Sundance rallies behind veterans even if its future seems unclear. I’m not worried

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As my rideshare driver and I left Park City, he asked the question on everyone’s mind: “Where’s the snow?” Sundance is usually known for challenging weather, but this year, the lack of snow was the bigger worry. Throughout the festival, people mostly talked about three things: which films were good, the latest news, and what would happen to the town after the festival ended, especially with the area experiencing its worst snow drought in a hundred years.

That final question seemed to be on everyone’s mind, and people seemed a bit uneasy when it came up. We stayed in the same rental property as last year, and the owners were exceptionally kind this time, giving us two packages of frozen croissants from the popular Utah-based Ballerina Farm. I baked a dozen of them, and everyone loved them!

Another big question is how the Sundance Film Festival will fare after it moves to Boulder in 2027. Will the festival’s unique atmosphere be lost in a bigger city, like a fleeting snowflake on warm pavement? And could the independent film world suffer if this important festival struggles to maintain its position?

I’m feeling hopeful about the future of film. The independent movies I’ve seen this year have been noticeably better than those from the previous two years. What’s really exciting is seeing so many young people in theaters here in L.A. – they seem eager for fresh and different experiences. I truly believe we’re on the verge of something new and exciting in cinema.

Movies

While many at the Park City festival enjoy a sense of nostalgia, the first weekend also features challenging and thought-provoking films like Casper Kelly’s “Buddy” and Charli XCX’s “The Moment.”

It’s understandable to worry about influencer content taking over our phones, but a positive side effect is that many more people are learning how to quickly understand what resonates with viewers. While only a small number will try to create actual films, and even fewer will be skilled at it, just a handful of talented individuals can start a significant cultural shift.

Sundance Film Festival hasn’t yet discovered its breakout directors this year, though I’m watching Aidan Zamiri’s film, “The Moment,” closely. I expect someone will emerge as a star. Moving the festival to Boulder was intended to attract more college students than the usual wealthy attendees. While the top festival badge is expensive at $6,900, Sundance already offers affordable passes for young film lovers aged 18-25, and that’s a great foundation for the future. I’m excited to see what films resonate with them. However, my rideshare driver from Utah wasn’t optimistic. He predicted attendees would be staying in basic dorms and eating quick meals from 7-Eleven instead of enjoying nice restaurants.

Walter Thompson-Hernández’s film, “If I Go Will They Miss Me,” filmed in the Nickerson Gardens neighborhood of Watts (right under the LAX flight path), centers on a boy, Bodhi Dell, who deeply admires his troubled father, played by J. Alphonse Nicholson. His mother, portrayed by Danielle Brooks, struggles with how much she can endure. While the film uses Greek mythology comparisons a little heavily – the boy compares his father to both Pegasus and Poseidon – a subtle but important story emerges about jet fuel being dumped on a nearby school. The film’s cinematography, by Michael Fernandez, was particularly impressive and stood out as the best of the festival.

There’s a lot of interest in the new film, “Wicker,” from Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson. It’s a funny and surprisingly sharp satire about a lonely woman (Olivia Colman) who hires a craftsman (Peter Dinklage) to build her a husband (Alexander Skarsgård). The film playfully critiques old-fashioned attitudes and customs, and characters are often defined by their roles rather than individual identities – like Elizabeth Debicki’s character, once called the Doctor’s Daughter, now known as the Tailor’s Wife. Her envy is a highlight, especially when the handsome, custom-made groom makes the other men feel inadequate, declaring his devotion to Colman’s character.

Entertainment & Arts

I took a break from watching movies to see chess grandmaster Judit Polgár play a game against Alec Baldwin. To make things interesting, Polgár played blindfolded while someone from Chess.com described Baldwin’s moves. As a big fan of the Chess.com website (though my skill level isn’t great!), I was already excited about seeing Rory Kennedy’s documentary, “Queen of Chess.” It premiered at Sundance and became available on Netflix on February 6th. The documentary uses a fun, retro soundtrack and lots of footage from the 80s and 90s to tell the story of Polgár’s rise from a young talent to a dominant player, and her efforts to beat world champion Garry Kasparov. I really wanted to witness her skill firsthand.

Baldwin jokingly claimed he’d buy Warner Bros. if he won, knowing he was likely to lose badly. However, he managed a few surprising moves. Polgár realized he was possibly the first opponent she’d faced since childhood who didn’t know what he was doing, making him unpredictable. Baldwin played so poorly he didn’t seem to recognize dangerous situations. While he wasn’t necessarily the worst player present, the audience laughed when the announcer tried to encourage him, saying he was “actually doing great.” Polgár ultimately defeated him in just 14 moves.

The winners of the Sundance grand jury competition haven’t been revealed yet, but I’m confident the drama “Josephine” will win something. It’s the second film from director Beth de Araújo, who previously made “Soft & Quiet” in 2022. “Josephine” portrays the difficult aftermath when an eight-year-old girl, Mason Reeves, witnesses a sexual assault. The film focuses on the disagreement between the girl’s mother, Gemma Chan, who wants therapy for her, and her father, Channing Tatum, who believes self-defense classes are the answer. De Araújo herself experienced a similar trauma and expertly shows the divide between parents trying to shield their child and a young girl who needs to understand what happened.

I spent the whole week worrying about which movie would be the perfect, meaningful way to say goodbye to the festival. In the end, I chose “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York,” a film starring John Turturro as a pickpocket having trouble making ends meet in a world where fewer people carry cash. It turned out to be the last fictional film shown at the Eccles Theater, which felt fitting. The movie dealt with themes of nostalgia and change, and it was the kind of well-made, independent film that could have been shown at the festival any year.

Noah Segan, who started his career as an actor and first attended Sundance in 2005 with the film “Brick,” wrote and directed “Pickpocket.” The film has a classic, appealing style, much like the actor John Turturro himself, and earned a standing ovation from the audience. Steve Buscemi and Giancarlo Esposito also star, playing a pawn shop owner and a police officer, respectively. The three actors, all Sundance regulars, shared their admiration for Robert Redford after the screening, and Turturro even playfully mentioned how good Redford smelled during an earlier discussion.

The film’s old-fashioned style actually enhances the performance of newcomer Will Price, who plays a young, reckless gangster who favors cryptocurrency over cash. Price embodies the changing times that an older character in the film resists, and he feels like the type of inexperienced young adult who’d choose mindless AI-generated content over a classic film. Hopefully, the Sundance Film Festival won’t be overshadowed by people like him, but I’m eager to see Price return with more strong performances and become a festival regular.

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2026-01-30 21:31