The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the first two films in the lineup for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival – the 25th Anniversary and digital restoration screening of “SLAM”and the uncensored director’s cut and restoration of “The Doom Generation”. Directed by Marc Levin and written by Levin, Saul Williams, Sonja Sohn, and Richard Stratton, “SLAM” was first introduced to audiences at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, where it premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section and won the Grand Jury Prize. “SLAM” has been restored as part of the Institute’s Archives & Collection program. Directed by Gregg Araki, “The Doom Generation” first debuted in the 1995 Sundance Film Festival’s Premieres section and represented the second film in Araki’s “Teenage Apocalypse” trilogy. The film has been remastered in 4K for an uncensored director’s cut. Both will debut in the upcoming Festival’s From the Collection section. The 2023 Festival takes place from January 19-29, 2023 in Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort, and online for audiences across the country from January 24-29, 2023. Passes and packages for the Festival go on sale to the public on Monday, October 17, 2022.
“The two restorations certainly celebrate how groundbreaking so many independent works from the 90s were, but they also remind us of how collaborative, fierce and transformative independent storytelling could be — how long lasting their impact and influence can be,” said John Nein, Senior Programmer & Director of Strategic Initiatives at Sundance Institute. “SLAM” not only showcased the work of pioneering artists and poets like Saul Williams, Sonja Sohn, Beau Sia, Liza Jesse Peterson and others, but it also inspired untold numbers of younger poets and contributed to the criminal justice reform movement of the 1990s. And with the restoration and reincorporation of several original scenes into “The Doom Generation”, we’re reminded of the challenges that independent storytellers faced, and continue to face, in releasing their films true to their vision.”
“SLAM”
A story that remains as timely today as it was in 1998, “SLAM” exposes the structural inequity of the criminal justice system, and the liberative ability art has to transcend. From the impact of poetry and spoken word, to discussions on racial inequality and justice reform, “SLAM” started a critical dialogue and gave a voice to an emerging art form that is now commonplace. Revisiting this pivotal work for the upcoming Festival, “SLAM” invites audiences to re-engage with its influence on the art of spoken word and discourse on the criminal justice system through a contemporary lens.
“The Doom Generation”
In 1995, “The Doom Generation” was unveiled to audiences in Park City before its wider release to the public later that year. While festivalgoers were able to witness director Gregg Araki’s entire vision, subsequent audiences were shown a truncated version. Along with a restoration to 4K by Strand Releasing, the film has been reworked to include the lost moments from almost 30 years ago. When “The Doom Generation” plays at the upcoming Festival, it will be the version Araki originally intended to make, and will be the first time since 1995 that the uncensored director’s cut is shown in theaters.
The Sundance Film Festival®
The Sundance Film Festival, a program of the non-profit, Sundance Institute, is the preeminent gathering of original storytellers and audiences seeking new voices and fresh perspectives. Since 1985, hundreds of films launched at the Festival have gone on to gain critical acclaim and reach new audiences worldwide. The Festival has introduced some of the most groundbreaking films and episodic works of the past three decades, including “Fire of Love”, “Cha Cha Real Smooth”, “Flee”, “CODA”, “Passing”, “Summer Of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)”, “Clemency, Never Rarely Sometimes Always”, “Zola”, “O.J.: Made in America”, “On The Record”, “Boys State”, “The Farewell”, “Honeyland”, “One Child Nation”, “The Souvenir”, “The Infiltrators”, “Sorry to Bother You”, “Top of the Lake”, “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”, “Hereditary”, “Call Me By Your Name”, “Get Out”, “The Big Sick”, “Mudbound”, “Fruitvale Station”, “Whiplash”, “Brooklyn”, “Precious”, “The Cove”, “Little Miss Sunshine”, “An Inconvenient Truth”, “Napoleon Dynamite”, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”, “Reservoir Dogs” and “sex, lies, and videotape”. Its vibrant program platforms fiction and non-fiction features and short films; series and episodic content; emerging media, and performances, as well as conversations, and other events. The Festival takes place both in person in the state of Utah and online, connecting audiences across the U.S. to bold new artists and films. The 2023 Festival takes place January 19 – 29. Be a part of the Festival at Sundance Film Festival and follow the Festival at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
To date 2023 Festival sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Acura, AMC+, Chase Sapphire®, Adobe, DoorDash; Leadership Sponsors – Audible, DIRECTV, Netflix, Omnicom Group, XRM Media; Sustaining Sponsors – Canada Goose, Canon U.S.A., Inc., Dropbox, World of Hyatt®, IMDbPro, MACRO, Rabbit Hole Bourbon & Rye, Stacy’s Pita Chips, Stanley, University of Utah Health, White Claw Hard Seltzer; Media Sponsors – IndieWire, Los Angeles Times,Variety, Vulture, The Wall Street Journal. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations helps offset the Festival’s costs and sustain the Institute’s year-round programs for independent artists. festival.sundance.org
