Sundance is always cozily situated between award shows, but this year’s timing really resonates—the inauguration, the Women’s March and Oscar nominations all happened consecutively. Even in a noisy news season, the festival’s new talents and projects are still cutting through. Here are five breakthroughs to know and, because Sundance wouldn’t be Sundance without those celeb portraits and Polaroids, four photographers manning the photo booths.
#sundance #breakthroughs #SLC
@therealkkon
Kristen Konvitz, the head of production for @staygoldfeatures, is definitely celebrating right now. Fox Searchlight just paid $10.5m for PattiCake$, a debut underdog story from music video director Geremy Jasper.
Followers: 2,003
@tchalamet
Timothée Chalamet has spent half of his 21 years acting, and the spotlight’s finally his, thanks to Call Me By Your Name, the film adaptation of André Aciman’s novel about a Euro love affair, a boy, and his dad’s summer guest. The way it’s played (which, worthy of a $6m bill from Sony before it even screened), the story of a transformative first love transcends gender.
Followers: 13k
@_trevante_
Sundance’s Burning Sands only features Trevante Rhodes in passing, but that’s okay because Moonlight already happened, and that was the real springboard for him joining The Predator reboot.
Followers: 30.8k
@hellomattspicer
The beauty of Sundance: a filmmaker debuted his first directorial project—about Instagram voyeurism—and the bidding war ends in a victory for a newly-minted indie venture who beat out the established A24 and Netflix. Ingrid Goes West owes a lot to its cast—Aubrey Plaza and Elizabeth Olsen—but more to Matt Spicer’s black comedy view of the digital age.
Followers: 1,228
@msjwilly
Such a fun coincidence that Jessica Williams’ own name could so easily fit into the title of her biggest project yet—The Incredible Jessica James—and it could easily be a Vulture headline. (In more eloquent words, it sort of was.) Both her performance on screen and in an impromptu speech at the Women’s March (watch it, then watch it again) will last.
Followers: 135k
And About those Photo Booths…
@marklphoto
Running @Esquire’s Portrait Studio
Followers: 7,023
@jaylclendenin
Running @LATimes Photo Booth
Followers: 5,332
@justbish
Running @VanityFair’s Portrait Studio
Followers: 10.2k
@iheartmaarten
Running @People’s Photo Booth
Followers: 9,412
THE GET
