There’s a sense that this year’s Sundance Film Fest will be business as usual, whatever “usual” means in this post-pandemic, post-strikes, post-M&A moment – and now the fires. of Los Angeles forest.
Tech giants, who have long since curtailed their festival buying sprees, are beginning to differentiate themselves among sellers by being either movie-friendly (Amazon) or not so much (Apple, Netflix). As for what’s on sale in the run-up to this year’s Sundance, there are decidedly fewer commercial offerings compared to last year’s action-comedy. Thélmathe story of ghosts Presence and the coming-of-age title My old ass. Nonetheless, there are some sensational titles in this year’s market, including Bill Condon’s latest musical (Kiss of the Spider Woman), Justin Lin’s return to independent cinema (last days) and a lot (like, A plot) potential escapes for new filmmakers.
THR looks at 10 titles likely to attract buyers to the mountain.
IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY
DIRECTOR Amy Berg
BUMB While the music bio-doc is well-trodden documentary territory (which has been well-traveled over the past five years), Berg’s documentary offers a glimpse of the beloved Buckley through the women in his life, including his mother. The use of previously unpublished personal voice messages further distinguishes it from a standard non-fiction portrait.
REPRESENTATIVE Submarine
THE KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN
DIRECTOR Bill Condon
STARS Diego Luna, Jennifer Lopez
BUMB Musicals are rare at Sundance, but even rarer are those from the director of studio hits like Chicago And Dream girls. An adaptation of the Broadway show (based on the novel by Manuel Puig), the film, arguably the festival’s best-selling title, follows two cellmates in a South American prison who form an unlikely bond. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity produce.
SALES CAA, WME
Tonatiuh (left) with Diego Luna in Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
LAST DAYS
DIRECTOR Justin Lin
STARS Sky Yang, Radhika Apte
BUMB Lin is back in Park City for the first time since his film, Better luck tomorrowbowed at Sundance in 2002. After years of work on the Fast and Furious franchise, Lin shifts gears with this drama based on the true story of John Allen Chau, a Christian missionary who travels to the isolated island of North Sentinel. Naveen Andrews and Ken Leung also star.
SALES CAA
MIDDLE CITY
DIRECTORS Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine
BUMB The duo behind the Sundance 2020 favorite Boys State We’re back at the festival with a doc who seems to be equal parts Scooby-Doo And Erin Brockovitch: The film tells the story of a group of teenagers in the 90s who make a student film for their journalism class and end up uncovering a conspiracy involving toxic waste in their community.
SALES Submarine
OH, HI
DIRECTOR Sophie Brooks
STARS Logan Lerman, Molly Gordon
BUMB This deconstructed romantic comedy about the strange rituals of millennial romance could be the indie answer to all those frenzied Netflix offerings. Lerman, the Internet’s Favorite Boyfriend, Stars Alongside The bear Breakout Gordon as a new couple on the obligatory weekend getaway when things take an unexpected turn. Geraldine Viswanathan and John Reynolds co-star.
SALES UTA, WME
Oh hi
Courtesy of the filmmakers
PETER HUJAR’S DAY
DIRECTOR Ira Sachs
STARS Ben Whishaw, Rebecca Hall
BUMB After its Sundance 2023 title Passages becoming one of the year’s critical darlings, Sachs’ follow-up should interest buyers, arriving at a brisk 75 minutes. In a true duo, Whishaw (who played in Passages) plays famous New York photographer Hujar, while Hall plays his friend, author Linda Rosenkrantz. The film is based on a newly discovered conversation between the two in 1974.
SALES WME, SBS
RABBIT TRAP
DIRECTOR Bryn Chainey
STARS Dev Patel, Rosy McEwen
BUMB In recent years, international offerings in the Midnight section like Talk to me proved to be among the most popular tracks of the festival. This year couldn’t be any different thanks to this supernatural horror about two musicians who move to a remote house in Wales (never a good idea) to awaken an ancient supernatural force while recording an album.
SALES CAA, Bankside
RECONSTITUTION
DIRECTOR Max Walker Silverman
STARS Josh O’Connor
BUMB Challengers star O’Connor offers the latest from the director behind the stunning 2022 relationship drama A love songplaying a rancher who needs to rebuild after a wildfire (the Los Angeles fires might make the title particularly timely). Reconstruction offers an O’Connor title shot – he has a Steven Spielberg project and a At loggerheads film on the way – before joining the world of blockbusters (think of Paul Mescal, pre-Gladiator II).
SALES CAA
RICKY
DIRECTOR Rashad Frett
STARS Stephan James, Sheryl Lee Ralph
BUMB Frett turned his Sundance 2023 short film into a feature film, starring James as a 30-year-old man adjusting to his release from prison, where he has been held since his teens. Films examining life in and around the prison system, such as Sing Sing and the doc Girlsare currently awards hopefuls.
SALES WME
Stephan James in Ricky.
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
SORRY BABY
DIRECTOR Eva Victor
STARS Victor, Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges
BUMB Victor, who is best known for her online comedy videos from the late 2010s, nails the writer-director-star bet with this comedy-drama set in New England academia. Barry Jenkins is one of the producers of the film, alongside After-sun Tango outfit.
SALES UTA, Charades
THE THING WITH FEATHERS
DIRECTOR Dylan South
STARS Benedict Cumberbatch
BUMB Based on the 2015 novella by Max Porter Grief is the thing with feathersThis drama stars the eternal Cumberbatch as a recently widowed father of two young sons who, while still dealing with the sudden death of his wife, begins to feel stalked by a malevolent presence.
SALES UTA, MK2
TOGETHER
DIRECTOR Michael Shanks
STARS Alison Brie, Dave Franco
BUMB Starring real-life couple Brie and Franco, this selection from Midnight examines codependency through the lens of a thriller. The film follows a couple who, after moving to the countryside, have a supernatural encounter that tests their relationship. Damon Herriman also stars.
SALES WME
TRAIN DREAMS
DIRECTOR Clint Bentley
STARS Joel Edgerton, Kerry Condon, Felicity Jones
BUMB THE the team of filmmakers behind the current awards contender Sing Sing is back with its biggest swing yet, a Dennis Johnson adaptation that follows a Washington state railroad worker as he navigates life and loss. It’s a decades-spanning epic with an auteur feel.
SALES WME
This story appeared in the January 17 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
