned in a sleepy community 10 years after the disappearance of the girl’s father. Fiction. 1994 Sundance Film Festival, Award for Excellence in Short Filmmaking
Fe26/ U.S.A. (Director: Kevin Jerome Everson, Producer: Madeleine Molyneaux) — Two gentlemen make a living hustling metal in Cleveland, Ohio. Non-Fiction. 2014 Sundance Film Festival
For Nonna Anna / Canada (Director & Producer: Luis De Filippis, Producer: Lucah Rosenberg, Lee Nava Rastegar) — A trans girl caring for her Italian grandmother assumes that her nonna disapproves of her. Instead, she discovers a tender bond in their shared vulnerability. Fiction. 2018 Sundance Film Festival, Short Film Special Jury Prize
Gesture Down (I Don’t Sing)/ U.S.A. (Director:Cedar Sherbert, Producer: Sherman Alexie, Cedar Sherbert, Lois Welc) — A graceful and personal adaptation of the poem “Gesture Down to Guatemala” by the late Native American writer James Welch. Non-Fiction. 2006 Sundance Film Festival
Greetings from Africa / U.S.A. (Director & Producer: Cheryl Dunye, Producers: Mary Jane Skalski, Karen Yaeger) — A candid view of the state of things in 1990s lesbian dating. Fiction. 1995 Sundance Film Festival
Hold Up / U.S.A. (Director: Madeleine Olnek, Producer: Ryan Gomez) — A robber is after more than money at a convenience store holdup. Fiction. 2006 Sundance Film Festival
Kitchen Sink / New Zealand (Director: Alison Maclean, Producer: Bridget Ikin) — From the bowels of the kitchen sink comes a dark and tender love. A nightmare come true…Fiction. 1991 Sundance Film Festival
La Corona (The Crown) / U.S.A. (Directors & Producers: Isabel Vega, Amanda Micheli:) — Female murderers compete ferociously for a beauty pageant crown in prison. Non-Fiction. 2008 Sundance Film Festival, Honorable Mention Short Filmmaking
Las Palmas / Sweden (Director & Producer: Johannes Nyholm, Producer: Joclo) — A middle-aged woman on a holiday in the sun tries to make new friends and have a good time. Fiction. 2012 Sundance Film Festival
Mobilize / Canada (Director: Caroline Monnet, Producer: Anita Lee) — Guided expertly by those who live on the land and are driven by the pulse of the natural world, this story takes us on an exhilarating journey from the far north to the urban south. Non-Fiction. 2016 Sundance Film Festival
More Than Two Hours / Iran (Director: Ali Asgari, Producer: Sasan Salour) — A boy and girl wander the city at 3 a.m. looking for a hospital to cure the girl, but it’s much harder to find one than they thought. Fiction. 2014 Sundance Film Festival
Primavera / Mexico (Director: Claudia Castillo, Producers: Henner Hofmann, Karla Bukantz) — Elba is an introverted and lonely teenager living with her mostly absent mother and her older sister, with whom she has an ambivalent relationship. When her sister decides to run away from home, Elba attends the goodbye party, resulting in an encounter that changes Elba’s outlook on life. Fiction. 2014 Sundance Film Festival
Rejected / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Don Hertzfeldt) — Twisted animated characters strive to survive in the family-friendly world of advertising. Animation. 2001 Sundance Film Festival
Shimásání / U.S.A. (Director: Blackhorse Lowe, Producers: Nanobah Becker, Chad Burris, Heather Rae, David Stevens) — When Mary Jane finds a geography book that shows her an entirely new world, she must decide whether to maintain her traditional Navajo reservation lifestyle with her grandmother or go out into a larger world. Non-Fiction. 2010 Sundance Film Festival
Short Term 12/ U.S.A. (Director & Producer: Destin Daniel Cretton, Producers: Anthony Pang, Michelle Steffes) — A film about kids and the grown-ups who hit them. Fiction. 2009 Sundance Film Festival, Jury Prize Short Filmmaking
Sikumi / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Okpeaha MacLean, Producer: Cara Marcous) — An Inuit hunter inadvertently becomes a witness to a murder. Fiction. 2008 Sundance Film Festival, Jury Prize Short Filmmaking
Sister / U.S.A., China (Director & Producer: Siqi Song) — A man thinks back to his childhood memories of growing up with an annoying little sister in China in the 1990s. What would his life have been like if things had gone differently? Animation. 2019 Sundance Film Festival
Solo un Cargador / Peru (Director & Producer: Juan Alejandro Ramírez) — A meticulously filmed documentary portrait of the hard life of the cargadores who trek through the mountains of Peru with baggage on their backs. Non-Fiction. 2005 Sundance Film Festival
Spider/ Australia (Director: Nash Edgerton, Producer: Nicole O’Donohue) — It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Fiction. 2008 Sundance Film Festival, Honorable Mention Short Filmmaking
The Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal/ U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Matt McCormick) — An experimental documentary that explores the artistic merits of graffiti clean-up programs. Non-Fiction. 2002 Sundance Film Festival
T / U.S.A. (Director: Keisha Rae Witherspoon, Producer: Faren Humes, Jason Fitzroy Jeffers, Monica Sorelle) — A film crew follows three grieving participants of Miami’s annual “T Ball,” where folks assemble to model RIP T-shirts and innovative costumes designed in honor of their dead. Fiction. 2020 Sundance Film Festival
Tom Goes to the Bar/ U.S.A. (Director: Dean Parisot, Producer: Joey Forsyte) — Surrounded by wacky characters, Tom carries on a deadpan monologue while life in Pete’s Bar and Grill goes on around him. Fiction. 1986 Sundance Film Festival
Trevor/ U.S.A. (Director Peggy Rajski, Producer: Peggy Rajski, Randy Stone) — A poignant and liberating look at a 13-year-old as he begins to discover his sexual identity. Fiction.1995 Sundance Film Festival, Honorable Mention Short Filmmaking
Two Cars, One Night / New Zealand (Director: Taika Waititi, Producer: Ainsley Gardiner, Catherine Fitzgerald) — A tale of first love. While waiting for their parents, two boys and a girl meet in the car park of a rural pub. What at first seems to be a relationship based on rivalry soon develops into a close friendship. We learn that love can be found in the most unlikely of places. Fiction. 2004 Sundance Film Festival
Waves ’98 / Lebanon (Director: Ely Dagher, Producers: Nina Najjar, Christina Farah) — Disillusioned with his life in the suburbs of segregated Beirut, Omar makes a discovery that lures him into the depths of the city. He becomes immersed in a world that is so close yet so isolated from reality and finds himself struggling to retain his sense of home. Animation. 2016 Sundance Film Festival
Worst Enemy / U.S.A. (Director: Lake Bell, Producer: Jett Steiger) — A female misanthrope gets herself stuck in a full-body girdle. Fiction. 2011 Sundance Film Festival
Your Dark Hair Ihsan/ U.S.A., Morocco (Director & Producer: Tala Hadid, Producer: Paula Hardy) — A man returns from Europe to his native city in northern Africa, where he remembers his childhood and the mother he lost as a boy. Fiction. 2006 Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival has introduced global audiences to some of the most groundbreaking films of the past three decades, including Flee, CODA, Passing, Summer Of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Clemency, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Zola, On The Record, Boys State, The Farewell, Honeyland, One Child Nation, The Souvenir, The Infiltrators, Sorry to Bother You, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, Brooklyn, Precious, The Cove, Little Miss Sunshine, An Inconvenient Truth, Napoleon Dynamite, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Reservoir Dogs and sex, lies, and videotape.
The Festival is a program of the non-profit Sundance Institute. 2022 Festival sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Acura, AMC+, Chase Sapphire, Adobe; Leadership Sponsors – Amazon Studios, DIRECTV, DoorDash, Dropbox, Netflix, Omnicom Group, WarnerMedia, XRM Media; Sustaining Sponsors – Aflac, Audible, Canada Goose, Canon U.S.A., Inc., Dell Technologies, IMDbPro, Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold, Rabbit Hole Bourbon & Rye, Southwest Airlines®, Unity Technologies, University of Utah Health, White Claw Hard Seltzer; Media Sponsors – The Atlantic, IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Shadow and Act, Variety, Vulture. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations helps offset the Festival’s costs and sustain the Institute’s year-round programs for independent artists. https://festival.sundance.org/
Sundance Institute As a champion and curator of independent stories for the stage and screen, Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, film composing, and digital media to create and thrive. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute’s signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. Sundance Collab, a digital community platform, brings artists together to learn from each other and Sundance advisors and connect in a creative space, developing and sharing works in progress. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences and artists to ignite new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Sundance Institute has supported such projects as Clemency, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Zola, On The Record, Boys State, The Farewell, Honeyland, One Child Nation, The Souvenir, The Infiltrators, Sorry to Bother You, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, City So Real, Top of the Lake, Between the World & Me, Wild Goose Dreams and Fun Home. Join the Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube
Sundance Circle, Institute Storyteller and Supporter Members Get Early Sale Access: Packages, December 15, Individual Tickets January 5
General Public: Packages, December 17, Individual Tickets January 6
Park City, UT – The nonprofit Sundance Institute has announced several key aspects of how their 2022 Sundance Film Festival will take place in person and online January 20-30, 2022, including sharing this year’s Satellite Screen partners and locations, ticket package details and on-sale dates, and elaborating upon earlier health and safety guidelines.
“Our programming team, led by the fearless Kim Yutani, is deep into screening the mountain of submissions we have already received this year,” said Festival Director Tabitha Jackson, “As our press and industry offices open in preparation for the next edition of our festival we are excited to share what details we can today, anticipate sharing more as we know more, and can’t wait to meet audiences wherever they are, including in Utah, in January.”
PLATFORM NOW LIVE
The Festival platform is now live and gives a first glimpse at the 2022 look and feel, an expression of the concept of convergence that powers the Festival experience this year. The Festival website will be the homebase this year where audiences can buy tickets, explore the program, watch films and other content online, and engage with the community. This early launch includes a dynamic trailer for the 2022 Festival, a preview of all of this year’s ticket products (available starting in December), a comprehensive how-to guide for the online and in-person experiences, and an explanation of our latest health and safety measures. This is an introduction to what the Festival is about: groundbreaking storytelling and community convergence. The platform will host key informational updates alongside the Festival’s full program of features, plus short films, episodic work, and New Frontier projects.
SATELLITE SCREENS
Seven independent arthouse cinemas across the United States have been selected to showcase a specially-curated selection of Festival films and connect with local audiences during the Festival’s closing weekend, Friday, January 28, through Sunday, January 30, 2022. The selected Satellite Screen theaters are:
TICKET PACKAGES & ON-SALE DATES
The full program of the 2022 Festival will meet audiences in Utah and online. The broad range of ticketing options ensures that everyone from the fanatic to the casually curious can participate at levels that make sense for them, with individual tickets starting at $20. After an early sale for Sundance Circle members (October 15), package sales and/or selection begins on December 15 for Sundance Institute’s Sundance Circle, Storyteller and Supporter Members and December 17 for the general public.. Individual ticket sales for Institute Members begin January 5, and for the public, January 6. Satellite Screens are independently ticketed. For details on Institute membership, visit Sundance.org/membership. Each ticket product has limitations on the number of units that may be purchased. Ticket products include:
Individual Tickets
Purchase individual tickets to your must-see features. Join us for a premiere or a second screening, online or in person, to the film (or films!) of your choice. Once you’ve got your ticket, you’re all set — no reservation required.
Price: $20 Dates Valid: Date and time of screening selected
Explorer Pass
Available to audiences all over the world, this pass unlocks online access to the immersive projects of New Frontier, serialized storytelling in Indie Episodic, and visionary short films, including an exclusive program for our online audiences. Price: $50 Dates Valid: January 20–30
Day Package — Online Only
Spend a full day with us via this four-screening online package, which includes early access to ticket selection. Also included on the day your package is valid: all the benefits of our Explorer Pass. Early ticket selection to four online screenings for one day of the 2022 Festival — see available dates below; (note that ticket selection is required for admission to each screening). Access to all Explorer Pass benefits, including New Frontier, Short Film, and Indie Episodic programs, on the day your pass is valid. Price: $100 Dates Valid: Single days, January 22-28
Award-Winners Package
Access eight award-winning feature film screenings, in person or online, during Awards Weekend. Awards will be announced on Friday, January 28, and that weekend (January 29–30) is all about celebrating the winners. Also included: all the benefits of our Explorer Pass. Price: $300 Dates Valid: January 29–30
Salt Lake City Package
Utah residents, this package offers 10 in-person tickets to feature film screenings across all Salt Lake City venues, with early access to ticket selection. Also included: all the benefits of our
Explorer Pass. Early ticket selection for 10 in-person screenings at the Grand Theater, Rose Wagner Theater, Broadway Theaters, or Salt Lake City Library, including premieres, second screenings, and Award-Winner screenings (note that ticket selection is required for admission to each screening). This package requires a Utah billing address to purchase. Price: $500 Dates Valid: January 20–30
Resort Package
If you’re looking to settle in at the Sundance Mountain Resort and catch your must-see titles, this package is for you. You’ll get 10 tickets to in-person Festival features at the Resort from January 20–30, in addition to all the benefits of our Explorer Pass. Price: $650 Dates Valid: January 20–30
Festival Package
This package — historically the most popular way to experience the Festival — offers 10 tickets to in-person or online feature film screenings during the entire Festival, along with early access to ticket selection. Also included: all the benefits of our Explorer Pass. Price: $750 Dates Valid: January 20–30
Full COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement
We require that all participants attending the Festival — or Festival-sanctioned events — in person in Utah to be fully vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine that is approved by the World Health Organization. All vaccinations must be completed at least two weeks prior to traveling to the Festival. The CDC notes that being vaccinated greatly reduces your likelihood of contracting or transmitting the COVID-19 virus. Vaccination maintains your own health and safety, and reduces transmission rates within spaces and at events. We will share information on how to provide proof of vaccination closer to the Festival.
Masks
We require that masks are worn at all times in interior spaces and in queuing lines (this includes outdoor areas such as tents, restrooms, and temporary structures). Masks must be worn to enter these spaces. We recommend masks be worn in all other outdoor settings. This is an important safety measure that not only benefits you but those around you.
2022 Sundance Film Festival
The Festival is a program of the non-profit Sundance Institute. 2022 Festival sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Acura, AMC+, Chase Sapphire, Adobe; Leadership Sponsors – Amazon Studios, DoorDash, Dropbox, Netflix, Omnicom Group, WarnerMedia, XRM Media; Sustaining Sponsors – Aflac, Audible, Canada Goose, Canon U.S.A., Inc., Dell Technologies, IMDbPro, Michelob ULTRA, Rabbit Hole Bourbon & Rye, Southwest Airlines®, Unity Technologies, University of Utah Health, White Claw Hard Seltzer; Media Sponsors – The Atlantic, IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Shadow And Act, Variety, Vulture. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations helps offset the Festival’s costs and sustain the Institute’s year-round programs for independent artists. sundance.org/festival
Sundance Institute
As a champion and curator of independent stories for the stage and screen, Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists in film, theatre, film composing, and digital media to create and thrive.
Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute’s signature Labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. Sundance Collab, a digital community platform, brings artists together to learn from each other and Sundance Advisors and connect in a creative space, developing and sharing works in progress. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences and artists to ignite new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Sundance Institute has supported such projects as Clemency, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Zola, On The Record, Boys State, The Farewell, Honeyland, One Child Nation, The Souvenir, The Infiltrators, Sorry to Bother You, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, City So Real, Top of the Lake, Between the World & Me, Wild Goose Dreams and Fun Home. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
A still from Navalny, an official selection of the U.S. Documentary section at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute).
Elizabeth Banks appears in Call Jane by Phyllis Nagy, an official selection of the Premieres section at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Wilson Webb.
Emily The Criminal (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute)
EMERGENCY
To The End (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute)
Oscar de la Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez appear in La Guerra Civil by Eva Longoria Bastón, an official selection of the Premieres section at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
The Worst Person In The World (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute).
Chiqui (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute).
Downfall: The Case Against Boeing (Photo courtesy of Sundance Institute).
Chloe Okuno
Maika Monroe appears in Watcher by Chloe Okuno, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance.
Joana Vicente
Tabitha JacksonKim Yutani
Larry Gleeson, left, with Hollywood starlet, Angie Dickinson. (Photo credit: HollywoodGlee)
