Sundance film reviews & festival recaps

There’s nothing quite so exciting for a cinema lover as following the biggest festivals in the film world. And while Cannes may be the most glamorous, Berlin the coolest and Venice the most sophisticated, there’s something particularly thrilling about the indie festival that takes place every January in Utah: Sundance.

The largest independent film festival in the United States and in many ways a refreshing alternative to the film culture of Hollywood, Sundance is not only fascinating for hearing about new films, but for tracking which indie films get picked up by distributors for release in the year to come. Indeed, only a few days ago, the largest deal in Sundance history was made for the highly-anticipated Nate Parker film about the 1831 slave rebellion run by Nat Turner, Birth of a Nation (and no, that title is not coincidental).

Sadly, not all of us could head to Sundance ourselves to discover what’s new and newsworthy in independent cinema. But writers from these wonderful film sites certainly could. Now that the festival has wrapped up, head to the following to read about the films that made a splash this year:

Indiewire

Selected review: Jacqueline (Argentine)

The Guardian

Selected review: All These Sleepless Nights

Screen Daily

Selected review: Maya Angelou and Still I Rise

The Hollywood Reporter

Selected review: Spa Night

Slash Film

Selected review: Love and Friendship

Metacritic

Selected review: Meru

BBC Culture

Selected review: Under the Gun

And of course, you can always follow Sundance on Twitter.

Which titles from Sundance are you looking forward to seeing the most?

By Gemma King.

We love to talk about film.

Image credits:

1. Birth of a Nation via Screen Daily.
2. Jacqueline (Argentine) via Indiewire.
3. All These Sleepless Nights via The Guardian.
4. Maya Angelou and Still I Rise via Screen Daily.
5. Spa Night via The Hollywood Reporter.
6. Love and Friendship via Slash.
7. Meru via Metacritic.
8. Under the Gun via BBC Culture.