Sundance revealed the lineup for its Shorts and Indie Episodic programs today, featuring new work from filmmakers like Paul Feig and Ken Marino, “Roma” star Yalitza Aparicio Martinez, and Henry Winkler.
Sixty-four films were selected for the Shorts program from a record-high pool of 10,981 submissions. Spanning fiction, non-fiction, and animated works from artists in the U.S. and around the world, the program features both new and returning filmmakers. Aparicio Martinez will headline Mexico’s “Sweatshop Girl,” from writer-director Selma Cervantes, playing a seamstress who must hide her pregnancy to avoid getting fired. The Feig-produced “Help Me Understand” stars “The Office” actress Kate Flannery and Ken Marino among its ensemble cast. Angela Trimbur wrote and co-stars in “Mirror Girl,” while Sarafyan appears in the sci-fi short “Power Signal.”
The Indie Episodic lineup spotlights rising creators of independently produced content for episodic platforms. Four projects were chosen this year, including “Willie Nelson and Family,” the first authorized work about the acclaimed musician. Other selections are the India and U.S. co-production “Poacher”; Israel’s “Chanshi,” featuring Henry Winkler; and Xavier Dolan’s “The Night Logan Woke Up” from Canada and France.
“Sundance Institute has a long-standing commitment to supporting short independent storytelling and as we continue that commitment, we’re fortunate to have an extraordinary slate of shorts to screen at the Festival,” said Mike Plante, Senior Programmer, Short Film. “The shorts we selected are all revelations in their own right of: exciting new voices, humorous or moving perspectives, stylistic innovation, and more.”
“Short films and episodic projects are an integral aspect of the overall mission of the Sundance Institute
— to empower artists who are taking risks, bringing new perspectives to the forefront, and creating work that entertains and provokes conversation,” said Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of
Programming. “These platforms provide artists with the ability to expand beyond the boundaries of
traditional cinema, while also motivating a unique creativity through an ever expanding format.”
Sundance Film Festival is set to take place in-person from Jan. 19 to Jan. 29, 2023. Films will be available to screen virtually beginning on the 24th.
Read the full lineup below:
INDIE EPISODIC
Chanshi / Israel (Directors: Mickey Triest, Aaron Geva, Producer: Ayelet Imberman )
The Night Logan Woke Up / Canada, France (Director and Producer: Xavier Dolan)
Poacher / India, U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Richie Mehta, Producers: Sean McKittrick, Raymond Mansfield, Edward H. Hamm Jr.)
Willie Nelson and Family / U.S.A. (Directors: Thom Zimny, Oren Moverman, Producers: Keith Wortman, Mark Rothbaum, Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev)
U.S. FICTION SHORT FILMS
The Dalles / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Angalis Field, Producers: Madison Odenborg, Stacey Streshinsky)
The Family Circus / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Andrew Fitzgerald, Producer: Josh Cohen)
A Folded Ocean / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Ben Brewer, Producer: Emily Murnane)
Headdress / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Taietsarón:sere ‘Tai’ Leclaire, Producer: David Spadora)
Help Me Understand / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Aemilia Scott, Producers: Paul Feig, Laura Fischer, Kesila Childers, Erica Fishman, Amy Geist)
I AM HOME / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Kymon Greyhorse, Producers: JoJo Threehairs, Ernest Hill)
I Have No Tears, and I Must Cry / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Luis Fernando Puente, Producer: Rollins Wimber)
In the Flesh / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Daphne Gardner, Producer: Zach Fleming)
Mirror Party / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Bridey Elliott, Screenwriter: Angela Trimbur, Producer: Josh Ascalon)
Nocturnal Burger / India, U.S A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Reema Maya, Producer: Michael Y. Chow)
OURIKA! / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Xenia Matthews, Producer: Stephanie Malson)
Power Signal / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Oscar Boyson, Screenwriter: Erin DeWitt, Producers: Jordan Drake, Alex Coco)
Rest Stop / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Crystal Kayiza, Producers: Jalena Keane-Lee, Brit Fryer)
Ricky / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Rashad Frett, Producers: Pierre M. Coleman, Ramfis Myrthil, Simon TaufiQue)
Sunflower Siege Engine / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Sky Hopinka)
Take Me Home / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Liz Sargent, Producer: Minos Papas)
Tender / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Samm Hodges, Producers: John Magaro, Matt McLaughlin, Jimmy Miller, Devin Tusa)
Troy / U.S.A. (Director: Mike Donahue, Screenwriter: Jen Silverman, Producer: Evan Jonigkeit)
The Vacation / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Jarreau Carrillo, Producers: Marttise Hill, Julius Pryor)
Walk of Shame / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Dane Ray, Producers: Robert Tutiven, Julia Baylis, Sam Guest, Maya Solo)
We Were Meant To / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Tari Wariebi, Screenwriter: Christina K. Licud, Producer: Jordan Vernon Tyner)
Weapons and Their Names / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Melina Valdez, Producers: Raymond Knudsen, Paula Andrea González-Nasser)
When You Left Me On That Boulevard / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Kayla Abuda Galang, Producers: Alifya Ali, David Oconer, Udoy Rahim, Samantha Skinner)
INTERNATIONAL FICTION SHORT FILMS
AirHostess-737 / Greece (Director and Screenwriter: Thanasis Neofotistos, Screenwriter: Grigoris Skarakis, Producers: Ioanna Bolomyti, Dimitris Tsakaleas)
AliEN0089 / Chile (Director and Screenwriter: Valeria Hofmann, Producers: Augusto Matte, Daniela Camino, Pascual Mena)
Azheh / Iran (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Hadi Rezayati Charan, Producer: Mahdi Rezayati Charan)
Baba / Canada (Directors: Anya Chirkova, Meran Ismailsoy, Screenwriter and Producer: Maziyar Khatam, Producer: Anya Chirkova)
Claudio’s Song / U.K. (Director: Andreas Nilsson, Screenwriter: David Kolbusz, Producers: Lee Groombridge, Tanya Sokolova)
Evacuation of Mama Emola / Indonesia (Director: Anggun Priambodo, Screenwriter: Prima Rusdi, Producers: Reno Fitriny Junirman, Edwin, M Zaidy Amiruddin, Meiske Taurisia)
Hawaiki / New Zealand (Director and Screenwriter: Nova Paul, Producer: Tara Riddell)
It’s Raining Frogs Outside / Philippines (Director and Screenwriter: Maria Estela Paiso, Producer: Gale Osorio)
The Kidnapping of the Bride / Germany (Director and Screenwriter: Sophia Mocorrea, Producer: Sarah Valerie Radu)
Mulika / The Democratic Republic of Congo (Director and Screenwriter: Maisha Maene, Producer: Leo Nelki)
The Newt Congress / Switzerland, Germany (Directors and Screenwriters: Matthias Sahli, Immanuel Esser, Producer: Filippo Bonacci)
Pro Pool / Canada (Director and Screenwriter: Alec Pronovost, Producer: Patrick Francke-Sirois)
Sèt Lam / France, Réunion (Director and Screenwriter: Vincent Fontano, Producer: Martin Mauvoisin)
A Short Story / China (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Bi Gan, Screenwriter: Xiao Hui Zhai)
Simo / Canada (Director and Screenwriter: Aziz Zoromba, Producer: Rosalie Chicoine Perreault)
Sweatshop Girl / Mexico (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Selma Cervantes, Screenwriter: Indra Villaseñor Amador, Producers: Solange Alonso Caballero, Bruno Gaeta, Jim Stark, Natasha Dupeyron, Yago Muñoz)
Thriving: A Dissociated Reverie / Canada (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Nicole Bazuin, Screenwriter and Producer: Andrea Werhun, Screenwriter: Kitoko Mai)
Unborn Biru / Norway (Director and Screenwriter: Inga Elin Marakatt, Producer: Per-Josef Idivuoma)
White Ant / U.K, India (Director and Screenwriter: Shalini Adnani, Producers: Sara Bonakdar, Michael Graf, Kaarthekeyen Santhanam, Mrunalini Havaldar)
ANIMATION SHORT FILMS
BurgerWorld / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Maddie Brewer, Producers: Domitille Adebimpe-Collardey, Joseph Carnegie, Sierra Martin-Persi)
By Water / U.S.A. (Director: Iyabo Kwayana, Producers: Chris Hastings, Maori Karmel Holmes, Nevo Shinaar)
Christopher at Sea / France, U.S.A, U.K (Director and Screenwriter: Tom CJ Brown, Screenwriter: Laure Desmazières, Producers: Amanda Miller, Hanna Stolarski, Emily-Jane Brown, Nick Read, Pierre Boivin, Constance Le Scouarnec)
The Flying Sailor / Canada (Directors and Producers: Wendy Tilby, Amanda Forbis, Producer: David Christensen)
fur / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Zhen Li)
Garrano / Portugal, Lithuania (Director, Screenwriter, and Producers: Vasco Sá, David Doutel. Producers: Agnė Adomėnė, Rodrigo Areias)
In the Big Yard Inside the Teeny-Weeny Pocket / Japan (Director and Screenwriter: Yoko Yuki, Producer: Koji Yamamura)
Inglorious Liaisons / France, Belgium (Director and Screenwriters: Chloe Alliez, Violette Delvoye, Producers: Jean-François Le Corre, Mathieu Courtois, William Henne)
Oxytocin / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Jeron Braxton)
Pipes / Switzerland (Directors: Kilian Feusi, Jessica Meier, Sujanth Ravichandran, Producers: Gerd Gockell, Jürgen Haas)
The Sea on the Day When the Magic Returns / South Korea (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Jiwon Han)
Well Wishes My Love, Your Love / Sweden, Malaysia (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Gabriel Gabriel Garble)
NONFICTION SHORT FILMS
Bigger on the Inside / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Angelo Madsen Minax, Producer: Lyle Ravi Kash)
Call Me Mommy / Ireland (Director: Tara O’Callaghan, Producers: Aaron McEnaney, Louise Byrne, Ross Killeen)
Kylie / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Sterling Hampton)
Life Without Dreams / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Jessica Bardsley, Producer: Caitlin Mae Burke)
Liturgy of anti-tank obstacles / U.S.A., Ukraine (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, Producers: Soo-Jeong Kang, Daniel Lombroso, Oleksandra Sorokhan)
Margie Soudek’s Salt and Pepper Shakers / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Meredith Moore, Producer: Jonna McKone)
Parker / U.S.A. (Directors: Sharon Liese, Catherine Hoffman, Producers: Sharon Liese, Funmi Ogunro, Samantha Hake)
Shirampari: Legacies of the River / Peru (Director and Screenwriter: Lucía Flórez, Producer: José Miguel Pérez)
Under G-d / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Paula Eiselt, Producer: Darcy McKinnon)
Will You Look At Me / China (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Shuli Huang)