Atlanta's Sundance Film Festival Selections Revealed

ATLANTA, GA — In the first-ever virtual Sundance Film Festival, 11 films will be presented in Atlanta as part of the Sundance Institute's Satellite Screens initiative, according to a press release from the institute Jan. 7. The virtual festival is scheduled for Jan. 28-Feb. 3.

The Atlanta Film Society (ATLFS) and The Plaza Theatre partnered with the Sundance Institute for the virtual festival, and plans to screen the 11 films both indoors and outdoors at The Plaza Theatre as well as at the drive-in at Dad's Garage Drive-In. Tickets are now available for ATLFS members, but go on sale to the public at 4 p.m. eastern time on the film society's website

"The Atlanta Film Society and Plaza Theatre are humbled and honored to have been selected as the 2021 Sundance Film Festival’s Atlanta partner for their first-ever Satellite Screens initiative," Executive Director of ATLFS Christopher Escobar said in the release. "We are looking forward to safely sharing a slate of 2021 Sundance Film Festival selections in collaboration with a host committee of esteemed Atlanta organizations whose missions also serve the arts and film communities."

The Sundance Institute released the festival's full program Dec. 15, about two weeks after it announced that the festival would be virtual this year, using both a Sundance-built online platform as well as in-person screenings across the country on Satellite Screens — including in Atlanta, barring any changes to public health guidance amid the coronavirus pandemic. Online, festival attendees can gather in virtual waiting rooms and participate in live Q&As.

Here's the schedule for the Satellite Screens in-person showings, as well as film descriptions from the press release:

Thursday, Jan. 28

• "CODA": As a CODA — Child of Deaf Adults — Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family’s fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents.
  • The Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta
    • Indoors: 7:15 p.m.
    • Outdoor drive-in: 7:45 p.m.

Friday, Jan. 29

• "Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided To Go For It": Rita Moreno defied both her humble upbringing and relentless racism to become one of a select group who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. Over a seventy year career, she has paved the way for Hispanic-American performers by refusing to be pigeonholed into one-dimensional stereotypes.
  • The Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta
    • Indoors: 7 p.m.
    • Outdoor drive-in: 7:30 p.m.
• "Cryptozoo": As cryptozookeepers struggle to capture a Baku (a legendary dream-eating hybrid creature), they begin to wonder if they should display these rare beasts in the confines of a cryptozoo, or if these mythical creatures should remain hidden and unknown.
  • The Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta
    • Indoors: 9:30 p.m.
    • Outdoor drive-in: 9:45 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 30

• "Passing": Two African-American women who can "pass" as white choose to live on opposite sides of the color line in 1929 New York in an exploration of racial and gender identity, performance, obsession and repression. Based on the novella by Nella Larsen.
  • The Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta
    • Indoors: 6:30 p.m.
    • Outdoor drive-in: 7 p.m.
• "Superior": On the run, Marian returns to her hometown in upstate New York to hide out with her estranged identical twin sister, Vivian. Struggling to put the past behind her, Marian lies about the reason for her return, leaving her sister in the dark until their two worlds begin to collide.
  • The Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta
    • Indoors: 9:15 p.m.
    • Outdoor drive-in: 9:45 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 31

• "My Name is Pauli Murray": Overlooked by history, Pauli Murray was a legal trailblazer whose ideas influenced Ruth Bader Ginsburg's fight for gender equality and Thurgood Marshall's landmark civil rights arguments. Featuring never-before-seen footage and audio recordings, a portrait of Murray's impact as a non-binary Black luminary: lawyer, activist, poet, and priest who transformed our world.
  • Dad's Garage Drive-In, 569 Ezzard St. SE, Atlanta
    • Drive-in: 6:30 p.m.
  • The Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta
    • Indoors: 6:30 p.m.
• "All Light, Everywhere": An exploration of the shared histories of cameras, weapons, policing and justice. As surveillance technologies become a fixture in everyday life, the film interrogates the complexity of an objective point of view, probing the biases inherent in both human perception and the lens.
  • The Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta
    • Outdoor drive-in: 7 p.m.
• "The Blazing World": Decades after the accidental drowning of her twin sister, a self-destructive young woman returns to her family home, finding herself drawn to an alternate dimension where her sister may still be alive.
  • The Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta
    • Indoors: 9 p.m.
    • Outdoor drive-in: 9:45 p.m.

Monday, Feb. 1

• "Ailey": Alvin Ailey was a visionary artist who found salvation through dance. Told in his own words and through the creation of a dance inspired by his life, this immersive portrait follows a man who, when confronted by a world that refused to embrace him, determined to build one that would.
• The Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta
• Indoors: 7 p.m.
• Outdoor drive-in: 7:30 p.m.
• "Coming Home in the Dark": A family’s outing descends into terror when teacher Alan Hoaganraad, his wife Jill and stepsons Maika and Jordon explore an isolated coastline. An unexpected meeting with a pair of drifters, the enigmatic psychopath Mandrake and his accomplice Tubs, thrusts the family into a nightmare when they find themselves captured.
• The Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta
• Outdoor drive-in: 10:15 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 2

• "Try Harder!": In a universe where cool kids are nerds, the orchestra is world class and being Asian American is the norm, seniors at Lowell High School compete for the top prize: admission to the college of their dreams.
  • The Plaza Theatre, 1049 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta
    • Indoors: 7 p.m.
    • Outdoor drive-in: 7:30 p.m.