2023 Film Slate

These specially programmed films are designed to push boundaries and highlight progressive filmmaking. These fearless directors are elevating genre and horror storytelling. For the avid cineaste, but not for the faint of heart! // A Folded Ocean - Director: Ben Brewer // Ringing Rocks - Director: Gus Reed // Absolution, Parsin - Director: Jack Nop // RO - Director: Gustav Ekberg // Rejoice in the Lamb - Directors: Courtney Bush, Will Carington, & Jake Goicoechea // The Doorman - Director: Luke Knox // Sushi Noh - Director: Jayden Rathsam Hua

SVFF is excited to announce that this year’s addition to our Private Patron Screening series is the highly anticipated AIR from award winning director Ben Affleck. Patrons and invited guests will receive a first look at this film about the unbelievable game-changing partnership between a then rookie Michael Jordan and Nike’s fledgling basketball division which revolutionized the world of sports and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand. This moving story follows the career-defining gamble of an unconventional team with everything on the line, the uncompromising vision of a mother who knows the worth of her son’s immense talent, and the basketball phenom who would become the greatest of all time. The film opens globally in theatres on April 5th. Thanks to the generosity of the Patrons who support this Festival and the Sun Valley Film Initiative, we are able to open a select number of seats to students. These seats will be delegated to students with proof of enrollment on a first come first serve basis, with priority given to Student Passholders.

Itsy Levan is devastated by her parents’ decision to leave the city and buy a fixer upper in the middle of nowhere. Her life seems over until she meets her space- obsessed neighbor Calvin Kipler. Calvin has spent most of his life awaiting the next arrival of Jesper’s Comet— partly because of his obsession with Astronomy, but mostly because the last time it came, ALIENS ABDUCTED HIS PARENTS! This year he is going to be ready for its return so he can finally get them back. Itsy sees this as a chance to help her get into a NYC journalism program and decides to help him, however crazy his plan seems. They end up discovering much more than what is on the other end of the comet’s tail.

When the Muscogee Nation suddenly begins censoring their free press, a rogue reporter fights to expose her government’s corruption in a historic battle that will have ramifications for all of Indian Country.

Rose (Marin Ireland) is a pathologist who prefers working with corpses over social interaction. She also has an obsession — the reanimation of the dead. Celie (Judy Reyes) is a maternity nurse who has built her life around her bouncy, chatterbox six - year - old daughter, Lila (A.J. Lister). When one tragic night, Lila suddenly falls ill and dies, the two women''s worlds crash into each other. They embark on a dark path of no return where they will be forced to confront how far they are willing to go to protect what they hold most dear. This standout directorial debut from Laura Moss reimagines Mary Shelley’s classic horror myth Frankenstein with such a contemporary understanding that it becomes something exciting, terrifying, and singularly new.

Born in the slums of Kampala, Bobi Wine, Ugandan opposition leader, former member of parliament, activist and national superstar musician, risks his life and the lives of his wife, Barbie, and their children to fight the ruthless regime led by Yoweri Museveni. Museveni has been in power since 1986 and changed Uganda’s constitution to enable him to run for yet another five-year term. Running in the Country’s 2021 presidential elections, Bobi Wine uses his music to denounce the dictatorial regime and support his life mission to defend the oppressed and the voiceless people of Uganda. In this fight, he must also take on the country’s police and military, which are not afraid to use violence and torture in a vain attempt to intimidate and silence him and his supporters.

Directed by Matthieu Rytz (Anote’s Art, Sundance 2018), this exquisite fly-on-the-wall environmental doc is also a gripping and up-to-the-minute tale of geopolitical, scientific, and corporate intrigue that exposes the destructive machinations of a secretive organization empowered to extract massive amounts of of metals from the deep seafloor. Narrated by Jason Momoa, DEEP RISING illuminates the vital relationship between the deep ocean and sustaining life on Earth.

What if a childhood dream suddenly came true - but thirty years later? That’s what happened to singer/songwriter Donnie Emerson. His dream of success suddenly – and unexpectedly – came true but only as he approached 50 years old. And while it brought hopes of second chances, it also brought ghosts of the past and long-buried emotions as Donnie, his brother Joe and their entire family came to terms with their newly found fame. DREAMIN WILD is an incredible true story of love, hope, family, guilt and responsibility.

Following her sister’s disappearance, a Native American hustler kidnaps her niece from the child’s white grandparents and sets out for the state powwow in hopes of keeping what is left of their family intact.

FLAMIN’ HOT is the inspiring true story of Richard Montañez, the Frito Lay janitor who channeled his Mexican American heritage and upbringing to turn the iconic Flamin’ Hot Cheetos into a snack that disrupted the food industry and became a global pop culture phenomenon. Preceded by Short Film BIENVENIDOS A LOS ANGELES - Dir. Lisa Cole

Beautiful and troubled 20-something Donya, an Afghan translator who used to work with the U.S. government, has trouble sleeping. She lives by herself in Fremont in a building with other Afghan immigrants and often dines alone at a local restaurant watching soap operas. Her routine changes when she’s promoted to writing the fortunes at her job at a fortune cookie factory in the city. As her fortunes are read by strangers throughout the Bay, Donya’s smoldering longing drives her to send a message out to the world, unsure where it will lead.

JOYLAND explores the many sides of love and desire in a patriarchal society. Gentle and timid, Haider (Ali Junejo) lands a job at a Bollywood-style burlesque, telling his family he is a theater manager, when in actuality, he is a backup dancer. As he acclimates to the new job, Haider becomes infatuated with the strong-willed trans woman Biba (Alina Khan) who runs the show—an unforeseen partnership that opens his eyes and ultimately his worldview, in ways both unexpected and intimate.

Jules follows Milton (Kingsley) who lives a quiet life of routine in a small western Pennsylvania town, but finds his day upended when a UFO and its extra-terrestrial passenger crash land in his backyard. Before long, Milton develops a close relationship with the extra-terrestrial he calls “Jules.” Things become complicated when two neighbors (Harris and Curtin) discover Jules and the government quickly closes in. What follows is a funny, wildly inventive ride as the three neighbors find meaning and connection later in life - thanks to this unlikely stranger.

Central Appalachia is a place of mountains and myth. Director Elaine McMillion Sheldon knows this well, calling those mountains home. Coal has had a profound influence on this community’s identity, but Sheldon dares to consider what future stories might look like out of the shadow of coal, now that relationships to coal are changing. She takes us on an alluring cinematic journey through the past, present, and future of Appalachia. Sheldon’s distinct vision remixes present-day moments of life in a coal-mining town with archival footage and atmospheric invocations of the land to alchemize something new — a rare, nuanced depiction of this community. A young girl learning the story of coal anchors the journey while Sheldon’s poetic voiceover guides us through the experience and an expressive score differentiates the reality of coal from a more imaginative world. The hybrid approach allows Sheldon to explore the act of storytelling itself and is a magical reclamation of the power of stories to shape how a region sees itself. The end of one story welcomes the beginning of another.

Kiran Singh (Nardeep Khurmi), a 1st generation Punjabi-American, has just accepted a last-minute trucking job to Boston which causes a blow-up argument with Preeti (Pallavi Sastry), his 37-week pregnant wife, who admits to feeling abandoned. En route, Kiran discovers Elena (Caroline Valencia), a 10-year-old Mexican-American stowed away in his trailer. After debating the merits of turning her into the police, Kiran deduces she might be undocumented, and resolves to shepherd Elena to her uncle in Boston despite putting his livelihood in jeopardy. As the pair ride across the changing American landscape, Kiran faces what it means to be a father and Elena learns how to trust again. They connect through family, dreams of the future, and a healthy debate over God’s existence, all while the ghosts of the past, racially charged encounters, and the threat of I.C.E. linger over their journey.

In the next decade, NASA will send astronauts to Mars for the first time. Separated from Earth, and unable to communicate with ground in real time throughout the three-year journey, crew members will experience extreme isolation that could gravely affect their mental state and the mission. The Longest Goodbye follows a savvy NASA psychologist tasked with protecting these daring explorers, who are torn between their dream to reach new frontiers and their need to stay connected to home. This conflict, we soon realize, transcends space travel: how do we balance our drive for progress with the deep connection to our roots and each other.

Ian (Chris Stack), lives alone in a house on the edge of the Puget Sound, wrestling with long-held grief and shame over the loss of Liv (Samantha Soule), a woman he loved dearly who died nearly two decades prior. As he moves through the world he's created with visions and fantasies of their life together, he drifts further and further from the present. Liv''s surviving sister Beth (Emmy winner Merritt Wever), a woman with ghosts of her own, is the only one to see how far Ian has slipped from reality. Their chance run-in sparks a spiral which ultimately forces Ian to choose between losing himself completely or journeying towards healing.

Nascondino drops us head first into Naples, spanning four years and three generations with intimate access into one of the most fabled and iconic cities in the world. Living each day as if it were his last, 10-year-old Entoni is a symbol of the city, the ‘scugnizzo’ or street kid; he roams freely around the neighbourhood, playing, hustling, avoiding school and hanging around with the older kids of the local gangs. He also imagines a life for himself far away from the criminality he has grown up exposed to and does all he can to learn a practical trade. But now, his freedom is at risk. In 2017, Italian judges pioneered a new form of intervention aimed at breaking the bonds between children and parents involved in organised crime through their forced removal by the state. Born into a notorious family, Entoni’s increasingly wayward behaviour leads to an unlikely accident allowing this circling threat to become a reality. Meanwhile, his grandmother Dora is determined to steer him towards the right track and keep him safe from harm. Although she is the main caregiver for her grandchildren, we learn of her own criminal past and the decisions she has made as head of the family; a past she is now trying to distance herself from as guilt, worry and nightmares start to torment her. We follow Entoni as he falls victim to circumstance and comes to terms with the reality of his impending removal. He looks to his absent father, imprisoned for crimes the family will not disclose, and imagines his return home. As the day draws ever closer, he balances the duelling forces in his nature. As he turns to religion and the Madonna for support we witness the relationship with his family deteriorate as the pressure of separation reveals its emotional toll. Alongside this we see how Dora, too, confronts the systems within which she must operate. Haunted by past horrors and visited in nightmares by demonic spirits, she withdraws from daily life and into faith, memory and superstition as she seeks guidance and redemption. She has seen her children and their generation killed or imprisoned, and although they are beyond saving, she feels that for Entoni’s generation it is not too late. As Entoni makes multiple attempts to escape state care and return home, the film ultimately asks: will he be able to grow beyond the constraints of his upbringing or is he doomed to repeat the cycle?

From a beat reporter at the Washington Post to an overnight sensation as the leader of the New Journalism movement, Tom Wolfe was at the forefront of reshaping how American stories are told. Recognizing the importance of overlooked subcultures and communities, Wolfe documented everything from rural stock car drivers to hippies in Haight Ashbury to the Apollo Astronauts, and his ability to bridge cultural and class divides while tackling stories central to American Life was unique in fiction and non-fiction. With a distinctive and oft-imitated style all his own, Wolfe’s body of work includes some of the most memorable and culturally impactful stories of the 20th century like The Right Stuff, The Bonfire of the Vanities, and A Man in Full. Radical Wolfe is a deeply personal and illuminating look at the man inside the famous white suit, featuring conversations and interviews with those who knew him best, including Michael Lewis, Jann Wenner, Gay Talese, Lynn Nesbit, Terry McDonell, Tom Junod, Christopher Buckley, Niall Ferguson, and Alexandra Wolfe.

Winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at Sundance 2023 A joyful comedy bubbling with hope, SCRAPPER is the incredible debut feature from Charlotte Regan, starring Harris Dickinson and Lola Campbell. It’s said that it takes a village to raise a child but 12-year-old Georgie (Lola Campbell) has other ideas. Living alone since her beloved mum died, Georgie fills the flat they shared with her own special magic. But when her absent father Jason (Harris Dickinson) turns up out of the blue, she’s forced to confront reality. A dreamy, witty and unmissable tale of family and fresh starts, SCRAPPER is a film that believes life’s not so much about chasing rainbows but snatching fistfuls in both hands.

Free Event // Episode 1: Desert - This episode reveals the secrets of Namibia’s last remaining desert elephants. When droughts, sandstorms, and even floods threaten them, their shared knowledge passed down from generation to generation keeps them alive. This is the toughest place on earth to be an elephant, and their story is one of triumph in a land of extremes.

A sculptor preparing to open a new show must balance her creative life with the daily dramas of family and friends, in Kelly Reichardt’s vibrant and captivatingly funny portrait of art & craft // This film was improperly labeled as Suitable for All Ages. SHOWING UP is intended for Mature Audiences Only.

Based on an inspiring true story, Miep Gies was young, carefree and opinionated — at a time when opinions got you killed ― when Otto Frank asked her to help hide his family from the Nazis during WWII. Told with a modern sensibility, A SMALL LIGHT shakes the cobwebs off history and makes Miep’s story feel relevant, forcing audiences to ask themselves what they would have done in Miep’s shoes; and in modern times, asking if they would have the courage to stand up to hatred. Some stood by, Miep stood up. Pilot: Miep, who believes she''s just a secretary, is asked to hide the Franks and must rise to the occasion. No longer ordinary, her first task is to get a nervous Margot into the secret hiding place in plain view of the Nazis. After giving Margot the strength Miep didn''t even know she had, the Franks are safe and sound behind the walls of the annex. Now she and Jan realize this was the easy part. Welcome to Switzherland: Everything seems under control until Miep’s Jewish dentist, Fritz Pfeffer, asks if she knows of a place where he can hide. At first, Miep denies knowing anything and tries to live like she did before the Nazis invaded, but the growing violence she sees on the streets changes her mind. Miep is becoming more and more adamant about helping anyone she can...even if that means finding new and more dangerous ways to feed them all. The eight-part series premieres Monday, May 1, at 9/8c on National Geographic with two back-to-back episodes. New episodes will debut every Monday at 9/8c on National Geographic and will stream next day on Disney+.

SVJR is made possible by the generous financial support of the Steen Family Foundation, the Hillswood Foundation and the Nordstrom Family. Come see the work of the next generation of talented young filmmakers in grades 7 through 12. Actor Johnny Sequoyah will announce the winner of the competition following the screenings. Reception to follow for filmmakers, family, and friends in the Green Room at the Bailey Studio. Ovaryacting - Director: Jordan Held // Clarivoyant - Director: Elijah Anthony Feigner // Hard Core - Director: Madeleine Case // Harmony Hills - Director: Izzy Buhler // Mr. Baxter - Director: Ella Janes // MM16 - Directors: Maura Collins, Zoey Ness and Isabella Campion // Small Town Big Dreams - Dir. Maeve Bailey // Room 101 - Director: Jerad Monasch // Irreverent - Director: Ella Standley // El Banana - Director: William Manning // Pong- Director: Fynn Erman

Five years after the Civil War, freedwoman and former Buffalo Soldier Moses “Mo” Washington travels west to lay claim on a gold mine- the summation of years of toil for Mo and her community. It is a mean, dangerous world for an unaccompanied Black woman in 1870 America and so Mo travels into the deep frontier disguised as a man. After her stagecoach is ambushed by a group of murderous thieves, Mo is forced to hold legendary outlaw Tommy Walsh captive while the remaining surviving passengers seek out help.What ensues is a battle of wills, blurring the line between captor and captive, as they both try to survive the harsh western landscape.

SHORTCUTS - Dir. Martin McGreevy & Eve Weston // IDAHO BABE - Dir. Arlie Sommer // THE GOOD BOOTS - Dir. Cody Gittings, Matthew Cameron Clark & Dwayne Blackaller // HOT SPRINGS - Dir. Alex Pabarcius // A TENDER CUT - Dir. Frances Wiese // NOSE GOES - Dir. Collin Insley // A PARENT - Dir. Eve Weston & Martin McGreevy

THE BREAKTHROUGH - Dir. Daniel Sinclair // WADING FOR CHANGE - Dir. - Sofia Jaramillo // WALK OF SHAME - Dir. Dane Ray // MAKE-UP - Dir. Jakob Marky // BABA - Anya Chirkova & Meran Ismailsoy // THE FOUNDRY - Robert Machoian // I HAVE NO TEARS, AND I MUST CRY - Dir. Luis Fernando Puente

OUT OF TUNE - Dir. Portlynn Tagavi // CHERUBS - Dir. Anne-Sophie Bine // FISHBOWL - Dir. Rachel Sweeney // DARK MOON - Dir. Katie Mathews // PLUS - Dir. Bohdan Romanko // NEVER FUGGEDABOUTIT - Dir. Dustin Waldman

Free Event // "The Way" is an inspiring, entertaining and honest story about life’s challenges while navigating an ever-changing and complicated world. The film follows successful, yet irascible ophthalmologist Tom (Martin Sheen) who travels to St. Jean Pied de Part, France to recover the ashes of his adult son (Emilio Estevez) who perished during a storm in the Pyrenees while walking The Camino de Santiago. Tom decides to complete his son’s journey in an effort to better understand him, and to honor his commitment to complete the pilgrimage. As Tom walks the Camino, he reluctantly finds himself with three other pilgrims who are walking the road to find answers to their own personal dilemmas. "The Way" will be re-released in theaters nationwide May 16 by Fathom Events

From the best-selling author of Wonder, the book that sparked a movement to “choose kind” , comes the inspirational next chapter. In White Bird, we follow Julian (Bryce Gheisar), who has struggled to belong ever since he was expelled from his former school for his treatment of Auggie Pullman. To transform his life, Julian’s grandmother (Helen Mirren) finally reveals to Julian her own story of courage – during her youth in Nazi-occupied France, a boy shelters her from mortal danger. They find first love in a stunning, magical world of their own creation, while the boys’ mother (Gillian Anderson) risks everything to keep her safe. From director Marc Forster (Finding Neverland and Christopher Robin), screenwriter Mark Bomback, and based on R.J. Palacio’s book, White Bird: A Wonder Story, like Wonder before it, is an uplifting movie about how one act of kindness can live on forever.

It was a chance run-in at a remote Argentinian restaurant in 1991 that changed the life of Kristin McDivitt forever. Though she’d met the infamous Doug Tompkins years prior – he had founded The North Face and Esprit while Kris worked alongside Yvon Choinard to grow Patagonia – they shared a connection that quickly blossomed into a lifelong romance and partnership. Together, they founded Tompkins Conversation, their sights set on preserving some of the last truly wild land on the planet. WILD LIFE is a sweeping portrait of a conservationist who never stopped evolving, and of those who shaped her on a journey to become a global leader of wildlife preservation. From the epic climbing trips of Doug, Yvon Chouinard, and the pioneers of a new kind of outdoor lifestyle, to the heated controversy brewing in South America as two Americans purchased local land, to a love story as wild as the terrain it unfolded on, the film prompts audiences to ask themselves – what makes life worth living?

Free Event // Season 2, Episode 2 // YELLOWJACKETS is the saga of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness. The series chronicles their descent from a complicated but thriving team to savage clans, while also tracking the lives they’ve attempted to piece back together nearly 25 years later, proving that the past is never really past and what began out in the wilderness is far from over. In season two, two months have passed since Shauna gave Jackie the cold shoulder— to disastrous results. In the face of their deepening hunger and fear, the tension among our Yellowjackets has only grown worse. The harsh conditions of winter are intensifying by the day, and the psyches of our survivors are deteriorating just as fast. Threatened by the darkness of the wilderness— and the haunting memories of it in the present— our former state champs will be forced to make impossible decisions. As they confront the horrible truth of what survival entails, the real nightmare for each of them will be to figure out who they are— and what they are willing to sacrifice in order to stay alive. YELLOWJACKETS is created by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson. The series is executive produced by Lyle, Nickerson and fellow showrunner Jonathan Lisco. Drew Comins of Creative Engine serves as executive producer along with Ameni Rozsa, Sarah L. Thompson and Karyn Kusama who directed the pilot.