There’s a feeling that this year’s Sundance Film Fest will be business as usual, whatever “usual” may mean in this post-pandemic, post-strikes and post-M&A moment — and now the L.A. wildfires.
As for what’s on sale heading into this year’s Sundance, there are decidedly fewer commercial offerings compared to last year’s action comedy Thelma, the ghost story Presence and the coming-of-age title My Old Ass.
SALES WME, SBS RABBIT TRAP DIRECTOR Bryn Chainey STARS Dev Patel, Rosy McEwen BUZZ In recent years, international Midnight section offerings like Talk to Me have proved to be among the most popular titles at the fest.
Films examining lives in and around the carceral system, like Sing Sing and the doc Daughters, are current awards hopefuls.
The film follows a couple who, after moving to the countryside, have a supernatural encounter that tests their relationship.
Regardless of what “usual” means in this post-pandemic, post-strikes, post-MandA era, there’s a sense that this year’s Sundance Film Fest will go according to plan after the L. A. . fires.
After reducing their festival purchases for a long time, the tech giants are beginning to distinguish between sellers who are theatrically friendly (Amazon) and those who are not (Apple, Netflix). There are noticeably fewer commercial offerings at Sundance this year than there were for the action comedy Thelma, the ghost story Presence, and the coming-of-age film My Old Ass. This year’s market does, however, have a few high-profile releases, such as Justin Lin’s return to independent cinema with Last Days, Bill Condon’s most recent musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and a ton of potential blockbusters from up-and-coming feature filmmakers.
THR examines ten titles that are likely to attract buyers on the mountain.
Jeff Buckley, it’s never an end.
Amy Berg, director.
Berg’s documentary provides insight into the adored Buckley through the women in his life, including his mother, even though the music bio-documentary is well-worn ground (having been used extensively over the last five years). It differs from a typical non-fiction portrait in that it uses unpublished personal voicemails.
The REP Submarine.
A SPIDER WOMAN’S KISS.
Condon, the director.
Diego Luna and Jennifer Lopez are the stars.
Although BUZZ musicals are uncommon at Sundance, the director of studio hits like Dreamgirls and Chicago has even fewer. The film, which is based on the Manuel Puig novel and is a Broadway adaptation, is arguably the most well-known sales title at the festival. It centers on two inmates in a South American prison who develop an unexpected bond. Producers Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are working with Artists Equity.
WME and CAA sales.
DAYS GONE BY.
Justin Lin is the director.
STARS Radhika Apte and Sky Yang.
This is the first time that BUZZ Lin has returned to Park City since his breakthrough movie, Better Luck Tomorrow, debuted at Sundance in 2002. Lin changes things up with this drama, which is based on the real story of John Allen Chau, a Christian missionary who visits the remote North Sentinel Island, after years of work on the Fast & Furious franchise. Starring as well are Ken Leung and Naveen Andrews.
CAA in sales.
Middletown.
DIRECTORS Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss.
With a documentary that sounds like it’s equal parts Scooby-Doo and Erin Brockovich, the team behind the 2020 Sundance favorite Boys State is returning to the festival. The film follows a group of teenagers in the 1990s as they create a student film for their journalism class and discover a conspiracy involving toxic waste in their neighborhood.
Submarines are sold.
Well, hello.
Sophie Brooks, the director.
Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman are the stars.
BUZZ This deconstructed romantic comedy about the peculiar customs of millennial romance might be the independent counterpart to all of those Netflix shows that are perfect for binge-watching. Lerman, the most popular boyfriend on the internet, and Gordon, the Bear breakout star, are a new couple on the required weekend getaway when things take a surprising turn. John Reynolds and Geraldine Viswanathan share a screen time.
WME and SALES UTA.
DAY OF PETER HUJAR.
Director Ira Sachs.
Rebecca Hall and Ben Whishaw are the stars.
Sachs’ follow-up, which runs at a brisk 75 minutes, should pique buyers’ interest after his 2023 Sundance title Passages emerged as one of the year’s critical darlings. Whishaw, who starred in Passages, portrays renowned New York photographer Hujar, while Hall plays his friend, writer Linda Rosenkrantz, in a classic two-hander. The movie is based on a conversation between the two that was just recently uncovered in 1974.
SBS SALES WME.
RABBIT TRAPS.
The director is Bryn Chainey.
Rosy McEwen and Dev Patel are the stars.
International titles from the Midnight section, such as Talk to Me, have been among the most well-liked at the festival in recent years. The supernatural horror about two musicians who move to a remote house in Wales (never a good idea) and awaken an ancient supernatural force while recording an album could make this year no different.
Bankside SALES CAA.
REBUILDING.
Felix Walker-Silverman, director.
Josh O’Connor is the star.
O’Connor, who starred in BUZZ Challengers, plays a rancher who must rebuild after a wildfire (the L) in the most recent film from the director of the amazing 2022 relationship drama A Love Song. 1. Fires might make the title particularly relevant. With a Steven Spielberg project and a Knives Out movie in the works, Rebuilding presents an opportunity to land an O’Connor title before he enters the world of blockbusters (think Paul Mescal, pre-Gladiator II).
CAA in sales.
RICKI.
Rashad Frett, director.
Sheryl Lee Ralph and Stephan James are the stars.
James plays a 30-year-old acclimating to his release from prison, where he has been detained since he was a teenager, in BUZZ Frett’s 2023 Sundance short film, which has been made into a feature. Current award contenders include Sing Sing and the documentary Daughters, which explore lives within and around the criminal justice system.
SALES WME.
I’m so sorry, baby.
Eva Victor, director.
STARRING: Lucas Hedges, Naomi Ackie, and Victor.
Best known for her late 2010s online comedy videos, BUZZ Victor successfully combines the roles of writer, director, and star in this drama-comedy that takes place in a New England university. Barry Jenkins and Tango, an Aftersun group, are among the producers of the movie.
UTA Sales, Charades.
WHAT ARE THE FEATHERS?
DIRECTOR Dylan Southern.
Benedict Cumberbatch is the star.
This drama, which is based on Max Porter’s 2015 novella Grief Is the Thing With Feathers, stars Cumberbatch, a perennial of the awards season, as a recently widowed father of two young sons who, still reeling from the unexpected death of his wife, starts to feel stalked by a demon.
MK2, SALES UTA.
COLLABORATED.
Michael Shanks is the director.
STARRING: Dave Franco and Alison Brie.
BUZZ This Midnight pick, which stars Brie and Franco, a real-life couple, explores codependency from a thriller approach. The film centers on a couple who experience a supernatural encounter that puts their relationship to the test after relocating to the country. Starring as well is Damon Herriman.
SALES WME.
TRAIN YOUR DREAMES.
The director is Clint Bentley.
Starring Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, and Kerry Condon.
A Dennis Johnson adaptation that follows a railroad worker in Washington state as he deals with life and loss is the latest project from the filmmaking team behind Sing Sing, a current awards contender. With an auteur bent, it’s an epic that spans decades.
SALES WME.