After two years of pandemic-driven virtual editions, last month marked the exuberant in-person return of the Sundance Film Festival—and the fest’s homecoming to Park City, Utah, was more than worth the travel time for its tens of thousands of attendees.
That’s thanks to the caliber of films that routinely come out of the festival: Eight of last year’s narrative Film Independent Spirit Awards nominees premiered at Sundance. And let’s not forget 2021 Dramatic Grand Jury Prize winner “CODA,” which went on to earn best picture at the Oscars—a first in the fest’s history.
But awards aren’t the real point of Sundance; the festival is all about discovery and conversation. Here are some of the films and themes that will likely enter the zeitgeist this year.
"Fair Play" Courtesy Sundance Institute
Bad romance is a good place to start. While there were no flesh-eating boyfriends, as in last year’s “Fresh,” or a #MeToo-themed title as gripping as “Palm Trees and Power Lines,” the 2023 festival programmed several projects with a feminist spin. Chloe Domont’s erotic thriller “Fair Play” left an indelible impression; the film, which was acquired by Netflix, features Phoebe Dynevor (“Bridgerton”) and Alden Ehrenreich (“Solo”) showing off tremendous emotional range.
Susanna Fogel’s crafty “Cat Person”—an adaptation of Kristen Roupenian’s viral New Yorker short story about modern dating—also veers into feminist territory, featuring a pair of fiendish, fine-tuned performances from Emilia Jones (“CODA”) and Nicholas Braun (“Succession”).
William Oldroyd channels Todd Haynes’ “Carol” in his stylish period piece “Eileen” (based on Ottessa Moshfegh’s 2015 novel), starring Thomasin McKenzie as an impressionable secretary and Anne Hathaway as her femme-fatale coworker. Laura Parmet’s soul-stirring coming-of-age yarn “The Starling Girl” also focuses on the complexities of female desire. (There was some good romance, too: Vibrant London rom-com “Rye Lane,” from first-time feature director Raine Allen Miller, spread joy across the festival.)
“Rye Lane” Courtesy Sundance Institute
Sundance also showcased a few subtle, powerful films directed by and/or about women from the Persian diaspora—particularly Noora Niasari’s “Shayda” and Maryam Keshavarz’s “The Persian Version”—striking a chord with recent female-led protests in Iran.
Many of this year’s movies resonated with women’s experiences in the post–Roe v. Wade world, including Laura Moss’ spine-tingling “Birth/Rebirth”; Savanah Leaf’s profound “Earth Mama”; Sophie Barthes’ playful, futuristic “The Pod Generation”; and Sofia Alaoui’s inventive sci-fi tale “Animalia.” Transgender filmmaker Vuk Lungulov-Klotz brings the queer experience to the fore in his confident, sophisticated “Mutt,” led by trans actor Lio Mehiel. (The performer took home this year’s U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award.)
The largest conversations unfolded around a handful of films, including John Carney’s music-filled love story “Flora and Son,” which cements Eve Hewson (“Bad Sisters”) as a rising star to watch. This year’s critical darling was Celine Song’s “Past Lives,” an A24 project elevated by performances from Greta Lee (“Russian Doll”) and John Magaro (“First Cow”). Expect to hear plenty about these two during the next awards cycle.
A.V. Rockwell’s gritty mother-son tale “A Thousand and One,” which won the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize, should also have legs this season thanks to Teyana Taylor’s layered portrayal of a strong-willed mother. Also generating buzz is Emmy nominee Jonathan Majors’ scorching turn as an obsessive bodybuilder in Elijah Bynum’s “Magazine Dreams,” which has been drawing comparisons to “Taxi Driver.”
As Sundance sets the benchmark for what audiences and critics will be talking about in the months ahead, it’s a safe bet that you’ll continue to hear about these indie titles.
This story originally appeared in the Feb. 16 issue of Backstage Magazine.