On Thursday, a number of celebrities and indie favorites, including Richard Linklater, Steven Soderbergh, Pedro Pascal, and Kristen Stewart, made their way to the Utah highlands for the 40th annual Sundance film festival.
Several of the most eagerly awaited independent film premieres of the upcoming year will take place in Sundance, which is co-founded by Robert Redford and takes place in bitter cold at a height of 7,000 feet (2,150 meters).
Numerous new documentaries covering subjects like LGBTQ problems, Japan's tardy #MeToo movement, artificial intelligence, and the future of US democracy are also on display at the festival.
While some movies, like the Laura Linney dramedy "Suncoast" and the Lionel Richie music documentary "The Greatest Night in Pop," have already been released by major studios like Netflix and Disney, the majority hope to find distributors at the festival -- a key dealmaking forum for Hollywood and beyond.
"I hope we get distribution with somebody who will allow it to play in theaters first, and then streaming," expressed 94-year-old June Squibb, star of the highly anticipated action-comedy "Thelma," which debuted as a geriatric adaptation of the "Mission: Impossible" movies.
Pascal's "Freaky Tales," which narrates a number of interwoven episodes that take place on the same day in 1987 Oakland and feature teen punks, Nazi skinheads, a rap battle, and an NBA All-Star, is also scheduled for Thursday night.
Among the 85 world debuts at Sundance, former "Twilight" star Stewart has two films that director of programming Kim Yutani said will be "two of the most talked-about films at the festival."
The movie "Love Lies Bleeding" depicts a violent and illegal relationship between a bisexual bodybuilder and the manager of a gym.
Unbelievably, "Love Me," which also stars Steven Yeun, is described as the online romance of "a buoy and a satellite" in a post-human society.
In another film, "A Real Pain," directed by Jesse Eisenberg, stars Kieran Culkin and himself as mismatched cousins traveling to their grandmother's native Poland.
The highly anticipated performance of Saoirse Ronan in "The Outrun" is about an alcoholic who travels back to the untamed splendor of Scotland's Orkney Islands from London in order to recover.
Soderbergh and Linklater, two favorites from Sundance, also make a return to Park City with their most recent works. In the former, Lucy Liu ("Presence") stars in an unsettling suburbia drama, while in the latter, a documentary presents a picture of his homeland.
"Scared but excited"
This year's documentary schedule includes a number of films that address artificial intelligence, a contentious subject in the movie industry.
One of the main causes of last year's Hollywood strikes was fear that artificial intelligence (AI) might displace authors, actresses, and other professionals.
However, "Love Machina" explores the advantages of a technology that might "make death optional"—at least from the perspective of a couple that intends to preserve their love indefinitely by transferring their memories, ideas, and dreams into a humanoid robot driven by artificial intelligence.
Developed since 2017, director Peter Sillen expressed his gratitude for the "fortunate" timing of his film's Sundance premiere, noting that "public awareness of AI and large language models just exploding onto the scene in the last year."
A more somber viewpoint is provided by "Eternal You," which explores the dark, vibrant world of firms that give grieving consumers the opportunity to communicate with AI avatars created from the memories of their departed loved ones—but not without costs.
In another scene, "Will & Harper," a new documentary about "friendship, transition, and America," stars Will Ferrell as he travels across the country with a good friend of thirty years who is coming out as transgender.
The documentary follows Japanese journalist Shiori Ito as she fights for justice against the hidden forces of misogyny. Ito rose to prominence in the country's campaign to amend laws pertaining to sexual violence after she accused a well-known TV reporter of rape.
"As for the film's Saturday premiere, I'm very scared, but I'm also excited," she remarked.
"I don't know what to expect, but this is America, so I hope I can connect with people who will also share their experiences."
Additionally, a unique global premiere of the documentary "War Game" will let viewers witness as actual US politicians, defense ministers, and intelligence chiefs engage in an unplanned role-playing exercise where they have to handle a political takeover following a contentious presidential election.
Eugene Hernandez, the new festival director at Sundance, stated, "It's certainly unsettling, in the pit of my stomach the entire time, knowing that the games can be very close to reality" in an election year.
Sundance opens on Thursday and continues through January 28.
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