The Best Sundance Films of All-Time, According to 500+ Critics, Filmmakers

Here’s a flashback to a critics and filmmakers poll, conducted by the Sundance Film Festival, which just had its final edition in Park City end last night.

I was one of the 500 critics, filmmakers, and industry members who shared their personal top 10 lists for the poll. Nearly 4,000 feature films have been presented at the Festival — and below is the collective top 10 list of the best ever screened at Park City.

1. Whiplash (2014), Damien Chazelle

2. Reservoir Dogs (1992), Quentin Tarantino

3. Get Out (2017), Jordan Peele

4. Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Dayton/Faris

5. Memento (2001), Christopher Nolan

6. sex, lies and videotape (1989), Steven Soderbergh

7. Before Sunrise (1995), Richard Linklater

8. Boyhood (2014), Richard Linklater

9. Y tu mamá también (2002), Alfonso Cuarón

10. Blood Simple (1985), Joel and Ethan Coen

Ok, so a few notes — “Memento” actually premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and Venice Film Festival in September 2000 before screening at Sundance in January 2001, which is somewhat unusual. Typically, American indie films world premiere at Sundance first to attract distributors and generate early buzz. Regardless, “Memento” ended up winning the Screenwriting award that year at Sundance.

As for “Get Out,” you won’t even find it mentioned once in the Wikipedia page for Sundance 2017; why? Because that year Universal and Blumhouse actually decided to secret screen Jordan Peele’s film — there was only one screening of it the entire festival, at midnight at the Library Theater.

As for the rest of the poll — it gets a lot of stuff right. I can’t complain about this list. I’m also immensely grateful to have attended the premieres for almost half of these films. That first 2014 screening of Damien Chazelle’s “Whiplash” was WILD. I can’t think of a better word to describe it. The whole Theater erupted after that final shot.

I’ll add another 20 that deserved mention:

“Manchester by the Sea,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “The Blair Witch Project,” “American Psycho,” “In the Bedroom,” “The Squid and the Whale,” “Hereditary,” “Take Shelter,” “You Can Count On Me,” “Roger and Me,” “Moon,” “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” “Winter’s Bone,” “Clerks,” “Citizen Ruth,” “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” “Tangerine,” “A Ghost Story,” and “El Mariachi.”