AMC+ and Sundance Now just released the first official trailer for the drama Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale, based on the novel by V.V. James. The two-minute trailer introduces the town of Sanctuary, a haven for witches until a horrific accident changes everything.
The seven-episode season stars Elaine Cassidy as Sarah Fenn, Hazel Doupe as Harper, and Amy de Bhrun as Abigail. Stephanie Levi-John is Maggie, Valerie O’Connor plays Bridget Patterson, Kelly Campbell is Julia Garston, and Stephen Lord plays Ted. Debbie Horsfield created the series and adapted James’ novel. Lisa Mulcahy and Justin Molotnikov direct, and Monumental Television executive produces.
Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale premieres on January 4, 2024 with the release of the first two episodes. New episodes arrive on Thursdays.
Poster for AMC+ and Sundance Now’s ‘Sanctuary A Witch’s Tale’
“Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale is set in a contemporary world where witchcraft is real. It takes place in the idyllic English town of Sanctuary, where for hundreds of years witches have lived peacefully, as valued members of society. Until now…,” reads AMC+’s synopsis. “At the heart of the story is Sarah Fenn (Cassidy), Sanctuary’s resident witch, on whom the town relies to solve their problems when conventional remedies have failed.
When local teen rugby star, Dan Whithall, dies tragically in an apparent accident, his death exposes a terrifying undercurrent of suspicion and fear towards Sarah and her teenage daughter, Harper (Doupe). Mother of the deceased, Abigail (de Bhrun), once Sarah’s closest friend, is wracked with grief, and to avenge her son’s death, launches a modern-day witch-hunt to get ‘justice,’ no matter what the cost.”
Amy de Bhrun as Abigail Whithall and Max Lohan as Daniel Whithall Photo Credit: Szymon Lazewski/AMC)Hazel Doupe as Harper Fenn (Photo Credit: Szymon Lazewski/AMC)Amy de Bhrun as Abigail Whithall and Elaine Cassidy as Sarah Fenn (Photo Credit: Szymon Lazewski/AMC)
George and Cindy Anthony (Photo Credit – Mary Beth Koeth, Courtesy of A&E)
The murder of three-year-old Caylee Anthony continues to make news 15 years after the child’s body was recovered in 2008. Caylee’s mom, Casey, was back in the news in 2022 with the release of the three-part limited series Casey Anthony: Where The Truth Lies which featured interviews with the acquitted accused murderer. In the special, Casey accuses her father of killing Caylee and then staging her death. Casey continues to claim her father molested her and suggested he may also have molested her daughter.
Casey’s parents, George and Cindy, have had enough and are fighting back with their own special, Casey Anthony’s Parents: The Lie Detector Test. The two-hour special is hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist Tony Harris (CNN Newsroom w/Tony Harris) and will air on A&E and Lifetime on Thursday, January 4, 2024 at 9pm ET/PT. The special will include new interviews with the Anthonys and on-camera polygraph tests.
Retired FBI Agent George Olivo administers the lie detector tests featured in the special. Olivo was a Senior Polygraph Examiner for the LA division of the FBI and has administered thousands of tests over the course of his lengthy career.
“Casey Anthony’s Parents: The Lie Detector Test dives into the new accusations against George, the latest twist in a story that started with Caylee’s disappearance in June 2008 and triggered a nationwide media frenzy,” reads A&E’s synopsis. “Caylee’s death was ruled a homicide when her remains were discovered in a wooded area near the Anthony’s home the following December. Casey was charged in connection with Caylee’s murder and, following a fiery trial, was acquitted of murder charges in July 2011, though the court of public opinion holds strong views that justice was not done for Caylee. Cindy and George Anthony have had a tempestuous relationship with their daughter with stunning accusations leveled by both sides over the years. As old wounds are ripped open again, will the polygraph tests finally bring closure?”
Matt Sprouse, Erica Hanson, Sam Dean, and Lauren Ranzino serve as executive producers for York & Wilder. Elaine Frontain Bryant, Shelly Tatro, and Brad Abramson serve as executive producers for A&E.
Lamorne Morris and Iris Apatow join ‘Unstable’ (Morris photo credit: Ari Michelson, courtesy of Netflix)
Lamorne Morris (Fargo, Woke) and Iris Apatow (The Bubble) have signed on to the cast of Netflix’s Unstable season two. Created by Rob Lowe, John Owen, Lowe, and Victor Fresco, season two will also find Fred Armisen reprising his guest-starring role as Leslie.
The Lowes return to lead a cast that includes Sian Clifford, Rachel Marsh, Emma Ferreira, and Aaron Branch. Showrunner Andrew Gurland executive produces along with the Lowes and Sean Clements. Claire Scanlon directs and executive produces the eight-episode season.
“It’s a dream come true for us to jump back into the world of Unstable,” said Rob and John Owen Lowe to Netflix’s Tudum. “Here’s to Season 2 and the many hours of family therapy that we will need along the way.”
Netflix’s casting announcement included the following details on Morris and Apatow’s new characters:
Lamorne Morris will play recurring guest star Peter. The charismatic founder of a biotech start-up, Peter’s rising star manages to stoke the already intense rivalry between Ellis (Rob Lowe) and Jackson (John Owen Lowe).
Iris Apatow will play recurring guest star Georgia, Anna’s (Clifford) irreverent ex-stepdaughter turned unwilling Dragon intern. She copes with office life by stirring up trouble and making Anna’s life more difficult whenever possible.
“Ellis Dragon is a universally admired, eccentric, narcissist-adjacent biotech entrepreneur working to make the world a better place,” reads Netflix’s synopsis. “He’s also in emotional free-fall. His son Jackson Dragon is… none of those things. Can Jackson save Ellis and his company and salvage their estranged relationship while also doing what may actually be impossible: escaping the shadow of his larger-than-life father?”
Season one premiered on March 30, 2023. The casting announcement didn’t include any details on when season two is expected to debut.
ABC announces the Hollywood lineup for ‘New Year’s Rockin Eve 2024’
Bebe Rexha, Green Day, Janelle Monáe, and Ellie Goulding will perform on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2024. The Hollywood lineup also includes Aqua, Doechii, Loud Luxury, Two Friends, Ludacris, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Paul Russell, Reneé Rapp, Coco Jones, and Thirty Seconds to Mars.
Emmy winner Jeannie Mai has been tapped to host the Hollywood portion of the broadcast, with Ryan Seacrest returning to host from New York for his 19th year. Rita Ora will join Seacrest live from Times Square. The broadcast kicks off on Sunday, December 31st at 8pm ET.
Last year, 13.8 million viewers tuned in to celebrate the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023.
ABC released this description of the just-announced 2024 performers:
Danish dance-pop group Aqua is set to perform hits “Barbie Girl” and “Doctor Jones,” both from the three-time certified platinum 1997 album Aquarium. This year, Aqua is making waves with nearly 30 million Spotify monthly listeners this summer, two GRAMMY® nods for “Barbie World” with Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice, and their first U.S. tour.
Honored as this year’s Billboard Women in Music Rising Star, multi-award nominated rapper/singer Doechii, who has an impressive 6.5 billion global streams, will perform “What It Is” and “Persuasive.”
Multi-award-winning pop singer Ellie Goulding marks a decade since her first No. 1 hit single “Burn,” with a three-song performance that will also include GRAMMY-nominated single “Miracle” and “Midnight Dreams” from her latest album, Higher Than Heaven.
One of the biggest bands of all time, Green Day, will be taking the stage ringing in the New Year with three career-spanning sets celebrating a massive year ahead. The six-time Billboard Music Awards and five-time GRAMMY winners will be ripping through “Basket Case” and “Welcome to Paradise” off of their breakout album Dookie, which celebrates its 30th anniversary next year, “American Idiot” and “Holiday” from American Idiot, which celebrates an anniversary of its own turning 20 in 2024. Plus, they will unveil the live debut of the song “Dilemma” from the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers new album Saviors out January 19, 2024, in advance of the East Bay punks headlining stadiums globally throughout next summer.
Multihyphenate artist Janelle Monáe will perform “Champagne Shit” and “Haute” from her recent GRAMMY-nominated album, The Age of Pleasure.
International touring dance music duo Loud Luxury, acclaimed DJs/producers Two Friends, and GRAMMY-nominated powerhouse Bebe Rexha will perform their chart-topping hit “If Only I.”
Multiplatinum-selling and multi-award-winning actor/rapper Ludacris will celebrate 10 years since the release of his chart-topping single “Stand Up” with a special performance of the 2003 hit as part of a multisong performance medley. His latest project, Dashing Through The Snow, is now streaming on Disney+.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee and GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement honoree Nile Rodgers (and CHIC) will perform his penned classics “Le Freak,” – the biggest selling single in the history of Atlantic Records – “Get Lucky,” – the Daft Punk classic – as well as “Everybody Dance,” and “Good Times,” which sparked the advent of Hip-Hop, with “Rapper’s Delight”.
Singer-Rapper Paul Russell will perform his viral smash single “Lil Boo Thang,” which has garnered over 160 million total streams, charted top 10 on Top 40 radio, and No. 1 on iTunes’ Pop Chart.
Multihyphenate artist Reneé Rapp will perform “Talk Too Much” from her acclaimed debut album Snow Angel as well as “Tummy Hurts” with GRAMMY-nominated R&B sensation Coco Jones. The “Tummy Hurts” Remix ft. Coco Jones is included on the deluxe version of Snow Angel, which was released earlier this Fall on Nov. 17. Next year, Rapp will reprise her Broadway role of Regina George in the upcoming Paramount feature film Mean Girls musical movie.
Platinum-selling band Thirty Seconds to Mars will rock the stage with a performance of “The Kill” from their certified double platinum album A Beautiful Lie, plus recent alternative number one song “Stuck” and newest single “Seasons,” from their latest album It’s The End Of The World But It’s A Beautiful Day. The band’s Seasons World Tour 2024 kicks off March 15 in Latin America.
Apple TV+’s Masters of the Air official trailer shows that amid the missions flown into enemy territory, the men of the 100th Bomb Group still had time to form romantic and platonic relationships. Based on the book by Donald L. Miller, Masters of the Air will premiere on January 26, 2024 with the release of the first two episodes.
New episodes of the nine-episode season air on Fridays, with the season finale set for March 15.
The ensemble cast is led by Oscar nominee Austin Butler (Elvis) and Callum Turner, and includes Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann, Rafferty Law, Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin), Josiah Cross, Branden Cook, and Ncuti Gatwa. Band of Brothers and The Pacific‘s Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman serve as executive producers.
“Masters of the Air follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group (the ‘Bloody Hundredth’) as they conduct perilous bombing raids over Nazi Germany and grapple with the frigid conditions, lack of oxygen, and sheer terror of combat conducted at 25,000 feet in the air,” reads Apple TV+’s synopsis. “Portraying the psychological and emotional price paid by these young men as they helped destroy the horror of Hitler’s Third Reich, is at the heart of Masters of the Air. Some were shot down and captured; some were wounded or killed. And some were lucky enough to make it home. Regardless of individual fate, a toll was exacted on them all.
Ranging in location from the bucolic fields and villages of southeast England, to the harsh deprivations of a German prisoner-of-war camp, and depicting a unique and crucial time in world history, Masters of the Air is enormous in both scale and scope, and a genuine cinematic achievement.”
John Orloff adapted Miller’s book, and Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Dee Rees, and Tim Van Patten direct. Co-executive producers include Orloff, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Steven Shareshian, and Graham Yost.
HBO and Max unveiled new footage promoting their 2024 lineup, including season two of House of the Dragon. The two-minute video also teases HBO and Max’s 2025 lineup, which will include new seasons of The Last of Us, Euphoria, And Just Like That, and The White Lotus. 2025 will also serve up Welcome to Derry, from the world of It.
New series highlighted in the video include The Sympathizer, a limited series starring Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Ky Duyen, Sandra Oh, and Robert Downey Jr., as well as the comic book-inspired The Penguin starring Colin Farrell in the title role.
Kate Winslet headlines the original limited series The Regime, coming in 2024. Plus, the video shows a brief shot of Conan O’Brien Must Go and new scenes from True Detective: Night Country.
The clips fly by fast, but HBO and Max have helpfully provided the full list of spotlighted series and specials:
And Just Like That… (Max Original Comedy Series)
Conan O’Brien Must Go (Max Original International Travel Series)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO Original Comedy Series)
Elizabeth (HBO Original Documentary)
Euphoria (HBO Original Drama Series)
The Franchise (HBO Original Comedy Series)
Hacks (Max Original Comedy Series)
House of the Dragon (HBO Original Drama Series)
Industry Season 3 (HBO Original Drama Series)
Jerrod Carmichael: Reality Show (HBO Original Unscripted Comedy Series)
The Jinx – Part Two (HBO Original Documentary Series)
The Last of Us (HBO Original Drama Series)
My Brilliant Friend Season 4 (HBO Original Drama Series)
The Penguin (Max Original Drama Series)
Pretty Little Liars: Summer School (Max Original Drama Series)
The Regime (HBO Original Limited Series)
The Sex Lives of College Girls (Max Original Comedy Series)
Somebody Somewhere (HBO Original Comedy Series)
The Sympathizer (HBO Original Limited Series)
Tokyo Vice (Max Original Drama Series)
True Detective: Night Country (HBO Original Drama Series)
Welcome To Derry (Working Title) (Max Original Drama Series)
The White Lotus (HBO Original Drama Series)
Director Martin Scorsese and Lily Gladstone on the set of ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ (Photo Courtesy of Apple TV+)
The National Board of Review selected Killers of the Flower Moon, based on the bestselling book by David Grann, as the Best Film of 2023. NBR also recognized the drama with the Best Director (Martin Scorsese) and Best Actress (Lily Gladstone) awards.
“Killers of the Flower Moon is a stunning masterpiece from one of our greatest filmmakers, Martin Scorsese. The NBR is proud to award this complex, important, and deeply resonant epic as our Best Film and Scorsese as our Best Director,” stated NBR President Annie Schulhof. “We are also thrilled to honor Bradley Cooper with the NBR Icon Award – an equally impressive actor, writer, producer, and director, who brings his passion, artistry, and dedication to everything he does, including his latest beautifully sublime film, Maestro.”
NBR’s annual Best Of list is selected by film enthusiasts, filmmakers, professionals, academics, and students. In total, 245 films were viewed for consideration of this year’s awards.
National Board of Review Honorees
Best Film: Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Actor: Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers
Best Actress: Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon
Best Supporting Actor: Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things
Best Supporting Actress: Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers
NBR Icon Award: Bradley Cooper
Best Original Screenplay: David Hemingson, The Holdovers
Best Adapted Screenplay: Tony McNamara, Poor Things
Breakthrough Performance: Teyana Taylor, A Thousand and One
Best Directorial Debut: Celine Song, Past Lives
Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best International Film: Anatomy of a Fall
Best Documentary: Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie
Best Ensemble: The Iron Claw
Outstanding Achievement in Stunt Artistry: Director Chad Stahelski and Stunt Coordinators Stephen Dunlevy & Scott Rogers, John Wick: Chapter 4
Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Rodrigo Prieto, Barbie & Killers of the Flower Moon
Top Films (in alphabetical order): Barbie
The Boy and the Heron
Ferrari
The Holdovers
The Iron Claw
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Past Lives
Poor Things
Top 5 International Films (in alphabetical order):
La Chimera
Fallen Leaves
The Teachers’ Lounge
Tótem
The Zone of Interest
Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order):
20 Days in Mariupol
32 Sounds
The Eternal Memory
The Pigeon Tunnel
A Still Small Voice
Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order):
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
All of Us Strangers
BlackBerry
Earth Mama
Flora and Son
The Persian Version
Scrapper
Showing Up Theater Camp
A Thousand and One
Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg in ‘A Real Pain’ (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
82 films have been selected to screen during the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. In addition, eight episodic titles and a New Frontier interactive experience have made the cut and will be included in the upcoming festival.
17,435 projects were submitted for 2024 inclusion, setting a new festival record.
“From the first edition in 1985, Sundance Film Festival has aimed to provide a space to gather, celebrate, and engage with risk-taking artists that are committed to bringing their independent visions to audiences — the Festival remains true to that goal to this day,” stated Robert Redford, Sundance Institute Founder and President. “It continues to evolve, but its legacy of showcasing bold work that starts necessary conversations continues with the 2024 program.”
The 40th Sundance Film Festival will take place January 18 – 28, 2024, in Park City and Salt Lake City. Ticket packages and passes are currently on sale. Sales for single film tickets begin on January 11 at 10am MT.
“Sundance’s passion and power shines through its programming. Curation is Sundance’s secret sauce and we’re energized by the range of films, stories, and artists we’ve watched and selected from around the world,” said Eugene Hernandez, Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming. “This Festival has had a vital history of first impressions: introductions to new talent, new friends, new worlds — our commitment to our artists and our audiences is fundamental to our work. Our programming team, lead by Kim Yutani, has curated 11 days of exciting new voices and stories for the many audiences we serve whether they’re joining us in Utah or experiencing the Festival offerings from afar. Sundance 2024 will be a special year for discovery and community.”
2024 Sundance Film Festival Lineup:
U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION
Between the Temples / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Nathan Silver, Screenwriter: C. Mason Wells, Producers: Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page, Nate Kamiya, Adam Kersh, Taylor Hess) — A cantor in a crisis of faith finds his world turned upside down when his grade school music teacher reenters his life as his new adult bat mitzvah student. Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane, Dolly de Leon, Caroline Aaron, Robert Smigel, Madeline Weinstein. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Dìdi (弟弟) / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Sean Wang, Producers: Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, Valerie Bush) — In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom. Cast: Izaac Wang, Joan Chen, Shirley Chen, Chang Li Hua. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Exhibiting Forgiveness / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Titus Kaphar, Producers: Stephanie Allain, Derek Cianfrance, Jamie Patricof, Sean Cotton) — Utilizing his paintings to find freedom from his past, a Black artist on the path to success is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, a recovering addict desperate to reconcile. Together, they learn that forgetting might be a greater challenge than forgiving. Cast: André Holland, John Earl Jelks, Andra Day, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Good One / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: India Donaldson, Producers: Diana Irvine, Graham Mason, Wilson Cameron) — On a weekend backpacking trip in the Catskills, 17-year-old Sam contends with the competing egos of her father and his oldest friend. Cast: Lily Collins, James Le Gros, Danny McCarthy. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
In The Summers / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Alessandra Lacorazza, Producers: Alexander Dinelaris, Rob Quadrino, Fernando Rodriguez-Vila, Lynette Coll, Sergio Lira, Cristóbal Güell) — On a journey that spans across the formative years of their lives, two sisters navigate their loving but volatile father during their yearly summer visits to his home in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Cast: René Pérez Joglar, Sasha Calle, Lío Mehiel, Leslie Grace, Emma Ramos, Sharlene Cruz. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Love Me / U.S.A. (Directors and Screenwriters: Sam Zuchero, Andy Zuchero, Producers: Kevin Rowe, Luca Borghese, Ben Howe, Shivani Rawat, Julie Goldstein) — Long after humanity’s extinction, a buoy and a satellite meet online and fall in love. Cast: Kristen Stewart, Steven Yeun. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Ponyboi / U.S.A. (Director: Esteban Arango, Screenwriter: River Gallo, Producers: Mark Ankner, River Gallo, Adel “Future” Nur, Trevor Wall) — Unfolding over the course of Valentine’s Day in New Jersey, a young intersex sex worker must run from the mob after a drug deal goes sideways, forcing him to confront his past. Cast: River Gallo, Dylan O’Brien, Victoria Pedretti, Murray Bartlett, Indya Moore. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
A Real Pain / U.S.A., Poland (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Jesse Eisenberg, Producers: Dave McCary, Ali Herting, Emma Stone, Jennifer Semler, Ewa Puszczyńska) — Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Stress Positions / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Theda Hammel, Producers: Brad Becker-Parton, John Early, Stephanie Roush, Allie Jane Compton, Greg Nobile) — Terry Goon is keeping strict quarantine in his ex-husband’s Brooklyn brownstone while caring for his nephew — a 19-year-old model from Morocco named Bahlul — bedridden in a full leg cast after an electric scooter accident. Unfortunately for Terry, everyone in his life wants to meet the model. Cast: John Early, Qaher Harhash, Theda Hammel, Amy Zimmer, Faheem Ali, John Roberts. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Suncoast / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Laura Chinn, Producers: Jeremy Plager, Francesca Silvestri, Kevin Chinoy, Oly Obst) — A teenager who, while caring for her brother along with her audacious mother, strikes up an unlikely friendship with an eccentric activist who is protesting one of the most landmark medical cases of all time. Inspired by a semi-autobiographical story. Cast: Laura Linney, Woody Harrelson, Nico Parker. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
A still from ‘Skywalkers: A Love Story’ by Jeff Zimbalist, an official selection of the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
As We Speak / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: J.M. Harper, Producers: Sam Widdoes, Peter Cambor, Sam Bisbee) — Bronx rap artist Kemba explores the growing weaponization of rap lyrics in the United States criminal justice system and abroad — revealing how law enforcement has quietly used artistic creation as evidence in criminal cases for decades. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Daughters / U.S.A. (Directors: Angela Patton, Natalie Rae, Producers: Lisa Mazzotta, Justin Benoliel, Mindy Goldberg, Sam Bisbee, Kathryn Everett, Laura Choi Raycroft) — Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C., jail. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
EVERY LITTLE THING / Australia (Director: Sally Aitken, Producers: Bettina Dalton, Oli Harbottle, Anna Godas) — Amid the glamour of Hollywood, Los Angeles, a woman finds herself on a transformative journey as she nurtures wounded hummingbirds, unraveling a visually captivating and magical tale of love, fragility, healing, and the delicate beauty in tiny acts of greatness. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
FRIDA / U.S.A., Mexico (Director: Carla Gutiérrez, Producers: Katia Maguire, Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, Loren Hammonds, Alexandra Johnes) — An intimately raw and magical journey through the life, mind, and heart of iconic artist Frida Kahlo. Told through her own words for the very first time — drawn from her diary, revealing letters, essays, and print interviews — and brought vividly to life by lyrical animation inspired by her unforgettable artwork. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Gaucho Gaucho / U.S.A., Argentina (Directors and Producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw, Producers: Cameron O’Reilly, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Matthew Perniciaro) — A celebration of a community of Argentine cowboys and cowgirls, known as Gauchos, living beyond the boundaries of the modern world. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Love Machina / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Peter Sillen, Producer: Brendan Doyle) — Futurists Martine and Bina Rothblatt commission an advanced humanoid AI named Bina48 to transfer Bina’s consciousness from a human to a robot in an attempt to continue their once-in-a-galaxy love affair for the rest of time. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Porcelain War / U.S.A., Ukraine (Director and Screenwriter: Brendan Bellomo, Director: Slava Leontyev, Producers and Screenwriters: Aniela Sidorska, Paula DuPré Pesmen, Producers: Camilla Mazzaferro, Olivia Ahnemann) — Under roaring fighter jets and missile strikes, Ukrainian artists Slava, Anya, and Andrey choose to stay behind and fight, contending with the soldiers they have become. Defiantly finding beauty amid destruction, they show that although it’s easy to make people afraid, it’s hard to destroy their passion for living. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Skywalkers: A Love Story / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Jeff Zimbalist, Producers: Maria Bukhonina, Tamir Ardon, Chris Smith, Nick Spicer) — To save their career and relationship, a daredevil couple journey across the globe to climb the world’s last super skyscraper and perform a bold acrobatic stunt on the spire. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Sugarcane / U.S.A., Canada (Director: Julian Brave NoiseCat, Director and Producer: Emily Kassie, Producer: Kellen Quinn) — An investigation into abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school ignites a reckoning on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Union / U.S.A. (Directors: Stephen Maing, Brett Story, Producers: Samantha Curley, Mars Verrone) — The Amazon Labor Union (ALU) — a group of current and former Amazon workers in New York City’s Staten Island — takes on one of the world’s largest and most powerful companies in the fight to unionize. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
A still from ‘Brief History of a Family’ by Jianjie Lin, an official selection of the World Dramatic Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION
Brief History of a Family / China, France, Denmark, Qatar (Director and Screenwriter: Jianjie Lin, Producers: Ying Lou, Yue Zheng, Yiwen Wang) — A middle-class family’s fate becomes intertwined with their only son’s enigmatic new friend in post one-child policy China, putting unspoken secrets, unmet expectations, and untended emotions under the microscope. Cast: Feng Zu, Keyu Guo, Xilun Sun, Muran Lin. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Girls Will Be Girls / India, France, Norway (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Shuchi Talati, Producers: Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne) — In a strict boarding school nestled in the Himalayas, 16-year-old Mira discovers desire and romance. But her sexual, rebellious awakening is disrupted by her mother who never got to come of age herself. Cast: Preeti Panigrahi, Kani Kusruti, Kesav Binoy Kiron. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Handling the Undead / Norway (Director and Screenwriter: Thea Hvistendahl, Screenwriter: John Ajvide Lindqvist, Producers: Kristin Emblem, Guri Neby) — On a hot summer day in Oslo, the newly dead awaken. Three families faced with loss try to figure out what this resurrection means and if their loved ones really are back. Based on the book by John Ajvide Lindqvist. Cast: Renate Reinsve, Bjørn Sundquist, Bente Børsum, Anders Danielsen Lie, Bahar Pars. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
In the Land of Brothers / Iran, France, Netherlands (Directors, Screenwriters, and Producers: Raha Amirfazli, Alireza Ghasemi, Producers: Adrien Barrouillet, Frank Hoeve, Charles Meresse, Emma Binet, Arya Ghamavian) — Three members of an extended Afghan family start their lives over in Iran as refugees, unaware they face a decades-long struggle ahead to be “at home.” Cast: Hamideh Jafari, Bashir Nikzad, Mohammad Hosseini. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Layla / U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: Amrou Al-Kadhi, Producer: Savannah James-Bayly) — When Layla, a struggling Arab drag queen, falls in love for the first time, they lose and find themself in a transformative relationship that tests who they really are. Cast: Bilal Hasna, Louis Greatorex, Safiyya Ingar, Darkwah, Terique Jarrett, Sarah Agha. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Malu / Brazil (Director and Screenwriter: Pedro Freire, Producers: Tatiana Leite, Sabrina Garcia, Leo Ribeiro, Roberto Berliner) — Malu — a mercurial, unemployed actress living with her conservative mother in a precarious house in a Rio de Janeiro slum — tries to deal with her strained relationship with her own adult daughter while surviving on memories of her glorious artistic past. Cast: Yara de Novaes, Carol Duarte, Juliana Carneiro da Cunha, Átila Bee. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Reinas / Switzerland, Peru, Spain (Director and Screenwriter: Klaudia Reynicke, Screenwriter and Producer: Diego Vega, Producers: Britta Rindelaub, Thomas Reichlin, Daniel Vega, Valérie Delpierre) — Surrounded by social and political chaos in Lima during the summer of 1992, Lucia, Aurora, and their mother, Elena, plan to leave and seek opportunities in the United States. Their farewell involves reconnecting with their estranged father, Carlos, adding turbulence to the regrets, hopes, and fears of their emotional departure. Cast: Abril Gjurinovic, Luana Vega, Jimena Lindo, Gonzalo Molina, Susi Sánchez. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Sebastian / U.K., Finland, Belgium (Director and Screenwriter: Mikko Mäkelä, Producer: James Watson) — Max, a 25-year-old aspiring writer living in London, begins a double life as a sex worker in order to research his debut novel. Cast: Ruaridh Mollica, Hiftu Quasem, Ingvar Sigurdsson, Jonathan Hyde, Leanne Best, Lara Rossi. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Sujo / Mexico, U.S.A., France (Directors, Screenwriters, and Producers: Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez, Producers: Diana Arcega, Jewerl Keats Ross, Virginie Devesa, Jean-Baptiste Bailly-Maitre) — When a cartel gunman is killed, he leaves behind Sujo, his beloved 4-year-old son. The shadow of violence surrounds Sujo during each stage of his life in the isolated Mexican countryside. As he grows into a man, Sujo finds that fulfilling his father’s destiny may be inescapable. Cast: Juan Jesús Varela, Yadira Pérez, Alexis Varela, Sandra Lorenzano, Jairo Hernández, Kevin Aguilar. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Veni Vidi Vici / Austria (Director and Screenwriter: Daniel Hoesl, Producer: Ulrich Seidl) — The Maynards and their children lead an almost perfect billionaire family life. Amon is a passionate hunter, but doesn’t shoot animals, as the family’s wealth allows them to live totally free from consequences. Cast: Laurence Rupp, Ursina Lardi, Olivia Goschler. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Agent of Happiness / Bhutan, Hungary (Director and Producer: Arun Bhattarai, Director: Dorottya Zurbó, Producers: Noémi Veronika Szakonyi, Máté Artur Vincze) — Amber is one of the many agents working for the Bhutanese government to measure people’s happiness levels among the remote Himalayan mountains. But will he find his own along the way? World Premiere. Available online for Public.
The Battle for Laikipia / Kenya, U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Daphne Matziaraki, Director: Peter Murimi, Producer: Toni Kamau) — Unresolved historical injustices and climate change raise the stakes in a generations-old conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Laikipia, Kenya, a wildlife conservation haven. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Black Box Diaries / Japan, U.S.A., U.K. (Director and Producer: Shiori Ito, Producers: Eric Nyari, Hanna Aqvilin) — Journalist Shiori Ito embarks on a courageous investigation of her own sexual assault in an improbable attempt to prosecute her high-profile offender. Her quest becomes a landmark case in Japan, exposing the country’s outdated judicial and societal systems. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Eternal You / Germany, U.S.A. (Directors: Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck, Producers: Christian Beetz, Georg Tschurtschenthaler) — Startups are using AI to create avatars that allow relatives to talk with their loved ones after they have died. An exploration of a profound human desire and the consequences of turning the dream of immortality into a product. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Ibelin / Norway (Director: Benjamin Ree, Producer: Ingvil Giske) — Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer, died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated life, when they started receiving messages from online friends around the world. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
IGUALADA / Colombia, U.S.A., Mexico (Director: Juan Mejía Botero, Producers: Juan E. Yepes, Daniela Alatorre, Sonia Serna) — In one of Latin America’s most unequal countries, Francia Márquez, a Black Colombian rural activist, challenges the status quo with a presidential campaign that reappropriates the derogatory term “Igualada” — someone who acts as if they deserve rights that supposedly don’t correspond to them — and inspires a nation to dream. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Never Look Away / New Zealand (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Lucy Lawless, Screenwriters and Producers: Matthew Metcalfe, Tom Blackwell) — New Zealand–born groundbreaking CNN camerawoman Margaret Moth risks it all to show the reality of war from inside the conflict, staring down danger and confronting those who perpetuate it. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
A New Kind of Wilderness / Norway (Director: Silje Evensmo Jacobsen, Producer: Mari Bakke Riise) — In a forest in Norway, a family lives an isolated lifestyle in an attempt to be wild and free, but a tragic event changes everything, and they are forced to adjust to modern society. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Nocturnes / India, U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Anirban Dutta, Director: Anupama Srinivasan) — In the dense forests of the Eastern Himalayas, moths are whispering something to us. In the dark of night, two curious observers shine a light on this secret universe. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat / Belgium, France, Netherlands (Director and Screenwriter: Johan Grimonprez, Producers: Daan Milius, Rémi Grellety) — In 1960, United Nations: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe denouncing America’s color bar, while the U.S. dispatches jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to the Congo to deflect attention from its first African post-colonial coup. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, and JJ Ó Dochartaigh appear in ‘Kneecap’ by Rich Peppiatt, an official selection of the Midnight program at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
NEXT
Desire Lines / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Jules Rosskam, Screenwriter: Nate Gualtieri, Producers: André Pérez, Amy E. Powell, Brittani Ward) — Past and present collide when an Iranian American trans man time-travels through an LGBTQ+ archive on a dizzying and erotic quest to unravel his own sexual desires. Cast: Theo Germaine, Aden Hakimi. World Premiere. Documentary. Available online for Public.
Kneecap / Ireland, U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: Rich Peppiatt, Producers: Jack Tarling, Trevor Birney) — There are 80,000 native Irish speakers in Ireland. 6,000 live in the North of Ireland. Three of them became a rap group called Kneecap. This anarchic Belfast trio becomes the unlikely figurehead of a civil rights movement to save the mother tongue. Cast: Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin, JJ Ó Dochartaigh, Michael Fassbender, Josie Walker, Simone Kirby). World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.
Little Death / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Jack Begert, Screenwriter: Dani Goffstein, Producers: Darren Aronofsky, Andy S. Cohen, Dylan Golden, Brendan Naylor, Sam Canter, Noor Alfallah) — A middle-aged filmmaker on the verge of a breakthrough. Two kids in search of a lost backpack. A small dog a long way from home. Cast: David Schwimmer, Gaby Hoffmann, Dominic Fike, Talia Ryder, Jena Malone, Sante Bentivoglio. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.
REALM OF SATAN / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Scott Cummings, Producers: Caitlin Mae Burke, Pacho Velez, Molly Gandour) — An experiential portrait depicting Satanists in both the everyday and in the extraordinary as they fight to preserve their lifestyle: magic, mystery, and misanthropy. Cast: Peter Gilmore, Peggy Nadramia, Blanche Barton. World Premiere. Documentary. Available online for Public.
Seeking Mavis Beacon / U.S.A. (Director and Writer: Jazmin Renée Jones, Producer: Guetty Felin) — Launched in the late ’80s, educational software Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing taught millions globally, but the program’s Haitian-born cover model vanished decades ago. Two DIY investigators search for the unsung cultural icon, while questioning notions of digital security, AI, and Black representation in the digital realm. World Premiere. Documentary. Available online for Public.
Tendaberry / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Haley Elizabeth Anderson, Producers: Carlos Zozaya, Matthew Petock, Zachary Shedd, Hannah Dweck, Theodore Schaefer, Daniel Patrick Carbone) — When her boyfriend goes back to Ukraine to be with his ailing father, 23-year-old Dakota anxiously navigates her precarious new reality, surviving on her own in New York City. Cast: Kota Johan, Yuri Pleskun. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.
PREMIERES
The American Society of Magical Negroes / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Kobi Libii, Producers: Julia Lebedev, Eddie Vaisman, Angel Lopez) — A young man, Aren, is recruited into a secret society of magical Black people who dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: making white people’s lives easier. Cast: Justice Smith, David Alan Grier, An-Li Bogan, Drew Tarver, Rupert Friend, Nicole Byer. World Premiere. Fiction.
And So It Begins / U.S.A., Philippines (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Ramona S. Diaz) — Amidst the traditional pomp and circumstance of Filipino elections, a quirky people’s movement rises to defend the nation against deepening threats to truth and democracy. In a collective act of joy as a form of resistance, hope flickers against the backdrop of increasing autocracy. World Premiere. Documentary. Available online for Public.
DEVO / U.K., U.S.A. (Director: Chris Smith, Producers: Chris Holmes, Anita Greenspan, Danny Gabai) — Born in response to the Kent State massacre, new wave band Devo took their concept of “de-evolution” from cult following to near–rock star status with groundbreaking 1980 hit “Whip It” while preaching an urgent social commentary. World Premiere. Documentary.
A Different Man / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Aaron Schimberg, Producers: Christine Vachon, Vanessa McDonnell, Gabriel Mayers) — Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he loses out on the role he was born to play and becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost. Cast: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve, Adam Pearson. World Premiere. Fiction.
Freaky Tales / U.S.A. (Directors, Screenwriters, and Producers: Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden, Producers: Poppy Hanks, Jelani Johnson) — In 1987 Oakland, a mysterious force guides The Town’s underdogs in four interconnected tales: Teen punks defend their turf against Nazi skinheads, a rap duo battles for hip-hop immortality, a weary henchman gets a shot at redemption, and an NBA All-Star settles the score. Basically another day in the Bay. Cast: Pedro Pascal, Jay Ellis, Normani Kordei Hamilton, Dominique Thorne, Ben Mendelsohn, Ji-Young Yoo. World Premiere. Fiction.
Ghostlight / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Kelly O’Sullivan, Director and Producer: Alex Thompson, Producers: Pierce Cravens, Chelsea Krant, Ian Keiser, Eddie Linker, Alex Wilson) — When a construction worker unexpectedly joins a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet, the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life. Cast: Keith Kupferer, Dolly de Leon, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Tara Mallen. World Premiere. Fiction.
Girls State / U.S.A. (Directors and Producers: Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss) — Teenage girls from wildly different backgrounds across Missouri navigate a week-long immersive experiment in American democracy, build a government from the ground up, and reimagine what it means to govern. World Premiere. Documentary.
Look Into My Eyes / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Lana Wilson, Producer: Kyle Martin) — A group of New York City psychics conduct deeply intimate readings for their clients, revealing a kaleidoscope of loneliness, connection, and healing. World Premiere. Documentary.
Luther: Never Too Much / U.S.A. (Director: Dawn Porter, Producers: Trish D Chetty, Ged Doherty, Jamie Foxx, Datari Turner, Leah Smith) — Luther Vandross started his career supporting David Bowie, Roberta Flack, Bette Midler, and more. His undeniable talent earned platinum records and accolades, but he struggled to break out beyond the R&B charts. Intensely driven, he overcame personal and professional challenges to secure his place amongst the greatest vocalists in history. World Premiere. Documentary.
My Old Ass / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Megan Park, Producers: Tom Ackerley, Margot Robbie, Josey McNamara, Steven Rales) — The summer before college, bright-yet-irreverent Elliott comes face-to-face with her older self during a mushroom trip. The encounter spurs a funny and heartfelt journey of self-discovery and first love as Elliott prepares to leave her childhood home. Cast: Maisy Stella, Percy Hynes White, Maddie Ziegler, Kerrice Brooks, Aubrey Plaza. World Premiere. Fiction.
The Outrun / U.K., Germany (Director and Screenwriter: Nora Fingscheidt, Screenwriter: Amy Liptrot, Producers: Sarah Brocklehurst, Dominic Norris, Jack Lowden, Saoirse Ronan) — After living life on the edge in London, Rona attempts to come to terms with her troubled past. She returns to the wild beauty of Scotland’s Orkney Islands — where she grew up — hoping to heal. Adapted from the bestselling memoir by Amy Liptrot. Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Paapa Essiedu, Stephen Dillane, Saskia Reeves. World Premiere. Fiction.
Power / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Yance Ford, Producers: Sweta Vohra, Jess Devaney, Netsanet Negussie) — Driven to maintain social order, policing in the United States has exploded in scope and scale over hundreds of years. Now, American policing embodies one word: power. World Premiere. Documentary.
Presence / U.S.A. (Director: Steven Soderbergh, Screenwriter: David Koepp, Producers: Julie M. Anderson, Ken Meyer) — A family moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they’re not alone. Cast: Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Callina Liang, Julia Fox, Eddy Maday, West Mulholland. World Premiere. Fiction.
Rob Peace / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Producers: Andrea Calderwood, Antoine Fuqua, Kat Samick, Rebecca Hobbs, Jeffrey Soros, Alex Kurtzman) — Robert Peace grew up in an impoverished section of Newark and later graduated from Yale with degrees in molecular biophysics and biochemistry while on scholarship. Peace led a dual life in academia and research while also earning six figures selling marijuana. Based on Jeff Hobbs’ bestselling biography. Cast: Jay Will, Mary J. Blige, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Camila Cabello, Michael Kelly, Mare Winningham. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.
Sasquatch Sunset / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: David Zellner, Director and Producer: Nathan Zellner, Producers: Lars Knudsen, Tyler Campellone, George Rush, Jesse Eisenberg) — A year in the life of a singular family. Cast: Riley Keough, Jesse Eisenberg, Christophe Zajac-Denek, Nathan Zellner. World Premiere. Fiction.
Sue Bird: In The Clutch / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Sarah Dowland, Producers: Emily Singer Chapman, Svetlana Zill) — In her 21-year professional career, WNBA basketball legend Sue Bird has won five Olympic gold medals and become the most successful point guard to ever play the game. Alongside her fiancée, U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe, Sue confronts her next challenge: retiring from the only life she’s ever known. World Premiere. Documentary.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story / U.K., U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Ian Bonhôte, Director and Screenwriter: Peter Ettedgui, Producers: Lizzie Gillett, Robert Ford) — Never-before-seen home movies and extraordinary personal archives reveal how Christopher Reeve went from unknown actor to iconic movie star as the ultimate screen superhero. He learned the true meaning of heroism as an activist after suffering a tragic accident that left him quadriplegic and dependent on a ventilator to breathe. World Premiere. Documentary. Salt Lake Opening Film
Thelma / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Josh Margolin, Producers: Zoë Worth, Chris Kaye, Nicholas Weinstock, Benjamin Simpson, Karl Spoerri, Viviana Vezzani) — When 93-year-old Thelma Post gets duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson, she sets out on a treacherous quest across the city to reclaim what was taken from her. Cast: June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, Malcolm McDowell. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.
Will & Harper / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Josh Greenbaum, Producers: Rafael Marmor, Will Ferrell, Jessica Elbaum, Christopher Leggett) — When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship in an intimate portrait of friendship, transition, and America. World Premiere. Documentary.
Winner / U.S.A., Canada (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Susanna Fogel, Screenwriter: Kerry Howley, Producers: Amanda Phillips, Shivani Rawat, Julie Goldstein, Scott Budnick, Ameet Shukla) — Reality Winner is a brilliant young misfit from a Texas border town who finds her morals challenged while serving as an NSA contractor. A sarcastic, gun-lovin, vegan, yogi, and CrossFit fanatic, Reality is an unconventional whistleblower who ends up being prosecuted for exposing Russia’s hacking of the 2016 election. Cast: Emilia Jones, Connie Britton, Zach Galifianakis, Kathryn Newton, Danny Ramirez. World Premiere. Fiction.
MIDNIGHT
I Saw the TV Glow / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Jane Schoenbrun, Producers: Emma Stone, Dave McCary, Ali Herting, Sam Intili, Sarah Winshall) — Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack. Cast: Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Ian Foreman, Helena Howard, Fred Durst, Danielle Deadwyler. World Premiere. Fiction.
In A Violent Nature / Canada (Director and Screenwriter: Chris Nash, Producers: Peter Kuplowsky, Shannon Hanmer) — The enigmatic resurrection, rampage, and retribution of an undead monster in a remote wilderness. Cast: Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, Lauren Taylor. World Premiere. Fiction.
It’s What’s Inside / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Greg Jardin, Producers: William Rosenfeld, Kate Andrews, Jason Baum, Raúl Domingo) — A pre-wedding party descends into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend shows up with a mysterious suitcase. Cast: Brittany O’Grady, James Morosini, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Gavin Leatherwood, Reina Hardesty, Nina Bloomgarden. World Premiere. Fiction.
Kidnapping Inc. / Haiti, France, Canada (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Bruno Mourral, Screenwriter and Producer: Gilbert Jr. Mirambeau, Screenwriter: Jasmuel Andri, Producers: Samuel Chauvin, Yanick Letourneau, Gaëthan Chancy) — Tasked with what appears to be a simple abduction for hire, two hapless kidnappers find out that it’s anything but and end up in the middle of a political conspiracy. Cast: Jasmuel Andri, Rolaphton Mercure, Anabel Lopez, Ashley Laraque, Gessica Geneus, Patrick Joseph. World Premiere. Fiction.
Krazy House / Netherlands (Directors and Screenwriters: Steffen Haars, Flip van der Kuil, Producer: Maarten Swart) — When Russian workers in Bernie’s house turn out to be wanted criminals, Bernie has to man up and save his ’90s sitcom family. Cast: Nick Frost, Alicia Silverstone, Jan Bijvoet, Gaite Jansen, Walt Klink, Kevin Connolly. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.
Love Lies Bleeding / U.S.A., U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: Rose Glass, Producers: Andrea Cornwell, Oliver Kassman — Reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Las Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family. Cast: Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian, Ed Harris, Dave Franco, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov. World Premiere. Fiction.
The Moogai / Australia (Director and Screenwriter: Jon Bell, Producers: Kristina Ceyton, Samantha Jennings, Mitchell Stanley) — A young Aboriginal couple bring home their second baby. What should be a joyous time takes a sinister turn as the mother starts seeing a malevolent spirit she is convinced is trying to take her baby. Cast: Shari Sebbens, Meyne Wyatt, Tessa Rose, Jahdeana Mary, Clarence Ryan, Bella Heathcote. World Premiere. Fiction.
Your Monster / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Caroline Lindy, Producers: Kayla Foster, Shannon Reilly, Melanie Donkers, Kira Carstensen) — After her life falls apart, soft-spoken actress Laura Franco finds her voice again when she meets a terrifying, yet weirdly charming, monster living in her closet. Cast: Melissa Barrera, Tommy Dewey, Meghann Fahy, Edmund Donovan, Kayla Foster. World Premiere. Fiction.
EPISODIC
Better Angels: The Gospel According To Tammy Faye / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Dana Adam Shapiro, Executive Producers: Elton John, David Furnish, Danny Gabai, Alexander Moore, Hellen Rollins, Peter Rollins, Screenwriter: Helen Rollins) — As told by her family, friends, and enemies, the meteoric rise, scandalous fall, and unlikely resurrection of Tammy Faye, the “First Lady of the Electric Church,” poses an increasingly relevant question: How did we get the story so wrong? World Premiere. Documentary. Four-part limited series, screening parts one and two.
Conbody VS Everybody / U.S.A. (Director and Executive Producer: Debra Granik, Executive Producers: Anne Rosellini, Victoria Stewart, Jeff Skoll, Diane Weyermann, Joslyn Barnes, Jonathan Scheuer) — Taking place over eight years, Coss Marte builds ConBody, a gym inspired by workouts he developed while in prison. Committed to employing trainers who were formerly incarcerated, Coss creates a community fighting to break the cycle of recidivism while navigating society’s many obstacles to reentry. World Premiere. Documentary. Six-part limited series, screening two episodes. Available online for Public.
God Save Texas / U.S.A. — Three directors offer their unique and personal perspectives on their home state of Texas, creating vivid portraits of a state that mirrors the United States’ past, present, and future. Inspired by the book God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State by Lawrence Wright. World Premiere. Documentary. Anthology series.
God Save Texas: Hometown Prison (Director and Executive Producer: Richard Linklater, Executive Producers: Lawrence Wright, Alex Gibney, Peter Berg, Michael Lombardo, Elizabeth Rogers) — Huntsville, Texas, known as “Prison City,” sits at the heart of an expansive prison industrial complex. Yet, for many residents, these prisons exist in another realm, disconnected from their lives. Richard Linklater revisits his hometown to explore its diverse inhabitants, painting a vibrant portrait that encapsulates the essence of Texas.
God Save Texas: The Price of Oil (Director: Alex Stapleton, Executive Producers: Lawrence Wright, Alex Gibney, Richard Linklater, Peter Berg, Michael Lombardo, Stacey Offman) – As the world’s energy capital, Houston is a city that manufactures both its prominence and demise. Alex Stapleton explores the industry’s impact on her family, who arrived as enslaved people in the 1830’s, built thriving communities, and now must cope with the human costs of Texas’ biggest money-maker.
God Save Texas: La Frontera (Director: Iliana Sosa, Executive Producers: Lawrence Wright, Alex Gibney, Richard Linklater, Peter Berg, Michael Lombardo, Richard Perello) — Iliana Sosa examines how “nepantla,” an embrace of in-betweenness, characterizes relations to both her Mexican heritage and her hometown of El Paso, Texas. An exploration revealing how the city’s humanity and unique hybridity catalyzed unity, nurturing healing in the aftermath of a devastating mass shooting in 2019.
LOLLA: THE STORY OF LOLLAPALOOZA / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Michael John Warren, Producers: James Lee Hernandez, Brian Lazarte, Brian Levy, Mat Whittington, Daniel Gibbs) — In the summer of ’91, the Lollapalooza music festival was born. What started as a farewell tour for the band Jane’s Addiction rose from the underground to launch a cultural movement and change music forever. World Premiere. Documentary. Three-part limited series, screening parts one and two. Available online for Public.
The Synanon Fix / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Rory Kennedy, Producer and Screenwriter: Mark Bailey, Producers: Alexandra Korba, Keven McAlester, Screenwriter: Jeff Swimmer) — Exploring the rise and fall of the Synanon organization — through the eyes of the members who lived it — from its early days as a groundbreaking drug rehabilitation program to its later descent into what many consider a cult. World Premiere. Documentary. Four-part series, screening parts one and two.
Episodic Pilot Showcase:
Me/We / U.S.A. (Director and Executive Producer: Nzingha Stewart, Executive Producers and Screenwriters: Rob McElhenney, Keyonna Taylor, Executive Producers: Jackie Cohn, Nick Frenkel, Jermaine Johnson) — Amaria “Yaya” Jones, an argumentative teenager with a passion for dance, must plead her case to her overprotective brother in hopes of winning his blessing to walk to school with her first crush. Yaya’s story is a celebration of life. Cast: Camryn Jones, Victor Musoni, Anji White, Travis Wolfe Jr., Nadirah Bost, Mike Sampson. World Premiere. Fiction.
La Mesías / Spain (Directors, Screenwriters, and Executive Producers: Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi, Executive Producers: Domingo Corral, Susana Herreras, Fran Araújo) — Siblings Enric and Irene have a dark childhood, unbearable memories, and a toxic relationship with their mother. They live outside their family sect and are now far from the reach of their mother, yet not completely free. Cast: Roger Casamajor, Macarena García, Lofla Dueñas, Carmen Machi, Ana Rujas, Albert Pla, Amaia, Biel Rossell, Cecilia Roth. International Premiere. Fiction.
Penelope / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Executive Producer: Mel Eslyn, Screenwriter and Executive Producer: Mark Duplass, Executive Producers: Jay Duplass, Shuli Harel) — Feeling out of place in modern society, a 16-year-old is drawn into the unknown wilderness, where she begins forming a new life for herself. Cast: Megan Stott, Austin Abrams. World Premiere. Fiction.
SPOTLIGHT
àma Gloria / France (Director and Screenwriter: Marie Amachoukeli, Producer: Bénédicte Couvreur) — Six-year-old Cléo loves her nanny, Gloria, more than anything. When Gloria must return to Cape Verde to care for her own children, the two must make the most of their last summer together. Cast: Louise Mauroy-Panzani, Ilça Moreno Zego, Abnara Gomes Varela, Fredy Gomes Tavares, Arnaud Rebotini, Domingos Borges Almeida. U.S. Premiere. Fiction.
Hit Man / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Richard Linklater, Producer and Screenwriter: Glen Powell, Producers: Mike Blizzard, Jason Bateman, Michael Costigan) — A strait-laced professor discovers his hidden talent as a fake hit man. He meets his match in a client who steals his heart and ignites a powder keg of deception, delight, and mixed-up identities. Inspired by an unbelievable true story. Cast: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio, Retta, Sanjay Rao. Fiction.
How to Have Sex / U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: Molly Manning Walker, Producers: Ivana MacKinnon, Emily Leo, Konstantinos Kontovrakis) — Three British teenage girls go on a rite-of-passage holiday, drinking, clubbing, and hooking up in what should be the best summer of their lives. As they dance their way across the sun-drenched streets of Malia, they find themselves navigating the complexities of sex, consent, and self-discovery. Cast: Mia McKenna-Bruce, Samuel Bottomley, Shaun Thomas, Lara Peake, Enva Lewis, Laura Ambler. U.S. Premiere. Fiction.
The Mother of All Lies / Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar (Director and Producer: Asmae El Moudir) — On a handmade set re-creating her Casablanca neighborhood, a young Moroccan filmmaker enlists family and friends to help unearth the troubling lies built into her childhood. Documentary. Available online for Public.
FAMILY MATINEE
Out of My Mind / U.S.A. (Director: Amber Sealey, Screenwriter: Daniel Stiepleman, Producers: Peter Saraf, Robert Kessel, Dan Angel, Michael B. Clark) — Melody Brooks is navigating sixth grade as a nonverbal wheelchair user who has cerebral palsy. With the help of some assistive technology and her devoted, exuberant allies, Melody shows that what she has to say is more important than how she says it. Cast: Phoebe-Rae Taylor, Rosemarie DeWitt, Luke Kirby, Michael Chernus, Courtney Taylor, Judith Light. World Premiere. Fiction.
10 Lives / U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: Christopher Jenkins, Screenwriters: Karen Wengrod, Ken Cinnamon,Producers: Guy Collins, Sean Feeney, Yann Zenou, Adrian Politowski, Martin Metz) — A pampered cat takes for granted the lucky hand he has been dealt after he is rescued and loved by Rose, a kind-hearted and passionate student. When he loses his ninth life, fate steps in to set him on a transformative journey. Cast: Mo Gilligan, Simone Ashley, Sophie Okonedo, Dylan Llewellyn, Zayn Malik, Bill Nighy. World Premiere. Fiction.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
War Game / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Jesse Moss, Director: Tony Gerber, Producers: Todd Lubin, Jack Turner, Mark DiCristofaro, Jessica Grimshaw, Nick Shumaker) — A bipartisan group of U.S. defense, intelligence, and elected policymakers spanning five presidential administrations participate in an unscripted role-play exercise in which they confront a political coup backed by rogue members of the U.S. military, in the wake of a contested presidential election. World Premiere. Documentary.
NEW FRONTIER
Being (the Digital Griot) / U.S.A. (Lead Artist: Rashaad Newsome) — In this innovative participatory experience, Being, an artificial intelligence digital griot, asks the audience to engage in unifying and challenging discussions. It features a soundscape and movement informed by a dataset from Black communities, theorists, poets, and activists, including bell hooks, Paulo Freire, Dazié Grego-Sykes, and Cornel West.
Eno / U.S.A., U.K. (Director: Gary Hustwit) — Visionary musician and artist Brian Eno — known for producing David Bowie, U2, Talking Heads, among many others; pioneering the genre of ambient music; and releasing over 40 solo and collaboration albums — reveals his creative processes in this groundbreaking generative documentary: a film that’s different every time it’s shown. World Premiere.
The action in CBS’s NCIS: Sydney season one episode five takes place inside a doggie cafe, so expect at least one adorable furry actor to show up. Directed by David Caesar from a script by Michael Miller, “Doggiecino Day Afternoon” will air on Tuesday, December 12, 2023 at 8pm ET/PT.
Season one stars Olivia Swann (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) as NCIS Special Agent Michelle Mackey, Sean Sagar (The Covenant) as NCIS Special Agent DeShawn Jackson, and Todd Lasance (Spartacus: War of the Damned) as her 2IC AFP counterpart, Sergeant Jim “JD” Dempsey. The cast also includes Tuuli Narkle (Mystery Road: Origin) as AFP liaison officer Constable Evie Cooper, Mavournee Hazel (Shantaram) as AFP forensic scientist Bluebird “Blue” Gleeson, and William McInnes (The Newsreader) as AFP forensic pathologist Dr Roy Penrose.
“Doggiecino Day Afternoon” Plot: The team races to save one of their own when Doc Roy (William McInnes) and his dog are involved in a hostage situation at their local dog cafe.
With rising international tensions in the Indo-Pacific, a brilliant and eclectic team of U.S. NCIS agents and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) are grafted into a multinational taskforce to keep naval crimes in check in the most contested patch of ocean on the planet.
Led by NCIS Special Agent Michelle Mackey and her 2IC AFP counterpart, Sergeant Jim “JD” Dempsey, our team of Americans and Aussies must quickly learn to trust each other, overcoming and harnessing their differences to solve each case. Though jurisdictional tussles and culture clashes make for a rocky start, Mackey will eventually come to respect JD’s nose for the truth, as he does her maverick style.
Meanwhile, sassy AFP Constable Evie Cooper and endlessly curious Special Agent DeShawn Jackson form a fast friendship, while curmudgeonly forensic pathologist Doctor Roy Penrose meets his match in the brilliant young forensic scientist Bluebird “Blue” Gleeson. Together, our team becomes NCIS’ first-ever internationally blended family.
NBC’s Found season 1 episode 11 teaser promises to delve into the truth behind why Sir chose to kidnap Gabi. “Missing While Interracial” airs on December 12, 2023 at 10pm ET/PT.
Found stars Shanola Hampton as Gabi, Kelli Williams as Margaret, Brett Dalton as Detective Mark Trent, Gabrielle Walsh as Lacey, Arlen Escarpeta as Zeke, Karan Oberoi as Dhan, and Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Sir.
“Missing While Interracial” Plot: When a Black man goes missing his family turns to M&A, but suspicions begin to swirl when he’s implicated in the disappearance of a white woman. Gabi digs in on her search for Annie, the girl she saw at the cabin. Sir reveals why he kidnapped Gabi.
Shanola Hampton as Gabi Mosely and Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Sir in ‘Found’ season 1 episode 11 (Photo by: Steve Swisher/NBC)
The Plot, Courtesy of NBC:
In any given year, more than 600,000 people are reported missing in the U.S. More than half that number are people of color that the country seems to forget about.
Public relations specialist Gabi Mosely (Hampton) — who was once herself one of those forgotten ones — and her crisis management team now make sure there is always someone looking out for the forgotten missing people. But unbeknownst to anyone, this everyday hero is hiding a chilling secret of her own.
Shanola Hampton as Gabi Mosely and Arlen Escarpeta as Zeke Wallace in season 1 episode 11 (Photo by: Steve Swisher/NBC)Brett Dalton as Detective Mark Trent, Karan Oberoi as Dahn Rana, and Shanola Hampton as Gabi Mosely in season 1 episode 11 (Photo by: Steve Swisher/NBC)Shanola Hampton as Gabi Mosely, Karan Oberoi as Dahn Rana, Gabrielle Elise Walsh as Lacey Quinn, and Kelli Williams as Margaret Reed in season 1 episode 11 (Photo by: Steve Swisher/NBC)Brett Dalton as Detective Mark Trent in season 1 episode 11 (Photo by: Steve Swisher/NBC)Juliette Jeffers as Jolene, Brett Dalton as Detective Mark Trent, Shanola Hampton as Gabi Mosely, Kelli Williams as Margaret Reed, and Abby Brammell as Victoria in season 1 episode 11 (Photo by: Matt Miller/NBC)Juliette Jeffers as Jolene, Elliott Windsor III as Russell Davis, Shanola Hampton as Gabi Mosely, and Abby Brammell as Victoria in episode 11 (Photo by: Matt Miller/NBC)
