Don't Miss: The Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Films at Sundance 2023
The Sundance Film Festival has long been known for premiering some of the most intriguing independent films, including many compelling LGBTQ+ stories.
อ่านภาษาไทย
Contents
The Sundance Film Festival has long been recognized as a premier venue for premiering intriguing independent films across a wide range of stories, and it is among the first festivals to give us an overview of the year's most notable films, from last year's Oscar winner "CODA" to the hit "Cha Cha Real Smooth." The festival has also consistently spotlighted little-known films that quietly threaten the big-budget contenders once award season arrives.
LGBTQ+ Films and Gender Diversity
In recent years, many films about gender diversity have earned nominations for major awards, so it is no surprise that many of the intriguing films premiering at this year's Sundance come from LGBTQ+ filmmakers or explore themes of gender diversity.
This marks the first time in three years that the festival has returned to Utah, screening in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Sundance from January 19 to 29, 2023, with online viewing available from January 24 to 29. Fans of bold, unconventional indie cinema have plenty to choose from in 2023, whether or not they are in Utah, a memorable start to another year of filmmaking after the COVID-19 pandemic.
One standout is "Cassandro," which pairs Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Roger Ross Williams ("Life, Animated") with Gael García Bernal in a narrative feature. Bernal plays the luchador Saúl Armendáriz, a real-life gay wrestler born in the United States who became a masked-wrestling legend with a strikingly glamorous persona. The role is a return to this Mexican actor's roots.
Although he has played a wide variety of characters over his decades as one of the leading actors in international cinema, Bernal's most memorable performances have been as unconventional characters in "Bad Education," directed by Pedro Almodóvar, and "Y Tu Mamá También," directed by Alfonso Cuarón, the film that launched his acting career.
Eileen, the Antiheroine
William Oldroyd, who directed "Lady Macbeth," again drew literary inspiration for "Eileen," an adaptation of the debut novel by Ottessa Moshfegh. Thomasin McKenzie ("Last Night in Soho") stars opposite Anne Hathaway, playing Moshfegh's titular antiheroine, a young woman leading a turbulent life in her early twenties, working at a Boston prison and caring for her alcoholic father.
The story centers on Eileen's friendship with Rebecca (Hathaway), a new employee at the prison who promises to bring some much-needed excitement into the narrator's life, until things take a disastrous turn, and on the pivotal relationship that develops between the two women.
"Passages," an LGBTQ+ Film
Ira Sachs, the Memphis, Tennessee-born filmmaker, has long been a Sundance favorite, with three of his most acclaimed films, "Forty Shades of Blue," "Keep the Lights On," and "Little Men," earning repeated success at the festival. He returns to Paris for inspiration following his most recent film, "Frankie."
Sachs's latest work centers on a contemporary love triangle between a filmmaker (Franz Rogowski), his husband (Ben Whishaw), and his new lover (Adèle Exarchopoulos). "Passages" promises to be an exciting showcase for actors who have appeared in some of the most moving and compelling queer films of the past year, including Rogowski's role as Hans in "Great Freedom" and Exarchopoulos's role as Adèle in the controversial "Blue Is the Warmest Color."
Other Highlights of Queer Sundance
Beyond the premieres and the competition sections, there are many other options for LGBTQ+ audiences, ranging from documentaries to short films and episodic indie work. One highlight from the festival's Spotlight section is "L'Immensità," a semi-autobiographical film by Italian director Emanuele Crialese ("Respiro"), starring Penélope Cruz. Making its North American premiere on the festival's opening day, the film is set in 1970s Rome, where Cruz plays a mother struggling to navigate a city changing around her, along with her wish for her child to live a life different from, and more transformative than, her own.
Luana Giuliani and Penélope Cruz in "L'Immensità"
Sexuality and community are themes that run throughout the festival's selections, both in the Spotlight section, with Pakistani filmmaker Saim Sadiq's "Joyland," and elsewhere, such as "Kokomo City," directed by producer and director D. Smith, which tells the story of four transgender women in New York and Georgia. It is another highlight well worth watching at this year's festival.
Although many of the films screening at the festival will not be eligible for any of the coming year's competitions, who knows, perhaps the major awards, such as the Golden Globes and the Oscars, could be foreshadowed by their premieres at the Sundance Film Festival.
Read other related articles here
- DragCon UK: Color, Fun, and Warmth
- The Lives of LGBTQ+ People in the Three Southern Border Provinces
Verified references
Links and relevance to the article’s main topic were reviewed on 13 August 2026. Each source supports only the scope stated in the original document and does not replace personalised medical, legal, or service advice.
- OHCHR: LGBT rights fact sheet Accessed 13 August 2026
