I have seen about a half dozen Sundance 2022 titles so far, nothing particularly stood out, but I’m hoping something big will in the coming days, as the press screeners keep piling up in my inbox.
Right now, Sundance is headed into its 44th edition, which begins on January 20th, with barely any buzz-worthy titles. Even worse, I haven’t even heard of any standouts yet from colleagues who are also rummaging through screeners themselves. The only title that’s been mentioned by a few people is the John Boyega-starring “892.”
This time last year we were already hearing great things about Rebecca Hall’s “Passing” and Jonas Rasmussen’s “Flee.” There is the likely possibility that this year publicists have been screening less films in advance than usual for critics.
The virtual component will no doubt hamper quality this year, ditto COVID-19 shutting down indie productions that couldn’t afford the safety protocols needed to shoot a film.
With that being said, there will no doubt be a few gems scattered throughout this lineup of 70 films. The exciting titles to look out for this 44th edition of Sundance are the following:
Cha Cha Real Smooth
892
Watcher
Fresh
Call Jane
Dual
Sharp Stick
When You Finish Saving the World
Fire of Love
Emergency
A Love Song
Honk for Jesus Save Your Soul
2nd Chance
jeen-yuhs
Living
Resurrection
I’ll hopefully get to see many of these in the coming days.
Remember when, back in August, we learned “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth” would be playing in only around 350 U.S. theaters, "maybe fewer"? Well, it's fewer. A lot fewer.