Movies With The Most Buzz At Sundance 2022

By Rachel West. 28 Jan 2022 1:58 PM

The Sundance Film Festival wraps this year’s virtual edition on January 30 with plenty of movies that have audiences and critics buzzing. Here are 12 Sundance films earning the most buzz.

Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Courtesy of Sundance Institute

‘Something In The Dirt’

Courtesy of Sundance Institute

‘jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy’

Netflix

Courtesy of Sundance Institute

‘Good Luck To You, Leo Grande’

Courtesy of Sundance Institute

‘We Need To Talk About Cosby’

Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Courtesy of Sundance Institute

‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’

Courtesy of Sundance Institute

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‘Fresh’
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Sign us up for Sebastian Stan as a serial killer. The actor stars opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones as a dream date gone wrong in the movie about the horrors of modern dating. It’s bloody, gruesome, and totally gripping, whipping Twitter into a frenzy over Stan’s dark turn. Searchlight picked up the distribution rights to the film with plans to release it across Disney’s streaming platforms in March.
‘The Princess’
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
A fascinating new look at Princess Diana’s life in the public eye comprising only archival footage is director Ed Perkins’ documentary. While Diana's story may be a familiar one, “The Princess" is earning buzz for portraying the People’s Princess in an entirely new light. Look for the movie to be released this summer ahead of the 25th anniversary of Diana’s death.
‘Fire Of Love’
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Sundance always has one stand-out documentary that really gets critics and audiences raving, and this year, it’s “Fire Of Love”. Using archival footage, the film tells the story of French scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft who fell in love with volcanoes and each other before succumbing to their fate doing what they loved most. Naturally, National Geographic has picked up the title for theatrical release; it will eventually end up on Disney+.
‘Master’
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Three Black women strive to find their place at a prestigious New England university in writer-director Mariama Diallo's debut feature film “Master”, a horror story that leans heavier into suspense than gore. Regina Hall shines as Gail Bishop, a woman who has just been awarded the post of residence hall “master”. As the first Black woman to hold the position, Gail is determined to breathe new life into the post but finds herself caught up in the lives of a student and colleague in a movie full of “Get Out” vibes.
‘Alice’
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
“Alice” borrows a bit of M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Village” to tell its intriguing story about social justice. Keke Palmer stars as an escaped slave who, thanks to Frank (Common), learns what it means to be free. Palmer has been winning over critics with her strong performance as the titular Alice. Also stars Jonny Lee Miller as a harsh plantation owner.
‘Something In The Dirt’
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Indie writing-directing team Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead deliver another low-fi hit, “Something In The Dirt”. The “Spring” and “Synchronic” duo star as two L.A. losers who witness supernatural events in their dingy apartment complex and set out to document the phenomena. The low-budget, sci-fi satire has been a hit with critics, earning a 95 per cent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy’
Netflix
Way back in 1998, Chicago public access TV host Clarence “Coodie” Simmons interviewed a then-unknown 21-year-old Kanye West. Inspired by the seminal documentary “Hoop Dreams”, Coodie began documenting West’s life over a 21-year span, resulting in 270 minutes of unseen footage of the rapper. Netflix picked up the doc for release in 2022.
‘After Yang’
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
After debuting at the Cannes Film Festival last year, director Kogonada’s “After Yang” stars Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith as a couple whose artificially intelligent robot son Yang unexpectedly malfunctions. The event leads the family to cope with their feelings of loss and grief as they explore ideas of memory in this low-key, contemplative drama that will be released in select theatres in March.
‘Good Luck To You, Leo Grande’
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Emma Thompson stars as a retired school teacher looking for adventure and sex, finding it in sex worker Leo Grande (a breakout performance by Daryl McCormack) in the British comedy-drama. The coming-of-age story for middle-agers has been building buzz not just for its central theme of self-acceptance but for Thompson’s empowering decision to film a full-frontal nude scene at age 62.

“I don’t think I could’ve done it before the age that I am. And yet, of course, the age that I am makes it extremely challenging because we aren’t used to seeing untreated bodies on the screen,” Thompson remarked.
‘We Need To Talk About Cosby’
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Comedian W. Kamau Bell’s look at Bill Cosby’s meteoric comedy rise is paralleled with details of shocking allegations of sexual abuse via interviews with survivors, journalists, comedians, and colleagues. Charting his decline from “America’s Dad” to convicted sexual predator, the four-episode docuseries “We Need To Talk About Cosby” presents an important discussion on Cosby’s legacy. The doc will drop on Showtime in February.
‘Resurrection’
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Is there anything Rebecca Hall can’t do? The actress has kept all of Hollywood buzzing with her directorial debut “Passing” since it premiered at Sundance last year. This year, Hall is earning raves for her performance as a woman dealing with a traumatic experience from her past that comes to light when a mysterious man (Tim Roth) makes an unexpected return to her life. Though the movie hasn’t yet been picked up for distribution, the response to Hall’s astonishing 10-minute monologue means it will likely find a distributor soon.
‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Writer-director-star Cooper Raiff’s “Cha Cha Real Smooth” follows a directionless college grad who gets involved with a young mom (Dakota Johnson) and her autistic teen daughter (Vanessa Burghardt) after he becomes a bar mitzvah “party starter”. The dramedy earned not just praise from audiences and critics but was purchased by Apple for $15 million following its premiere; the deal is the biggest sale of the festival though still falls short of Apple’s purchase of last year’s hit “CODA” for $25 million.

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