“Judas And The Black Messiah“
Director: Shaka King
Screenwriters: An original story by the Lucas Bros., screenplay by Will Berson Shaka King.
Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Ashton Sanders, Dominique Fishback
Sundance synopsis: “As chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, Fred Hampton demanded all power to the people and inspired a growing movement of solidarity, prompting the FBI to consider him a threat and to plant informant William O’Neal to infiltrate the party.”
Category: Premieres.
Pay Attention: This is King’s only second feature-length directorial debut (“Newlyweeds” was his first), but Oscar is already on everyone’s lips for nearly everyone involved. Warner Bros. is releasing the film February 12.
“Land”
Director: Robin Wright
Screenwriters: Jesse Chatham, Erin Dignam
Cast: Robin Wright, Demián Bichir, Kim Dickens
Sundance synopsis: “The poignant story of one woman’s search, in the aftermath of an unfathomable event, for meaning in the vast and harsh American wilderness.”
Category: Premieres
Pay Attention: This is Wright’s feature directing debut and Focus Features will release it in theaters on Feb. 12.
“Mass”
Director and Screenwriter: Fran Kranz
Cast: Jason Isaacs, Ann Dowd, Martha Plimpton, Reed Birney
Sundance Synopsis: “Years after a tragic shooting, the parents of both the victim and the perpetrator meet face-to-face.”
Category: Premieres
Pay Attention: You might not know the name, but you probably recognize Kranz from his roles in “Dollhouse” and “The Cabin in the Woods.” Like Wright, this is his feature directorial debut.
“Mayday”
Director and Screenwriter: Karen Cinorre
Cast: Grace Van Patten, Mia Goth, Havana Rose Liu, Soko, Théodore Pellerin, Juliette Lewis.
Sundance Synopsis: “Ana is transported to a dreamlike and dangerous land where she joins a team of female soldiers engaged in a never-ending war along a rugged coast. Though she finds strength in this exhilarating world, she comes to realize that she’s not the killer they want her to be.”
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Pay Attention: That cast and that logline? It’s either a mess or one of the more unforgettable films of the fest (or both).
“Misha and the Wolves”
Director and Screenwriter: Sam Hobkinson
Sundance Synopsis: “A woman’s Holocaust memoir takes the world by storm, but a fallout with her publisher-turned-detective reveals her story as an audacious deception created to hide a darker truth.”
Category: World Cinema Documentary Competition
Pay Attention: Y’all wanted a twist? (Don’t google it and spoil the surprise).
