Sundance

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:

Passing review

‘Passing’ Marks a Fluid, Formal Directorial Debut for Rebecca Hall

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Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga glow in grey in Harlem Renaissance-era New York City.

Emilia Jones in Coda

‘CODA’ is a Crowd-Pleaser That’s Good for Your Heart and Funnybone

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Like last year’s brilliant ‘The Half of It,’ this film tackles a very familiar setup through an even more unique lens.

Sundance 2021: The Sparks Brothers

‘The Sparks Brothers’ is an Engrossing Celebration of Unsung Music Icons

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Edgar Wright’s documentary debut is as dynamic as his comedies, offering an affecting look at the long-spanning career of your new favorite band.

Sundance 2021: Superior

‘Superior’ is Beautiful and Bland

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Erin Vassilopoulos’ feature debut is meticulously designed but lacks the story to hold up its beauty.

Sundance 2021: How It Ends

‘How It Ends’ is a Warm, if Overly Cutesy, Apocalypse Comedy

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From Sundance 2021, we review Zoe Lister-Jones and husband Daryl Wein’s quirky comedy about the end of the world.

Knocking

‘Knocking’ Offers a Tense Ride Towards Uncertainty

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Is the sound you hear real, imagined, or something in between?

Sundance 2021: John And The Hole

‘John and the Hole’ Marks a Tense, Vacant Feature Debut

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Pascual Sisto shows directorial prowess with his first feature, but what is it all about?

Sundance 2021: On The Count Of Three

Confident Debut ‘On the Count of Three’ is a Flawed, Bittersweet Bromance

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Comedian Jerrod Carmichael’s existential feature debut is carried by his strong direction and its infectious character chemistry.

Sundance 2021: In The Earth

Science Collides With Folk Horror in Ben Wheatley’s ‘In the Earth’

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Wheatley is back to his genre roots with this trippy interpretation of folk horror.