For 40 years, the Sundance Film Festival has meant the discovery of some truly remarkable and special films. What once was a launching point for independent filmmakers has, over the years, become more commercial than it once was. But there is still something special about Sundance and the films that start there. At Sundance 2024, there were dozens of fascinating stories from familiar and new storytellers. The diversity of story and experience made for some unique and exciting cinema.
A lot of this year’s Sundance films have already been released in theaters and/or streaming. But as we move into the fall and prime awards season, some of the best documentaries and narratives are finally coming to big and small screens. Here are seven of my favorites.
Netflix
Daughters
Directed by: Angela Patton, Natalie Rae
Genre: Documentary
Release Date: August 14 (Netflix)
Okay, yes, Daughters was released by Netflix in August and with surprisingly little fanfare. But this is one of the most moving and powerful documentaries of the year and you should definitely check it out. Through four different families, directors Angela Patton and Natalie Rae share the remarkable outcomes of a program in the Washington DC area gives incarcerated fathers an opportunity to attend a father/daughter dance. Over the course of 10 weeks, the daughters, ranging in age from 5 to 15 and their dads separately prepare via counseling and other activities.
This is the kind of film that shines a needed spotlight on the incredible work of social workers in the corrections system and a program that could potentially change so many lives.
Marni Grossman, ©Amazon Content Services LLC
My Old Ass
Directed by: Megan Park
Genre: Drama
Release Date: September 13 – Still available in limited release
Maisy Stella and Aubrey Plaza star as Elliot. Stella is 18-year-old Elliot, preparing to leave her family’s cranberry farm and head off to college in just a few weeks. While camping out with some friends and trying mushrooms for the first time, she is surprised by a visit from her 39-year-old self (Plaza). Over the course of the evening, Older Elliot has only a few words of wisdom for her younger self. Be better to her family, spend more time with her brothers, and avoid a guy named Chad. Of course, she meets Chad the very next day.
With a title like My Old Ass (and the presence of Aubrey Plaza), this might sound like it’s going to be a bit more irreverent and funny. Instead it’s an endearing and sweet story about that time when your whole life is still ahead of you and the wisdom that can come from youth and from age.
Netflix
It’s What’s Inside
Directed by: Greg Jardin
Genre: Comedy/Sci Fi/Thriller
Release Date: October 4 on Netflix
I don’t want to oversell this fun horror-adjacent movie like some people did when it premiered at Sundance. But it’s also a fun horror-adjacent movie and worth your time. A group of old friends gather at a remote mansion on the eve of a wedding. But when one estranged pal shows up unexpectedly, he suggests a game that will reveal secrets, lies, and lead to major consequences.
I’ve seen a lot of these types of old-friends-gathered-in-the-middle-of-nowhere movies and yet Jardin’s film still manages to offer up some surprises. The humor is very, very funny, the drama is never overplayed, and the cast is full of up-and-comers including Alycia Debnam-Carey, Brittany O’Grady, and Gavin Leatherwood.
Roadside Attractions
Exhibiting Forgiveness
Directed by: Titus Kaphar
Genre: Drama
Release Date: October 18
André Holland, Andra Day, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and John Earl Jelks star in this family drama about healing from generational trauma. Holland stars as Tarrell, an artist who uses his paintings to work through his abusive childhood. When his alcoholic father (Jelks) shows up with the hopes of reconciliation, Tarrell finds himself forced to confront issues he thought were long buried. There are a lot of films that deal with these types of fraught family histories, but this cast brings so much pain, heart, and humanity to the experience.
What really makes Exhibiting Forgiveness stand out is writer/director Titus Kaphar’s willingness to confront themes of domestic violence, substance abuse, and the lies parents tell themselves in order to mentally survive. Most of all, this film is very honest about the emotional roller coaster of trying to find the balance between forgiving and forgetting.
MTV Documentary Films
Black Box Diaries
Directed by: Shiori Itô
Genre: Documentary
Release Date: October 25
Powerful in a much different way than a film like Daughters, Shiori Itô’s deeply personal and vulnerable documentary recounts her experience with sexual assault and quest for justice. Forced to navigate Japan’s legal system and social judgment, Itô weaves her story together with hidden camera footage, news reports, and video diary confessionals. What makes this doc really stand out is not just that Itô tells her own story, but the level of vulnerability she is willing to share through such a painful and often maddening ordeal.
This is not an easy to film to watch. The quest for justice rarely is. No one should have to relive their trauma in public. But by bringing us her story, Shiori Itô reminds us that progress is possible and one person can make a difference.
Netflix
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
Directed by: Benjamin Ree
Genre: Documentary
Release Date: October 25 on Netflix
When this documentary premiered at Sundance, it was called simply Ibelin. But this really is a story about a remarkable person and his remarkable life. Mats Steen was a Norwegian gamer born with a degenerative muscular condition that cut his life short at age 25. Isolated and lonely for much of his life, when Mats died his parents mourned not only his loss but the loss of the life he never got to live. Until social media messages started flooding in from all over the world, letting them into a life they never knew about.
I don’t want to give away too many details about the path this story takes. It’s fascinating and beautiful. Director Benjamin Ree uses some clever and imaginative ways to tell Mats’ story. This is emotional and rich, and shows us how small and wonderful the world really can be.
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A Real Pain
Directed by: Jesse Eisenberg
Genre: Drama
Release Date: November 1
One of the biggest surprises for me at this year’s Sundance was A Real Pain from Jesse Eisenberg. Here, he writes, directs, and stars in this drama about two cousins who take a trip to Poland to fulfill their recently departed grandmother’s wish. She wanted her grandsons to see the country they came from, a place she was forced to flea during World War II. A blend of road trip movie and buddy comedy, Eisenberg and co-star Kieran Culkin work through their own relationship issues as they connect with their heritage.
Deftly moving from laughter to tears and back again, A Real Pain is only Eisenberg’s second feature behind the camera, but it is a sign of great things to come. Getting personal and candid seems to really work for him. His maturity and growth as a storyteller delivers a movie that is easy to watch, uncomplicated, and yet profound and joyful.