The 2024 Sundance Film Festival has officially come and gone, and with it, a crop of exciting new films to unearth as potential hidden gems. Here are a few of the films Lauren caught at Sundance 2024:

EVERY LITTLE THING (dir. Sally Aitken)

Nestled among a slate of Sundance documentaries with subjects ranging from Satanism to AI romance, is writer-director Sally Aitken’s “Every Little Thing”, which chronicles a decidedly tamer subject—hummingbird rehabilitation. Though its subjects may be small, “Every Little Thing” soars as both a monument to the beauty of nature and an exploration of personal growth, contrasting the story of Terry Masear with the healing of her hummingbird charges. Dappled with striking nature photography and set to a mellow, California-inspired soundtrack, “Every Little Thing” is a serene exploration of compassion, fragility, and resilience. 

Equal parts biography and genuine nature documentary, “Every Little Thing” follows Terry Masaer, a widowed woman who spends her time tucked away in the mountains of Hollywood, where she operates a one-woman hummingbird hospital out of her home. Masaer regards her tiny patients with intense admiration and protectiveness—the tenderness with which she treats the birds sitting in stark contrast to her understandably jaded attitude towards society at large.

Despite a runtime just north of an hour and a half, “Every Little Thing” feels like a fully realized, all-encompassing portrait of Masaer’s inner life. From childhood trauma to self-exploration to falling in love, Masaer’s story is seamlessly interwoven with her rehabilitation of hummingbirds, highlighting exactly why she was drawn to the craft and how well it suits her. Through simple, thoughtful filmmaking choices and an eloquent, honest subject, “Every Little Thing” (like the birds themselves) is a small but mighty documentary that finds beauty in the little things.

FRIDA (dir. Carla Gutierrez)

One of the most influential and revered painters of the century, Frida Kahlo’s singular style, fierce wit, and colorful personal life have made her a subject of countless documentaries and biopics. The latest filmmaker to take a crack at bringing the Mexican icon to life is Carla Gutierrez, whose documentary Frida uses narration to tell Kahlo’s story in her own words, pulling quotes from diaries, journal entries, and other firsthand accounts. Between the lyrical writing and lush animation inspired by Kahlo’s artwork, “Frida” is a passionate, personal dive into the life of a once-in-a-generation talent. 

As opposed to relying on scholarly quotes and interviews, Gutierrez opts to craft a much more emotionally-oriented portrait of Kahlo’s world by giving a voice to her most intimate thoughts and feelings. Especially for an artist whose work so often referenced her sexuality, sense of self, and emotional turmoil, hearing Kahlo’s diaries narrated creates a suitably visceral viewing experience. It certainly helps that Kahlo’s writing was as expressive as her visual art—especially with regard to her tumultuous marriage to Diego Rivera. 

It’s not the first film to tackle the wild, colorful world of Kahlo, and it won’t be the last, but Gutierrez’s stylistic sensibilities lend “Frida” a vibrance and rawness to her story that transcends typical documentary filmmaking convention.

KNEECAP (dir. Rich Peppiatt)

From 8-Mile to Straight Outta Compton, Hollywood has no shortage of musical biopics depicting the (often turbulent) rise to fame of iconic rap artists. Though they may not be as prolific as Eminem or the N.W.A, Irish rap trio Kneecap takes center stages as the subjects of Rich Peppiatt’s uproarious biopic of the same name. With a crude sense of humor, penchant for outlandish visuals, and a remarkably poignant civil rights story at its center, Kneecap is a an appropriately fiery, singular biopic for a one-of-a-kind rap group. 

Starring Kneecap members Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Provaí as themselves, Kneecap follows Jj Ó Dochartaigh (DJ Provaí) a mild-mannered schoolteacher struggling to get his students interested in learning the Irish language. After a strange turn of fate puts him in the path of Naoise Ó Cairealláin, a troublemaking, drug-dealing teen and the son of a high-ranking IRA member (Michael Fassbender), their mutual love of the Irish language prompts them to start a rap group in an attempt to keep their dying language alive.

Infused with the same ferocity and spirit as the group’s music, Kneecap features plenty of off-the-wall sex gags, drug trips, and general civil disobedience. But as flashy and unapologetically in-your-face as Peppiatt’s highly stylized filmmaking can be, there’s an ever-present anti-imperialist sentiment and dedication to preserving Ireland’s cultural identity that lends fortitude to both the film and the group’s music. Fierce, foul-mouthed, and spearheaded by Peppiatt’s direction, Kneecap pays delightful, dirty homage to a trio of unlikely revolutionaries. 

Lauren Coates
she/her @laurenjcoates
Just killing time until first contact with Vulcan.
Favorite Director: Mike Flanagan
Sign: Gemini