Pedro Pascal, Kristen Stewart lead stars to Sundance
Movie stars and indie darlings from Pedro Pascal and Kristen Stewart to Richard Linklater and Steven Soderbergh were headed to the mountains of Utah on Thursday for the 40th edition of the Sundance film festival. Co-founded by Robert Redford, and held in sub-zero temperatures at an altitude of 7,000 feet (2,150 meters), Sundance will host premieres for many of the coming year's most anticipated independent films. The festival also showcases dozens of new documentaries, with topics ranging from artificial intelligence and the future of US democracy, to LGBTQ issues and Japan's belated #MeToo movement. While some films, like Lionel Richie's music doc "The Greatest Night in Pop" and Laura Linney dramedy "Suncoast," have already secured releases with top studios like Netflix and Disney, most hope to find distributors at the festival -- a key dealmaking forum for Hollywood and beyond. "I hope we get distribution with somebody who will allow it to play in the theater first, and then streaming," said June Squibb, the 94-year-old star of "Thelma," a buzzy opening-night action-comedy billed as a geriatric version of the "Mission: Impossible" films. Also set for Thursday night is Pascal's "Freaky Tales," which tells a series of interconnected stories unfolding on the same day in 1987 Oakland, encompassing teen punks, Nazi skinheads, a rap battle and an NBA All-Star. (AFP)