Sundance still draws significant star power and has a solid lineup since going back to its indie roots

Dear Gossips,

Sundance has officially begun, and though it is a lower-key affair than it used to be in the 2000s and early 2010s, it still brings out plenty of people. Opening day premieres, for instance, brought out the likes of Dylan O’Brien—who is already getting rave reviews for his dual performance in Twinless—Lauren Graham, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, Juliette Lewis, Samantha Mathis, Mamadou Athie, and Robin Tunney. This weekend will see new films starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, Ayo Edebiri, Bowen Yang and Lily Gladstone, among others. The fest has gone back to its indie roots, but it still draws significant star power.

It also has a solid lineup. Here are a few films I’m keeping an eye on this year. By no means is this a comprehensive list, but a few titles caught my eye for one reason or another, beyond the already anticipated stuff like Opus, starring Ayo Edebiri, and Andrew Ahn’s remake of The Wedding Banquet.

Rebuilding, starring Josh O’Connor as a rancher trying to, well, rebuild after his family’s ranch is lost in a wildfire. Timely, sure, but Brits often struggle to play working-class Americans, and I’m just curious to see where O’Connor falls on that spectrum. This is a test British actors regularly set for themselves, let’s see how he does.

Together, starring real life married couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Actors starring together in films is cursed, but I like them as a (lowkey) celebrity couple, so I hope the curse doesn’t come for them.

Peter Hujar’s Day reunites Ira Sachs and Ben Whishaw following Passages in a film about the photographer Peter Hujar. Co-starring Rebecca Hall, it could have Oscar legs if its eventual distributor plays their cards right.

Kiss of the Spider Woman, besides the Jennifer Lopez and Diego Luna of it all, honestly, Bill Condon is one of the only people who doesn’t suck at directing musicals. Please, may it be better than Emilia Pérez.

Love, Brooklyn stars Andre Holland, Nicole Beharie, and DeWanda Wise. Sold.

By Design starring Juliette Lewis as a woman who turns into a chair, and people like her better as a chair. This sounds like classic Sundance malarkey, and I am extremely here for it.

The Alabama Solution is Andrew Jarecki’s latest documentary, this one about the Alabama prison system. It includes footage shot on contraband cellphones by incarcerated people. Jarecki made The Jinx, which sent a murderer to jail, and this doc has the potential to have equally big real-world consequences.

Magic Farm stars Chloe Sevigny and Alex Wolff as American filmmakers bumbling around Argentina to profile a musician they can’t find. Sounds like an episode of Documentary Now, but it’s from artist Amalia Ulman…which actually just sounds like another layer to the Documentary Now episode.

And finally, Zodiac Killer Project from filmmaker Charlie Shackleton tackles the true crime entertainment industrial complex and examines the relationship between audience and subject. We have reached the self-reflective stage of true crime.

But always Sundance will produce surprises, something that flies under the radar before the fest and ends up a hit later in the year. And it can go the other way, with festival hits flopping once they hit theaters. Sundance gossip may not be what it once was, but it is still a good launching pad for careers and the next wave of films we’ll be talking about for the rest of the year. To Sundance, long may it reign.

Live long and gossip,

Sarah