Earlier, Sundance announced that its 2022 edition will be hybrid. Most titles will be available online while their in-person festivities start up again in Park City. Their main slate has just gone live as well. Though the festival has a tendency to update their lineup as the festivities grow closer, their competition categories have at least been set in stone.
Naturally, we compiled all of the Asian and Asian diaspora-directed ones we could find so far. Like last year, most Asian titles tend to be in the documentaries. In the World Cinema Documentary Competition, at least 4 entries span from different corners of the continent: India (“All That Breathes”), Myanmar (“Midwives”), Lebanon (“Sirens”), and Israel (“Tantura”). 4 entries revolving around or by Asian diaspora filmmakers make their mark in the US Documentary Competition as well. “Free Chol Soo Lee”, “Jihad Rehab”, “Tiktok.Boom” and “The Exiles” cover fex-Al-Queda extremists, Tiananmen Square exiles, a wrongly-convicted Korean immigrant, and more – delving deep into histories of the late 20th and 21st century. Above all, however, Asian entries shine brightest in this year's selection of animated shorts. The program includes shorts from both this year and spotlights from those previous, but — in total — 10 out of 18 animated films are made by Asian filmmakers or have been produced in Asia.
This list is not comprehensive. These titles were determined based on provided summaries, production locations, and director origins. This guide does not include the plethora of producers, screenwriters, and others behind the camera as well — including, for example, a screenplay written by Kazuo Ishiguro (“Living”). But that's just one more reason to keep your eyes peeled. This is just the beginning of the Sundance coverage to come.
List is arranged in alphabetical order. Tickets are available for purchase from 17 December 2021. Sundance will be from 20-30 January, 2022.
After Yang (Koganada, USA, Spotlight)
All That Breathes (Shaunek Sen, India/United Kingdom, World Documentary Competition)
blood (Bradley Rust Gray, USA, US Dramatic Competition)
Breathe (Stephen Kang, New Zealand, Midnight Short Film Program)
Butter Lamp (Hu Wei, France/China, Anniversary Short)
Child of Empire (Sparsh Ahuja, Erfan Saadati, Stephen Stephenson, Omi Zola Gupta, UK, New Frontier – VR)
Close Ties to Home Country (Akansha Cruczynski, USA, Short Film Program)
Counterfeit Kunkoo (Reema Maya, a.k.a. Reema Sengupta, India, Anniversary Short)
Deer Flower (Kangmin Kim, US/South Korea, Anniversary Animated Short)
Diagnosia (Mengtai Zhang and Lemon Guo, USA, New Frontier – VR)
Do No Harm (Roseanne Liang, New Zealand, Anniversary Short)
Everyday in Kaimuki (Alika Tengan, USA, NEXT Features)
Free Chol Soo Lee (Julie Ha and Eugene Yi, USA, US Documentary Competition)
Jihad Rehab (Meg Smaker, USA, US Documentary Competition)
Leonor Will Never Die (Martika Ramirez Escobar, Philippines, World Cinema Dramatic Competition)
Maika (Ham Tran, Vietnam, Feature)
Makassar is a City for Football Fans (Khozy Rizal, Indonesia/France, Short Film Program)
Meal on the Plate (Chenglin Xie, USA/China, Animated Short Film Program)
Midwives (Snow Hnin El Hlaing, Myanmar, World Cinema Documentary Competition)
More than Two Hours (Ali Asgari, Iran, Short Film Program)
Night Bus (Joe Hsieh, Taiwan, Animated Short Film Program)
Rendang of Death (Percolate Galactic and Andri “Yujin Sick,” Indonesia, Animated Short Film Program)
The Right Words (Adrian Moyse Dullin, France, Short Film Program)
Sandstorm / Mulaqat (Seemab Gul, Pakistan, Short Film Program)
Sirens (Rita Baghdadi, USA / Lebanon, World Cinema Documentary Competition)
SISTER (Siqi Song, USA/China, Anniversary Animated Short)
Socrates' Adventures in the Underground (Aria Covamonas, Mexico, Midnight Short Film Program)
Soft Animals (Renee Zhan, USA/UK, Animated Short Film Program)
Swallow the Universe (Nieto, France, Animated Short Film Program)
Tantura (Alon Schwarz, Israel, World Documentary Competition)
The Exiles (Ben Klein and Violet Columbus, USA, US Documentary Competition)
The Fourth Wall (Mahboobeh Kalaee, Iran, Animated Short Film Program)
Tiktok, Boom. (Shalini Kantayya, USA, US Dramatic Competition)
Warsha (Dania Bdeir, USA, Short Film Program)
Watcher (Chloe Okuno, USA, US Dramatic Competition)
Waves '98 (Ely Dagher, Lebanon / Qatar, Anniversary Animated Short)
