The arrival of a new year means two things for film buffs: the beginning of the awards season and Sundance. The Sundance Film Festival started up in the late 1970s and today stands among the “big five” film fests. The attraction of the festival is twofold. First, you’re quite likely to catch the premiere of a future Oscar winner, such as CODA, which won Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 2022. Second, Sundance’s programming has a history of “breaking” new and presently unknown directors: its roster of debut talents includes Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, and many others. Anticipated films this year include A Real Pain, directed by Jesse Eisenberg and starring himself and Kieran Culkin, and Love Me, which features Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun. The expected hits are only part of the fun—the diamonds in the rough are the real moviegoer’s treat. —Jack Sullivan