The first in-person Sundance since 2020 is about to begin. Our critic has some early recommendations, including ‘The Eternal Memory’ and ‘Mami Wata.’
Even so, what a bummer. Anyone who’s ever trudged through the snow from screening to screening — or slipped on black ice mid-transit — knows that there is no experiential substitute, virtual or otherwise, for a festival as physically immersive and meteorologically unforgiving as this one. And so it’s a thrill to return to Sundance this year, masks and vitamin C tablets at the ready. Will it be a good, bad or average festival? Time will tell.
The six movies I’m recommending below are among just a small number of features I was able to see ahead. I’m looking forward to seeing much more in the days to come, but these already persist in my memory — and, if you seek them out in Park City or beyond, I hope they will also persist in yours.‘All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt’
I’m already looking forward to another viewing of Raven Jackson’s exquisitely tactile first feature, which unspools as an accretion of multigenerational moments from the life of a Black woman in Mississippi. These moments are arranged in a mosaic whose intricate, time-shuffling construction reveals itself piece by piece, though there’s a case for simply letting it wash over you, like a piece of poetry or music, and allowing past, present and future to merge into a kind of eternal now.
Dramas and documentaries about dangerous cults are something of a staple at Sundance, which has premiered movies as different as “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” “Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief” and “Prophet’s Prey.” The latest nonfiction entry in this vein, from debuting directors Ben Braun and Chiaki Yanagimoto, chillingly recounts the activities of Aum Shinrikyo, the group behind the deadly 1995 sarin nerve-gas attacks in Tokyo.
Chilean filmmaker Maite Alberdi charmed audiences at Sundance 2020 with “The Mole Agent,” her sly, seriocomic documentary about suspicious goings-on at a Santiago nursing home. She returns to the festival three years later with another moving and intimate portrait of caretaking in action, this one told from the perspective of the veteran journalist Augusto Góngora and his wife, Paulina, as they navigate his battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Sundance Film Festival embraces blockchain and crypto film initiativesFilm festivals continue their legacy of hosting groundbreaking films and now groundbreaking technology, as blockchain and crypto-funding projects continue to increase.
Read more »
Updated: Survival tips for attending the Sundance Film FestivalIt's been three years since the Sundance Film Festival has been held in person in Utah. So there may be some things about the festival experience that some people have forgotten. Here are some tips to navigate the craziness.
Read more »
‘Radical’ Sundance Film Festival Review: Eugenio Derbez Back In The Classroom In Inspiring True StoryThe last time Mexican superstar Eugenio Derbez had a film at Sundance in 2021. The movie was CODA, and it not only swept all the top prizes at the fest that year, it went on to win three Oscars inc…
Read more »
The 14 Movies We’re Most Excited to See at This Year’s Sundance Film FestivalFrom body horror to “Cat Person” to Judy Blume, here are the 14 films that we can’t wait to see at this year's SundanceFilmFestival.
Read more »
Sundance Film Festival returns to Park City after two yearsAfter a two-year break during the pandemic, the Sundance Film Festival is back in Park City – bringing filmmakers and film enthusiasts to the beehive state. MythiliGubbi
Read more »
New anti-Kavanaugh documentary to be screened tonight at Sundance Film FestivalThe Sundance Film Festival announced Thursday it has added a documentary about allegations made against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to its lineup.
Read more »