AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
It's a bittersweet moment for filmmakers and film lovers in Park City, Utah. That's where they're gathered for the final Sundance Film Festival before it moves to Boulder, Colorado, next year. NPR's cultural correspondent Mandalit del Barco is also there, and she joins us now. Good morning.
MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: Good morning.
RASCOE: So what are some of the buzziest movies at Sundance this year?
DEL BARCO: Yeah. So pop star Charli XCX is having a moment here at Sundance, including the world premiere of "The Moment." It's a self-parodying mockumentary about a rising pop star.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE MOMENT")
CHARLI XCX: (As self) Hi, it's Charli XCX. Are you having a brat summer? I'm sorry, what is it again? Is it...
ISAAC POWELL: (As Lloyd) We agreed to brat summer forever.
CHARLI XCX: (As self) Don't you just think the whole, like, keep having a brat summer thing is a bit cringe?
POWELL: (As Lloyd) It's all cringe.
DEL BARCO: Actually, Charli XCX is having a whole brat Sundance with three films at the festival. And besides "The Moment," which includes Kylie Jenner and Rachel Sennott, she's in two other films that people are talking about. One is "The Gallerist," a comedy-thriller with another all-star cast, including Natalie Portman, Jenna Ortega and Catherine Zeta-Jones. It's about an art gallery owner who schemes to sell a dead man as art. And during her real-life Brat Tour, Charli XCX also shot scenes for another film set in the art world that's playing here at Sundance - Gregg Araki's erotic comedy-thriller, "I Want Your Sex." It's the story of a college graduate, played by Cooper Hoffman, who gets his first job interning with an artist played by Olivia Wilde.
RASCOE: OK. Well, that's what I call a brat winter.
DEL BARCO: Right.
RASCOE: (Laughter) Anyone else getting a lot of buzz?
DEL BARCO: Yeah, sure. Olivia Wilde, again. She's - she also directed her feature, "The Invite," which premiered here at Sundance, and she co-stars in the film with Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton. I know that's a lot of name-dropping, and there are a lot of celebrities here, but the majority are indie films and filmmakers hoping to get distribution deals.
RASCOE: Yeah, Sundance is known for its indie films. Have you seen any notable ones so far?
DEL BARCO: Yeah. I've seen such a range of films. There's a charming film called "Extra Geography" about two teens in a British girls' boarding school.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "EXTRA GEOGRAPHY")
AOIFE RIDDELL: (As Phoebe) What do we do if they look at us?
MARNI DUGGAN: (As Flic) If they look at us, they look at us. They're going to look at us. That's what boys do. You just have to ignore it. That's what we do.
DEL BARCO: I saw two other films about kids and furry creatures. "Fing!" - that's "Fing!" with an F - is a one-eyed furball. Another one you might be curious about, Ayesha, is called "Buddy." He's a Barney-type orange unicorn with a children's show. And spoiler alert - he's a slasher.
RASCOE: (Laughter) Yeah.
DEL BARCO: Yeah. I saw the first three episodes of the upcoming Prime Video series "Bait." British Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed, who was nominated for an Oscar a few years ago for the "Sound Of Metal" - well, he's created and stars in this new series about a struggling actor who auditions for a big movie part.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "BAIT")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Shah, are you going to be the next James Bond?
RIZ AHMED: (As Shah Latif) What?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Huh?
AHMED: (As Shah Latif) Can I see that?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. It might be cap. It might be cap.
AHMED: (As Shah Latif) Can I have a look at that?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, non-English language spoken).
DEL BARCO: And, Ayesha, one of my favorites of the festival is a documentary, "American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez." It chronicles the Chicano theater director, actor and writer.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOCUMENTARY, "AMERICAN PACHUCO: THE LEGEND OF LUIS VALDEZ")
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: The man is a living legend.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Luis Valdez is the Shakespeare of Chicano theater.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: Luis Valdez attracted a whole new audience with the success of "Zoot Suit."
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: Luis wrote and directed "La Bamba."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LA BAMBA")
LOS LOBOS: (Singing) La bamba.
DEL BARCO: And, you know, at Sundance, I met up with Luis Valdez, actor Edward James Olmos and David Alvarado, who directed the documentary. I'll be working on that story, Ayesha, so stay tuned.
RASCOE: OK. A lot of interesting stuff there. How much longer is the festival going on for?
DEL BARCO: Well, the festival's still going on here in Park City until next Sunday. And for those who are interested, people can buy tickets to watch some of the films online. That's something that's been going on since COVID and has always a lot of very topical films and conversations going on here.
RASCOE: Oh. As we said earlier, Park City has been home to the festival for over 40 years. And its founder, Robert Redford, died last September. What's the mood there?
DEL BARCO: Well, you know, there's a sense of nostalgia about this being the last dance for Sundance. A lot of people are remembering Robert Redford. On Friday, there was a big gala tribute honoring him, and they've been playing footage of Redford, reflecting on the festival.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ROBERT REDFORD: I wanted to create here in the mountains with the one thing I could contribute, which is my own property in the middle of nature, placed free of the pressures in the marketplace, and hope that the filmmakers could risk, could be bold, could not fear failure.
DEL BARCO: That's the late Robert Redford, the Sundance Kid.
RASCOE: Thank you. That's NPR's cultural correspondent Mandalit del Barco. Thank you so much.
DEL BARCO: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF KATABOK'S "ROXANNE'S PLAN (INSTRUMENTAL)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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