near 100 feature photographic film had their world premieres at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival in Park City , Utah this yr . The average moviegoer will never get wind of about 80 of them , give or take . Those movies will spiel at art - planetary house theaters or via video on demand ( VOD ) , and some will be successful within their realm , but they ’ll never be part of the conversation for casual picture show fans . So which Sundance movieswillyou be get word about this yr ? What new indie gem should you be attend forward to ? Here are seven to make a banknote of .
1.THE BIRTH OF A NATION
The birthing of a Nation
— author - director - star Nate Parker ’s account of Nat Turner ’s 1831 slave rising — was undoubtedly the most talked about film at this year ’s Sundance Film Festival . After its rapturously received first screening ( “ stirring , soulful , and incendiary , ” “ an articulated howl of anguish and rage ” ) , it was the subject of a bidding war that finish with Fox Searchlight pay $ 17.5 million for it — the high-pitched Leontyne Price tag in Sundance history . ( Netflixofferedeven more but was turned down because Parker require a across-the-board theatrical release . ) The film also gain from groovy timing , premiere the same hebdomad that the Academy Awards were being criticized for being too blank and the Academy was scrambling to increase diversity among its member .
What ’s next : Fox Searchlight will emphatically labour it for laurels consideration , but do n’t expect them to nurse it until the end of the twelvemonth . They ’ll want to strike while the atomic number 26 is hot and get it out soon . Look for it in theaters this summer .
2.UNDER THE SHADOW
An Iranian horror film set during the 1980s warfare with Iraq did n’t pink anyone ’s radar before the fete , where it was one of nine movies in Sundance ’s Midnight section . Once people visualise it , though , the Ping come fast and gimcrack ( “ terrifying , a spooky ghost chronicle that sing the nerves as much as it coddles the idea ” ) , with many favorable comparing to 2014 Sundance breakoutThe Babadook . ( They have similar scenario : InUnder the Shadow , a mother and her young daughter are alone in an apartment where there might be an vicious comportment , while all around them bombs are falling . ) Foreign language horror is a tricky sell — the young target hearing for revulsion tend to eschew caption — but you could expect this one to earn a devoted pursuit by those who do see it .
What ’s next : Vertical Entertainment and XYZ Films will free it in a handful of field of operations and on VOD , likely sometime in 2016 . Netflix corrupt the worldwide cyclosis right , so it will end up there after everything else .
Claire Folger
The most universally praised movie at Sundance 2016 was this drama by Kenneth Lonergan , whoseYou Can bet on Mewas a smasher ( and subsequent Oscar nominee ) way back at Sundance 2000.Manchester by the Seastars Casey Affleck as a wrecked valet who faces further nuisance when his brother dies and leaves him care of his 16 - year - old Logos . critic called it " pitch shot - everlasting filmmaking " and " the finest possible incarnation of the sort of starry , delicate dramatic event that is a festival standard . "
What ’s next : When Amazon buy distribution right field ( theatrical and streaming ) , the deal include money to encourage the film for laurels like next year ’s Oscars . So that belike means it ’ll be in house at the end of the class , a.k.a . " awards season . "
4.HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE
This was another crowd - pleaser , an risky venture drollery about a disaffected teen and his foster uncle ( Sam Neill ) evading gaining control in the New Zealand wilderness . It was direct byFlight of the Conchordscollaborator Taika Waititi , whose visibility has risen lately because he ’s cause the nextThormovie . ( He also directed and co - asterisk in the hilarious vampire mockumentaryWhat We Do in the Shadows . ) One critic called it “ a sweet state laugh - out - loud escapade ” ; another said it ’s one of the few “ truly fantastic nestling moving picture . ”
What ’s next : You’ll probably have to keep your eyes peeled for this one , as it ’s being pass on by The Orchard , a starter with only one theatrical release , Digging for Fire , under its belt . Expect it to meet on a few screen but mostly be a VOD firing sometime in 2016 .
5 .
blab STREET
Courtesy Sundance Film Festival
Critics emerging from the first public screening of this eighties - set Irish musical from the director ofOncecould scarcely curb their enthusiasm onTwitter , using words like “ joyful , ” “ smile , ” “ gang - pleaser , ” and “ delight , ” plus many quotation to its infectious soundtrack ( which has original songs as well as ’ 80s classic ) . John Carney’sOncefollow - up , start Again , fared poorly when it was released in 2013 , butSing Streetseems to be a ( dance ) step back in the right direction .
What ’s next : If you ’re in the U.K. , you’re able to see it in theatre in March . The Weinstein Company has distribution rights in the U.S. , where it will probably hit theaters this summer .
6.MORRIS FROM AMERICA
Craig Robinson fromThe Officeplays the dad in this father - son total - of - old age drollery about fatal Americans living in Germany , and Sundance audienceslovedhim . But there wasevenmorepraiseforMarkees Christmas , the newcomer who plays his 13 - yr - quondam boy nursing a crush on a haughty German girl . Another freehanded marketing point : the old - schooling ‘ 90s pelvis - hop soundtrack , which Robinson and Christmas quotation mark from often .
What ’s next : It was pick up by red-hot fresh indie distributor A24 , whose 2015 resign includedEx Machina , Room , andThe close of the Tour . That think of you ’ll believably chance it in theaters ( maybe even hundreds of them ) sometime this twelvemonth , and credibly on VOD as well .
7 .
SWISS ARMY MAN
Joyce Kim
Maybe you heard about this one , not by its claim , but by the common description : “ the Daniel Radcliffe farting stiff film . ”Swiss Army Manis indeed about a man ( Paul Dano ) on a desert island who finds a flatulent clay played by Radcliffe . ( The title mention to the many uses that the man finds for the all in body , include using its post - mortem hard-on as a range . ) The absurdist , juvenile comedy was n’t everyone ’s cup of tea , instigate more than the common number of walkout at the premiere screen anddividing critics . But the citizenry who liked itreallyliked it .
What ’s next : A24 pick this one up , too , though they likely wo n’t give it quite as all-encompassing a release asMorris from America . An existential gas - orient farce comedy is toughened to market , even with Harry Potter . Still , look for it at your nearest art - house theater in 2016 .
