Sundance Sunday: A Gloria Steinem biopic and Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ ski comedy
Sundance Sunday means farewell brunches, murmurs about the unusually slow pace of dealmaking and a gradually emerging consensus on fest standouts so far. Films that have sparked attention and critical praise include three from female directors: Janicza Bravo’s “Zola†and Eliza Hittman’s “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,†Josephine Decker’s “Shirley†and Emerald Fennell’s “Promising Young Woman.†Here’s what’s on The Times Entertainment team’s radar for fest Day Four.
Sunday films to see
Premiering at noon at the Eccles is Julie Taymor’s “The Glorias,†a time-bending chronicle of the life of trailblazing activist Gloria Steinem — played at different ages by actors including Julianne Moore and Alicia Vikander.
Scroll through to see Sundance Film Festival moments from the Los Angeles Times Studio presented by Chase Sapphire on Main.
“Whirlybird†explores the work and personal challenges of two Los Angeles TV journalists, Marika Gerrard and Zoey Tur (known then as Bob), who captured some of the city’s most epic news stories (think the 1994 O.J. Simpson car chase). The documentary competition title premieres at the MARC at 2:30 p.m.
Competition title “Palm Springs†stars Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti and premieres at 3 p.m. at the Library — after the cast and director Max Barbakow sit for a noon panel moderated by The Times’ Amy Kaufman at Chase Sapphire on Main.
Along with “Zola,†A24 has “Minari†in competition at the fest — the family drama stars Steven Yeun and premieres at 6 p.m. at the Library.
Fox Searchlight’s dark comedy “Downhill†— starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell and inspired by 2014 Swedish film “Force Majeure†— bows at 9:30 a.m. at the Eccles. (The film’s directors, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, and cast will speak with Kaufman at noon Monday at Chase Sapphire on Main.)
Talks and celebrations
Hillary Clinton and her Hulu doc series filmmaker, Nanette Burstein, appear for a Cinema Café talk at 11:30 a.m. at the fest Filmmaker Lodge (then they head to Salt Lake City for a Q&A following a 12:30 p.m. screening there).
At 12:45 p.m. at Canada Goose Basecamp (558 Main St.), The Atlantic senior editor Lauren Williams interviews “The 40-Year-Old Version†director, screenwriter, and star Radha Blank and producer Lena Waithe (who also appears in Justin Simien’s “Bad Hairâ€).
The Times’ Mark Olsen leads a 2:30 p.m. panel on “Transcendence of Narrative†at The Audible Speakeasy, featuring Simien, “Zola†star Colman Domingo, “Sylvie’s Love†duo Tessa Thompson and Nnamdi Asomugha.
The WME Lounge hosts the 6:30 p.m. ceremony and reception for the Horizon Awards, founded in 2014 by producers Cassian Elwes (Dee Rees’ “The Last Thing He Wantedâ€), Lynnette Howell Taylor (Tara Miele’s competition title “Wander Darklyâ€) and Christine Vachon (“Zola,†“Shirleyâ€) to support emerging female filmmakers.
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