Quentin Tarantino, Ava DuVernay, and Wes Anderson are among the influential directors who made their debuts at Sundance Film Festival. Scheduled to kick off Thursday in Park City, Utah, this year's program features 42 percent first-time feature directors. CULTURED combed through the offerings to highlight eight who are especially worthy of your attention—and may join the pantheon of decorated festival alumni in the years to come.
Rachael Abigail Holder
Film: Love, Brooklyn
Premiere Date: January 27
Synopsis: Set in Brooklyn, the film follows three friends navigating the evolving landscape of gentrification in their neighborhood alongside their own shifting relationships.
Why We're Interested: This coming-of-age story promises a compelling new perspective on both the city and its inhabitants. It's also executive produced by Sundance alum Steven Soderbergh.
Georgi M. Unkovski
Film: DJ Ahmet
Premiere Date: January 23
Synopsis: In a small village in North Macedonia, a teenage boy named Ahmet finds solace in music while defying his conservative community's expectations and navigating love with a girl promised to another.
Why We're Interested: The North Macedonian filmmaker’s 2020 short Sticker won a suite of awards worldwide and showed at Sundance’s Short Film Program. Early glimpses of DJ Ahmet’s striking stills, paired with its intriguing story, position the film as a potential festival standout.
Kahlil Joseph
Film: BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
Premiere Date: January 24
Synopsis: A renowned West African curator's groundbreaking research takes her into the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, and a young journalist follows.
Why We're Interested: You may know Joseph as the director of Beyoncé's Lemonade visual album and music videos like Travis Scott’s MO CITY FLEXOLOGIS. Joseph also received Sundance praise in the past for his Jury Prize-winning 2013 short film, Lotus: Until the Quiet Comes. This feature debut expands on his acclaimed "BLKNWS" video installation, which drew rave reviews when it debuted at the 2019 Venice Biennale.
Hailey Gates
Film: Atropia
Premiere Date: January 25
Synopsis: This satirical war movie-meets-love story follows an aspiring actress, played by Alia Shawkat, in a fake country called “Atropia” that the U.S. military has devised for immersive training. A romance between the actress and a soldier jeopardizes the program.
Why We're Interested: Gates has assembled an impressive cast including Shawkat, Callum Turner, and Chloë Sevigny. With Luca Guadagnino producing and cinematographer Eric Yue (known for last year’s spectacular I Saw the TV Glow) behind the camera, this promises to be an exciting and visually impressive work.
Mark Anthony Green
Film: Opus
Premiere Date: January 27
Synopsis: Premiering in Sundance's Midnight series, this thriller is about a writer, played by Ayo Edebiri, who ventures to the compound of a long-vanished pop star, played by John Malkovich, and encounters a cult of the artist's obsessed fans.
Why We're Interested: If a flick starring Ayo Edebiri and John Malkovich as a pop star who comes back from the dead doesn't already sound like the perfect recipe for success, Green’s experience as a GQ writer and style editor also suggests this film will have a distinct flair and approach that sets it apart.
Katarina Zhu
Film: Bunnylovr
Premiere Date: January 25
Synopsis: A Chinese-American sex worker (played by Zhu) navigates a toxic relationship with a client while reconnecting with her dying father.
Why We're Interested: Zhu, recognized for her directorial talent as a Women in Film Shorts Lab fellow by Google, serves as writer, director, and lead actor in this debut. The film also benefits from the producing and acting talents of Rachel Sennott, one of independent cinema's most exciting voices.
Evan Twohy
Film: Bubble & Squeak
Premiere Date: January 24
Synopsis: In Bubble & Squeak, newlyweds find themselves questioning their relationship while on the run after being accused of smuggling cabbage in a place where the vegetable is outlawed.
Why We're Interested: Before making its way to the screen, Twohy's screenplay of the same name landed on the prestigious 2020 Black List, which highlights Hollywood's best unproduced scripts. Its delightfully absurd premise promises the kind of creative storytelling that makes new voices in independent films stand out.
Isaiah Saxon
Film: The Legend of Ochi
Premiere Date: January 26
Synopsis: A young girl raised in a small village is taught to fear the mysterious Ochi species. But when she discovers an injured baby Ochi, it leads her on an adventure to return home.
Why We're Interested: Saxon, known for his ethereal Björk music video and the children's platform DIY.org, brings his fantastical sensibility to this family adventure. Already set for A24 theatrical release in February, this fable stars the beloved Willem Dafoe along with young German actor Helena Zengel.
