What you need to know:
Sundance has always been an important festival for the film industry. And after several decades of presenting films to each other, a list of the best has been compiled.
The 2024 edition of the will take place from January 18th to 28th Sundance Film Festival, one of the most important events in the international film industry which in almost 40 years has presented some of the best film proposals both in terms of narratives and creators.
For this reason, a group of more than 500 directors, critics and industry personalities, They have compiled a list of 10 great films which premiered at Sundance and marked a before and after after its screening at the festival.
To give you an idea of how definitive this list is, here's what you should know Between all Sundance editions, more than 4,000 films were released. Here we leave them for you to take a look at (because yes, we tell you where they are available).
Sundance Film Festival / Photo: Sundance
10. Blood easy
Joel Coen
Blood Simple is a film directed by Joel Coen, produced by Ethan and written by the two of them. The film took part in the first edition of the Sundance Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize in 1985 and Frances McDorman plays Abby, who flees her cruel husband with the help of one of his employees.
Just blood Is available in MUBI.
9. And your mother too
Alfonso Cuaron
And Your Mother Too by Alfonso Cuarón At the beginning of the new millennium, not only became one of the most important films in Mexican filmography, but also internationally, receiving, for example, several international awards at the Venice Festival or Oscar nominations for Screenplay and Foreign Film.
But its debut took place at Sundance in 2002 and also introduced the world to Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal. And your mother follows the journey too Two friends, Tenoch and Julio, live together with a Spanish woman named Luisa from which various conflicts, revelations and adventures emerge.
8. Childhood
Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater enlisted the cast of Boyhood to film his story over a 12-year period with the aim of first telling the life story of a family without having to cast the older versions of each one (to give you an idea, the director asked Patricia Arquette not to undergo plastic surgery to avoid changes in his character) . ).
But above all, it's about creating a unique piece of film. Boyhood was presented at Sundance and told us the story of Mason, played by Ellar Coltrane, a boy who we see grow up from the age of 5 to 18 in a comprehensive coming-of-age that reveals the usual conflicts in the life of a person who experiences and recognizes the world.
7. Before sunrise
Richard Linklater
That is Linklater's second film in this list honoring the best of Sundance. The first was Boyhood and the second in Before Sunrise, the first part of the trilogy known as Before, with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.
Before Sunrise premiered in 1995 and is based purely on dialogue, we are introduced two young people who are on an extensive journey through various European cities. Jesse is American and Céline is French, and they meet on a train between Budapest and Vienna.
they start a long dialogue that addresses various topics such as romance, sex, art. When he arrives in Vienna, Jesse convinces Céline to come with him and they tour the city while continuing to talk. After a night together, they promise to see each other again in a few months. which is not carried out and makes way for the second part of the trilogy.
Before sunrise Is available in HBO Max.
6. Sex, lies and video
Steven Soderbergh
If you like movies based on conversations then Sex, lies and videotapes you will like it. However. One might think that not one but two Linklater tapes appear in the same list and that these conversations are authoritative. But, Soderbergh's work, in contrast to Linklater's, is faster and, in the case of this film, more erotic.
Sex, lies and videotapes show us four key characters: John, Ann, Cynthia and Graham. John and Ann are married but don't have sex. For her, sex is overrated, but not for him. So he begins a romance with Cynthia, his wife's sister.
Then Graham, a mysterious guy from the past, shows up and he starts flirting with Ann. But not in a sexual and superficial way, but through conversations and words.
5. Reminder
Christopher Nolan
In 2001, Christopher Nolan came to Sundance with his second feature called “Memento,” about a man named Leonard Shelby, who investigates his wife's murder while suffering from amnesia. His body and all the rooms he visits reveal a clue to what happened. And the ending… we won't tell you, but it's brilliant.
Actually, the entire film and the structure that Nolan built the timeline is incredible. Memento later received nominations for the Golden Globes and the Oscars. Although this film was Nolan's second, it was the one that introduced him to an international level and paved the way for the remake of Insomnia, the Batman trilogy and all the films that influenced the industry.
Memory Is available in Prime Video.
4. Little Miss Sunshine
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
The origin story of Little Miss Sunshine is very interesting. Due to the cast, the film was taken over by a relatively large production company. But after two years he threw it away. AND Some risk-takers in independent cinema picked it up, finished it and brought it to Sundance.
After his first demonstration Little Miss Sunshine received a long standing ovation from the audience and mediaand a classic of the two thousandths since 2006. The film stars Abigail Breslin, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin, Steve Carell and Paul Dano, all members of the Hoover family.
Olive is a girl who worked hard with her grandfather to become a beauty queen. The film takes us on the road trip the family takes to get Oliver to the competition, while exposing all of each member's personal conflicts.
Little Miss Sunshine Is available in Star+.
3. Get out
Jordan Peele
Nothing was said about what Exit. This is the directorial debut of Jordan Peele, who instantly became one of the most exciting and creative figures in the film industry. This is due to the essence of his films: the more realistic the story (even though it belongs to science fiction, for example), the more frightening the scenario.
Out with the stars Daniel Kaluuya plays Chris, a young African-American photographer who is in a relationship with Rose. They are both on their way to her parents' house so Chris can meet them. At first it all seems like a regular meeting for the groom to introduce himself to the bride's parents.
But soon, Chris discovers it's a trapand their visit becomes a nightmare in the home of a historically racist family and community.
Exit Is available in Prime Video.
2. Reservoir dogs
Quentin Tarantino
Few directors have had as great a cultural influence as he has Quentin Tarantino with his first film from 1992: Reservoir Dogs. This film contained names like Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen, Lawrence Tierney and Tim Roth.
Reservoir Dogs introduces us Mr. Joe, who brings together a group of six robbers who don't know each other to hatch a plan and rob a jewelry store. The fact that they do not know each other serves to avoid the existence of a “rat” in the group. However, from the moment of the choice there is already one, and during the robbery there is one a confrontation with the police that eliminates some, injures others and drives the rest to despair.
The dynamic that Tarantino builds with the dialogue and character development in Reservoir Dogswould become one of the key elements of his filmography: music, tense atmospheres, innocuous dialogues and more.
Reservoir Dogs Is available in MGM.
1. Whiplash
Damien Chazelle
Whiplash won the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2014. This is the directorial debut of Damien Chazelle, who later directed La La Land (winner, NOT winner of the Oscar for Best Picture), First Man and Babylon.
In this film, Miles Teller plays a student named Andrew Neyman, who studies music in New York at one of the most prestigious schools in the entire country. One day while playing the drums, he catches the attention of Mr. Fletcher, a cruel and ruthless teacher who is also the leader of the jazz band.
Whiplash Is available in Netflix.
Miles Teller and JK Simmons in “Wiplash.” Photo: Sony Pictures
Through Using psychological and physical torture, humiliation and mind games, Flecther pushes some of his students to their limits in order to turn them into key figures in the world of music., especially in the underworld of jazz. But the film constantly raises the question: If Andrew doesn't bleed under Fletcher, wouldn't the world be missing out on a great musician? And: what are the actual costs?
In many ways, this film marked a before and after in the film industry. Firstly, because it represented Chazelle is introduced as one of the most promising filmmakers, winning the Oscar for Best Director at the age of 32, the youngest in history. Also because of the film's narrative, use of sound and music and many other aspects that have made it a favorite not only of this Sundance list but of many other places.