The rebellious trio comprising the Irish band Kneecap play themselves in “Kneecap,” winner of an audience award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
By Lucy Spicer
It’s hard to believe summer is already coming to an end. And while we may be musing about cooler temperatures (and beginning to count down the days until the 2025 Sundance Film Festival), we’re thrilled to see a slew of Sundance-supported titles find wider audiences this month while we’re still in the summer-movie-night mindset.
With four documentaries and two feature films based on true stories, August is a feast for fans of nonfiction, who can choose from an Irish rap group origin story, a biopic of a remarkable life cut short, a high-stakes political role-play exercise, an examination of the devastating effects of the Indian residential school system, a momentous father-daughter dance program, and an investigative search for a fictional icon of technology. But fear not, lovers of fiction — we’ve got you covered with four new theatrical releases, including an aspiring writer’s experiment as an escort, a teenage girl’s tense camping trip, an offbeat love story revolving around an adult bat mitzvah, and a contemplative portrait of grief through the eyes of a photographer visiting Japan.
Kneecap — How often do you get to see artists at the helm of their own origin stories? Nothing else would suffice for Kneecap, the raucous Irish band playing themselves in writer-director Rich Peppiatt’s film Kneecap. The rebellious Belfast trio of Naoise Ó Cairealláin, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, and JJ Ó Dochartaigh play out the mostly-true story of their unlikely group’s formation, complete with rage against British imperialism and ketamine-fueled anarchic concerts with lyrics shouted in English and Irish alike. The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award: NEXT. Coming to theaters August 2.
Rob Peace — Chiwetel Ejiofor’s sophomore feature as a director thoughtfully brings the story of Robert Peace (portrayed by Jay Will) to the big screen, chronicling the young man’s academic achievements as a student of molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale as well as his financially lucrative foray into the Newark drug trade to raise funds for his father (played by Ejiofor), who was serving time for a double murder. Adapted from Jeff Hobbs’ book The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, the film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Coming to select theaters August 2.
Sebastian — “Write what you know.” Oft-heard advice for storytellers, but is it necessary? Twenty-five-year-old London writer Max (Ruaridh Mollica) takes it to heart in writer-director Mikko Mäkelä’s sophomore film, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. In search of inspiration for his first novel, Max creates the persona of Sebastian and begins moonlighting as a sex worker. As the threads of his double life become increasingly tangled, Max must confront the changes that have blossomed in his writing and within himself. Coming to select theaters August 2.
War Game — After the events of January 6, 2021, at the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., many individuals expressed concern over a potential repeated insurrection once the votes are in for the 2024 presidential election — including three retired generals, who penned an op-ed in The Washington Post suggesting that the Department of Defense should conduct a war game scenario involving a military coup. With all the high-stakes energy of a political thriller, co-directors Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber capture this unscripted nonpartisan exercise in their documentary War Game, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Coming to select theaters August 2.
Good One — Writer-director India Donaldson’s film follows 17-year-old Sam (Lily Collias) as she accompanies her father, Chris (James Le Gros), and his oldest friend, Matt (Danny McCarthy) on their customary summer camping trip. When Matt’s adolescent son refuses to attend, Sam finds herself the de facto mediator as the men’s competing egos create an atmosphere of awkward tension. Tasked with keeping the peace, Sam silently reckons with the varied and weighty expectations that accompany teenage girlhood. Donaldson’s debut feature premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Coming to select theaters August 9.
Sugarcane — After concealed children’s grave sites were discovered on Canadian Indian residential school property in 2021, documentarian Emily Kassie teamed up with friend and former colleague Julian Brave NoiseCat to make a film about the intergenerational trauma that lingers in the wake of the residential school system, which perpetuated abuse, separated Indigenous children from their families, and sought to stamp out Indigenous language and culture. Focusing on St. Joseph’s Mission, where NoiseCat’s father was born, Sugarcane premiered at the 2024 Sundance Festival, where it won the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary. The film was supported by Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film and Catalyst programs. Coming to select theaters August 9.
Daughters — Filmmaker Natalie Rae and activist Angela Patton teamed up to direct this poignant documentary following four girls preparing for a very special event: a Daddy Daughter Dance with their fathers, who are currently serving time in a Washington, D.C., jail. Eight years in the making, the film intimates a wide range of emotions with pronounced empathy, from the dreams and disappointments living in the girls to the hopes and fears of their fathers who are attending counseling sessions in jail. Daughters premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it won both the Festival Favorite Award and the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary. Streaming on Netflix August 14.
Between the Temples — To say that Ben (Jason Schwartzman) is having a tough time would be an understatement. He’s living with his moms after experiencing a crushing loss, and his sudden inability to sing is threatening his position as cantor at his synagogue. But a chance meeting with Carla (Carol Kane), his grade school music teacher, gives him a new sense of purpose: Carla has always wanted a bat mitzvah, and she’s decided that Ben is the one to help her achieve her dream. Directed and co-written by Nathan Silver, this eccentric comedy premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Coming to theaters August 23.
I’ll Be Your Mirror — Writer-director Bradley Rust Gray examines the many facets of grief in this quiet but thoughtful film starring Carla Juri as Chloe, a photographer living with the recent loss of her husband. Chloe travels to Japan for work, where she’s shown around by Toshi (played by musician Takashi Ueno), her late husband’s friend. While Chloe feels the constant tug of grief within herself, she is surprised to discover joy in the new relationships she forms in Japan. Gray’s contemplative film won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Uncompromising Artistic Vision at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, where it premiered under its original title, blood. Coming to select theaters August 23.
Seeking Mavis Beacon — In the late 1980s, computer software titled Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing introduced novice typers to a character who would become so iconic to some that they would misremember her as a real person. In Jazmin Renée Jones’ documentary, Jones and associate producer Olivia McKayla Ross embark on an investigative journey to find the real woman behind the face of Mavis Beacon. Along the way, they examine the legacy left behind by the character for the representation of Black women in technology. Jones’ feature directorial debut premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Coming to select theaters August 30.
