Best of the Fest – Sundance 2022

It’s January again and that means it’s the beginning of film festival season. We kick off every January with Sundance Film Festival in Park City Utah. This year’s “Best of the Fest” includes our Best of Sundance 2022 Films and a few honorable mentions.

Best of the Fest – Best of Sundance 2022

There were so many films and shorts to watch. So many, in fact, I didn’t even get to watch everything I wanted to. of the dozens of films consumed, here are the Best Feature Films of Sundance 2022.

Fresh

Frustrated by scrolling dating apps only to end up on lame, tedious dates, Noa takes a chance by giving her number to the awkwardly charming Steve after a produce-section meet-cute at the grocery store. During a subsequent date at a local bar, sassy banter gives way to a chemistry-laden hookup, and a smitten Noa dares to hope that she might have actually found a real connection with the dashing cosmetic surgeon. She accepts Steve’s invitation to an impromptu weekend getaway, only to find that her new paramour has been hiding some unusual appetites.

Director: Mimi Cave

FRESH: Review

#FRESH is absolutely feral with its delightfully disturbing tale of lurid romance. Mimi Cave’s directorial debut doesn’t disappoint and Stan & Edgar-Jones are bloody tantalizing. 100% worth being up until ~5am to watch + live Q&A with talent! #FreshMovie#Sundance2022 #sundance pic.twitter.com/UAyAatqPn7

— Jana Seitzer (@whiskynsunshine) January 22, 2022

 

892

Living in a cheap motel in Atlanta and separated from his wife and child, former U.S. Marine veteran Brian Easley (John Boyega) is desperate. Driven to the brink by forces beyond his control, the soft-spoken, kind man decides to rob a bank and hold hostages with a bomb. As police, media, and family members descend on the bank and Brian, it becomes clear he’s not after money — he wants to tell his story and have what is rightfully his, even if it costs him his life.

Director: Abi Damaris Corbin

WOW. John Boyega's formidable portrayal of Brian Brown-Easley’s 2017 bank robbery is thrilling, intense, and powerful. #892movie is a bold and much-needed political statement, taking a look at systemic racism and systematic failures in our country. #Sundance2022 pic.twitter.com/wvfSlULmmB

— Jana Seitzer (@whiskynsunshine) January 23, 2022

 

Cha Cha Real Smooth

Fresh out of college — but now what? Higher education failed to provide 22-year-old Andrew with a clear life path going forward, so he’s stuck back at home with his family in New Jersey. But if college did teach him one thing, it’s drinking and partying — skills that make him the perfect candidate for a job party-starting at the bar and bat mitzvahs of his younger brother’s classmates. When Andrew befriends a local mom, Domino, and her daughter, Lola, he finally discovers a future he wants, even if it might not be his own.

Director: Cooper Raiff

Cha Cha Real Smooth: Review

The real winner of #Sundance2022 is #DakotaJohnson.

Johnson has firmly planted herself as the queen of the fest with her dynamic performances in #ChaChaRealSmooth and #AmIOk pic.twitter.com/H7Gat9C6HQ

— Jana Seitzer (@whiskynsunshine) January 26, 2022

Emergency

Straight-A college student Kunle and his laid-back best friend, Sean, are about to have the most epic night of their lives. Determined to be the first Black students to complete their school’s frat party legendary tour, the friends strap in for their ultimate assignment, Solo cups in hand. But a quick pit stop at home alters their plans when they find a white girl passed out on the living room floor. Faced with the risks of calling the police under life-threatening optics, Kunle, Sean, and their Latino roommate, Carlos, must find a way to de-escalate the situation before it’s too late.

Director: Carey Williams

#Emergency was a brilliant mesh of comedic and thriller elements and dialogue paired with an incredibly poignant message related to the realities of being a person of color living in today's world, especially as it relates to interactions with law enforcement. #Sundance2022 pic.twitter.com/Wfy6LFAzCM

— Jana Seitzer (@whiskynsunshine) January 23, 2022

 

Call Jane

Chicago, 1968. As a city and the nation are poised on the brink of violent political upheaval, suburban housewife Joy leads an ordinary life with her husband and daughter. When Joy’s pregnancy leads to a life-threatening condition, she must navigate a medical establishment unwilling to help. Her journey to find a solution to an impossible situation leads her to the “Janes,” a clandestine organization of women who provide Joy with a safer alternative — and in the process, change her life.

Director: Phyllis Nagy

Inspired by the 1960s underground abortion network The Jane Collective, @PhyllisNag's #CallJane is an all-too-still-relevant look @ the power to exercise choice. @ElizabethBanks astounds as Joy, #SigourneyWeaver shines as always, @wunmo stole every scene she was in #Sundance2022 pic.twitter.com/StMDd1cgdZ

— Jana Seitzer (@whiskynsunshine) January 26, 2022

Emily the Criminal

Emily (Aubrey Plaza) is saddled with student debt and locked out of the job market due to a minor criminal record. Desperate for income, she takes a shady gig as a “dummy shopper,” buying goods with stolen credit cards supplied by a middleman named Youcef (Theo Rossi). Faced with a series of dead-end job interviews, Emily soon finds herself seduced not only by the quick cash and illicit thrills of black market capitalism but also by her ardent mentor Youcef.

Director: John Patton Ford

Every time I see @evilhag in a performance she's exponentially better than the last. Diredtor John Patton Ford's #EmilyTheCriminal highlights #AubreyPlaza's incredibly multifaceted talents in a captivating crime thriller that will please the masses. #Sundance2022 pic.twitter.com/gvcYknNXUU

— Jana Seitzer (@whiskynsunshine) January 25, 2022

Nanny

Aisha, an undocumented Senegalese immigrant, lands a job as a nanny of a wealthy Manhattan couple. While she easily wins the affection of their young daughter Rose, she becomes a pawn in the couple’s facade of a marriage. The mother is as controlling as the dad is disillusioned and woke. Haunted by the absence of the young son she left behind in Senegal, Aisha hopes her new job will afford her the chance to bring him to the U.S. and share in the life she is piecing together. But as his arrival approaches, a supernatural presence begins to invade both her dreams and her reality.

Director: Nikyatu Jusu

Am I Ok?

Lucy and Jane are the best of friends. They finish each other’s sentences, predict every detail of each other’s food order, and pretty much know everything about each other. But when Jane is promoted at work and agrees to move to London for her new position, Lucy confesses her deepest, long-held secret: She likes women, she has for a long time, and she’s terrified by this later-in-life realization. Suddenly, their friendship is thrown into chaos as the two choose different routes by which to navigate the unexpected changes in their lives.

Directors: Stephanie Allynne & Tig Notaro

Am I OK? Review

#AmIOk is a beautiful perspective of the intersection between love, friendship, and life–and the realistic complexities that come with that intimacy.

As an adult who's still trying to figure out life, I appreciate how spot-on this is @TigNotaro @StephAllynne #Sundance2022 pic.twitter.com/IfypDKDJlW

— Jana Seitzer (@whiskynsunshine) January 24, 2022

 

Good Luck, to You Leo Grande

Nancy Stokes (Emma Thompson) doesn’t know good sex. Whatever it may be, Nancy, a retired schoolteacher, is pretty sure she has never had it, but she is determined to finally do something about that. She even has a plan: It involves an anonymous hotel room and a young sex worker who calls himself Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack). Leo is confident, dapper, and takes pride in being good at his job. He also appears to be intrigued by Nancy — one of many things to surprise her during their time together.

Director: Sophie Hyde

After Yang

When Yang — a lifelike, artificially intelligent android that Jake and Kyra buy as a companion for their adopted daughter — abruptly stops functioning, Jake just wants him repaired quickly and cheaply. But having purchased Yang “certified refurbished” from a now-defunct store, he’s led first to a conspiracy theorist technician and then a technology museum curator, who discovers that Yang was actually recording memories. Jake’s quest eventually becomes one of existential introspection and contemplating his own life, as it passes him by.

Director: Kogonada

Framing Agnes

Agnes, the pioneering, pseudonymized transgender woman who participated in Harold Garfinkel’s gender health research at UCLA in the 1960s, has long stood as a figurehead of trans history. In this rigorous cinematic exercise that blends fiction and nonfiction, director Chase Joynt explores where and how her platform has become a pigeonhole. Framing Agnes endeavors to widen the frame through which trans history is viewed — one that has remained too narrow to capture the multiplicity of experiences eclipsed by Agnes’s. Through a collaborative practice of reimagination, an impressive lineup of trans stars (Zackary Drucker, Angelica Ross, Jen Richards, Max Wolf Valerio, Silas Howard, and Stephen Ira) take on vividly rendered, impeccably vintage reenactments, bringing to life groundbreaking artifacts of trans health care.

Director: Chase Joynt

Master

At an elite New England university built on the site of a Salem-era gallows hill, three women strive to find their place. Gail Bishop (Regina Hall), just instated as “Master,” a dean of students, discovers what lies behind the school’s immaculate facade; first-year student Jasmine Moore (Zoe Renee) confronts a new home that is cold and unwelcoming; and literature professor Liv Beckman (Amber Gray) collides with colleagues who question her right to belong. Navigating politics and privilege, they encounter increasingly terrifying manifestations of the school’s haunted past… and present.

Director: Mariama Diallo

Navalny

In August 2020, a plane traveling from Siberia to Moscow made an emergency landing. One of its passengers, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was deathly ill. Taken to a local Siberian hospital and eventually evacuated to Berlin, doctors confirmed that he had been poisoned with Novichok, a nerve agent implicated in attacks on other opponents of the Russian government. President Vladimir Putin immediately cast doubt on the findings and denied any involvement.

Director: Daniel Roher

Watcher

Julia joins her husband when he relocates to his family’s native Romania for a new job. Having recently abandoned her acting career, she finds herself frequently alone and unoccupied. One night, people-watching from her picture window, she spots a vague figure in an adjacent building, who seems to be looking back at her. Soon after, while alone at a local movie theater, Julia’s sense of being watched intensifies, and she becomes certain she’s being followed — could it be the same unknown neighbor? Meanwhile, a serial killer known as The Spider stalks the city.

Director: Chloe Okuno

Resurrection

Margaret (Rebecca Hall) leads a successful and orderly life, perfectly balancing the demands of her busy career and single parenthood to her fiercely independent daughter Abbie. But that careful balance is upended when she glimpses a man she instantly recognizes, an unwelcome shadow from her past. A short time later, she encounters him again. Before long, Margaret starts seeing David (Tim Roth) everywhere — and their meetings appear to be far from an unlucky coincidence. Battling her rising fear, Margaret must confront the monster she’s evaded for two decades who has come to conclude their unfinished business.

Director: Andrew Semans

#RebeccaHall = QUEEN of unhinged thrillers. 3 days later I'm still processing #Resurrection (which needs a bigger trigger warning for anyone ever in an abusive relationship). #TimRoth does creepy AF too well.
PPD metaphor? Stalker? Big mindf*ck? That last scene 😱#Sundance2022 pic.twitter.com/79TokOyp6T

— Jana Seitzer (@whiskynsunshine) January 26, 2022

 

Best of the Fest – Honorable Mentions Sundance 2022

The Janes

In the spring of 1972, police raided an apartment on the South Side of Chicago. Seven women were arrested and charged. The accused were part of a clandestine network. Using code names, blindfolds, and safe houses to protect their identities and their work, they built an underground service for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions. They called themselves Jane. Facing off against the mafia, the church, and the state, the Janes exhibited unparalleled bravery and compassion for those most in need.

Directors: Tia Lessin & Emma Pildes

The Princess

Decades after her untimely death, Princess Diana continues to evoke mystery, glamour, and the quintessential modern fairy tale gone wrong. As a symbol of both the widening fissures weakening the British monarchy and the destructive machinery of the press, the Princess of Wales navigated an unparalleled rise to fame and the corrosive challenges that came alongside it. Crafted entirely from immersive archival footage and free from the distraction of retrospective voices, this hypnotic and audaciously revealing documentary takes a distinctive formal approach, allowing the story of the People’s Princess to unfold before us like never before.

Director: Ed Perkins

Ahead of the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana's tragic death, #THEPRINCESS depicts Diana's struggles using only archival footage to tell the story of how deeply the media's attention affected her. #Sundance2022 pic.twitter.com/gzX2s1yNmY

— Jana Seitzer (@whiskynsunshine) January 23, 2022

 

You Won’t Be Alone

In an isolated mountain village in 19th-century Macedonia, a young girl is taken from her mother and transformed into a witch by an ancient, shape-shifting spirit. Left to wander feral, the young witch beholds the natural world with curiosity and wonder. After inadvertently killing a villager and assuming her body, she continues to inhabit different people, living among the villagers for years, observing and mimicking their behavior until the ancient spirit returns, bringing them full circle.

Director: Goran Stolevski

So many good films so far @ #Sundance2022

I wanted to love #YouWontBeAlone. Almost bailed more than 1x. It was good for abt 10-15 mins around ~70min in. I almost bailed again in the last few mins.

Story? Fragmented. Camerawork? Meh. Special Fx & makeup? 💯 Weird sex scene?👀 pic.twitter.com/Kp2H69gGbj

— Jana Seitzer (@whiskynsunshine) January 23, 2022

 

Dual

Recently diagnosed with a rare and incurable disease, Sarah is unsure how to process the news. To help ease her friends’ and family’s impending loss, she is encouraged to participate in a simple futuristic cloning procedure called “Replacement,” after which Sarah’s last days will be spent teaching the clone how to live on as Sarah once she’s gone. But while it takes only an hour for a clone to be made, things become significantly more challenging when that double is no longer wanted.

Director: Riley Stearns

"You Always Kill The Ones You Love" >> brilliant paronomasia in #Dual@RileyStearns came to play w/ his acerbic psychological thriller/drama@karengillan is gracefully awkward as Sarah & slightly less gracefully awkward as the Double: chilling! @aaronpaul_8 👏👏#Sundance2022 pic.twitter.com/NhEXBhOUuX

— Jana Seitzer (@whiskynsunshine) January 23, 2022

 

Brainwashed: Sex-Power-Camera

Building on her influential cinematic talk, Sex and Power: The Visual Language of Cinema, film director Nina Menkes takes us on an eye-opening journey through the gendered politics of shot design. Using more than 175 film clips from canonical Hollywood favorites and cult classics as well as interviews with filmmakers and scholars, Brainwashed reveals a sinister framework of misogyny and paternalism that, from early cinema to the present day, infiltrates some of our favorite movies.

Director: Nina Menkes

Happening

In 1963 France, Anne, a promising young university student, is devastated to learn she’s pregnant. She immediately insists on termination, but her physician warns of the unsparing laws against either seeking or aiding abortions, and her tentative attempts to reach out to her closest friends are nervously rebuffed. As weeks pass, without support or clear access, an increasingly desperate Anne unwaveringly persists in seeking any possible means of ending the pregnancy in hopes of reclaiming her hard-fought future.

Director: Audrey Diwan

Girl Picture

Best friends Mimmi and Rönkkö work after school at a food court smoothie kiosk, frankly swapping stories of their frustrations and expectations regarding love and sex. Volatile misfit Mimmi, unexpectedly swept up in the thrill of a new romance with Emma (a driven skater training for the European championships), struggles to adjust to the trust and compromise required by a lasting relationship. Meanwhile, the offbeat, indefatigable Rönkkö hits the teen party scene, stumbling through a series of awkward encounters with members of the opposite sex while hoping to find her own version of satisfaction.

Director: Alli Haapasalo

Living

A veteran civil servant and bureaucratic cog in the rebuilding of Britain post-WWII, Williams (Bill Nighy) expertly pushes paperwork around a government office only to reckon with his existence when he’s diagnosed with a fatal illness. A widower, he conceals the condition from his grown son, spends an evening of debauchery with a bohemian writer in Brighton, and uncharacteristically avoids his office. But after a vivacious former co-worker, Margaret, inspires him to find meaning in his remaining days, Williams attempts to salvage a modest building project from bureaucratic purgatory.

Director: Oliver Hermanus

Luci and Desi

One day in 1940, two budding stars met for the first time in the RKO Pictures commissary, unaware that together they would change the face of pop culture. After surviving a tumultuous upbringing, a teenage Lucille Ball left her family for New York City, where she first found success as a model before moving to Hollywood to begin working in movies. Hailing from Santiago de Cuba, Desi Arnaz was a paid musician by 16 and quickly broke out as a multitalented entertainer. The two would go on to consistently challenge the status quo in entertainment both in front of and behind the camera.

Director: Amy Poehler

Maika

Things could be better for 8-year-old Hung, who is grieving the loss of his mother, who died a year ago. His relationship with his father is strained, his best friend is moving away, and to top it all off, a greedy landlord is bullying his father to force them out of their apartment. He finds solace by watching the night sky from the roof of his apartment building. One night, he witnesses a meteor shower and an errant falling star that lands in the nearby countryside. He investigates, but instead of finding a fallen star, he meets a new friend, and he decides to do everything he can to help her.

Director: Ham Tran

To the End

The world is in crisis as it misses target after target to stop climate change. The Green New Deal has captured the imagination of millions with its visionary promise for systemic economic and environmental change that will build a better and more just world. In this moment of political upheaval with clashes in the streets and the halls of Congress, climate policy is taking center stage for the first time in American history, and the fight is on.

Director: Rachel Lears

When You Finish Saving the World

From his bedroom home studio, high school student Ziggy performs original folk-rock songs for an adoring online fan base. This concept mystifies his formal and uptight mother, Evelyn, who runs a shelter for survivors of domestic abuse. While Ziggy is busy trying to impress his socially engaged classmate Lila by making his music less bubblegum and more political, Evelyn meets Angie and her teen son, Kyle, when they seek refuge at her facility. She observes a bond between the two that she’s missing with her own son, and decides to take Kyle under her wing against her better instincts.

Director: Jesse Eisenberg