Your Movie Guide To The 2015 Sundance Film Festival

By Elana Goodwin on January 26, 2015

The 2015 Sundance Film Festival kicked off Thursday, January 22 and concludes on February 1 and features a bunch of highly-anticipated movies with some of your favorite stars.

Here’s your guide to the best movies at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Melissa Rauch in “The Bronze”
Photo Credit: variety.com

1. “The Bronze.” This dramedy is about a former gymnastics Olympic bronze medalist who has to fight to retain her local celebrity status when a new young athlete gains attention and fame in town. Sundance gave this film the coveted opening night screening slot so the movie must be good.

“The Bronze” stars Melissa Rauch, Gary Cole, Thomas Middleditch, Sebastian Stan, Haley Lu Richardson, and Cecily Strong.

2. “The Diary of a Teenage Girl.” This movie, which was adapted from Phoebe Gloekner’s 2002 graphic novel, features animated aspects and live action parts. Don’t be fooled by the title though — this is no lighthearted teenage drama sort of movie.

Instead, “The Diary of a Teenage Girl” takes place in San Francisco in the 1970s and follows Minnie, who is having sex with her mom’s boyfriend.

The film stars Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgard, Christopher Meloni and Kristen Wiig.

3. “Digging for Fire.” This film’s got an outstanding ensemble cast and follows two tired parents who find a bone and a gun in the yard of the home they are housesitting which sets them off on separate adventures.

The movie stars Jake Johnson, Rosemarie DeWitt, Orlando Bloom, Brie Larson, Sam Rockwell and Anna Kendrick.

4. “I Smile Back.” Despite starring foul-mouthed comedian Sarah Silverman, the film is a dark drama based on Amy Koppelman’s novel. Silverman plays a suburban mom suffering from depression, using drugs, and being sexually promiscuous, all of which are ruining her marriage and family.

“I Smile Back” stars Silverman, Josh Charles, Thomas Sadoski, Mia Barron, Terry Kinney, and Chris Sarandon.

Chris Pine, Margot Robbie, and Chiwetel Ejiofor in “Z for Zachariah”
Photo Credit: movienewz.com

5. “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.” This drama follows Greg, an antisocial high-school kid who makes movies. Greg’s mom forces him and his friend Earl to befriend Rachel, who has leukemia. The film is based on the 2013 novel by Jesse Andrews, who also wrote the movie’s screenplay.

“Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” stars Thomas Mann, RJ Cyler, Olivia Cooke, Nick Offerman, Connie Britton, and Molly Shannon.

6. “Z for Zachariah.” Based on Robert C. O’Brien’s novel of the same name, the post-apocalyptic sci-fi film follows Ann Burden, who lives in a secluded valley and thinks she’s the only survivor of a nuclear war. Her beliefs are proven wrong when two men enter the valley and the three survivors soon find themselves in a high-stakes love triangle.

“Z for Zachariah” stars Margot Robbie, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Chris Pine.

7. “I Am Michael.” The film is the true story of gay activist and LGBT kids’ XY magazine co-founder Michael Glatze who announced in 2007 that he wasn’t actually gay. He turns his back on his homosexuality and boyfriend to instead become a Christian pastor and marry a woman.

The film stars James Franco, Zachary Quinto, and Emma Roberts.

James Marsden and Jack Black in “The D Train”
Photo Credit: teaser-trailer.com

8. “The D Train.” In this comedy, the somewhat pathetic but likable Dan Landsman is the head of the high school reunion committee and the laughingstock of his high school friends. Dan travels to L.A. in order to convince the most popular guy from his graduating class – who is now somewhat famous – to go to the reunion.

“The D Train” stars Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor, Mike White, and Kyle Bornheimer.

9. “The Hunting Ground.” This documentary explores and exposes campus rape, the university cover-ups, the horrifying statistics about the tragic phenomenon, and the hard toll rape crimes take on students and their families.

The film was written and directed by Kirby Dick, who also directed and wrote the Oscar-nominated documentary “The Invisible War,” which explored incidents of sexual assault within the U.S. military.

“The Hunting Ground” includes first person testimonies and other footage and follows several undergraduate survivors as they try to obtain both their education and justice.

10. “Sleeping With Other People.” Serial one-night-standers Jake and Lainey lost their virginity to each other in college and end up crossing paths over 10 years later. When they re-meet, they decide to just be friends and attempt to help one another find healthy romantic relationships while attending sex-addiction recovery groups.

The film stars Alison Brie, Adam Scott, Amanda Peet, Jason Mantzoukas, Natasha Lyonne, and Jason Sudeikis.

Other Sundance Film Festival flicks that look promising include: “The Stanford Prison Experiment,” “Nasty Baby,” “Mississippi Grind,” “Unexpected,” “True Story,” “The End of the Tour,” and “Results.”

So be sure to keep your eyes peeled for these films to open in select theaters later this year, or to come out on DVD!

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