Documentaries about Brooke Shields, Judy Blume and Michael J. Fox, films from veteran directors like Nicole Holofcener, an adaptation of the viral New Yorker story 鈥淐at Person鈥� and the feature directorial debut of actors Alice Englert and Randall Park are among the world premieres set for the in January.
Programmers for the world鈥檚 most prestigious showcase for independent films announced the lineup for the 2023 edition on Wednesday. After , plans are in motion to return to Park City in full force for the festival which runs from January 19 through January 29, with stars like Anne Hathaway, Tiffany Haddish, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Alexander Skarsg氓rd, Gael Garc铆a Bernal, Cynthia Erivo, Daisy Ridley and Jonathan Majors headlining some of the 101 feature films in the slate. Tickets are currently on sale.
The festival which helped launch the careers of filmmakers from Steven Soderbergh to Ryan Coogler, is once again celebrating a diverse slate of features from first-time filmmakers. Among the narrative features premiering, 16 are from first time directors, 7 of whom are women. In feature documentaries 16 are from first timers and 14 of those are women.
鈥淔irst time filmmakers are in the DNA of the festival. We鈥檙e always looking to find fresh voices to champion,鈥� said Kim Yutani, the festival's director of programming. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such a pleasant surprise to look back and see those numbers and our program and to know that that organically happens.鈥�
As always, there are exciting documentaries about well-known names. Lana Wilson鈥檚 鈥淧retty Baby: Brooke Shields鈥� charts the actor and model鈥檚 early days, when photographers and filmmakers depicted Shields in sexualized way as a very young girl, and how she found her agency. Davis Guggenheim in 鈥淪till: A Michael J. Fox Movie鈥� looks at what happens when 鈥渁n incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease.鈥� There are also documentaries about Little Richard, food writer Ruth Reichl, pioneering Black fashion model Bethann Hardison and the Indigo Girls.
In the U.S. Dramatic Competition, the section in which 鈥淐ODA鈥� debuted in 2021 before going on to , Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman make their debut with 鈥淭heater Camp,鈥� a Will Ferrell-produced comedy about a rundown theater camp in upstate New York scrambling to get ready for summer that stars Ben Platt. Jonathan Majors plays an amateur bodybuilder in Elijah Bynum鈥檚 鈥淢agazine Dreams,鈥� while Daisy Ridley shows her non-Star Wars chops in Rachel Lambert鈥檚 鈥淪ometimes I Think About Dying," which is among the day one premieres.
鈥淪hortcomings,鈥� an adaptation of Adrian Tomine鈥檚 graphic novel, is the debut of 鈥淔resh Off the Boat鈥� star Randall Park, who directs Justin H. Min, Sherry Cola and Ally Maki in a comedic, irreverent look at Asian Americans in the Bay Area.
Also making her feature directorial debut is Alice Englert with 鈥淏ad Behaviour,鈥� a mother-daughter film about a former child actor, played by Jennifer Connelly, and mother to a stunt-performer daughter, who is looking for some enlightenment. Englert, whose own mother is Jane Campion, plays the daughter in the dark comedy about a toxic, co-dependent relationship, co-starrinng Ben Whishaw as a new age guru. Whishaw can also be seen alongside Ad猫le Exarchopoulos in Ira Sachs鈥� 鈥淧assages鈥� about attraction and emotional abuse.
There are dozens of documentaries that focus on some of the most pressing issues of the moment, too, like Razelle Benally鈥檚 鈥淢urder in Big Horn,鈥� about the deaths of Native women in rural Montana, Tracy Droz Tragos鈥� 鈥淧LAN C鈥� about a grassroots organization in the U.S. fighting to expand access to abortion pills, and Nancy Schwartzman helps uncover a troubling pattern of women reporting sexual assault who are then charged with creating a false report in 鈥淰ictim/Suspect.鈥� 鈥�20 Days in Mariupol,鈥� directed by AP videojournalist Mstyslav Chernov in partnership with Frontline, gives an unprecedented look at the work of Ukrainian at the beginning of the Russian invasion.
may take interest in 鈥淔remont,鈥� about a former military translator who now works at a Chinese fortune cookie factory and features a supporting performance from Jeremy Allen White, while Ayo Edebiri co-stars in 鈥淭heater Camp."
鈥淪uccession鈥� watchers will also find some of the show's stars various films throughout the slate, like Sarah Snook getting to use her native Australian accent in Daina Reid鈥檚 鈥淩un Rabbit Run,鈥� about a fertility doctor grappling with ghosts from her past, and Nicholas Braun who lends a supporting hand in Susanna Fogel鈥檚 adaptation of 鈥淐at Person,鈥� starring Emilia Jones as the college student who gets involved with a 30-something man.
Jones also anchors 鈥淔airyland,鈥� the Sofia Coppola-produced and Andrew Durham-directed adaptation of Alyssa Abbott鈥檚 best-selling memoir about a father-daughter relationship in San Francisco at the dawn of the AIDs crisis.
The premieres section, which has debuted the likes of 鈥淧romising Young Woman鈥� and 鈥淭he Big Sick,鈥� has many starry options. Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway co-star in William Oldroyd鈥檚 鈥淓ileen鈥� about a young secretary who becomes fascinated with a glamorous new counselor at the prison where she works in Massachusetts in 1964.
Sundance veteran and documentary director Roger Ross Williams makes his narrative debut with 鈥淐assandro,鈥� starring Gael Garc铆a Bernal as Sa煤l Armend谩riz, a gay amateur wrestler from El Paso who becomes an international star. And Nicole Holofcener reunites with Julia Louis-Dreyfus for 鈥淵ou Hurt My Feelings,鈥� about a novelist who overhears her husband鈥檚 鈥渉onest reaction鈥� to her new book.
Senior programmer John Nein noted that there are quite a few diaspora films represented in the various sections as well.
鈥淭hey reflect the changing film cultures of some of the places from which they come," he said.
Noora Niasari鈥檚 鈥淪hayda鈥� is about an Iranian woman (played by ) with a 6-year-old daughter seeking refuge from an abusive relationship in a shelter in Australia. From the United Kingdom, there is 鈥淕irl,鈥� from Adura Onashile about an 11-year-old and her mother who are from Africa. In the midnight section there is Nida Manzoor鈥檚 fun genre piece 鈥淧olite Society鈥� about a wedding heist. And from the U.S., Sing J. Lee has 鈥淭he Accidental Getaway Driver鈥� about a Vietnamese cab driver taken hostage by escaped convicts in California.
鈥淭hese filmmakers reflect the world around us through bold and thrilling storytelling,鈥� said Joana Vicente, CEO of the Sundance Institute. 鈥淚t is critical for the arts to foster dialogue, especially during unprecedented times 鈥� these stories are needed to provoke discussion, share diverse viewpoints, and challenge us.鈥�
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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr: www.twitter.com/ldbahr.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
