The Sundance Film Festival met the moment by going virtual for the past two years because of the coronavirus pandemic. But on Thursday, there was a palpable sense of relief from the festival\u2019s leadership team at being in-person again.
\nSundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente, director of programming Kim Yutani, senior programmer John Nein and incoming Sundance Film Festival director Eugene Hernandez gathered Thursday afternoon in Park City, Utah, to discuss what\u2019s to come. Just outside, on a snowy Main Street, finishing touches were being put on storefronts and restaurants that sponsors have taken over for the week.
\n\u201cIt feels so good to be back in person,\u201d Vicente said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing like the magic of being together in Park City.\u201d
\nYutani also announced the last-minute addition of \u201cJustice,\u201d a documentary from filmmaker Doug Liman about allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, that will debut Friday.
\n\u201cIt was a powerful documentary that we felt was important to add,\u201d Yutani said. \u201cWe saw it, like, yesterday.\u201d
\nEleven films have their world premieres Thursday night, including the documentary \u201cLittle Richard: I Am Everything\u201d and the Frankenstein-inspired psychological horror \u201cbirth\/rebirth,\u201d about a morgue technician who reanimates a little girl. Also on Thursday, \u201cShayda,\u201d about an Iranian mother and her 6-year-old daughter who go to a women\u2019s shelter in Australia, \u201cThe Longest Goodbye,\u201d a documentary about a NASA psychologist preparing Mars-bound astronauts for social isolation, the Daisy Ridley film \u201cSometimes I Think About Dying\u201d and \u201cKim\u2019s Video,\u201d a documentary about a hunt for a lost video collection of 55,000 movies.<\/p>\n