The 2019 Sundance Film Festival has come and gone but some films and performances have left a lasting impression on my mind.

TOP NARRATIVE FEATURES

1. Brittany Runs A Marathon
2. Late Night
3. To The Stars
4. Little Monsters
5. Corporate Animals
6. The Report
7. Greener Grass
8. Blinded by the Light
9. Adam
10. Luce

TOP DOCUMENTARIES

1. Apollo 11
2. Sea of Shadows
3. Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins
4. Stieg Larsson: The Man Who Played With Fire
5. Mike Wallace Is Here

EPISODICS

1. Bootstrapped
2. Work In Progress

TOP SHORT FILMS

1. The Rat
2. Sundowners

BEST USE OF MUSIC

While I enjoyed the use of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” in Little Monsters and the David Bowie-heavy soundtrack of Troop Zero, Blinded by the Light takes home the honors here.  The Gurinder Chadha-directed film takes the prize here with a film that perfectly weaves in the music of the great New Jersey rabbi, Bruce Springsteen.

All of this said, my award for Best Original Song goes to “Teddy’s Lament” in Little Monsters.  The song is performed by Josh Gad & Gareth Davies and written by Josh Gad, Piers Burbrook de Vere & Abraham Forsythe.

ACTING AWARDS

• Best Actor
  • Kelvin Harrison Jr., Luce
  • Adam Driver, The Report
  • Viveik Kalra, Blinded by the Light
  • Noah Jupe, Honey Boy
• Best Actress
  • Alfre Woodard, Clemency
  • Emma Thompson, Late Night
  • Jillian Bell, Brittany Runs A Marathon
  • Kara Hayward; To The Stars
  • Lupita Nyong’o, Little Monsters
  • Wendi McLendon-Covey, Imaginary Order
• Best Supporting Actor
  • Shia LeBeouf, Honey Boy
  • Tony Hale, To The Stars
  • Shea Whigham, To The Stars
  • Walter Goggins, Them That Follow
• Best Supporting Actress
  • Jordana Spiro, To The Stars
  • Annette Bening, The Report
  • Demi Moore, Corporate Animals
  • Octavia Spencer, Luce
  • Naomi Watts, Luce

CINEMATOGRAPHY

To The Stars continued to grow on me during Sundance with the black and white photography.  As such, this award is going to Andrew Reed.

EDITING

While most people will expect a narrative feature here, this one is going to a documentary that blew me away: Todd Douglas Miller for Apollo 11.  Today marks four weeks since sitting down for the world premiere and I can’t stop thinking about this film.  It isn’t just the 65mm footage that was discovered but the 11,000 hours of audio recordings that help bring this film to life.  You read that correctly: 11,000 hours of audio recordings.

The 2019 Sundance Film Festival was held January 24-February 3, 2019.