Sundance isn’t just for film industry insiders. Movie lovers can also attend the festival, which often debuts some of the buzziest movies, along with panel discussions and other events that would have any cinephile salivating.
The Park City, Utah, festival will be held this year from Jan. 24 to Feb. 2 and includes screenings of over 118 films over the 11 days at several theaters in the area. The stacked schedule features the likes of “Miss Americana,” the Taylor Swift documentary, and “Zola,” a buzzy film pulled straight from a viral Twitter thread starring Riley Keough (“The Girlfriend Experience”) and Nicholas Braun (“Succession”). The full lineup, along with more information, is available on the Sundance website.
While passes for the Sundance Film Festival went on sale in October, ticket sales are just beginning. Members can snag their tickets starting Jan. 14 while Park City locals can nab tickets on Jan. 16. The general public can begin purchasing tickets Jan. 21. Options include a ticket package, which ranges from $100 to $700 plus fees, or advance individual tickets for $25 plus fees. Fans can also sign up for a last-minute screening through the eWaitlist.
According to Sundance, only about “20 percent of attendees are press or industry folks” and the other attendees of the festival “are film fans or aspiring filmmakers.” Even better news for movie lovers is that Sundance rarely sells out, and with such a long lineup, fans are bound to be able to get in on some of the action.
This year, Sundance saw a bump in submissions for the fest, with a record-high 15,100 entries. The Sundance Institute says 52 of the films are directed by one or more women, while 40 are directed by one or more filmmakers of color and 18 by one or more people who identify as LGBTQ. The selected films originate from 27 different countries and include 44 filmmakers making their debuts.
“Taylor Swift: Miss Americana,” a documentary about the singer directed by Lana Wilson, will premiere on the first day. Another singer, St. Vincent whose real name is Annie Clark, will also star along with Carrie Brownstein in a narrative feature that satirizes a music documentary called “The Nowhere Inn,” directed by Bill Benz.
Other mega-famous faces include director Julie Taymor’s Gloria Steinem biopic entitled “The Glorias,” which stars Alicia Vikander, Julianne Moore and Janelle Monáe. Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman will star in “The Father,” a drama directed by Florian Zeller. Other buzzy premieres include Angelina Jolie and David Oyelowo in “Come Away,” Ron Howard’s documentary about the California wildfires “Rebuilding Paradise,” Michael Almereyda’s Nikola Tesla biopic “Tesla,” Miranda July’s third feature film “Kajillionaire” and Dee Rees’ film starring Anne Hathaway called “The Last Thing He Wanted.”
“Zola,” directed by Janicza Bravo, is sure to grab attention, since the premise of the film is based on a 148-tweet Twitter thread from October 2015. The story follows two girls who “bond over their ‘hoeism’ and become fast friends,” according to the film description, and continues through their “weekend from hell.”
Other movies generating early buzz include “Minari,” directed and written by Lee Isaac Chung, about a Korean-American boy whose life is turned upside down during a move to rural Arkansas in the ’80s; “Charm City Kings,” directed by Angel Manuel Soto, about The Midnight Clique, the infamous Baltimore dirt bike riders, and starring Jahi Di’Allo Winston and Meek Mill; ” Spaceship Earth,” a documentary by director Matt Wolf; “Run Sweetheart Run,” written and directed by Shana Feste, about a blind date that turns violent; and “Downhill” from Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, about a married couple’s trouble after escaping an avalanche, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell.