Sundance Film Festival 2023
This is a list of all the movies I have seen from Sundance 2023, in chronological viewing order (see also the titles remaining on my pre-festival interest list and my Top Picks list). Films #1-#8 were seen before the festival; #9 -#36 were watched in Park City; and #37-#45 watched online after returning home via the online viewing platform. #46 onwards will be post-festival catch-ups.
It was great festival and we pretty much loved everything we saw. My festival favourites seen during the 2023 festival (in viewing order) are Radical (2023), Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023), Cat Person (2023), A Thousand and One (2023), Rye Lane (2023), and Eileen (2023) with honourable mentions (in viewing order) for Shortcomings (2023), Bad Behaviour (2023), Polite Society (2023), The Persian Version (2023), A Little Prayer (2023), and Young. Wild. Free. (2023).
It was great festival and we pretty much loved everything we saw. My festival favourites seen during the 2023 festival (in viewing order) are Radical (2023), Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023), Cat Person (2023), A Thousand and One (2023), Rye Lane (2023), and Eileen (2023) with honourable mentions (in viewing order) for Shortcomings (2023), Bad Behaviour (2023), Polite Society (2023), The Persian Version (2023), A Little Prayer (2023), and Young. Wild. Free. (2023).
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66 titles
- DirectorSian HederStarsEmilia JonesMarlee MatlinTroy KotsurAs a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her passion at Berklee College of Music and her fear of abandoning her parents.Originally seen at virtual Sundance
- 20211h 58mPG-138.0 (14K)96MetascoreDirectorQuestloveStarsDorinda DrakeBarbara Bland-AcostaDarryl LewisDocumentary about the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival which celebrated African-American music and culture and promoted Black pride and unity.Originally seen at virtual Sundance
- DirectorMaryna Er GorbachStarsOksana CherkashynaSergey ShadrinOleg ShcherbinaAfter flight MH17 crashes in eastern Ukraine, violent tensions disrupt the lives of an expecting couple living in Donetsk.Originally seen at virtual Sundance
- DirectorDaniel RoherStarsAlexei NavalnyYulia NavalnayaChristo GrozevFollows the man who survived an assassination attempt by poisoning with a lethal nerve agent in August 2020. During his months-long recovery he makes shocking discoveries about the attempt on his life and decides to return home.Originally seen at virtual Sundance
- DirectorFelix van GroeningenCharlotte VandermeerschStarsLupo BarbieroCristiano SassellaElena LiettiAn epic journey of friendship and self-discovery set in the breathtaking Italian Alps, The Eight Mountains follows over four decades the profound, complex relationship between Pietro and Bruno.Originally seen at Cannes
- DirectorSaim SadiqStarsAli JunejoRasti FarooqAlina KhanThe youngest son in a traditional Pakistani family takes a job as a backup dancer in a Bollywood-style burlesque and quickly becomes infatuated with the strong-willed trans woman who runs the show.Originally seen at TIFF
- DirectorRebecca ZlotowskiStarsVirginie EfiraRoschdy ZemChiara MastroianniA childless woman forms a deep bond with her boyfriend's young daughter.Originally seen at TIFF
- DirectorToby GenkelFlorian WestermannStarsHugh LaurieEmilia ClarkeDavid ThewlisA streetwise cat and his gang of rats come up with the perfect money making scheme.Originally seen via the BAFTA voting platform
- DirectorRachel LambertStarsDaisy RidleyDave MerhejeParvesh CheenaFran, who likes to think about dying, makes the new guy at work laugh, which leads to dating and more. Now the only thing standing in their way is Fran herself.
- DirectorAndrew DurhamStarsEmilia JonesScoot McNairyNessa DoughertyA young girl recounts growing up in San Francisco in the '70s and '80s with her gay dad.
- DirectorDavis GuggenheimStarsMichael J. FoxDavis GuggenheimTracy PollanFollows the life of beloved actor and advocate Michael J. Fox, exploring his personal and professional triumphs and travails, and what happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease.
- DirectorSophie BarthesStarsEmilia ClarkeChiwetel EjioforRosalie CraigIn a not-so-distant future, tech giant Pegazus offers couples the opportunity to share their pregnancies via detachable artificial wombs or pods. And so begins Rachel and Alvy's wild ride to parenthood in this brave new world.
- DirectorChristopher ZallaStarsEugenio DerbezDaniel HaddadJennifer TrejoA teacher in a Mexican border town full of neglect, corruption, and violence, tries a radical new method to unlock their students' curiosity, potential - and maybe even their genius.
- DirectorElijah BynumStarsJonathan MajorsHarrison PageHarriet Sansom HarrisAn amateur bodybuilder struggles to find human connection in this exploration of celebrity and violence.
- DirectorNida ManzoorStarsPriya KansaraRitu AryaRenu BrindleRia Khan believes she must save her older sister Lena from her impending marriage. After enlisting her friends' help, she attempts to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood.
- DirectorLaurel ParmetStarsEliza ScanlenLewis PullmanJimmi Simpson17-year-old Jem Starling struggles with her place within her Christian fundamentalist community. But everything changes when her magnetic youth pastor Owen returns to their church.
- DirectorErica TremblayStarsMichael RoweBlayne AllenIsabel Deroy-OlsonFollowing her sister's disappearance, a Native American hustler kidnaps her niece from the child's white grandparents and sets out for the state powwow in hopes of keeping what is left of their family intact.
- DirectorSusanna FogelStarsEmilia JonesNicholas BraunGeraldine ViswanathanWhen Margot, a college sophomore, goes on a date with the older Robert, she finds that he doesn't live up to the Robert she has been flirting with over texts. A razor-sharp exploration of the horrors of dating.
- DirectorIra SachsStarsFranz RogowskiBen WhishawAdèle ExarchopoulosA gay couple's marriage is thrown into crisis when one of them impulsively begins a passionate affair with a young woman.
- DirectorVuk Lungulov-KlotzStarsLio MehielCole DomanMiMi RyderWithin the space of 24 hours, Feña is swept through the extremes of human emotion when people who seemed to disappear when he transitioned are suddenly back in his life.
- DirectorCory FinleyStarsAsante BlackkTiffany HaddishKylie RogersWhen an occupying alien species' bureaucratic rule and advanced technology leaves most of Earth impoverished and unemployed, two teenagers hatch a risky plan to ensure their families' futures.
- DirectorRandall ParkStarsJustin H. MinSherry ColaAlly MakiFollows a trio of young, Bay Area urbanites--Ben Tanaka, Miko Hayashi and Alice Kim--as they navigate a range of interpersonal relationships while traversing the country in search of the ideal connection.
- DirectorAlice EnglertStarsJennifer ConnellyAlice EnglertAna ScotneyA former child actress seeking enlightenment at a retreat led by a spiritual leader navigates the close but turbulent relationship with her daughter.
- DirectorRoger Ross WilliamsStarsGael García BernalRoberta ColindrezPerla De La RosaFollows the true story of Cassandro, the ''exotico'' character created by Saúl Armendáriz, gay amateur wrestler from El Paso who rose to international stardom.
- DirectorNicole HolofcenerStarsAmber TamblynDavid CrossTobias MenziesA novelist's longstanding marriage is suddenly upended when she overhears her husband giving his honest reaction to her latest book.