Sundance

Similar to Brave New World’s soma prescription, citizens of the “Divinity” world are enamored with divinity.

Although its emotional ceiling is limited by its writing, "A Thousand and One" still delivers a moving, aesthetically cohesive selection of snapshots of one’s upbringing, all while acting as a remarkable case study of gentrification and poverty.

“I was really interested in lighting. I liked the physics of light and the philosophy of how lighting could change the way a space felt,” Valladao spoke of her early interactions with the field of cinematography in an interview with The Daily Californian.

When Kotomi heard she would be scoring the new Judy Blume documentary, she thought she was dreaming.

This year, The Daily Californian’s arts reporters Maya Thompson, Sarah Runyan and Asha Pruitt traveled to Park City, Utah to view the festival’s prestigious lineup on the big screen. Here’s what they watched.

While Raiff’s penchant for earnestness remains a grounding force behind “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” the novelty of his sincerity and emotional subjectivity has mostly worn off, his portrayal of liminality more vaguely delineated and less insightful and critically self-reflexive than it purports to be.

A charming exploration of friendship unlike any other, viewers will happily disappear in the odd, refreshing fictional world of “Brian and Charles.”

“I wanted to say something about your 20s, where it's the time where you start your own party,” Raiff said in an interview with The Daily Californian.

“Dos Estaciones'' is as somber and candid as one might expect from a film fresh out of Sundance, but this Spanish-language feature has much more to offer than the beauty and buzz that surrounds it.

“Master” wins because of its simplicity, effectiveness and wit, serving as a great addition to modern-day horror.