15 must-watch films coming out of Sundance this year you need to see and where to find them

Netflix's three-part docuseries "Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye trilogy" was pieced together by co-directors Clarence "Coodie" Simmons and Chike Ozah from over 300 hours of footage dating back to the late 1990s when the two directors — inspired by the 1994 documentary "Hoop Dreams" that follows the lives Chicago high school students hoping to become professional basketball players — decided to quit their jobs and follow an up-and-coming Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) with a video camera to see how far his talents could take him.

The docuseries follows Ye through 21 years of his career. And while the documentary offers very little new information about the rapper, producer, and fashion designer, it is a highly entertaining time capsule about the inexorable rise of hip-hop's most famous son.

"Jeen-Yuhs: A Kanye trilogy" debuts February 16, 2022 on Netflix.

—Zac Ntim

Regina Hall is Trinitie Childs, the proud first lady of a Southern Baptist megachurch, in "Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul" by filmmakers Adamma Ebo and Adanne Ebo. Hall's church, Wander To Greater Paths, once served a congregation in the tens of thousands, but after a scandal involving her husband, Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (Sterling K. Brown), the church is forced to close temporarily. The couple must now rebuild their congregation in this biting, absurdist comedy that takes sharp aim at the hypocrisy in the Christian church.

A wider release date for "Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul." is still TBD.

—Zac Ntim

In "Happening," the razor-sharp second feature from the French filmmaker Audrey Diwan, Anne, a talented university student in 1963 France, learns she's pregnant. Anne immediately decides to terminate the pregnancy, but she fails to find a physician who will aid her due to the country's ruthless laws against either seeking or administering abortions.

As the weeks pass, Anne becomes increasingly desperate, but she refuses to relent in her quest to find any possible means of ending the pregnancy in hopes of reclaiming her future. Adapted from a semi-autobiographical novel by Annie Ernaux, Diwan's film is a quietly devastating masterwork.

"Happening" premiered at the 2021 Venice Film Festival where it won the prestigious Golden Lion. The film was screened as part of Sundance's Spotlight section. It's currently slated for a wider theatrical release on May 6, 2022.

—Zac Ntim

There is nothing new any filmmaker can add to the tragic story of Diana, Princess of Wales. Yet, "The Princess," the new documentary about Diana from the British filmmaker Ed Perkins, remains highly entertaining thanks to its formal composition. The documentary — which follows Diana's life from her marriage to Prince Charles to her death in 1997 — is crafted entirely from immersive archival footage. As a result, the documentary unfurls in a tight, hypnotic, and highly original mode.

"The Princess" will have a worldwide theatrical release later in 2022 and after that will have its television premiere on HBO and stream on HBO Max in the US and on Sky Documentaries in the UK.

—Zac Ntim

The comedy-drama, starring "Stranger Things" actor Finn Wolfhard as ditzy, internet fame-driven high-schooler Ziggy and Julianne Moore as Ziggy's uptight, self-involved mother Evelyn, is the directorial debut of "The Social Network" star Jesse Eisenberg. Anchored by pitch-perfect performances from Wolfhard and Moore in the lead roles, "When You Finish Saving the World" is equal parts humorous and heartfelt, perfectly capturing the generational gap between Gen Zers and their parents but ultimately arriving at a genuinely moving conclusion.

"When You Finish Saving the World," distributed by A24, will have a TBD wider theatrical release date later in 2022.

—Caralynn Lippo

Adapted from Alexander Weinstein's short story "Saying Goodbye to Yang," "After Yang," which first premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, is director Kogonada's second feature film. Though it's a sci-fi drama, the movie — which stars Colin Farrell in the lead role as a father trying to save his family's humanoid babysitter, Yang (a "technosapien" in the movie's parlance) — is surprisingly grounded.

Yes, it's set in a world where people can purchase robot family members to mind their children, but the film leans minimally on the sci-fi element. "After Yang" is, at its core and most importantly, a movie about the universal experience of grief.

"After Yang" is currently slated for theatrical release on March 4, 2022.

—Caralynn Lippo

There's a reason why "Nanny" took home Sundance's Grand Jury Prize in the US Dramatic Film category. The horror-drama follows Aisha, an undocumented immigrant woman from Senegal who works a thankless job as a nanny for the daughter of a wealthy, distant couple in Manhattan. Anna Diop powerfully portrays Aisha's struggle as she works tirelessly to bring her young son, Lamine, to the US, and the film's tension builds steadily (and creepily) as a supernatural presence makes itself known, culminating in a gut-wrenching final act.

Perhaps most impressive is that "Nanny" is the first feature film from writer-director Nikyatu Jusu — and with it, she became only the second Black female filmmaker ever to win the festival's Grand Jury Prize.

A wider release date for "Nanny" is still TBD.

—Caralynn Lippo

This British comedy-drama is probably the best rom-com I've seen in a decade — except the central love story here is really between widowed, retired schoolteacher Nancy Stokes (Emma Thompson) and herself, not Nancy and the titular Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack), a strapping young sex worker Nancy's hired for the evening.

Heartfelt, hilarious, and uplifting, "Good Luck to You, Leo Grande" unfolds with the intimacy of a stage play, with most of its 97-minute run taking place in a single hotel room. And this small-scale, hyper-focused story completely works, thanks to the magnetic performances of Thompson and McCormack.

Searchlight Pictures acquired the US rights to distribute "Good Luck to You, Leo Grande," which will be available to stream exclusively on Hulu later this year. Exact premiere date TBD.

—Caralynn Lippo

Who's the real monster in "Hatching"? Is it 12-year-old Tinja's cold, domineering, perfection-obsessed influencer mom, or the creature that emerges from an egg that lonely Tinja nurtures after finding it in the woods?

"Hatching" is destined to be a new body-horror classic. But it's also a delightfully twisted coming-of-age movie, with a sickening sense of impending doom propelling the movie to a shocking ending.

IFC Midnight will release "Hatching" in theaters and via digital video-on-demand services on April 29, 2022.

—Caralynn Lippo

Sundance 2022 had no shortage of thoughtful, disturbing horror films on its slate. "Resurrection," starring Rebecca Hall, is arguably way up at the top of the "disturbing" scale. The film, which also stars Tim Roth, follows Margaret (Hall), a successful but stressed single career woman who's not exactly looking forward to her soon-to-be 18-year-old daughter going off to college. Things only escalate (and get progressively more mindbending) when David (Roth), a mysterious figure from Margaret's past, resurfaces.

"Resurrection" is an intense exploration of motherhood, anxiety, and the lengths one will go to in order to protect their child.

IFC Films will release "Resurrection" in theaters and make it available to stream on Shudder later this year (premiere date TBD).

—Caralynn Lippo

Cooper Raiff stars in "Cha Cha Real Smooth," which he also wrote and directed, as Andrew, a 22-year-old Bar Mitzvah party host who befriends a mom, Domino (Dakota Johnson), and her daughter, Lola (Vanessa Burghardt). Impressively, Raiff himself, a noted up-and-coming director to watch, is not much older than the character he plays.

The comedy-drama is heartwarming and anchored by fantastic chemistry between Raiff and Johnson.

"Cha Cha Real Smooth" was acquired by Apple, which is expected to start streaming the film on Apple TV+ later this year.

—Caralynn Lippo

It's only January, but I'm betting on the fact that "Dual" will be one of the most unique and inventive movies of the year.

Karen Gillan stars as Sarah, a woman diagnosed with a rare and incurable terminal illness, and also as Sarah's clone. "Dual," which takes place in a world where terminally ill people are able to participate in a "Replacement" procedure to create a clone of themselves as comfort for their family and friends once they're gone, is an enthralling and eclectic mix of genres. It's part dark comedy, part satire, and part sci-fi thriller, all held together by a deliciously wry performance from Gillan.

Come for the promise of a clone-on-original fight to the death; stay for the unexpected dance scene featuring a wonderful Aaron Paul, who appears in a supporting role.

"Dual" was acquired by RLJE Films, which has slated the movie for release in theaters later this year. Exact date TBD.

—Caralynn Lippo

"Navalny" is a documentary about Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was hospitalized in 2020 and in a coma after being poisoned. It's an intimate, up-close look at a fascinating figure; filmmaker Daniel Roher started rolling the camera soon after Navalny came out of his coma and kept it going up until Navalny was arrested in January 2021. (At the time of the movie's Sundance premiere, Navalny was still imprisoned in Russia.)

The final title added to Sundance's 2022 line-up, "Navalny" went on to win the Festival Favorite Award in the US Documentary Competition section.

"Navalny" will air on CNN and stream on HBO Max and CNN+ in spring 2022 (exact date TBD).

—Caralynn Lippo

This powerful two-part documentary examines actress Evan Rachel Wood's experience as a survivor of domestic violence, which she alleges she experienced while in a relationship with rocker Marilyn Manson, and follows her journey becoming an activist. Part of Wood's activism is her work towards changing the statute of limitations for victims of domestic abuse in California through the Phoenix Act, which extends the period of time in which a domestic-violence case can be filed in the state from one-to-three years to three-to-five years.

Part one screened at Sundance, and though at times hard to watch, it is a stirring profile of courage as director Amy Berg digs deep into the life of the actress.

The entire two-part movie will air on HBO later this year.

—Jason Guerrasio

"You Won't Be Alone" is at its core a horror film, following a young girl, Nevena, who's taken by a witch and transformed into one herself. Body-jumping gruesomeness ensues, but the drama is also a moving meditation on what it means to be human.

Focus Features will release "You Won't Be Alone" in theaters on April 1, 2022.

—Caralynn Lippo