Misha And The Wolves by Sam Hobkinson
Six European docs to world-prem in Sundance World Cinema Doc Comp. Other Euro highlights include Edgar Wright’s ‘The Sparks Brothers’ and Kevin Macdonald’s ‘Life In A Day 2020’ (UK/USA), as well as ‘Seeds Of Deceit’ (Miriam Guttmann, Netherlands) in Indie Series.
“Togetherness has been an animating principle here at the Sundance Institute as we’ve worked to reimagine the Festival for 2021, because there is no Sundance without our community,” said Sundance Institute Founder and President Robert Redford December 15 before the Sundance 2021 selection announcement, adding that under the new leadership of Tabitha Jackson, “we’ve forged a new collective vision: one that honours the spirit and tradition of these invigorating yearly gatherings in Utah, while making room for imaginative new possibilities in a new online format.”
The Festival will take place digitally via the Sundance-built online platform and in person on Satellite Screens across the country (public health permitting) from January 28-February 3, 2021.
Across all 140 films and projects (docs and fiction), 50% were directed by one or more women, 4% by one or more non-binary individuals; 51% by one or more artists of colour and 15% by one or more people who identify as LGBTQ+.
In World Documentary Competition 50% of the 12 directors identify as women. In U.S. Documentary Competition 64% of the 11 directors identify as women; 73% as BIPOC; 9% as LGBTQ+.
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Faya Dayi (Ethiopia/USA) Dir. Jessica Beshir
A spiritual journey into the highlands of Harar, immersed in the rituals of khat, a leaf Sufi Muslims chewed for centuries for religious meditations – and Ethiopia’s most lucrative cash crop today. A tapestry of intimate stories offers a window into the dreams of youth under a repressive regime. World Premiere
Flee (Denmark/France/Sweden/Norway) Dir. Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Amin arrived as an unaccompanied minor in Denmark from Afghanistan. Today, he is a successful academic and is getting married to his long-time boyfriend. A secret he has been hiding for 20 years threatens to ruin the life he has built. World Premiere
Inconvenient Indian (Canada) Dir. Michelle Latimer
An examination of Thomas King’s brilliant dismantling of North America’s colonial narrative, which reframes history with the powerful voices of those continuing the tradition of Indigenous resistance. International Premiere
Misha And The Wolves (UK/Belgium) Dir. Sam Hobkinson
A woman’s Holocaust memoir takes the world by storm, but a fallout with her publisher-turned-detective reveals her story as an audacious deception created to hide a darker truth. World Premiere
The Most Beautiful Boy In The World (Sweden) Dirs. Kristina Lindström, Kristian Petri
Swedish actor/musician Björn Andresen’s life was forever changed at the age of 15, when he played Tadzio, the object of Dirk Bogarde’s obsession in Death in Venice – a role which led Italian maestro Luchino Visconti to dub him “the world’s most beautiful boy”. World Premiere
Playing With Sharks (Australia) Dir. Sally Aitken
Valerie Taylor is a shark fanatic and an Australian icon – a marine maverick who forged her way as a fearless diver, cinematographer and conservationist. She filmed the real sharks for Jaws and famously wore a chainmail suit, using herself as shark bait, changing our scientific understanding of sharks forever. World Premiere
President (Denmark/USA/Norway) Dir. Camilla Nielsson
Zimbabwe is at a crossroads. The leader of the opposition MDC party, Nelson Chamisa, challenges the old guard ZANU-PF led by Emmerson Mnangagwa, known as “The Crocodile.” The election tests both the ruling party and the opposition – how do they interpret principles of democracy in discourse and in practice? World Premiere
Sabaya (Sweden) Dir. Hogir Hirori
With just a mobile phone and a gun, Mahmud, Ziyad and their group risk their lives trying to save Yazidi women and girls being held by ISIS as Sabaya (abducted sex slaves) in the most dangerous camp in the Middle East, Al-Hol in Syria. World Premiere
Taming The Garden (Switzerland/Germany/Georgia) Dir. Salomé Jashi
A poetic ode to the rivalry between men and nature. World Premiere
Writing With Fire (India) Dirs. Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh
In a cluttered news landscape dominated by men, emerges India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women. Armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her journalists break traditions on the frontlines of India’s biggest issues and within the confines of their own homes, redefining what it means to be powerful. World Premiere
US DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Ailey Dir. Jamila Wignot
Alvin Ailey was a visionary artist who found salvation through dance. Told in his own words and through the creation of a dance inspired by his life, this immersive portrait follows a man who, when confronted by a world that refused to embrace him, determined to build one that would. World Premiere
All Light, Everywhere Dir. Theo Anthony
An exploration of the shared histories of cameras, weapons, policing and justice. As surveillance technologies become a fixture in everyday life, the film interrogates the complexity of an objective point of view, probing the biases inherent in both human perception and the lens. World Premiere
At The Ready Dir. Maisie Crow
Home to one of the region’s largest law enforcement education program, students at Horizon High School in El Paso train to become police officers and Border Patrol agents as they discover the realities of their dream jobs may be at odds with the truths and people they hold most dear. World Premiere
Cusp Dirs. Parker Hill, Isabel Bethencourt
In a Texas military town, three teenage girls confront the dark corners of adolescence at the end of a fever dream summer. World Premiere
Homeroom Dir. Peter Nicks
Following the class of 2020 at Oakland High School in a year marked by seismic change, exploring the emotional world of teenagers coming of age against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world. World Premiere
Rebel Hearts Dir. Pedro Kos
A group of pioneering nuns bravely stand up to the Catholic Church patriarchy, fighting for their livelihoods, convictions and equality against an all-powerful Cardinal. From marching in Selma in 1965 to the Women’s March in 2018, these women have reshaped our society with their bold acts of defiance. World Premiere
Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It Dir. Mariem Pérez Riera
Rita Moreno defied both her humble upbringing and relentless racism to become one of a select group who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. Over a seventy year career, she has paved the way for Hispanic-American performers by refusing to be pigeonholed into one-dimensional stereotypes. World Premiere
Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) Dir. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
During the same summer as Woodstock, over 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting Black pride and unity. The footage from the festival sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America’s history lost – until now. World Premiere
Try Harder! Dir. Debbie Lum
In a universe where cool kids are nerds, the orchestra is world class and being Asian American is the norm, seniors at Lowell High School compete for the top prize: admission to the college of their dreams. World Premiere
Users (USA/Mexico) Dir. Natalia Almada
A mother wonders, will my children love their perfect machines more than they love me, their imperfect mother? She switches on a smart-crib lulling her crying baby to sleep. This perfect mother is everywhere. She watches over us, takes care of us. We listen to her. We trust her. World Premiere
PREMIERES
Premieres is a showcase of world premieres of some of the most highly anticipated fiction and nonfiction films of the coming year. Docs/non-fictions films are:
The Sparks Brothers (UK).Dir. Edgar Wright
How can one rock band be successful, underrated, hugely influential, and criminally overlooked all at the same time? Take a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers Russell & Ron Mael, celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band’s favorite band. World Premiere
Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir Dir. James Redford
Amy Tan has established herself as one of America’s most respected literary voices. Born to Chinese immigrant parents, it would be decades before the author of The Joy Luck Club would fully understand the inherited trauma rooted in the legacies of women who survived the Chinese tradition of concubinage. World Premiere
Bring Your Own Brigade Dir. Lucy Walker
A character-driven verité and revelatory investigation takes us on a journey embedded with firefighters and residents on a mission to understand the causes of historically large wildfi
res and how to survive them, discovering that the solution has been here all along. World Premiere
In The Same Breath Dir. Nanfu Wang
How did the Chinese government turn pandemic coverups in Wuhan into a triumph for the Communist party? An essential narrative of firsthand accounts of the coronavirus, and a revelatory examination of how propaganda and patriotism shaped the outbreak’s course – both in China and in the US. World Premiere
My Name Is Pauli Murray Dirs. Betsy West, Julie Cohen
Overlooked by history, Pauli Murray was a legal trailblazer whose ideas influenced RBG’s fight for gender equality and Thurgood Marshall’s landmark civil rights arguments. Featuring never-before-seen footage and audio recordings, a portrait of Murray’s impact as a non-binary Black luminary: lawyer, activist, poet, and priest who transformed our world.
World Premiere
Philly D.A. Created by: Ted Passon, Yoni Brook, Nicole Salazar
A groundbreaking inside look at the long shot election and tumultuous first term of Larry Krasner, Philadelphia’s unapologetic District Attorney, and his experiment to upend the criminal justice system from the inside out. World Premiere
Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street Dir. Marilyn Agrelo
How did a group of rebels create the world’s most famous street? In 1969 New York, this “gang” of mission-driven artists, writers and educators catalyzed a moment of civil awakening, transforming it into Sesame Street, one of the most influential and impactful television programs in history. World Premiere
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Life In A Day 2020 (UK/USA) Dir. Kevin Macdonald
An extraordinary, intimate, global portrait of life on our planet, filmed by thousands of people across the world, on a single day: 25th July 2020. World Premiere
INDIE SERIES
In INDIE SERIES, a dedicated showcase for emerging creators of independently produced episodic content for broadcast, web, and streaming platforms, is the world premiere of Seeds Of Deceit (Netherlands) by Miriam Guttmann
The revelation that Dr. Karbaat clandestinely used his own semen to inseminate more than 65 of his patients shocked the world. A vivid portrayal of how that happened and all the ways it haunts those affected: the emotional trauma of coming to terms with a changed life, a new identity.
