From a powerful doc on police corruption to Kieran Culkin cracking wise and K-Stew running wild — the highlights of a strong Sundance lineup

Sundance 2024 was, in a lot of ways, the same as the festival ever was: We came, we saw, we nearly broke our necks slipping on ice while on the way to see a documentary on how American foreign policy in the 20th century was tres fucked up. The 40th anniversary edition of the Park City-based film festival marked my 20th year attending The House Party That Robert Redford Built, and while so much has changed in that relatively small period of time — not to mention since the fest changed its name and turned “independent film” into a brand — it’s remarkable what’s remained steadfast and constant. Journalists and film lovers still schlep through the snow and bitch about the chaos on the city’s clogged Main Street. Attendees still congregate in cafes and bars, trading tips about what under-the-radar gem to check out. We still arrive in town with a tinge of cynicism about the state of the art form we love not wisely but too well, and still leave having witnessed films that have blown our minds, busted down our defenses and lifted our souls.

“Storytelling” is a word that gets a lot of play at Sundance, whether it’s in the prescreening intros from programmers or the preshow sizzle reels that remind you of the festival’s rich history. You hear it so much that it begins to lose its meaning, at least until the lights go down. By the time they go back up and audience members are applauding, whopping and/or standing in unison, however, it’s nearly impossible not to feel that storytelling — in all of its forms, and from pockets of artists that don’t always get the chance to tell their tales and speak their truths — really is the endgame here. These 10 movies prove that point several times over. This mix of narrative features, documentaries and projects that mixed and matched both formats weren’t just the standouts of this year’s fest. They were also additions to the fest’s legacy as an event where some lifechanging film is always just a crowded shuttle ride away.

(Honorable mentions go to: Black Box Diaries, DIG XX, Eno (at least, the version that I saw — long story), Gaucho Gaucho, Girls State, I Saw the TV Glow, My Old Ass, Union, and Will & Harper.)

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Freelance journalist covering Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Bylines in the South China Morning Post, Nikkei Asia, The Telegraph and other outlets. Past TV work for ABC News US, Al Jazeera English and TRT World. Previously reported out of Taiwan.