11 Influential Sundance Movies
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3. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999)
This ingenious mock-documentary jumps off from the premise that three young filmmakers, journeying into the Maryland woods in search of the legendary Blair Witch, have mysteriously disappeared. What we're seeing is the recovered footage they shot — a raggedy home-movie descent into hell that plays like MTV's Road Rules crossed with Rosemary's Baby. The Blair Witch Project became the ultimate indie crossover hit because some believed it was real, but also because it dips into primordial terror — not just ''darkness'' but genuine, godforsaken night.
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LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (2006)
Nominated for Best Picture, this dysfunctional-family-on-the-road comedy — starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin, Toni Collette, and Paul Dano — plays out like the indie version of National Lampoon's Vacation.