Category Archives: Recommendations

NAM JUNE PAIK: MOON IS THE OLDEST TV
The quixotic journey of Nam June Paik, one of the most famous Asian artists of the 20th century, who revolutionized the use of technology as an artistic canvas and prophesied both the fascist tendencies and intercultural understanding that would arise from the interconnected metaverse of today’s world.

Director/Producer:
Amanda Kim

Producers:
Jennifer Stockman, David Koh, Amy Hobby, Jesse Wann, Mariko Munro

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition

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

LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING
This celebration of Little Richard reveals the Black queer origins of rock ’n’ roll, finally exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music. Through archival and performance footage, the revolutionary icon’s life unspools with all of its switchbacks and contradictions.

Director/Producer:
Lisa Cortés

Producers:
Robert Friedman, Liz Yale Marsh, Caryn Capotosto

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition

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

JOONAM
Spurred by a provocative family memory and a lifetime of separation from the country her mother left behind, a young filmmaker delves into her mother and grandmother’s complicated pasts and her own fractured Iranian identity.

Director/Producer:
Sierra Urich

Producer:
Keith Wilson

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition

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

GOING VARSITY IN MARIACHI
In the competitive world of high school mariachi, the musicians from the South Texas borderlands reign supreme. Under the guidance of coach Abel Acuña, the teenage captains of Edinburg North High School’s acclaimed team must turn a shoestring budget and diverse crew of inexperienced musicians into state champions.

Directors:
Alejandra Vasquez, Sam Osborn

Producers:
James Lawler, Luis A Miranda Jr, Julia Pontecorvo

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition

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

GOING TO MARS: THE NIKKI GIOVANNI PROJECT
Intimate vérité, archival footage, and visually innovative treatments of poetry take us on a journey through the dreamscape of legendary poet Nikki Giovanni as she reflects on her life and legacy.

Directors/Producers:
Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson

Producer:
Tommy Oliver

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition

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

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SHERE HITE
Shere Hite’s 1976 bestselling book, The Hite Report, liberated the female orgasm by revealing the most private experiences of thousands of anonymous survey respondents. Her findings rocked the American establishment and presaged current conversations about gender, sexuality, and bodily autonomy. So how did Shere Hite disappear?

Director/Producer:
Nicole Newnham

Producers:
Molly O’Brien, RJ Cutler, Elise Pearlstein, Kimberley Ferdinando, Trevor Smith

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition

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

BAD PRESS
When the Muscogee Nation suddenly begins censoring its free press, a rogue reporter fights to expose her government’s corruption in a historic battle that will have ramifications for all of Indian country.

Directors:
Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler

Producers:
Conrad Beilharz, Garrett F Baker, Tyler Graim

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition

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

AUM: THE CULT AT THE END OF THE WORLD
On the morning of March 20, 1995, a deadly nerve gas attack in the Tokyo subway sent the nation and its people into chaos. This exploration of Aum Shinrikyo, the cult responsible for the attack, involves the participation of those who lived through the horror as it unfolded.

Directors/Producers:
Ben Braun, Chiaki Yanagimoto

Producers:
Dan Braun, Josh Braun, Rick Brookwell

Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition

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

The 39th Sundance Film Festival will run January 19-29, returning to in-person screenings in Utah, with a robust selection of titles also available online. So far, we have announced 101 features, 4 indie episodic projects, and 64 new short films as part of the lineup.

In my role as a Senior Programmer for the Festival, I’m looking forward to sharing this slate with audiences next month. As I did last year, I’m devoting the next few weeks of this space to spotlighting each of our feature docs and long-form episodic nonfiction offerings with simple, individual pointers to each of these projects. Sundance Don’t Miss Docs begins this coming Monday.