The New Orleans Film Society (NOFS) and The Broadside announced the 12 films that will be presented in New Orleans as part of the Satellite Screens initiative for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
In partnership with Sundance Institute, the festival will run from January 28 – February 2. All 12 films will be making their world premiere at Sundance.
The films coming to New Orleans will be presented at The Broadside (600 N Broad St.)
Screenings will be outdoors with limited capacity in accordance with the City of New Orleans health and safety guidelines.
“As much as we miss gathering in Park City with the international filmmaking community, we are excited to be bringing the festival to our hometown this year, offering our members and film lovers in New Orleans the opportunity to join the festival at home,” says New Orleans Film Society’s Artistic Director Clint Bowie.
The selections playing in New Orleans, alongside their loglines and showtimes, are listed below.
Sundance 2021 in New Orleans Lineup & Schedule
Thursday, January 28, 6:15 pm, The Broadside
In The Same Breath, Dir. Nanfu Wang, World Premiere, Documentary
How did the Chinese government turn pandemic coverups in Wuhan into a triumph for the Communist party? An essential narrative of firsthand accounts of the coronavirus, and a revelatory examination of how propaganda and patriotism shaped the outbreak’s course – both in China and in the US.
Thursday, January 28, 8:30 pm, The Broadside
Strawberry Mansion, Dirs. Albert Birney, Kentucker Audley, World Premiere, Narrative
In a world where the government records and taxes dreams, an unassuming dream auditor gets swept up in a cosmic journey through the life and dreams of an aging eccentric named Bella. Together, they must find a way back home.
Cast: Penny Fuller, Kentucker Audley, Grace Glowicki, Reed Birney, Linas Phillips, Constance Shulman
Friday, January 29, 6:15 pm, The Broadside
Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It, Dir. Mariem PĂ©rez Riera, World Premiere
Rita Moreno defied both her humble upbringing and relentless racism to become one of a select group who has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award. Over a seventy-year career, she has paved the way for Hispanic-American performers by refusing to be pigeonholed into one-dimensional stereotypes.
Friday, January 29, 8:30 pm, The Broadside
I Was A Simple Man, Dir. Christopher Makoto Yogi, World Premiere, Narrative
As a family in Hawai’i faces the imminent death of their eldest, the ghosts of the past haunt the countryside.
Cast: Steve Iwamoto, Constance Wu, Kanoa Goo, Chanel Akiko Hirai, Tim Chiou, Boonyanudh Jiyarom.
Saturday, January 30, 6:15 pm, The Broadside
Passing, Dir. Rebecca Hall, World Premiere, Narrative
Two African-American women who can “pass” as white choose to live on opposite sides of the color line in 1929 New York in an exploration of racial and gender identity, performance, obsession, and repression. Based on the novella by Nella Larsen.
Cast: Tessa Thompson, Ruth Negga, André Holland, Alexander Skarsgård, Bill Camp, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy.
Saturday, January 30, 8:30 pm, The Broadside
R#J, Dir. Carey Williams, World Premiere, Narrative
A re-imagining of Romeo And Juliet, taking place through their cell phones, in a mash-up of Shakespearean dialogue with current social media communication.
Cast: Camaron Engels, Francesca Noel, David Zayas, Diego Tinoco, Siddiq Saunderson, Russell Hornsby
Sunday, January 31, 6:15 pm, The Broadside
Misha And The Wolves, Dir. Sam Hobkinson, World Premiere, Documentary
A woman’s Holocaust memoir takes the world by storm, but a fallout with her publisher-turned-detective reveals her story as an audacious deception created to hide a darker truth.
Sunday, January 31, 8:30 pm, The Broadside
Cusp, Dirs. Parker Hill, Isabel Bethencourt, World Premiere, Documentary
In a Texas military town, three teenage girls confront the dark corners of adolescence at the end of a fever dream summer.
Monday, February 1, 6:15 pm, The Broadside
Ailey, Dir. Jamila Wignot, World Premiere, Documentary
Alvin Ailey was a visionary artist who found salvation through dance. Told in his own words and through the creation of a dance inspired by his life, this immersive portrait follows a man who, when confronted by a world that refused to embrace him, determined to build one that would.
Monday, February 1, 8:30 pm, The Broadside
Users, Dir. Natalia Almada, World Premiere, Documentary
A mother wonders, will my children love their perfect machines more than they love me, their imperfect mother? She switches on a smart-crib lulling her crying baby to sleep. This perfect mother is everywhere. She watches over us, takes care of us. We listen to her. We trust her.
New Orleans-based producer Josh Penn will be in attendance for an introduction.
Tuesday, February 2, 6:15 pm, The Broadside
Ma Belle, My Beauty, Dir. Marion Hill, World Premiere, Narrative
A surprise reunion in southern France reignites passions and jealousies between two women who were formerly polyamorous lovers.
Cast: Idella Johnson, Hannah Pepper, Lucien Guignard, Sivan Noam Shimon
This screening will be preceded by a reception at The Broadside on February 2 at 5 pm with cast & crew in attendance. The film screening begins at 6:15 pm and will be followed by a Q&A with New Orleans-based director Marion Hill, and actors Idella Johnson and Hannah Pepper. The reception will be open to ticket holders only.
Tuesday, February 2, 8:30 pm, The Broadside
Philly D.A., Created by Ted Passon, Yoni Brook, Nicole Salazar, World Premiere, Documentary
A groundbreaking inside look at the long-shot election and tumultuous first term of Larry Krasner, Philadelphia’s unapologetic District Attorney, and his experiment to upend the criminal justice system from the inside out.
Producers Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald will be in attendance for an introduction.
New Orleans Film Society members also get $3 off of each ticket. Visit neworleansfilmsociety.org/
Tickets for sundance 2021 in New Orleans are now available and can be purchased at neworleansfilmsociety.org
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cover photo via New Orleans Film Society