At the end of January, film critics and enthusiasts from all over the world gather in snowy Park City, Utah to attend the annual Sundance Film Festival, a celebration of independent film that introduces us to emerging talents and typically produces some of the best films the year has to offer. This year will obviously be a very different festival experience, as Sundance has shifted online for its 2021 festival. Despite being exclusively virtual, Sundance once again unveiled a very impressive and diverse lineup of films that includes many buzzworthy titles, fascinating documentaries and promising directorial debuts.
Without further ado, here are 10 films from this year’s Sundance lineup that are worth keeping an eye on. (to view the full lineup, click here)
*Day One films debuting on the platform to open the Festival will be Censor, CODA, Flee, One for the Road, In The Same Breath, and Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised).
CODA (Director and Screenwriter: Siân Heder, Producers: Philippe Rousselet, Fabrice Gianfermi, Patrick Wachsberger) – Orange is the New Black writer Sian Heder’s latest directorial effort is opening the festival and will undeniably be a tearjerker. The film’s title is an acronym for “Child of Deaf Adults” and is a coming-of-age story that centres around Ruby, who is the only person in her family with the ability to hear. When the state of her family’s fishing business is being threatened, Ruby has to make the difficult choice between staying by her family’s side and them with the business or leaving home and pursuing her passion for music. Cast: Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Daniel Durant, and Marlee Matlin. World Premiere. DAY ONE
How It Ends (Directors, Screenwriters and Producers: Daryl Wein, Zoe Lister-Jones) – Zoe Lister-Jones latest directorial effort is a star-studded, apocalyptic comedy that is sure to be one of the most buzz worthy titles at the fest. The film takes place on the day an asteroid is scheduled to obliterate Earth and stars Lister-Jones as a woman who decides to go on a journey through LA to tie up lose ends with her friends and family. Along the way we meet an eclectic cast of characters portrayed by popular actors including Helen Hunt, Olivia Wilde, Fred Armisen and Nick Kroll. Cast: Zoe Lister-Jones, Cailee Spaeny, Olivia Wilde, Fred Armisen, Helen Hunt, Lamorne Morris. World Premiere, Narrative
In The Earth (Director and Screenwriter: Ben Wheatley, Producer: Andy Starke) – Ben Wheatley’s latest film appears to be a return to form for the English filmmaker and screenwriter who rose to prominence with cult films such as Kill List, High Rise and Free Fire. In the Earth is a timely tale taking place in a world suffering from a deadly virus. When a park ranger and a scientist travel deep into the forest to reach a test site, their journey quickly turns dangerous as the forest starts to come to life around them. Cast: Joel Fry, Ellora Torchia, Hayley Squires, Reece Shearsmith. World Premiere, Narrative
John and the Hole (Director: Pascual Sisto, Screenwriter: Nicolás Giacobone, Producers: Elika Portnoy, Alex Orlovsky, Mike Bowes) – Spanish filmmaker Pascual Sisto’s unconventional coming-of-age story centres around a 13-Year-Old boy who discovers an underground bunker in the woods near his home and decides to trap his family inside and keep them captive, in order to attain complete freedom. John and the Hole sounds like it could be a bold and captivating film that stands-out among the lineup’s lighter and more conventional fare. Cast: Charlie Shotwell, Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Ehle, Taissa Farmiga. World Premiere
Land (Director: Robin Wright, Screenwriters: Jesse Chatham, Erin Dignam, Producers: Allyn Stewart, Lora Kennedy, Leah Holzer, Peter Saraf) – Actress Robin Wright directs and stars in this poignant drama about a woman named Edee who turns to nature and the outside world when she loses the ability to connect with the people around her after a tragic event occurs. The film looks to be a powerful exploration of isolation and the difficulty of moving on. The film is set to release in February right before the 2020/2021 Oscars cutoff, so its possible that Wright could be a serious contender for Best Actress and Best Director. Cast: Robin Wright, Demián Bichir, Kim Dickens. World Premiere, Narrative
Mayday (Director and Screenwriter: Karen Cinorre, Producers: Jonah Disend, Lucas Joaquin, Karen Cinorre, Sam Levy) – Grace Van Patten stars in writer-director Karen Cinorre’s genre piece about a woman named Ana who is mysteriously transported to an alternate world where she becomes entangled with a crew of female soldiers fighting a seemingly endless war. With the guidance of Marsha (Mia Goth), Ana trains as a sharpshooter and discovers a sense of freedom and power that she had not felt before. However, as events unfold, she soon releases like she is not the ruthless killer they expect and she must find a way home before time runs out. Mayday sounds like it could be an exhilarating and inventive addition to the time travel genre. Cast: Grace Van Patten, Mia Goth, Havana Rose Liu, Soko, Théodore Pellerin, Juliette Lewis. World Premiere
Passing (Director and Screenwriter: Rebecca Hall, Producers: Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Margot Hand, Rebecca Hall) – Rebecca Hall’s directorial debut features potentially the most star power out of any title in this year’s lineup. Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga star as two African-American women living in New York in 1929, who are able to “pass” as white and choose to live on opposite sides of the colour line. André Holland, Alexander Skarsgård and Bill Camp round out the impressive supporting cast. The film is a relevant exploration of racial and gender identity that will surely spark conversation. With important themes and crisp black and white cinematography, Passing seems like it could be an early Oscar contender. Cast: Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, André Holland, Alexander Skarsgård, Bill Camp. World Premiere
Prisoners of the Ghostland (Director: Sion Sono, Screenwriters: Aaron Hendry, Reza Sixo Safai, Producers: Michael Mendelsohn, Laura Rister, Ko Mori, Reza Sixo Safai, Nate Bolotin) – After what seems like years of anticipation felt throughout the film community, subversive Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono’s unlikely collaboration with the always unpredictable Nicholas Cage is finally coming to fruition. Cage stars as a ruthless bank robber is hired by a Governor and given five days to retrieve his granddaughter who has been abducted and taken to a supernatural universe. The film is a unique mash-up of multiple genre’s that is sure to immediately gain cult-status. Cast: Nicolas Cage, Sofia Boutella, Nick Cassavetes, Bill Moseley, Tak Sakaguchi, Yuzuka Nakaya. World Premiere, Narrative
The Sparks Brothers (Director: Edgar Wright, Producers: Nira Park, Edgar Wright, George Hencken, Laura Richardson) – Edgar Wright is one of the most recognizable and widely beloved filmmakers in modern cinema, so it should come as no surprise that we decided to include his upcoming music documentary on our list. The film centres around the legendary cult rock duo “Sparks”, a group that may not have attained mainstream success, but have had an influence on almost every art form and genre throughout the past 50 years. Wright’s documentary will be a must-see for music lovers of all ages, regardless of if you’re a fan of Sparks or not. World Premiere, Documentary
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Producers: David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, Joseph Patel) – Questlove of The Roots and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon fame is a man of many talents. He is bringing his vast knowledge of music and culture to his directorial debut: a documentary about the Harlem Cultural Festival, a music festival that took place 100 miles away from Woodstock during the same summer. More than 300,000 people attended and it was considered a significant cultural event, as some of the most prolific African-American artists performed, such as Stevie Wonder and Mavis Staples. In the film, Questlove will reveal archived footage that has been sitting in an basement for over 50 years. Just like Edgar Wright’s The Spark Brothers, this is a must-see for music lovers. World Premiere. DAY ONE
The 2021 Sundance Film Festival will officially kick off on January 28th virtually and will screen 72 feature films, 50 Shorts, 4 Indie Series, and 14 New Frontier Projects in addition to live talks, short film programmes and other content.
Passes and Tickets go on Sale January 7
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