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Sundance Film Festival · 2023

Sundance Film Festival 2023

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Programme

9 films · 4 reviews

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Bravo, Burkina!

A Burkinabé boy flees his village and migrates to Italy. When disillusioned by heartbreak and haunted by memories of home, he travels through time in hope of regaining all he has lost.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Walé Oyéjidé; Writer: Walé Oyéjidé; Stars: Alain Tiendrebeogo, Mousty Mbaye, Noel Minougou, Aissata Deme, Afissatou Coulibaly)

World premiere. Fiction

Divinity

Review preview for Divinity

For all its faults, the film is pretty, and that will probably be enough for some viewers.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
Two mysterious brothers abduct a mogul during his quest for immortality. Meanwhile, a seductive woman helps them launch a journey of self-discovery.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Eddie Alcazar; Writer: Eddie Alcazar; Stars: Stephen Dorff, Moises Arias, Jason Genao, Karrueche Tran, Bella Thorne, Scott Bakula)

Full review

World premiere. Fiction

Fremont

Review preview for Fremont

In many ways Fremont is advocating the importance of accepting that a life can be both average and fulfilling.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Donya works for a Chinese fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. Formerly a translator for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, she struggles to put her life back in order. In a moment of sudden revelation, she decides to send out a special message in a cookie.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Babak Jalali; Writer: Babak Jalali; Stars: Anaita Wali Zada, Jeremy Allen White, Gregg Turkington)

Full review See: Babak Jalali

World premiere. Fiction

Kim's Video

Review preview for Kim's Video

Unashamedly quirky but burtsting with the love of film, this is the sort of one-off doc that’s as much about the engaging playfulness of its construction as it is the content.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Playing with the forms and tropes of various cinema genres, the filmmaker sets off on a quest to find a legendary lost video collection of 55,000 movies in Sicily.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: David Redmon, Ashley Sabin)

Full review

World premiere. Documentary. Day One

King Coal

The cultural roots of coal continue to permeate the rituals of daily life in Appalachia even as its economic power wanes. The journey of a coal miner’s daughter exploring the region’s dreams and myths, untangling the pain and beauty, as her community sits on the brink of massive change.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Elaine McMillion Sheldon)

World premiere. Documentary

Kokomo City

Review preview for Kokomo City

It’s thrilling to watch a filmmaker like Smith throw a wrench in the gears and deliver an unapologetic ode to outcasts that’s every bit as punk rock as its subjects.

Jeremy Mathews · 4 out of 5
Four Black transgender sex workers explore the dichotomy between the Black community and themselves, while confronting issues long avoided.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: D Smith)

Full review

World premiere. Documentary

To Live And Die And Live

Muhammad returns home to Detroit to bury his stepfather and is thrust into settling his accounts, but Muhammad’s struggles with depression and addiction may finish him before he finishes the task

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Qasim Basir; Stars: Amin Joseph, Skye P. Marshall, Omari Hardwick, Cory Hardrict, Dana Gourrier, Maryam Basir)

World premiere. Fiction

The Tuba Thieves

From 2011 to 2013, tubas were stolen from Los Angeles high schools. This is not a story about thieves or missing tubas. Instead, it asks what it means to listen.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Alison O'Daniel; Writer: Alison O’Daniel)

World premiere. Documentary

Young. Wild. Free.

High school senior Brandon is drowning in responsibilities when his world is turned upside down after being robbed at gunpoint by the girl of his dreams.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Thembi L Banks; Writer: Juel Taylor, Tony Rettenmaier; Stars: Algee Smith, Sanaa Lathan, Sierra Capri, Mike Epps)

World premiere. Fiction