[imagesource: Sundance Film Festival]

The Sundance Film Festival looked a little different this year due to the pandemic, with a switch from the usual 11-day screenings with the masses in attendance to a week-long virtual symposium.

Anyone could buy tickets and watch the films from home, which opened up the usually exclusive event formerly limited to those with the connections and resources to travel.

Hopefully, we’ll be able to take in the most acclaimed films at this year’s festival from the comfort of our living rooms before the end of 2021.

If that’s the case, here’s what to look out for, complete with trailers, via the Huffington Post.

Flee

Flee is a documentary put together without the crutch of footage from corresponding events. Instead, hand-drawn animation is used to tell the story of a gay Afghan refugee who was granted political asylum in Copenhagen.

It unfolds as a conversation between director Jonas Poher Rasmussen and his subject.

CODA

CODA, a drama centred around a high school student who is the child of deaf adults (a phrase for which CODA is an acronym), was the biggest winner at this year’s festival, walking away with the top four prizes in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category: the grand jury prize, the audience award, the directing prize, and a special grand jury prize for best ensemble.

Hive

Hive won the grand jury prize, audience award, with Blerta Basholli also taking home the directing award. It follows a single mother struggling to survive after her husband disappears in the war in Kosovo.

Passing

Based on Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel, Passing follows childhood friends whose unexpected reunion forces them to navigate their divergent lives, race, and the era that they live in.

The Killing of Two Lovers

The Killing of Two Lovers follows David, who desperately tries to keep his family of six together during a separation from his wife, Nikki.

They both agree to see other people but David struggles to grapple with his wife’s new relationship.

You can check out more films to add to your watch list here.

Then wait for the bidding wars as streaming platforms fight to screen Sundance’s top films.

[source:huffpost]