Ten Best Films of Sundance 2024
Sundance 2024 heralded the first trip to Park City, Utah, for DylanKDempsey.com—aka “My Own Worst Critic”—as a brand-new publication. A few accomplishments from our maiden voyage:
· We broke our previous record for web impressions.
· Our article on “The Art of Sundance: A Beginner’s Guide to the Festival” went viral before and during the festival, sneaking its way to the top result on Google. Go ahead, google “Sundance advice,” and see if it’s still there!
· We spent 15+ intense days pitching our independent TV Pilot, #Likes4Lucas. Learn more about #L4L here & subscribe to our e-list for updates!
· Our site’s critical perspectives have expanded: talented new contributors Meghan Cook and Coco Ma joined me in writing thoughtful festival coverage.
· We saw, collectively, about 40 movies and spoke to countless filmmakers—about their films, about the state of the industry, about how Sundance connects to culture at-large. We also survived the Sundance flu (our article wasn’t the only thing that went viral at the fest).
One result of all this: my personal Top Ten from Sundance 2024—plus distribution info, so that you too can catch these buzzy treasures in the coming year. NB: Films #1-#10 are “recommendations for the adventurous.” #1-#5 are must-sees.
For many, Sundance 2024 was a return to form. After several virtual/hybrid iterations, this year’s festival came closest to the full Park City experience of pre-Covid past. Artistic achievement was also in full swing: nothing we saw was “bad,” and beyond that, everything bordered on “great!” Some even call this a peak year, a program with no duds ... which, while hyperbolic, rings true for this list. Not every film is perfect, but everything is worth seeing for a host of reasons.
Frankly, people always argue about “peak” vs. “weak”—but if you really want us to generalize, then yes, Sundance 2024 was a strong year for the Midnight program, with elevated genre fare rising to the top of festival conversations. And yes, this year’s Sundance once again topped itself as a champion of diverse narratives—both in variety of subject and demographic. Especially films that highlight traditionally unheard voices: not only do these stories expand our perspectives, they also empower generations to come, both as filmmakers and as human beings.
One thing is consistent. Selected from a vast number of candidates (roughly 17,000 submissions), this year’s cadre of Sundance premieres delivers profound insights into our own collective evolution. As a white male critic, my POV is imperfect and clearly subjective … but the amount of representation I witnessed at this year’s fest must be a sign of progress. Not tokenism, not political posturing, but a representation far more thrilling: individual stories that normalize different identities.
Take Dìdi: it’s not predestined to be THE Asian-American coming-of-age comedy, it’s simply a hilarious story of multi-racial friends growing up in the early 2000’s in Fremont, California—with the occasional scene-setting microaggression. Or I Saw the TV Glow: a haunting analogue for the horrors of gender dysphoria and repressed suburban culture, it captures painful, spectral realities without hammering an obvious message. Or Ponyboi, which not only honors intersex identity, but also happens to be a story for everyone: a gangster-thriller about a sex worker looking for hormone money and trying to get out of a bad-luck bind. Or Love Lies Bleeding: this film’s lesbian romance strikes a universal chord by focusing on toxic relationship habits and body horror thrills. The list goes on, and that’s just this year’s narrative films. Point being, these stories are pure entertainment, genre films with a conscience, Trojan Horses for cultural progress.
10)
It’s What’s Inside
Greg Jardin, Director
Midnight Program
Netflix paid a whopping $17M for this twisty thriller. Pure funhouse in both style and suspense—with the backdrop of a wedding party gone-wrong—It’s What’s Inside is intoxicating but flawed. Thin characters and surface-level social commentary undercut its potential, but so what. This is the type of movie you watch for its clever premise, over-the-top audio-visual flair and heart-stopping turns. Let’s hope there’s a sequel so that next time there’s Even More Inside.
Definitely Watch If: You’re a junkie for midnight fare like last year’s Talk to Me or Bodies Bodies Bodies. You have a bad habit of comparing yourself to others or wanting what you can’t have. You want to end your boring day with a mind-bending nightmare.
Where to Watch: Netflix
[Full Review Coming]
9) Between the Temples
Nathan Silver, Director
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Threading a tonal needle between poignant and hilarious—not unlike the 1971 classic Harold and Maude—director Nathan Silver makes us care about a mismatched pair. Jason Schwartzman (he puts the pathetic in pathos) and Carol Kane (she oozes maternal empathy) join a superb supporting cast in this slyly neurotic, surprisingly touching mix of awkward moments, uneasy laughs, deeper truths.
Definitely Watch If: You’re comically depressed or lonely, and think you can handle characters who are even more comically depressed and lonely. You’re exploring your spiritual identity as an adult, Jewish or not. You like to feel slightly uncomfortable.
Where to Watch: Acquired by Sony Pictures Classics ahead of its European premiere at Berlin International Film Festival 2024
8)
Sujo
Astrid Rondero & Fernanda Valadez, Directors
World Cinema, Sundance 2024
Unlike most explorations of the Mexican drug trade—think Sicario, Better Call Saul—this coming-of-age tale about an orphaned son of a cartel hitman is heartbreakingly low-key. Favoring internal anguish over action, hard truths over wish fulfillment, the violence is offscreen ... but still present. Directed by the Sundance Award-winning duo Rondero & Valadez, this film rewards patience: even though hope is scarce and momentum is challenged by chapter breaks, the payoff is potent.
Definitely Watch If: You’re an art-house fan looking for a new spin on a popular genre. You prefer internal conflicts, the personal poetry kicked up in the wake of tragedy. You’ve never seen a cartel-movie with an undercurrent of hope.
Where to Watch: Awaiting Distribution News
[Full Review Coming]
7) G
irls State
Amanda McBaine & Jesse Moss, Directors
Premieres (Documentary)
In this essential follow-up to the Sundance-winning doc Boys State (2020), teenage political aspirants create government from scratch at a summer camp in Missouri ... but this time (gasp!) they’re girls. Fearless, deftly layered, Girls State ranges from lyrical to inspiring to laugh-out-loud savage. A rousing real-world critique of both political and interpersonal conflicts, it tackles gender issues with gusto—and like any great sequel, this one hits harder, asks deeper questions ... and then leaves the ball in our court.
Definitely Watch If: You’re a fan of Boys State. You like informative docs that follow entertaining personalities. You’re curious about younger generations and how they engage with politics.
Where to Watch: Now streaming on Apple TV+.
6)
Love Lies Bleeding
Rose Glass, Director
Midnight Program
Gleefully deranged, exceptionally crafted, this pitch-dark pulp-drama marks director Glass as a must-watch talent. (And makes a serious case for the return of mullets.) With Kristen Stewart as our jaded but good-willed anti-hero, Katy O’Brian as her belle-turned-partner-in-crime, and Ed Harris as Stewart’s crime lord dad, we embark on an indelible, muscular thrill ride. The journey includes hyper-violence, subversive comedy of errors, and characters with a capital “C.”
Definitely Watch If: You think your toxic relationship is bad and want to be humbled. You love Kristen Stewart, Rose Glass, Mullets, Muscles, Lesbians and/or Violent Thrills. You like a mix of body horror and quirky humor.
Where to Watch: Now in theaters.
[Full Review Linked Here]
5)
Daughters
Angela Patton and Natalie Rae, Directors
U.S. Documentary Competition
A powerful conversation-starter, Patton & Rae’s Daughters tackles prison reform through the personal stories of four families—all dealing with incarcerated Black patriarchs and their need to stay connected. Because draconian prison visitation policies make father-daughter relationships nearly impossible co-director Patton’s nonprofit Girls for A Change launched the Date with Dad Weekend, a father-daughter dance in jail. The result is a drama of absence, a film that builds anticipation for this cathartic dance, a compellingly intimate documentary reminiscent of Garrett Bradley’s Time (2020). For many of the film’s subjects, living in purgatory is still the norm. For the viewer, change starts here.
Definitely Watch If: You have a soul. You are interested in social justice and actionable change.
Where to Watch: Netflix
[Full Review Coming]
4)
A Real Pain
Jesse Eisenberg, Director
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain is a profoundly endearing road movie, a tragicomedy about two Jewish cousins who confront intergenerational trauma by exploring long-lost Polish roots. Starring Eisenberg and scene-stealing Kieran Culkin, this film is survivor’s guilt personified: the cousins reopen wounds that they can’t quite grasp or resolve—and yet despite the pain, their rapport is deeply satisfying, rich with surprising laughs and even more surprising emotional payoffs. As an actor, Eisenberg is magnificently neurotic; as a writer/director, he adroitly morphs laughs and barbs into gut-punch humor. He also knows this is Culkin’s film: their mix of caustic honesty and unexpected vulnerability will be a talking point for next year’s award-season.
Definitely Watch If: You can’t get enough of Kieran Culkin. You’re a fan of comedy that also digs into deep emotional territory. You are grappling with intergenerational trauma, guilt and/or depression. You’re trying to figure out how to be there for someone.
Where to Watch: Theatrical release by Searchlight Pictures in 2024.
[Full Review Coming]
3)
I Saw the TV Glow
Jane Schoenbrun, Director
Midnight Program
Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow is a jaw-dropping audio-visual odyssey that serves as a metaphor for seeking—and/or suppressing—one’s innermost self. It does so in part by conjuring hyper-specific 90’s nostalgia (ever seen a Fruitopia vending machine?). Expect haunting performances by Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine; gorgeous, cotton-candy colored compositions; angsty, perfectly-timed musical cues; hand-scrawled doodles; 4th wall-breaking character confessionals. Impressively, it delivers all this with minimal characters and plot. For some literal-minded viewers, I Saw The TV Glow will prove too experimental. For others—90’s kids or not—it’s a powerful reminder of how media shapes our worldview when reality falls short ... and a cautionary tale for those who let their identities be defined by others.
Definitely Watch If: You want to honor your own inner-misfit. You love 90’s nostalgia and meta-storytelling like Brigsby Bear. You sometimes feel like an outsider in your own skin. You have the patience for a thoughtful allegory that prioritizes visual precision over plot. You’re desperate to feel seen, to have your identity validated.
Where to Watch: Now in theaters.
[Full Review Linked Here]
2)
Dìdi
Sean Wang, Director
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Both heartfelt and hilarious, Sean Wang’s Dìdi is a coming-of-age dramedy that finds universality in specificity ... and is the easiest recommend of Sundance 2024. Filmmaker Wang achieves this by drawing characters from his own experience. Growing up in Fremont, California in the early aughts, Chris “Wang-Wang” (a devoutly unsure-of-himself Izaac Wang) is plagued by typical middle school ailments: peer pressure, puberty, and an instinct for self-sabotage. Plus, a believably messy family: an out-of-the-picture Dad, a cranky grandmother-in-law (Chang Li Hua, the filmmaker’s actual Nai Nai), a fire-breathing big sis (Shirley Chen) and soulful-but-strict Mom (Joan Chen, the heart of the movie). Dìdi is equal parts irreverent humor, early 2000’s social nostalgia and tender family drama. Think Stand By Me’s youthful ensemble (minus the body) meets Superbad’s irreverence, Eighth Grade’s heart and Mid-90’s skater-mania. Along with the best AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) sequences since Pen15. The result is a time capsule that feels simultaneously ageless: bursting with honesty that will appeal to past, present and future teens, even if they never lost a game of “Are You Nervous.” We all still have some coming-of-age to do.
Definitely Watch If: You’re simultaneously traumatized by and nostalgic for your own teenage years. You love when adolescents are honored authentically onscreen. You can appreciate the messiness of adolescent boys.
Where to Watch: NY & LA theatrical release July 26, 2024 by Focus Features. In theaters everywhere August 16, 2024.
[Full Review + Interview Linked Here]
1)
Ibelin
Benjamin Ree, Director
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Benjamin Ree’s heart-stirring documentary Ibelin is the rare film that inspires you to change your entire perspective. Ibelin follows young Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer who passed away at age 25 from Duchennes Muscular Dystrophy—an untreatable disease that kept him wheelchair-bound. While Steen’s family laments their child’s lonely online existence, an outpouring of messages from Steen’s fellow gamers proves otherwise: even virtually, this young man lived fully—and left a lasting impact. With remarkable sensitivity, director Ree turns Steen’s internal journey into a story worthy of the world stage, largely through animated sequences of World of Warcraft, guided by transcripts of his actual gameplay. The effect is surprisingly cinematic: less Twitch stream, more emotional, high-fantasy theater—with the stylings of a suspenseful thriller. Ultimately, Ibelin is about human potential. It confirms that despite our own insecurities—those deep-seated fears of ‘otherhood’ that so often keep us apart—we all have a deeply special ability to connect. Seeing how Steen chose to spread joy and compassion, what excuse do we have not to follow his example?
Definitely Watch If: You want to cry for 106 minutes. You’ve used the internet to seek human connection. You’ve had your own predominantly online moments. You’re a gamer. You want to stop feeling like a victim.
Where to Watch: Netflix.
[Full Review Coming]
Mats Steen in Ibelin, Credit: Sundance, Netflix