The Sundance Film Festival celebrates 40 years with a surge of European talent

by Martin Kudláč

07/12/2023 - The jubilee edition features films from Austria, Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, France and the UK, as well as several intercontinental co-productions with Europe

The Sundance Film Festival celebrates 40 years with a surge of European talent

Veni Vidi Vici by Daniel Hoesl

The Sundance Institute has revealed the line-up for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival (18-28 January). The 40th-anniversary edition boasts 82 feature-length films from 24 countries, eight episodic projects and a New Frontier interactive experience. The line-up includes a 40% ratio of first-time feature filmmakers, and 94% of the movies are world premieres across its 90 features and episodic programmes. This year’s edition of the gathering received a record 17,435 submissions from 153 countries. "Sundance’s passion and power shine through in its programming. Curation is Sundance’s secret sauce, and we’re energised by the range of films, stories and artists we’ve watched and selected from around the world," said Sundance’s new director, Eugene Hernandez. "Our programme is tightly curated and covers a broad cross-section of forms, perspectives and genres that we’re looking forward to sharing with audiences. These titles are inventive, and they beautifully represent the kind of ground-breaking work we’ve sought to amplify at Sundance throughout our history," adds director of programming Kim Yutani.

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The line-up is once again rich in the latest European cinema and intercontinental co-productions. Jianjie Lin’s Brief History of a Family [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], a co-production between France, China, Denmark and Qatar, delves into family dynamics in post-one-child-policy China, while Shuchi Talati's Girls Will Be Girls, made in collaboration with India and Norway, unfolds in a Himalayan boarding school, exploring themes of desire and romance. The Iranian-French-Dutch co-production In the Land of Brothers [+see also:
film review
interview: Raha Amirfazli, Alireza Gha…
film profile] by Raha Amirfazli and Alireza Ghasemi tells the poignant story of an Afghan family's life as refugees in Iran, and Sujo [+see also:
film review
film profile], a Mexican-US-French collaboration directed by Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez, portrays the life of a young boy amidst the violence of the Mexican countryside.

Norway makes an appearance with Thea Hvistendahl’s Handling the Undead [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], a drama about the newly deceased awakening in Oslo, based on the book by John Ajvide Lindqvist, as well as the documentaries Ibelin [+see also:
film review
interview: Benjamin Ree
film profile], by Benjamin Ree, a story focusing on the posthumous impact of a Norwegian gamer, and A New Kind of Wilderness [+see also:
film review
film profile], by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen, depicting a family's isolated life in a Norwegian forest. The UK is represented by Amrou Al-Kadhi's Layla, detailing the struggles of an Arab drag queen, and the Japanese-US-UK documentary Black Box Diaries [+see also:
film review
film profile], by Shiori Ito, a hard-hitting doc investigating a sexual-assault case in Japan. Mikko Mäkelä’s Sebastian [+see also:
film review
interview: Mikko Mäkelä
film profile], a UK-Finnish-Belgian co-production, follows the double life of an aspiring writer in London who is employed as a sex worker.

The Belgian documentary entry Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat [+see also:
film review
interview: Johan Grimonprez
film profile] by Johan Grimonprez is a collaborative effort with France and the Netherlands, offering a historical perspective on the pivotal political events of the 1960s. Daniel Hoesl’s latest film, Veni Vidi Vici [+see also:
film review
interview: Daniel Hoesl, Julia Niemann
film profile], hailing from Austria, provides an insight into the existence of a billionaire family living life free of any consequences, while the German documentary Eternal You [+see also:
film review
interview: Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck
film profile] by Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck, made in collaboration with the USA, explores the intriguing use of AI in creating avatars for deceased loved ones.

The NEXT section, for bold storytelling, will unveil Rich Peppiatt’s raucous anti-establishment comedy Kneecap [+see also:
film review
film profile], about the eponymous Irish-language rap group, while the Premieres section welcomes a Saoirse Ronan-led cast in the adaptation of the best-selling memoir by Amy Liptrot, The Outrun [+see also:
film review
interview: Nora Fingscheidt
film profile], written and directed by Nora Fingscheidt. Episodic Pilot Showcase will offer a taste of the Spanish series La Mesías [+see also:
series review
trailer
series profile], about a family torn apart by their mother’s engagement with a cult, which has already been sold to HBO Latin America.

"Since the first edition in 1985, the Sundance Film Festival has aimed to provide a space to gather, celebrate and engage with risk-taking artists who are committed to bringing their independent visions to audiences — the festival remains true to that goal to this day," noted Sundance Institute founder and president Robert Redford, adding: “It continues to evolve, but its legacy of showcasing bold work that starts necessary conversations continues with the 2024 programme."

The 40th edition will take place in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, with a selection of titles available online nationwide from 25-28 January.

Here is the full list of titles announced so far that have European involvement:

World Cinema Dramatic Competition

Brief History of a Family [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Jianjie Lin (China/France/Denmark/Qatar)
Girls Will Be Girls [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Shuchi Talati (India/France/Norway)
Handling the Undead [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Thea Hvistendahl (Norway)
In the Land of Brothers [+see also:
film review
interview: Raha Amirfazli, Alireza Gha…
film profile] - Raha Amirfazli, Alireza Ghasemi (Iran/France/Netherlands)
Layla - Amrou Al-Kadhi (UK)
Reinas [+see also:
film review
interview: Klaudia Reynicke
film profile] - Klaudia Reynicke (Switzerland/Peru/Spain)
Sebastian [+see also:
film review
interview: Mikko Mäkelä
film profile] - Mikko Mäkelä (UK/Finland/Belgium)
Sujo [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez (Mexico/France/USA)
Veni Vidi Vici [+see also:
film review
interview: Daniel Hoesl, Julia Niemann
film profile] - Daniel Hoesl (Austria)

World Cinema Documentary Competition

Agent of Happiness [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbó (Bhutan/Hungary)
Eternal You [+see also:
film review
interview: Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck
film profile] - Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck (Germany/USA)
Black Box Diaries [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Shiori Ito (Japan/USA/UK)
Ibelin [+see also:
film review
interview: Benjamin Ree
film profile] - Benjamin Ree (Norway)
A New Kind of Wilderness [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Silje Evensmo Jacobsen (Norway)
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat [+see also:
film review
interview: Johan Grimonprez
film profile] - Johan Grimonprez (Belgium/France/Netherlands)

NEXT

Kneecap [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Rich Peppiatt (Ireland/UK)

Premieres

DEVO - Chris Smith (UK/USA)
The Outrun [+see also:
film review
interview: Nora Fingscheidt
film profile] - Nora Fingscheidt (UK/Germany)
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story - Ian Bonhôte (UK/USA)

Midnight

Kidnapping Inc. [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Bruno Mourral (Haiti/France/Canada)
Krazy House - Steffen Haars, Flip van der Kuil (Netherlands)
Love Lies Bleeding [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Rose Glass (USA/UK)