What's Black at 2024 Sundance Film Festival? Luther Vandross, Malia Obama, Magical Negroes and More

In case you missed it, the 2024 Sundance Film Festival is officially underway!

Encompassing nearly two weeks worth of feature, short documentary films and more, this year’s festival boasts a myriad of diverse stories from diverse storytellers and a slate that’s sure to produce some notable projects we’ll see in next year’s awards season.

That being said—y’all already know how we down on this site. So keep reading to see what Black leading and/or Black directed projects you need to keep an eye out for.

Directed by Dawn Porter and featuring cameos from some of Luther Vandross closest friends and collaborators, “Luther: Never Too Much” is an emotional documentary that chronicles the rise of one of America’s greatest and most beloved voices. Complete with concert footage, interview footage, and more, audiences get a better look at the man behind the music and will more than likely walk away with a newfound appreciation for an artist we didn’t appreciate nearly enough.

Starring Andre Holland, Andra Day, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and more, “Exhibiting Forgiveness” tells the tale of Tarrell—a Black artist on the path to success who is derailed by an unexpected visit from his estranged father, a recovering addict desperate to reconcile. Together, they learn that forgetting might be a greater challenge than forgiving.

Directed by Chiwetel Ejiofor and starring Jay Will, Ejiofor and Mary J. Blige, “Rob Peace”—which is based on Jeff Hobbs’ biography—follows Peace, a young kid who grew up in an impoverished section of Newark and later graduated from Yale with degrees in molecular biophysics and biochemistry while on scholarship. As we watch him rise in the ranks of scholarly pursuits, we find out that he’s leading a double life as he’s also raking in six figures selling marijuana on the side.

Starring Justice Smith, David Alan Grier, Nicole Byer and more, the Kobi Libii-directed film centers around a young man, Aren (played by Smith), who is recruited into a secret society of magical Black “negroes” who dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: making white people’s lives easier so that Black people will be safer.

If this sounds a bit interesting (or offputting), it’s because “The American Society of Magical Negroes” leans heavily into the “magical negro” story trope—which is defined as a Black character whose sole purpose in any story or plot is to “help white people achieve their fullest potential.”

Starring Jay Ellis, Dominique Thorne and Normani Kordei Hamilton in her debut film role, “Freaky Tales” tells the tale of a 1987 Oakland, when a mysterious force guides The Town’s underdogs in four interconnected tales. The first one? Teen punks defending their turf against Nazi skinheads. The second, a rap duo battling for hip-hop immortality. The third, is a weary henchman who gets a shot at redemption and lastly, NBA All-Star trying to settle the score. Basically another day in the Bay.

The film also stars Pedro Pascal, Ji-Young Yoo and the late Angus Cloud.

In this forthcoming documentary from Natalie Rae and Angela Patton, “Daughters” is a result of an eight-year documentary journey that follows four young girls as they prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C., jail.

Launched in the late ’80s, educational software Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing taught millions globally, but the program’s Haitian-born cover model vanished decades ago. Two DIY investigators—namely Jazmin Renée Jones and Olivia McKayla Ross—search for the unsung cultural icon, while questioning notions of digital security, AI, and Black representation in the digital realm.

In Malia Obama (yes, that Malia Obama’s) short feature directorial debut, “The Heart” is a self-described “odd little story, somewhat of a fable” that centers around a man grieving the death of his mother after she leaves him an unusual request in her will.

Going by Malia Ann, this debut was met with solid reviews from critics.

In Natalie Jasmine Harris short feature, “Grace,” we’re introduced to the titular character and her older sister who spend every summer at their grandparents’ house down South in the 1950s. Now that she’s 16, she’s made to follow her family’s religious tradition and get baptized. When Grace learns that a repentance is required before the ritual, she begins to question the budding romantic feelings she has for her best friend, Louise.

In this short film from Yero Timi-Biu, we follow “Essex Girl” Bisola after an incident at her high school pulls her into the orbit of the only other Black girl in her year and plunges her into a journey to discover a whole new side of herself.

Directed by Sterling Hampton IV, “Merman” follows a 58-year-old Black Queer man as he speaks the truth about his life as an emergency nurse, a leather enthusiast, husband, and civil rights advocate.

In this documentary from J.M. Harper, “As We Speak” centers around Bronx rap artist Kemba as he explores the growing weaponization of rap lyrics in the United States criminal justice system and abroad — revealing how law enforcement has quietly used artistic creation as evidence in criminal cases for decades.

Directed by Johan Grimonprez, “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat,” takes place in 1960, United Nations, When the Global South ignites a political earthquake, musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe denouncing America’s color bar, while the U.S. dispatches jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to the Congo to deflect attention from its first African post-colonial coup.