2023 Sundance Film Festival
![]() Festival poster  | |
| Location | Park City, Utah | 
|---|---|
| Founded | 1978 | 
| Hosted by | Sundance Institute | 
| Festival date | January 19 to 29, 2023 | 
| Language | English | 
| Website | Sundance | 
The 2023 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to 29, 2023. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 7, 2022.[1][2][3][4]
Films
U.S. Dramatic Competition
- The Accidental Getaway Driver, directed by Sing J. Lee
 - All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, directed by Raven Jackson
 - Fair Play, directed by Chloe Domont
 - Fancy Dance, directed by Erica Tremblay
 - Magazine Dreams, directed by Elijah Bynum
 - Mutt, directed by Vuk Lungulov-Klotz
 - The Persian Version, directed by Maryam Keshavarz
 - Shortcomings, directed by Randall Park
 - Sometimes I Think About Dying, directed by Rachel Lambert
 - The Starling Girl, directed by Laurel Parmet
 - Theater Camp, directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman
 - A Thousand and One, directed by A.V. Rockwell
 
U.S. Documentary Competition
- AUM: The Cult at the End of the World, directed by Ben Braun and Chiaki Yanagimoto
 - Bad Press, directed by Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler
 - Beyond Utopia, directed by Madeleine Gavin
 - The Disappearance of Shere Hite, directed by Nicole Newnham
 - Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, directed by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson
 - Going Varsity in Mariachi, directed by Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn
 - Joonam, directed by Sierra Urich
 - Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés
 - Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV, directed by Amanda Kim
 - A Still Small Voice, directed by Luke Lorentzen
 - The Stroll, directed by Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker
 - Victim/Suspect, directed by Nancy Schwartzman
 
Premieres
- Cassandro, directed by Roger Ross Williams
 - Cat Person, directed by Susanna Fogel
 - Deep Rising, directed by Matthieu Rytz
 - The Deepest Breath, directed by Laura McGann
 - Drift, directed by Anthony Chen
 - Earth Mama, directed by Savanah Leaf
 - Eileen, directed by William Oldroyd
 - Fairyland, written and directed by Andrew Durham
 - Flora and Son, directed by John Carney
 - Food and Country, directed by Laura Gabbert
 - Invisible Beauty, directed by Bethann Hardison and Frédéric Tcheng
 - It's Only Life After All, directed by Alexandria Bombach
 - Jamojaya, directed by Justin Chon
 - Judy Blume Forever, directed by Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok
 - Landscape with Invisible Hand, directed by Cory Finley
 - A Little Prayer, directed by Angus MacLachlan
 - Murder in Big Horn, directed by Razelle Benally and Matthew Galkin
 - Passages, directed by Ira Sachs
 - Past Lives, directed by Celine Song
 - PLAN C, directed by Tracy Droz Tragos
 - The Pod Generation, written and directed by Sophie Barthes
 - Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, directed by Lana Wilson
 - Radical, directed by Christopher Zalla
 - Rotting in the Sun, directed by Sebastián Silva
 - Rye Lane, directed by Raine Allen-Miller
 - Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, directed by Davis Guggenheim
 - You Hurt My Feelings, directed by Nicole Holofcener
 
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
- Animalia, directed by Sofia Alaoui
 - Bad Behaviour, directed by Alice Englert
 - Girl, directed by Adura Onashile
 - Heroic, directed by David Zonana
 - MAMACRUZ, directed by Patricia Ortega
 - Mami Wata, directed by C.J. Obasi
 - La Pecera, directed by Glorimar Marrero Sánchez
 - Scrapper, directed by Charlotte Regan
 - Shayda, directed by Noora Niasari
 - Slow, directed by Marija Kavtaradze
 - Sorcery, directed by Christopher Murray
 - When It Melts, directed by Veerle Baetens
 
World Cinema Documentary Competition
- 20 Days in Mariupol, directed by Mstyslav Chernov
 - 5 Seasons of Revolution, directed by Lina
 - Against the Tide, directed by Sarvnik Kaur
 - The Eternal Memory, directed by Maite Alberdi
 - Fantastic Machine, directed by Axel Danielson
 - Iron Butterflies, directed by Roman Liubyi
 - Is There Anybody Out There?, directed by Ella Glendining
 - The Longest Goodbye, directed by Ido Mizrahy
 - Milisuthando, directed by Milisuthando Bongela
 - Pianoforte, directed by Jakub Piątek
 - Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, directed by Anna Hints
 - Twice Colonized, directed by Lin Alluna
 
Next
- Bravo, Burkina!, written and directed by Walé Oyéjidé
 - Divinity, written and directed by Eddie Alcazar
 - Fremont, written and directed by Babak Jalali
 - Kim's Video, written and directed by David Redmon and Ashley Sabin
 - King Coal, directed by Elaine McMillion Sheldon
 - Kokomo City, directed by D. Smith
 - To Live and Die and Live, written and directed by Qasim Basir
 - The Tuba Thieves, written and directed by Alison O'Daniel
 - Young. Wild. Free., directed by Thembi L. Banks
 
Midnight
- Birth/Rebirth, directed by Laura Moss
 - In My Mother's Skin, written and directed by Kenneth Dagatan
 - Infinity Pool, written and directed by Brandon Cronenberg
 - My Animal, directed by Jacqueline Castel
 - Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, directed by Andrew Bowser
 - Polite Society, written and directed by Nida Manzoor
 - Run Rabbit Run, directed by Daina Reid
 - Talk to Me, directed by Danny and Michael Philippou
 
Special Screenings
- Justice, directed by Doug Liman
 - Stephen Curry: Underrated, directed by Peter Nicks
 
Spotlight
- The Eight Mountains, written and directed by Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch
 - L'Immensità, directed and co-written by Emanuele Crialese
 - Joyland, directed and co-written by Saim Sadiq
 - Other People's Children, written and directed by Rebecca Zlotowski
 - Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis) by Anton Corbijn
 
Kids
- Aliens Abducted My Parents and Now I Feel Kinda Left Out, directed by Jake Van Wagoner
 - The Amazing Maurice, directed by Toby Genkel and Florian Westermann
 - Blueback, directed and co-written by Robert Connolly
 
Indie Episodic
- Chanshi, directed by Mickey Triest and Aaron Geva
 - The Night Logan Woke Up (La nuit où Laurier Gaudreault s'est réveillé), written and directed by Xavier Dolan
 - Poacher, directed by Richie Mehta
 - Willie Nelson and Family, directed by Thom Zimny and Oren Moverman
 
Awards
The following awards were given out:[5]
Grand Jury Prizes
- U.S. Dramatic Competition – A Thousand and One (A.V. Rockwell)
 - U.S. Documentary Competition – Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson)
 - World Cinema Dramatic Competition – Scrapper (Charlotte Regan)
 - World Cinema Documentary Competition – The Eternal Memory (Maite Alberdi)
 
Audience Awards
- Festival Favorite – Radical (Christopher Zalla)
 - U.S. Dramatic Competition – The Persian Version (Maryam Keshavarz)
 - U.S. Documentary Competition – Beyond Utopia (Madeleine Gavin)
 - World Cinema Dramatic Competition – Shayda (Noora Niasari)
 - World Cinema Documentary Competition – 20 Days in Mariupol (Mstyslav Chernov)
 - NEXT – Kokomo City
 
Directing, Screenwriting and Editing
- U.S. Dramatic Competition – Sing J. Lee for The Accidental Getaway Driver
 - U.S. Documentary Competition – Luke Lorentzen for A Still Small Voice
 - World Cinema Dramatic Competition – Marija Kavtaradze for Slow
 - World Cinema Documentary Competition – Anna Hints for Smoke Sauna Sisterhood
 - Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award – Maryam Keshavarz for The Persian Version
 - Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary – Daniela I. Quiroz for Going Varsity in Mariachi
 - NEXT Innovator Prize – Kokomo City
 
Special Jury Prizes
- U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Ensemble Cast – The cast of Theater Camp
 - U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Creative Vision – The creative team of Magazine Dreams
 - U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Clarity of Vision – The Stroll (Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucke)
 - U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Freedom of Expression – Bad Press
 - World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Cinematography – Lílis Soares for Mami Wata
 - World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Best Performance – Rosa Marchant for When it Melts
 - World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Creative Vision – Sofia Alaoui for Animalia
 - World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Creative Vision – Fantastic Machine
 - World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Verité – Against the Tide
 
Short Film Awards
- Short Film Grand Jury Prize – When You Left Me on That Boulevard
 - Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction – Rest Stop
 - Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction – The Kidnapping of the Bride
 - Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction – Will You Look at Me
 - Short Film Jury Award: Animation – The Flying Sailor
 - Short Film Special Jury Award, International: Directing – AliEN0089 by Valeria Hoffman
 - Short Film Special Jury Award, U.S.: Directing – The Vacation by Jarreau Carrillo
 
Special Prizes
- Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize – The Pod Generation
 - Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Award for Nonfiction – Jess Devaney for It’s Only Life After All
 - Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Award for Fiction – Kara Durrett for The Starling Girl
 - Sundance Institute/Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Nonfiction – Mary Manhardt
 - Sundance Institute/Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Fiction – Troy Takaki
 - Sundance Institute/NHK Award – Olive Nwosu for Lady
 
Acquisitions
- The Deepest Breath: Netflix
 - In My Mother's Skin: Amazon Prime Video
 - Joyland: Oscilloscope
 - My Animal: Paramount Pictures (excluding Canada)
 - Other People's Children: Music Box Films
 - Run Rabbit Run: Netflix (in select territories)
 - Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis): Utopia
 - Little Richard: I Am Everything: Magnolia Pictures and CNN Films
 - Kokomo City: Magnolia Pictures
 - Fair Play: Netflix
 - Theater Camp: Searchlight Pictures
 - Flora and Son: Apple TV+
 - Passages: MUBI (including United Kingdom, Ireland and Latin America)
 - A Little Prayer: Music Box Films[6]
 - Talk to Me: A24
 - The Eternal Memory: MTV Documentary Films
 - Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV: Greenwich Entertainment and PBS Films
 - The Persian Version: Sony Pictures Classics
 - The Starling Girl: Bleecker Street
 - Shayda: Sony Pictures Classics
 - Magazine Dreams: Searchlight Pictures
 - Divinity: Utopia
 - Scrapper: Kino Lorber
 - Shortcomings: Sony Pictures Classics
 - Eileen: Neon
 - The Pod Generation: Roadside Attractions and Vertical Entertainment
 - Mutt: Strand Releasing
 - Sometimes I Think About Dying: Oscilloscope
 - Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls: Cinedigm
 - Fremont: Music Box Films
 - Mami Wata: Dekanalog
 - Rotting in the Sun: MUBI
 - Fancy Dance: Apple TV+
 
Source:[7]
References
- ^ Patten, Dominic; D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 7, 2022). "Sundance Film Festival Lineup Set With Ukraine War, Little Richard, Michael J. Fox, Judy Blume Docs; Pics With Anne Hathaway, Emilia Clarke, Jonathan Majors, More". Deadline. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
 - ^ Erbland, Kate (December 7, 2022). "Sundance 2023 Lineup: New Films from Nicole Holofcener, Brandon Cronenberg, Jonathan Majors, & More". IndieWire. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
 - ^ "2023 Sundance Film Festival Announces Lineup of 99 Feature Films - sundance.org". December 7, 2022. Archived from the original on December 12, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
 - ^ Nikkhah Azad, Navid (December 13, 2022). "Sundance Film Festival 2023: Short Film and Indie Episodic program lineup announced". www.deed.news. Archived from the original on December 14, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
 - ^ Donnelly, Matt; Debruge, Peter (January 27, 2023). "Sundance Winners: 'A Thousand and One' Takes U.S. Dramatic Jury Prize (Complete List)". Variety. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
 - ^ Donnelly, Matt (May 8, 2025). "Acclaimed Sundance Indie 'A Little Prayer' Sets 2025 Release With Music Box Films (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved May 8, 2025.
 - ^ Welk, Brian (April 19, 2023). "Sundance 2023 Movie Deals So Far: Babak Jalali's Immigrant Dramedy 'Fremont' Lands at Music Box Films". IndieWire. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
 
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