Sundance 2021: What I'll Be Covering and What Films I'm Looking Forward to Most

This year, I have been fortunate enough to gain access to the 2021 Sundance Film Festival (not as press this year, just a festival pass I purchased on my own). Now, I'm finally able to unveil what I'll be doing this year.

Currently, provided I don't run out of time like I did at AFI Fest, I am planning to cover 50 short films and 44 feature films during Sundance. That's probably way too much, but given that most Sundance films go on to win awards during awards season, if I've seen all of these films during Sundance, I'm basically covered for the back half of 2021. Below are a portion of the films that I'll be covering as well as the ten films I'm looking most forward to at the festival.

Schedule

Much of what you saw at AFI Fest is the same here. I'll be reviewing everything I see, recording short daily podcasts detailing what I've been doing at Sundance, and continue my coverage well after Sundance is over with post-Sundance reviews.

• Sundance Day 1

  • Reviews for:
    • Both documentary shorts programs
    • All 4 shorts programs
    • The animation spotlight films
    • CODA
• Sundance Day 2

  • Sundance Daily Podcast Episode #1
  • Reviews of:
    • Homeroom
    • Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It
    • How It Ends
    • On the Count of Three
• Sundance Day 3

  • Sundance Daily Podcast #2
  • Reviews of:
    • Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street
    • Prime Time
    • Passing
    • R#J
• Sundance Day 4

  • The Sundance Daily Podcast #3
  • Reviews of:
    • Marvelous and The Black Hole
    • Mayday
    • Land
    • We're All Going to the World's Fair
• Sundance Day 5

  • The Sundance Daily Podcast #4
  • Review of Judas and the Black Messiah
• Sundance Day 6

  • The Sundance Daily Podcast #5
  • Review of The World to Come
  • Article covering the Sundance awards ceremony
• Sundance Day 7

  • The Sundance Daily Podcast #6
• Post-Sundance

  • Coverage of films that got bought at Sundance
  • Reviews of films I caught up with during Sundance that I didn't have time to write during Sundance

What I'm Looking Forward To

I don't usually do lists, but here's a quick overview on just ten of the films I'm most looking forward to seeing at Sundance.

1. Judas and the Black Messiah - Having missed an opportunity to see the film over a month ago, I'm not missing another chance to see Lakeith Stanfield, Daniel Kaluuya, and Jesse Plemmons onscreen together.
2. Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It - As a theater kid, I eat up just about any documentary relating to theater, Broadway, and anything in between. With Rita Moreno being in one of my favorite musicals of all time, I'm very much interested in what direction this doc will be taking.
3. Land - Okay, this is purely because of Robin Wright. I will watch just about anything she's in. I have no idea what this movie is about, but I can't wait to see what Robin is doing here and given I've seen a few "For Your Consideration" ads for this film, I'm excited to see what the fuss is about.
4. The World to Come - In an era full of lesbian dramas, I think that even if the story fails to deliver, Vanessa Kirby, Katherine Waterson and the rest of the cast will be able to make this one of the most enjoyable since Portrait of A Lady on Fire.
5. Prime Time - The premise of a hostage situation broadcast on live TV makes the perfect atmosphere for a film. I expect the highlights of this one to be cinematography and Bartosz Bielenia.
6. Night of the Kings - Fresh off a Film Independent nomination, I think this might be one of the sleeper hits at Sundance for me this year.
7. How It Ends - Okay, a film set on the last day of the Earth is extremely my kind of movie. Add Olivia Wilde and Zoe Lister-Jones and I'm sold.
8. Passing - I confess, I don't know much about this film other than a still of Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga heading down a street in black-and-white. Something is telling me that Negga and Thompson will be giving the performances of their careers here, with some of the best costumes and cinematography to boot.
9. Prisoners of the Ghostland - I'm always up for a Nicolas Cage movie, no matter how ridiculous. Cage has some excellent roles recently, and a think his turn as a bank robber could gain him an Oscar nomination next year, if he plays his cards right.
10. Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street - Growing up, I was obsessed with Sesame Street. I probably saw Bert and Ernie more times than I saw the trees outside when I was growing up, so a documentary all about the formation of the show is something I'm extremely looking forward to.

What are you looking forward to at Sundance? Are you going? Do you want me to cover something that isn't on this list? Shoot me a comment and let me know!

Thanks to Thomas Stoneham-Judge from Movies For Reel for supporting Austin B Media!