10 Films to Watch at Sundance 2024

The 2024 Sundance Film Festival runs in person January 18-28 (with some films also available online January 25-28). There are, as always, close to 100 features (and 58 shorts), meaning that there is most likely something to suit every taste. Since this is also the 40^th anniversary of the fest, expect plenty of celebratory events and screenings, as well. Our Hannah Tran will be on the ground, while site editor Christopher Llewellyn Reed will cover remotely thanks to his virtual press pass. What follows are 5 choices from both Hannah and Chris, making for 10 recommendations total of what to see, listed in alphabetical order. Each title is hyperlinked to the movie’s page on the festival website.

áma Gloria (Marie Amachoukeli): The plot description alone is enough to make me choke up with tears, so I have no doubt that the actual film will probably do a number on me, as well. Director Marie Amachoukeli (Party Girl) tells the story of 6-year-old Cléo, who must learn that she is not the center of her nanny’s universe, even though that nanny, Gloria, is the center of hers. Cared for by Gloria since the death of her own mother from cancer (she has a doting father, too, but Gloria holds pride of place), Cléo is about to suffer a new emotional tragedy. When Gloria’s mother passes away, the devoted nanny must return to her native Cape Verde to look after her own children, though she brings Cléo with her for a final farewell over the summer. Prepare to have your heart broken. (Christopher Llewellyn Reed)

And So It Begins (Ramona S. Diaz): The great documentarian Ramona Diaz (A Thousand Cuts) returns once more to the Philippines once more with yet another cautionary tale with repercussions far beyond the shores of that island nation. As authoritarian president Rodrigo Duterte retires and new elections loom, there is hope that the country may abandon its rightward tilt in favor of the democratic reforms that followed the overthrow of dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the 1980s. With present-day hindsight, we know what happened: Marcos’ son, “Bongbong,” was elected to replace Duterte in 2022. But wouldn’t you love to explore the no-doubt fascinating (and frightening) events that led to that? Watch on. (CLR)

EVERY LITTLE THING (Sally Aitken): There’s something beautiful about the act of rescuing injured animals, and many a fine documentary has been made on the topic, many of them focusing on birds, such as the 2003 The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill or the 2022 All That Breathes. In EVERY LITTLE THING, director Sally Aitken (Playing with Sharks: The Valerie Taylor Story) turns her attention to one Terry Masear, who cares for hummingbirds in need in the middle of Hollywood. As small as her charges may be, their spirits soar, and the viewer along with them. (CLR)

Girls State (Amanda McBaine/Jesse Moss): If there is a single film I have faith in, it is this one. I’ll never forget the feeling I had watching Boys State at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. The electrifying journey of triumphs, heartbreaks, and laughs in between was palpable within the audience. Now, documentary (and married) duo Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss return with a new perspective as they tackle its sister program, Girls State, in which teenage girls attend a week-long program where they build a government from the ground up.  It seems like such an obvious successor, and it will be so exciting to see how this differs based on the shift in subjects and the surrounding political climate. (Hannah Tran)

Ibelin (Benjamin Ree): Among all the plotlines I read from this edition of Sundance, this is the one that stuck with me. This documentary from Benjamin Ree, who was previously at the festival with his 2020 film, The Painter and the Thief, centers on the parents of Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer who died of a muscular disease at the age of 25. Posthumously, his parents unveil how many connections their seemingly lonely son had forged within the realm of World of Warcraft. It will be fascinating and moving to see how this uniquely modern phenomenon interacts with the timeless experience of grief. (HT)

Luther: Never Too Much (Dawn Porter): I have never seen a film by Dawn Porter (The Lady Bird Diaries) that I have not liked, and given the simultaneous joy I have always experienced listening to the music of Luther Vandross (there is “Never Too Much” of him), what’s not to like in notion of Porter tackling Vandross? The best biopics of musical figures show us the behind-the-scenes making of the hits we love, as well as giving us plenty of heretofore-unknown details about their lives and careers. I can’t wait. (CLR)

Power (Yance Ford): Director Yance Ford burst forth like a cinematic comet in 2017 with his powerful Strong Island, and in his latest documentary, Power, he examines how the police operate in the United States. Who benefits from the system and who is victimized by it? These are important questions to ask, rooted in race and class. This is certainly not the first film to take on these issues, but given the narrative nuance and visual brilliance that Ford has previously shown, I have every confidence that this will be among the strongest treatments of the topic, yet. (CLR)

Presence (Steven Soderbergh): There’s a fitting sense of mystery surrounding the latest film from Sundance icon Steven Soderbergh (Sex, Lies, and Videotape). Only unveiled last month, the simple plot follows a family who “moves into a house and begins to believe they aren’t alone.” While the premise may seem familiar, Soderbergh is sure to deliver a visually fresh take on it. The collaboration with David Koepp, who previously collaborated with Soderbergh on his 2022 film, Kimi, promises a gripping narrative to match. (HT)

A Real Pain (Jesse Eisenberg): Despite always enjoying Jesse Eisenberg’s work onscreen, I find myself more intrigued by his work off it. He’s an underrated writer, and his directorial debut, When You Finish Saving the World, became my favorite of Sundance 2022. Now he’s back with a comedy-drama about two cousins who begin to reckon with their family’s past as they travel through Poland following the death of their grandmother. Co-starring Eisenberg and recent Golden Globe winner Kieran Culkin (HBO’s Succession series), A Real Pain, featuring Eisenberg’s unique sense of humor and fascinating characters, should be a treat. (HT)

Union (Stephen Maing/Brett Story): A documentary about the struggle between Amazon and its employees feels like a long time coming. So it’s exciting to see it get a formalized platform in this year’s Union, which will focus on the Amazon Labor Union, founded in Staten Island by Chris Smalls after his unlawful termination during the pandemic. While I have heard these stories before, I cannot wait to see them up close. (HT)

Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Christopher Llewellyn Reed is a film critic, filmmaker, and educator, as well as Film Festival Today's Editor. A member of both the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, Chris is, in addition, lead film critic at Hammer to Nail and the author of Film Editing: Theory and Practice.