30 Movies We Can’t Wait To See At The 2016 Sundance Film Festival
January doesn’t tend to be a great month for movies if you’re surveying the options at your local multiplex, but it’s one of the best times of the year for film lovers lucky enough to attend the Sundance Film Festival. This year, three of us — Peter Sciretta, Ethan Anderton, and myself — will be on the scene for /Film, taking in some of the best of this year’s independent cinema.Highlights from last yearincludedMe and Earl and the Dying Girl,Dope,The End of the Tour,Slow West,The Witch, andCop Car. So what will this year’s slate hold? Join us after the jump for a preview of 30 films we can’t wait to see at the 2016 Sundance film festival.
Ali & Nino: Fresh off of an Oscar nomination forAmy, directorAsif Kapadiadelivers a romance between two teenagers — one Muslim, one Christian — in 1920s Azerbaijan.Antibirth:Danny Perez’s Midnight entry follows a hard-living stoner (Natasha Lyonne) who wakes up after a night of partying to inexplicable symptoms and strange visions.Becoming Mike Nichols: This documentary aboutMike Nichols, director ofThe Graduate,Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and many other classics, features some of the last interviews he did before his death at age 83 in 2014.Belgica: Two very different brothers find their relationships unraveling after they open a bar together. What really makes this a must-see is that it’s from the director ofFelix van Groeningen, who last helmed the heart-wrenching (and Oscar-nominated) grief dramaThe Broken Circle Breakdown.The Birth of a Nation:Nate Parkerwrote, directed, and stars in this ironically titled biopic of Nat Turner, the slave who led a historical rebellion in 1830s Virginia.Certain Women:Kelly Reichardtlines up an all-star cast includingLaura Dern,Kristen Stewart, andMichelle Williamsfor three intersecting stories about women struggling in small-town Montana.Christine:Rebecca HallplaysChristine Chubbuck, a reporter who in 1974 (spoiler alert) committed suicide on-air.Christine, from directorAntonio Campos(Afterschool) is one of two films at this year’s festival about Chubbuck. The other isRobert Greene’s documentaryKate Plays Christine, which follows actressKate Lyn Sheilas she prepares to play Chubbuck in a “stylized cheap ’70s soap opera”-style version of the story.Complete Unknown:Joshua Marston(Maria Full of Grace) enlistsMichael ShannonandRachel Weiszfor a drama about a man at a crossroads who runs into an old flame.Dark Night: Inspired by the 2012 Aurora theater shooting,Tim Sutton’s drama weaves together the stories of several characters on a summer day that would end in tragedy.Goat:Nick Jonasleads directorAndrew Neel’s drama about a college kid who pledges a fraternity, and gets pulled into brutal hazing rituals in the name of “brotherhood.“Holy Hell: FilmmakerWill Allendocuments the 20 years he spent inside a Los Angeles spiritual cult. He and other ex-cult members grapple with the questions of why we choose to believe what we choose to believe, and the lengths we’ll go to to keep believing.Hunt for the Wilderpeople:Taika Waititifollows the delightfulWhat We Do in the Shadows(and precedes the highly anticipatedThor: Ragnarok) with a dramedy about a city kid (Julian Dennison) who runs away into the bush with his Uncle Hec (Sam Neill).Joshy:Life After BethdirectorJeff Baenaserves up another, less supernatural comedy about a man trying to recover from a bad breakup. The cast includesThomas Middleditch,Adam Pally,Nick Kroll, andJenny Slate, which means we’re practically laughing already.Life, Animated: Perhaps you’ve already heard the story ofOwen Suskind, an autistic boy who was able to connect to the outside world through his obsession with Disney. This is the documentary, directed byRoger Ross Williams(God Loves Uganda).Little Men: Sundance faveIra Sachs(Love Is Strange,Keep the Lights On) turns his attention to gentrification with a drama about two young boys whose friendship is threatened by a rent dispute between their parents.Love & Friendship:Whit Stillman’s latest comedy of manners is an adaptation of the unpublishedJane AustennovellaLady Susan. The film reunites him with hisLast Days of DiscostarsKate BeckinsaleandChloë Sevigny.The Lovers and the Despot:Robert CannanandRoss Adam’s documentary chronicles the remarkable tale of South Korean directorShin Sang-okand South Korean movie starChoi Eun-hee, ex-spouses who are kidnapped by North Korea and forced to make movies to make films for the regime.The Lure: It’s certainly not every day we’re promised a musical horror film set about mermaids in 1980s Warsaw. God bless Sundance and Polish first-time directorAgnieszka Smoczynskafor offering us one.Manchester by the Sea: Following the acclaimedYou Can Count on Meand the criminally underseenMargaret,Kenneth Lonerganis back withManchester by the Sea, about a Boston handyman (Casey Affleck) tasked with taking care of his teenaged nephew after his brother passes away.Michael Jackson’s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall: The prolificSpike Leecombines archival footage and new interviews to explore the history of a pop music icon, and the legacy he left behind. Following its world premiere at Sundance, the film will hit Showtime on February 5.Operation Avalanche: During the 1960s Space Race, two CIA agents set out to find a Russian spy within NASA’s inner circle — and stumble upon a far more shocking conspiracy. Directed byMatt Johnson(The Dirties).Other People:Saturday Night LiveandBroad CitywriterChris Kellymakes his directorial debut with the story of a heartbroken comedy writer (Jesse Plemons) who comes home to help his dying mother (Molly Shannon).Sing Street: WithOnceandBegin Again, directorJohn Carneyexplored, to touching effect, the way music could change people’s lives. He’s doing so again withSing Street, a semi-autobiographical tale of a teenager forming a band in 1980s Dublin.Sleight: The first feature by music video directorJD Dillardlooks like it could be this year’s Sundance breakout coming-of-age tale.Jacob Latimoreplays Bo, a gifted young street magician and drug dealer trying to escape the drug business.Southside With You: We’ve seen plenty of Barack and Michelle Obama over the past decade, butSouthside With You, starringTika SumpterandParker Sawyers, is the power couple as we’ve never seen them: in the very first moments of their romance, long before they were President and First Lady.Swiss Army Man:Daniel ScheinertandDaniel Kwan— the directors behind that insane “Turn Down for What” music video — have enlistedDaniel Radcliffe,Paul Dano, andMary Elizabeth Winsteadfor the weird, wild tale of a man stranded on a desert island who befriends a dead body.Tallulah:Orange Is the New BlackwriterSian HederreunitesJuno’sEllen PageandAllison Janneyfor a dramedy about a free-spirited young woman who “rescues” a baby from a rich, negligent mother. Netflix has already snapped this one up for distribution.Under the Gun: DocumentarianStephanie Soechtigtakes a hard look at one of the most pressing, and one of the most polarizing, issues facing our country today: gun control.Wiener-Dog: 20 years afterWelcome to the Dollhousehit the Sundance Film Festival,Todd Solondzreturns with a sequel starringGreta GerwigandJulie Delpy.Yoga Hosers: The second ofKevin Smith’s True North trilogy is a full-blown family affair.Johnny Depponce again plays detective Guy LaPointe, while their daughtersHarley Quinn SmithandLily-Rose Deppstar as two Manitoba teens caught up in a bizarre adventure.
