Picturehouse and the non-profit Sundance Institute have revealed the lineup for the 10th edition of Sundance Film Festival: London 2023, which will be held at Picturehouse Central in London from 6 to 9 July. Featuring 11 feature films and a specially curated short film program, Sundance will also showcase three retrospective Gregg Araki films: The Doom Generation, Three Bewildered People in the Night, and Mysterious Skin. In addition, Sundance has offered original work from established and emerging filmmakers in fiction and documentary films. Maximilien Van Aertryck, Axel Danielson’s Enraging Fantastic Machine, and Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn’s Going Varsity in Mariachi will also be featured.
Scrapper, written and directed by Londoner Charlotte Regan and featuring Harris Dickinson, Lola Campbell, and Alin Uzun, will open the festival. In addition, the Sundance tradition of providing an exclusive program highlighting UK talent will feature in the lineup, including short films produced in the UK or made by filmmakers based in the UK. One such short film is Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou’s Talk to Me, which tells the story of a group of friends who experiment with conjuring spirits in a unique horror-thriller.
The festival will come to a close with the UK premiere of You Hurt My Feelings, directed by Nicole Holofcener, a Brooklyn-set comedy-drama starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies. Nevertheless, Sundance 2023 is anticipated to be outstanding, with a mixture of conversations and industry programs, and features some genuinely visionary storytellers.
The Sundance Institute CEO, Joana Vicente, shared that the institute is excited to introduce a great selection of films as part of the 10th edition of the festival. She expects the event and the compelling series of industry programs will be an unforgettable experience. The Picturehouse Cinemas Managing Director, Clare Binns, said they are delighted to host the Sundance Film Festival: London, which will showcase the best independent cinema from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Binns felt that the festival would be four days of excitement, with bold and thrilling UK premieres on the big screen, inspiring talks, special guests and events, and the participation of Gregg Araki, whose work exemplifies the Sundance and independent film.
Following the screening, audiences will have an opportunity to vote. The Audience Favourite Award will be announced on the festival’s final day. Industry and audience pass information, and ticket booking details are available to interested individuals at sundance.org/london. United Airlines is the lead partner, while other partners include: the State of Utah, TRIP CBD, Screen International, and The May Fair Hotel.
Sundance Film Festival: London 2023 Short Film Programme List
| Film Title | Director | Genre | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birdsong | Omi Zola Gupta, Sparsh Ahuja | Documentary | An intimate portrait of the dying whistled language of the Hmong people in northern Laos |
| Christopher at Sea | Tom CJ Brown | Animation | Christopher embarks on a transatlantic voyage as a passenger on a cargo ship. His hopes of finding out what lures so many men to sea sets him on a journey into solitude, fantasy and obsession. |
| Claudio’s Song | Andreas Nilsson | Fiction | A young man faces the wrath of a family of criminals that target people who are famous on the internet and extort money from them. When their scheme fails, the plan to kill him takes an unexpected turn. |
| Giraffe | Caleb Femi | Fiction | Before their 17th birthdays, two black boys attempt to bury contraband in order to save their cultural identity from being erased by the UK government, however, they unearth new truths that test their friendship. |
| My Eyes Are Up Here | Nathan Morris | Fiction | Sonia is a super-busy, sought-after model, and dating doesn’t really fit her lifestyle. However, a one-night stand with a clumsy but considerate man changes her perspective. |
| She Always Wins | Hazel McKibbin | Fiction | She Always Wins captures all the complicated moves in the dance of dominance, deference and self-diminishment that takes place when a young woman brings her new boyfriend to his first family visit. |
| The Veiled City | Natalie Cubides-Brady | Documentary | The Veiled City is a speculative city symphony inspired by London’s Great Smog of 1952. Created from archive footage, the film unfolds through fictional letters from a post-apocalyptic future. The film invites us to understand the smog in the context of the present-day climate emergency. |
| White Ant | Shalini Adnani | Fiction | A man is summoned from Mumbai to his village to deal with a termite infestation threatening to destroy his childhood home. |
Indie Shorts Mag is excited to announce that we will be covering the Sundance Film Festival: London 2023, bringing you the latest updates on the most innovative and thought-provoking independent films from across the world. We can’t wait to dive into the unique stories and perspectives showcased at the festival and share them with our readers. Stay tuned for our coverage, and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest news on the film industry, festival coverage, and more.