Daisy Ridley portrays the socially awkward Fran in Rachel Lambert’s Sometimes I Think About Dying, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
By Lucy Spicer
It’s no secret that January is a huge month for Sundance Institute. The 2024 Sundance Film Festival will take place in person and online January 18–28, and we’re so excited for audiences to meet and fall in love with a new crop of independent filmmakers and their projects. But if you need some news of Sundance releases to tide you over before you can build out your 2024 Festival schedule, you’re in luck.
This month’s offerings include the broadcast premiere of a Sundance-supported documentary, the theatrical release of both a charming fiction title and an experimental documentary that premiered at the 2023 Festival, and a brand-new special screening from the 2024 Festival. And don’t forget to consult the touring schedule for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour! The tour is traveling to eight different theaters across six U.S. states this January.
Last Things — Director Deborah Stratman examines our planet’s past and speculates about its future with a seemingly modest subject as a through line: rocks. Last Things, which premiered in the New Frontier section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, tackles the enormity of our existence using a scale that ranges from microscopic photography to sweeping landscape footage, centering rocks that allow us to track the journey of it all. Arriving in select theaters January 12.
Brief Tender Light — The Massachusetts Institute of Technology: The elite university is known worldwide for its role in the scientific and technological advancement of society since the institute was founded in 1861. Spanning nearly a decade, Ghanaian filmmaker and MIT alum Arthur Musah’s documentary follows four Black African students as they adjust to the realities of life in America while pursuing their dreams at MIT with the goal of effecting meaningful change back home. Brief Tender Light was supported by the 2023 Sundance Institute | Sandbox Fund. Making its broadcast premiere on PBS’ POV January 15.
Sometimes I Think About Dying — Fran (Daisy Ridley) lives an isolated, uneventful life in a coastal Oregon town. She has a closet full of beige clothes, a cubicle job at a small office, and a daily routine that includes idle fantasies about all the different ways she could die. When friendly and outgoing Robert (Dave Merheje) joins the company where she works, Fran finds herself navigating waters outside her solitary bubble as the two get to know each other. But can she let her guard down enough to build a real relationship? Directed by Rachel Lambert, this rom-com-drama premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Co-writer Kevin Armento based the film’s screenplay on a partial adaptation of his play Killers — a work that also inspired the short film Sometimes, I Think About Dying, which screened at the 2019 Festival. Arriving in theaters January 26.
The Greatest Night in Pop — Thirty-nine years ago, 46 icons of music gathered together to tackle a monumental feat: Successfully learn and record a world-changing song in just one night. We know the end result — the hit charity single “We Are the World.” And now, thanks to director Bao Nguyen and producer (and “We Are the World” co-songwriter) Lionel Richie, we get to look behind the scenes at all the work, chaos, and musical magic that took place in the recording studio that fateful night. This new documentary premiering in the Special Screenings section of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival combines contemporary interviews with rare footage from the recording session, which featured such renowned artists as Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, and Paul Simon among many others. Streaming on Netflix January 29.
The 2023 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour is underway! Traveling to all corners of the United States and beyond in the following months, the 90-minute program features seven short films selected from the 2023 Festival. Check here for dates and venues; see below for dates in January.
- Maitland, Florida, January 2, Enzian Theater
- Seattle, Washington, January 3–27, Northwest Film Forum
- San Francisco, California, January 5–11, Roxie Theater
- San Rafael, California, January 5–10, Smith Rafael Film Center
- Tucson, Arizona, January 10, The Loft Cinema
- Dallas, Texas, January 12–14, The Texas Theatre
- Miami Beach, Florida, January 12–25, O Cinema
- Wichita, Kansas, January 14, Tallgrass Film Center
