Black Death

Director: Chris Smith

Year: 2024

Acclaimed filmmaker Chris Smith (Wham!, Fyre, 100 Foot Wave, and Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond) captures the gloriously radical spirit that is DEVO – a rare band founded by a philosophy; a Dada experiment of high art meets low, hellbent on infiltrating American popular culture. Through never-before-seen archival and interviews with Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh, and Jerry Casale, Devo relishes in the highs, lows, surreal moments and incredible performances of a 50-year career, embracing the spectacle of the band from their lo-fi beginnings to pioneers of the music video in the early days of MTV’s cultural dominance. Band members are open with their memories and archives, charting their origins as Kent State University arts students shaped by the activism of the late 1960s. Following the 1970 massacre on their campus, the band’s concept of cultural “De-Evolution” turned from satirical humor to urgent social commentary, and what began as subversive counterprogramming to KSU’s 1973 arts festival would go on to warn of, comment on, and reflect back the absurdism of the late 20th century. Finding mainstream success at the height of 1980s consumerism, Devo soundtracked the De-Evolution they’d long predicted – and influenced a 21st century they’d have never believed. Official Selection Sundance Film Festival 2024 - Premieres - World premiere

Director: Nathalie Álvarez Mesén

Year: 2026

In 1860s Pacific Northwest, a Native American governess educated in a Christian mission school is hired to teach two daughters of a British widower.

Director: Theo Rhys

Year: 2027

A taxidermist named Araminta seeks to preserve a human specimen when Bernie volunteers himself. Their unusual arrangement evolves into an unexpected love story.