“How it Ends”
Directors and Screenwriters: Daryl Wein, Zoe Lister-Jones
Cast: Zoe Lister-Jones, Cailee Spaeny, Olivia Wilde, Fred Armisen, Helen Hunt, Lamorne Morris
Sundance 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.
Category: Premieres
Pay Attention: Lister-Jones directed 2017 Sundance standout “Band-Aid” and, most recently, “Craft: Legacy.” Wein is best known for 2012’s “Lola Versus.” So, talent.
“In The Same Breath”
Director: Nanfu Wang
Sundance Synopsis: “How did the Chinese government turn pandemic coverups in Wuhan into a triumph for the Communist party? An essential narrative of firsthand accounts of the coronavirus, and a revelatory examination of how propaganda and patriotism shaped the outbreak’s course – both in China and in the U.S.”
Category: Premieres and Day One film
Pay Attention: Wang’s documentary “One Child Nation” won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary Feature at Sundance in 2019. In October, she was named a recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant. Oh, and out of many submissions, “Same Breath” is the only COVID-19 documentary to make the festival.
“In The Earth”
Director and Screenwriter: Ben Wheatley
Cast: Joel Fry, Ellora Torchia, Hayley Squires, Reece Shearsmith
Sundance Synopsis: “As a disastrous virus grips the planet, a scientist and a park scout venture deep into the forest for a routine equipment run. Through the night, their journey becomes a terrifying voyage through the heart of darkness as the forest comes to life around them.
Category: Premieres
Pay Attention: I mean, it’s Ben Wheatley. Someone is going to adore it. It’s also already a NEON release in the U.S.
“Flee”
Director: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Sundance Synopsis: “Amin arrived as an unaccompanied minor in Denmark from Afghanistan. Today, he is a successful academic and is getting married to his long-time boyfriend. A secret he has been hiding for 20 years threatens to ruin the life he has built.”
Category: World Cinema Documentary Competition and Day One film
Pay Attention: An animated documentary in the spirit of “Waltz with Bashir,” Rasmussen’s creation was originally selected for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival.
“I Was a Simple Man”
Director and Screenwriter: Christopher Makoto Yogi
Cast: Steve Iwamoto, Constance Wu, Kanoa Goo, Chanel Akiko Hirai, Tim Chiou, Boonyanudh Jiyarom
Sundance Synopsis: “As a family in Hawai’i faces the imminent death of their eldest, the ghosts of the past haunt the countryside.”
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Pay Attention: Constance Wu’s first feature since “Hustlers” and the merciful end (for her anyway) of “Fresh Off The Boat.”
“John and the Hole”
Director: Pascual Sisto
Screenwriter: Nicolás Giacobone
Cast: Charlie Shotwell, Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Ehle, Taissa Farmiga
Sundance Synopsis: “A nontraditional coming-of-age story, set in the unsettling reality of John, a kid who holds his family captive in a hole in the ground.”
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Pay Attention: Another film originally selected for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival.
