The Best Sundance Films to Look Out for in 2022

Regina Hall and Sterling K. Brown are in stellar form in this satirical look at the Southern Baptist church—and megachurch culture at large—through the attempted comeback of a disgraced minister and his first lady. Part drama, part mockumentary, and a whole lot of dark comedy, this is the perfect film to showcase Hall’s keen ability to navigate the humor, the heartbreak, and the simmering rage required for such a woman as Trinitie Childs as she strives to stand by her man. Brown rarely gets to flex his comedic muscles but they are very much in shape, and directing newcomer Adamma Ebo knew exactly how to showcase the best of both actors in her hilarious yet melancholic feature debut.

We’ve been so indoctrinated with Western folktales and horror lore, usually told from a white perspective, that it’s easy to overlook how many different cultures have their own stories for the telling. In her feature debut, Nikyatu Jusu challenges that. She uses the plight of a Senegalese nanny to a wealthy Manhattan family – who is trying to raise money for her son to join her – to weave in the West African mermaid myth of Mami Wata and legend of Anansi the trickster spider. If you loved Remi Weekes’ His House, then Nanny will be right up your street, featuring a stunning central performance from Anna Diop. The gorgeously eerie color palette both reinforces the storytelling and makes this Grand Jury prize-winning film the best looking of the festival.

It requires great direction, a great script, and two very adept actors to make a film set entirely in a hotel room feel kinetic, so thankfully, the combination of creatives for this British romantic comedy worked out very well. Emma Thompson stands out as a retired, sexually-repressed widow who hires Daryl McCormack’s young, charismatic sex worker to show her what she’s been missing. But Sopie Hyde’s film, directed from a script by comedian Katy Brand, isn’t solely concerned with a middle-aged woman getting her rocks off before it's too late; it’s also a deeply engaging, witty, and relatable excavation of feminism, sex positivity, and the generational divides that frequently inform unconscious and conscious prejudices when it comes to sex and desire.

Last year’s British sitcom We Are Lady Parts showcased the rock and roll side of Muslim women that is rarely represented on screen; now, filmmaker Rita Baghdadi has followed suit with this fly-on-the-wall spotlight on an all-Arab women thrash metal band from Lebanon. Centered on Slave to Sirens founding members Lilas and Shery, the documentary has all the heightened friendship and romantic drama you might expect from narrative fiction, yet these young women are dealing with the very real, visceral prejudices against their music, their gender, and their sexual preferences while trying to achieve success doing what they love.

Dakota Johnson drips with endearing Millennial anxiety in this affable comedy directed by Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne from a script written by Lauren Pomerantz. Johnson’s Lucy is a rudderless artist, working at a spa, having to adjust to the fact that her best friend Jane (Sonoya Mizuno) is moving back to London right when she’s finally come out as a lesbian and is looking to tentatively explore her sexuality. Less rom more com, Johnson and Mizuno are a delightful combination in a relatable and charming story that delves into how we navigate friendships while our personal and professional lives evolve.

In this gripping, earth-shattering documentary from Israeli filmmaker Alon Schwarz, a much-needed spotlight has been cast on the horrific treatment of Palestinians during the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. Not only does the film include first-hand accounts and interviews with the IDF soldiers who took part in and witnessed the massacre of the titular Arab village, but it also explores the vilification of one Israeli academic, Teddy Katz, whose thesis on the devastating event in Middle Eastern history led to himself being shunned. There are too few cinematic explorations of the ethnic cleansing that took place during Al-Nakba but this powerful and upsetting documentary goes a long way in rectifying that historical erasure.

Following her acclaim for Black Bear, Aubrey Plaza continues to prove her dramatic credentials with this very Michael Mann-like crime thriller, written and directed by John Patton Ford. Emily (Plaza) is an artist struggling to make ends meet and pay off her student debt because of a criminal record for aggravated assault that potential employers can’t get past. When Youcef (Theo Rossi), a grifter hoping to achieve his own American dream through credit fraud, takes Emily under his wing, things get increasingly complicated as the stakes get higher. Gritty, and full of attitude and blunt conviction, Plaza is in her element in this gripping, no-nonsense drama.

The latest documentary to give female pop stars of the nineties and noughties a feminist reappraisal, Nothing Compares focuses on Sinéad O’Connor and the torrid experience she went through becoming one of the biggest artists in the world only to be knocked down for her commitment to calling out systemic abuses. Using exclusive interviews with O’Connor and the people who knew her best, director Kathryn Ferguson paints a clear picture of a woman unafraid of being political, whose complicated Irish upbringing informed her clear-mindedness. The film also provides fuller context for the unfair backlash O’Connor received that ended the first act of her career. It’s a powerful, important reevaluation of a singer who certainly did not deserve to be maligned.

Daisy Edgar-Jones goes from Normal People to some rather twisted people in this gory dating horror told through a particularly Millennial lens. Look, this film doesn’t break the mold of the revenge genre and there are as many cliched bits of modern love jargon in Lauryn Kahn’s script as there are severed human body parts, but Mimi Cave, in her directorial debut, delivers a fun and punchy story that allows Sebastian Stan to really get his floppy-haired freak on. It’s certainly the perfect movie for viewers who were hoping for a more gruesome, cathartic experience with Promising Young Woman.

This intriguing Glaswegian documentary has heart, humor, and a shocking surprise that will have you muttering, “what tae f**k?” The first feature for Jono McLeod, he tells the story of Scotland’s most famous imposter who happened to be a former classmate. Using interviews with his old school peers and teachers, as well as some sparky animation to depict past events, and Alan Cumming’s superbly lip-syncing the faker’s testimony, McLeod delivers a riveting story about a bizarre 1990s scandal that should keep you utterly bemused well after the credits roll.

Nothing like a coming-of-age drama to trigger anxious memories of how horrendous bullying can be while experiencing the first pangs of desire. That horror is mirrored by the bloody, gruesome brutality depicted by Carlota Pereda in her Spanish-language film as a serial killer begins targeting those who inflict cruelty upon protagonist Sara, the plus-size daughter of a butcher. Laura Galán is sensational as the tormented girl conflicted by the murderous actions of her champion and the weight of abuse she’s carrying from bullies in her community. Piggy gives De Palma’s Carrie a run for its money.

What is this white film character urge to go away for the weekend, or on vacation, with people they barely know? Speak No Evil is the second film on this list to pose that question. Writer-director Christian Tafdrup answers it with a very grounded, albeit incredibly intense, social horror centered on a Danish family of three who make the mistake of visiting the Dutch tourists they met in Tuscany, at their rural home. It’s not quite as horrifying as Michael Haneke’s Funny Games, but the terrifying psychological hallmarks are there. An effective cast, the passive aggressiveness of one couple, and the ominous assertiveness of the other ensures the sense of unease never wavers and only rises to a catastrophic level.

Cinema often depicts motherhood as the ultimate endgame for its female protagonists, but Joachim Trier’s latest romantic drama offers a welcome alternative to that timeworn narrative. Chronicling four years in the life of Julie (Renate Reinsve), a young woman without a clear idea of what she wants from life, Trier and co-writer Eskil Vogt offer a relatable, relevant, and humorous examination of the professional and personal struggles that many people−women, especially−are grappling with. That Reinsve and co-star Anders Danielsen Lie, who plays Julie’s older partner and comic book creator Aksel, make their characters both likable and unlikeable is exactly why this film always feels alive, dynamic, and in touch with the varying sentiments that inform their actions−for better and, of course, for worse.