13 Movies From The Sundance Film Festival You Need To See

Matt Nettheim via Sundance Institute

Seems like just twelve days ago that Kate Erbland and I posted a list of our most anticipated films playing at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Our choices were based on elements as diverse as cast, premise, the filmmaker's previous work, and even the two-word concept of an "abortion comedy."

As is always the case, though, expectations are never fully met, and while some movies we expected to love ended up disappointing us others that weren't even on our radar completely blew us away.

That, in a lanyard-wearing nutshell, is the beauty of film festivals. Unlike movies that open at your local cineplex or release onto Blu-ray and DVD each week, the majority of festival titles are unknown entities. There are no trailers or other marketing materials for these films, and the talent involved are often barely familiar faces at best. Most of the screenings are complete crapshoots, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

This year's Sundance was one of the most rewarding film festivals I've attended in regard to quality, and it's evident in the high number of films already picked up for distribution. It's telling that I had to exclude great and/or highly entertaining movies like Dear White People, Cooties, Kumiko the Treasure Hunter, and The Battered Bastards of Baseball to narrow down my list below. Keep reading to see Kate's and my top fourteen films of Sundance 2014.