CalArtian Films Selected for Sundance 2023

On Tuesday, Dec. 13, the Sundance Institute announced the full programming for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, taking place Jan. 19-29, 2023, in person in Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort, and virtually from Jan. 24-29, 2023. This year’s hybrid edition includes films with CalArtian cast and crew across multiple categories, selected from a submission pool from filmmakers around the world.

“Maintaining an essential place for artists to express themselves, take risks, and for visionary stories to endure and entertain is distinctly Sundance,” Sundance Institute Founder and President Robert Redford stated in the official release. “The Festival continues to foster these values and connections through independent storytelling. We are honored to share the compelling selection of work at this year’s Festival from distinct perspectives and unique voices.”

CalArtians are found across categories in Sundance 2023 program:

US Documentary Competition

The Stroll
The history of New York’s Meatpacking District as told from the perspective of transgender sex workers lived and worked there. Filmmaker Kristen Lovell, who walked “The Stroll” for a decade, reunites her community to recount the violence, policing, homelessness, and gentrification they overcame to build a movement for transgender rights.
Directors: Kristen Lovell, Zackary Drucker (Art MFA 07)
Producer: Matt Wolf

Black-and-white still of person in white camisole gazing contemplatively — A still from *The Stroll* by Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker, an official selection of the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

New Frontier

Last Things
United States/Portugal/France
English, French with English subtitles
NONFICTION
Evolution and extinction from the point of view of rocks. A humid take on minerals, where sci-fi meets sci-fact. The geo-biosphere is a place of evolutionary possibility, where humans disappear, but life endures.
Director/Screenwriter: Deborah Stratman (Film/Video MFA 95)
Producers: Anže Peržin, Gaëlle Boucand, Deborah Stratman

Silver crystalline form against black background — A still from *Last Things* by Deborah Stratman, an official selection of the New Frontier section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by Deborah Stratman

Short Film Program

“fur”
United States
Animation Short Film Program
A crush gone moldy…
Director/Screenwriter/Producer/Sound Design: Zhen Li (Film/Video MFA 23)
Original Score: Marc Riordan
Sound Mixer: Craig Smith

Sepia illustration of character walking fingers along surface — A still from ‘fur’ by Zhen Li, an official selection of the U.S. Shorts program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by Zhen Li

“By Water”
United States
Animation Short Film Program
An unlikely hero’s journey into his own memories becomes a vehicle for reconciliation and healing for himself and his sibling. Available online.
Director: Iyabo Kwayana (former School of Film/Video faculty)
Producers: Chris Hastings, Maori Karmel Holmes, Nevo Shinaar

Illustration of a shadow character and light character interacting — A still from ‘By Water’ by Iyabo Kwayana, an official selection of the U.S. Shorts program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Premieres

Fairyland
United States
English, French with English subtitles
FICTION
Set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s vibrant cultural scene in the 1970s and ’80s, chronicling a father-daughter relationship as it evolves from an era of bohemian decadence to the heartbreaking AIDS crisis. Based on the best-selling memoir Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father by Alysia Abbott.
Director/Screenwriter: Andrew Durham
Producers: Sofia Coppola (Art 94), Andrew Durham, Megan Carlson, Siena Oberman, Greg Lauritano, Laure Sudreau
Cast: Scoot McNairy, Emilia Jones, Geena Davis, Cody Fern, Adam Lambert, Maria Bakalova

Child sits on shoulders of man in sunglasses — Cody Fern, Scott McNairy, and Nessa Dougherty appear in *Fairyland* by Andrew William Durham, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by Kalman Muller

PLAN C
United States
A hidden grassroots organization doggedly fights to expand access to abortion pills across the United States keeping hope alive during a global pandemic and the fall of Roe v. Wade. World Premiere. Documentary.
Director/Producer: Tracy Droz Tragos
United States
Editor: Meredith Raithel Perry (Film/Video MFA 10)

Group of woman seated around a table outdoors — A still from *PLAN C* by Tracy Droz Tragos, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by Bobby Moser

To Live and Die and Live
United States
FICTION
Muhammad returns home to Detroit to bury his stepfather and is thrust into settling his accounts, but Muhammad’s struggles with depression and addiction may finish him before he finishes the task.
Director/Screenwriter: Qasim Basir
Producers: Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker, Qasim Basir, Amin Joseph, Dana Offenbach, Samantha Basir
Cast: Amin Joseph, Skye P. Marshall, Omari Hardwick, Cory Hardrict, Dana Gourrier (Theater MFA 10), Maryam Basir

Two people embrace against a nighttime cityscape — Amin Joseph and Skye P. Marshall appear in *To Live and Die and Live* by Qasim Basir, an official selection of the NEXT section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

Short Film Program

“Sunflower Siege Engine”
Short Film Program 1
Movements of resistance are collapsed and woven together, from reflections of one’s own body in the world today to documentation of Alcatraz, the reclamation of Cahokia, and the repatriation of the ancestors.
Director/Screenwriter/Producer: Sky Hopinka (former Visiting Artist and 2019 Herb Alpert Award in the Arts recipient)
Sound Design: Courtney Asztalos

A still from *Sunflower Siege Engine* by Sky Hopinka, an official selection of the U.S. Shorts program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute

“Tender”
United States
Director and Screenwriter: Samm Hodges
Producers: John Magaro, Matt McLaughlin, Jimmy Miller, Devin Tusa
Cast: Will Brill, Louisa Krause, Alexander Hubble (Theater BFA 24), Daina Griffith. World Premiere. Available Online.
A missing wallet threatens to destroy a teenager’s life.

Person in black T-shirt standing knee-deep in a lake — Alexander Hubble appears in ‘Tender’ by Samm Hodges, an official selection of the U.S. Shorts program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. | Photo by Kyle Deitz

See the full festival programming at the official Sundance website.

Posted in Alumni, Art, Film/Video, Students
Tagged Alexander Hubble, Dana Gourrier, Deborah Stratman, Iyabo Kwayana, Meredith Raithel Perry, Sky Hopinka, Sofia Coppola, Sundance Film Festival, Zackary Drucker, Zhen Li

Taya Zoormandan

As digital content and social media producer, Taya enjoys lifting up the stories and accomplishments of CalArts' students, alums, and faculty. She fancies herself a visual artist but is really more of an overzealous collector of art supplies.