The Sundance Film Festival is back in Park City. Really. It’s really happening this time. We swear. America’s greatest film festival (well, at one time, it deserved that title, let’s see moving forward…) is returning to the chilly confines of an in-person event in Utah after a two-year pandemic break. Will there be parties? Will people crash the festival? Will any premiere lead to an old-fashioned all-night bidding war? Those questions are hard to answer now, but there is one thing we know: moviegoers will be in attendance, and many screenings have already sold out (many, though, in case you’re looking to crash last minute, have not).
After seemingly financially successful virtual festivals in 2021 and 2022, Sundance has emerged from COVID as a festival in transition. After just two years, Tabitha Jackson “stepped down” as Festival Director in June. Her tenure saw Sundance earn its first Best Picture win with “CODA” (a long time coming) but also controversy over programming the controversial documentary “Jihad Rehab,” a decision the festival later apologized for to the Sundance community for.
Jackson has been replaced by Eugene Hernandez, the one-time founder of Indiewire and the Festival Director of the New York Film Festival for the past three editions. Because Hernandez committed to the NYFF this past fall, he won’t officially take over until the festival’s next edition, its 40th. In the interim, longtime Director of Programming Kim Yutani and Sundance CEO Joanna Vicente, who only arrived from TIFF in October 2021, were in charge of the 2023 slate.
Overall, the buzz on this year’s lineup is generally upbeat, although many films already have distribution. A24 has six films at the festival (even Netflix never went that hard). In contrast, Focus Features, Netflix, and Amazon Studios have two, and MGM, Searchlight Pictures, HBO, ABC News/Hulu, Frontline/PBS, CNN Films/HBO Max, Shudder, Apple TV+, Paramount, and NEON have one each. Even taking into account documentaries, that’s quite a lot of projects locked up. Will that diminish the excitement over “new” discoveries? Well, at worst, we can all agree the festival has good merch this year. At best? So many movies have running times under two hours.
Keeping all that in mind, here are the 25 most buzzed-about and anticipated features at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
“Flora and Son”
World premiere date: Sunday, Jan. 22 at 2:30 PM MT
Director: John Carney
Key Talent: Eve Henson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Buzz: The “Once” and “Sing Street” director returns with another musical dramedy set in Dublin. Gordon-Levitt, who has had his own “500 Days of Summer” and “Mysterious Skin” moments at the fest, portrays an online guitar instructor. This will be one of the hottest tickets from an acquisition standpoint this year.
“Fair Play”
World premiere date: Friday, Jan. 20 at 3:00 PM MT
Director: Chloe Domont
Key Talent: Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich, Eddie Marsan
Buzz: Ehrenreich has been in need of a showcase comeback role. This psychological thriller just might be it. Also, that prime Friday afternoon premiere slot should not be ignored.
“Rye Lane”
World premiere date: Friday, Jan. 20 at 3:00 PM MT
Director: Raine Allen-Miller
Key Talent: David Jonsson, Vivian Oparah
Buzz: Allen-Miller proves she’s a talent to be reckoned with in her feature debut. Jonsson (HBO’s “Industry”) and Oprah (“Teen Spirit”) help fashion an energetic “Before Sunrise” for a new generation.
*Searchlight Pictures release
“Magazine Dreams”
World premiere date: Friday, Jan. 20 at 6:30 PM MT
Director: Elijah Bynum
Key Talent: Jonathan Majors, Haley Bennett, Taylour Paige
Buzz: Bynum returns after 2017’s SXSW drama “Hot Summer Nights,” and the next big MCU villain, Majors, shows it all off as an amateur bodybuilder trying to deal with the intense pressure of a grueling and mentally draining sport.
“Polite Society”
World premiere date: Friday, Jan. 20 at 11:55 PM MT
Director: Nida Manzoor
Key Talent: Priya Kansara, Ritu Arya, Nimra Bucha, Akshay Khanna, Seraphina Beh, Ella Bruccoleri
Buzz: The “We Are Lady Parts” Peabody Award winner returns with her feature debut, an action comedy that promises to be a spring word-of-mouth hit.
*Focus Features release