Two documentary world premieres—one about the cast of Freestyle Love Supreme and the other about Luis Miranda—have joined Sundance Film Festival’s 2020 lineup.
Deadline reports the films will be included in the special events portion of the annual festival. We Are Freestyle Love Supreme, starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, Anthony Veneziale, Christopher Jackson, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Chris Sullivan, brings audiences on the 15-year journey with founding members of the improv hip-hop group Freestyle Love Supreme, as they reflect upon its history, from the basement of the Drama Bookshop to the Broadway stage.
Siempre, Luis from director John James follows Miranda’s journey from Puerto Rico to the halls of government as a powerful lobbyist. Featuring interviews with Miranda and son Lin-Manuel Miranda, the film embodies the Latinx experience in America.
The pair of docs join a host of Broadway artists—from actors to directors and writers— taking to the silver screen as part of the lineup. Among the titles are the much-anticipated movie take on the “Zola Twitter saga“ from Slave Play scribe Jeremy O. Harris and Janicza Bravo and the Gloria Steinem biopic by Julie Taymor and Sarah Ruhl.
Zola, co-written Harris and director Bravo, recounts the multi-tweet tale shared by Twitter user @zolarmoon (Aziah Wells) in 2015 as she chronicled her nightmarish trip to Florida with an exotic dancer. The cast includes Tony nominee Colman Domingo and Tony winner Ari’el Stachel.
Glorias, with Julianne Moore, Bette Midler, and Janelle Monae, follows Gloria Steinem’s pursuit as a civil rights trailblazer. Tony winner Taymor directs the movie, which she penned with Tony nominee and Pulitzer finalist Ruhl.
Additional selections include the film adaptation of Florian Zeller’s play The Father, starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman; The 40-Year-Old Version, about a playwright-turned-rapper and featuring Tony winner Reed Birney; and the documentary Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind.
Myriad other stage alums will appear on screen in various titles. Among those on the roster are Tony winners Laura Benanti (Worth) and Glenn Close (Four Good Days), Tony nominees Vanessa Williams (Bad Hair), Emily Skeggs (Dinner in America), and Peter Gallagher and Cristin Milioti (Palm Springs), plus Olivier winner and upcoming Hello, Dolly! star Imelda Staunton (Amulet) and Tony recipient Oona Laurence (Lost Girls).
The festival runs January 23–February 2. For the full lineup, visit Sundance.org.
