Sundance 2019 is shaping up to be quite the gender-balanced film festival. Not only do women represent 42 percent of the competition film directors, the fest has just announced the lineups for its shorts and episodic sections as well as the Special Events. Fifty-three percent of those projects are created or directed by at least one woman, Sundance revealed. Fifty-one percent were created or directed by a person of color, and 26 percent by a person identifying as LGBTQIA.
“Our newly-expanded programming team took in a full spectrum of human experience across genres and formats in creating this year’s Festival program,” said Kim Yutani, the fest’s Director of Programming. “Following the success of last year’s inaugural Indie Episodic section, we’re immensely proud to showcase these stories told across installments, alongside several provocative, conversation-starting Special Events.”
“This year’s crop of shorts are rowdy, reflective, visionary,” added Senior Programmer Mike Plante, “we are excited to discover so many new voices and perspectives on today’s world.”
Among the shorts selected for the U.S. Narrative Short section are “Feathers,” A.V. Rockwell’s story about an emotionally-scarred young man beginning a new school, and “Suicide By Sunlight,” Nikyatu Jusu’s Through Her Lens prize-winning tale of a Black vampire whose melanin protects her from the sun. “Aziza,” Soudade Kaadan’s dark comedy about Syrian refugees, will screen in Sundance’s International Narrative Short category, as will Alma Buddecke Marleen Valien’s “Hot Dog,” which focuses on a woman’s sexual history.
The 2019 Documentary Short Films section will include “Fast Horse,” Alexandra Lazarowich’s portrait of a Native American bareback horse-racing jockey, and Anna Barsan’s “Libre,” a look into the lives of undocumented immigrants who turn to private companies in order to escape detention centers.Winnie Cheung’s “dizzying descent into deductive reasoning,” “Albatross Soup,” and Siqi Song’s meditation on family and memory, “Sister,” are among the projects selected for Sundance’s Animated Short Films section.
The 2019 edition’s Special Events include an untitled documentary from Amy Berg about post-Women’s March feminism, intersectionality, and activists Tamika Mallory and Erika Andiola. “Lorena,” the Lorena Bobbitt docuseries from Jordan Peele, will also be presented. From a contemporary perspective, the project explores the headline-making 1993 case, which saw Bobbitt, a survivor of domestic abuse, cutting off her husband’s penis with a kitchen knife.
Sundance will also spotlight emerging creators with its Indie Episodic program. Making its world premiere will be “Bootstrapped,” created by Danielle Uhlarik and directed by Stephanie Laing (“Veep”). The show centers on Madeline and Aimee, two best friends and underdog entrepreneurs who launch a fashion and tech startup. From creator Ali Liebegott and director Kyra Sedgwick, “Girls Weekend” sees a queer woman coming home to Las Vegas to visit her conservative family. She learns her mother’s cancer has returned and must decide whether or not she wants to come back to the family for good.
The 2019 Sundance Film Fest will take place January 24 – February 3. Head over to the festival’s website to check out all the episodic projects, shorts, and Special Events slated to screen.
