Sundance Film Festival Premieres of ‘Atropia’ &’The Ballad of Wallis Island’

Day 3 of the Sundance Film Festival continues with premiering films today from writer Hailey Gates’s directorial debut, Atropia, and James Griffith’s The Ballad of Wallis Island.

Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, and Chloë Sevigny graced the red carpet at the Eccles Theatre on January 25th for the premiere of director Hailey Gates’ comedy, Atropia. Produced by Luca Guadagnino, the film follows an aspiring actress who falls in love with a soldier cast as an insurgent while training at a military role-playing facility. Their unsimulated emotions threaten to derail the performance. The film also stars Tim Heidecker and Jane Levy.

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Later, James Griffiths presented the premiere of his latest film, The Ballad of Wallis Island, starring Tom Basden and Tim Key, apposite Carey Mulligan, Sian Clifford, and Akemnji Ndifornyen. Basden and Key, longtime collaborators who previously brought their 2015 film Two Films About Loneliness to Sundance, return with a feature-length adaptation of their 2007 short film, The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island. In this film, eccentric lottery winner Charles (Tim Key) dreams of reuniting Mortimer-McGwyer, his favorite band. His fantasy becomes reality when the former bandmates and lovers accept his invitation to play a private show at his home on Wallis Island. However, old tensions resurface as Charles desperately tries to salvage his dream gig.

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Tonight, Dylan Southern’s drama The Thing with Feathers, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, will premiere at the Eccles Theatre. Cumberbatch portrays a father grappling with the sudden loss of his wife. As he descends into a state of grief and despair, a malevolent presence begins to haunt him from the shadows of his apartment, where he resides with his two young sons. The cast also includes Richard Boxall, Henry Boxall, Eric Lampaert, Vinette Robinson, and Sam Spruell.

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Other notable premieres today include Atropia; The Ballad of Wallis Island; All That’s Left of You; The Thing with Feathers; Mr. Nobody Against Putin; Endless Cookie; OBEX; FOLKTALES; Come See Me in the Good Light; Bunnylovr; Seeds; Sukkwan Island, Two Women and The Stringer.

The 2025 Sundance Film Festival takes place from January 23–February 2, 2025, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Whether you’re a seasoned film fanatic or curious to discover new talent, check back for daily updates from the festival.