Sundance 2018 Syllabus: Who Stood Out & What Got Bought

Another season of the Sundance Film Festival has come to a close. Celebrities have packed up their cute-yet-weather-appropriate snow gear and headed off to warmer climes, leaving us with a long list of must-see movies to fill the gap left by the lack of cozy mountain-themed group Instas.

Sundance is usually a good barometer in predicting the cultural tone for the next year. The projects that gain the most traction and generate the most buzz are those we'll be talking about months down the line when they're finally released in cinemas. Working under that assumption, it seems safe to say that 2018 will be the year of the woman.

Thirty-seven percent of the 122 films presented at this year's lineup were directed by women, in stark contrast with mainstream Hollywood, where only 4% of the top grossing films can claim a similar distinction. As a result, women's stories made up the core of some of the most exciting, and award-winning films. From documentaries about Gloria Allred and Ruth Bader Ginsburg to feature films about gay conversion therapy and skater girl gangs, all these movies prove that there isn't just one kind of female voice. Our stories are vast, diverse, and wide-ranging — and they all deserve to finally be told.

Click through for some of the standout performances, buzzed about films, and biggest deals of the festival (for a full list of the titles sold, click here). You'll want to know these names once awards season 2019 rolls around.