Gloria Steinem & Taylor Swift lead an eclectic Sundance Film Festival 2020 lineup
In the midst of this rich selection and obviously exciting lineup, Gloria Steinem & Taylor Swift lead the day. The documentary of musician Taylor Swift titled Taylor Swift: Miss Americana was produced by popular Oscar-winner Morgan Neville and directed by Lana Wilson. It is described as a “raw and emotionally revealing look” of Taylor’s life at a pivotal point in her career. The film has quickly been acquired by Netflix with plans for its release in 2020. This is alongside several other films Netflix has acquired such as What Happened, Miss Simone from director Liz Garbus and Mudbound from filmmaker Dee Rees.
The Sundance Film Festival 2020 lineup comprises 118 feature-length films which were selectively chosen from a whopping 15, 100 submissions and are now being referred to as the most diverse selection since the festival’s history of 37 years. It includes films from 27 countries and 44 of them from first-time filmmakers. Further diversity in the lineup is seen in all four competition categories which include 46% of one or more female directors, 38% of one or more directors who are people of color, and 12% of members of LGBTQ.
While Taylor Swift: Miss Americana will kick off the Sundance Film Festival, Julie Taymor’s (the director) Gloria Steinem biopic, The Glorias also leads not far behind. The film which features Alicia Vikander, Julianne Moore, and Janelle Monáe is based on the life of the feminist activist Gloria Steinem at different ages. Gloria Steinem is currently 85 years old and she gained recognition as a spokeswoman for the American feminist movement in the 1960s-1970s. It looks to be a thrilling film.
As far as the rich diversity of this year’s lineup goes, it turns out it was not unintentional. “By promoting a broader range of representation through their selection, you’re basically telling people there’s a possibility. Someone will see, ‘Oh, that person looks like me, and they got in. There’s a pathway there.’ I think that does inspire people to take action and follow their dreams.” Said outgoing festival director John Cooper. The director will be leaving his post of 10 years to a new leadership role in Sundance.
“A lot of our films are ‘of the time’, which has been a long time coming,” Cooper added. “The audience has paved the way for a different kind of indie film: more authentic stories from different cultures and backgrounds.”
New films also set to premiere in the leading lineup include the much-awaited and anticipated follow-up to Beasts of the Southern Wild by Benh Zeitlin and the famous remake of the Swedish film Force Majeure by Will Ferrell-Julia Louis Dreyfus. All others and more will be seen at the coming Sundance film festival set for January 24th, 2020 – February 2nd, 2020.
Read more from I On The Scene: HERE.
