My blackfilm.com Sundance 2021 Film Festival press credentials have been secured, a regarding quantity of truffle popcorn has been ordered, and my lounge-sofa ensembles are ready to be worn over the course of seven days. Suffice it to say, I’m treating this eventful event as if I had been going to Park City, UT to attend in particular person. This have to be what Charlie Bucket felt like when he received his Golden Ticket! The 2021 Festival will happen digitally by way of a function-wealthy, Sundance-built on-line platform and in particular person on Satellite Screens throughout the nation (public well being allowing) from January 28-February three, 2021. Ellen’s Top Sundance 2021 Film Picks
Below is a listing of movies I’ll be reviewing inside the U.S. Dramatic Competition & Premieres Category, in addition to a listing of bonus movies I’ll be watching (for enjoyable and digital dialogue with fellow competition attendees) within the U.S. Documentary, World Cinema Documentary, World Cinema Dramatic, Premieres, & Spotlight classes.
To see the total Sundance 2021 program click on right here.
Top 5 U.S. Dramatic & Premiere Films
On the Count of Three / U.S.A. (Director: Jerrod Carmichael, Screenwriters: Ari Katcher, Ryan Welch, Producers: David Carrico, Adam Paulsen, Tom Werner, Jake Densen, Ari Katcher, Jimmy Price) — Two weapons. Two greatest pals. And a pact to finish their lives when the day is completed. Cast: Jerrod Carmichael, Christopher Abbott, Tiffany Haddish, J.B. Smoove, Lavell Crawford, Henry Winkler. World Premiere
Christopher Abbott and Jerrod Carmichael seem in On the Count of Three by Jerrod Carmichael, an official collection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition on the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. | picture by Marshall Adams.
Passing / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Rebecca Hall, Producers: Forest Whitaker, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Margot Hand, Rebecca Hall) — Two African-American girls who can “pass” as white select to stay on reverse sides of the colour line in 1929 New York in an exploration of racial and gender id, efficiency, obsession and repression. Based on the novella by Nella Larsen. Cast: Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, André Holland, Alexander Skarsgård, Bill Camp.
Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson seem in Passing by Rebecca Hall, an official collection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition on the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. | picture by Edu Grau.
Judas and the Black Messiah / U.S.A. (Director: Shaka King, Screenwriters: Will Berson, Shaka King, Producers: Ryan Coogler, Charles D. King, Shaka King) — FBI informant William O’Neal infiltrates the Illinois Black Panther occasion when J. Edgar Hoover fears charismatic chief Chairman Fred Hampton will emerge as a Black Messiah. O’Neal lives in worry of discovery and can’t escape the lethal trajectory of his betrayal. Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Lil Rel Howery, Martin Sheen. World Premiere
Darrel Britt-Gibson, Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield seem in Judas and the Black Messiah by Shaka King, an official collection of the Premieres part on the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. | picture by Glen Wilson.
Wild Indian / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr., Producers: Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr., Thomas Mahoney, Eric Tavitian) — Two males are inextricably certain collectively after overlaying up the savage homicide of a schoolmate. After years of separation following wildly divergent paths, they need to lastly confront how their traumatic secret has irrevocably formed their lives. Cast: Michael Greyeyes, Chaske Spencer, Jesse Eisenberg, Kate Bosworth, Phoenix Wilson, Julian Gopal. World Premiere Ellen’s Top Sundance 2021 Film Picks
Michael Greyeyes seems in Wild Indian by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr., an official collection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition on the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. | picture by Eli Born.
Mayday / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Karen Cinorre, Producers: Jonah Disend, Lucas Joaquin, Karen Cinorre, Sam Levy) — Ana is transported to a dreamlike and harmful land the place she joins a staff of feminine troopers engaged in a by no means-ending warfare alongside a rugged coast. Though she finds power on this exhilarating world, she comes to appreciate that she’s not the killer they need her to be. Cast: Grace Van Patten, Mia Goth, Havana Rose Liu, Soko, Théodore Pellerin, Juliette Lewis. World Premiere Ellen’s Top Sundance 2021 U.S. Dramatic Picks
Grace Van Patten seems in Mayday by Karen Cinorre, an official collection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition on the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. | picture by Tjaša Kalkan.
Bonus Films within the U.S. & World Cinema Documentary, World Cinema Dramatic, Premieres, & Spotlight Categories
Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) / U.S.A. (Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Producers: David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, Joseph Patel) — During the identical summer season as Woodstock, over 300,000 individuals attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and tradition, and selling Black satisfaction and unity. The footage from the competition sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, protecting this unbelievable occasion in America’s historical past misplaced – till now. World Premiere. Ellen’s Top Sundance 2021 Film Picks
A nonetheless from Summer Of Soul (Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, an official collection of the U.S. Documentary Competition on the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. | picture by Mass Distraction Media.
Night of the Kings / France, Ivory Coast, Canada, Senegal (Director and Screenwriter: Philippe Lacôte, Producers: Delphine Jaquet, Yanick Létourneau, Ernest Konan, Yoro Mbaye) — A younger man is shipped to La Maca, a jail on the Ivory Coast in the midst of the forest dominated by its prisoners. With the crimson moon rising, he’s designated by the Boss to be the brand new “Roman” and should inform a narrative to the opposite prisoners. Cast: Koné Bakary, Steve Tientcheu, Digbeu Jean Cyrille, Rasmané Ouédraogo, Issaka Sawadogo, Denis Lavant.
Koné Bakary and Anzian Marcel seem in Night of the Kings by Philippe Lacôte, an official collection of the Spotlight part on the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Land / U.S.A. (Director: Robin Wright, Screenwriters: Jesse Chatham, Erin Dignam, Producers: Allyn Stewart, Lora Kennedy, Leah Holzer, Peter Saraf) – The poignant story of 1 girl’s search, within the aftermath of an unfathomable occasion, for that means within the huge and harsh American wilderness. Cast: Robin Wright, Demián Bichir, Kim Dickens. World Premiere, Narrative
Robin Wright seems in Land by Robin Wright, an official collection of the Premieres part on the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. | picture by Daniel Power. Copyright Focus Features LLC 2020.
Superior / U.S.A. (Director: Erin Vassilopoulos, Screenwriters: Erin Vassilopoulos, Alessandra Mesa, Producers: Benjamin Cohen, Grant Curatola, Patrick Donovan) — On the run, Marian returns to her hometown in upstate New York to cover out together with her estranged an identical twin sister, Vivian. Struggling to place the previous behind her, Marian lies in regards to the cause for her return, leaving her sister at nighttime till their two worlds start to collide. Cast: Alessandra Mesa, Ani Mesa, Pico Alexander, Jake Hoffman, Stanley Simons. World Premiere
Ani Mesa seems in Superior by Erin Vassilopoulos, an official collection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition on the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. | picture by Mia Cioffi Henry.
Human Factors / Germany, Italy, Denmark (Director and Screenwriter: Ronny Trocker, Producers: Susanne Mann, Paul Zischler, Martin Rehbock) — A mysterious burglary exposes the agony of an exemplary center class household. Cast: Sabine Timoteo, Mark Waschke, Jule Hermann, Wanja Valentin Kube, Hannes Perkmann, Daniel Séjourné. World Premiere
Sabine Timoteo, Wanja Valentin Kube and Mark Waschke seem in Human Factors by Ronny Trocker, an official collection of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition on the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. | picture by Klemens Hufnagl.
The Pink Cloud / Brazil (Director and Screenwriter: Iuli Gerbase, Producer: Patricia Barbieri) — A mysterious and lethal pink cloud seems throughout the globe, forcing everybody to remain house. Strangers on the outset, Giovana and Yago attempt to invent themselves as a pair as years of shared lockdown cross. While Yago resides in his personal utopia, Giovana feels trapped deep inside. Cast: Renata de Lélis, Eduardo Mendonça. World Premiere Ellen’s Top Sundance 2021 Picks
Eduardo Mendonça seems in The Pink Cloud by Iuli Gerbase, an official collection of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition on the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Sundance ’21 Goes Beyond Film
