Sundance Institute Announces Short Film Projects for 2023 Film Festival

Sundance Institute Announcement

Recently, Sundance Institute announced the Short Films and Indie Episodic projects selected for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. For in-person attendees, Indie Episodic works will have individual premieres and Shorts will screen in curated programs. Beginning January 24, all Indie Episodic projects and selected Shorts will also screen online through the end of the Festival. The 2023 Festival will take place January 19–29, 2023, in person in Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort, along with a selection of films available online across the country January 24–29, 2023.

Courtesy of Sundance Institute

In addition, Online Ticket Packages are now on sale and the full schedule of in-person and online screenings is now live!

“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.”

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Short Films/Episodic Projects

The 64 Short Films for the 2023 lineup were selected from 10,981 submissions, the highest number on record. Of these submissions, 4,996 were from the U.S. and 5,985 were international. The four Indie Episodic projects were selected from 519 submissions. This upcoming year’s Short Film program includes work from 23 countries and the Indie Episodic represents works from five countries.

Indie Episodic is an industry leader in the discovery and development of series’ newest talent. The program is a dedicated showcase for emerging creators of independently produced content for episodic platforms. Past projects that have premiered within this category include Bring on the Dancing Horses, Work in Progress, State of the Union, Gentefied, Wu Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, and Quarter Life Poetry.

The Short Film program is the premiere exhibition of shorts across fiction, nonfiction, and animation, globally. From the start, the Institute has supported short filmmaking in all forms and styles, which now includes an impressive roster of artist alumni: Andrea Arnold, Lake Bell, Damien Chazelle, Destin Daniel Cretton, Jay and Mark Duplass, Debra Granik, Rashaad Ernesto Green, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Sterlin Harjo, Todd Haynes, Shaka King, Lynne Ramsay, Dee Rees, Joey Soloway, Taika Waititi, and many others

Below are some of the films that will be screened in each category presented at Sundance.

ANIMATION SHORT FILMS

BurgerWorld / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Maddie Brewer, Producers: Domitille Adebimpe-Collardey, Joseph Carnegie, Sierra Martin-Persi) — Two coworkers at a derelict fast food franchise accidentally discover a yonic meat portal to another realm — a “burger” world, wherein they’re the only ones who can liberate an oppressed vegetable populace from the all-controlling hand of big meat. Cast: Maddie Brewer. World Premiere. Available Online.

By Water / U.S.A. (Director: Iyabo Kwayana, Producers: Chris Hastings, Maori Karmel Holmes, Nevo Shinaar) — An unlikely hero’s journey into his own memories becomes a vehicle for reconciliation and healing for himself and his sibling. Available Online.

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) — Christopher embarks on a transatlantic voyage as a passenger on a cargo ship. His hopes of finding out what lures so many men to sea sets him on a journey into solitude, fantasy, and obsession. Cast: Jocelyn Si, Andrew Isar, Florian DesBiendras. Available Online.

The Flying Sailor / Canada (Directors and Producers: Wendy Tilby, Amanda Forbis, Producer: David Christensen) — Two ships collide in a harbor, an explosion shatters a city, and a sailor is blasted skyward, where he soars high above the mayhem and toward the great unknown. Available Online.

Oxytocin / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Jeron Braxton) — Cash for organs and anything for love. Cast: Jeron Braxton. World Premiere. Available Online.

NONFICTION SHORT FILMS

Bigger on the Inside / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Angelo Madsen Minax, Producer: Lyle Ravi Kash) — Through snowy stargazing, flirting with guys on dating apps, taking ketamine (or not), and watching YouTube lecture videos, outer and inner space collapse – to draw a warped cartography of desire and distance. Available Online.

Kylie / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Sterling Hampton) — A young Black ballerina expresses her passion and pain as a dancer in the ballet community while performing in the inner-city neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Available Online.

Life Without Dreams / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Jessica Bardsley, Producer: Caitlin Mae Burke) — Set in the outer space of consciousness, where the surfaces of far-out planetary bodies form the terrain for an exploration of 24/7 capitalism, insomnia, and the disappearance of darkness. Available Online.

Life Without Dreams- Courtesy of Jessica Bardsley

Liturgy of anti-tank obstacles / U.S.A., Ukraine (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, Producers: Soo-Jeong Kang, Daniel Lombroso, Oleksandra Sorokhan) — In western Ukraine, sculptors who used to make religious statues are retraining for different skills. They now build anti-tank obstacles to help fend off the Russian invasion. Available Online.

Under G-d / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Paula Eiselt, Producer: Darcy McKinnon) — The Dobbs U.S. Supreme Court decision sparked a national Jewish response. Inspired by the lived experiences of Jewish women, lawsuits are currently being launched by rabbis, Jewish organizations, and interfaith leaders to challenge the overturning of Roe v. Wade. World Premiere.

INTERNATIONAL FICTION SHORT FILMS

AirHostess-737 / Greece (Director and Screenwriter: Thanasis Neofotistos, Screenwriter: Grigoris Skarakis, Producers: Ioanna Bolomyti, Dimitris Tsakaleas) — An air hostess collapses on flight, convinced that her problem is her new braces. However, her colleagues know the plane is carrying her mother’s dead body to her hometown. Cast: Lena Papaligoura, Konstantina Koutsonasiou, Haris Alexiou. U.S. Premiere. Available Online.

AliEN0089 / Chile (Director and Screenwriter: Valeria Hofmann, Producers: Augusto Matte, Daniela Camino, Pascual Mena) — While a gamer uploads a testimonial video to denounce the harassment she suffers in a video game, a stranger enters her home and hacks her computer, blurring the boundaries between the real and virtual worlds. Cast: Mariana di Girolamo. World Premiere.

Azheh / Iran (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Hadi Rezayati Charan, Producer: Mahdi Rezayati Charan) — A boy lives in a border village with Azheh. After Azheh’s death, the boy tries to fulfill her will to be buried in his homeland. Cast: Pakray Khoshdel, Arshiya Zeinali, Alireza Dashtiyari. World Premiere. Available Online.

Baba / Canada (Directors: Anya Chirkova, Meran Ismailsoy, Screenwriter and Producer: Maziyar Khatam, Producer: Anya Chirkova) — A middle-aged Iranian man makes a desperate bid to keep his apartment as his relationship with his son unravels. Cast: Amir Zavosh, Maziyar Khatam, James Choy, Sina Djamshidiat. International Premiere. Available Online.

Claudio’s Song / U.K. (Director: Andreas Nilsson, Screenwriter: David Kolbusz, Producers: Lee Groombridge, Tanya Sokolova) — A young man faces the wrath of criminals targeting people who are famous on the internet. Things take an unexpected turn when their scheme fails. Cast: Zaza Chanturia, Georgiy Palovotskiy, Alex Avakumov, Nina Naboka, Didier Mallet. Available Online.

U.S. FICTION SHORT FILMS

The Dalles / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Angalis Field, Producers: Madison Odenborg, Stacey Streshinsky) — Cam is used to seeing the same customers while working at his family’s cherry stand. After a handsome cyclist passes through and asks for directions to a local cruising site, Cam takes it as an invitation to follow him. Cast: Joshuah Melnick, August Ackley. World Premiere. Available Online.

The Family Circus / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Andrew Fitzgerald, Producer: Josh Cohen) — A Vietnamese-American family’s plan to cover up a drunk driving accident begins to unravel when their emotional baggage spills out in front of the police. Cast: Elyse Dinh, Michael Ironside, Scott Subiono, Michael Nguyen Manceau, Blake Dang, Christian Seavey. World Premiere. Available Online.

A Folded Ocean / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Ben Brewer, Producer: Emily Murnane) — A couple get lost in each other. Cast: Anabelle LeMieux, John Giacobbe. World Premiere. Available Online.

Headdress / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Taietsarón:sere ‘Tai’ Leclaire, Producer: David Spadora) — When a queer Native is confronted by a non-Native wearing a ceremonial headdress at a music festival, he retreats into his mind to find the perfect response from various versions of his own identity. Cast: Taietsarón:sere ‘Tai’ Leclaire, Sean Reidy, Rachel McKay Steele, Sami Griffith, Austin Pohlen. World Premiere. Available Online.

Help Me Understand / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Aemilia Scott, Producers: Paul Feig, Laura Fischer, Kesila Childers, Erica Fishman, Amy Geist) — Six women come to a consensus. Cast: Dana Powell, Dierdre Friel, Rachael Harris, Nicole Michelle Haskins, Kate Flannery, Ken Marino. World Premiere. Available Online.

INDIE EPISODIC

Chanshi / Israel (Directors: Mickey Triest, Aaron Geva, Producer: Ayelet Imberman ) — Chanshi is from a Jewish-Orthodox Brooklyn family. She uses the story of a friend’s wedding in Israel as a cover to escape her conservative bubble and fiance. Free to fulfill her forbidden fantasy of sleeping with Israeli soldiers, her trip triggers a past trauma threatening to ruin her adventures. Cast: Aleeza Chanowitz, Henry Winkler, Caroline Aaron, Tomer Machloof, Marnina Schon, Lee Bader. World Premiere. Available Online.

The Night Logan Woke Up / Canada, France (Director and Producer: Xavier Dolan) — On a cold October night in 1991, an unspeakable event rocks a small town in Quebec, forever haunting a family who tries to hide their dark secret. Thirty years later these secrets buried deep in the past resurface, sending the family on an unstoppable pursuit of reconciliation. Cast: Xavier Dolan, Patrick Hivon, Eric Bruneau, Julie Le Breton, Magalie Lépine-Blondeau, Anne Dorval. International Premiere. Available Online.

Poacher / India, U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Richie Mehta, Producers: Sean McKittrick, Raymond Mansfield, Edward H. Hamm Jr.) — A group of Indian Forest Service officers, NGO workers, police constables and Good Samaritans risk their lives trying to track down the biggest elephant ivory poachers in the history of India and bring them to justice. Inspired by true events. Cast: Nimisha Sajayan, Roshan Mathew, Dibyendu Bhattacharya. World Premiere. Available Online.

Willie Nelson and Family / U.S.A. (Directors: Thom Zimny, Oren Moverman, Producers: Keith Wortman, Mark Rothbaum, Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev) — The first authorized work exploring the extraordinary life of Willie Nelson traverses the personal and career ups, downs, and in-betweens of one of the world’s most beloved musicians, by turns spiritual, dramatic, and playful. World Premiere. 2 of 5 Episodes Available Online.

The Sundance Film Festival®

The Sundance Film Festival, a program of the nonprofit, Sundance Institute, is the pre-eminent gathering of original storytellers and audiences seeking new voices and fresh perspectives. Since 1985, hundreds of films launched at the Festival have gone on to gain critical acclaim and reach new audiences worldwide. The Festival has introduced some of the most groundbreaking films and episodic works of the past three decades, including CODA, Hereditary, Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, Brooklyn, Precious, The Cove, Little Miss Sunshine, An Inconvenient Truth, Napoleon Dynamite, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Reservoir Dogs.

The program consists of fiction and nonfiction features and short films, series and episodic content, emerging media, and performances, as well as conversations, and other events. The Festival takes place both in person in the state of Utah and online, connecting audiences across the U.S. to bold new artists and films. The 2023 Festival takes place January 19–29.

The Festival is a program of the nonprofit Sundance Institute.

To date, 2023 Festival sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Acura, AMC+, Chase Sapphire®, Adobe; Leadership Sponsors – Audible, DIRECTV, Netflix, Omnicom Group, Shutterstock, Stacy’s Pita Chips, United Airlines, XRM Media; Sustaining Sponsors – Canada Goose, Canon U.S.A., Inc., DoorDash, Dropbox, World of Hyatt®, IMDb, Lyft, MACRO, Rabbit Hole Bourbon & Rye, Stanley, University of Utah Health, White Claw Hard Seltzer; Media Sponsors – IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, NPR, Variety, Vulture, The Wall Street Journal. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations helps offset the Festival’s costs and sustain the Institute’s year-round programs for independent artists.

Check out TWE’s earlier post about new films that will be shown at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.