Category: Festival

Official SecretsBy Dana Kendall
“This year we’ve seen a lot of stories about individuals challenging the system to do what they believe is right,” said Director of Programming Kim Yutani at the premiere of Official Secrets. “This is one of these stories, and it is an extremely powerful one.”
Adapted from the book The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War, South African director Gavin Hood’s political thriller tells the true story of Katharine Gun, a former translator for the British intelligence agency Government Communications Headquarters.

LuceBy Eric Hynes
In Luce, the debut film by Julius Onah, the conflicts of a suburban American high school come to represent the fractures within the whole country, and complex ethical and moral issues are navigated with the stakes of a thriller. Based on a play by J.C.

The Last Black Man in San FranciscoBy Eric Hynes
“I made this movie with my best friend Jimmie,” director Joe Talbot said before the rousing world premiere of The Last Black Man in San Francisco, a film about two native San Franciscan men trying to navigate a gentrified city. In the film, Talbot’s childhood friend Jimmie Fails plays himself as a young man determined to return to his childhood home, a majestic Victorian house now occupied by an older white couple. Estranged from his parents, Jimmie crashes with his best friend Montgomery, played by Jonathan Majors, who lives with his blind grandfather across town.

There’s a new Harvey Weinstein film at Sundance this year, but it’s one the former movie mogul wishes didn’t exist. Although it had been whispered about for years, when the incendiary allegations of rape and sexual harassment against Weinstein were published in October 2017, many were shocked. Some wondered how he’d gotten away with it for so long.

Honey Boy
By Dana Kendall

When director Alma Har’el first met Shia LaBeouf, she discovered that both of their fathers were alcoholics—and “all children of alcoholics are my brothers and sisters,” she explained at the world premiere screening of Honey Boy, written by LaBeouf and based on his troubled childhood.

The two collaborated on a number of other projects before LaBeouf’s screenwriting debut—but this screenplay didn’t start off as a film project at all; it began as an assignment during his recovery. While in rehab, LaBeouf was tasked with writing down his life experiences, and they came out in script form simply because of his tendency for narrative.

Native SonBy Jeremy Kinser
Native Son, Richard Wright’s classic novel about the tragedy that befalls a young black man in Chicago, has endured many adaptations into feature films, television movies, and stage productions since its publication in 1940. Rashid Johnson, an influential visual artist who makes a very impressive directorial debut, has updated the story to the present day and created a potent version that speaks to contemporary audiences. Johnson’s nervy take on the material opened the festival’s U.

If you can’t join us in Park City for the festivities this year (or if your fest schedule is already booked to the brim), we’ve got your back. Sundance.org is once again presenting tons of live video and editorial coverage of film premieres, panels, and music, as well as up-to-the-minute updates on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media.