This week, Sundance 2017 kicks off in Park City, Utah, and Why Watch That will be there to cover it! The Sundance Film Festival runs from January 19th to 29th and has a jam-packed lineup this year. From grassroots documentaries to star-studded dramas, Sundance is sure to have something for everyone. Here are our 10 most anticipated films at Sundance 2017.

Chante Adams appears in Roxanne Roxanne by Michael Larnell, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Tom Zuback.

ROXANNE ROXANNE

1984, Lolita Shanté Gooden was just another 14-year-old living in New York’s Queensbridge projects. When she famously laid down the lyrics to “Roxanne’s Revenge”—an underground answer rap to U.T.F.O.’s popular single “Roxanne, Roxanne”—she sparked one of the earliest and most significant beefs in hip-hop history, establishing herself as a feared battle emcee in a genre on the verge of worldwide recognition. With fame firmly in her grasp, Roxanne Shanté was still just a teenager with the weight of the world on her shoulders, hustling to provide for her family while defending herself from the perils of life in the projects.

In director Michael Larnell’s follow-up to his debut feature, Cronies (2015 Sundance Film Festival), newcomer Chanté Adams delivers a mic-dropping performance as the embodiment of the legendary Roxanne Shanté, backed by a stellar supporting cast featuring Nia Long and Mahershala Ali. Larnell’s passion for the story shines through in this honest and emotional portrayal of a young girl grappling with the pitfalls of fame in the face of overwhelming adversity.

YEAR 2016

SECTION U.S. Dramatic

COUNTRY U.S.A.

RUN TIME 98 min

COMPANY Significant Productions

THE INCREDIBLE JESSICA JAMES

James (Jessica Williams), an aspiring playwright in New York City, is trying hard to get over a recent breakup with her boyfriend. She sees light at the end of the tunnel when she meets Boone (Chris O’Dowd), who’s also recovering from a recent break-up. Together, they figure out a way to make it through the tough times, while also realizing they like each other—a lot.

Writer/director Jim Strouse’s three previous films all played at the Sundance Film Festival. The most recent of these, People Places Things (2015), featured Jessica Williams in a supporting role, and it proved to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Williams broke onto the scene as a correspondent on The Daily Show and followed that up with her hilarious podcast, 2 Dope Queens. With The Incredible Jessica James, she proves what has always been self-evident—that she is destined to be a star. With charisma, charm, and humor to burn, Williams crushes it as a leading lady in this vivacious romantic comedy with teeth.

YEAR 2016

SECTION Premieres

COUNTRY U.S.A.

RUN TIME 85 min

COMPANY Beachside Films

Jeremy Renner appears in Wind River by Taylor Sheridan, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

WIND RIVER

U.S. Fish & Wildlife agent Cory Lambert discovers a body in the rugged wilderness of the Wind River Indian Reservation. The FBI sends in rookie agent Jane Banner, but she’s unprepared for the difficulties created by the oppressive weather and isolation of the Wyoming winter. When she employs Cory as a tracker, the two venture deep into a world ravaged by violence and the elements. Wind River is a stark look at life on the edge of an imposing wilderness, where the rule of law is eclipsed by the laws of nature.

Acclaimed screenwriter Taylor Sheridan makes his directorial debut with the final film in his trilogy of screenplays on the American frontier. He showed the power of his writing in Sicario and Hell or High Water, both of which reverberated with unforgettable characters and dialogue, while creating a level of texture and detail that felt more like a novel. Sheridan continues that here, with an excellent cast—including many Native American actors—that vibrantly brings to life this thrilling tale of forging morality in extreme nature.

YEAR 2016

SECTION Premieres

COUNTRY U.S.A.

RUN TIME 111 min

Nicholas Hoult appears in Rebel in the Rye by Danny Strong, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Allison Cohen Rosa.

REBEL IN THE RYE

This chronicle of one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers, J.D. Salinger, begins as he embarks on his writing career and enters into a tumultuous relationship with young starlet Oona O’Neill. What appears to be a promising start to a career turns into a nightmare when the United States enters World War II. After enlisting, Salinger experiences the horrors of war across the battlefields of Europe, where he begins to pen what would become his iconic novel, The Catcher in the Rye—a work that would forever change the country and its author.

A hugely successful actor and writer for television and film—who co-created Empire, among many other credits—Danny Strong makes his feature directing debut with an expertly realized film that truly does justice to the beloved subject. Bolstered by a keen attention to period detail and stellar performances from the entire cast, Rebel in The Rye will make you clap for all the right reasons.

YEAR 2016

SECTION Premieres

COUNTRY U.S.A.

RUN TIME 106 min

COMPANY 42 West

Malik Bazille, Trevor Jackson, Tosin Cole, Octavius Johnson and DeRon Horton appear in Burning Sands by Gerard McMurray, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Isiah Donté Lee.

BURNING SANDS

In his freshman year of college, it seems Zurich has everything going for him; he has the respect of his teachers and university administration, the love and devotion of a wonderful girlfriend, and he’s been selected for admission to a prestigious black fraternity on campus. But as Zurich embarks on the Hell Week of pledging his fraternity, the harsh trials of entry into brotherhood begin to test the limits of his self-worth. As the intensifying abuse begins to become untenable, Zurich struggles to honor the fraternity’s code of silence, and the scaffolding of his life outside the frat begins to dismantle.

Gerrard McMurray’s Burning Sands constructs a deeply complex cross section of the fabled fraternity hazing culture and the vicious power of the desire for acceptance. McMurray’s grounded filmmaking builds a textured world populated with an exceptional young cast, resulting in a deeply profound exploration of being a young black man in America.

YEAR 2017

SECTION U.S. Dramatic

COUNTRY U.S.A.

RUN TIME 105 min

COMPANY Mandalay Pictures

Sam Elliott appears in The Hero by Brett Haley, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Beth Dubber.

THE HERO

Lee Hayden (Sam Elliott) is an aging Western icon with a golden voice, but his best performances are decades behind him. He spends his days reliving old glories and smoking too much weed with his former-co-star-turned-dealer, Jeremy (Nick Offerman), until a surprise cancer diagnosis brings his priorities into sharp focus. He soon strikes up an exciting, contentious relationship with stand-up comic Charlotte (Laura Prepon), and he attempts to reconnect with his estranged daughter, Lucy (Krysten Ritter), all while searching for one final role to cement his legacy.

Writer/director Brett Haley (I’ll See You in My Dreams) returns to the Sundance Film Festival with another sharply observed exploration of aging. Aided by a never-better Elliott, Haley has imbued this character study with personal details and characterization that make the film resonate. The Hero is a sometimes difficult, yet warm and ultimately touching portrait of an artist who realizes he isn’t quite ready to hang up his spurs.

YEAR 2016

SECTION U.S. Dramatic

COUNTRY U.S.A.

RUN TIME 96 min

COMPANY Houston King Productions

Alden Ehrenreich appears in The Yellow Birds by Alexandre Moors, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

THE YELLOW BIRDS

Twenty-one-year-old Bartle (Alden Ehrenreich, soon to play the young Han Solo) and 18-year-old Murph (Tye Sheridan) become fast friends in army training before shipping off to fight insurgents in Iraq. Taken under the wing of a hot-headed sergeant (Jack Huston), they wander into the fog of war, but Murph never comes back. Bartle returns home with the secrets of Murph’s disappearance held close to his aching chest, while a shrewd military investigator (Jason Patric) and Murph’s anguished mom (Jennifer Aniston) demand answers.

Adapted by David Lowery and R.F.I. Porto, from the acclaimed 2012 novel by Iraq War veteran Kevin Powers, The Yellow Birds unfolds like a mystery, conveying its story in stark flashbacks and haunting fragments from the frontlines. Director Alexandre Moors follows up his striking debut feature, Blue Caprice (2013 Sundance Film Festival), with an enigmatic but unflinching drama about the costs of war—to both those who fight and those they leave behind. At the film’s center, Ehrenreich gives a startling performance layered with toughness and vulnerability, revealing an inner battle between competing codes of silence and friendship.

YEAR 2016

SECTION U.S. Dramatic

COUNTRY U.S.A.

RUN TIME 115 min

COMPANY Cinelou Films

Jason Mitchell and Garrett Hedlund appear in Mudbound by Dee Rees, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute |photo by Steve Dietl.

MUDBOUND

Set in the post-WWII South, this epic pioneer story pits two families against a barbaric social hierarchy and an unrelenting landscape as they simultaneously fight the battle at home and the battle abroad. Newly transplanted from the quiet civility of Memphis, the McAllans are underprepared and overly hopeful for Henry’s grandiose farming dreams while Laura strives to keep the faith in her husband’s losing venture. For Hap and Florence Jackson, whose families have worked the land for generations, every day is a losing venture as they struggle bravely to build some small dream of their own. The war upends both families, as their returning loved ones, Jamie and Ronsel, forge a fast, uneasy friendship that challenges them all.

Mudbound boasts a screenplay by Virgil Williams and Dee Rees based on the acclaimed novel by Hillary Jordan. The stellar ensemble cast—Jonathan Banks, Mary J. Blige, Jason Clarke, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Rob Morgan and Carey Mulligan—fiercely commits to the grit demanded by extraordinary writer/director Rees (Pariah, 2011 Sundance Film Festival; HBO’s Bessie). Devastating in its power and authenticity, Mudbound is destined to become a classic.

YEAR 2016

SECTION Premieres

COUNTRY U.S.A.

RUN TIME 132 min

Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck appear in A Ghost Story by David Lowery, an official selection of the NEXT program at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Andrew Droz Palermo.

A GHOST STORY

Lowery’s meticulously sparse narrative contemplates a spectral figure who was once a man (Casey Affleck). Prematurely taken from this Earth, he makes his way toward his former home, where he is fated to remain forevermore. Shrouded in a white sheet, he observes the lament of his grief-stricken lover (Rooney Mara). Bearing unseen witness to her pain, the wisp stands sentry for years to come, interacting only with time as it hurtles further and further forward, the remnants of his humanity quietly evaporating.

Making full use of his singular abilities as a visual storyteller and finely tuned craftsman, Lowery boldly returns with an enriching experiment in micro-cinema that gorgeously defies categorization.

YEAR 2016

SECTION NEXT

COUNTRY U.S.A.

RUN TIME 87 min

Jason Segel appears in The Discovery by Charlie McDowell, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

THE DISCOVERY

What would you do if there was proof of an afterlife? The answer to this question is rivetingly explored in The Discovery, where world-renowned physicist Doctor Thomas Harber (Robert Redford) is able to scientifically prove the existence of an afterlife—but with dire consequences. His estranged son, Will (Jason Segel), tries to confront the situation by returning to the New England–esque island where he grew up. He crosses paths with Isla (Rooney Mara), who’s returning to the island for mysterious reasons of her own. The tale unfolds over the ensuing days as the regret of past choices forces these lost characters to reflect on how they’ve gotten to where they are.

Director/co-writer Charlie McDowell (2014’s The One I Love) returns to the Festival with another metaphysical thriller that uses a fascinating premise as a launching point to explore complex issues in a deftly absorbing fashion. Enlisting a world-class cast who use their unique qualities to infuse humor and humanity, The Discovery plays to both the head and the heart.

YEAR 2016

SECTION Premieres

COUNTRY U.S.A.

RUN TIME 101 min

COMPANY Netflix

Keith Stanfield appears in Crown Heights by Matt Ruskin, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Ben Kutchins.

CROWN HEIGHTS

On April 10, 1980, a shot rang out on the streets of Crown Heights, igniting a decades-long quest for justice in this harrowing true story. Colin Warner, played with heartbreaking sincerity by Lakeith Stanfield, is arrested and tried for a crime he did not commit, a victim of a deeply broken system that refuses to listen. Quick to throw him away, the court wrongfully convicts him. But as Colin loses hope to reclaim an innocence that has been cast aside, his best friend, Carl King, devotes his life to restoring Colin’s freedom, doggedly pursuing every lead for years.

Writer/director Matt Ruskin, who worked closely to earn the trust of the real Colin Warner, imbues this film with a gifted touch and emotional authenticity to shed light on a painful personal story—and on a horrifying systemic issue. Anchored by Stanfield, an indie film secret weapon, Crown Heightsunfolds as a powerful ode to those we leave behind.

YEAR 2017

SECTION U.S. Dramatic

COUNTRY U.S.A.

RUN TIME 99 min

COMPANY iAM21 Entertainment