Sundance Film Festival to include documentaries on Bill Cosby, Princess Diana, Kanye West
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After going largely virtual in 2021, organizers are planning to return to an in-person festival in Park City, Utah.
The Sundance Film Festival will be returning to the Utah mountains in January armed with documentaries about Bill Cosby, Princess Diana, Kanye West and Lucille Ball and the directorial debuts of Eva Longoria, Tig Notaro and Jesse Eisenberg.
According to Fox News, festival organizers unveiled the lineup for the 2022 edition on Thursday, which includes 82 feature-length films culled from over 3,700 submissions."This year`s program reflects the unsettling and uncertain times we`ve been living in for the past year and a half," said Kim Yutani, Sundance`s director of programming.
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As in years past, the festival has had a robust documentary lineup, including `We Need to Talk About Cosby`, in which director W. Kamau Bell has attempted to examine the art and artist question as it applies to the actor/comedian, who spent time in prison before his sexual assault conviction was overturned.
Festival director Tabitha Jackson said the Cosby documentary is, "A real cultural analysis of what happened."`Lucy and Desi`, which marks Amy Poehler`s documentary debut, and `The Princess` from director Ed Perkins are also in the lineup. Directors Clarence `Coodie` Simmons and Chike Ozah also have `jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy`, chronicling 21 years of Kanye West with never-before-seen footage, and Kathryn Ferguson charts the career of Sinead O`Connor in `Nothing Compares`.
The documentaries also go beyond the big names and biopics. Director Ramin Bahrani will debut his film `2nd Chance`, about the bankrupt pizzeria owner who invented the modern bulletproof vest, and Rory Kennedy has `Downfall: The Case Against Boeing`, which looks at the two Boeing 737 MAX crashes and the aftermath.
After going largely virtual in 2021, organizers are planning to return to an in-person festival in Park City, Utah, with some satellite screenings at regional theatres across the U.S. during the second weekend and virtual options as well.
Earlier this year, the festival announced that all attendees, from filmmakers to ticket buyers and volunteers, would be required to have received the COVID-19 vaccine.
As per Fox News, in that spirit, the festival will kick off on January 20 with the "immersive live-cinema" documentary `32 Sounds`, which will debut online and in Park City`s Egyptian Theater. Other day one premieres include Longoria`s `La Guerra Civil` and `The Princess`.