Sigh. We were oh-so close to spotting Kanye West stomping around in snow boots on Main Street. But just a few weeks before the Sundance Film Festival was scheduled to kick off in Park City, Utah, plans got scrapped because of you-know-what. Long gone are the days of celebrities popping into random screenings — fun fact: I once caught James Franco dozing off during a documentary about Scientology — and rationalizing a meal of popcorn and diet Coke for breakfast and chatting to strangers on the local bus about the cool new movie you saw.
So, for the second consecutive year, festivalgoers will hit the couch instead of the back of the line to watch the very best of independent cinema. A major disappointment, for sure. And yet, Sundance alums such as Promising Young Woman, Get Out, Eighth Grade, Call Me By Your Name and 2021’s stand-outs Coda and Summer of Soul shine on a screen of any size.
The biggest difference, of course, is that Taylor Swift isn’t going to walk into your living room and introduce her documentary, as she did onstage at the Eccles Theater on opening night in 2020. And the same holds true for this year’s gems.
Scroll down to see 10 of the buzziest offerings from the January 20-30 festival, some of which are coming soon. (Hopefully!)