Randall Park made a pact with himself some years ago that he wouldn鈥檛 attend the if he didn鈥檛 have a project there. But the 鈥淔resh Off the Boat鈥� star never imagined that his first time would be as a director and not as an actor.
His adaptation of 鈥淪hortcomings,鈥� Adrian Tomine鈥檚 graphic novel about three young-ish Asian Americans finding themselves in the Bay Area, is among the films debuting in competition at , which begins Thursday night in Park City, Utah.
鈥淪undance is the pinnacle to me,鈥� Park said in a recent interview. 鈥淚 still can鈥檛 believe we鈥檙e going.鈥�
Park is just one of hundreds of filmmakers putting finishing touches on passion projects and making the sojourn to Park City this week, looking to make a splash at the first in-person edition of the storied independent film festival in two years.
Festivalgoers will see some unexpected turns from stars, like Jonathan Majors as an amateur bodybuilder in 鈥淢agazine Dreams,鈥� Emilia Clarke as a futuristic parent in 鈥淧od Generation,鈥� Daisy Ridley as a cubicle worker in 鈥淪ometimes I Think About Dying鈥� and Anne Hathaway as a glamourous counselor working at a youth prison in 1960s Massachusetts in 鈥淓ileen.鈥�
鈥淏ridgerton鈥� star Phoebe Dynevor also breaks out of her corset leading the contemporary adult thriller 鈥淔air Play鈥� as an ambitious woman working at a high stakes hedge fund with a boyfriend played by Alden Ehrenreich. Sundance will be her first film festival ever and she鈥檚 especially excited that it鈥檚 with one of the best scripts she鈥檚 ever read.
鈥淚t鈥檚 quite a polarizing one,鈥� Dynevor said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait to see how everyone responds to it.鈥�
The premiering around the clock (from 8am to midnight) over 10 days are as diverse as ever. There are three films about Iranian women (鈥淭he Persian Version,鈥� 鈥淛oonam鈥� and 鈥淪hayda鈥�), stories about transgender sex workers (鈥淭he Stroll,鈥� 鈥淜OKOMO CITY鈥�), indigenous people (鈥淭wice Colonoized,鈥� 鈥淏ad Press鈥�), women鈥檚 rights and sexuality (鈥淭he Disappearance of Shere Hite鈥�) and the war in Ukraine (鈥�20 Days in Mariupol,鈥� a joint project between The Associated Press and PBS 鈥淔rontline.鈥�)
And, as always, there are intimate portraits of famous faces, like Michael J. Fox, Little Richard, Stephen Curry, Judy Blume, the Indigo Girls and Brooke Shields.
Lana Wilson (鈥� 鈥�) directed the much-anticipated Shields documentary 鈥淧retty Baby,鈥� in which Shields reflects on her experiences from child model to teen superstar and beyond, including her complex relationship with her mother, Andre Agassi and the time Tom Cruise publicly criticized her for taking antidepressants.
鈥淚 kept coming back to this idea of agency and of her slowly gaining agency first over her mind, then over her career and then over her identity,鈥� Wilson said.
If the past two years have proved anything, it鈥檚 that Sundance doesn鈥檛 need its picturesque mountainside location to thrive. After all, it was at that the festival hosted the premiere of 鈥� ,鈥� which would become the first Sundance movie to . 鈥淪ummer of Soul,鈥� another virtual Sundance premiere, also won best documentary last year, and both are getting encore, in-person screenings this year.
But even so, the independent film community 鈥� from the newcomers to the veterans 鈥� has felt the lack of the real thing. There is, after all, a certain magic about seeing a new film from an unknown in the dead of winter at 7,000 feet elevation wondering, as the lights go down in a cinema overflowing with puffy coats if you might just be among the first to witness the debut of the next Ryan Coogler or Kelly Reichardt.
Erik Feig, the founder and CEO of Picturestart, joked that he's been going to the festival for 鈥渁 billion years.鈥� It鈥檚 where he saw 鈥淭hirteen鈥� and hired Catherine Hardwicke to direct 鈥淭wilight,鈥� and, years later, 鈥淲hiplash,鈥� beginning a relationship with Damien Chazelle that would lead to 鈥淟a La Land.鈥� Sundance also is where he saw 鈥淣apoleon Dynamite鈥� and 鈥淟ittle Miss Sunshine鈥� for the first time, too, and others that 鈥渇eel iconic and have been part of the cultural zeitgeist forever. That moment of discovery was at Sundance.鈥�
This year, his company is coming armed with a new comedy that could very well enter that canon of Sundance discoveries: 鈥淭heater Camp,鈥� a heartfelt satire of the musical theater world set at a crumbling upstate New York summer camp (AdirondACTS). The film is a collaboration of longtime friends Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman, Ben Platt and Noah Galvin.
鈥淚 felt so inspired by so many collectives of people that had come up together like Christopher Guest, The Groundlings, The Lonely Island, who made stuff with their friends,鈥� Gordon, who co-directed and stars, said. 鈥淲e thought, let鈥檚 make something about a world that we know really well and a world that we love. And because we love it, we can make a lot of fun of it.鈥�
Some films offer moody genre escapes, like William Oldroyd鈥檚 adaptation of author Ottessa Moshfegh鈥檚 award-winning 鈥淓ileen鈥� starring Thomasin McKenzie and Hathaway.
鈥淚t plays into the fantasy that I had as a young woman, like, can I run away and be a different person,鈥� Moshfegh said. 鈥淚 still kind of have that, especially in cinema because we watch movies in order to run away and be different people.鈥�
Others promise to open minds about the lives of marginalized communities. Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, who is a transgender filmmaker of Chilean and Serbian descent, is hoping to push trans masculine narratives forward with his film 鈥淢utt,鈥� about a trans man who encounters three significant people he hasn鈥檛 seen in some time one hectic day in New York City.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really exciting to see people want to see stories about trans masculine people and also understand that they can see themselves reflected in us and that we鈥檙e not very different,鈥� Lungulov-Klotz said.
Veteran indie filmmakers will be there with fresh offerings too like Ira Sachs (鈥淧assages鈥�) and Sebasti谩n Silva (鈥淩otting in the Sun鈥�). 鈥淥nce鈥� director John Carney has a new musical with Eve Hewson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (鈥淔lora and Son鈥�), Nicole Holofcener reunites with Julia Louis-Dreyfus in 鈥淵ou Hurt My Feelings鈥� and Susanna Fogel adapts the viral New Yorker story 鈥淐at Person鈥� with Emilia Jones and Nicholas Braun.
With COVID-19 outbreaks still happening, some events and gatherings are requiring tests and proof of vaccination. People like Luis Miranda Jr., coming with a documentary he helped produce, 鈥淕oing Varsity in Mariachi,鈥� is planning to mask up while celebrating the movie.
鈥淲e鈥檙e bringing real mariachis to Utah and will have a party with real mariachi music,鈥� Miranda said excitedly.
The festival is embracing a different kind of hybrid approach after the success of previous years. Starting on Jan. 24, five days in, many of the films will be available to watch online for people who bought that now sold-out package.
Some films already have distributors in place but many do not and onlookers are interested to see how those acquisitions play out. After several years of deep pocketed streaming services making big plays, the market may have stabilized. Streamers are more cautious and traditional studios have learned how to compete.
Producer Tommy Oliver, the CEO and founder of Confluential Films, has four movies at the festival up for sale: 鈥淔ancy Dance,鈥� 鈥淵oung. Wild. Free,鈥� 鈥淭o Live and Die and Live鈥� and 鈥淕oing to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.鈥� He knows as well as any that Sundance isn鈥檛 just a place for celebration and discovery, but for connections too.
His advice for any first timers is simple: 鈥淭alk to everyone. Talk to the people who haven鈥檛 made stuff yet. Talk to the people who are hustling,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd be patient, because you鈥檙e going to look up in five, 10 years and they鈥檒l have made 鈥楩ruitvale Station,鈥� they鈥檒l have made 鈥楤eale Street.鈥欌��
The Sundance Film Festival runs from Jan. 19 through the 29.
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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ldbahr.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
