Sundance Institute announced they will be screening 112 films at Sundance Film Festival 2019, held in Park City, Salt Lake City, from January 24 – February 3.
Robert Redford, President and Founder of Sundance Institute, said, “Society relies on storytellers. The choices they make, and the risks they take, define our collective experience. This year’s Festival is full of storytellers who offer challenges, questions and entertainment. In telling their stories, they make difficult decisions in the pursuit of truth and art; culture reaps the reward.”
Across 10 categories which include the U.S. competition, world competition and NEXT.
Alt has selected some of the films that we are looking forward to seeing. Brits in Sundance include Shola Amoo’s The Last Tree and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind directorial debut by Chiwetel Ejiofor.
FILM PICKS
The Last Tree
CAST: Sam Adewunmi, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Tai Golding
SYNOSIS: Femi is a British boy of Nigerian heritage who, after a happy childhood in rural Lincolnshire, moves to inner London to live with his mum. Struggling with the unfamiliar culture and values of his new environment, teenage Femi has to figure out which path to adulthood he wants to take. DIRECTOR: Shola Amoo
NATIVE SON CAST: Ashton Sanders, Sanaa Lathan, Kiki Layne, Margaret Qualley, Nick Robinson, Bill Camp, Lamar Johnson, Jerod Haynes
SYNOPSIS: In this modern reimagining of Richard Wright’s seminal novel, a young African-American man named Bigger Thomas takes a job working for a highly influential Chicago family, a decision that will change the course of his life forever. DIR: Rashid Johnson and written by Suzan Lori-Parks
Troupe Zero
CAST: Viola Davis, McKenna Grace, Mike Epps, Allison Janney,
SYNOPSIS: In rural 1977 Georgia, a misfit girl dreams of life in outer space. When a national competition offers her a chance at her dream, to be recorded on NASA’s Golden Record, she recruits a makeshift troupe of Birdie Scouts, forging friendships that last a lifetime and beyond.
LITTLE MONSTERS
CAST INCLUDES: Lupita Nyong’o AND Josh Gad
SYNOPSIS: A film dedicated to all the kindergarten teachers who motivate children to learn, instill them with confidence and stop them from being devoured by zombies.
RELIVE
CAST: David Oyelowo, Mykelti Williamson, Alfred Molina, Bryan Tyree Henry AND Storm Reid
SYNOSIS: After a man’s family dies in what appears to be a murder, he gets a phone call from one of the dead, his niece. He’s not sure if she’s a ghost or if he’s going mad — but as it turns out, he’s not. Instead, her calls help him rewrite history.
LUCE
CAST: Octavia Spencer, Naomi Watts, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Tim Roth, Astro Bradley, Marsha Stephanie Blake
SYNOSIS: A married couple is forced to reckon with their idealized image of their son, adopted from war-torn Eritrea, after an alarming discovery by a devoted high school teacher threatens his status as an all-star student. DIR: Julius Onah
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor (DIRECTORIAL DEBUT)
CAST: Ejiofor, Noma Dumezweni
SYNOSIS: Against all the odds, a thirteen year old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine. Based on the true story of William Kamkwamba.
Selah and the Spades
CAST:Lovie Simone, Jesse Williams, Gina Torres, Jharrel Jerome
SYNOSIS: Five factions run the underground life of the prestigious Haldwell boarding school. At the head of the most powerful faction – The Spades – sits Selah Summers. By turns charming and callous, she chooses whom to keep close and whom to cut loose, walking the fine line between being feared and loved. Director: Tayarisha Poe
The Mustang
CAST: Matthias Schoenaerts, Connie Britton, Bruce Dern, Jason Mitchell
SYNOSIS: While participating in a rehabilitation program training wild mustangs, a convict at first struggles to connect with the horses and his fellow inmates, but learns to confront his violent past as he soothes an especially feisty horse.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco / U.S.A. (Director: Joe Talbot, Screenwriters: Joe Talbot, Rob Richert, Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Christina Oh, Khaliah Neal, Joe Talbot) — SYNOSIS: Jimmie Fails dreams of reclaiming the Victorian home his grandfather built in the heart of San Francisco. Joined on his quest by his best friend Mont, Jimmie searches for belonging in a rapidly changing city that seems to have left them behind.Cast: Jimmie Fails, Mike Epps, Jonathan Majors, Rob Morgan, Tichina Arnold, Danny Glover. World Premiere
Clemency
CAST: Alfre Woodard, Aldis Hodge, Danielle Brooks, LaMonica Garrett, Wendell Pierce
SYNOSIS: Years of carrying out executions has taken a toll on prison warden Bernadine Williams. As she prepares to execute another death row inmate, she confronts the psychological and emotional demons her job creates, ultimately connecting her to the man she is sanctioned to kill. DIR: Chinonye Chukwu
Sweetheart
CAST INCLUES: Kiersey Clemons
SYNOSIS: Jenn has washed ashore a small tropical island, and it doesn’t take her long to realize she’s completely alone. She must spend her days not only surviving the elements but must also fend off the malevolent force that comes out each night. DIRECTOR: JD Dillard
Brittany Runs A Marathon
CAST: Jillian Bell, Michaela Watkins, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lil Rel Howery, Micah Stock, Alice Lee.
SYNOSIS: A woman living in New York takes control of her life – one city block at a time.
Mope
CAST:Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Kelly Sry, Brian Huskey, Max Adler, David Arquette, Tonya Cornelisse.
SYNOSIS: Two ‘mopes’ – the lowest-level male performers in the porn industry – set their sights on an impossible dream: stardom.
The Wolf Hour
CAST: Naomi Watts, Emory Cohen, Jennifer Ehle, Kelvin Harrison Jr.
SYNOSIS: Once a known counterculture figure, June E. Leigh now lives in self-imposed exile in her South Bronx apartment during the incendiary ’77 Summer of Sam. When an unseen tormentor begins exploiting June’s weaknesses, her insular universe begins to unravel.
Honey Boy
CAST: Shia LaBeouf, Lucas Hedges, Noah Jupe, FKA Twigs
– A child TV star and his ex-rodeo clown father face their stormy past through time and cinema.
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
SYNOSIS:: This artful and intimate meditation on the legendary storyteller examines her life, her works and the powerful themes she has confronted throughout her literary career. Toni Morrison leads an assembly of her peers, critics and colleagues on an exploration of race, history, America and the human condition
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
SYNOSIS: A visionary, innovator, and originator who defied categorization and embodied the word cool: a foray into the life and career of musical and cultural icon Miles Davis. DIRECTOR: Stanley Nelson
CHECK BACK HERE FOR INTERVIEW AND REVIEW AS WE FOLLOW SUNDANCE.
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