Sundance 2021 Movie Guide
by IMDb-Editors | last updated - 1 month agoSundance 2021 Movie Guide
1. CODA (2021)
111 min | Drama | Completed
This is about a hearing child in a deaf family who finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her family's reliance on her to be their connection to the outside world.
Director: Sian Heder | Stars: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Eugenio Derbez
Category: U.S. Dramatic
2. I Was a Simple Man (2021)
100 min | Drama | Completed
A family in Hawai'i faces the imminent death of their eldest as the ghosts of the past haunt the countryside.
Director: Christopher Makoto Yogi | Stars: Steve Iwamoto, Constance Wu, Tim Chiou, Kanoa Goo
Category: U.S. Dramatic
3. Jockey (2021)
99 min | Drama | Completed
An aging jockey aims for a final championship, when a rookie rider arrives claiming to be his son.
Director: Clint Bentley | Stars: Clifton Collins Jr., Molly Parker, Moises Arias
Category: U.S. Dramatic
4. John and the Hole (2021)
98 min | Drama, Thriller | Completed
A coming of age psychological thriller that plays out the unsettling reality of a kid who holds his family captive in a hole in the ground.
Director: Pascual Sisto | Stars: Jennifer Ehle, Michael C. Hall, Taissa Farmiga, Charlie Shotwell
Category: U.S. Dramatic
5. Mayday (2021)
100 min | Drama | Completed
Ana is transported to a dreamlike and dangerous land where she joins an army of girls engaged in a never-ending war along a rugged coast. Though she finds strength in this exhilarating ... See full summary »
Director: Karen Cinorre | Stars: Grace Van Patten, Mia Goth, Havana Rose Liu, Soko
Category: U.S. Dramatic
6. On the Count of Three (2021)
84 min | Drama | Completed
Two guns. Two best friends. And a pact to end their lives when the day is done.
Director: Jerrod Carmichael | Stars: Christopher Abbott, Tiffany Haddish, Henry Winkler, J.B. Smoove
Category: U.S. Dramatic
7. Passing (2021)
98 min | Drama | Completed
"Passing" follows the unexpected reunion of two high school friends, whose renewed acquaintance ignites a mutual obsession that threatens both of their carefully constructed realities.
Director: Rebecca Hall | Stars: Alexander Skarsgård, Tessa Thompson, Bill Camp, Ruth Negga
Category: U.S. Dramatic
8. Superior (2021)
97 min | Drama | Completed
On the run, Marian returns to her hometown to hide out with her identical twin sister, Vivian, and in doing so alters the trajectory of both their lives.
Director: Erin Vassilopoulos | Stars: Alessandra Mesa, Ani Mesa, Pico Alexander, Jake Hoffman
Category: U.S. Dramatic
9. Together Together (2021)
90 min | Comedy | Completed
A 40-year-old man hires a young woman and their relationship challenges their perceptions of love.
Director: Nikole Beckwith | Stars: Ed Helms, Patti Harrison, Rosalind Chao, Anna Konkle
Category: U.S. Dramatic
10. Wild Indian (2021)
90 min | Thriller | Completed
Two men learn to confront a traumatic secret they share involving the savage murder of a schoolmate.
Director: Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. | Stars: Kate Bosworth, Jesse Eisenberg, Jenna Leigh Green, Claudia Lee
Category: U.S. Dramatic
11. Ailey (2021)
82 min | Documentary | Completed
An immersive portrait of dance pioneer Alvin Ailey, told through his own words and a new dance inspired by his life.
Director: Jamila Wignot | Star: Alvin Ailey
Category: U.S. Documentary Competition
12. All Light, Everywhere (2021)
105 min | Documentary | Completed
A far-ranging look at the biases in how we see things, focusing on the use of police body cameras.
Director: Theo Anthony | Star: Keaver Brenai
Category: U.S. Documentary Competition
13. At the Ready (2021)
96 min | Documentary
A group of seniors train to become police officers and Border Patrol agents at El Paso’s Horizon High School, near the U.S./Mexico border.
Director: Maisie Crow
Category: U.S. Documentary Competition
14. Cusp (2021)
92 min | Documentary | Completed
In a Texas military town, three teenage girls confront the dark corners of adolescence at the end of a fever dream summer.
Directors: Isabel Bethencourt, Parker Hill
Category: U.S. Documentary Competition
15. Homeroom (2021)
90 min | Documentary | Completed
Oakland as a tantalizing case study. In a city that struggles with rising crime and health care woes, its public school systems aren't exactly equipped to prepare youth for the travails of young adulthood.
Director: Peter Nicks
Category: U.S. Documentary Competition
16. Rebel Hearts (2021)
99 min | Documentary | Completed
A look at Los Angeles's Sisters of the Immaculate Heart, nuns who challenged the patriarchal conventions of the Catholic Church 50 years ago and are still taking a stand today.
Director: Pedro Kos | Stars: Corita Kent, Pat Reif, Anita Caspary, Helen Kelley
Category: U.S. Documentary Competition
17. Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It (2021 TV Movie)
90 min | Documentary | Completed
A look at the life and work of Rita Moreno from her humble beginnings in Puerto Rico to her success on Broadway and in Hollywood.
Director: Mariem Pérez Riera | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Eva Longoria, Whoopi Goldberg
Category: U.S. Documentary Competition
18. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)
117 min | Documentary | Post-production
Summer Of Soul (...Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is a feature documentary about the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival which celebrated African American music and culture, and promoted Black pride and unity.
Director: Questlove | Stars: Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln
Category: U.S. Documentary Competition
19. Try Harder! (2021)
85 min | Documentary | Completed
In a universe where cool kids are nerds, the orchestra is world class and being Asian American is the norm, seniors at Lowell High School compete for the top prize: admission to the college of their dreams.
Director: Debbie Lum
Category: U.S. Documentary Competition
20. Users (2021)
81 min | Documentary | Completed
Documentary explores how humanity expresses itself with technology and the intended and unintended consequences of our tech-dominated world.
Director: Natalia Almada
Category: U.S. Documentary Competition
21. The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet (2021)
73 min | Drama | Completed
Sebastian, a man in his thirties, works a of temporary jobs and he embraces love at every opportunity. He transforms, through a of short encounters, as the world flirts with possible apocalypse.
Director: Ana Katz | Stars: Julieta Zylberberg, Carlos Portaluppi, Mirella Pascual, Valeria Lois
Category: World Cinema Dramatic Competition
22. El Planeta (2020)
79 min | Comedy
Amidst the devastation of post-crisis Spain, mother and daughter bluff and grift to keep up the lifestyle they think they deserve, bonding over common tragedy and an impending eviction.
Director: Amalia Ulman | Stars: Saoirse Bertram, Zhou Chen, Ale Ulman, Amalia Ulman
Category: World Cinema Dramatic Competition
23. Fire in the Mountains (2019)
84 min | Drama
A husband and wife in a Himalayan village clash over how to care for their special-needs son.
Director: Ajitpal Singh | Stars: Vinamrata Rai, Chandan Bisht, Harshita Tiwari, Mayank Singh Jaira
Category: World Cinema Dramatic Competition
24. Hive (2021)
84 min | Drama | Completed
Fahrije's husband has been missing since the war in Kosovo. She sets up her own small business to provide for her kids, but as she fights against a patriarchal society that does not support her, she faces a crucial decision.
Director: Blerta Basholli | Stars: Yllka Gashi, Cun Lajci, Aurita Agushi, Kumrije Hoxha
Category: World Cinema Dramatic Competition
25. Human Factors (2021)
102 min | Drama | Completed
A mysterious home invasion triggers off a shake in the core of a cosmopolitan middle-class family and unveils the fragility of truth and the power of individual perspective.
Director: Ronny Trocker | Stars: Mark Waschke, Hassan Akkouch, Marthe Schneider, Sabine Timoteo
Category: World Cinema Dramatic Competition
26. Luzzu (2021)
94 min | Drama | Completed
A man risks everything to provide for his girlfriend by entering Malta's black-market fishing industry.
Director: Alex Camilleri | Stars: Jesmark Scicluna, Michela Farrugia
Category: World Cinema Dramatic Competition
27. One for the Road (2021)
90 min | Drama | Completed
Boss, a high end club owner living in New York, who receives a call from his friend in Thailand, Aood, revealing he is in the last stages of terminal cancer.
Director: Nattawut Poonpiriya | Stars: Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, Thanapob Leeratanakajorn, Ice Natara, Violette Wautier
Category: World Cinema Dramatic Competition
28. The Pink Cloud (2021)
105 min | Drama | Completed
After a toxic and mysterious pink cloud appeared, Giovana finds herself stuck in a flat with a man she just met, changing her life in a way she never expected.
Director: Iuli Gerbase | Stars: Renata de Lélis, Eduardo Mendonça, Kaya Rodrigues, Girley Paes
Category: World Cinema Dramatic Competition
29. Pleasure (2021)
105 min | Drama
20-year-old Jessica leaves the small town life in Sweden for Los Angeles with the aim to become the worlds next big porn star but the road to her goal turns out to be bumpier than she imagined.
Director: Ninja Thyberg | Stars: Sofia Kappel, Revika Anne Reustle, Kendra Spade, Dana DeArmond
Category: World Cinema Dramatic Competition
30. Prime Time (2021)
93 min | Drama, Thriller | Completed
In 1999 Sebastian locks himself in a TV studio. He has two hostages, a gun, and an important message for the world.
Director: Jakub Piatek | Stars: Bartosz Bielenia, Magdalena Poplawska, Malgorzata Hajewska, Cezary Kosinski
Category: World Cinema Dramatic Competition
31. Faya Dayi (2021)
120 min | Documentary | Completed
A spiritual journey into the highlands of Harar, immersed in the rituals of khat, a leaf Sufi Muslims chewed for centuries for religious meditations - and Ethiopia's most lucrative cash crop today.
Director: Jessica Beshir
Category: World Cinema Documentary
32. Flee (2021)
83 min | Documentary, Animation | Completed
FLEE tells the extraordinary true story of a man, Amin, on the verge of marriage which compels him to reveal his hidden past for the first time.
Director: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Category: World Cinema Documentary
33. Inconvenient Indian (2020)
90 min | Documentary
Michelle Latimer's adaptation of Thomas King's book explores the cultural colonization of Indigenous peoples in North America.
Director: Michelle Latimer | Stars: Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Nyla Innuksuk, Thomas King, Gail Maurice
Votes: 36
Category: World Cinema Documentary
34. Misha and the Wolves (2021)
90 min | Drama | Completed
A woman's Holocaust memoir takes the world by storm, but a fallout with her publisher-turned-detective reveals her as an audacious deception created to hide a darker truth.
Director: Sam Hobkinson
Category: World Cinema Documentary
35. President (2021)
130 min | Documentary | Completed
Zimbabwe is at a crossroads. The leader of the opposition MDC party, Nelson Chamisa, challenges the old guard ZANU-PF led by Emmerson Mnangagwa, known as "The Crocodile." The election tests both the ruling party and the opposition.
Director: Camilla Nielsson
Category: World Cinema Documentary
36. The Most Beautiful Boy in the World (2021)
93 min | Documentary
In 1971, due to the world premiere of Death in Venice, Italian director Lucino Visconti proclaimed his Tadzio as the world's most beautiful boy. A shadow that today, 50 years later, weighs Björn Andresen's life.
Directors: Kristina Lindström, Kristian Petri | Stars: Annike Andresen, Björn Andrésen, Silva Filmer, Riyoko Ikeda
Category: World Cinema Documentary
37. Playing with Sharks: The Valerie Taylor Story (2021)
95 min | Documentary | Completed
Pioneering scuba diver Valerie Taylor, who has dedicated her life to exposing the myth surrounding our fear of sharks.
Director: Sally Aitken | Star: Valerie Taylor
Category: World Cinema Documentary
38. Sabaya (2021)
90 min | Documentary
Film follows a group into Syria's Al-Hol, a dangerous camp in the Middle East, as they risk their lives to save a women being held by ISIS as abducted sex slaves.
Director: Hogir Hirori
Category: World Cinema Documentary
39. Taming the Garden (2021)
86 min | Documentary
Documentary follows trees that are transported, at great expense and inconvenience, from the coast of the Republic of Georgia to the private garden of that country's former prime minister.
Director: Salomé Jashi
Category: World Cinema Documentary
40. Writing with Fire (2021)
92 min | Documentary | Completed
In a cluttered news landscape dominated by men, emerges India's only newspaper run by Dalit women. Chief Reporter Meera and her journalists break traditions, redefining what it means to be powerful.
Directors: Sushmit Ghosh, Rintu Thomas
Category: World Cinema Documentary
41. The Blazing World (2021)
101 min | Fantasy, Horror, Thriller | Completed
Decades after the accidental drowning of her twin sister, a self-destructive young woman returns to her family home, finding herself drawn to an alternate dimension where her sister may still be alive.
Director: Carlson Young | Stars: Dermot Mulroney, Vinessa Shaw, Carlson Young, Udo Kier
Category: Next
42. Cryptozoo (2021)
95 min | Animation | Completed
Cryptozookeepers try to capture a Baku, a dream-eating hybrid creature of legend, and start wondering if they should display these beasts or keep them hidden and unknown.
Director: Dash Shaw | Stars: Lake Bell, Michael Cera, Jason Schwartzman, Grace Zabriskie
Category: Next
43. First Date (II) (2021)
103 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | Completed
After being conned into buying a shady '65 Chrysler, Mike's first date plans with girl-next-door Kelsey implode as he finds himself targeted by criminals, cops, and a crazy cat lady.
Directors: Manuel Crosby, Darren Knapp | Stars: Tyson Brown, Shelby Duclos, Jesse Janzen, Nicole Berry
Category: Next
44. Ma Belle, My Beauty (2021)
93 min | Drama, Romance | Completed
A surprise reunion in the South of France reignites passions and jealousies between two women who were formerly polyamorous lovers.
Director: Marion Hill | Stars: Idella Johnson, Hannah Pepper-Cunningham, Lucien Guignard, Sivan Noam Shimon
Category: Next
45. R#J (2021)
91 min | Drama | Completed
A modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's romantic tragedy 'Romeo and Juliet'.
Director: Carey Williams | Stars: David Zayas, María Gabriela de Faría, Diego Tinoco, RJ Cyler
Category: Next
46. Searchers (2021)
81 min | Documentary | Completed
Alternately humorous and touching, Searchers draws on encounters with a diverse set of New Yorkers as they navigate their preferred dating apps, searching for their special someone.
Director: Pacho Velez
Category: Next
47. Son of Monarchs (2020)
97 min | Drama
A Mexican biologist living in New York returns to his hometown, nestled in the majestic butterfly forests of Michoacán. The journey forces him to confront past traumas and reflect on his hybrid identity, sparking a personal metamorphosis.
Director: Alexis Gambis | Stars: Paulina Gaitan, William Mapother, Tenoch Huerta, Electra Avellan
Votes: 14
Category: Next
48. Strawberry Mansion (2021)
90 min | Adventure | Completed
In a future where the government records dreams and taxes them, a dream auditor gets caught up in the dreams of an aging eccentric.
Directors: Kentucker Audley, Albert Birney | Stars: Reed Birney, Constance Shulman, Kentucker Audley, Penny Fuller
Category: Next
49. We're All Going to the World's Fair (2021)
86 min | Drama | Completed
A teenage girl becomes immersed in an online role-playing game.
Director: Jane Schoenbrun | Stars: Michael J Rogers, Anna Cobb
Category: Next
50. Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir (2021)
101 min | Documentary | Completed
A look at the life and work of author Amy Tan.
Director: James Redford | Star: Amy Tan
Category: Premieres
51. Bring Your Own Brigade (2021)
100 min | Documentary | Completed
An investigation into our landscape's hidden fire stories and on-the-ground experiences of firefighters and residents struggling through deadly fires.
Director: Lucy Walker
Category: Premieres
52. Eight for Silver (2021)
113 min | Horror | Completed
In the late 1800s, a man arrives in a remote country village to investigate an attack by a wild animal but discovers a much deeper and sinister force that has the manor and its townspeople in its grip.
Director: Sean Ellis | Stars: Kelly Reilly, Boyd Holbrook, Alistair Petrie, Stuart Bowman
Category: Premieres
53. How It Ends (2021)
82 min | Drama | Completed
On the last day on Earth, one woman goes on a journey through LA to make it to her last party before the world ends, running into an eclectic cast of characters along the way.
Directors: Zoe Lister-Jones, Daryl Wein | Stars: Olivia Wilde, Helen Hunt, Cailee Spaeny, Lamorne Morris
Category: Premieres
54. In the Same Breath (2021)
95 min | Documentary | Completed
How did the Chinese government turn pandemic cover ups in Wuhan into a triumph for the Communist party?
Director: Nanfu Wang
Category: Premieres
55. In the Earth (2021)
100 min | Horror | Completed
As the world searches for a cure to a disastrous virus, a scientist and park scout venture deep in the forest for a routine equipment run.
Director: Ben Wheatley | Stars: Joel Fry, Hayley Squires, Reece Shearsmith, Ellora Torchia
Category: Premieres
56. Land (2021)
PG-13 | 89 min | Drama | Completed
A bereaved woman seeks out a new life, off the grid in Wyoming.
Director: Robin Wright | Stars: Robin Wright, Kim Dickens, Demián Bichir, Warren Christie
Category: Premieres
57. Marvelous and the Black Hole (2020)
81 min | Comedy
A teenage delinquent (Miya Cech) teams up with a surly children's party magician (Rhea Perlman) to navigate her dysfunctional family and inner demons.
Director: Kate Tsang | Stars: Rhea Perlman, Lucy DeVito, Leonardo Nam, Keith Powell
Category: Premieres
58. Mass (2021)
110 min | Drama | Completed
Aftermath of a violent tragedy that affects the lives of two couples in different ways.
Director: Fran Kranz | Stars: Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Ann Dowd, Breeda Wool
Category: Premieres
59. My Name Is Pauli Murray (2021)
91 min | Documentary | Completed
A look at the life and ideas of Pauli Murray, a non-binary Black lawyer, activist and poet who influenced both Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Thurgood Marshall.
Directors: Julie Cohen, Betsy West
Category: Premieres
60. Philly D.A. (2021)
110 min | Documentary | Completed
A groundbreaking inside look at the long shot election and tumultuous first term of Larry Krasner, Philadelphia's unapologetic District Attorney, and his experiment to upend the criminal justice system from the inside out.
Directors: Yoni Brook, Ted Passon
Category: Premieres
61. Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021)
100 min | Action, Horror, Thriller
A notorious criminal must break an evil curse in order to rescue an abducted girl who has mysteriously disappeared.
Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Sofia Boutella, Nick Cassavetes, Bill Moseley
Category: Premieres
62. The Sparks Brothers (2021)
135 min | Documentary, Music | Post-production
Documentary profiles brothers Russell and Ron Mael, who made up the influential but never chart-topping L.A. pop-rock band Sparks.
Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Ron Mael, Russell Mael
Category: Premieres
63. Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2021)
107 min | Documentary | Completed
A look at the history of the long-running children's TV show, "Sesame Street."
Director: Marilyn Agrelo
Category: Premieres
64. Censor (2021)
84 min | Horror | Completed
After viewing a strangely familiar video nasty, Enid, a film censor, sets out to solve the past mystery of her sister's disappearance, embarking on a quest that dissolves the line between fiction and reality.
Director: Prano Bailey-Bond | Stars: Niamh Algar, Nick Brimble, Clare Holman, Michael Smiley
Category: Midnight
65. Coming Home in the Dark (2021)
93 min | Thriller | Completed
A school teacher is forced to confront a brutal act from his past when a pair of ruthless drifters takes him and his family on a nightmare road-trip.
Director: James Ashcroft | Stars: Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomson, Miriama McDowell, Matthias Luafutu
Category: Midnight
66. A Glitch in the Matrix (2020)
108 min | Documentary
Documentary filmmaker Rodney Ascher tackles this question "are we living in a simulation?" with testimony, philosophical evidence and scientific explanation in his for the answer.
Director: Rodney Ascher | Stars: Nick Bostrom, Joshua Cooke, Erik Davis, Paul Gude
Votes: 9
Category: Midnight
67. Knocking (2021)
78 min | Thriller | Completed
A woman leaves a psychiatric ward after a nervous breakdown, only to start hearing mysterious knocking sounds in her apartment.
Director: Frida Kempff | Stars: Ville Virtanen, Meliz Karlge, Albin Grenholm, Emil Almén
Category: Midnight
68. Mother Schmuckers (2021)
70 min | Comedy
Issachar and Zabulon, two brothers in their twenties, are supremely stupid and never bored, as madness is part of their daily lives. When they lose their mother's beloved dog, they have 24 hours to find it - or she will kick them out.
Directors: Harpo Guit, Lenny Guit | Stars: Claire Bodson, Maxi Delmelle, Harpo Guit, Lenny Guit
Category: Midnight
69. Violation (2020)
107 min | Drama, Horror
A troubled woman on the edge of divorce returns home to her younger sister after years apart. But when her sister and brother-in-law betray her trust, she embarks on a vicious crusade of revenge.
Directors: Dusty Mancinelli, Madeleine Sims-Fewer | Stars: Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Anna Maguire, Jesse LaVercombe, Obi Abili
Votes: 138
Category: Midnight
70. Night of the Kings (2020)
93 min | Drama, Fantasy
A young man is sent to "La Maca", a prison of Ivory Coast in the middle of the forest ruled by its prisoners. With the red moon rising, he is designated by the Boss to be the new "Roman" and must tell a story to the other prisoners.
Director: Philippe Lacôte | Stars: Denis Lavant, Issaka Sawadogo, Steve Tientcheu, Bakary Koné
Votes: 285
Category: Spotlight
71. The World to Come (2020)
R | 98 min | Drama
Somewhere along the mid-19th century American East Coast frontier, two neighboring couples battle hardship and isolation, witnessed by a splendid yet testing landscape, challenging them both physically and psychologically.
Director: Mona Fastvold | Stars: Katherine Waterston, Vanessa Kirby, Christopher Abbott, Casey Affleck
Votes: 388
Category: Spotlight
72. Life in a Day 2020 (2021)
90 min | Documentary | Completed
Life In A Day 2020 will call on millions of people around the world to film their lives on July 25.
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Category: Special Screenings
73. 4 Feet High (2020– )
74 min | Drama
Series follows Juana, a 17-year-old girl in a wheelchair who's eager to explore her sexuality.
Stars: Marisol Agostina Irigoyen, Natalia di Cienzo, Florencia Licera, Marcio Ramses
Category: Indie Series
74. Seeds of Deceit (2018)
135 min | Documentary, Short
Two mothers and their children must face a new reality and try to live with each other after finding out their fertility doctor, Jan Karbaat, secretly used his own seed instead of donors'.
Director: Miriam Guttmann
Votes: 22
Category: Indie Series
75. Would You Rather (2021– )
70 min | Short, Drama
Four 16-year-olds from a working-class Paris neighborhood play their favorite game, "Would You Rather?" - and the results force them to make choices about their lives and the game.
Stars: Mouctar Diawara, Fanta Kebe, Zakaria-Tayeb Lazab, Shirel Nataf
Category: Indie Series