Sundance Film Festival 2018
At the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, fans can expect a phenomenal experience. The rundown of celebrity attendees at this year’s event is nothing short of spectacular. Despite the fact that it is awards season in Hollywood, many celebrities are taking a break from the Red Carpet to get a glimpse at this year’s most powerful movies.
One of the questions on the minds of attendees, especially of the fairer sex, is how strong the presence of female directors of this year’s Sundance entries will be. The answer to that question is that the number of movies being screened this year that were directed by women is 3% more than last year, clocking in at 37% of the entries. This is a huge improvement over 2017 when only eight female directors were part of the elite group of 100 movies that earned the most revenue for the year. Many of this year’s female-directed movies tell the powerful stories of women, something that has been lacking from past years of the Sundance Film Festival.
In the wake of the “Me Too” movement, Sundance Film Festival 2018 will include a Respect Rally, taking place on Main Street in Park City, Utah, the site of the film festival every year. It is also the location where the Women’s March demonstration was held in 2017. Women’s empowerment has been a theme in Hollywood as of late, thanks to amazing performances by actresses such as Daisy Ridley and Laura Dern. The theme will be a part of Sundance 2018, as it is on the minds of actors and filmmakers ever since the fall of Harvey Weinstein.
While women’s empowerment will be a significant part of the festivities, as always the main focus is on the featured movies. There is already talk of which movies being screened at the festival will go on to win a major award. The expectation is that festival entries such as Mudbound, a drama set in the era of World War II, and Call Me By Name, a coming of age movie about a same-sex partnership, are worthy of major awards from the Academy.
Another movie expected to perform particularly well is Eighth Grade, a movie that is already being backed by movie distributor A24. The movie was directed by a popular YouTube comedian and focuses on a young girl who struggles through her journey to complete middle school.
Other highlights of the festival are expected to include Zoe Kazan’s, The Big Sick. The movie co-stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Carey Mulligan and chronicles the disintegration of a marriage. Not to be outdone by her brother, Maggie Gyllenhaal stars in The Kindergarten Teacher, which according to word-of-mouth, displays Maggie’s strengths as an actress.
At any rate, Sundance Film Festival 2018 is expected to produce many movies that Hollywood is sure to be buzzing about. Only time will tell if Sundance Film Festival 2018 exceeds the success of last year’s events.
