Every year, the Sundance Film Festival sneaks its somber way into the press, reminding us that Oscar buzz for 2018 begins in 2017. The Utah-based film festival, which will commence January 19 through 29, turns the lens on indie fare. And if there's one thing we know for sure, it's that Sundance judges LOVE a scrappy, low-budget film with a side of quirk.
The festival can also be kind of a crystal ball for Oscar nominations. For example: In 2012, Beasts of The Southern Wild won the Grand Jury Prize. Eventually, the film went on to receive an Academy Award nomination for best picture. Other times, the 10-day event is wildly inaccurate. In 2016, the grand jury awarded the highest dramatic prize to The Birth Of A Nation, which won't go to the Oscars. Awkward.
Ahead, you'll find a list of the major feature films coming to Sundance this year. They will all be considered for the dramatic prize — the festival's highest honour. For each one, we'll break down the "female factor" — how women shaped and influenced the film in question. May the Oscar odds be ever in their favour.
Band Aid
Starring: Zoe Lister-Jones, Adam Pally, Fred Armisen, Susie Essman, Hannah Simone, Ravi Patel
Plot: A couple turns their fights into music as an effort to rescue a dying marriage.
Female Factor: The film was written and directed by Zoe Lister-Jones, who also stars in the film.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
Beach Rats
Starring: Harris Dickinson, Madeline Weinstein, Kate Hodge, Neal Huff
Plot : A coming-of-age feature about a teenager from the beach front edge of Brooklyn.
Female Factor: Written and directed by a lady, Eliza Hittman. In 2013, she was named one of Filmmaker Magazine's 25 Fresh Faces in Independent Film.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
Brigsby Bear
Starring: Kyle Mooney, Claire Danes, Mark Hamill, Greg Kinnear, Matt Walsh, Michaela Watkins
Plot: James (Kyle Mooney) loves the show Brigsby Bear Adventures. So much so that he joins the narrative himself after the show's finale.
Female Factor: Other than that the film stars Claire Danes , our fierce Homeland heroine, there are none.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
Burning Sands
Starring: Trevor Jackson, Alfre Woodard, Steve Harris, Tosin Cole, DeRon Horton, Trevante Rhodes
Plot : A fraternity pledge struggles with the ethics of hazing.
Female Factor: One of the screenwriters is a woman and Alfre Woodard makes a solid appearance in the film.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
Crown Heights
Starring: Keith Stanfield, Nnamdi Asomugha, Natalie Paul, Bill Camp, Nestor Carbonell, Amari Cheatom
Plot : Based on a story from This American Life, the film details one man's quest to clear his best friend's name.
Female Factor: Natalie Paul, and up-and-coming actress, seems to be the only publicised lady attached to the film.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
Golden Exits
Starring: Emily Browning, Adam Horovitz, Mary-Louise Parker, Lily Rabe, Jason Schwartzman, Chloë Sevigny
Plot: Two families living in Brooklyn encounter the same strange foreign girl.
Female Factor: The cast is stacked with some of Hollywood's most impressive ladies — Chloë Sevigny in particular is an indie favourite.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
The Hero
Starring: Sam Elliott, Laura Prepon, Krysten Ritter, Nick Offerman, Katharine Ross
Plot : A nearly retired film legend reexamines his life with the help of a comedian.
Female Factor: Kristen Ritter of Jessica Jones fame and Laura Prepon from Orange Is The New Black both appear in the film.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore
Starring: Melanie Lynskey, Elijah Wood, David Yow, Jane Levy, Devon Graye
Plot : A depressed woman (Lynskey) finds new enjoyment in life by chasing after a burglar who targeted her home.
Female Factor: The female-led film takes a look at women and depression. And they've got Melanie Lynskey, a powerhouse of an actor, on their side.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
Ingrid Goes West
Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Wyatt Russell, Billy Magnussen
Plot : A non west-coaster heads to California to stalk an Instagram personality.
Female Factor: The movie, which places women in the centre, takes the "jealous female" narrative and lays it atop the world of social media.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
Landline
Starring: Jenny Slate, John Turturro, Edie Falco, Abby Quinn, Jay Duplass, Finn Wittrock
Plot : The title of the film refers to its time period — this family drama takes place in the '90s, before cell phones or smoking outside.
Female Factor: It's written and directed by Gillian Robespierre, who achieved indie acclaim for the "abortion romantic comedy" Obvious Child.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
Novitiate
Starring: Margaret Qualley, Melissa Leo, Julianne Nicholson, Dianna Agron, Morgan Saylor
Plot: The life and times of a young, curious nun in 1960s.
Female Factor: Aside from the fact that the cast is almost entirely female, the film focuses on the female side of faith. The priest narrative has been done (most recently in Scorsese's Silence), but the nun narrative is far less traveled.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
Patti Cake$
Starring: Danielle Macdonald, Bridget Everett, Siddharth Dhananjay, Mamoudou Athie, Cathy Moriarty
Plot : A girl from Jersey named Patricia dreams of becoming a rapper named Patti Cake$.
Female Factor: First off, we have a girl dreaming of becoming a rapper — already a little radical. But more importantly, the film stars Bridget Everett, the brassy musician and comedian who sang a song about cunnilingus on Inside Amy Schumer.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
Roxanne Roxanne
Starring: Chanté Adams, Mahershala Ali, Nia Long, Elvis Nolasco, Kevin Phillips, Shenell Edmonds
Plot : Focuses on 14-year-old female rapper emcee Roxanne Chanté, who rose to fame in the 80s in New York City.
Female Factor: Biopic of a female hip-hop artist? Yes, please.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
To The Bone
Starring: Lily Collins, Keanu Reeves, Carrie Preston, Lili Taylor, Alex Sharp, Liana Liberato
Plot : A 20-year-old recovers from an eating disorder with the help of a nontraditional doctor.
Female Factor: Written and directed by Marti Noxon, a woman, the film explores the vast territory of women and their relationships to body image and health.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
Walking Out
Starring: Matt Bomer, Josh Wiggins, Bill Pullman, Alex Neustaedter, Lily Gladstone
Plot : An estranged father and son must resolve their differences after a harrowing incident in the woods.
Female Factor: None to be found — this is The Revenant on small-scale, it seems, and it's all about that male narrative.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
Yellow Birds
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Jack Huston, Alden Ehrenreich, Jason Patric, Toni Collette, Jennifer Aniston
Plot : A returned soldier and a mourning mother battle for the right to grieve over the fatalities of war.
Female Factor: Jennifer Aniston and Toni Collette play the grieving mothers in this film — both are strong leading actors who will hopefully be given their due.
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
The Incredible Jessica James
Starring: Jessica Williams, Chris O’Dowd, LaKeith Stanfield, Noël Wells
Plot : A young female playwright meets an older divorcée in this romantic comedy.
Female Factor: Jessica Williams. Need we say more?
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.
Lemon
Starring: Brett Gelman, Judy Greer, Michael Cera, Nia Long, Shiri Appleby, Fred Melamed, Rhea Perlman, David Paymer, Gillian Jacobs
Plot : Isaac Bachmann is the lemon in question here, a man whose blind girlfriend just left him — he's 40, and altogether unhappy.
Female Factor: The film was directed by Janicza Bravo, an exciting new directing talent. The multitalented Bravo co-wrote the film with her husband Gelman. (She also directed a short film, Gregory Go Boom, that premiered at Sundance in 2013. She's it, y'all.)
Photo: Courtesy Of Sundance Institute.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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