Festival Predictions

2018 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Austin Vesely’s Slice

Published on November 16, 2017

We had pegged this directorial debut as a possible selection for the last Sundance edition, but the A24 folks worked with a slow cook style for what was originally as an unknown indie horror pic and is now one of the most anticipated items to look out for in 2018 (see the recently dropped teaser for further proof). Chance The Rapper (who worth mentioning in terms of scheduling isn’t tied up any tour gigs for yet) and creative partner Austin Vesely commenced lensing on Slice, a Chicago shot micro-indie back in September of 2016 includes perfs from Zazie Beetz, Chance The Rapper & Vesely (recently signed by WME), Katherine Cunningham and one of our favorite faces in The Eyes of My Mother in Will Brill.

Gist: In the city of Kingfisher — where drug dealers, corrupt politicians, headstrong police, and anti-ghost activists all live side by side — everyone has a part to play in the inevitable climax of the battle between the dead and the living. A strip mall becomes the site of a supernatural showdown, and a mom and pop pizza shop is at its epicenter.

Production Co./Producers: Brandon Riley

Prediction: If it drops, it’ll be one of the hottest tickets at the fest by a debut filmmaker – could land at Park City at Midnight or the NEXT section.

U.S. Distributor: A24.

Eric Lavallée

Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist and critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson's This Teacher (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). In 2022 he served as a New Flesh Comp for Best First Feature at the 2022 Fantasia Intl. Film Festival. Current top films for 2022 include Tár (Todd Field), All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen), Aftersun (Charlotte Wells).