Movies Worth Streaming Ahead of the Oscars — Sundance Picks With Real Life Twists

More and more interesting movies start streaming ahead of the Oscars, which will take place March 10th this year. While Hollywood continues to struggle to return to pre-pandemic levels and is still dealing with aftermath of the writer and actor strikes, a vast array of worthy streaming choices are available. Even if  there were few blockbuster home runs this last year outside of Barbie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Taylor Swift’s Era Tour.

I’ve spent the first weeks of the new year happily streaming movies for friends and family that I reviewed at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival last January. With the 2024 edition almost here, here are my favorite Sundance Film Festival selections that are currently streaming.

The Persian Version

The Persian Version is a semi-autobiographical dramedy about filmmaker Maryam Keshavarz’s life as a gay Iranian immigrant (Leila) who works through a complicated relationship with her traditional mother and father. When I read that description as I scooted from movie showing to movie showing  at Sundance, I thought “Nah, that film’s already been done too many times.”

Only after Persian Version won both the coveted Sundance Audience Award and the Screenwriting Award did I watch it. And what an unexpected delight it is. The closest analogy I can make is to the surprise Best Picture Oscar winner CODA, which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Many people didn’t think a movie about the child of deaf parents would be entertaining, but CODA proved everyone wrong. The Persian Version is equally poignant, funny, and entertaining.

It is hard to describe this movie, which bounces from current-day New York to the 1960s, where Leila’s parents meet in a remote Iranian village before emigrating to New York to protect a family secret. Pivoting back to the current day, one of Leila’s eight brothers is about to get married and her father is awaiting a heart transplant. It is all a little frenetic, but comes together in a clever and coherent manner.

There are lots of laughs along with poignant messages that convey the challenges of changing cultures and navigating the immigrant experience as a gay woman.

The Persian Version is available to rent on YouTube, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime 

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie explores the beloved actor’s film and TV career, and his struggles with Parkinson’s disease. The documentary opens with Fox describing the first signs of Parkinson’s he experienced.

Not yet 30 years old, Fox was in Florida and after a huge bender found that his right pinky would not stop shaking. The doc chronicles his denial of the disease (using alcoholism and drugs), the years spent hiding it from the public, and his life today.

One scene early in the documentary shows the effort it takes for Fox to walk down the street. A woman greets him and as he turns to acknowledge the greeting, he falls on his face. He responds by making a joke. “Nice to meet you! You knocked me off my feet!” he calls back. And returns to his feet to continue walking.

This scene alone speaks volumes about Michael J. Fox, his sense of humor, indomitable spirit, and remarkable lack of self-pity.

The documentary also provides a rich pictorial of Fox’s rise to fame. Born in Canada, Fox moved to Los Angeles at age 18 to pursue an acting career. Thanks to his roles in Family Ties and Back to the Future, Fox becomes a superstar.

Much of Still focuses on how Fox has dealt with his disease. One of the most moving moments occurs when asked if he is in pain, Fox confesses that he is always in pain. Many scenes show Fox with a new bruise or broken bone from a fall. But the documentary is also about hope and resilience as Fox and his foundation have raised more than $2 billion to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease.

Still premiered at the Sundance Film Festival’s opening weekend last year, triggering an extended and emotional standing ovation with some in the crowd in tears as they clapped.

Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) directs this entertaining, powerful, and inspirational documentary. Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie  has been named to the 2024 Oscar short list for Best Documentary.

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie is streaming on Apple+

Willie Nelson & Family

Fans of Texas musical icon Willie Nelson have a wonderful present in store for them. Nelson, who celebrated his 90th birthday last April, is the subject of a four-part documentary called Willie Nelson & Family. First screened at Sundance, this eagerly anticipated documentary is an honest, emotional, sometimes heartbreaking, and ultimately affectionate portrait of one of the world’s most extraordinary and prolific musicians.

The documentary was filmed during COVID while Nelson was not touring, providing the filmmakers with extensive access to the icon. Featuring previously unseen footage of Willie Nelson’s early years, this gem of a doc also includes interviews with Nelson’s kids, ex-wives, and bandmates. Musical icons Dolly Parton, Kenny Chesney, and Sheryl Crow are among the 80 interviews conducted for the documentary.

The film tells Nelson’s story in a stream-of-consciousness fashion, switching from his childhood to the present in a matter of minutes, which has the effect of making the viewer anticipate what will surprise them next. In addition to the songs and the story, the state of Texas is a big part of the film.

Willie Nelson did not achieve fame until he returned to Texas, and his early Austin concerts which drew an unusual audience of both hippies and farmers helped propel him to national prominence.

Nelson fans will be moved not just by the songs and the story, but by his collaborations. One of Ray Charles’ last performances came in serenading Nelson on his 70th birthday. Other goosebump moments include Nelson with Johnny Cash and the famed Highwaymen, Julio Iglesias and Leon Russell. There is also a sacred moment with his sister — the late Bobbie Nelson, who died in March of 2022 — as they played hymns at the Abbott Texas church in which they grew up.

Whether you stream this documentary alone or with a group, put your dancing shoes on, and get ready for a sing-along. This is a flick that brings tears, laughter, and ultimately gratitude that the magical Willie Nelson is still with us.

Willie Nelson & Family is streaming on Paramount+ (free seven-day subscriptions are available)

Jane Howze is managing director of The Alexander Group, a national executive search firm headquartered in Houston. She has reported on the Sundance Film Festival for 15 years and will be covering the 40th edition of the movie extravaganza for PaperCity this month.