Sundance announces diverse lineup for 2018 festival

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The Sundance Institution announced a diverse lineup of films Wednesday for its 2018 edition of the festival held in Park City, Utah.

Documentaries about Robin Williams, Gloria Allred and Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a Lizzie Borden film with Kristen Stewart and Debra Granik's long-awaited follow up to "Winter's Bone" are among the 110 features set to premiere at the upcoming event.

Festival programmers say the films this year highlight the stories of alternative voices and points of view, including films by and about women, and the experience of African-American men in the world right now.

Granik, whose last feature "Winter's Bone" earned Jennifer Lawrence her first Oscar nomination and ostensibly catapulted her to stardom, is back with her first narrative feature in over seven years – an untitled film about a father and daughter living in a secluded nature reserve in Oregon starring Ben Foster.

110 features are set to premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. /Photo via sundance.org

The domestic documentary competition includes a timely film called "Seeing Allred," which focuses on the women's rights attorney's life and taking on both Bill Cosby and Donald Trump. Others include a Hal Ashby portrait, "Hal," and a look at the deportation of 1,200 immigrant miners living at the Arizona-Mexico border in 1917 ("Bisbee '17").

Documentary premieres, a section that has in the past unveiled "An Independent Sequel" and "Going Clear," has a film about the life of Robin Williams told mostly through his own voice, "Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind," a look at Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, "RBG," and a Fred Rogers documentary "Won't You Be My Neighbor."

Actor Idris Elba also makes his feature directorial debut with "Yardie," a thriller about a boy who sees his brother's assassination in 1973 Jamaica. Ethan Hawke, Paul Dano and Rupert Everett are among other actors who directed films that will premiere at the festival.

"The work of independent storytellers can challenge and possibly change culture, illuminating our world's imperfections and possibilities," said Sundance founder Robert Redford in a statement. "This year's festival is full of artfully-told stories that provoke thought, drive empathy and allow the audience to connect, in deeply personal ways, to the universal human experience."

The Sundance Film Festival runs from January 18-28. Additional selections will be announced in the coming weeks.

Source(s): AP