Founded by the Sundance Kid himself, Robert Redford, the Sundance Film Festival (part of the Sundance Institute) is a platform for independent films and their storytellers to be nationally recognized for their contribution to cinema.
Every year since 1978, these independent films are screened from January 23rd until February 2nd, and if they're lucky enough, a few of them get picked up by distributors to be released into theaters across the nation. Many times, successful films like The Usual Suspects, Reservoir Dogs, or Whiplash will go on to grab Oscar gold at the Academy Awards.
But too often great pieces of cinematic art get released, are given recognition during the festival, and then fail to be shared with a wider audience. Or, even worse, they completely bomb at the box office and are dismissed for their creative achievements. To celebrate Sundance 2020, here are 10 acclaimed movies from the Sundance Film Festival that have been forgotten by time.
THE BELIEVER
Believe it or not, it's a very young Ryan Gosling starring in his first major role as a Nazi-propaganda spouting skinhead in The Believer. Gosling is particularly effective as a self-loathing Jewish teen who transforms into a violent fascist over the course of the film.
Despite securing the Grand Jury Prize, the gritty film couldn't find a distributor, and so failed to reach a wider audience because of its uncomfortable material. Gosling would go on to achieve greater fame in larger movies, but he always returns to his indie roots every few years to remind viewers of his pedigree.
GAS FOOD LODGING
Life is passing by teenagers Shade (Fairuza Balk) and Trudi (Ione Skye), who long for a big-city life their mother Nora can't provide them. Living in a trailer park in the American Southwest, they take a series of dead-end jobs and dead-end boyfriends searching for excitement.
Their absentee father (James Brolin) reenters their lives just when major changes are happening, and this rustic family drama takes an unexpected turn. Full of engaging performances, this 1992 pastiche of the American independent cinema does the genre proud.
L.I.E.
In 1986, several years before Silence of the Lambs, Brian Cox was the first actor to bring the nefarious Hannibal Lecter to life on the big screen in Manhunter. In 2001's L.I.E., he plays an even more despicable persona but, like Lecter, there is depth to Cox's character.
Cox plays a resident pedophile who befriends a teenage boy (Paul Dano) who is left largely unsupervised. As uncomfortable as the premise might sound, it's not about sex-offenders, and more about the tragedies of adolescents left unattended. Both Cox and Dano are riveting in their respective parts.
TUCKER AND DALE VS. EVIL
Some viewers familiar with Tucker and Dale vs. Evil may be surprised to find out that it was a contribution to the Sundance Film Festival in 2011, considering its sanguinary plot about two chainsaw-wielding backcountry boys who inadvertently terrorize a carload of teenagers out joyriding.
By turning the antagonists from slasher films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre into two misunderstood bumpkins, a slasher film becomes a nuanced commentary on societal perspective. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil has already become a cult classic since its debut due to its originality.
WINTER'S BONE
Like Scarlett Johansson in Ghost World and The Horse Whisperer, Jennifer Lawrence also once made indie films. She took the world of American independent cinema by snowstorm in Winter's Bone, a pulse-pounding mystery thriller.
Based on Daniel Woodrell's novel about a rural family living in the Ozarks, it focuses on a young teenager named Ree (Lawrence) who spends the majority of her time looking after her mentally absent mother and her two younger siblings. When her meth-addicted father goes missing, she must track him down before their house is foreclosed on.
MEMENTO
The first film to feature Christopher Nolan's heavy-hitting combination of director/writer credits, Memento dazzled Sundance audiences in the mid-'90s with its story about a man (Guy Pearce) suffering from short term memory loss trying to track down his wife's killer.
The film is told in a series of vignettes in reverse-chronological order as pieces of the puzzle fall back into place. The man does everything he can think of to jog his own memory, including putting post-its absolutely everywhere and writing all over his body.
Memento has been somewhat overshadowed by Nolan's later productions but remains a must-watch in the director's filmography. Despite garnering near-universal praise during its festival run, Memento found it incredibly difficult to find an American distributor. While not necessarily forgotten, Memento serves as an example of a fantastic indie movie that was nearly banished to obscurity despite its critical success.
GRIZZLY MAN
Assembled by the lauded German film director Werner Herzog from 90 hours of real video footage, Grizzly Man takes a harsh, unremitting look at the real story of conversationalist Timothy Treadwell and his 13-year study of the bears inhabiting Alaska's Katmai National Park and Reserve.
A self-proclaimed protector of the bears and their habitat, Treadwell is joined by his girlfriend who assists in his documentation. They are eventually killed by the bears they have spent so much time watching, generating division among the public on whether or not Treadwell deserved his gruesome fate.
HOOP DREAMS
This critically acclaimed sports documentary follows two African-American students from the time they are awarded basketball scholarships to being admitted into mostly white private schools, which are a far cry from the public schools they would have gone to normally.
Hoop Dreams was filmed over five years, and while much of its excitement comes from the basketball games themselves, it proves riveting in its social commentary as well. The documentary is certainly eye-opening about the realities of sportsmanship across racial divides.
BLOOD SIMPLE
Joel and Ethan Coen weren't the big-name directors they are now when Blood Simple was released in 1984, long before O' Devil Where Art Thou, Fargo, and The Big Lebowski. It showcases their usual cast of eccentric characters, interconnected plots, and amusing dialogue.
This film-noir focuses on a saloon owner who becomes jealous of his younger wife and the bartender he suspects she's having an affair with. He hires a private detective to follow the pair, but the detective gets other ideas. Watching the film highlights all of their best material, which would appear in all their later works.
BIG NIGHT
The co-directorial debut of Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott, Big Night is the ultimate foodie movie for everyone that likes their independent films to really sizzle. Tucci and Tony Shalhoub star as brothers who plan to open the best Italian restaurant on the Jersey Shore in the '50s.
There are no gym shirts and spray tans here - just the aspirations of a family trying to introduce American families to Italian dining that consisted of more than spaghetti and meatballs. It captures the exhilarating stress of the kitchen on the restaurant's "big night," while still offering plenty of heart and laughs.