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As we ring in the new year, it is also that time to welcome back the Sundance Film Festival, which will run January 19-29 in Park City, Utah. Sundance is the largest film festival in the U.S. and is credited to launching the careers of some of the most talented storytellers in film. Some of the most popular movies in cinema made their world premiere at Sundance once upon a time, including Napoleon Dynamite, Get Out, and Call Me By Your Name.
With the 2020 festival taking place on the heels of COVID-19’s global devastation, Sundance, like many festivals and film events, turned to the virtual for its 2021 and 2022 editions. This year, the event will offer a hybrid festival for movie-goers, granting both streaming and in-person screenings for almost all of its films. 2023 will surely not disappoint — here’s a look at the most exciting movies making their world premiere at Sundance 2023.
Cassandro
Cassandro tells the story of a gay amateur wrestler’s rise to fame by creating a persona in the lucha libre wrestling world that was unlike any other. Saul, played by Gael Garcia Bernal, is tired of playing the loser in all his matches. With a little encouragement from his new trainer, he decides to embark on a journey of self exploration that leads him to international stardom. Saul’s exotico stage presence, Cassandro, gains the affections of his audience, but threatens the relationship with his mother.
Cat Person
Cat Person is based on a 2017 short story of the same name, by author Kristen Roupenian that was published in The New Yorker. The piece is apparently one of the most read fictional stories that the magazine has ever released. The film follows Margot, played by Emilia Jones, a college student who works at an art theater. Margot begins a romance with one of the theater’s patrons, Robert (played by Nicholas Braun), who is much older than her. The film focuses on the power dynamic created by age difference and the impending romance that turns both their lives upside down.
Food and Country
Food and Country is a documentary-style film making its debut at Sundance 2023 that tackles the very real issues that farmers and ranchers are facing since the COVID-19 Pandemic. Ruth Reichl, a food writer, meets face to face with these food pioneers who are risking their livelihoods to stay on the front line of production.
It’s Only Life After All
It’s Only Life After All is a documentary that focuses on the real-life American folk-rock band, the Indigo Girls. This intimate look into their lives will reveal never-before-seen footage, and host the band’s members Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The band originated in Atlanta, Georgia in 1985, and holds a Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album. According the Variety, the Indigo Girls will be performing at the opening night of Sundance Film Festival, commemorating the release of the film.
Jamojaya
Jamojaya, comes from director Justin Chon and is about an aspiring rapper from Indonesia struggling to find his voice as both an artist and an individual. Brian Imanuel plays James, and it is the actor’s breakout role. Jamojaya focuses on the events that James faces after signing with a U.S. record label and the debt that follows. The film will be in both English and Indonesian.
Landscape with Invisible Hand
Mixing a sci-fi film, with a comedy and a drama sprinkled with the impending doom brought on by an Alien race, seems like it would bring a lot of buzz. Landscape with Invisible Hand is based on a novel by the same name from author M.T. Anderson. The film tells the story of two teens who are living in the wake of a total alien takeover. The film’s star-studded cast is sure to fill seats, with one of which being Asante Blackk of This is Us and When They See Us fame.
Murder in Big Horn
The upcoming docu-series, Murder in Big Horn, gives a voice to young Native American girls who stories have been silenced. The film focuses on the exposure of missing persons cases that have gone unsolved and ignored Montana’s Big Horn County, where local law enforcement has neglected the pleas of the Natives’ families. Today, true crime is everywhere, and yet these young girls and stories are nowhere to be found. Directors Razelle Benally and Matthew Galkin are going to change that narrative. All three episodes will premiere at Sundance Film Festival, and the series will be available on Showtime in February 2023.
Past Lives
Two classmates, Nora (played by Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (played by Teo Yoo), in Seoul are separated after Nora’s family emigrates to the United States. After years of separation, the two find themselves together again after reconnecting online. When Hae Sung finally makes his way to New York City, it seems as fate has bound the two together yet again. Past Lives is a love story that spans over a lifetime, where two people who are meant to find one another connect again and again.
Plan C
In the wake of recent law changes that have impacted thousands across the United States, comes Plan C. Francine Coeytaux, the film’s main focus, is a women’s health advocate and the co-founder of Plan C Pills. The documentary follows a team of women working to aid in contraceptives all while following the new law regulations.
Radical
Radical focuses on a new teacher at an Elementary school in Mexico named Sergio Juarez (played by Eugenio Derbez). The children are challenging, but Sergio has some tricks up his sleeve to improve the education that these students receive. His “radical” approach and innovative thinking make all the difference by triggering the student’s curiosity to learn. The film is based on a true story, and will be one of the many films at the festival that will not be available online.
Rye Lane
Rye Lane is an indie romantic comedy from the United Kingdom that also won British Independent Film Award, and is one of the many Black films being featured at Sundance. The film focuses on a young romance between Dom (played by David Jonsson) and Yas (played by Vivian Oparah) that blossoms when Dom is found crying in a toilet stall. The two find eac hother in the wake of their break-ups, and must decide whether this is the time to open their hearts to someone again. Rye Lane is the feature debut of director Raine Allen-Miller, and upcoming new voice in British cinema.
The Pod Generation
The Pod Generation is like something out of a Black Mirror episode. The concept of the film questions everything from artificial insemination to the relationship between two budding parents. Young couple, Alvy (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Rachel (played by Emilia Clarke) are granted a spot at The Womb Center, which invites couples to embark on a shared maternity experience. Alvy and Rachel are given a detachable pod that serves as an artificial womb, allowing both to share the experience of the said womb. However, Alvy’s views on “natural” pregnancy differ from Rachel’s, and the two must untangle their new planned path to parenthood.
Your Hurt My Feelings
A24’s You Hurt My Feelings focuses on a novelist, Beth (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) who has been struggling to craft a follow-up to her first memoir. Beth’s biggest support has always been her husband but when she gets wind that he admitted to her brother-in-law that he actually doesn’t like her second book, she feels ultimately betrayed. The comedy-drama will deconstruct marriage, trust, and the individuality within a couple’s needs.
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