Napoleon Dynamite

Source: Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival

Napoleon Dynamite

Sundance Film Festival has unveiled the 53 shorts as well as the eight films celebrating the festival’s 40th edition – a list which includes Park City hits Napoleon Dynamite, Mississippi Masala, and The Babadook.

The 40th edition celebration screenings and events are set for the second half of the festival from January 23-26, 2024, with a slate of retrospective programming that will bring alumni artists together for conversations and gatherings.

Sundance Film festival runs January 18-28, 2024, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, with a selection of titles becoming available online nationwide from January 25–28, 2024.

The festival will debut new 4K restorations of:

  • Napoleon Dynamite (2004, 20th anniversary) – January 24, 7pm, Park City followed by a conversation with screenwriter Jerusha Hess, actor Jon Heder, and more;

  • The Babadook (2014, 10th anniversary) – January 25, 10.30pm, Park City, followed by a conversation with director Jennifer Kent, and more;
  • Mississippi Masala (1991) – January 24, 3.15pm, Park City, followed by a conversation with director Mira Nair, and more;
  • Go Fish (1994, 30th anniversary) – January 24, 12noon, Park City, followed by a conversation with director Rose Troche, producer John Pierson, and more;
  • The Times Of Harvey Milk – January 25, 12.15pm, Park City, followed by a conversation with director Robert Epstein, and more;
  • DIG! XX (2004) – January 23, 8.30pm, Park City, followed by a conversation with director Ondi Timoner, producer David Timoner, and The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Joel Gion;
  • Pariah (2008) – January 26, 6.45pm, Park City, followed by a conversation with director Dee Rees; and
  • Three Seasons (1999) – January 25, 7pm, Park City, followed by a conversation with director Tony Bui, producers Jason Kliot and Joana Vicente, and more.

Anniversary programming includes talks with notable alumni. Panel Power of Story: Four Decades of Taking Chances will focus on the legacy of independent storytelling and features Miguel Arteta, Richard Linklater, Dawn Porter, and Christine Vachon; there is a screening of seminal short films from Sundance’s history hosted by Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass; and a workshop for emerging creators with Carlos López Estrada and others.

Other special events include alumni social gatherings and a 40th Edition trivia night.

Festival director and head of public programming Eugene Hernandez said each of the anniversary screenings “made an indelible impact on culture”. Shorts were selected from a record 12,098 submissions and Hernandez said the roster “welcomes the next generation of voices and storytellers to watch”.

“Selecting the shorts for the festival programme every year is an exercise in taking the pulse of film culture, and the outlook is always bright,” said Mike Plante, senior programmer, short film.

Of the 12,098 submissions, 5,323 were from the US, and 6,799 were international encompassing 22 countries in total.

This year’s crop includes the documentary ALOK, which centres on non-binary author and poet Alok Vaid-Menon and has Jodie Foster on board as executive producer.

Sundance short film alumni comprise a notable crop of globally renowned talents, among them: Andrea Arnold, Lake Bell, Damien Chazelle, Destin Daniel Cretton, Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, Debra Granik, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Todd Haynes, Lynne Ramsay, Dee Rees, Joey Soloway, and Taika Waititi.

Topics