When it comes to the next year in independent film, it all starts at Sundance. The annual film festival held in the mountains of Park City, Utah is one of the premiere destinations for new movies, voices and stars – and the 2016 edition looks packed with all kinds of good stuff. Like what, you ask? Well let’s get to it.
But first!
Here are some 2016 Sundance Film Festival fast facts:
1. This year the festival will screen 123 feature-length films.
2. There are 49 first-time filmmakers (30 of whom are screening in competition) representing the 2016 lineup.
3. In total the festival received a whopping 12,793 submissions.
4. 103 of the feature films at Sundance this year will be world premieres.
5. Its jury members this year include Lena Dunham, Jon Hamm, Keegan-Michael Key, Shane Carruth and film critic Amy Nicholson, among others.
5 Movies Guaranteed to Create Big Buzz
Certain Women
The Scoop: Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart, Lily Gladstone and Michelle Williams star in Kelly Reichardt’s (Wendy and Lucy, Meek’s Cutoff) latest, about the intersecting lives of different women across Montana.
Keep an eye on… Kristen Stewart, whose best work as an actress is usually on display at Sundance. See her previous festival movies like Camp X-Ray, The Runaways and Adventureland.
Yoga Hosers
The Scoop: Kevin Smith (Clerks, Red State) returns to Sundance with his latest horror-comedy about two friends who uncover an ancient evil buried underneath the convenience store where they work.
Keep an eye on… The two Yoga Hosers stars, played by Kevin Smith and Johnny Depp’s real-life daughters, Harley Quinn Smith and Lily-Rose Depp. Both are reprising their roles from Smith's last film, Tusk.
Wiener-Dog
The Scoop: Remember Todd Solondz’s indie cult hit Welcome to the Dollhouse? Well he’s back with a sort of follow-up featuring a grown-up version of Dollhouse’s central character, Dawn Wiener, this time played by Greta Gerwig. Like Dollhouse, the film will follow several storylines, though this time all of them are connected through a particular dachshund.
Keep an eye on… The cast! Aside from Gerwig, Wiener-Dog also stars Julie Delpy, Kieran Culkin, Danny DeVito, Brie Larson and Ellen Burstyn.
Sing Street
The Scoop: John Carney (Begin Again, Once) is back with another sweet, emotional, music-heavy, coming-of-age tale about a boy in 1980s Dublin who starts a band to win the heart of a girl.
Keep an eye on… The music! Sing Street promises a soundtrack that includes Duran Duran, The Cure and Genesis. Our '80s-loving hearts are already aflutter.
How to Let Go of the World (and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change)
The Scoop: Documentary filmmaker Josh Fox created quite a stir with his previous film Gasland, and now he returns with this timely film about what it might take to stop the destructive consequences of climate change, or if it’s just too late.
Keep an eye on… All of the topical hot-button documentaries in competition this year, which include Newtown, about the aftermath of the worst mass shooting of schoolchildren in American history, and Trapped, about the American abortion clinics that are fighting for survival.
4 Stars Looking to Break Out
Rebecca Hall
The actress stars in the Antonio Campos drama Christine, based on the infamous real-life story of Christine Chubbuck, a depressed newscaster who took her own life on live television in 1974 -- an act that loosely inspired the film Network. Christine is one of two movies at Sundance about Chubbuck; the other, Kate Plays Christine, is a documentary about an actress who heads to Florida to learn more about Chubbuck and the story ahead of playing her for a role.
Anna Gunn
The Breaking Bad star is at the center of a film called Equity, which bills itself as the first female-driven, Wall Street-centric movie, about a female investment banker fighting for a promotion in a competitive Wall Street firm.
Michael Shannon
Hot off his awards buzz for 99 Homes, Michael Shannon is starring in not one, but two movies premiering at Sundance. In Complete Unknown he plays a guy whose dinner party takes a turn for the strange when a friend shows up with a girl he swears he knows from somewhere, except she's not acknowledging him at all. His other film, Frank & Lola (pictured), is billed as a "psychosexual noir love story" and that wild description alone has us going all in.
Nick Jonas
Now that he's already conquered the music scene, Nick Jonas is making a big play for movie-star status. He got ripped for the British TV series Kingdom and now he makes his Sundance debut in the James Franco-produced Goat, where he'll play an athletic dude who pledges the same frat as his brother... with disastrous results.
3 Potential Surprise Hits
Operation Avalanche
Matt Johnson's first movie, The Dirties, was a pretty incredible low-budget look at two film buffs who slowly plot out a very real school shooting. That movie premiered at Slamdance, Sundance's smaller cousin that takes place at the same time in the same town. This time, though, Johnson brings his second film, Operation Avalanche, to Sundance. From a chat I had with Johnson about the film not long after The Dirties premiered at Slamdance, Operation Avalance will follow the three guys from the CIA who helped orchestrate the faking of the original Moon landing back in the late '60s. "It's going to feel like you're watching a relic from 1969 that was just discovered," Johnson said in terms of its "fake documentary" approach.
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Director Taika Waititi is not only prepping his Marvel debut on Thor: Rangarok, but he's also responsible for the outrageously underrated comedic gem What We Do in the Shadows, which screened at Sundance last year and turned out to be one of 2015's best comedies. Now he returns to the festival with a movie called Hunt for the Wilderpeople, about a city kid who finds himself on the run in the New Zealand wilderness with his crazy uncle.
Other People
You gotta pay attention to the opening night film at Sundance. Two years ago that film was Whiplash, which went on to become one of the year's best, and this year it's a movie called Other People, starring Jesse Plemons, Molly Shannon, Bradley Whitford and Judd Apatow's daughter, Maude Apatow. In the film, Plemons -- who's looking to make a serious run at leading-man status -- plays a struggling comedy writer who breaks up with his boyfriend and moves home to help with his sick mom. Expect this to be the first movie you hear folks buzzing about once the fest officially kicks off.
Bonus Recommendation Based Solely on Its Title
How to Tell You’re a Douchebag -- We're loving the unique title for this movie, described as a "super-sexy comedy" about a controversial relationship blogger who finds more than he was looking for when he goes off on a random passerby who happens to be a major up-and-coming author.
Bonus Recommendation Based Solely on Its Description
Tickled -- This hilariously bizzare-sounding documentary tracks a journalist who stumbles upon a mysterious tickling competition. Tickling competition? We don't know what that's about, but the concept alone has us giggling.
2 Cool Events
Dazed and Confused with live commentary from Richard Linklater and Jason Reitman -- This one just speaks for itself. Only a couple of months before his Dazed and Confused spiritual sequel (Everybody Wants Some) hits theaters, relive the cult classic through the lens of the man who created it... and Jason Reitman, too!
11.22.63 -- Based on Stephen King's novel about a man tasked with traveling back in time to prevent the assassination of President Kennedy, this highly anticipated nine-hour event series will have its world premiere at the festival in the form of screening its first two hours, followed by a Q&A with cast members including James Franco, Josh Duhamel, Chris Cooper and more.
1 Tip to Keep Track of All This Year’s Sundance Film Festival Action
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