7 Must Watch Films at the Sundance Film Festival 2023

It is the time of the year, and Sundance Film Festival lined up amazing movies, shorts and documentaries this year. From the previous films like Speak No Evil, Get Out, CODA, American Pysho, Little Miss Sunshine and more, this years line up will definitely give us hidden gems that could be a huge hit this year.

With my excitement to each films, I have picked 7 of the films and documentaries you should not missed to see (personally or online) in this years festival.

Shortcomings (U.S. Dramatic Competition)

Ben, a struggling filmmaker, lives in Berkeley, California, with his girlfriend, Miko, who works for a local Asian American film festival. When he’s not managing an art house movie theater as his day job, Ben spends his time obsessing over unavailable blond women, watching Criterion Collection DVDs, and eating in diners with his best friend, Alice, a queer grad student with a serial dating habit. When Miko moves to New York for an internship, Ben is left to his own devices and begins to explore what he thinks he might want.

Cleverly and precisely scripted by Adrian Tomine (based on his own acclaimed graphic novel of the same title), the delightful Shortcomings is Randall Park’s assured directorial debut. Exposing a multiplicity of Asian American identities in a fresh and groundbreaking way, the film is poised to challenge audiences with its protagonist Ben — who is cynical and snobbish with a dash of charm — gamely played by Justin H. Min. With wit, humor, and a deep understanding of being an outsider within a marginalized community, Shortcomings embraces the complexity of being human, flaws and all.

Fair Play (U.S. Dramatic Competition)

Hot off the heels of their new engagement, thriving New York couple Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich) can’t get enough of each other. When a coveted promotion at a cutthroat financial firm arises, supportive exchanges between the lovers begin to sour into something more sinister. As the power dynamics irrevocably shift in their relationship, Luke and Emily must face the true price of success and the unnerving limits of ambition.

In her explosive feature debut, writer-director Chloe Domont weaves a taut psychological thriller, unflinchingly staring down the destructive gender dynamics that pit partners against each other in a world that is transforming faster than the rules can keep up. Dynevor and Ehrenreich deliver commanding performances as a couple whose romance hardens into ruthlessness when stakes climb higher than even the volatile fortunes of their clients. With razor-sharp precision in its writing and tense cinematography, Fair Play unravels the uncomfortable collision of empowerment and ego.

In My Mother’s Skin (Midnight)

Philippines, 1945. Nearing the end of World War II, an affluent family lives stranded in their country mansion, tormented by the occupying Japanese soldiers who are losing grip over the island nation. Rumors spread that the patriarch, Aldo, stole Japanese gold and stashed it somewhere nearby. Aldo knows that his family will be slaughtered if they find the riches, so he escapes to seek help from the Americans. Soon they fear he will never return while sickness overtakes the mother. Searching for help, their young daughter, Tala, mistakenly places her trust in a beguiling, flesh-eating fairy, who desires to consume them all.

Writer-director Kenneth Dagatan imbues this ghastly fairy tale with an intriguing mix of Catholicism and Filipino folklore to conjure up a nightmare vision of a war-torn land. Dagatan’s cast fully commit to this dark fantasy, led by Felicity Kyle Napuli as our young heroine, and the divine villainess played by Jasmine Curtis-Smith. In My Mother’s Skin delivers on impeccable craft, fantastical special effects, and enough fly-covered oozing flesh to be seared permanently into your memory.

Sorcery (World Dramatic Competition)

Chiloé Island, 1880. After her father is murdered by a German colonist, Rosa (newcomer Valentina Véliz Caileo), a 13-year-old Huilliche girl, renounces her Christian upbringing and seeks shelter with Mateo (Daniel Antivilo), the leader of an Indigenous organization that practices witchcraft. Under Mateo’s gruff yet tender tutelage, she learns the art of sorcery and vows to settle the score. Rosa’s vengeance leads to a brutal crackdown by the island’s Chilean Christian authorities and puts her on the path to discovering her dormant powers.

Based on actual events, Christopher Murray’s dark decolonial fantasy is an enigmatic coming-of-age tale, rooted in the historical conflict between German settlers and the Huilliche people of Chile. Strikingly shot by cinematographer Maria Secco and co-written by Murray and Pablo Paredes, Sorcery conjures an atmosphere of mournful magic, while spinning a cautiously hopeful account of Indigenous resistance. As it follows young Rosa on her journey of self-discovery, the film walks the borderlands between grim history and supernatural fable. Antivilo delivers a quietly powerful performance as the stoic sorcerer Mateo, and Véliz is affecting as his determined protégé.

The Pod Generation (Premieres)

This film is the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize winner and will also be screening during Awards Weekend. Visit the official Award-Winners page for in-person and online screening times.

A New York couple, Rachel (Emilia Clarke) and Alvy (Chiwetel Ejiofor) live in a not-so-distant future where technology provides ever-more convenient living. A rising tech company executive, Rachel lands a coveted spot at the Womb Center, which offers couples a convenient (and shareable) maternity by way of detachable artificial wombs, or pods. But Alvy, a botanist with an affection for nature, prefers a natural pregnancy. And yet, as Rachel’s AI therapist puts it, why is that “natural”? So begins the tech-paved path to parenthood.

A social satire of detachment parenting, Sophie Barthes’ third feature delves into the fraught, comedically tantalizing relationship between technology, nature, and society. In her imaginative world, AIs make coffee, print toast, track productivity, and measure people’s “bliss index.” But at what cost? Even nature is no longer natural (there are “nature pods”). Barthes brings a funny, philosophical sensibility to her questioning of society’s giddy pursuit of convenience, tech’s intrusion in our lives, womb envy, and the commodification of… everything. And Clarke and Ejiofor’s wry touch and emotional depth lend it a deep resonance and romance.

Landscape With Invisible Hand (Premieres)

Adam is a teenage artist coming of age in the aftermath of an alien takeover. The Vuvv, a species of hyper-intelligent extraterrestrials, brought wondrous technology to Earth, but only the wealthiest can afford it. The rest of humanity, their livelihoods now obsolete, have to scrape together money in the tourism industry. In the case of Adam and his budding love interest Chloe, that means livestreaming their courtship for the amusement of the coffee-table sized Vuvv, who find human love exotic and interesting. When Adam and Chloe’s scheme goes sideways, Adam and his mother have to find their way out of an increasingly nightmarish alien bureaucracy.

Writer-director Cory Finley (Thoroughbreds, 2017 Sundance Film Festival) returns to Park City with this brazenly original sci-fi trip that features a breakout performance by Asante Blackk. Based on the novel by National Book Award winner M.T. Anderson, the film carefully threads its comedic fantasies with a morose sensibility that sends audiences on a probing exploration of class and commerce.

Infinity Pool (Midnight)

James and Em Foster take off to an all-inclusive beach getaway in the fictional state of Li Tolqa to help jump-start his writer’s block. Their lazy days are spent relegated to their pricey resort, isolated from the surrounding land. Gabby introduces herself and her partner, Al, as she’s a fan of James’ last novel, and they would like to spend some time together with the Fosters. The couples plan a secret daytrip outside the compound that ends in a fatal accident with James to blame. For a hefty price, there are loopholes to aid foreign travelers convicted of crimes there, which is how James is first introduced to a perverse subculture of hedonistic tourism.

Writer-director Brandon Cronenberg (Possessor, 2020 Sundance Film Festival) returns to Park City with a new sci-fi trip through the wicked exploits of foreigners abroad. Crushing violence and surreal horrors puncture this dark satire of the privileged few, centered on the depraved lead performances of Alexander Skarsgård and Mia Goth.

Audience Advisory: This film contains strobe effects and may potentially trigger seizures. Viewer discretion is advised.

This film contains graphic violence and gore, graphic sexual content, and other subject matter that could be offensive to some viewers.

Visit  https://festival.sundance.org to book tickets and watch the movies online.