This
year’s
Sundance
Film
Festival
was
rich
with
films
and
the
theatres
were
warm,
even
as
temperatures
outside
dipped
to
below
freezing
point.
It
snowed
only
once
but
the
sidewalks
remained
slippery
for
a
few
days.
Stars
from
Hollywood
and
elsewhere
descended
at
the
festival
that
Robert
Redford
launched
to
support
indie
cinema.
Since
1978,
the
definition
of
indie
cinema
has
greatly
changed.
That
would
explain
the
festival
hosting
stars
like
Jennifer
Lopez,
Olivia
Colman,
Benedict
Cumberbatch,
Josh
O’Conner
and
Jon
Hamm.
But
it
was
the
stories
that
mattered.
Strong
human
documents
with
fictional
narratives
and
true
events
told
by
talented
filmmakers
from
around
the
world.
Aseem
Chhabra
ranks
his
Top
10
Sundance
films.
10.
The
Ugly
Stepsister
(Norway)
The
Ugly
Stepsister
is
a
creepy
take
on
the
classic
Cinderella
story.
In
Director
Emilie
Blichfeldt’s
version,
Cinderella’s
father
remarries
hoping
that
the
stepmother
would
help
bring
up
his
poor
motherless
daughter.
Instead,
the
stepmother
clearly
shows
love
for
her
two
own
daughters,
taking
extreme
measures
to
make
the
stepdaughter
physically
attractive
to
the
prince.
There
are
many
terrifying
moments.
At
times,
people
in
the
audience
covered
their
eyes
or
made
sounds
expressing
their
discomfort.
But
watching
a
film
a
theatre
filled
with
fans
of
dark
cinema
is
fun.
9.
The
Ballad
of
Wallis
Island
(UK)
In
this
delightful
crowd-pleasing
film,
an
eccentric
middle-aged
widower
Charles
(Tim
Key)
lives
in
an
old
castle
on
a
remote
island.
He
has
had
the
good
fortune
of
winning
the
grand
lottery
prize
twice.
And
he
has
a
strange
plan:
To
get
his
two
favourite
singers
perform
for
him
at
a
private
concert.
But
Charles’s
plans
have
odd
twists.
First,
the
two
singers
he
invites
Herb
(Tom
Basden)
and
Nell
(Carey
Mulligan)
used
to
be
partners,
professionally
and
personally.
But
they
have
now
broken
up
and
Charles
has
this
strange
confidence
that
he
can
get
them
back
together,
at
least
for
one
concert.
How
Charles
manages
to
work
things
to
his
advantage
is
what
makes
Director
James
Griffith’s
The
Ballad
of
Wallis
Island
a
very
entertaining
affair.
8.
The
Kiss
of
the
Spider
Woman
(US)
A
40-year-old
classic
with
William
Hurt,
Raul
Julia
and
Sonia
Braga
has
been
remade
into
a
musical
with
Jennifer
Lopez
leading
the
cast.
In
the
new
film
directed
by
Bill
Condon
(Gods
and
Monsters,
Dreamgirls),
Lopez
plays
an
imaginary
actress
Ingrid
Luna,
who
in
her
most
iconic
role
as
a
Spider
Woman,
kills
her
prey
by
kissing
them.
The
film
is
set
in
an
Argentinian
prison
in
1981
where
a
political
prisoner
Valentin
(Diego
Luna)
shares
his
cell
with
a
gay
hairdresser
Luis
(Tonatiuh).
To
pass
time,
Luis
narrates
imaginary
film
stories
that
leads
to
a
special
bond
between
the
two
men.
Lopez
plays
the
role
of
her
lifetime:
Singing
and
dancing
on
the
screen
for
the
first
time.
It’s
early
in
the
year
but
I
believe
Lopez,
who
is
also
the
executive
producer
of
the
film,
has
almost
assured
a
2026
Oscar
nomination
for
herself.
7.
The
Perfect
Neighbor
(US)
In
The
Perfect
Neighbor,
Emmy
award-winning
Indian
American
filmmaker
Geeta
Gandbhir
examines
Florida’s
Stand
Your
Ground
laws
that
allows
people
to
defend
their
property
against
suspicious
activity
and
in
some
cases,
even
justifies
shooting
of
trespassers.
Gandbhir
follows
the
June
2023
killing
of
an
African
American,
mother
of
four
young
children
by
her
white
neighbour,
who
claimed
she
felt
threatened
by
the
victim.
Using
mostly
police
body
cam
footage,
Gandbhir
and
her
editor
construct
a
compelling
documentary
that
has
a
lot
to
say
about
race
relations
in
America
today.
Gandbhir
won
the
Directing
Award:
US
Documentary
for
The
Perfect
Neighbor.
A
few
days
later,
IndieWire’s
poll
conducted
with
176
journalists
covering
the
Sundance
Film
Festival
selected
The
Perfect
Neighbor
as
the
top
documentary
of
the
festival.
6.
Coexistence,
My
Ass!
(US/
France)
Israeli
comedian
Noam
Shuster
Eliassi
grew
up
in
an
idyllic
environment
where
Jewish
and
Palestinian
children
studied
together,
spoke
each
other’s
languages,
ate
in
each
other’s
home.
So
Eliassi
believed
that
peace
could
be
achieved
between
the
Jews
and
Arabs.
When
her
beliefs
were
challenged,
Eliassi,
a
UN
diplomat-turned-comedian,
used
the
complexity
of
the
issues
as
the
source
for
her
comedy
material.
She
would
make
her
audience
uncomfortable,
but
also
make
them
laugh
and
sometimes
tear
up
as
well.
In
Director
Amber
Fares’
hands,
Coexistence,
My
Ass!,
winner
of
the
World
Cinema
Documentary
Special
Jury
Award
for
Freedom
of
Expression,
takes
an
urgent
tone,
especially
after
the
October
2023
Hamas
attack
on
Israelis.
We
see
Eliassi’s
beliefs
being
shattered.
But
this
film
offers
hope,
and
that
is
why
Eliassi’s
work
will
stay
relevant.
5.
The
Things
You
Kill
(Turkey)
Canadian
Iranian
filmmaker
Alireza
Khatami
(Terrestrial
Verses,
which
premiered
at
the
Cannes
Film
Festival)
has
made
a
riveting
psychological
thriller
where
a
university
professor,
troubled
by
his
mother’s
mysterious
death,
arranges
for
a
revenge
killing.
With
a
large
effective
Turkish
cast,
with
scenes
set
in
sweeping
landscapes,
The
Things
You
Kill
is
an
intriguing
drama
that
will
haunt
viewers
even
when
Khatami
does
not
neatly
package
the
ending.
At
Sundance,
Khatami
won
the
well-deserved
Directing
Award:
World
Cinema
Dramatic
and
that
should
ensure
the
film
will
travel
to
other
festivals.
4.
All
That’s
Left
of
You
(Germany/
Cyprus)
In
the
midst
of
the
explosive
situation
in
Gaza,
where
over
40,000
civilians
were
killed,
and
now
President
Donald
Trump
hinting
that
US
may
take
over
the
bombed-out
land,
Director
Cherien
Dabis
(Amreeka)
has
made
an
epic,
inter-generational
saga
that
explores
the
lives
of
a
Palestinian
family,
since
the
creation
of
Israel
and
the
Nakba
event
that
forced
the
original
inhabitants
of
the
land
to
become
refugees
in
their
own
country.
All
That’s
Left
of
You
is
a
deeply
moving
film
starring
some
of
the
finest
Palestinian
performers,
including
members
of
the
legendary
Bakri
family,
the
father
Mohammad
Bakri,
and
his
two
sons,
the
younger
one
Adam
(Omar)
who
plays
the
younger
version
of
the
patriarch
of
the
family,
and
Saleh
(The
Blue
Caftan,
The
Teacher)
who
carries
the
latter
half
of
the
film
on
his
shoulders.
He
is
ably
accompanied
by
Palestinian
American
Dabis,
who
plays
Saleh’s
wife
in
the
film.
All
That’s
Left
of
You
is
a
gripping
drama
and
an
important
document
about
the
times
we
live
in.
3.
Sabar
Bonda
(India)
The
first
Marathi
language
film
to
be
programmed
at
Sundance,
Sabar
Bonda
(Cactus
Pears)
is
partly
inspired
by
Director
Rohan
Parashuram
Kanawade’s
personal
experience
when
he
visited
his
ancestral
village
to
mourn
his
father’s
death.
But
the
story
changes
there,
when
the
film’s
protagonist
Anand
(Bhushaan
Manoj)
reconnects
with
his
childhood
friend
Balya
(Suraaj
Suman)
and
the
two
develop
a
romantic
relationship.
Often
same-sex
relationship
narratives
in
India
are
set
in
urban
areas.
Sabar
Bonda,
winner
of
the
Grand
Jury
Prize
in
World
Cinema:
Dramatic
section,
is
a
rare
film
that
explores
an
LTBTQ
story
set
in
rural
India.
2.
Twinless
(US)
During
sessions
at
a
twin
bereavement
center,
Dennis
(played
by
Director-Writer
James
Sweeney)
meets
Roman
(Dylan
O’Brien).
Both
men
are
mourning
the
losses
of
their
twins
with
whom
they
had
complicated
relationships.
Roman
and
Dennis
become
good
friends,
a
support
to
each
other.
But
there
are
underlying
sexual
tensions,
and
Dennis
is
also
holding
on
a
dark
secret
which
could
threaten
the
friendship.
At
times,
Twinless
is
hilarious
and
at
others,
it
is
extremely
tragic.
But
it
is
one
of
the
smartest
films
to
premiere
at
this
year’s
Sundance
Film
Festival.
Festival
goers
and
jury
members
loved
the
film.
Twinless
ended
up
winning
two
prizes:
US
Dramatic
Special
Jury
Award
for
Acting
and
the
Audience
Award:
US
Dramatic.
1.
Rebuilding
In
his
sophomore
feature,
Director
Max
Walker-Silverman
(Long
Songs)
gives
us
a
loving,
yet
deeply
sad
portrait
of
people
in
a
part
of
the
American
West,
struggling
after
a
fire
has
destroyed
their
farms
and
livelihood.
Josh
O’Connor
(Challengers,
God’s
Own
Country)
plays
a
divorced
father
of
a
young
girl,
who
has
lost
everything
but
his
dignity
in
the
fire
and
is
now
living
in
a
temporary
camper
provided
by
the
government.
His
neighbours
in
the
campers
are
all
survivors
of
the
fire.
How
they
rebuild
their
lives,
with
love,
compassion,
support
and
the
will
to
continue
living,
makes
Rebuilding
a
heartfelt
film.
