Sundance 2021 Film Premieres
3 Film Premieres To Look Out For
Run Time: 82 mins
Category: Feature
Company: Mister Lister Films
On the day an asteroid is scheduled to obliterate Earth, freewheeling Liza (Zoe Lister-Jones) scores an invite to one last wild gathering before it all goes down. Making it to the party won’t be easy, though, after her car is unceremoniously stolen, and the clock is ticking on her plan to tie up loose ends with friends and family. With a little help from her whimsical younger self (Cailee Spaeny), Liza embarks on a journey by foot across Los Angeles as she seeks to make peace with her regrets—and find the right company for those last few hours.
Alum writer/directors Daryl Wein (White Rabbit) and Zoe Lister-Jones (Band Aid) assemble an impressive all-star cast—including Helen Hunt, Olivia Wilde, Fred Armisen, Lamorne Morris, and Nick Kroll—for this uproarious and charming pre-apocalyptic comedy. Both playful and empowering, How It Ends channels the kind of optimistic nihilism we could all use more of right now. The end of the world may be coming, but no one anticipated it could be this much fun.
ABOUT THE DIRECTORS
Daryl Wein directed/produced/co-wrote the feature films White Rabbit, Lola Versus, Breaking Upwards, Blueprint, Consumed, and Sex Positive. He also directed Mozart in the Jungle (Amazon) and Single Parents (ABC).
Zoe Lister-Jones wrote, directed, and executive-produced the reboot of The Craft. Her directorial debut, Band-Aid (which she also starred in, wrote, and produced), premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Additionally, she wrote, executive-produced, and starred in Lola Versus and co-wrote, produced, and starred in the indie comedy Breaking Upwards.
Year-2021
Category -Feature
Run Time -126 min
Fred Hampton’s cathartic words “I am a revolutionary” became a rallying call in 1969. As chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, Hampton demanded all power to the people and inspired a growing movement of solidarity, prompting the FBI to consider him a threat and to plant informant William O’Neal to infiltrate the party. Judas and the Black Messiah not only recounts Hampton’s legacy and the FBI’s conspiring but also gives equal footing to the man who became infamous for his betrayal—highlighting the systems of inequality and oppression that fed both of their roles.
Director Shaka King returns to the Sundance Film Festival with an incredible cast of Sundance alums led by Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield. Kaluuya channels Hampton’s ability to energize and unite communities, while Stanfield taps into the anguish of a man with conflicting allegiances. Dominique Fishback also stands out in her reserved yet confronting performance as Deborah Johnson, Hampton’s life partner. King’s magnetic film carries themes that continue to resonate today and serves as a reminder of the potent power of the people.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Shaka King, the writer/producer/director of Judas and the Black Messiah, is a double Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominee. King’s feature directing debut was Newlyweeds. He was nominated for an Image Award for directing the episode “Pool” of Hulu’s original Shrill. Additional credits include HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness and High Maintenance.
Year -2020
Category -Feature
Run Time -103 min
In the treacherous frontier city of Samurai Town, a ruthless bank robber (Nicolas Cage) is sprung from jail by wealthy warlord The Governor (Bill Moseley), whose adopted granddaughter Bernice (Sofia Boutella) has gone missing. The Governor offers the prisoner his freedom in exchange for retrieving the runaway. Strapped into a leather suit that will self-destruct within five days, the bandit sets off on a journey to find the young woman—and his own path to redemption.
Sion Sono’s delirious mash-up of Western, Samurai, and post-apocalyptic thriller is a sly spoof of the mythical hero’s journey. Cage, in one of his most unhinged performances to date, swaggers through a wasteland populated by fearsome gunslingers, lethal swordsmen, vengeful ghosts, and a deranged desert cult. Working from a gonzo script by Aaron Hendry and Reza Sixo Safai, Sono orchestrates a large international cast through a kaleidoscope of upended exploitation tropes, balletic fight scenes, and audacious needle drops. Liberated from genre conventions, Prisoners of the Ghostland seems destined to conquer the midnight movie screens.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Sion Sono Celebrated for films that range from social dramas to wild, uncompromising, uninhibited cinema, Sion Sono has emerged among the most distinctive directors in this century. Sono, always pushing boundaries and constantly surprising, is an international auteur, having won at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival, and the Fantasia Film Festival, among others. After making more than 50 feature films, Sono marks his English language debut with Prisoners of the Ghostland.
For more info on The Sundance Film Festival 2021 Film Premieres, Film Talks, and programming please visit www.sundance.org.
About the Creator
Tammy Reese
Tammy is best known for her legendary interviews with Sharon Stone, Angela Bassett, Sigourney Weaver, Geena Davis, Morris Chestnut, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Laurence Fishburne, Omar Epps, Joseph Sikora, and more.
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