2021 Sundance Film Festival

2021 Sundance Film Festival
	Festival poster
Location	Park City, Utah
Founded	1978
Hosted by	Sundance Institute
No. of films	72
Festival date	January 28 to February 3, 2021
Language	English
Website	sundance.org/festival
	2022 Sundance Film Festival 2020 Sundance Film Festival

The 2021 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 28 to February 3, 2021. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 15, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Utah, the festival combined in-person screenings at the Ray Theatre in Park City, with screenings held online as well as on screens and drive-ins in 24 states and territories across the United States.^[1]^[2]

Films

U.S. Dramatic Competition

CODA, written and directed by Siân Heder
I Was a Simple Man, written and directed by Christopher Makoto Yogi
Jockey, directed and co-written by Clint Bentley
John and the Hole, directed by Pascual Sisto
Mayday, written, directed and co-produced by Karen Cinorre
On the Count of Three, directed by Jerrod Carmichael
Passing, written, directed and produced by Rebecca Hall
Superior, directed by Erin Vassilopoulos
Together Together, written and directed by Nikole Beckwith
Wild Indian, written and directed by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.

U.S. Documentary Competition

Ailey, directed and co-produced by Jamila Wignot
All Light, Everywhere, written and directed by Theo Anthony
At the Ready, directed by Maisie Crow
Cusp, directed by Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt
Homeroom, directed and co-produced by Peter Nicks
Rebel Hearts, directed, co-written and co-edited by Pedro Kos
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It, directed, co-produced and co-edited by Mariem Pérez Riera
Summer of Soul, directed by Questlove
Try Harder!, directed and co-produced by Debbie Lum
Users, directed by Natalia Almada

Premieres

Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir, directed by James Redford
Bring Your Own Brigade, written, produced and directed by Lucy Walker
The Cursed (original festival title: Eight for Silver), written and directed by Sean Ellis
How It Ends, written, directed and produced by Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones
In the Earth, written and directed by Ben Wheatley
In the Same Breath, directed and co-produced by Nanfu Wang
Judas and the Black Messiah, directed and co-written by Shaka King
Land, directed by Robin Wright
Marvelous and the Black Hole, directed by Kate Tsang
Mass, written and directed by Fran Kranz
The Most Beautiful Boy in the World, written and directed by Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri
My Name Is Pauli Murray, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen
Philly D.A., directed by Ted Passon, Yoni Brook and Nicole Salazard
Prisoners of the Ghostland, directed by Sion Sono
The Sparks Brothers, directed by Edgar Wright
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, directed by Marilyn Agrelo

World Cinema Dramatic Competition

The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet, directed by Ana Katz
El Planeta, written and directed by Amalia Ulman
Fire in the Mountains, written and directed by Ajitpal Singh
Hive, written and directed by Blerta Basholli
Human Factors, written and directed by Ronny Trocker
Luzzu, written and directed by Alex Camilleri
One for the Road, directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya
The Pink Cloud, written and directed by Iuli Gerbase
Pleasure, written and directed by Ninja Thyberg
Prime Time, directed and co-written by Jakub Piątek

World Cinema Documentary Competition

Faya Dayi, written, directed and produced by Jessica Beshir
Flee, directed and co-written by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Misha and the Wolves, directed by Sam Hobkinson
The Most Beautiful Boy in the World, written and directed by Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri
Playing with Sharks, directed by Sally Aitken
President, directed by Camilla Nielsson
Sabaya, directed and edited by Hogir Hirori
Taming the Garden, directed by Salomé Jashi
Writing with Fire, directed by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh

Midnight

Censor, directed and co-written by Prano Bailey-Bond
Knocking, directed by Frida Kempff
A Glitch in the Matrix, directed by Rodney Ascher
Coming Home in the Dark, directed and co-written by James Ashcroft
Mother Schmuckers, written and directed by Lenny Guit and Harpo Guit
Violation, written and directed by Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli

The Blazing World, directed and co-written by Carlson Young
Cryptozoo, written and directed by Dash Shaw
First Date, written and directed by Manuel Crosby and Darren Knapp
Ma Belle, My Beauty, directed by Marion Hill
R#J, directed and co-written by Carey Williams
Searchers, directed by Pacho Velez
Son of Monarchs, written and directed by Alexis Gambis
Strawberry Mansion, written and directed by Albert Birney ans Kentucker Audley
We're All Going to the World's Fair, written, directed and edited by Jane Schoenbrun

Spotlight

Night of the Kings, directed by Philippe Lacôte
The World to Come, directed by Mona Fastvold

Shorts

U.S. Fiction

Ava from My Class, directed by Youmin Kang
Bambirak, directed by Zamarin Wahdat
BJ's Mobile Gift Shop, directed by Jason Park
Bruiser, directed by Miles Warren
Don't Go Tellin' Your Momma, directed by Topaz Jones, rubberband.
Doublespeak, directed by Hazel McKibbin
i ran from it and was still in it, directed by Darol Olu Kae
In the Air Tonight, directed by Andrew Norman Wilson
LATA, directed by Alisha Mehta
Raspberry, directed by Julian Doan
The Touch of the Master's Hand, directed by Gregory Barnes
White Wedding, directed by Melody C Roscher
Wiggle Room, directed by Sam Guest and Julia Baylis
Yoruga, directed by Federico Torrado Tobón
You Wouldn't Understand, directed by Trish Harnetiaux

International Fiction

The Affected, directed by Rikke Gregersen
Black Bodies, directed by Kelly Fyffe-Marshall
The Criminals, directed by Serhat Karaaslan
Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss, directed by Sonny Calvento
Five Tiger, directed by Nomawonga Khumalo
Flex, directed by Josefin Malmén, David Strindberg
Like the Ones I Used to Know (Les Grandes claques), directed by Annie St-Pierre
Lizard, directed by Akinola Davies, Jr.
The Longest Dream I Remember, directed by Carlos Lenin
Mountain Cat, directed by Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
Unliveable, directed by Matheus Farias and Enock Carvalho
The Unseen River, directed by Phạm Ngọc Lân
We're Not Animals, directed by Noé Debré

Non-Fiction

A Concerto Is a Conversation, directed by Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers
Dear Philadelphia, directed by Renee Osubu
The Field Trip, directed by Meghan O'Hara, Mike Attie and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck
My Own Landscapes, directed by Antoine Chapon
The Rifleman, directed by Sierra Pettengill
Snowy, directed by Kaitlyn Schwalje and Alex Wolf Lewis
Spirits and Rocks: An Azorean Myth, directed by Aylin Gökmen
Tears Teacher, directed by Noemie Nakai
This Is the Way We Rise, directed by Ciara Lacy
To Know Her, directed by Natalie Chao
When We Were Bullies, written, directed and produced by Jay Rosenblatt
Up at Night, directed by Nelson Makengo

Animation

The Fire Next Time, directed by Renaldho Pelle
Forever, directed by Mitch McGlocklin
The Fourfold, directed by Alisi Telengut
Ghost Dogs, directed by Joe Cappa
GNT, directed by Sara Hirner and Rosemary Vasquez-Brown
KKUM, directed by Kang-min Kim
Little Miss Fate, directed by Joder von Rotz
Misery Loves Company, directed by Sasha Lee
Souvenir Souvenir, directed by Bastien Dubois
Trepanation, directed by Nick Flaherty

Awards

The following awards were given out:^[3]

Grand Jury Prizes

U.S. Dramatic Competition – CODA (Siân Heder)
U.S. Documentary Competition – Summer of Soul (Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson)
World Cinema Dramatic Competition – Hive (Blerta Basholli)
World Cinema Documentary Competition – Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen)

Audience Awards

U.S. Dramatic Competition – CODA (Siân Heder)
U.S. Documentary Competition – Summer of Soul (Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson)
World Cinema Dramatic Competition – Hive (Blerta Basholli)
World Cinema Documentary Competition – Writing with Fire (Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh)
NEXT – Ma Belle, My Beauty (Marion Hill)

Directing, Screenwriting and Editing

U.S. Dramatic Competition – Siân Heder for CODA
U.S. Documentary Competition – Natalia Almada for Users
World Cinema Dramatic Competition – Blerta Basholli for Hive
World Cinema Documentary Competition – Hogir Hirori for Sabaya
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award – Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch for On the Count of Three
Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary – Kristina Motwani and Rebecca Adorno for Homeroom
NEXT Innovator Price - Dash Shaw for Cryptozoo

Special Jury Prizes

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast – The cast of CODA
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Best Actor - Clifton Collins Jr. for Jockey
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Emerging Filmmaker - Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt for Cusp
U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Nonfiction Experimentation - Theo Anthony for All Light, Everywhere
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Vérité Filmmaking - Camilla Nielsson for President
World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Impact for Change - Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh for Writing with Fire
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Acting - Jesmark Scicluna for Luzzu
World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Creative Vision - Baz Poonpiriya for One for the Road

Short Film Awards

Short Film Grand Jury Prize - Lizard
Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction - The Touch of the Master's Hand
Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction - Bambirak
Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction - Don't Go Tellin' Your Momma
Short Film Jury Award: Animation - Souvenir Souvenir
Short Film Special Jury Award for Acting - Wiggle Room
Short Film Special Jury Award for Screenwriting - The Criminals

Special Prizes

Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize - Son of Monarchs
Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Award for Nonfiction - Nicole Salazar for Philly D.A.
Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Award for Fiction - Natalie Qasabian for Run
Sundance Institute/Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Nonfiction - Juli Vizza
Sundance Institute/Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Fiction - Terilyn Shropshire
Sundance Institute/NHK Award - Meryam Joobeur for Motherhood

Acquisitions

Sources:^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]

Ailey: Neon
All Light, Everywhere: Super LTD
Bring Your Own Brigade: CBSN
Censor: Magnet Releasing (US distribution); Vertigo Releasing (UK distribution)
CODA: Apple TV+
Cryptozoo: Magnolia Pictures
Cusp: Showtime Documentary Films
El Planeta: Utopia
Faya Dayi: MUBI (select territories, including UK and Latin America)
First Date: Magnet Releasing
Flee: Neon and Participant (US distribution); Curzon Artificial Eye (UK distribution); Haut et Court (French distribution)
A Glitch in the Matrix: Magnolia Pictures (US distribution); Dogwoof (UK distribution)
Hive: Zeitgeist Films and Kino Lorber (US distribution)
Homeroom: Hulu (US distribution)
How It Ends: American International Pictures (US distribution; through United Artists Releasing)
I Was a Simple Man: Strand Releasing
Jockey: Sony Pictures Classics
John and the Hole: IFC Films
Luzzu: Kino Lorber (US distribution); Peccadillo Pictures (UK distribution)
Marvelous and the Black Hole: FilmRise
Mayday: Magnolia Pictures
Misha and the Wolves: Netflix (US distribution); BBC Storyville (UK distribution)
The Most Beautiful Boy in the World: Juno Films
On the Count of Three: Annapurna Pictures and Orion Pictures (US distribution; through United Artists Releasing)
Passing: Netflix
Playing with Sharks: National Geographic Documentary Films
Pleasure: A24 (later acquired by NEON)
Prisoners of the Ghostland: RLJE Films
Rebel Hearts: Discovery+
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It: Roadside Attractions
The Sparks Brothers: Focus Features (US distribution); Universal Pictures (International distribution)
Strawberry Mansion: Music Box Films (US distribution); Alief (International distribution)
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street: Screen Media Films (US distribution); LevelFilm (Canada)
Summer of Soul: Searchlight Pictures and Hulu (worldwide); Star (select territories)
Superior: Factory 25 (US distribution); Visit Films (international sales); Creative Artists Agency (US sales)
Together Together: Bleecker Street (US distribution); Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (International distribution)
Violation: Shudder
We're All Going to the World's Fair: HBO Max and Utopia
Wiggle Room: Searchlight Pictures
Wild Indian: Vertical Entertainment

References

^ "2021 Sundance Film Festival Will Meet Audiences Where They Are". www.sundance.org. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
^ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 15, 2020). "Sundance 2021 Full Lineup: Pandemic, Politics, Rita Moreno, Octavia Butler, 'Passing' & 'Sesame Street' Pack Semi-Virtual Festival". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
^ "2021 Sundance Film Festival Awards Announced". www.sundance.org. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
^ Sundance 2021 Deals Complete List
^ Welk, Brian (January 31, 2021). "Sundance 2021: What Has Sold So Far, From 'CODA' to 'Flee' (Photos)". TheWrap. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
^ MUBI Takes UK, Lat Am, Italy, France, Germany, More, On Sundance Title ‘Faya Dayi’ — Deadline
^ Showtime Documentary Films takes world on Sundance entry ‘Cusp’|News|Screen
^ Zoe Lister-Jones, Daryl Wein Sundance Player ‘How It Ends’ Sells to MGM’s American International Pictures (EXCLUSIVE) - Variety
^ ‘Homeroom’ Trailer: Peter Nicks’ Trilogy-Ending Documentary From EP Ryan Coogler For Hulu — Deadline
^ Hipes, Patrick (May 26, 2021). "Sundance Pic 'Wild Indian' Lands U.S. Deal At Vertical Entertainment". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
^ ‘John and the Hole’ Trailer Reveals Disturbing Story of Boy Holding His Family Hostage in a Literal Hole (EXCLUSIVE) - Variety
^ "Sundance Film 'I Was a Simple Man' Acquired by Strand Releasing for North America (EXCLUSIVE)". May 11, 2021.
^ Wiseman, Andreas (May 4, 2021). "HBO Max & Utopia Pick Up Sundance Coming-Of-Age Horror 'We're All Going To The World's Fair'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 16, 2024.

External links

Media related to 2021 Sundance Film Festival at Wikimedia Commons

[1] "2021 Sundance Film Festival Will Meet Audiences Where They Are". www.sundance.org. Archived from the original on December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.

[2] D'Alessandro, Anthony; Patten, Dominic (December 15, 2020). "Sundance 2021 Full Lineup: Pandemic, Politics, Rita Moreno, Octavia Butler, 'Passing' & 'Sesame Street' Pack Semi-Virtual Festival". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.

[3] "2021 Sundance Film Festival Awards Announced". www.sundance.org. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.

[4] Sundance 2021 Deals Complete List

[5] Welk, Brian (January 31, 2021). "Sundance 2021: What Has Sold So Far, From 'CODA' to 'Flee' (Photos)". TheWrap. Retrieved January 31, 2021.

[6] MUBI Takes UK, Lat Am, Italy, France, Germany, More, On Sundance Title ‘Faya Dayi’ — Deadline

[7] Showtime Documentary Films takes world on Sundance entry ‘Cusp’|News|Screen

[8] Zoe Lister-Jones, Daryl Wein Sundance Player ‘How It Ends’ Sells to MGM’s American International Pictures (EXCLUSIVE) - Variety

[9] ‘Homeroom’ Trailer: Peter Nicks’ Trilogy-Ending Documentary From EP Ryan Coogler For Hulu — Deadline

[10] Hipes, Patrick (May 26, 2021). "Sundance Pic 'Wild Indian' Lands U.S. Deal At Vertical Entertainment". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 26, 2021.

[11] ‘John and the Hole’ Trailer Reveals Disturbing Story of Boy Holding His Family Hostage in a Literal Hole (EXCLUSIVE) - Variety

[12] "Sundance Film 'I Was a Simple Man' Acquired by Strand Releasing for North America (EXCLUSIVE)". May 11, 2021.

[13] Wiseman, Andreas (May 4, 2021). "HBO Max & Utopia Pick Up Sundance Coming-Of-Age Horror 'We're All Going To The World's Fair'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 16, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]