🎧 Sundance: J. Lo Shines at a Muted Fest With High Hopes, Few Hits

I talk to The Ankler's Alison Brower about the fest's mixed vibes and films that hit home, from Lopez's 'Kiss of the Spider Woman' to standout doc 'The Stringer'

HIGH LO Jennifer Lopez, with costar Tonatiuh, left, and director Bill Condon, made a splash at Sundance with the musical Kiss of the Spider Woman. (George Pimentel/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)

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You can’t go to Sundance assuming you’ll find Oscar buzz. The minute you leave that surefire star-driven hit feeling disappointed, you hear everyone raving as they come out of an obscure documentary.

That’s the kismet of Sundance — every attendee feels like an explorer making a rare discovery. My colleague Alison Brower is having that experience in Park City, and she joins me from there on the Prestige Junkie pod. Alison is the person who tipped me off to the potential power of Bao Nguyen’s documentary The Stringer, for example, and in our conversation has high praise for what sounds like a true crime documentary that’s not about a murder, but rather a very, very famous photograph.

IN THE PICTURE Bao Nguyen, left, with Nguyen Than Nghe, the subject of his doc The Stringer, which centers on an iconic photo from the Vietnam War. (Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)

Of course, stars too are out in force at Sundance. Alison’s hearing good things about Dylan O’Brien’s performance in Twinless, one of the breakout hits of the festival, while I was won over (via remote screening) by Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall’s two-hander Peter Hujar’s Day, from director Ira Sachs. Hours before we spoke on Monday, the midnight premiere of Together, featuring married co-stars Alison Brie and Dave Franco, had just premiered to raves.

And then there was Jennifer Lopez. Alison reports that not only was Bill Condon’s Kiss of the Spider Woman welcome counter-programming to the usual scrappy Sundance indies, but it also features a performance from Lopez that might just heal our collective wound from that Hustlers Oscar snub.

WEB SIGHT Lopez poured on the star power at her first Sundance premiere. (George Pimentel/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)

Talk about the indie film world these days so often veers toward doom and gloom — movies are harder to make, audiences harder to find, and if you’re trying to make a political doc these days, good luck. But to me, Sundance always feels like a fresh start to the year. (My colleague Richard Rushfield takes a much dimmer view of the fest today.)

Hear all about it on this week’s episode of the Prestige Junkie podcast (subscribe here), and keep an ear out next week for more from Sundance, including a discussion of the festival’s winners, which will be announced this Sunday.