There isn't anything about Sundance that we're not excited for—between the buzzy new films and the celebs showing off their winter gear, there is just so much to love. This year, the film festival is taking place from January 22 through February 1—and whether or not you'll be making it out to Park City, Utah this month to check it out yourself, cinephiles everywhere will want to keep an eye out for 2015's most promising films, below!
1. Dope
Malcolm (Shameik Moore) and his geeky pals have grown up in a tough neighborhood in Inglewood, California. When the innocent group falls in with a drug dealer, they struggle to get out before they’re in over the heads. The film features a young, all-star cast including Tony Revolori (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Blake Anderson (Workaholics), and A$AP Rocky in his acting debut.
2. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
In 1970s San Francisco, Minnie, a creative teenager, has an unexpected foray into the adult world with her mother’s boyfriend. Based on Phoebe Gloeckner’s graphic novel, the film’s promising cast includes Kristen Wiig, Alexander Skarsgård and Christopher Meloni.
3. Glassland
Jack Reynor and Toni Colette star in this Irish film about John, a young man who goes to great lengths to care for his alcoholic mother. As John takes a job in Dublin’s shady criminal underbelly in order to fund his mother’s rehab, the film deftly explores a bleak world with incredible emotional power.
4. Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
From Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney comes this new documentary exploring the highly secretive Church of Scientology. The film interviews former members and delves into the origins of the church, offering a previously unseen glimpse into Scientology.
5. I Smile Back
Comedienne Sarah Silverman redefines herself as a performer with the lead role in this family drama. Disillusioned with her seemingly perfect existence as a suburban housewife, Laney (Silverman) develops a secret life that threatens to ruin her family, and she must stop herself before her mistakes go too far.
6. 3 ½ Minutes
This documentary examines Florida’s Stand Your Ground self-defense laws and tells the story of Jordan Davis, whom Michael Dunn killed after they got into an argument at a gas station in 2012. 3 ½ Minutes goes beyond simply relaying facts to paint each person as distinctly human, making it an important contribution to the current #blacklivesmatter discussion.
Only a few films can take home prizes; and our bets are on these ones. Last year, the Oscar-nominated Whiplash won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award. Without a doubt, all of the Sundance premieres are films to keep an eye on in 2015!