Rita Moreno and Alvin Ailey Docs to Get World Premiere at 2021 Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Institute announced today the showcase of new independent work selected across the Feature Film, Short Film, Indie Series and New Frontier categories for the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.

Among the many titles slated for this year's event are two world premiere documentaries chronicling the lives of dance legends Alvin Ailey and Rita Moreno.

Ailey, a film from director Jamila Wignot, tells the story of Alvin Ailey, a visionary artist who found salvation through dance. Told in his own words and through the creation of a dance inspired by his life, this immersive portrait follows a man who, when confronted by a world that refused to embrace him, determined to build one that would. World Premiere

Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It from director Mariem Pérez Riera, devled into the life of the legendary Rita Moreno, who defied both her humble upbringing and relentless racism to become one of a select group who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award. Over a seventy year career, she has paved the way for Hispanic-American performers by refusing to be pigeonholed into one-dimensional stereotypes.

Another world premiere documentary Summer Of Soul (...Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised), directed by Roots bandleader and producer, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson takes place the same summer as Woodstock, when over 300,000 people attended the Harlem Cultural Festival, celebrating African American music and culture, and promoting Black pride and unity. The footage from the festival sat in a basement, unseen for over 50 years, keeping this incredible event in America's history lost - until now.

The Festival will take place digitally via a feature-rich, Sundance-built online platform and in person on Satellite Screens across the country (public health permitting) from January 28-February 3, 2021.

Additionally, Festival attendees can gather in virtual waiting rooms, participate in live Q&As, and congregate in new, inspired online environments to interact in a range of ways both new and familiar. The Institute shared details of how the Festival will meet audiences on the online platform and Satellite Screens earlier this month.

Announced today: the full 2021 slate of works, including 72 feature-length films, representing 29 countries and 38 first-time feature filmmakers. 14 films and projects announced today were supported by Sundance Institute in development, through direct granting or residency Labs. 66 of the Festival's feature films, or 92% of THE LINEUP announced today, will be world premieres.

These films were selected from 14,092 submissions including 3,500 feature-length films. Of the feature film submissions, 1,377 were from the U.S. and 2,132 were international.