Film Premieres and the Opening Night Gala at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival

Loved by fans of indie cinema, the Sundance Film Festival 2024 kicks off the film festival circuit with an exciting schedule of events including parties, provocative panels, and red-carpet premieres.

Marking its 40th anniversary, the lineup includes 53 short films, 35 documentaries, and 83 feature films that are diverse in several categories. My Old Ass, Realm of Satan, A Different Man, A Real Pain, Freaky Tales, Little Death, Love Lies Bleeding, Love Me, Sasquatch Sunset, and Thelma are a few of the highly anticipated films making their premiere.

The first night of the festival kicked off with Josh Margolin’s Thelma, which starred Oscar-nominated actress June Squibb in an unexpected action role. Malcolm McDowell, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, and Fred Hechinger make up the ensemble cast. Actor Richard Roundtree was also a member of the cast; he passed away in October 2024.

The main character of the movie is 93-year-old Grandmother Thelma Post (June Squibb), who falls for a phone scammer posing as her grandson. She sets out on a perilous journey across the city, driven by her determination to recover what was stolen from her. Filmmaker and writer Josh Margolin’s centenarian grandmother provided real-life inspiration for the movie.

At the Eccles Center Theatre for the premiere of Freaky Tales, Pedro Pascal, Jay Ellis, Normani Kordei Hamilton, Keir Gilchrist, Jack Champion, Ji-young Yoo, Ryan Fleck, and Anna Boden were present. After releasing their breakthrough film Half Nelson (2006), which starred Ryan Gosling and earned him an Academy Award nomination for his role, Fleck and Boden are back at Sundance. Ben Mendelsohn, Dominique Thorne, and Angus Cloud make up the ensemble cast.

Power; Stress Positions, Girls State, I Saw The TV Glow, Layla, Ghostlight, Veni Vidi Vici, and Kneecap are among the other films that have premiered today.

On January 18, a star-studded presenter lineup will grace the Opening Night Gala this evening, as Christopher Nolan will be presented with the inaugural Sundance Institute Trailblazer Award. The Visionary Award will go to Kristen Stewart; the Vanguard Award will go to Celine Song and Maite Alberdi; and the Vanguard Award for Philanthropy will go to Pat Mitchell thanks to Mary Robinson.

The jury and audience awards will be given out on January 26 at The Ray Theatre during the in-person Sundance Film Festival in 2024, which will take place in Park City and Salt Lake City from January 18–28.