Sundance 2016: What was the Obamas’ first date like?

The story of how Barack and Michelle met is among many films making waves at Sundance.

The 2016 Sundance Film Festival is under way but many of the most anticipated films still haven’t screened. One of the movies attendees are looking forward to is Southside with You, which dramatises Barack and Michelle Obama’s first date in Chicago in 1989. It’s an opportunity to get inside the future president’s head – though whether it actually lives up to that promise remains to be seen.

Another of the films generating excitement is Manchester by the Sea, the latest movie by Kenneth Lonergan, the director of You Can Count on Me and Margaret. Both of those films had a novelistic flavour, with richly drawn characters navigating situations of extraordinary complexity. But Margaret had a troubled production – it was largely filmed in 2005 but wasn’t released until more than six years later after it had been largely re-edited. Manchester by the Sea hasn’t been compromised in the same way, so it’s an opportunity for critics to assess what Lonergan is capable of when he’s given free rein.

There’s also Jim: The James Foley Story, which examines the life and work of the journalist beheaded by IS in 2014. It’s a self-conscious attempt to separate the man from the horrific circumstances of his death and humanise him. The film consists of testimonials from his friends and family and features home movies of Foley throughout the years.

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