X avier Dolan’s television debut The Night Logan Woke Up has been selected for the Indie Episodic program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

The Sundance Institute announced the 64 short films and four series chosen for its 2023 lineup on Tuesday (Dec. 13). The short films were selected from 10,981 submissions, which is the highest number on record, according to a news release. Sundance’s feature film lineup was unveiled last week.

The Night Logan Woke Up (5 x 60-minutes; pictured) will have its international premiere at Sundance. The series is directed, written and produced by Dolan alongside Nancy Grant and Jasmyrh Lemoine of Nanoby. It’s based on Michel Marc Bouchard’s stage play of the same name and is an original production between Quebecor Content and French network Canal+, while Studiocanal handles international distribution.

The psychological thriller follows family members who live in a small town in Quebec and are trying to hide a dark secret. Thirty years later, the secrets resurface, sending the family into a pursuit of reconciliation. The cast includes Dolan, Patrick Hivon, Eric Bruneau, Julie Le Breton, Magalie Lépine-Blondeau, and Anne Dorval.

Thriving: A Dissociated Reverie is one of five short Canadian films selected for Sundance 2023, and the only Canadian short set for a world premiere. It is directed and produced by Nicole Bazuin, who co-wrote the short alongside Kitoko Mai and Andrea Werhun, who also serves as a producer. The project looks at dissociative identity disorder through the lived experiences of a Black, non-binary, disabled artist and former sex worker.

Making their international premieres are Baba, directed by Anya Chirkova and Meran Ismailsoy, and Simo, written and directed by Aziz Zoromba.

Baba is produced by Chirkova and Maziyar Khatam, who also serves as a screenwriter. The story follows an Iranian man who tries to keep his apartment while his relationship with his son unravels. Simo is produced by Rosalie Chicoine Perreault and follows the titular character as he tries to infiltrate his brother’s gaming channel.

All three shorts will screen in the International Fiction Short Films category alongside Pro Pool, directed and written by Alec Pronovost and produced by Patrick Francke-Sirois.

Rounding out the Canadian selections is The Flying Sailor, directed, written and animated by Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby, which will screen in the Animation Short Films category. Produced by David Christensen of the National Film Board of Canada, the short film is inspired by the true story of a sailor who was blown into the air during the 1917 Halifax explosion.

The annual festival runs from Jan. 19 to 29 in a hybrid fashion, with in-person festivities taking place at Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort. Online screenings will take place beginning Jan. 24, 2023. A select number of shorts will also screen in Canada and Europe as part of the festival’s traveling short film program.

Image courtesy of Sundance Institute