Category Archives: Sundance

SLY LIVES! (AKA THE BURDEN OF BLACK GENIUS)
An examination of the life and legacy of Sly & The Family Stone — the groundbreaking band led by the charismatic and enigmatic Sly Stone — captures the band’s rise, reign, and subsequent fadeout while shedding light on the unseen burden that comes with success for Black artists in America.

Director:
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson

Producers:
Joseph Patel, Derik Murray

Festival Section:
Premieres

More Info:
Thompson’s debut documentary feature, SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED) premiered at the Festival before going on to win the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.

SALLY
Sally Ride became the first American woman to blast off into space, but beneath her unflappable composure was a secret. Sally’s life partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, reveals their hidden romance and the sacrifices that accompanied their 27 years together.

Director:
Cristina Costantini

Producer:
Lauren Cioffi, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin, Cristina Costantini

Festival Section:
Premieres

More Info:
Costantini’s previous Sundance projects include MUCHO MUCHO AMOR and SCIENCE FAIR.

Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.

MOVE YA BODY: THE BIRTH OF HOUSE
Out of the underground dance clubs on the South Side of Chicago, a group of friends turn a new sound into a global movement.

Director:
Elegance Bratton

Producer:
Chester Algernal Gordon

Festival Section:
Premieres

More Info:
Bratton previously screened the short film BUCK at the Festival.

Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.

MIDDLETOWN
Inspired by an unconventional teacher, a group of teenagers in upstate New York in the early 1990s made a student film that uncovered a vast conspiracy involving toxic waste that was poisoning their community. Thirty years later, they revisit their film and confront the legacy of this transformative experience.

Directors:
Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine

Producers:
Teddy Leifer, Florrie Priest, Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine, Danny Breen

Festival Section:
Premieres

More Info:
Moss and McBaine return to Sundance, having previously screened WAR GAME, GIRLS STATE, BOYS STATE, and THE OVERNIGHTERS at the Festival.

Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.

THE LIBRARIANS
As an unprecedented wave of book banning is sparked in Texas, Florida, and beyond, librarians under siege join forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy.

Director:
Kim A Snyder

Producers:
Kim A Snyder, Janique L. Robillard, Maria Cuomo Cole, Jana Edelbaum

Festival Section:
Premieres

More Info:
This is the third feature that Snyder has debuted at the Festival, following US KIDS and NEWTOWN.

Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.

IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY
Rising musician Jeff Buckley had only released one album when he died suddenly in 1997. Now, never-before-seen footage, exclusive voice messages, and accounts from those closest to him offer a portrait of the captivating singer.

Director:
Amy Berg

Producers:
Amy Berg, Ryan Heller, Christine Connor, Mandy Chang, Jennie Bedusa, Matthew Roozen

Festival Section:
Premieres

More Info:
This is the latest of several projects that Berg has debuted at Sundance, following PHOENIX RISING, THIS IS PERSONAL, PROPHET’S PREY, and WEST OF MEMPHIS.

Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.

HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY
Amid the surge in anti-trans legislation that Chase Strangio battles in the courtroom, he must also fight against media bias, exposing how the narratives in the press influence public perception and the fight for transgender rights.

Director:
Sam Feder

Producers:
Amy Scholder, Sam Feder, Paola Mendoza

Festival Section:
Premieres

More Info:
Feder previously brought DISCLOSURE to the Festival.

Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.

FREE LEONARD PELTIER
Leonard Peltier, one of the surviving leaders of the American Indian Movement, has been in prison for 50 years following a contentious conviction. A new generation of Native activists is committed to winning his freedom before he dies.

Directors:
Jesse Short Bull, David France

Producers:
David France, Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire, Bird Runningwater

Festival Section:
Premieres

More Info:
France returns to the Festival following WELCOME TO CHECHNYA and HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE.

Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.

FOLKTALES
On the precipice of adulthood, teenagers converge at a traditional folk high school in Arctic Norway. Dropped at the edge of the world, they must rely on only themselves, one another, and a loyal pack of sled dogs as they all grow in unexpected directions.

Directors/Producers:
Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady

Festival Section:
Premieres

More Info:
Ewing and Grady’s previous Sundance documentaries include LOVE FRAUD, NORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU, DETROPIA, and 12TH & DELAWARE.

Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.

ENIGMA
Two legends contested their identities as women in the court of public opinion: April Ashley, who was immortalized as a trailblazer by embracing her transgender history; and Amanda Lear, who has consciously denied and obfuscated her history for decades. Their divergent paths reveal disparate but intertwined legacies.

Director:
Zackary Drucker

Producers:
Madison Passarelli, Douglas Banker, Alex Garinger, Noah Levy, Donovan Lovell, Stephen B Strout

Festival Section:
Premieres

More Info:
Drucker returns to Sundance following her previous feature, THE STROLL.

Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.