Film and Television Reviews
‘CODA’ Review: Deaf Family Saga Makes the Coming-of-Age Drama Feel New Again ‘Passing’ Review: Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga Shine in Rebecca Hall’s Elegant, Searing Period Piece ‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’ Review: An Intimate Exploration of Modern Internet Culture ‘Writing with Fire’ Review: Sundance World Cinema Doc Winner Is a Fearless Fight for Real News ‘President’ Review: This Infuriating Look at Zimbabwe’s Corrupt Election Will Bring You Up to Speed ‘Son of Monarchs’ Review: Sloan Prize Winner Is a Poignant Story of Transformation
‘Human Factors’ Review: This Twisty Thriller Is Too Puzzling for Its Own Good ‘Fire in the Mountains’ Review: An Entrancing Reverie of Himalayan Life in India From a Self-Taught Filmmaker ‘Hive’ Review: Pepper Spread Becomes a Sign of Rebellion in Kosovo Drama That Swept Sundance ‘Users’ Review: Kronos Quartet Scores This Sundance U.S. Doc Directing Prize Winner, a Digital Age ‘Baraka’ ‘Philly D.A.’: PBS Documentary Series on Civil Rights Activist Probably Should Have Been a Feature ‘Sabaya’ Review: World Doc Directing Winner About Rescuing Girls Sex-Trafficked by ISIS Is a Stirring Depiction of Heroism ‘My Name Is Pauli Murray’ Review: Trailblazing Civil Rights Disruptor Gets Overdue Tribute ‘Life in a Day 2020’ Review: A Pretentious Take on ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’ ‘Prisoners of the Ghostland’ Review: Nicolas Cage and Sion Sono Make a Ballsy East-Meets-Western ‘Jockey’ Review: A Moving Clifton Collins, Jr. Carries a Sweet, Sad Song About Horse Racing ‘Land’ Review: Robin Wright Directs Herself in a Too-Familiar Grief Drama ‘The Blazing World’ Review: Visually Dazzling Debut Lacks Emotion but Holds Promise ‘Mayday’ Review: A Fantastical Feminist War Allegory That Shies Away from Its Biggest Battles ‘All Light Everywhere’ Review: Documentary on Surveillance Society Shows How Cameras Are Killing Us ‘Together Together’ Review: Ed Helms and Patti Harrison Lead Flat Surrogacy Comedy ‘Misha and the Wolves’ Review: Survivor’s Wild Tale Unravels in Frustrating Holocaust Doc ‘Marvelous and the Black Hole’ Review: A Kooky Magician and a Twee Coming-of-Age Comedy
‘At the Ready’ Review: This Riveting High School Doc Illuminates America’s Culture of Policing A Glitch in the Matrix’ Review: This Movie Might Convince You That We’re Living in a Simulation ‘R#J’ Review: Romeo and Juliet, According to Their Social Media Accounts ‘Searchers’ Review: Perceptive Doc About What People See When They Swipe Through Dating Apps ‘The Sparks Brothers’ Review: Edgar Wright’s Delightful Documentary Honors Art Pop’s Most Cinematic Band ‘El Planeta’ Review: Fun Mother-Daughter Grifter Comedy Will Keep You Guessing Until the End ‘Cusp’ Review: Intimate Look at Real-Life Teenage Girls Begs for the ‘Seven Up’ Treatment ‘Faya Dayi’ Review: A Hallucinatory Documentary About Ethiopia’s Most Lucrative Cash Crop ‘Mass’ Review: Parents of a High School Shooter Seek Forgiveness in Intimate Drama ‘Try Harder’ Review: Doc Examining Competitive World of High School Graduates Is a Big Crowdpleaser ‘Wild Indian’ Review: The Violence of a Severed Heritage Breeds a Serial Killer Ailey’ Review: A Solemn Tribute to a Dance Auteur Who Paid a Price for Genius The Indie Series at Sundance Reflect the Pandemic’s Effects in Obvious and Unexpected Ways ‘Street Gang’ Review: ‘Sesame Street’ Gets the Loving History It Deserves ‘On the Count of Three’ Review: A Suicide Pact Turns Into Killer Buddy Comedy in Jerrod Carmichael’s Debut ‘Knocking’ Review: A Gaslighting Horror Story That Doesn’t Understand Its Own Strengths ‘Mother Schmuckers’ Review: Gross Belgian Comedy Is Dardenne Brothers via Jake and Logan Paul ‘Playing with Sharks’ Review: Gorgeous Doc on Valerie Taylor’s Underwater Life Sticks to the Shallows ‘In the Earth’ Review: Ben Wheatley’s Pandemic Horror Movie Will Make You Want to Stay Inside ‘Strawberry Mansion’ Review: Surreal Dream Odyssey Is Like a Microbudget Terry Gilliam Movie ‘Bring Your Own Brigade’ Review: Lucy Walker Stares Into the Blazing Maw of California Wildfires ‘The Pink Cloud’ Review: Prescient Pandemic Drama Turns Its Attention to a Rocky Romance ‘How It Ends’ Review: Zoe Lister-Jones Finds Wit and Wisdom at the End of the World ‘Luzzu’ Review: A Maltese Neorealist Fishing Drama in the Key of the Dardenne Brothers
‘The Most Beautiful Boy in the World’ Review: A Crushing Story of Innocence Destroyed by Stardom ‘Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided to Go for It’ Review: A Legend on Her Own Terms ‘I Was a Simple Man’ Review: Constance Wu Stars in a Hushed and Haunting Hawaii Ghost Story ‘Cryptozoo’ Review: ‘Yellow Submarine’ Meets ‘Tomb Raider’ in Psychedelic Animated Fantasy ‘Homeroom’ Review: Peter Nicks’ Doc Trilogy on Oakland’s Public Institutions Ends on a Personal Note ‘Censor’ Review: Gory ’80s Horror Overtakes a Troubled Woman’s Mind in Disturbing Debut ‘One for the Road’ Review: Wong Kar-wai Produces Overwrought Thai Melodrama ‘Summer of Soul’ Review: Questlove’s Directorial Debut Captures the Legacy of Forgotten ‘Black Woodstock’ ‘Flee’ Review: Animated Documentary About Afghan Refugee Is a Thrilling, Masterful Survival Story ‘In the Same Breath’ Review: Nanfu Wang Reminds That America Lied About COVID as Much as China
Interviews
‘Passing’ Filmmaker Rebecca Hall and Her Producers Reveal Why She Was the Right Choice to Direct ‘In the Earth’ Writer-Director Ben Wheatley on Crafting a Horror Film at the Intersection of Folklore and Science ‘John and the Hole’ Became the Unlikely COVID Metaphor the Filmmakers Never Saw Coming ‘CODA’ Director and Cast Hope Feature Will Spark More Disabled Stories ‘A Glitch in the Matrix’ Director Was Skeptical About Simulation Theory Until He Started Doing Research How the ‘R#J’ Filmmakers Used Innovative Editing to Tell a Timeless Love Story Questlove on Building ‘Summer of Soul’ Around Awe-Inspiring Musical Moments Robin Wright Isn’t Afraid of Bears, Which Made ‘Land’ Her Perfect Directorial Debut Watch Rita Moreno Discuss Her Role in Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ — and a New Doc on Her Life ‘Flee’ Director Wanted Riz Ahmed’s Voice for Sundance Doc After Seeing ‘Sound of Metal’ In ‘Together Together,’ Ed Helms and Patti Harrison Flip the Script on How Surrogacy Is Depicted Onscreen Robin Wright and Demián Bichir Sharpened Their Survival Skills to Make ‘Land’ ‘How It Ends’ Filmmakers Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones on How They Assembled a Dream Cast in a Pandemic In ‘Users,’ Natalia Almada Queries the Unintended Consequences of Technology, Good and Bad
‘Cryptozoo’: Grace Zabriskie Talks About the New Sundance Film — and the Future of ‘Twin Peaks’ Amy Tan Says ‘Joy Luck Club’ Sequel Movie Is Stuck in Legal Limbo, but That’s Not Bothering Her With ‘In the Same Breath,’ Nanfu Wang Aims to Understand Covid Deniers and Hold Dr. Fauci Accountable ‘Street Gang’ Gave the Director and Producers an Opportunity to Scour ‘Sesame Street’ Vault ‘I Was a Simple Man’ Director on Channeling Weerasethakul, Ozu, and More in Hawaii ‘Wild Indian’ Was a First for Its Indigenous Actors: Working with an Indigenous Director ‘These Days’ Creator Hopes Recent COVID Stories Don’t Ruin the Show’s Chance for Success ‘Flee’ Director Wanted Riz Ahmed’s Voice for Sundance Doc After Seeing ‘Sound of Metal’
Features
Sundance 2021: The 15 Best Movies of This Year’s Festival Sundance 2021 Proved That a Virtual Film Festival Can Be Real Sundance Breakouts: Actors Become Directors, Newcomers Become Stars, and More Discoveries from 2021 How I Shot That: The Cameras and Cinematography Behind Sundance’s Documentary Films How I Shot That: The Cameras and Cinematography Behind Sundance’s Narrative Feature Films How to Buy Tickets and Reserve Virtual Seats for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival How to Socialize at Sundance 2021 from Your Living Room Sundance Organizers Expect Virtual 2021 Edition to Be Its Largest Audience Ever ‘4 Feet High,’ VR, and the Ways Disability Narratives Can Be Told Sundance 2021 Knows Accessibility Is a Problem and Set Out to Change It
Podcasts, Press Conferences, Panels, and Events
IndieWire Celebrates Female Filmmakers at Sundance Virtual Event with Canada Goose — Watch IndieWire’s Sundance Chili Party in VR Was BYOA: Bring Your Own Avatars Sundance: How Zendaya, Halle Berry, Andra Day, Robin Wright, and Sia Broke Barriers Sundance Minus Park City: Why This Year’s Virtual Festival Is Still a Big Deal IndieWire Studio at Sundance Returns in 2021 with Virtual Edition January 28 – February 3 Join Rebecca Hall and Andre Holland for Panel Discussion on Their Sundance Film ’Passing’ IndieWire and Canada Goose Will Celebrate Sundance Female Filmmakers at Virtual Event
Clips, Trailers, Posters, and More
‘Land’ Trailer: Robin Wright’s Feature Directorial Debut Is an Emotional Survival Drama
Acquisitions
Sundance 2021 Deals: The Complete List of Festival Purchases So Far Sundance 2021 Market: Streamers Set Prices, but Theatrical Distributors Made a Big Impression With Acclaimed Premieres and a Quick Sale for ‘Flee,’ Sundance Begins with Promising Market Action Apple’s $25 Million ‘CODA’ Acquisition Smashes Sundance Sales Record
Lineup and Pre-Festival Announcements and News
Sundance 2021 Reveals Full Slate for Hybrid Festival, Including 72 New Features and Much More ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’ Enters Oscar Race with Sundance 2021 World Premiere Sundance 2021 Jurors Revealed: Cynthia Erivo, Julie Dash, Daniela Vega, and More
Pre-Festival Analysis
Sundance 2021: 15 Must-See Festival Films You Can Stream at Home Diversity Remains High in Sundance 2021 Films, As Is Their Market Appeal Sundance Buyers in the Streaming Era: How 14 Players Are Approaching the Festival The 9 Best Short Films Playing This Year’s Sundance Film Festival Sundance 2021 Market: 15 Movies That Could Sell Big in a Year of Virtual Discovery Sundance 2021 Reveals How the Virtual Festival Will Work For 70-Plus Films In 7 Days Don’t Call It a Comeback: 2021 Film Festivals Remain Vital in Whatever Form They Take Sundance 2021 Is All About Acquisitions as Distributors Resist Virtual Fest Launchpad Hidden Gems and Big Surprises from the Sundance 2021 Lineup, from Tearjerkers to ‘WTF Movies’ Sundance Wish List: 50 Films We Hope Will Premiere at the Festival in 2021 Sundance Prepares a Shortened, Seven-Day Festival, and Pushes Back Dates a Week Sundance Leaders Address Expected Date Change, Layoffs, Oscar Potential, and More Sundance 2021 Will Be ‘Reimagined’: An Online Hub, Social Distancing, and Maybe Even a Date Shift Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
