The Best Sundance Premieres and Spotlights | 2021 Movies Ranked
/Another Sundance Film Festival is in the books and even though everything went virtual for 2021, this year's Sundance was still a trip! Join Art, Zach, and Amanda the Jedi as we discuss every movie to play at the festival this year - starting with the Premieres & Spotlight sections.
Judas and the Black Messiah
The story of Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, and his fateful betrayal by FBI informant William O'Neal.
Director: Shaka King
Writers: Will Berson (screenplay by), Shaka King (screenplay by), Kenneth Lucas (story by) (as Kenny Lucas) & Keith Lucas (story by)
Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH on the Intercut Podcast!
In the Same Breath
How did the Chinese government turn pandemic cover ups in Wuhan into a triumph for the Communist party?
Director: Nanfu Wang
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on IN THE SAME BREATH on the Intercut Podcast!
Philly D.A.
A groundbreaking inside look at the long shot election and tumultuous first term of Larry Krasner, Philadelphia's unapologetic District Attorney, and his experiment to upend the criminal justice system from the inside out.
Directors: Yoni Brook, Ted Passon
Writers: Yoni Brook (creator), Ted Passon (creator), Nicole Salazar (creator)
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on PHILLY D.A. on the Intercut Podcast!
Mass
Aftermath of a violent tragedy that affects the lives of two couples in different ways.
Director: Fran Kranz
Writer: Fran Kranz
Stars: Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Ann Dowd
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on MASS on the Intercut Podcast!
The Sparks Brothers
Synopsis: Take a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers Ron & Russell Mael, celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band’s favorite band.
Director: Edgar Wright
Stars: Ron Mael, Russell Mael, Mike Meyers, Fred Armisen, 'Weird Al' Yankovic, Beck
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on THE SPARKS BROTHERS on the Intercut Podcast!
Amy Tan Unintended Memoir
Synopsis: Amy Tan has established herself as one of America’s most respected literary voices. Born to Chinese immigrant parents, it would be decades before the author of The Joy Luck Club would fully understand the inherited trauma rooted in the legacies of women who survived the Chinese tradition of concubinage.
Director: James Redford
Star: Amy Tan
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on AMY TAN UNINTENDED MEMOIR on the Intercut Podcast!
Street Gang
STORY OF THE STREET THAT CHANGED HISTORY
Synopsis: A look at the history of the long-running children’s TV show, “Sesame Street.”
Director: Marilyn Agrelo
Writer: Michael Davis (based on the book by)
Stars: Joan Ganz Cooney, Jim Henson, Jon Stone
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on STREET GANG on the Intercut Podcast!
The World to Come
Synopsis: Two women forge a close connection despite their isolation in the mid-19th-century American frontier.
Director: Mona Fastvold
Writers: Ron Hansen, Jim Shepard
Stars: Katherine Waterston, Vanessa Kirby, Christopher Abbott, Casey Affleck (Producer)
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on THE WORLD TO COME on the Intercut Podcast!
Night of the Kings
Synopsis: A young man is sent to "La Maca", a prison of Ivory Coast in the middle of the forest ruled by its prisoners. With the red moon rising, he is designated by the Boss to be the new "Roman" and must tell a story to the other prisoners.
Director: Philippe Lacôte
Writer: Philippe Lacôte
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on NIGHT OF THE KINGS on the Intercut Podcast!
Bring Your Own Brigade
Synopsis: An investigation into our landscape’s hidden fire stories and on-the-ground experiences of firefighters and residents struggling through deadly fires. How corporate responsibility gets shifted.
Director: Lucy Walker
Writers: Katherine Montgomery (contributing writer), Lucy Walker
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on BRING YOUR OWN BRIGADE on the Intercut Podcast!
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
My Name is Pauli Murray
Synopsis: A look at the life and ideas of Pauli Murray, a non-binary Black lawyer, activist and poet who influenced both Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Thurgood Marshall. Featuring never-before-seen footage and audio recordings, a portrait of Murray’s impact as a non-binary Black luminary: lawyer, activist, poet, and priest who transformed our world.
Directors: Julie Cohen, Betsy West (RGB)
Writers: Talleah Bridges McMahon, Julie Cohen, Cinque Northern, Betsy West
Stars: Patricia Bell-Scott, Dolores Chandler, Brittney Cooper
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY on the Intercut Podcast!
Eight for Silver
Synopsis: Set in the late 1800’s. A man arrives in a remote country village to investigate an attack by a wild animal but discovers a much deeper and sinister force that has the manor and its town’s people in its grip.
Director: Sean Ellis
Writer: Sean Ellis
Stars: Boyd Holbrook, Kelly Reilly, Alistair Petrie
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on EIGHT FOR SILVER on the Intercut Podcast!
Marvelous and the Black Hole
Synopsis: A teenage delinquent teams up with a surly children's party magician to navigate her dysfunctional family and inner demons.
Director: Kate Tsang
Writer: Kate Tsang
Stars: Miya Cech, Rhea Perlman, Leonardo Nam
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on MARVELOUS AND THE BLACK HOLE on the Intercut Podcast!
Prisoners of the Ghostland
Synopsis: A notorious criminal must break an evil curse in order to rescue an abducted girl who has mysteriously disappeared.
Director: Sion Sono
Writers: Aaron Hendry, Reza Sixo Safai (screenplay)
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Sofia Boutella, Nick Cassavetes
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND on the Intercut Podcast!
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
In the Earth
As the world searches for a cure to a disastrous virus, a scientist and park scout venture deep in the forest for a routine equipment run.
Director: Ben Wheatley
Writer: Ben Wheatley
Stars: Joel Fry, Reece Shearsmith, Hayley Squires
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on IN THE EARTH on the Intercut Podcast!
Land
A bereaved woman seeks out a new life, off the grid in Wyoming.
Director: Robin Wright
Writers: Jesse Chatham, Erin Dignam
Stars: Robin Wright, Demián Bichir, Sarah Dawn Pledge
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on LAND on the Intercut Podcast!
How it Ends
Synopsis: On the last day on Earth, one woman goes on a journey through LA to make it to her last party before the world ends, running into an eclectic cast of characters along the way.
Directors: Zoe Lister-Jones, Daryl Wein
Writers: Zoe Lister-Jones, Daryl Wein
Stars: Zoe Lister-Jones, Cailee Spaeny, Fred Armisen, Olivia Wilde, Nick Kroll
OUR RATINGS
Check out our discussion on HOW IT ENDS on the Intercut Podcast!
Pictures and images above are Courtesy of the Sundance Institute and the films’ respective Studios.
