This page is home to our coverage of the Sundance Film Festival.
The Sundance Film Festival is the largest independent film festival in the United States, taking place every year in January in Park City, Utah. It was founded in 1978 as the Utah/US Film Festival and re-named the Sundance Film Festival in 1991, after Robert Redford’s character from the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Film School Reject has had the honor of covering Sundance since 2008, two years after our site was founded. Over the years, we’ve discovered a number of amazing films in Park City — from our first review of 2008’s In Bruges to our listing of the 25 Best Sundance Movies of All-Time in 2015 to our 2019 list of the 50 Best Sundance Horror Movie Premieres to our discoveries of Swiss Army Man and Hunt for the Wilderpeople and The Witch at Sundance 2016 — we’ve spent over a decade reviewing hundreds of wonderful independent films.
We have also covered (on numerous occasions) what it’s like to cover Sundance for those who aren’t lucky enough to make the trip. And for those interested in filling their yearly watchlists, we’ve also recapped our favorites with a festival-closing list (in almost every year). Check out our archive of Sundance favorites via the links below:
Explore the entire archives of our annual Sundance Film Festival coverage below:
By Neil Miller
Tuesday of this year’s Sundance Film Festival (otherwise known as today) will be forever remembered as the day the 80s made an assault on my critical sensibilities. It all began with Adventureland, a coming of age teen comedy set in the summer of 1987.
By Neil Miller
Up today is a trio of films, all with unique and fresh young voices behind them. By my estimation, they all have a shot at making my “Best of” list at the end of the festival, which is saying quite a lot seeing as this year has been a spectacular one in the snowy mountains of Utah.
By Neil Miller
It was advertised as “An Evening with Steven Soderbergh,” but we knew the score. He was there to show us a work in progress cut of his latest film The Girlfriend Experience. And so he did…
By Neil Miller
They might as well call the 2009 Sundance Film Festival the year of Sam Rockwell. With the premiere of The Winning Season, from director James C. Strouse (Grace is Gone), Rockwell has solidified his position as one of the clear winners of this year’s fest.
By Neil Miller
One of the things Sundance is known for is its ability to discover and launch new voices in the world of film. After screening his directorial debut, I can say with conviction that John Krasinski is going to be one of those new and unique voices.
By Neil Miller
In an effort to keep pace with all of the movies that I am seeing here at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, I will sometimes resort to capsule reviews. Here are three examples…
By Neil Miller
Telling the ridiculous, but true story of a man’s journey from married Texas cop to flamboyantly gay prison escape artist wouldn’t be an easy one. But as it turns out, the two man writer/director team behind I Love You Phillip Morris has pulled it off in a way that would make proud the brothers Farrelly and Coen.
By Neil Miller
One of my favorite things about attending Sundance is the opportunity to meet and see filmmakers who are genuinely excited to bring their film to the public. Among this year’s entries is Mystery Team, a dark and clever comedy from the Derrick Comedy group, a troupe of comics on the verge of a major breakout.
