A curated Sundance watch list from a Philly-born programmer for his hometown audiences

In 2014, Ash Hoyle watched Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, his first Sundance-premiering film, at the Ritz. He grew up in Philadelphia, in the Wallingford-Swarthmore area, and went to high school at Strath Haven High School, before going to college at Vassar.

Now a programmer at Sundance Film Festival — where he started out as an events intern while still in college — Hoyle treasures the vibrant arts scene of his hometown. “I feel like [the arts] is a part of the community, the city, the school. The schools here in Philadelphia make sure that people grow up knowing how important art can be, and proving the impact of that on young lives. I am certainly a product of that,” Hoyle said to The Inquirer, while visiting his family in the city.

A fan of the city’s art museums and residents — “We’re notorious for being real people” — Hoyle thinks it’s “great that we have such a strong artists community here, and that the city is able to support that.”

When talking of nurturing his early cinephilia in the city, Hoyle shouts out his grandparents who took him to the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, growing up. As a horror fan — Hoyle programmed genre films for the Midnight section of the festival — he loves Eastern State Penitentiary and the Edgar Allen Poe House.

A perfect Philly day for him would constitute a visit to the Barnes and the Print Center on Latimer, and then some time at Sabrina’s Cafe and the Continental. “And of course watching the Eagles!!!”

The Sundance Film Festival this year begins today and a lot of its offerings are available online for audiences who are not making the trek to Park City, Utah. Here are five films that Hoyle thinks would resonate with audiences in his hometown.

From Mexican American filmmakers Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn, a documentary about scholastic mariachi competitions in Texas. “Funnily enough,” Hoyle said, “this really spoke to me because the marching band in Strath Haven was one of the biggest in the state and was something I participated in as a drum major.”

A narrative film and first feature by Chilean American filmmaker Vuk Lungulov-Klotz. The film takes place over the course of one hectic day in New York City in the life of a young trans man who is negotiating how he translates the changes in his life. As a queer person, Hoyle feels “lucky and so grateful to have grown up in a place like Philadelphia. It has made me capable of moving forward and helping to champion queer artists out in the world. To have that place of support and a hometown is invaluable in the growth of a curator.”

Another documentary, by Estonian filmmaker Anna Hints. “Tucked in a lush green forest in southern Estonia,” the synopsis reads, “a group of women gather in the safe darkness of a smoke sauna to share their innermost thoughts and secrets.”

“It’s a film that speaks to the healing power of women coming together around shared experience,” Hoyle said. “It’s an incredible film. Beautifully shy…and the texture, the way the bodies are shot, is breathtaking.”

Narrative film about a pregnant woman trying to reach her family amid a global catastrophe, by French Moroccan filmmaker Sofia Alaoui. Alaoui’s short film So What if the Goats Die won the festival’s Short Film Grand Jury Prize in 2020. Hoyle called it “imaginative and bold” in the way it “takes on an apocalyptic alien invasion but through a very human lens.”

This one is by Philadelphia-based filmmaker Walé Oyéjidé, whom Hoyle called a “total powerhouse, a multi-hyphenate creator.” The narrative feature film is part of the festival’s Next section that highlights filmmakers who are “fearless in the way they’re telling their stories.” “Walé,” Hoyle noted, “is no exception.” Oyéjidé is a fashion designer, whose work has been featured in museums globally and in films like Black Panther. “So the clothes in this movie are stunning, completely breathtaking. If you’re interested into fashion at all, this is worth a watch for you, for sure,” Hoyle said.

Sundance Film Festival 2023 runs online and in person, Jan. 19-29. Information for watching films online can be found at: https://festival.sundance.org/how-to-fest/how-to-watch/online-screening-window-rules