The Hoover family embarks on an eventful road trip to California for a junior beauty pageant in “Little Miss Sunshine.”
By Lucy Spicer
Summer is always a good time for film lovers, and Sundance’s history of July theatrical releases shows that it’s a great time for fans of indie film. Want some proof? We’ve selected five titles from the Sundance Film Festival annals, all released during the month of July, that may just inspire your next movie night. In fact, two of the films listed below — Little Miss Sunshine and Boyhood — were recently voted among the top 10 favorite Festival titles by the Sundance community.
Joining them are a meta satire revolving around an indie film set, a documentary following a blues legend’s foray into throat singing, and a screwball rom-com featuring Kyle MacLachlan as the ghost of Cary Grant.
Living in Oblivion (1995) — After screening his feature debut, Johnny Suede, at the 1992 Sundance Film Festival, writer-director Tom DiCillo returned to Sundance with Living in Oblivion, a darkly comic satire about the challenges that accompany independent filmmaking. Divided into three parts, Living in Oblivion depicts a chaotic film set helmed by director Nick Reve (Steve Buscemi), who is desperately trying to hold production together while juggling a neurotic leading lady (Catherine Keener), an egomaniacal leading man (James LeGros), and a pretentious cinematographer (Dermot Mulroney) among other issues. DiCillo’s screenplay for Living in Oblivion won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Check here for viewing options.
Genghis Blues (1999) — Renowned blind blues musician Paul Pena spent a decade teaching himself the art of Tuvan throat singing after hearing a broadcast about it on the radio. Director Roko Belic’s documentary follows Pena as he travels to Tuva to participate in a throat singing festival there after impressing Kongar-ol Ondar, a master of the craft, with an impromptu performance when the Tuvan singer was giving a stateside concert. Genghis Blues premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award: Documentary. Check here for viewing options.
Touch of Pink (2004) — In writer-director Ian Iqbal Rashid’s rom-com, Alim (Jimi Mistry) is a Kenyan-born Canadian who has moved to London to escape his family’s conservative Muslim values so that he can embrace his true identity as a gay man. His life is disrupted when his mother, Nuru (Suleka Mathew), announces an unexpected visit, complete with plans to find Alim a girlfriend. Alim is forced to play it straight, but at least he’s got some help — his imaginary friend happens to be the ghost of Cary Grant (Kyle MacLachlan). Touch of Pink is Rashid’s feature debut and premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Check here for viewing options.
Little Miss Sunshine (2006) — Directing duo Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris spent 20 years directing music videos together before embarking on their first feature, which would prove to be so influential for the independent film community that filmmakers continually cite it as one of their favorite Sundance titles, even 18 years after its initial release. Written by Michael Arndt, who won an Oscar for his screenplay, Little Miss Sunshine follows the dysfunctional Hoover family as they drive their rickety Volkswagen T2 Microbus from Albuquerque to the California coast so that young Olive (Abigail Breslin) can participate in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. Along for the ride are Olive’s parents, Sheryl (Toni Collette) and Richard (Greg Kinnear); Sheryl’s brother Frank (Steve Carell), recovering from a recent suicide attempt; Richard’s cantankerous father, Edwin (Alan Arkin in an Oscar-winning performance); and Olive’s teenage brother, Dwayne (Paul Dano), who has taken a vow of silence until he is allowed to apply to flight school. Check here for viewing options.
Boyhood (2014) — It may be a decade since Richard Linklater’s epic was released in theaters, but it’s been 22 years since production began on the project. Filmed between 2002 and 2013, Boyhood chronicles the childhood of Mason Evans Jr. (Ellar Coltrane, who was cast at 6 years old and had turned 19 by the time production ended), who grows up in Texas with his sister, Samantha (Lorelei Linklater), and divorced parents Mason (Ethan Hawke) and Olivia (Patricia Arquette). Boyhood garnered a long list of accolades upon its release, including six Academy Award nominations, with Arquette winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Check here for viewing options.
