Festival Predictions

2024 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Alonso Ruizpalacios’ La Cocina

Published on November 9, 2023

We were a bit surprised that Alonso Ruizpalacios‘ La Cocina didn’t shore up at a major film fest in 2023, so it’ll be readying to get out of a kitchen for a prime film festival date in ’24. His fourth feature after Güeros (2014), Museum (2018) and A Cop Movie (2021), this has Rooney Mara in the lead and is based on Arnold Wesker’s stage play (set in 1950s London restaurant and revolves around an affair). Will there be carryover docu-esque elements like his last film? It’s a possibility.

Gist: Follows the life in the kitchen of a NYC restaurant where cultures from all over the world blend during the lunchtime rush.

Production Co./Producers: Gerardo Gatica González, Lauren Mann, Ivan Orlic, Ramiro Ruiz.

Prediction: Premieres.

Sales: TBD.

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).