06 Feb The Philadelphia Presence at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in Park City

BY KELSEY BROWN

The streets of quaint and chilly Park City, Utah were warmed by creatives gathering from around the world to celebrate the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival. The festival is renowned worldwide for its initiative to support and highlight independent artists, cultivating the emergence of some of the most influential and innovative films. For some, the festival is charged with opportunities to connect with industry members and to sell their films. Among the silver screens and snowy streets, Philadelphia’s creativity was present.

Desire Lines–by filmmaker Jules Rosskam, who was raised in the suburbs outside Philadelphia–made its world premiere at Sundance where it received the Next Special Jury Award. Following an Iranian American Trans man who time travels through queer archives to unearth his deepest desires, the film’s curious concept is paired with stunning cinematography. The feature is an innovative blend of narrative, archives, and documentary, that creatively explores transmasculine identities and sexuality. 

While sifting through archival evidence, reimagined bath houses are brought back to life. Rosskam’s background as a Trans academic and scholar roots this film in historically significant moments for the queer community, like the AIDS crisis, creating a nuanced reflection of individual desire and societal expectations. Rosskam is no stranger to creating unique projects that explore gender and sexuality, with other features like against a trans narrative and short films like Something to Cry About delving into similar concepts. 

Desire Lines is adorned with refreshingly honest interviews that offer intimate reflections on personal experiences. The film is visually captivating as Rosskam offers a safe space for Trans men to share with one another, and with the viewers, resulting in a shame-free exploration of sex, identity, and desire. The film is a hybrid account of what it means to be with community.

Power, directed by Yance Ford, has Philly talent behind the scenes with producer Jess Devaney. Devaney is the founder and president of the independent production company Multitude Films. The Emmy-winning producer is a recent Philly transplant and has worked on films such as How We Get Free, It’s Only Life After All, and Lowndes County And The Road To Black Power.

Power is an intricate investigation into 300 years of policing history that expertly weaves the past with the present through archival footage, interviews, and modern documentation. Ford packages the graphic content with care, creating a necessary account of history that poses critical questions about the future of policing. Power has been acquired by Netflix.

Producer Samiyah Wardlaw, who was born and raised in Philadelphia, represented the city with her work on Natalie Jasmine Harris’ short film Grace. Set in rural 1950s Mississippi, the film depicts a young girl struggling with her sexuality as her baptism approaches. There’s a tangible innocence in this coming-of-age queer love story, but despite two friends’ innate romantic interest and intimate connection, Grace feels pressured to repent. In just thirteen minutes, Harris thoughtfully captures tender teen love, religious repression, and internalized shame about sexuality. 

Beyond producing the short film, Wardlaw also works as a production assistant and as an independent director. Following her graduation at Drexel University, the Philadelphia native made her directorial debut with her short film Burn Out. The film follows a young adult navigating life and love post-graduation, a topic that Wardlaw and her team, which was made up of recent graduates, could deeply relate to. Wardlaw also created Reel Talk Philly, a Philly-based monthly networking event. Learn more about Reel Talk Philly in cinéSPEAK’s Organization Spotlight.

One Philly-born creative had already established his presence at Sundance before the 2024 festival. Last year, Colman Domingo, who was born in Philadelphia, starred in the film Sing Sing which premiered at the festival. This year, he Executive Produced the Sundance science fiction thriller It’s What’s Inside. Written and directed by Greg Jardin, It’s What’s Inside is an electric, mind-bending mystery that Jardin said during a Q&A following the film’s screening has been described as ‘Clue on crack’ (though Jardin refutes with, on weed). The film is a fun ride full of unexpected twists that will keep you gasping and grinning until the very end, and will be available on Netflix. 

This year’s films and creatives connected to Philadelphia continued to carry Domingo’s torch of showcasing Philly’s artistic excellence. Domingo has also made history with his performance as civil rights icon Bayard Rustin in Rustin, becoming the second gay actor to be Oscar-nominated for playing a gay character. Although the Sundance Film Festival wrapped, this is only the start for these Philadelphia-connected film productions and artists being in the national spotlight.

*Featured Image: Still from Desire Lines. Courtesy of Sundance.

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