Sundance 2023 World Cinema Competition Program

by Nathaniel R

Kiti Manver stars in "MAMACRUZ"

The Sundance Film festival is just a month plus away (January 19th-29th) with tickets going on sale December 13th for online packages, December 16th for in person packages, and January 12th for individual films. We are always very excited about the World Cinema Program which usually has great finds not to mention future Oscar submissions. For example the 2022 roster included five current Oscar hopefuls: Bolivia's Utama (Grand Jury Prize), Finland's Girl Picture (Audience Award), Brazil's Mars One, Australia's You Won't Be Alone, and Ukraine's Klondike and most of the other titles were also very well received. What treasures await us this year?

Here is the list of films. Which should we prioritize for Team Experience coverage in January? 

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Sundance 2023: US Dramatic Competition Lineup

by Nathaniel R

Jonathan Majors as a bodybuilder in "Magazine Dreams"

Team Experience will be covering Sundance 2022 again following our multi-writer coverage last year. The festival returns to "in person" this year January 19th-29th but many of the films will also be available for virtual festival goers. TiIcket packages go on sale December 13th with individual film tickets on sale January 12th.

So let's look at what will be playing and you tell us what you're most interested in!  First up the US Dramatic Competition program...

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10th Anniversary Middleburg Film Festival tickets now on sale!

by Nathaniel R

the Opening Night, Centerpiece, and Spotlight films

Has it really been ten years? We've been going to Middleburg for years now for this intimate weekend festival in scenic Virginia. Three years ago your host here (that's me) launched an ongoing early morning Oscar panel "Coffee & Contenders" with Clayton Davis and Jazz Tangcay (who have both since joined Variety). It's a treat to see famiiar faces from the Washington DC area each year and if any readers come to the festival make sure to say hello. Festivals start to feel like reunion parties if you go enough times!

The year they'll have films like White Noise, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Somewhere in Queens, and The Whale (and more to be announced). Receiving tributes and awards this year are actors Stephanie Hsu and Brendan Fraser, writer/director Noah Baumbach, editor Bob Ducsay, and composer Michael Abels.  Passes and ticket passages are now on sale. Full press release after the jump...

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Abe’s ‘Jury of One’ from TIFF 2022

Brendan Fraser in The Whale

By Abe Friedtanzer 

I had always heard from other journalists at festivals like Sundance and SXSW that TIFF was the best one. I’m thrilled that I had the chance to attend my first in-person edition after covering remotely last year. I’m certainly exhausted – I saw 37 films at screenings and another six at home. Fortunately, almost all of what I saw was very good, and even better for you readers, the overwhelming majority is also slated for release. Of course, the crazy thing about these festivals is that, no matter how much you see, you’ll still somehow not get what others think was best (Baby Clyde’s top two films are among the six from his 25 that I didn’t see). But there’s plenty to celebrate, and without further ado, here are my ‘jury of one’ awards with release dates, if applicable, in parentheses, and some personal prizes…

The Swimmers 

Top Ten Films 

1. The Whale (Dec 9^th, theaters)
2. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Dec 23^rd, Netflix)

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TIFF: A Mother on Trial in ‘Saint Omer’

By Abe Friedtanzer

Last week, France narrowd its list of contenders for the Oscar submission to five. Three of them played at TIFF – One Fine Morning, Paris Memories, and Saint Omer. The last of those has the advantage at the moment thanks to its two prizes at the Venice Film Festival. It’s a difficult, focused drama that deals with motherhood, national identity, and the justice system in France…

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