Directors Who Got Their Start at Sundance
Our timeline spotlights the directors and their films that broke big at Sundance.
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- DirectorGregory NavaStarsZaide Silvia GutiérrezDavid VillalpandoErnesto Gómez CruzAfter their family is killed in a government massacre, siblings Enrique and Rosa flee Guatemala and embark on a perilous journey to "El Norte": the United States.'El Norte' was the first movie made with support from Sundance Lab. Director Gregory Nava and his co-writer Anna Thomas earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsJames SpaderAndie MacDowellPeter GallagherA sexually repressed woman's husband is having an affair with her sister. The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything.The movie that put Steven Soderbergh and Sundance on the map debuted at the 1989 festival, where it won the Dramatic Audience Award.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsRichard LinklaterRudy BasquezJean CaffeineA day in the life of Austin, Texas as the camera roams from place to place and provides a brief look at the overeducated, the social misfits, the outcasts and the oddballs.Arguably one of the top five movies that makes people think of Sundance, Richard Linklater's pioneering low-budget comedy helped define Gen X and establish Linklater as a voice of the generation.
- DirectorJennie LivingstonStarsBrooke XtravaganzaAndré ChristianDorian CoreyA chronicle of New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.Jennie Livingston won the Grand Jury Prize Documentary award for her first film, which went on to become an indie box office hit and an enduring, controversial cultural landmark.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsHarvey KeitelTim RothMichael MadsenWhen a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.Quentin Tarantino workshopped his film at Sundance before it debuted at the 1992 festival.
- DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsCarlos GallardoConsuelo GómezJaime de HoyosA traveling mariachi is mistaken for a murderous criminal and must hide from a gang bent on killing him.Rodrobert Rodriguez's career was launched after his first feature won the Audience Award at the 1993 festival.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsLuke WilsonOwen WilsonRobert MusgraveDysfunctional friends Dignan and Anthony plan and execute a robbery with their pot-growing friend, Bob.Wes Anderson screened his short at the 1993 festival, where producer James L. Brooks fell in love with the movie and helped Anderson produce the feature-length version.
- DirectorSteve JamesStarsWilliam GatesArthur AgeeEmma GatesA film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.Steve James' documentary won the Audience Award at the 1994 festival and ranks as one of the finest sports documentaries to this day. And when it failed to earn a Best Documentary Oscar nomination, film critics Gene Sickle and Roger Ebert exposed the questionable process of how Academy members voted on nominees for the category.
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsJeremy DaviesAlberta WatsonBenjamin HendricksonA med student is forced by his traveling salesman dad to cancel a top summer internship and look after his hot mom, who's bedridden with a broken leg. Applying lotion to her legs arouses him.David O. Russell's first feature took home the Audience Award at the 1994 festival before going on to win a pair of Independent Spirit Awards: Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay for Russell.
- DirectorBen StillerStarsWinona RyderEthan HawkeJaneane GarofaloA documentary filmmaker and her fellow Generation X graduates face life after college, looking for work and love in Houston.Ben Stiller was already a seasoned actor by the time he screened his feature debut at the 1994 festival, which was backed by Universal Pictures and, in the wake of 'Slacker,' further defined the Gen X experience on screen.
- DirectorKevin SmithStarsBrian O'HalloranJeff AndersonMarilyn GhigliottiA day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.Kevin Smith mined his experience working at a convenience store for his first feature, which debuted at the 1994 festival and inspired a generation of indie filmmakers.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsPhilip Baker HallJohn C. ReillyGwyneth PaltrowProfessional gambler Sydney teaches John the tricks of the trade. John does well until he falls for cocktail waitress Clementine.Paul Thomas Anderson nurtured the idea for his first feature at the festival before the movie premiered in Park City in 1996.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsSean GulletteMark MargolisBen ShenkmanA paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.Darren Aronofsky shot his first feature guerrilla style (no permits for location shots, etc.) on a $60,000 budget before bringing the movie to the 1998 festival, where he won the Directing Award Dramatic prize.
- DirectorLisa CholodenkoStarsRadha MitchellAlly SheedyPatricia ClarksonA young female intern at a small magazine company and a drug-addicted lesbian photographer slowly fall in love while exploiting each other to advance their respective careers.Lisa Cholodenko broke out at the 1998 with her first feature, which went on to win the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for Ally Sheedy.
- DirectorKimberly PeirceStarsHilary SwankChloë SevignyPeter SarsgaardA young transgender man named Brandon navigates love, life, and trying to pass as a boy in rural Nebraska.Kimberly Peirce developed 'Boys Don't Cry' at the Sundance Institute's Directors Lab. Though it didn't screen at the 1999 festival, the groundbreaking movie went on to earn Hilary Swank the 2000 Academy Award for Best Actress.
- DirectorGina Prince-BythewoodStarsSanaa LathanOmar EppsGlenndon ChatmanMonica and Quincy love and play basketball together through many life challenges from childhood to adulthood.The script for Gina Prince-Bythewood's movie was workshopped at Sundance Labs, and the movie had its world premiere at the festival in January 2000.
- DirectorCatherine HardwickeStarsEvan Rachel WoodHolly HunterNikki ReedA thirteen-year-old girl's relationship with her mother is put to the test as she discovers drugs, sex, and petty crime in the company of her cool but troubled best friend.Catherine Hardwicke and her co-writer/star Nikki Reed electrified the 1993 festival with their drama loosely based on Reed's teenage years. Hardwicke and Reed would reunite on the director's next two movies: 'Lords of Dogtown' and Twilight.'
- DirectorLee DanielsStarsGabourey SidibeMo'NiquePaula PattonIn New York City's Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that she can re-route her life in a better direction.Lee Daniels was already an established producer by the time he screened his directorial debut at the 2009 festival, where 'Precious' became the most talked about the film at the fest, where it won the Grand Jury Prize and was nominated for 6 Oscars, winning two: Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay.
- DirectorDee ReesStarsAdepero OduyeKim WayansAasha DavisA Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.Dee Rees workshopped her first film at the Directors and Screenwriters Labs before it debuted at the 2011 festival.
- DirectorAva DuVernayStarsEmayatzy CorinealdiDavid OyelowoLorraine ToussaintRuby goes on a journey of self-discovery when she drops out of medical school in order to focus on her incarcerated husband's well-being.Ava DuVernay won the Directing Award Dramatic (and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic) at the 2012 festival for her second feature.
- DirectorRyan CooglerStarsMichael B. JordanMelonie DiazOctavia SpencerThe story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.Ryan Coogler developed his first feature script at Sundance Labs before it debuted at 2013 festival, where it picked up the Humanitas Prize.
- DirectorDaniel KwanDaniel ScheinertStarsPaul DanoDaniel RadcliffeMary Elizabeth WinsteadA hopeless man stranded on a deserted island befriends a dead body, and together they go on a surreal journey to get home.Director duo the Daniels debuted their first feature film at the 2016 festival. Seven years later, they won the Best Director Oscar for 'Everything Everywhere All at Once.'
