Sundance Film Festival 2020
This is a list of all the movies I have seen from Sundance 2020, in chronological viewing order (see also the titles on my pre-festival interest list and my Top Picks list). Films #1-#4 were seen before the festival; #5-#17 seen in Park City; and #18 onwards afterwards elsewhere.
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56 titles
- DirectorPablo LarraínStarsMariana Di GirólamoGael García BernalSantiago CabreraA couple deals with the aftermath of an adoption that goes awry as their household falls apart.
- DirectorJayro BustamanteStarsMaría Mercedes CoroySabrina De La HozMargarita KenéficAn aging paranoid war criminal, protected by his faithful wife, faces death while being haunted by the ghosts of his past.
- DirectorHaifaa Al-MansourStarsMila Al ZahraniDae Al HilaliNora Al AwadA determined young Saudi doctor's surprise run for office in the local city elections sweeps up her family and community as they struggle to accept their town's first female candidate.
- DirectorMichael Angelo CovinoStarsKyle MarvinMichael Angelo CovinoGayle RankinA look at the friendship between two guys that spans over many years.
- DirectorJames LebrechtNicole NewnhamStarsJames LebrechtLionel Je'WoodyardJoseph O'ConorDown the road from Woodstock, a revolution blossomed at a ramshackle summer camp for teenagers with disabilities, transforming their lives and igniting a landmark movement.
- DirectorPhyllida LloydStarsMolly McCannClare DunneRuby Rose O'HaraA young mother escapes her abusive husband and fights back against a broken housing system. She sets out to build her own home and in the process rebuilds her life and re-discovers herself.
- DirectorDominic CookeStarsBenedict CumberbatchMerab NinidzeRachel BrosnahanBusinessman Greville Wynne is asked by a Russian source to try to help put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
- DirectorSara ColangeloStarsMichael KeatonAmy RyanStanley TucciAn attorney in Washington D.C. battles against cynicism, bureaucracy and politics to help the victims of 9/11.
- DirectorAlan BallStarsPaul BettanySophia LillisPeter MacdissiIn 1973, when Frank Bledsoe and his 18-year-old niece Beth take a road trip from Manhattan to Creekville, South Carolina, for the family patriarch's funeral, they're unexpectedly joined by Frank's lover, Walid.
- DirectorEmerald FennellStarsCarey MulliganBo BurnhamAlison BrieNothing in Cassie's life is what it appears to be - she's wickedly smart, tantalizingly cunning, and she's living a secret double life. Now, an unexpected encounter is about to give Cassie a chance to right the wrongs from the past.
- DirectorJulie TaymorStarsJulianne MooreAlicia VikanderJanelle MonáeThe story of feminist icon Gloria Steinem's itinerant childhood and its influence on her life as a writer, activist and organizer for women's rights worldwide.
- DirectorNat FaxonJim RashStarsJulia Louis-DreyfusWill FerrellZach WoodsBarely escaping an avalanche during a family ski vacation in the Alps, a married couple is thrown into disarray as they are forced to reevaluate their lives and how they feel about each other.
- DirectorEugene AsheStarsTessa ThompsonNnamdi AsomughaEva LongoriaWhen a young woman meets an aspiring saxophonist in her father's record shop in 1950s Harlem, their love ignites a sweeping romance that transcends changing times, geography, and professional success.
- DirectorFlorian ZellerStarsAnthony HopkinsOlivia ColmanMark GatissA man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages. As he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.
- DirectorEdson OdaStarsWinston DukeZazie BeetzBill SkarsgårdA reclusive man conducts a series of interviews with human souls for a chance to be born.
- DirectorMichael AlmereydaStarsEthan HawkeEve HewsonEli A. SmithA freewheeling take on visionary inventor Nikola Tesla, his interactions with Thomas Edison and J.P. Morgan's daughter Anne, and his breakthroughs in transmitting electrical power and light.
- DirectorLiz GarbusStarsAmy RyanThomasin McKenzieGabriel ByrneWhen Mari Gilbert's daughter disappears, police inaction drives her own investigation into the gated Long Island community where Shannan was last seen. Her search brings attention to over a dozen murdered sex workers.
- DirectorLana WilsonStarsTaylor SwiftAndrea SwiftScott SwiftA look at iconic pop artist Taylor Swift during a transformational time in her life as she embraces her role as a singer/songwriter and harnesses the full power of her voice.
- DirectorKitty GreenStarsJulia GarnerOwen HollandJon OrsiniA searing look at a day in the life of an assistant to a powerful executive. As Jane follows her daily routine, she grows increasingly aware of the insidious abuse that threatens every aspect of her position.
- DirectorDee ReesStarsAnne HathawayBen AffleckRosie PerezA veteran D.C. journalist loses the thread of her own narrative when a guilt-propelled errand for her father thrusts her from byline to unwitting subject in the very story she's trying to break. Adapted from Joan Didion's namesake novel.
- DirectorTom McCarthyStarsWinslow FegleyOphelia LovibondWallace ShawnAn 11-year-old boy who believes that he is the best detective in town runs the agency Total Failures with his best friend, an imaginary 1,500-pound polar bear.
- DirectorJeff BaenaStarsAlison BrieMolly ShannonGoldeniteSarah, a socially isolated woman with a fondness for arts and crafts, horses, and supernatural crime shows finds her increasingly lucid dreams trickling into her waking life.
- DirectorEliza HittmanStarsSidney FlaniganTalia RyderThéodore PellerinA pair of teenage girls in rural Pennsylvania travel to New York City to seek out medical help after an unintended pregnancy.
- DirectorGreg BarkerStarsWagner MouraAna de ArmasBrían F. O'ByrneA sweeping drama set in the chaotic aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq, where the life of top UN diplomat Sergio Vieira de Mello hangs in the balance during the most treacherous mission of his career.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsErin Brockovich-EllisMatt GatesMichelle JohnThe community of Paradise, California, a town in the Sierra Nevada foothills, attempts to rebuild after devastating wildfires in 2018.
- DirectorChanning Godfrey PeoplesStarsNicole BeharieLiz MikelMarcus M. MauldinA former beauty queen and single mom prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the "Miss Juneteenth" pageant.
- DirectorNatalie Erika JamesStarsRobyn NevinEmily MortimerBella HeathcoteA daughter, mother and grandmother are haunted by a manifestation of dementia that consumes their family's home.
- DirectorJosephine DeckerStarsElisabeth MossOdessa YoungMichael StuhlbargA famous horror writer finds inspiration for her next book after she and her husband take in a young couple.
- DirectorRomola GaraiStarsCarla JuriAlec SecareanuImelda StauntonAn ex-soldier, living homeless in London, is offered a place to stay at a decaying house inhabited by a young woman and her dying mother. As he starts to fall for her, he cannot ignore his suspicion that something sinister is going on.
- DirectorZeina DurraStarsAndrea RiseboroughMichael LandesShereen RedaWhen British aid worker Hana returns to the ancient city of Luxor, she meets former lover Sultan. As she wanders, haunted by the familiar place, she struggles to reconcile the choices of the past with the uncertainty of the present.
- DirectorAmanda McBaineJesse MossStarsBen FeinsteinSteven GarzaRobert MacDougallA thousand 17-year-old boys from Texas join together to build a representative government from the ground up.
- DirectorJeff Orlowski-YangStarsTristan HarrisJeff SeibertBailey RichardsonExplores the dangerous human impact of social networking; tech experts sound the alarm on their own creations.
- DirectorMaïmouna DoucouréStarsFathia YoussoufMédina El Aidi-AzouniEsther GohourouEleven-year-old Amy starts to rebel against her conservative family's traditions when she becomes fascinated with a free-spirited dance crew.
- DirectorBrandon CronenbergStarsAndrea RiseboroughChristopher AbbottJennifer Jason LeighAn agent works for a secretive organization that uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people's bodies - ultimately driving them to commit assassinations for high-paying clients.
- DirectorMiranda JulyStarsRichard JenkinsDebra WingerEvan Rachel WoodA woman's life is turned upside down when her criminal parents invite an outsider to join them on a major heist they're planning.
- DirectorKirsten JohnsonStarsMichael HilowAna HoffmanDick JohnsonA daughter helps her father prepare for the end of his life.
- DirectorAngel Manuel SotoStarsJahi Di'Allo WinstonMeek MillWilliam CatlettFourteen-year-old Mouse desperately wants to join the Midnight Clique, an infamous group of Baltimore dirt-bike riders who rule the summertime streets.
- DirectorViggo MortensenStarsViggo MortensenLance HenriksenLaura LinneyJohn Peterson lives with his partner Eric and their adopted daughter in Southern California. When he is visited by his aging father who is searching for a place to retire, their two very different worlds collide.
- DirectorGarrett BradleyStarsSibil Fox RichardsonRobert G. RichardsonMahlik RichardsonFox Rich fights for the release of her husband, Rob, who is serving a 60-year sentence in prison.
- DirectorFernanda ValadezStarsMercedes HernándezDavid IllescasJuan Jesús VarelaA mother travels across Mexico in search for her son whom authorities say died while trying to cross the borders into the United States.
- DirectorEkwa MsangiStarsNtare Guma Mbaho MwineZainab JahJayme LawsonReunited after 17 years, an Angolan immigrant is joined in the U.S. by his wife and daughter. Now strangers sharing a one-bedroom apartment, they discover a shared love of dance that may help them overcome the distance between them.
- DirectorRadha BlankStarsRadha BlankPeter KimOswin BenjaminRadha is a down-on-her-luck NY playwright, who is desperate for a breakthrough before 40. Reinventing herself as rapper RadhaMUSPrime, she vacillates between the worlds of Hip Hop and theater in order to find her true voice.
- DirectorSean DurkinStarsJude LawCarrie CoonOona RocheLife for an entrepreneur and his American family begins to take a twisted turn after moving into an English country manor.
- DirectorBrenda ChapmanStarsGugu Mbatha-RawCarter ThomasAva FilleryWhen their eldest brother dies, Peter and Alice seek to save their parents from despair until they are forced to choose between home and imagination, setting the stage for their iconic journeys into Wonderland and Neverland.
- DirectorRemi WeekesStarsSope DirisuWunmi MosakuMalaika Wakoli-AbigabaA refugee couple makes a harrowing escape from war-torn South Sudan, but then they struggle to adjust to their new life in an English town that has an evil lurking beneath the surface.
- DirectorLawrence Michael LevineStarsAubrey PlazaChristopher AbbottSarah GadonA filmmaker at a creative impasse seeks solace from her tumultuous past at a rural retreat, only to find that the woods summon her inner demons in intense and surprising ways.
- DirectorTara MieleStarsSienna MillerDiego LunaBeth GrantNew parents Adrienne and Matteo are forced to reckon with trauma amidst their troubled relationship. They must revisit the memories of their past and unravel haunting truths in order to face their uncertain future.
- DirectorMax BarbakowStarsAndy SambergCristin MiliotiJ.K. SimmonsStuck in a time loop, two wedding guests develop a budding romance while living the same day over and over again.
- DirectorAlex Huston FischerEleanor WilsonStarsSunita ManiJohn ReynoldsBen SinclairA young Brooklyn couple head to an upstate cabin to unplug from their phones and reconnect with each other. Blissfully unaware of their surroundings, they are left to their own devices as the planet falls under attack.
- DirectorLevan AkinStarsLevan GelbakhianiBachi ValishviliAna JavakishviliA passionate coming-of-age tale set amidst the conservative confines of modern Tbilisi, the film follows Merab, a competitive dancer who is thrown off balance by the arrival of Irakli, a fellow male dancer with a rebellious streak.
- DirectorLee Isaac ChungStarsSteven YeunHan YeriAlan KimA Korean American family moves to an Arkansas farm in search of its own American dream. Amidst the challenges of new life in the strange and rugged Ozarks, they discover the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.
- DirectorZoé WittockStarsNoémie MerlantEmmanuelle BercotBastien BouillonJeanne, a shy young woman, works in an amusement park. Fascinated with carousels, she still lives at home with her mother. That's when Jeanne meets Jumbo, the park's new flagship attraction.
- DirectorAneil KariaStarsBen WhishawRyan McKenVictor OlamideSet over 24 hours in London, a man goes on a bold and reckless journey of self-liberation.
- DirectorAdam RehmeierStarsKyle GallnerYancey FuquaJennifer KincerAn on-the-lam punk rocker and a young woman obsessed with his band unexpectedly fall in love and go on an epic journey together through America's decaying Midwestern suburbs.
- DirectorEuros LynStarsToni ColletteOwen TealeAlan DavidDream Alliance is an unlikely race horse bred by small-town Welsh bartender Jan Vokes. With no experience, Jan convinces her neighbors to chip in their meager earnings to help raise Dream in the hopes he can compete with the racing elites.
- DirectorJanicza BravoStarsTaylour PaigeRiley KeoughNicholas BraunA stripper named Zola embarks on a wild road trip to Florida.