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SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
Park City, Utah, USA
Friday, January 20-29, 2017

Sections
AMERICAN DRAMATIC COMPETITION
AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
WORLD DRAMATIC COMPETITION
WORLD DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
NEXT
PREMIERES
DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES
SPOTLIGHT
PARK CITY AT MIDNIGHT
SUNDANCE KIDS
SPECIAL EVENTS
NEW FRONTIER
SHORTS





MEET THE FILMMAKERS

Eliza Hittman
BEACH RATS

Matt Ruskin
CROWN HEIGHTS

Geremy Jasper
PATTI CAKES

Gillian Robespierre
LANDLINE

Zoe Lister-Jones
BAND AID

Andrew & Alex Smith
WALKING OUT

Brett Haley
THE HERO

Jun Geng
FREE AND EASY

Jose Maria Cabral
CARPINTEROS
(WOODPECKERS)

John Trengove
THE WOUND

Jeff Orlowski
CHASING CORAL

Jennifer Brea
UNREST

Amanda Lipitz
STEP

Yance Ford
STRONG ISLAND

Marina Zenovich
WATER AND POWER: A CALIFORNIA HEIST

Adam Sobel
THE WORKERS CUP

Don Kleszy & Barak Goodman
OKLAHOMA CITY

Adam Bhala Lough
THE NEW RADICAL

Joe Piscatella
JOSHUA: TEENAGER VS SUPERPOWER

Alfonso Maiorana & Catherine Bainbridge
RUMBLE: THE INDIANS WHO ROCKED THE WORLD

Frankie Fenton
IT'S NOT YET DARK

Kyoko Miyake
TOKYO IDOLS

Alethea Jones
FUN MOM DINNER

Chris Baugh
BAD DAY FOR THE CUT

Damien Power
KILLING GROUND

Joshua Weinstein
MENASHE

Cory Finley
THOROUGHBRED

Amman Abbasi
DAYVEON

Eric Darnell
ASTEROIDS!

33rd SUNDANCE INTL. FILM FESTIVAL
Park City, Utah, USA
Friday, January 20-29, 2017

AMERICAN DRAMATIC COMPETITION

Best Film
I DON'T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE

Best Director
Eliza Hittman, BEACH RATS

Best Screenplay
Matt Spicer and David Branson Smith, INGRID GOES WEST

Special Prize for Breakthrough Director
Maggie Betts, NOVITIATE

Special Prize for Breakthrough Performance
Chanté Adams, ROXANNE ROXANNE

Special Prize for Photography
Daniel Landin, YELLOW BIRDS

Alfred P. Sloan Prize
MARJORIE PRIME

AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Best Documentary
DINA

Best Director
Peter Nicks, THE FORCE

Special Prize for Storytelling
Yance Ford, STRONG ISLAND

Special Prize for Editing
Kim Roberts and Emiliano Battista, UNREST

Special Prize for Inspirational Filmmaking
Amanda Lipitz, STEP

Orwell Award
ICARUS

WORLD DRAMATIC COMPETITION

Best Film
THE NILE HILTON INCIDENT

Best Director
Francis Lee, GOD'S OWN COUNTRY

Best Screenplay
Kirsten Tan, POP AYE

Special Prize for Cinematic Visions
Jun Geng, FREE AND EASY

Special Prize for Photography
Manu Dacosse, AXOLOTL OVERKILL

WORLD DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Best Documentary
LAST MEN IN ALEPPO

Best Director
Pascale Lamche, WINNIE

Special Prize for Best Photography
Rodrigo Trejo Villanueva, MACHINES

Special Prize for Best Editing
Ramona S. Diaz, MOTHERLAND

Special Prize for Masterful Storytelling
Catherine Bainbridge & Alfonso Maiorana, RUMBLE: THE INDIANS WHO ROCKED THE WORLD

AUDIENCE AWARDS

Best American Dramatic
CROWN HEIGHTS

Best American Documentary
CHASING CORAL

Best World Dramatic
I DREAM IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE

Best World Documentary
JOSHUA: TEENAGER VS. SUPERPOWER

Best Next
GOOK


AMERICAN DRAMATIC JURY
Gael Garcia Bernal, Peter Dinklage, Jody Hill, Jacqueline Lyanga, Jeannine Oppewall.

AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY JURY
Larry Wilmore, Diego Bunuel, Julie Goldman, Robert Greene, Susan Lacy

WORLD DRAMATIC JURY
Nai An, Sonia Braga, Athina Rachel Tsangari

WORLD DOCUMENTARY JURY
Carl Spence, Marina Stavenhagen, Lynette Wallworth

ALFRED P. SLOAN JURY
Heather Berlin, Tracy Drain, Nell Greenfieldboyce, Nicole Perlman, Jennifer Phang

SHORT FILM JURY
Patton Oswalt, David Lowery, Shirley Kurata


CLOSING NIGHT

The Incredible Jessica James
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Jim Strouse
Jessica James, an aspiring NYC playwright, is struggling to get over a recent breakup. She sees a light at the end of the tunnel when she meets the recently divorced Boone. Together, they discover how to make it through the tough times while realizing they like each other - a lot. Cast: Jessica Williams, Chris O'Dowd, Keith Stanfield, Noël Wells. (World Premiere)


AMERICAN DRAMATIC COMPETITION

Band Aid
Director and screenwriter: Zoe Lister-Jones
A couple who can't stop fighting embark on a last-ditch effort to save their marriage: turning their fights into songs and starting a band. Cast: Zoe Lister-Jones, Adam Pally, Fred Armisen, Susie Essman, Hannah Simone, Ravi Patel. World Premiere

Beach Rats
Director and screenwriter: Eliza Hittman
An aimless teenager on the outer edges of Brooklyn struggles to escape his bleak home life and navigate questions of self-identity, as he balances his time between his delinquent friends, a potential new girlfriend, and older men he meets online. Cast: Harris Dickinson, Madeline Weinstein, Kate Hodge, Neal Huff. World Premiere

Brigsby Bear
Director: Dave McCary, Screenwriters: Kevin Costello, Kyle Mooney
Brigsby Bear Adventures is a children's TV show produced for an audience of one: James. When the show abruptly ends, James' life changes forever, and he sets out to finish the story himself. Cast: Kyle Mooney, Claire Danes, Mark Hamill, Greg Kinnear, Matt Walsh, Michaela Watkins. World Premiere

Burning Sands
Director: Gerard McMurray, Screenwriters: Christine Berg, Gerard McMurray
Deep into a fraternity's Hell Week, a favored pledge is torn between honoring a code of silence or standing up against the intensifying violence of underground hazing. Cast: Trevor Jackson, Alfre Woodard, Steve Harris, Tosin Cole, DeRon Horton, Trevante Rhodes. World Premiere

Crown Heights
Director and screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
When Colin Warner is wrongfully convicted of murder, his best friend, Carl King, devotes his life to proving Colin's innocence. Adapted from This American Life, this is the incredible true story of their harrowing quest for justice. Cast: Keith Stanfield, Nnamdi Asomugha, Natalie Paul, Bill Camp, Nestor Carbonell, Amari Cheatom. World Premiere

Golden Exits
Director and screenwriter: Alex Ross Perry
The arrival of a young foreign girl disrupts the lives and emotional balances of two Brooklyn families. Cast: Emily Browning, Adam Horovitz, Mary-Louise Parker, Lily Rabe, Jason Schwartzman, Chloë Sevigny. World Premiere

The Hero
Director: Brett Haley, Screenwriters: Brett Haley, Marc Basch
Lee, a former Western film icon, is living a comfortable existence lending his golden voice to advertisements and smoking weed. After receiving a lifetime achievement award and unexpected news, Lee re-examines his past, while a chance meeting with a sardonic comic has him looking to the future. Cast: Sam Elliott, Laura Prepon, Krysten Ritter, Nick Offerman, Katherine Ross. World Premiere

I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore
Director and screenwriter: Macon Blair
When a depressed woman is burglarized, she finds a new sense of purpose by tracking down the thieves, alongside her obnoxious neighbor. But they soon find themselves dangerously out of their depth against a pack of degenerate criminals. Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Elijah Wood, David Yow, Jane Levy, Devon Graye. World Premiere. DAY ONE

Ingrid Goes West
Director: Matt Spicer, Screenwriters: Matt Spicer, David Branson Smith
A young woman becomes obsessed with an Instagram lifestyle blogger and moves to Los Angeles to try and befriend her in real life. Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Wyatt Russell, Billy Magnussen. World Premiere

Landline
Director: Gillian Robespierre, Screenwriters: Elisabeth Holm, Gillian Robespierre
Two sisters come of age in ’90s New York when they discover their dad’s affair, and it turns out he’s not the only cheater in the family. Everyone still smokes inside, no one has a cellphone and the Jacobs finally connect through lying, cheating and hibachi. Cast: Jenny Slate, John Turturro, Edie Falco, Abby Quinn, Jay Duplass, Finn Wittrock. World Premiere

Novitiate
Director and screenwriter: Maggie Betts
In the early 1960s, during the Vatican II era, a young woman training to become a nun struggles with issues of faith, sexuality and the changing church. Cast: Margaret Qualley, Melissa Leo, Julianne Nicholson, Dianna Agron, Morgan Saylor. World Premiere

Patti Cake$
Director and screenwriter: Geremy Jasper
Straight out of Jersey comes Patricia Dombrowski, a.k.a. Killa P, a.k.a. Patti Cake$, an aspiring rapper fighting through a world of strip malls and strip clubs on an unlikely quest for glory. Cast: Danielle Macdonald, Bridget Everett, Siddharth Dhananjay, Mamoudou Athie, Cathy Moriarty. World Premiere

Roxanne Roxanne
Director and screenwriter: Michael Larnell
The most-feared battle emcee in early-'80s NYC was a fierce teenager from the Queensbridge projects with the weight of the world on her shoulders. At age 14, hustling the streets to provide for her family, Roxanne Shanté was well on her way to becoming a hip-hop legend. Cast: Chanté Adams, Mahershala Ali, Nia Long, Elvis Nolasco, Kevin Phillips, Shenell Edmonds. World Premiere

To the Bone
Director and screenwriter: Marti Noxon
In a last-ditch effort to battle her severe anorexia, 20-year-old Ellen enters a group recovery home. With the help of an unconventional doctor, Ellen and the other residents go on a sometimes-funny, sometimes-harrowing journey that leads to the ultimate question - is life worth living? Cast: Lily Collins, Keanu Reeves, Carrie Preston, Lili Taylor, Alex Sharp, Liana Liberato. World Premiere

Walking Out
Directors and screenwriters: Alex Smith, Andrew Smith
A father and son struggle to connect on any level until a brutal encounter with a predator in the heart of the wilderness leaves them both seriously injured. If they are to survive, the boy must carry his father to safety. Cast: Matt Bomer, Josh Wiggins, Bill Pullman, Alex Neustaedter, Lily Gladstone. World Premiere

The Yellow Birds
Director: Alexandre Moors, Screenwriter: David Lowery
Two young men enlist in the Army and are deployed to fight in the Gulf War. After an unthinkable tragedy, the surviving soldier struggles to balance his promise of silence with the truth and a mourning mother’s search for peace. Cast: Tye Sheridan, Jack Huston, Alden Ehrenreich, Jason Patric, Toni Collette, Jennifer Aniston. World Premiere


AMERICAN DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

Casting JonBenet
U.S.A., Australia
Director: Kitty Green
The unsolved death of six-year-old American beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey remains the world’s most sensational child murder case. Over 15 months, responses, reflections and performances were elicited from the Ramseys' Colorado hometown community, creating a bold work of art from the collective memories and mythologies the crime inspired. World Premiere

Chasing Coral
Director: Jeff Orlowski
Coral reefs around the world are vanishing at an unprecedented rate. A team of divers, photographers and scientists set out on a thrilling ocean adventure to discover why and to reveal the underwater mystery to the world. World Premiere. NEW CLIMATE

City of Ghosts
Director: Matthew Heineman
With unprecedented access, this documentary follows the extraordinary journey of "Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently" - a group of anonymous citizen journalists who banded together after their homeland was overtaken by ISIS - as they risk their lives to stand up against one of the greatest evils in the world today. World Premiere

Dina
Directors: Dan Sickles, Antonio Santini
An eccentric suburban woman and a Walmart door-greeter navigate their evolving relationship in this unconventional love story. World Premiere

Dolores
Director: Peter Bratt
Dolores Huerta bucks 1950s gender conventions by co-founding the country’s first farmworkers' union. Wrestling with raising 11 children, gender bias, union defeat and victory, and nearly dying after a San Francisco Police beating, Dolores emerges with a vision that connects her newfound feminism with racial and class justice. World Premiere

The Force
Director: Pete Nicks
This cinema verité look at the long-troubled Oakland Police Department goes deep inside their struggles to confront federal demands for reform, a popular uprising following events in Ferguson, Mo., and an explosive scandal. World Premiere

ICARUS
Director: Bryan Fogel
When Bryan Fogel sets out to uncover the truth about doping in sports, a chance meeting with a Russian scientist transforms his story from a personal experiment into a geopolitical thriller involving dirty urine, unexplained death and Olympic Gold, exposing the biggest scandal in sports history. World Premiere

The New Radical
Director: Adam Bhala Lough
Uncompromising millennial radicals from the U.S. and the U.K. attack the system through dangerous technological means, which evolves into a high-stakes game with world authorities in the midst of a dramatically changing political landscape. World Premiere

Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker and Trials of a Free Press
Director: Brian Knappenberger
The trial between Hulk Hogan and Gawker Media pitted privacy rights against freedom of the press, and raised important questions about how big money can silence media. This film is an examination of the perils and duties of the free press in an age of inequality. World Premiere

Quest
Director: Jonathan Olshefski
For over a decade, this portrait of a North Philadelphia family and the creative sanctuary offered by their home music studio was filmed with vérité intimacy. The family's 10-year journey is an illumination of race and class in America, and it's a testament to love, healing and hope. World Premiere

STEP
Director: Amanda Lipitz
The senior year of a girls’ high school step team in inner-city Baltimore is documented as they try to become the first in their families to attend college. The girls strive to make their dancing a success against the backdrop of social unrest in their troubled city. World Premiere

Strong Island
U.S.A., Denmark
Director: Yance Ford
Examining the violent death of the filmmaker’s brother and the judicial system that allowed his killer to go free, this documentary interrogates murderous fear and racialized perception and reimagines the wreckage in catastrophe’s wake, challenging us to change. World Premiere

Trophy
Director: Shaul Schwarz, Co-Director: Christina Clusiau
This in-depth look into the powerhouse industries of big-game hunting, breeding and wildlife conservation in the U.S. and Africa unravels the complex consequences of treating animals as commodities. World Premiere. NEW CLIMATE

Unrest
Director: Jennifer Brea
When Harvard Ph.D. student Jennifer Brea is struck down at 28 by a fever that leaves her bedridden, doctors tell her it’s "all in her head." Determined to live, she sets out on a virtual journey to document her story - and four other families' stories - fighting a disease medicine forgot. World Premiere

Water & Power: A California Heist
Director: Marina Zenovich
In California's convoluted water system, notorious water barons find ways to structure a state-engineered system to their own advantage. This examination into their centers of power shows small farmers and everyday citizens facing drought and a new, debilitating groundwater crisis. World Premiere. NEW CLIMATE

Whose Streets?
Director: Sabaah Folayan, Co-Director: Damon Davis
A nonfiction account of the Ferguson, Mo., uprising told by the people who lived it, this is an unflinching look at how the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown inspired a community to fight back and sparked a global movement. World Premiere. DAY ONE


WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION

Axolotl Overkill
Germany
Director and screenwriter: Helene Hegemann
Mifti, age 16, lives in Berlin with a cast of characters including her half-siblings; their rich, self-involved father; and her junkie friend Ophelia. As she mourns her recently deceased mother, she begins to develop an obsession with Alice, an enigmatic, and much older, white-collar criminal. Cast: Jasna Fritzi Bauer, Arly Jover, Mavie Hörbiger, Laura Tonke, Hans Löw, Bernhard Schütz. World Premiere

Berlin Syndrome
Australia
Director: Cate Shortland, Screenwriter: Shaun Grant
A passionate holiday romance takes an unexpected and sinister turn when an Australian photographer wakes one morning in a Berlin apartment and is unable to leave. Cast: Teresa Palmer, Max Riemelt. World Premiere

Carpinteros
Woodpeckers)
Dominican Republic
Director and screenwriter: José María Cabral
Julián finds love and a reason for living in the last place imaginable: the Dominican Republic’s Najayo Prison. His romance with fellow prisoner Yanelly must develop through sign language and without the knowledge of dozens of guards. Cast: Jean Jean, Judith Rodriguez Perez, Ramón Emilio Candelario. World Premiere

Don't Swallow My Heart, Alligator Girl!
Brazil, Netherlands, France, Paraguay
Director and screenwriter: Felipe Bragança
In this fable about love and memories, Joca is a 13-year-old Brazilian boy in love with an indigenous Paraguayan girl. To conquer her love, he must face the violent region's war-torn past and the secrets of his elder brother, Fernando, a motorcycle cowboy. Cast: Cauã Reymond, Eduardo Macedo, Adeli Gonzales, Zahy Guajajara, Claudia Assunção, Ney Matogrosso. World Premiere

Family Life
Chile
Directors: Alicia Scherson, Cristián Jiménez, Screenwriter: Alejandro Zambra
While house-sitting for a distant cousin, a lonely man fabricates the existence of a vindictive ex-wife withholding his daughter in order to gain the sympathy of the single mother he has just met. Cast: Jorge Becker, Gabriela Arancibia, Blanca Lewin, Cristián Carvajal. World Premiere

Free and Easy
Hong Kong
Director: Jun Geng, Screenwriters: Jun Geng, Yuhua Feng, Bing Liu
When a traveling soap salesman arrives in a desolate Chinese town, a crime occurs and sets the strange residents against each other with tragicomic results. Cast: Gang Xu, Zhiyong Zhang, Baohe Xue, Benshan Gu, Xun Zhang. World Premiere

God's Own Country
U.K.
Director and screenwriter: Francis Lee
Springtime in Yorkshire: Isolated young sheep farmer Johnny Saxby numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker, employed for the lambing season, ignites an intense relationship that sets Johnny on a new path. Cast: Josh O'Connor, Alec Secareanu, Ian Hart, Gemma Jones. World Premiere

My Happy Family
Georgia
Directors: Nana & Simon, Screenwriter: Nana Ekvtimishvili
Tbilisi, Georgia, 2016: In a patriarchal society, an ordinary Georgian family lives with three generations under one roof. All are shocked when 52-year-old Manana decides to move out from her parents' home and live alone. Without her family and her husband, a journey into the unknown begins. Cast: Ia Shugliashvili, Merab Ninidze, Berta Khapava, Tsisia Qumsishvili, Giorgi Tabidze, Dimitri Oragvelidze. World Premiere

The Nile Hilton Incident
Sweden
Director and screenwriter: Tarik Saleh
In Cairo, weeks before the 2011 revolution, Police Detective Noredin is working in the infamous Kasr el-Nil Police Station when he is handed the case of a murdered singer. He soon realizes that the investigation concerns the power elite, close to the President’s inner circle. Cast: Fares Fares, Mari Malek, Mohamed Yousry, Yasser Ali Maher, Ahmed Selim, Hania Amar. World Premiere

Pop Aye
Singapore, Thailand
Director and screenwriter: Kirsten Tan
On a chance encounter, a disenchanted architect bumps into his long-lost elephant on the streets of Bangkok. Excited, he takes his elephant on a journey across Thailand in search of the farm where they grew up together. Cast: Thaneth Warakulnukroh, Penpak Sirikul, Bong. World Premiere. DAY ONE

Sueño en otro idioma (I Dream In Another Language)
Mexico
Director: Ernesto Contreras, Screenwriter: Carlos Contreras
The last two speakers of a millennia-old language haven’t spoken in 50 years when a young linguist tries to bring them together. Yet hidden in the past, in the heart of the jungle, lies a secret concerning the fate of the Zikril language. Cast: Fernando Álvarez Rebeil, Eligio Meléndez, Manuel Poncelis, Fátima Molina, Juan Pablo de Santiago, Hoze Meléndez. World Premiere

The Wound
South Africa
Director: John Trengove, Screenwriters: John Trengove, Thando Mgqolozana, Malusi Bengu
Xolani, a lonely factory worker, travels to the rural mountains with the men of his community to initiate a group of teenage boys into manhood. When a defiant initiate from the city discovers his best-kept secret, a forbidden love, Xolani's entire existence begins to unravel. Cast: Nakhane Touré, Bongile Mantsai, Niza Jay Ncoyini. World Premiere


WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

The Good Postman
Finland, Bulgaria
Director: Tonislav Hristov
In a small Bulgarian village troubled by the ongoing refugee crisis, a local postman runs for mayor and learns that even minor deeds can outweigh good intentions. North American Premiere

In Loco Parentis
Ireland, Spain
Directors: Neasa Ní Chianáin, David Rane
John and Amanda teach Latin, English and guitar at a fantastical, stately home-turned-school. Nearly 50-year careers are drawing to a close for the pair who have become legends with the mantra: "Reading! ’Rithmetic! Rock ’n’ roll!" But for pupil and teacher alike, leaving is the hardest lesson. North American Premiere

It's Not Yet Dark
Ireland
Director: Frankie Fenton
This is the incredible story of Simon Fitzmaurice, a young filmmaker who becomes completely paralyzed from motor neurone disease but goes on to direct an award-winning feature film through the use of his eyes. International Premiere

Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower
U.S.A.
Director: Joe Piscatella
When the Chinese Communist Party backtracks on its promise of autonomy to Hong Kong, teenager Joshua Wong decides to save his city. Rallying thousands of kids to skip school and occupy the streets, Joshua becomes an unlikely leader in Hong Kong and one of China’s most notorious dissidents. World Premiere

Last Men in Aleppo
Denmark
Directors: Feras Fayyad, Steen Johannessen
After five years of war in Syria, Aleppo’s remaining residents prepare themselves for a siege. Khalid, Subhi and Mahmoud, founding members of The White Helmets, have remained in the city to help their fellow citizens and experience daily life, death, struggle and triumph in a city under fire. World Premiere

Machines
India, Germany, Finland
Director: Rahul Jain
This intimate, observant portrayal of the rhythm of life and work in a gigantic textile factory in Gujarat, India, moves through the corridors and bowels of the enormously disorienting structure, taking the viewer on a journey of dehumanizing physical labor and intense hardship. North American Premiere. NEW CLIMATE

Motherland
U.S.A., Philippines
Director: Ramona Diaz
The planet's busiest maternity hospital is located in one of its poorest and most populous countries: the Philippines. There, poor women face devastating consequences as their country struggles with reproductive health policy and the politics of conservative Catholic ideologies. World Premiere

Plastic China
China
Director: Jiu-liang Wang
Yi-Jie, an 11-year-old girl, works alongside her parents in a recycling facility while dreaming of attending school. Kun, the facility’s ambitious foreman, dreams of a better life. Through the eyes and hands of those who handle its refuse comes an examination of global consumption and culture. International Premiere. NEW CLIMATE

Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World
Canada
Director: Catherine Bainbridge
This powerful documentary about the role of Native Americans in contemporary music history - featuring some of the greatest music stars of our time - exposes a critical missing chapter, revealing how indigenous musicians helped shape the soundtracks of our lives and, through their contributions, influenced popular culture. World Premiere

Tokyo Idols
U.K., Canada
Director: Kyoko Miyake
This exploration of Japan’s fascination with girl bands and their music follows an aspiring pop singer and her fans, delving into the cultural obsession with young female sexuality and the growing disconnect between men and women in hypermodern societies. World Premiere

Winnie
France
Director: Pascale Lamche
While her husband served a life sentence, paradoxically kept safe and morally uncontaminated, Winnie Mandela rode the raw violence of apartheid, fighting on the front line and underground. This is the untold story of the mysterious forces that combined to take her down, labeling him a saint, her, a sinner. World Premiere

The Workers Cup
U.K.
Director: Adam Sobel
Inside Qatar’s labor camps, African and Asian migrant workers building the facilities of the 2022 World Cup compete in a football tournament of their own. World Premiere. DAY ONE


NEXT

Columbus
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Kogonada
Casey lives with her mother in a little-known Midwestern town haunted by the promise of modernism. Jin, a visitor from the other side of the world, attends to his dying father. Burdened by the future, they find respite in one another and the architecture that surrounds them. Cast: John Cho, Haley Lu Richardson, Parker Posey, Rory Culkin, Michelle Forbes. World Premiere

Dayveon
U.S.A.
Director: Amman Abbasi, Screenwriters: Amman Abbasi, Steven Reneau
In the wake of his older brother’s death, 13-year-old Dayveon spends the sweltering summer days roaming his rural Arkansas town. When he falls in with a local gang, he becomes drawn to the camaraderie and violence of their world. Cast: Devin Blackmon, Kordell "KD" Johnson, Dontrell Bright, Chasity Moore, Lachion Buckingham, Marquell Manning. World Premiere. DAY ONE

Deidra & Laney Rob a Train
U.S.A.
Director: Sydney Freeland, Screenwriter: Shelby Farrell
Two teenage sisters start robbing trains to make ends meet after their single mother's emotional meltdown in an electronics store lands her in jail. Cast: Ashleigh Murray, Rachel Crow, Tim Blake Nelson, David Sullivan, Danielle Nicolet, Sasheer Zamata. World Premiere

A Ghost Story
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: David Lowery
This is the story of a ghost and the house he haunts. Cast: Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Will Oldham, Sonia Acevedo, Rob Zabrecky, Liz Franke. World Premiere

Gook
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Justin Chon
Eli and Daniel, two Korean American brothers who own a struggling women's shoe store, have an unlikely friendship with 11-year-old Kamilla. On the first day of the 1992 L.A. riots, the trio must defend their store and contemplate the meaning of family, their personal dreams and the future. Cast: Justin Chon, Simone Baker, David So, Curtiss Cook Jr., Sang Chon, Ben Munoz. World Premiere

L.A. Times
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Michelle Morgan
In this classically styled comedy of manners set in Los Angeles, sophisticated thirtysomethings try to determine whether ideal happiness exists in coupledom or if the perfectly suited couple is actually just an urban myth. Cast: Michelle Morgan, Dree Hemingway, Jorma Taccone, Kentucker Audley, Margarita Levieva, Adam Shapiro. World Premiere

Lemon
U.S.A.
Director: Janicza Bravo, Screenwriters: Janicza Bravo, Brett Gelman
A man watches his life unravel after he is left by his blind girlfriend. Cast: Brett Gelman, Judy Greer, Michael Cera, Nia Long, Shiri Appleby, Fred Melamed. World Premiere

Menashe
U.S.A.
Director: Joshua Z Weinstein, Screenwriters: Joshua Z Weinstein, Alex Lipschultz, Musa Syeed
Within Brooklyn’s ultra-orthodox Jewish community, a widower battles for custody of his son. A tender drama performed entirely in Yiddish, the film intimately explores the nature of faith and the price of parenthood. Cast: Menashe Lustig. World Premiere

Person to Person
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Dustin Guy Defa
A record collector hustles for a big score while his heartbroken roommate tries to erase a terrible mistake, a teenager bears witness to her best friend’s new relationship and a rookie reporter, alongside her demanding supervisor, chases the clues of a murder case involving a life-weary clock shop owner. Cast: Abbi Jacobson, Michael Cera, Tavi Gevinson, Philip Baker Hall, Bene Coopersmith, George Sample III. World Premiere

Thoroughbred
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Cory Finley
Two teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart. In the process, they learn that neither is what she seems to be — and that a murder might solve both of their problems. Cast: Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin, Paul Sparks, Francie Swift, Kaili Vernoff. World Premiere


PREMIERES

Beatriz at Dinner
U.S.A.
Director: Miguel Arteta, Screenwriter: Mike White
Beatriz, an immigrant from a poor town in Mexico, has drawn on her innate kindness to build a career as a health practitioner. Doug Strutt is a cutthroat, self-satisfied billionaire. When these two opposites meet at a dinner party, their worlds collide and neither will ever be the same. Cast: Salma Hayek, John Lithgow. (World Premiere)

Before I Fall
U.S.A.
Director: Ry Russo-Young, Screenwriter: Maria Maggenti
Samantha Kingston has everything. Then, everything changes. After one fateful night, she wakes up with no future at all. Trapped into reliving the same day over and over, she begins to question just how perfect her life really was. Cast: Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Logan Miller, Kian Lawley, Elena Kampouris, Diego Boneta. (World Premiere)

The Big Sick
U.S.A.
Director: Michael Showalter, Screenwriters: Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani
Based on the real-life courtship: Pakistan-born comedian Kumail and grad student Emily fall in love, but they struggle as their cultures clash. When Emily contracts a mysterious illness, Kumail must navigate the crisis with her parents and the emotional tug-of-war between his family and his heart. Cast: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Anupam Kher. (World Premiere)

Call Me by Your Name
Italy, France
Director: Luca Guadagnino, Screenwriters: James Ivory, Luca Guadagnino
The sensitive and cultivated Elio, only child of the American-Italian-French Perlman family, is facing another lazy summer at his parents’ villa in the beautiful and languid Italian countryside when Oliver, an academic who has come to help with Elio’s father’s research, arrives. Cast: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel, Victoire Du Bois. (World Premiere)

The Discovery
U.S.A.
Director: Charlie McDowell, Screenwriters: Charlie McDowell, Justin Lader
In a world where the afterlife has just been scientifically proven—resulting in millions of people taking their own lives to get there—comes this love story. Cast: Jason Segel, Rooney Mara, Robert Redford, Jesse Plemons, Riley Keough, Ron Canada. (World Premiere)

Fun Mom Dinner
U.S.A.
Director: Alethea Jones, Screenwriter: Julie Rudd
Four women, whose kids attend the same preschool class, get together for a "fun mom dinner." When the night takes an unexpected turn, these unlikely new friends realize they have more in common than just marriage and motherhood. Together, they reclaim a piece of the women they used to be. Cast: Katie Aselton, Toni Collette, Bridget Everett, Molly Shannon, Adam Scott, Adam Levine. (World Premiere)

The Incredible Jessica James
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Jim Strouse
Jessica James, an aspiring NYC playwright, is struggling to get over a recent breakup. She sees a light at the end of the tunnel when she meets the recently divorced Boone. Together, they discover how to make it through the tough times while realizing they like each other - a lot. Cast: Jessica Williams, Chris O'Dowd, Keith Stanfield, Noël Wells. (World Premiere) (CLOSING-NIGHT FILM)

The Last Word
U.S.A.
Director: Mark Pellington, Screenwriter: Stuart Ross Fink
Harriett is a retired businesswoman who tries to control everything around her. When she decides to write her own obituary, a young journalist takes up the task of finding out the truth, resulting in a life-altering friendship. Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Amanda Seyfried, Anne Heche, Thomas Sadoski, Philip Baker Hall. (World Premiere)

Manifesto
Germany
Director and screenwriter: Julian Rosefeldt
Can history’s art manifestos apply to contemporary society? An homage to the twentieth century’s most impassioned artistic statements and innovators, from Futurists and Dadaists to Pop Art, Fluxus, Lars von Trier and Jim Jarmusch, this series of reenactments performed by Cate Blanchett explores these declarations’ performative components and political significance. Cast: Cate Blanchett. (World Premiere)

Marjorie Prime
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Michael Almereyda
In the near future - a time of artificial intelligence - 86-year-old Marjorie has a handsome new companion who looks like her deceased husband and is programmed to feed the story of her life back to her. What would we remember, and what would we forget, if given the chance? Cast: Jon Hamm, Geena Davis, Lois Smith, Tim Robbins. (World Premiere)

Mudbound
U.S.A.
Director: Dee Rees, Screenwriters: Virgil Williams, Dee Rees
In the post-World War II South, two families are pitted against a barbaric social hierarchy and an unrelenting landscape as they simultaneously fight the battle at home and the battle abroad. This epic pioneer story is about friendship, heritage and the unending struggle for and against the land. Cast: Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Jason Mitchell, Mary J. Blige, Garrett Hedlund, Jonathan Banks. (World Premiere)

The Polka King
U.S.A.
Director: Maya Forbes, Screenwriters: Maya Forbes, Wally Wolodarsky
Based on the remarkable true story of the world's only known Polka Ponzi scheme, this mix of comedy and tragedy is about Jan Lewan, a Polish immigrant who believed in the American Dream. But with big dreams came big mistakes for the man who became the "King of Pennsylvania Polka." Cast: Jack Black, Jenny Slate, Jason Schwartzman, Jacki Weaver, J.B. Smoove. (World Premiere)

Rebel in the Rye
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Danny Strong
This portrait of the life and mind of reclusive author J.D. Salinger goes from the bloody front lines of World War II to his early rejections and the PTSD-fueled writer's block that led to his iconic novel, The Catcher in the Rye. Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Kevin Spacey, Sarah Paulson, Zoey Deutch, Hope Davis, Victor Garber. (World Premiere)

Rememory
U.S.A., Canada
Director: Mark Palansky, Screenwriters: Michael Vukadinovich, Mark Palansky
A visionary inventor found dead. A machine that can record people’s memories. A man haunted by the past. This noir mystery explores the ways in which memory defines the present. Cast: Peter Dinklage, Julia Ormond, Martin Donovan, Anton Yelchin, Henry Ian Cusick, Evelyne Brochu. (World Premiere)

Sidney Hall
U.S.A.
Director: Shawn Christensen, Screenwriters: Shawn Christensen, Jason Dolan
Over the course of 12 years, and three stages of life, Sidney Hall falls in love, writes the book of a generation and then disappears without a trace. Cast: Logan Lerman, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Michelle Monaghan, Nathan Lane, Margaret Qualley. (World Premiere)

Where Is Kyra?
U.S.A.
Director: Andrew Dosunmu, Screenwriters: Andrew Dosunmu, Darci Picoult
Pushed to the brink after losing her job, a woman struggles to survive. As the months pass and her troubles deepen, she embarks on a perilous and mysterious journey that threatens to usurp her life. Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, Kiefer Sutherland. (World Premiere)

Wilson
U.S.A.
Director: Craig Johnson, Screenwriter: Daniel Clowes
Wilson, a lonely, neurotic and hilariously honest middle-aged misanthrope, reunites with his estranged wife and gets a shot at happiness when he learns he has a teenage daughter he has never met. In his uniquely outrageous and slightly twisted way, he sets out to connect with her. Cast: Woody Harrelson, Laura Dern, Judy Greer. (World Premiere)

Wind River
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Taylor Sheridan
An FBI agent teams with the town's veteran game tracker to investigate a murder that occurred on a Native American reservation. Cast: Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Jon Bernthal. (World Premiere)


DOCUMENTARY PREMIERES

500 YEARS
U.S.A.
Director: Pamela Yates
From a historic genocide trial to the overthrow of a president, the sweeping story of mounting resistance played out in Guatemala’s recent history is told through the actions and perspectives of the majority indigenous Mayan population, who now stand poised to reimagine their society. (World Premiere)

Cries From Syria
U.S.A., Syria, Czech Republic
Director: Evgeny Afineevsky
This documentary attempts to recontextualize the European migrant crisis and ongoing hostilities in Syria, through eyewitness and participant testimony. Children and parents recount the revolution, civil war, air strikes, atrocities and ongoing humanitarian aid crises, in a portrait of recent history and the consequences of violence. (World Premiere)

Give Me Future: Major Lazer in Cuba
U.S.A., Cuba
Director: Austin Peters
In the spring of 2016, global music sensation Major Lazer performed a free concert in Havana, Cuba - an unprecedented show that drew an audience of almost half a million. This concert documentary evolves into an exploration of youth culture in a country on the precipice of change. (World Premiere)

Legion of Brothers
U.S.A.
Director: Greg Barker
Afghanistan, immediately post-9/11: Small teams of Green Berets arrive on a series of secret missions to overthrow the Taliban. What happens next is equal parts war origin story and cautionary tale, illuminating the nature and impact of 15 years of constant combat, with unprecedented access to U.S. Special Forces. (World Premiere)

Oklahoma City
U.S.A.
Director: Barak Goodman
The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in April 1995 is the worst act of domestic terrorism in American history; this documentary explores how a series of deadly encounters between American citizens and federal law enforcement - including the standoffs at Ruby Ridge and Waco - led to it. (World Premiere)

Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman
U.S.A.
Directors: Susan Froemke, John Hoffman, Beth Aala
From the Montana Rockies to the wheat fields of Kansas and the Gulf of Mexico, families who work the land and sea are crossing political divides to find unexpected ways to protect the natural resources vital to their livelihoods. These are the new heroes of conservation, deep in America's heartland. (World Premiere) THE NEW CLIMATE

Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton
U.S.A.
Director: Rory Kennedy
This is the remarkable story of an American icon who changed the sport of big wave surfing forever. Transcending the surf genre, this in-depth portrait of a hard-charging athlete explores the fear, courage and ambition that push a man to greatness - and the cost that comes with it. (World Premiere)

Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities
U.S.A.
Director: Stanley Nelson
A haven for black intellectuals, artists and revolutionaries - and path of promise toward the American dream - black colleges and universities have educated the architects of freedom movements and cultivated leaders in every field. They have been unapologetically black for 150 years. For the first time ever, their story is told. (World Premiere)

This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous
U.S.A.
Director: Barbara Kopple
Are there limits to your love for your family? One family's acceptance is tested when a champion diver, destined for the Olympics, announces he's transitioning into a woman - and invites his YouTube followers along for every moment. It's a story about unconditional love and finding the courage to be yourself. (World Premiere)

Untitled Lucy Walker/Buena Vista Social Club Documentary
U.S.A., United Kingdom, Cuba
Director: Lucy Walker
The musicians of the Buena Vista Social Club exposed the world to Cuba's vibrant culture with their landmark 1997 album. Now, against the backdrop of Cuba’s captivating musical history, hear the band’s story as they reflect on their remarkable careers and the extraordinary circumstances that brought them together. (World Premiere)


PARK CITY AT MIDNIGHT

78/52
U.S.A.
Director: Alexandre Philippe
This is an unprecedented look at the iconic shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, the "man behind the curtain," and the screen murder that profoundly changed the course of world cinema. (World Premiere)

Bad Day for the Cut
Northern Ireland
Director: Chris Baugh, Screenwriters: Chris Baugh, Brendan Mullin
A middle-aged Irish farmer, who still lives at home with his mother, sets off on a mission of revenge when the old lady is murdered. Cast: Nigel O'Neill, Susan Lynch, Józef Pawlowski, Stuart Graham, Anna Próchniak, Ian McElhinney. (World Premiere)

Bitch
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Marianna Palka
A woman snaps under crushing life pressures and assumes the psyche of a vicious dog. Her philandering, absentee husband is forced to become reacquainted with his four children and sister-in-law as they attempt to keep the family together during this bizarre crisis. Cast: Jason Ritter, Jaime King, Marianna Palka, Brighton Sharbino, Rio Mangini, Kingston Foster. (World Premiere)

Bushwick
U.S.A.
Directors: Cary Murnion, Jonathan Milott, Screenwriters: Nick Damici, Graham Reznick
Lucy emerges from a Brooklyn subway to find that her neighborhood is under attack by black-clad military soldiers. An ex-Marine corpsman, Stupe, reluctantly helps her fight for survival through a civil war, as Texas attempts to secede from the United States of America. Cast: Dave Bautista, Brittany Snow, Angelic Zambrana, Jeremie Harris, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Arturo Castro. (World Premiere)

Killing Ground
Australia
Director and screenwriter: Damien Power
Ian and Samantha arrive at an isolated campsite to find an SUV and a tent - with no sign of the occupants. The discovery of a distressed child wandering in the woods unleashes a terrifying chain of events that will test the young couple's breaking point. Cast: Aaron Pedersen, Ian Meadows, Harriet Dyer, Aaron Glenane. (International Premiere)

Kuso
U.S.A.
Director: Steven Ellison, Screenwriters: Steven Ellison, David Firth, Zach Fox
Broadcasting through a makeshift network of discarded televisions, this story is tangled up in the aftermath of Los Angeles's worst earthquake nightmare. Travel between screens and aftershocks into the twisted lives of the survived. Cast: Iesha Coston, Zack Fox, Hannibal Buress, The Buttress, Tim Heidecker, Mali Matsuda. (World Premiere)

The Little Hours
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Jeff Baena
A young servant fleeing from his master takes refuge at a dysfunctional convent in medieval Tuscany. Cast: Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon. (World Premiere) DAY ONE

XX
U.S.A.
Directors and screenwriters: Annie Clark, Karyn Kusama, Roxanne Benjamin, Jovanka Vuckovic
This all-female horror anthology features four dark tales from four fiercely talented women. Cast: Natalie Brown, Melanie Lynskey, Breeda Wool, Christina Kirk. (World Premiere)


SPOTLIGHT

Colossal
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Nacho Vigalondo
An unapologetic party girl dreams of a fresh start only to discover a mysterious and fantastical connection between herself and a city-wrecking monster on the other side of the globe. Cast: Anne Hathaway, Dan Stevens, Jason Sudeikis, Tim Blake Nelson, Austin Stowell.

Frantz
France, Germany
Director: François Ozon, Screenwriters: François Ozon, Philippe Piazzo
In a small German town after World War I, Anna mourns daily at the grave of her fiancé, Frantz, killed in battle in France. One day a young Frenchman, Adrien, also lays flowers at the grave. His presence, so soon after the German defeat, ignites passions. Cast: Pierre Niney, Paula Beer, Ernst Stötzner, Marie Gruber, Johann von Bülow, Anton von Lucke.

Lady Macbeth
U.K.
Director: William Oldroyd, Screenwriter: Alice Birch
Rural England, 1865: Katherine is stifled by her loveless marriage to a bitter man and his unforgiving family. When she embarks on a passionate affair with a stableman from the estate, the force unleashed inside her is so powerful that she will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Cast: Florence Pugh, Cosmo Jarvis, Paul Hilton, Naomi Ackie, Christopher Fairbank. (U.S. Premiere)

Look and See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry
U.S.A.
Directors: Laura Dunn, Jef Sewell
This cinematic portrait of the changing landscapes and shifting values of rural America in the era of industrial agriculture is seen through the mind’s eye of farmer and writer Wendell Berry. THE NEW CLIMATE

Raw
France
Director and screenwriter: Julia Ducournau
When a young vegetarian undergoes a carnivorous hazing ritual at vet school, she develops an unbidden taste for meat, with unexpected consequences. Cast: Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufella, Laurent Lucas, Joana Preiss.

Sami Blood
Sweden
Director and screenwriter: Amanda Kernell
Elle Marja, 14, is a reindeer-breeding Sámi girl. Exposed to race biology examinations at her boarding school and the racism of the 1930s, she starts dreaming of another life - one that demands she become someone else and break all ties with her family and culture. Cast: Lene Cecilia Sparrok, Mia Sparrok, Maj-Doris Rimpi, Olle Sarri, Hanna Alström, Malin Crépin. (U.S. Premiere)

Their Finest
U.K.
Director: Lone Scherfig, Screenwriter: Gaby Chiappe
During the 1940 London Blitz, untried screenwriter Catrin struggles to find her voice amidst war, as she and a makeshift cast work under fire to create a film to lift the nation's spirits - and inspire America to join the war. Cast: Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin, Bill Nighy, Jack Huston, Jake Lacy, Jeremy Irons. (U.S. Premiere)


SUNDANCE KIDS

The Mars Generation
U.S.A.
Director: Michael Barnett
Aspiring teenage astronauts reveal that a journey to Mars is closer than you think. (World Premiere) SALT LAKE CITY OPENING-NIGHT FILM

My Life as a Zucchini
Switzerland, France
Director: Claude Barras, Screenwriter: Céline Sciamma
After his mother’s death, Zucchini is befriended by a police officer, Raymond, who accompanies him to a foster home filled with other orphans his age. There, with the help of his newfound friends, Zucchini eventually learns to trust and love as he searches for a new family of his own. (World Premiere - English Version)

Red Dog: True Blue
Australia
Director: Kriv Stenders, Screenwriter: Daniel Taplitz
When 11-year-old Mick is shipped off to his grandfather's cattle station in Australia’s remote Pilbara, he prepares himself for a life of dull hardship but instead finds myth, adventure and a friendship with a scrappy, one-of-a-kind pup that will change his life forever. Cast: Levi Miller, Bryan Brown, Hanna Mangan-Lawrence, Thomas Cocquerel, Jason Isaacs. (North American Premiere)


SPECIAL EVENTS

Shots Fired
U.S.A.
Executive Producers: Gina Prince-Bythewood, Reggie Rock Bythewood, Brian Grazer, Francie Calfo
After racially charged shootings in a North Carolina town, an investigator digs into the cases alongside a special prosecutor. Together they seek justice while navigating the ensuing media attention and public unrest threatening the divided town. The festival will premiere two episodes of this 10-hour series, followed by an extended Q&A. Cast: Sanaa Lathan, Stephan James, Helen Hunt, Richard Dreyfuss, Stephen Moyer, Mack Wilds. (World Premiere)

Downward Dog
U.S.A.
Showrunners: Kat Likkel, John Hoberg, Creators: Michael Killen, Samm Hodges
The story of a struggling millennial, Nan, as observed from the point of view of her lonely and philosophical dog, Martin. The festival will premiere the first four episodes of the series, followed by an extended Q&A with the cast, creators and showrunners. Cast: Allison Tolman, Samm Hodges, Lucas Neff, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Barry Rothbart. (World Premiere )

The History of Comedy
U.S.A.
Executive Producers: Mark Herzog, Christopher G. Cowen, Sean Hayes, Todd Milliner
Utilizing archival footage punctuated by contemporary interviews with comedy legends and scholars, this is the history of not only what makes us laugh, but how comedy has affected the social and political landscape throughout history. The festival will premiere two episodes of this docuseries, "Spark of Madness" and "Going Blue," followed by an extended Q&A. (World Premiere)

I Love Dick
U.S.A.
Directors: Jill Soloway, Andrea Arnold, Kimberly Peirce, Executive Producers: Jill Soloway, Sarah Gubbins, Andrea Sperling, Victor Hsu
Chris and Sylvere, a married couple in the intellectual community of Marfa, Texas, become obsessed with a charismatic artist named Dick. What follows is the unraveling of a marriage, the deification of a reluctant messiah and the awakening of the female gaze. The festival will present the first three episodes of this Amazon original series, followed by an extended Q&A. Cast: Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Hahn, Griffin Dunne, Roberta Colindrez, India Menuez, Phoebe Robinson. (World Premiere)

Rise
Canada
Director and screenwriter: Michelle Latimer
This vibrant and immersive documentary series explores the front lines of indigenous resistance. Episodes "Apache Stronghold," "Sacred Water" and "Red Power" examine factors that threaten indigenous liberation in the 21st century. A series of contrasts, this series is both a condemnation of colonialism and a celebration of indigenous peoples. Continuing Sundance Institute’s ongoing commitment to presenting bold stories from within the Native American and Indigenous communities, we are proud to debut three episodes: "Apache Stronghold," "Sacred Water" and "Red Power," followed by an extended Q&A. (World Premiere) THE NEW CLIMATE

Time: The Kalief Browder Story
U.S.A.
Director: Jenner Furst, Executive Producers: Jenner Furst, Shawn “Jay Z” Carter, Harvey Weinstein, David C. Glasser, Nick Sandow, Julia Willoughby Nason, Michael Gasparro
After his arrest at age 16, Kalief Browder fought the system and prevailed, despite unthinkable circumstances. He became an American hero. The festival will debut the first two episodes of this in-depth, humanizing look at a broken justice system, followed by an extended Q&A. (World Premiere)

DOCUSERIES SHOWCASE
Individual episodes from two new Netflix docuseries, featuring an extended Q&A with directors Morgan Neville and Rashida Jones.

  • Abstract: The Art of Design
    U.S.A.
    Director and executive producer: Morgan Neville
    A look beyond blueprints and computers into the art and science of design, showcasing great designers from every discipline whose work shapes our world. The Festival will debut one episode of the series, followed by an extended Q&A with director and executive producer Morgan Neville. Cast: Christoph Niemann. (World Premiere)

  • Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On
    U.S.A.
    Director: Rashida Jones, “Women on Top,” Executive Producers: Rashida Jones, Ronna Gradus, Jill Bauer, Peter LoGreco
    Porn has gone mainstream; the question is, can we handle it? This exploration of the intersection of sex and technology is told through the stories of the people whose lives are defined by the current explosion of internet porn - whether they're creating it, consuming it or both. The festival will debut one episode of the series, followed by an extended Q&A with director and executive producer Rashida Jones. (World Premiere)

    INDEPENDENT PILOT SHOWCASE
    World premieres highlighting the best in episodic series work from the independent community.

  • Playdates
    U.S.A.
    Writers: Giles Andrew, Dan Marshall, Creators: Giles Andrew, Dan Marshall, Alex Bourne
    Uprooted from their Midwestern life, Bennett, a new stay-at-home dad, and Julie, a working mom, are forced to take their kids on playdates inside the elitist parenting culture of Silicon Beach. Cast: Paul Scheer, Carla Gallo, Miles Fisher, Craig Frank, Gemma Brooke Allen, Landon Gordon. (World Premiere)

  • Shit Kids
    U.S.A.
    Director and creator: Kyle Dunnigan
    The daughter of an earth-shatteringly boring couple, along with the son of an equally humdrum set of parents, have decided to plot their parents' murders. Cast: Kyle Dunnigan, Kevin Berntson, Candace Brown, Margee Magee, Grace van Dien, Doug Noble. (World Premiere)

  • When the Street Lights Go On
    U.S.A.
    Director: Brett Morgen, Screenwriters: Eddie O'Keefe, Chris Hutton
    The residents of a small town grapple with the ruthless killing of a young girl and a teacher. Cast: Max Burkholder, Odessa Young, Adam Long, Ben Winchell, Kelli Mayo, Graham Beckel.

    WORLD PREMIERE MADE IN CUBA
    Three Cuban short documentaries, reflecting Sundance Institute's longstanding commitment to international artists. These films were guided by the Institute’s Documentary Film Program in collaboration with La Escuela Internacional de Cine y TV (EICTV) and The Guardian Multimedia Program.

  • Connection (Conectifai)
    Cuba
    Director: Horizoe Garcia Miranda
    ETECSA, Cuba’s only telephone company, installed Wi-Fi routers in 18 public parks in 2016. For many Cubans, this meant being able to go online for the first time. This film shows us how Cubans of all ages initially explore social media, online dating and more. (U.S. Premiere)

  • Great (Muy Bien)
    Cuba
    Director: Sheyla Pool Pástor
    The U.S. restored diplomatic relations with Cuba in 2015, making it no longer unrealistic for Cubans to dream of one day living and working abroad. Cubans of all ages and diverse aspirations enroll at the makeshift Big Ben English school in Havana. (U.S. Premiere)

  • House for Sale (Casa en Venta)
    Cuba
    Director: Emanuel Giraldo Betancur
    After more than 50 years, the ban on individuals in Cuba selling their houses was lifted in 2011. Three Cubans invite us into their homes - full of memories, souvenirs and family members - to hear their "sales pitch." (U.S. Premiere)

    MIDNIGHT EPISODIC SHOWCASE
    World premieres of two new episodic additions to the Midnight lineup: Pineapple, from Adaptive Studios, and Snatchers, from Stage 13, followed by an extended Q&A with the creators of both series.

  • Pineapple
    U.S.A.
    Director and writer: Arkasha Stevenson
    When a miner’s daughter is assaulted in the local coal mine, she utters only one word, leaving the town’s sheriff baffled. The event quickly spirals out of control, impacting the entire town. The festival will premiere three shortform episodes of this uniquely cinematic drama series. Cast: Tyler Vickers, Kel Owens, Ron Gilbert, Gloria Vonn, Lucille Sharp, Brooklyn Robinson. (World Premiere)

  • Snatchers
    U.S.A.
    Directors: Stephen Cedars, Benji Kleiman, Screenwriters: Scott Yacyshyn, Benji Kleiman, Stephen Cedars
    After status-obsessed teen Sara has sex for the first time, she wakes up the next day nine months pregnant - with an alien. Turning to her nerdy ex-bestie, Hayley (the only person she can trust without ruining her reputation), they strive to put an end to all the carnage. The festival will premiere eight shortform episodes of this otherworldly horror-comedy series. Cast: Mari Nepi, Gabrielle Elyse, Austin Fryberger, J.J. Nolan, Nick Gomez, Rich Fulcher. (World Premiere)

    SHORTFORM EPISODIC SERIES
    New voices defying broadcast boilerplates with a redefinition of traditional episodic conventions.

  • The Chances
    U.S.A.
    Director: Anna Kerrigan, Creators: Josh Feldman, Shoshannah Stern
    Best friends Kate and Michael, who are deaf, try their best to see their friendship through new changes in their lives, as Kate adjusts to being newly married and Michael attempts to get over his ex-boyfriend. The Festival will debut five episodes of this short-form episodic series. Cast: Josh Feldman, Shoshannah Stern, Aaron Costa Ganis, Lucas Near-Verbrugghe, Darryl Stephens, Wilson Cruz. (World Premiere)

  • Gente-fied
    U.S.A.
    Creator: Marvin Lemus, Executive Producers: Charles D. King, Aaliyah Williams, America Ferrera
    Seven characters deal with the effects of change in Los Angeles' Boyle Heights. Bicultural millennials and old-school business owners hustle to create spaces that celebrate their Latino identities - even while faced with rent hikes, a housing crisis and a steady stream of outsiders threatening to gentrify their barrio. The festival will debut three episodes of this shortform episodic series. Cast: Edsson Morales, Alicia Sixtos, Victoria Ortiz, Yareli Arizmendi, Salvador Velez Jr, Rafael Sigler. (World Premiere)

  • Strangers
    U.S.A.
    Director: Mia Lidofsky, Executive Producers: Michael B. Clark, Alex Turtletaub, Jesse Peretz, Mia Lidofsky
    Isobel decides to rent out her spare bedroom in order to generate much-needed extra income after a messy and painful breakup. With the help of her best friend, she navigates the most emotionally, sexually and professionally complicated time of her life, while hosting a constant stream of new guests. The festival will debut the first three episodes of this shortform episodic series. Cast: Zoë Chao, Meredith Hagner, Jemaine Clement, Breeda Wool, Matthew Oberg, Shiri Appleby. (World Premiere)


    NEW FRONTIER

    FILMS AND PERFORMANCE

    18 Black Girls
    Boys Ages 1-18 Who Have Arrived at the Singularity and Are Thus Spiritual Machines: $X in an Edition of $97 Quadrillion
    U.S.A.
    Director and writer: Terence Nance
    In this pair of performances, the artist Googles the phrase "one-year-old black boy" and "one-year-old black girl," ascending in age to 18, allowing Google's "popular searches" algorithm to populate what words will follow.

    Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun?
    U.S.A.
    Director: Travis Wilkerson
    This documentary murder mystery about the artist’s own family is a Southern Gothic torn apart and reassembled. Journeying straight into the black heart of a family and country, this multimedia performance explores a forgotten killing by the artist's great-grandfather - a white Southern racist - of a black man in lower Alabama.

    World Without End
    No Reported Incidents
    U.S.A., U.K.
    Director: Jem Cohen
    Close observations around Southend-on-Sea, a small English town along the Thames estuary, reveal not only everyday streets, everyday birds, unflagging tides, mud and sky, but also prize-winning Indian curries, an encyclopedic universe of hats and a nearly lost world of proto-punk music.

    INSTALLATIONS

    A selection of single-channel works by the collective A Normal Working Day/Switzerland - A Normal Working Day is an artist collective consisting of the installation artist Zimoun and the choreographers and dancers Delgado Fuchs (Marco Delgado, Nadine Fuchs). Formed from the bodies of the two performers, these splendidly hypnotic projections are visual rabbit holes that shimmer with a presence that is larger than the sum of their parts.

    Full Turn
    Switzerland
    Artist: Benjamin Muzzin
    This installation explores the notion of the third dimension with the desire to get out of the usual frame of a flat screen. The rotation of two tablets creates a three-dimensional, animated sequence that can be seen at 360 degrees, unlike any other type of display.

    Heartcorps: Riders of the Storyboard
    U.S.A.
    Artist: dandypunk, Key Collaborators: Darin Basile, Jo Cattell
    Follow the story of Particle, a two-dimensional light being, as you walk through the pages of a giant, immersive comic book. Hand-drawn illustrations come to life around you using projection-mapping technology, while high-level Cirque du Soleil performers interact with animated characters in this "digital light poem." Cast: Ekenah Claudin, Elon Höglund, Youssef El Toufali, Jenni Gamas.

    Heroes
    U.S.A.
    Artist: Melissa Painter, Key Collaborators: Tim Dillon, Thomas Wester, Jason Schugardt, Laura Gorenstein Miller
    The setting: An extravagant movie palace where silent films were shown. One dance - fiercely athletic and romantic - invites you inside. The story comes off the screen, putting you into your body and challenging you to move, navigate heroic shifts in perspective and scale and reach out to touch the experience. Cast: Helios Dance Theater, Stephanie Maxim, Chris Stanley, Melissa Sandvig.

    Journey to the Center of the Natural Machine
    U.S.A.
    Artist: Daniella Segal
    From stone ax to super-computer, our brain’s evolution has been guided by our tools, evolving it into the most complicated object in the known universe. Explore a holographic brain with a friend on the Meta 2 Augmented Reality Headset, and rebuild your relationship to the Natural Machine.

    NeuroSpeculative AfroFeminism
    U.S.A.
    Artists: Ashley Baccus-Clark, Carmen Aguilar y Wedge, Ece Tankal, Nitzan Bartov
    A three-part exploration of black women and the roles they play in technology, society and culture - including speculative products, immersive experiences and neurocognitive impact research. Using fashion, cosmetics and the economy of beauty as entry points, the project illuminates issues of privacy, transparency, identity and perception.

    Pleasant Places
    U.K.
    Artist: Quayola
    A return to, and a modern elaboration upon, Vincent Van Gogh’s Provence landscapes, this series of digital paintings interrogates and reframes concepts of representation and perception through image manipulation and augmented reality. Using bucolic and contemplative images, juxtaposed with raw data visualization, this project suggests alternate modes of visual synthesis.

    Synesthesia Suit: Rez Infinite and Crystal Vibes
    Japan
    Artists: Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Ayahiko Sato, Kouta Minamizawa
    Experience a multisensory climax with pounding beats and stringed instruments in acclaimed PlayStation 4/PS VR game Rez Infinite, or feel vibrations of candy-colored psychedelic sound rippling through the Crystal Vibes universe. Audiovisual and vibrotactile textures combine to push the frontiers of technology-mediated sensory experience.

    VIRTUAL/AUGMENTED REALITY

    ASTEROIDS!
    U.S.A.
    Artist: Eric Darnell
    From the director of Madagascar comes Baobab’s VR animation. Journey the cosmos aboard the spaceship of Mac and Cheez, an alien duo so mission-focused they forget what’s important in life. It's up to you to show them what really matters. Cast: Eric Darnell.

    Chasing Coral: The VR Experience
    U.S.A.
    Artist: Jeff Orlowski
    Zackary Rago, a passionate scuba diver and researcher, documented the unprecedented 2016 coral bleaching event at Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef with this exclusive underwater VR experience. THE NEW CLIMATE

    Chocolate
    U.S.A.
    Artist: Tyler Hurd
    This VR music video experience for the song "Chocolate" by Giraffage sets you in a cat-centric world of sparkling, colorful chrome with a tribe of people doing a ritualistic dance just for you, their robot god, to provide them with their precious resource, cute lil' chrome kitties.

    Dear Angelica
    U.S.A.
    Artist: Saschka Unseld, Key Collaborators: Angela Petrella, Wesley Allsbrook, Maxwell Planck, Ryan Thomas
    This project is a journey through the magical and dreamlike ways we remember lost ones and, even though they are gone, what remains of the ones we loved. Cast: Geena Davis, Mae Whitman.

    Hue
    U.S.A.
    Artist: Nicole McDonald, Key Collaborators: KC Austin
    This is an immersive and visually driven interactive film about a man who has lost the ability to see color. Participants reawaken the protagonist's sense of wonder and imagination through empathetic action as color and connection return to his world view. Cast: David Stratham, Benedikt Negro.

    Life of Us
    U.S.A.
    Artists: Chris Milk, Aaron Koblin, Pharrell Williams, Key Collaborators: Megan Ellison, McKenzie Stubbert, Jona Dinges
    This shared VR journey tells the complete story of the evolution of life on Earth.

    Melting Ice
    U.S.A.
    Artist: Danfung Dennis
    We take viewers on a transcendent exploration into the devastating consequences of climate change on Greenland's ice sheet. Stand under collapsing glaciers, next to raging rivers of ice melt and witness rising sea levels - all visceral warnings of our planet's future. THE NEW CLIMATE

    Mindshow
    U.S.A.
    Artists: Gil Baron, Jonnie Ross, Adam Levin, Key Collaborators: Jonnie Ross, Gil Baron
    Make VR cartoons with your body and voice. Teleport into different characters and act out all the parts. Create with your friends by passing scenes back and forth, then share your shows in VR and on social media. Cast: Dana Gould.

    Miyubi
    Canada
    Artists: Félix Lajeunesse, Paul Raphaël, Key Collaborator: Owen Burke
    Experience love and obsolescence as a Japanese toy robot, gifted to a child in the home of a fractured family in 1982 suburban America. Cast: Jeff Goldblum, P.J. Byrne, Emily Bergl, Owen Vaccaro, Richard Riehle, Ted Sutherland, Tatum Kensington Bailey.

    Orbital Vanitas
    Australia
    Artist: Shaun Gladwell, Key Collaborator: BADFAITH
    This virtual reality experience presents a surreal sci-fi mystery and meditation on death. Initially placed in Earth’s orbit, participants soon notice an enigmatic form floating toward them. What takes place next makes perfect use of the VR format.

    Out of Exile: Daniel's Story
    U.S.A.
    Artist: Nonny de la Peña
    In August 2014, Daniel Ashley Pierce's family verbally and physically accosted him before kicking him out of the house because they disapproved of his sexuality. Built directly around audio Daniel recorded from that encounter, this project includes thoughts of hope and triumph from Daniel and three other LGBTQ youth. Cast: Daniel Ashley Pierce, Kyle Wills, Julene Renee, Cyntia Domenzain, Angel VanStark, Phoebe VanCleefe.

    The Sky Is a Gap
    U.S.A.
    Artist: Rachel Rossin
    The viewer is allowed to precisely move time with space by the use of a positionally tracked headset. Existing in the physical and virtual realms, the installation depicts a pyroclastic explosion inspired by Zabriskie Point, where the scene's progress is physically mapped to the participant's forward and backward movement.

    Through You
    U.S.A.
    Artists: Saschka Unseld, Lily Baldwin
    Dance is used to inhabit a common mortal story of love born, lived, lost, burned and seemingly gone forever - only to be found again.Cast: Joanna Kotze, Amari Cheatom, Marni Thomas Wood.

    Tree
    U.S.A.
    Artists: Milica Zec, Winslow Porter, Key Collaborators: Aleksandar Protic, Jacob Kudsk Steensen
    This virtual experience transforms you into a rainforest tree. With your arms as the branches and body as the trunk, you experience the tree’s growth from a seedling to its fullest form and witness its fate firsthand. THE NEW CLIMATE

    What If
    U.S.A.
    Artist: Rosemarie Troche, Key Collaborator: Bruce Allan
    A conflicted Christian man carries out a mass shooting. In his past: a same-sex hook-up and self-loathing. What if events had unfolded differently? What if his partner had convinced him to face himself? Could that simple act change the course of history? Cast: Zachary Booth, Mitchell Winter.

    Zero Days VR
    U.S.A.
    Artists: Scatter, Yasmin Elayat, Elie Zananiri, Key Collaborators: Mei-Ling Wong, Alexander Porter, James George
    The story of a clandestine mission hatched by the U.S. and Israel to sabotage an underground Iranian nuclear facility told from the perspective of Stuxnet, a sophisticated cyber weapon, and a key NSA informant. Audiences experience the high stakes of cyber warfare placed inside the invisible world of computer viruses. Cast: Joanne Tucker, Eric Chien, Liam O’Murchu, Ralph Langner, Olli Heinonen, David Sanger


    SHORTS


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