John Cooper, on his last run as Sundance Film Festival's director, isn't playing it safe

John Cooper announced this summer that the 2020 Sundance Film Festival would be his last as director. But he isn’t slowing down.

Some people might hold back, and let a successor make big policy decisions. Not Cooper. “I pretty much forced every idea on them,” he said in an interview. His successor, he said, “can reject them later. We’ll see if anything sticks.”

In this interview, Cooper and program director Kim Yutani talk about what’s coming this year, and what it might mean for Sundance’s future. Read it at sltrib.com..

What do Taylor Swift, Pepe the Frog, Will Ferrell and Gloria Steinem have in common? They all will be represented onscreen at Sundance 2020

Time again to contemplate the Sundance Film Festival — and for 2020, there’s a lot to contemplate.

Here is the list of 118 feature films selected to screen at Sundance 2020, set for Jan. 23 - Feb. 2 in Park City and at venues in Salt Lake City and the Sundance resort.

Opening night promises to be a crazy affair, with the much-anticipated Netflix documentary “Taylor Swift: Miss Americana” screening. Also during the week are documentaries on Bruce Lee, The Go-Go’s, Pepe the Frog and more, as well as a biographical drama about Gloria Steinem and a dark marital comedy starring Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Read up on all the selections, here at sltrib.com.

Review: 'Hail Satan?'

‘Hail Satan?’

★★★1/2

Playing in the U.S. Documentary competition of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Running time: 95 minutes. No more festival screenings scheduled.

——

The funny and fierce documentary “Hail Satan?” examines what happens when a satire of religion turns into a movement of its own.

Director Penny Lane, who made the animated documentary “Nuts!” (SFF ’13), tells the story of The Satanic Temple, which began with a few guys in black Halloween-costume robes holding a press conference in 2013 in Tallahassee, Fla., supporting then-Gov. Rick Scott’s move for prayer in schools — because if the door’s open for Christians to pray, then it’s open for anybody.

Lane follows the growth of The Satanic Temple from a handful of media-savvy trolls to a movement numbering in the thousands across America and elsewhere in the world. There are growing pains, as the group tries to present a uniform message of opposition to Christian theocracy, as they go from profane protests at the grave of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps’ mother to launching a legal challenge to Ten Commandments monuments on state capitol grounds in Oklahoma and Arkansas. (They trot out one of my favorite bits of trivia, that most Ten Commandments monuments erected around America were done so in late ‘50s and early ‘60s as movie swag, a Paramount Pictures promotion of Cecil B. deMille’s “The Ten Commandments.”)

The movie delves into the history of claims that America is “a Christian nation” (it doesn’t go as far back as you think, only to the 1950s) and the scare tactics of “Satanic panic” cases of the 1980s. It also shows how The Satanic Temple’s co-founder and reluctant spokesman, Lucien Greaves, has reveled as a go-to guest to make Fox News hosts lose their minds.

Behind the absurdity of “Hail Satan?” is a serious conversation of how porous the wall between church and state is, and how the durability of the Constitution is only preserved by the most outsider voices.

Review: 'Tigerland'

‘Tigerland’

★★★

Playing in the U.S. Documentary competition of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Running time: 91 minutes; in English, and Russian and Hindi with subtitles. No more festival screenings scheduled.

——

The tiger, revered as a god and killed to near extinction, is the compelling and elusive star of director Ross Kauffman’s “Tigerland,” a look at people in Russia and India who risk life and limb to protect these magnificent creatures.

The tiger’s place in ancient cultures is well-documented, with the animal appearing in ancient cave paintings, as well as art from China, Japan, the Middle East and other places. It’s also a part of pop culture, as a quick montage that includes Shere Khan in “The Jungle Book,” Tony the Tiger, Winnie the Pooh’s buddy Tigger and Katy Perry’s “Roar” demonstrates.

Kauffman tracks two complementary stories of people fighting the good fight to protect tigers. One is historic, Indian activist and preservationist Kailash Sankhala, who urged the Indian government to ban the widespread and lucrative practice of hunting tigers. The other is Pavel Fomenko, a preservationist in Russia’s Far East, who braves snow and possible maulings to keep alive the 540 or so Siberian tigers still in the wild.

The Russian story is by far the most interesting, in part because Fomenko is such a charismatic figure, a tough Russian bear with a soft spot for these magnificent creatures. (One can easily picture Gerard Butler playing him in a bad movie about him.) Sankhala died in 1994, but the film shows his grandson, Amit Sankhala, and the family carrying on the legacy.

Together, the stories in “Tigerland” show not just the efforts to keep a beautiful animal alive, but demonstrate the power of individuals to change the world.

Review: 'Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements'

‘Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements’

★★★1/2

Playing in the U.S. Documentary competition of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Running time: 90 minutes. No more festival screenings scheduled.

——

With great sensitivity and an eye for touching moments, filmmaker Irene Taylor Brodsky again mines her family — and how it handles deafness — in the moving documentary “Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements.”

This movie is a sequel to Brodsky’s 2007 documentary “Hear and Now” (which also played Sundance), in which she chronicled how her deaf parents, Paul and Sally, made the decision to get cochlear implants so they could hear. As this movie starts, it is Brodsky and her husband’s first son, Jonas, who is the recipient of the family’s deafness gene, and by age 4 he has lost nearly all of his hearing.

At that point, his parents decide to get Jonas the cochlear implant surgery that his grandparents didn’t get until later in life. Youth is Jonas’ advantage here, and within a couple years his voice sounds like that of a hearing child. He also gets back a love for music he started to show before his deafness showed itself, and he takes piano lessons.

At age 11, Jonas hears Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata,” and becomes determined to learn it, even though his piano teacher tells him it’s a difficult piece. This prompts Brodsky to analyze deafness through three people: Jonas, deaf at a young age but now hearing; her father, who lived with deafness most of his life but now able to hear; and Beethoven, whose deafness isolated him but allowed him to hear the music in his head and put it on paper.

The results are intimate and beautiful, as Brodsky chronicles Jonas’ progress, her parents’ journey, and (through gorgeous animation) Beethoven’s torment. There’s also a third-act reveal that raises the emotional stakes even further, once again showing that the fates are the best screenwriter.

Redford's intro, The Rock's visit, AOC's Skype call, and more: What I wrote about at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival

Here it is, your one-stop shopping for every article I’ve written for The Salt Lake Tribune while in Park City for the 2019 Sundance Film Festival:

• My coverage of the festival’s opening day, from Robert Redford’s cameo appearance at the opening-day press conference to the premiere of “After the Wedding,” with Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams.

• My story on a report breaking down the demographics of the movies submitted to the Sundance Film Festival in recent years.

• My report from the premiere of “Untouchable,” the documentary that recounts the career, and predatory behavior against women, of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

• My visit to Sundance’s first pop-up lounge foe CBD products, whose makers are trying to fight the “Reefer Madness” stigma of hemp-derived supplements.

• My follow-up on the debut of “Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” the drama recounting the crimes of serial killer Ted Bundy (Zac Efron), directed by Joe Berlinger.

• My report from the premiere of the documentary “Knock Down the House,” and the appearance via Skype of the most talked-about new member of Congress, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

• My interview with actor and pro snowboarder Gabrielle Maiden, who used to live in Utah to be close to the slopes, and now is starring in the indie TV series “It’s Not About Jimmy Keene.”

• My coverage of the premiere of “Fighting With My Family,” the true story of WWE star Paige’s rise from obscurity — and a chance to bring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to Sundance.

• A roundup of the short-film award winners.

• My list of the top 10 movies I’ve seen at Sundance (as of Wednesday).

• My interview with composer Chad Cannon, a Salt Lake City native, who talks about writing the score for the documentary “American Factory.”

Review: 'The Last Black Man in San Francisco'

‘The Last Black Man in San Francisco’

★★★1/2

Playing in the U.S. Dramatic competition of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Running time: 120 minutes. Next screening: Saturday, Feb. 2, 8:45 a.m., Library Center Theatre, Park City.

——

“You can’t hate San Francisco if you don’t love San Francisco,” Jimmie Fails says at a key moment in “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” a captivating love-hate letter to the City by the Bay that comes straight from the heart.

Jimmie Fails is both the actor’s name and the name of his character — and he also shares story credit with the movie’s director and his best friend, Joe Talbot. Jimmie is introduced here as a man lovingly maintaining a three-story townhouse with a view of the Golden Gate. The house, he tells people, was built by his grandfather in 1946, and he is determined to make it look as good as new. The problem is that Jimmie doesn’t live in the house, and the elderly white couple who do would rather he leave them alone.

Jimmie is now sharing a room with his best friend, Montgomery Allen (Jonathan Majors), who spends his nights giving audio descriptions of old movies to his blind grandfather (Danny Glover). Montgomery works as a fishmonger, but in his off hours he sketches and paints in his notebook, collecting material for a play. His current focus is the group of young black men who hang around near his house, talking and razzing each other at all hours, and becoming the movie’s Greek chorus.

Talbot, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rob Richert, finds in Jimmie an Everyman, fearful that the city he loves is becoming, because of gentrification and a pricey housing market, something he doesn’t recognize where he can’t afford to live. But his choices are limited: Staying with his con-man dad (Rob Morgan) in a sketchy part of town; living with his aunt, Wanda (Tichina Arnold), out in the boonies; or, when the elderly couple is forced out in an estate dispute, occupying his granddad’s house as a squatter.

The movie sets up a fascinating assortment of neighbors, from the street preacher (Willie Hen) warning about the evils that attack San Francisco from all sides, to the homeless man (Tim “Opera” Blevins) singing flawless Puccini on the street.

Talbot and Fails deliver a heartfelt appraisal of life in modern San Francisco, complimented by the city sites captured by cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra. Through many devices, including a climactic reading of Montgomery’s long-gestating play, the filmmakers show they love their city in spite of — or maybe because of — its many flaws. 

Review: 'Ms. Purple'

‘Ms. Purple’

★★★★

Playing in the U.S. Dramatic competition of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Running time: 87 minutes; in English and Korean with subtitles. No more festival screenings scheduled.

——

Raw and rough but also delicately beautiful, director Justin Cohn’s sophomore feature “Ms. Purple” is an eye-opening look into the culture of Los Angeles’ Koreatown and a touching portrayal of grief in slow-motion.

Kasie (played by newcomer Tiffany Chu) lives in Koreatown with her father (James Kong), comatose and slowly dying. By night, she works as a karaoke hostess, which is about two shades away from sex work — being companions to rich men in small rooms, partying with them, drinking soju (Korean liquor) and sometimes doing harder drugs.

One day, Kasie is horrified to learn that Juanita (Alma Martinez), the live-in nurse who tends to her dad, is quitting for a less-stressful job. Kasie rejects Juanita’s advice that she put her father in hospice care. Instead, she calls her brother Carey (Teddy Lee), who’s essentially homeless and has been estranged from the family for awhile. Teddy, in need of a place to crash, agrees to help. But his presence opens up some old wounds, which are explained in flashbacks.

Meanwhile, Kasie also is dealing with Tony (Ronnie Kim), a clothing-industry magnate who is sort of a “boyfriend,” though he pays handsomely for the title, and expects a lot for what he’s paying. Kasie is given a chance at a conventional romance with nice-guy Octavio (Octavio Pizano), the valet parking attendant at her karaoke club.

Chon, whose first movie was the urban drama “Gook,” sometimes pauses the story (a script he co-wrote with Chris Dinh) just to allow Kasie and Carey to be themselves, and to let cinematographer Ante Cheng set the mood for their lives in the bustling atmosphere of Koreatown. The story’s surface details, like the karaoke clubs, are specific to L.A.’s Korean-American community — but the emotions Kasie must process, between her duty to her father and her need to care for herself, cross all cultural boundaries.

As Kasie, Chu makes a stellar movie debut. Her range, from quiet despair to faked jocularity to unsheathed fury, is spectacular, and she makes every scene crackle with possibility. Chu makes “Ms. Purple” perhaps the most devastating emotional punch this year’s Sundance Film Festival has delivered.

Review: 'Imaginary Order'

‘Imaginary Order’

★★★

Playing in the U.S. Dramatic competition of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Running time: 98 minutes. No more festival screenings scheduled.

——

As suburban supermom meltdowns go, the one depicted in writer-director Debra Eisenstadt’s “Imaginary Order” goes deep, thanks to some smart and scary twists and a compelling performance by Wendi McLendon-Covey.

The mom from “The Goldbergs” plays Cathy, who pours a lot of her creativity into helping her middle-school daughter, Tara (Kate Alberts), whether it’s the cake-decorating contest or attending her dance-team performances. She also dutifully cat-sits while her widowed sister Gail (Catherine Curtin) goes on a six-week retreat, and maintains a perfect home for her husband, Matthew (Steve Little).

It’s while cat-sitting that things start to unravel. The cat dislikes her, and claws her bloodily. Gail’s neighbor, Gemma Jean (Christine Woods), presents her the temptations of midday bloody Marys, cigarettes and painkillers. Gemma Jean’s whole family soon becomes a problem for Cathy — first when she has a quick sexual encounter with Gemma Jean’s semi-estranged husband Paul (Graham Sibley), and later when their son Xander (Max Burkholder) becomes infatuated with her.

Eisenstadt’s script provides a wry commentary on suburban perfectionism, of the parents’ committees whose members try to one-up each other in their organizational skills. And she captures the tiny details of that life, of shiny SUVs and passive-aggressive volunteerism, with a sharp eye. The ending is a bit ragged, but the journey to it is darkly funny.

McLendon-Covey joins the ranks of comic actors at Sundance revealing added dramatic depth. The precision with which she calibrates Cathy’s slow spiral of self-destruction is a wonder to behold, and makes “Imaginary Order” a fascinating tale of a woman out of control.

Review: 'Untitled Amazing Johnathan Documentary'

‘Untitled Amazing Johnathan Documentary’

★★★1/2

Playing in the U.S. Documentary competition of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Running time: 91 minutes. (Playing at Sundance with a 7-minute short, “Albatross Soup.”) Next screenings: Friday, Feb. 1, 8:30 p.m., The MARC Theatre, Park City.

——

The first rule of being a documentarian is to tell the truth — but how does the rule apply when the subject of the documentary is famous for deception? That’s the question director Ben Berman must ask, to hilarious and thought-provoking answers, in “Untitled Amazing Johnathan Documentary.”

Johnathan Szeles, a k a The Amazing Johnathan, as anyone who watched stand-up comedy specials in the ‘90s can tell you, is a comic magician whose manic routine deflated the pretentiousness of magic acts. In 2014, he announced publicly that he had been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a severe heart condition, and that he had a year to live.

Berman begins his movie three years later, with Johnathan still alive, though not entirely well. His wife, Anastasia Synn, worries for Johnathan’s poor health, exacerbated by his drug use. And now, as the film starts in 2017, Johnathan is planning to perform for the first time since his diagnosis prompted him to retire.

As Berman gets deeper into Johnatnan’s world, he find out some things that are alarming. I won’t spoil the many surprises that pop up along the way, but they combine to make Berman question whether he should be making a documentary about Johnathan — and question the lengths a documentarian should or should not go to tell the story.

Berman, whose directing credits include episodes of “Lady Dynamite” and more than half of the series “Comedy Bang! Bang!”, knows what’s funny, and the pacing and rhythms generate lots of laughs. But his exploration into Johnathan’s soul and his own also goes down some dark allieys, and cuts to the heart (no pun intended) of what makes a documentary.