Thanksgiving is the most anxious holiday for indie filmmakers, as the Sundance Film Festival begins making its calls with (hopefully) good news. The first round of programming announcements are expected following the four-day holiday weekend, with over 100 features expected over various sections of the January, 2015 festival.
Ahead of those announcements, Indiewire is offering 31 films as a Sundance wish list (in honor of the festival’s 31st year). Basically, it’s a wholly unscientific collection of films that might reasonably make the cut and/or we hope will make it to Park City.
Much more so than fellow festival powerhouses Cannes or Toronto, Sundance is a hard lineup to predict. Small films from up-and-coming directors often end up being the most talked-about films at the festival (think “Whiplash,” “Obvious Child,” “The Skeleton Twins” last year). Of course, some of the lineup will be comprised of more high-profile possibilities — and it’s all but certain that some of the festival’s breakouts are not going to be on our list.
So with those caveats in mind, here are 31 titles to consider (in alphabetical order). And if you have a title to add, tell us in the comments.
Indiewire is offering 31 films as a Sundance wishlist (in honor of the festival’s 31st anniversary).
“Michael”
Director: Justin Kelly
Cast: James Franco, Zachary Quinto, Emma Roberts, Daryl Hannah
Why We Hope It Heads To Park City: Based on Benoit Denizet-Lewis’s 2011 New York Times article “My Ex-Gay Friend,” James Franco takes on yet another queer character (though with an obvious twist this time) in “Michael.” Produced by Gus Van Sant and directed by Justin Kelly, the film follows the true story of Michael Glatze, a San Francisco gay activist who somehow evolved himself into an ex-gay Christian fundamentalist. Franco plays Glatze, while Zachary Quinto will star as one of his former boyfriends. Definitely a topic worth consideration and it seems like a good bet we’ll find out whether newcomer Kelly can pull it off come January.
