Four Filipino-made films are among the 92 movies selected for the Sundance Film Festival. All featuring Dolly de Leon, and they will be shown on January 18-28, 2024 in Utah’s Salt Lake City and Park City. Among De Leon’s recent notable works include 2022’s Triangle of Sadness, which also starred Woody Harrelson.
Since 1985, the Sundance Film Festival has championed and curated independent narratives, launching hundreds of critically acclaimed films. Marking the 40th edition of the festival, it continues to gather authentic artists with groundbreaking perspectives for local and international audiences to appreciate annually.
Political and Daring
The four short films joining this year’s lineup are Thirstygirl by Alexandra Qin, Dream Creep by Carlos A.F. Lopez, Bold Eagle by Whammy Alcazaren, and Ramona Diaz’s documentary And So It Begins.
A companion to Diaz’ 2020 piece, A Thousand Cuts, And So It Begins showcases the Philippines’ 2022 presidential campaign and highlights the Kakampink movement’s efforts in battling Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s presidential candidacy, built upon widespread disinformation networks on social media. It depicts a “collective act of joy as a form of resistance” that flickers hope “against the backdrop of increasing autocracy,” according to the Sundance Institute’s website.
Sundance Film Festival’s short film programmer Irene Suico Soriano also praises the four short films for their alluring exploration of taboo topics such as digital intimacy, sex addiction, and the human experience’s internal and external horrors.
Director-screenwriter and former musician Carlos A.F. Lopez’s Dream Creep is an eerie 12-minute tale of a couple being disturbed at night by mysterious sounds, while Thirstygirl by French-Filipino-Chinese director Alexandra Qin is a 10-minute drama about a secret sex addiction during a sisterly road trip. Qin’s directorial debut has been featured in the 2023 Palm Springs International Shortfest and several other US-based film festivals.
Both short films can also be viewed online by U.S. audiences until Jan 28 via the Sundance Film Festival player app.
Director and multi-awarded production designer Whammy Alcazaren’s Bold Eagle won the Best Short Film award at the 2022 QCinema International Film Festival and will compete against 52 other films in Sundance’s Midnight Short Film Program. This outstanding 16-minute experimental dramedy portrays the existential crisis of an “alter” or lascivious performer on the internet during the pandemic.
Golden Globes and Beyond
After her stunning performance as Abigail in Triangle of Sadness, Golden Globe and BAFTA-nominee Filipino actress Dolly de Leon turns a new page and moves toward other projects in the U.S.
De Leon’s masterful prowess as a versatile performer is captured in her roles in two new movies Ghostlight and Between the Temples, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
Kelly O’Sullivan’s Ghostlight is a gripping and emotionally charged story about Dan, a construction worker becoming a member of an amateur theater group and later discovering that the production mirrors his own life. De Leon plays Rita, Dan’s onstage partner who fails to get her big break as an actress in New York.
In Between the Temples, de Leon portrays a depressed cantor’s weird and controlling Jewish mother. She is suspicious that her son has a relationship with a much older bat mitzvah student in her 70s.
De Leon is consciously staying away from roles similar to Abigail’s because “it’s not fun playing the same character every single time,” according to her interview with Variety. She also hoped people would put more focus on her future performances, rather than her previous part in Triangle of Sadness.
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