“I’m so hot blooded, I love the cold.” So starts our conversion. Tucked into the corner of this oversized London hotel room is Anya Taylor-Joy, cuddling a grey sofa pillow. A large window looking out onto the streets of Soho is wide open, letting in a chilly January breeze.

There are few 20-year-olds in the world who can boast a CV as impressive as Taylor-Joy’s: since debuting in critically acclaimed horror film The Witch in 2015, the actor has appeared in the Ridley Scott produced sci-fi slasher Morgan, Netflix’s Barack Obama biopic Barry, and now M Night Shyamalan’s Split.

Over the course of 18 minutes, we spoke about the latter thriller – in which she plays a young, kidnapped girl named Casey – along with the actor’s rise to fame and her reaction to being nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award alongside Tom Holland and Ruth Negga (unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to talk about her rumoured role in the upcoming X-Men films).

Hi Anya, what attracted you to Split?

I mean it’s Night and The Witch wasn’t out. It wasn’t even specified which character I was reading for. It could have been any one of the girls. When I met Night we had an interesting connection. I thought “you’re going to challenge me and I want to rise up to your expectation”. He’s a very specific person and one of my friends now – which is awesome – but as a director, he just really pushes you and I love that. The script was awesome. I read it all the way through – couldn’t finish it fast enough – then I had to go back to really get everything.

Split Featurette

Was it intimidating meeting Shyamalan for the first time?

I love what I do so much and I have a very acute understanding of how I work as a person so if I’m afraid I shut down and can’t do anything. If I’m overwhelmed, I shut down and can’t do anything. I just can’t think about it that way. I just had to be Anya. I’m not meeting M Night Shyamalan, otherwise I’d freak out and die. I’m just meeting Night.

What aspects of your character, Casey, were the most interesting to play around with?

How silent she is. I was very aware that most of her sh*t is stage directions. I was wondering how much of that I can communicate with an audience just with my face, just with my eyes. It was a challenge and one I really wanted to play. And the manipulation aspect, that was very fun to modulate, because me and James [McAvoy, who plays her kidnapper] work quite similarly. We’re very playful and we bring a different energy to every take. And so, that’s really fun, to act with someone who is going to play with you and surprise you in that way. You get to experience things that come out of a place of impulsiveness.

Was it different on set to how you expected?

When I was cast, James hadn’t been cast, so I didn’t have anyone to envision in that role. Obviously, it would be a very different movie with anyone else in the role. James and I were very jokey and that was really good fun, because it’s very dark. He plays this predatory man who kidnaps young women, and every young woman knows that feeling of – not what it’s like to be kidnapped – but knows what it’s like to be with a man who makes you feel comfortable. He just made it so safe, so nice, so secure, a really nice environment. We were able to really open up and be super vulnerable because we were really safe.

Split - Trailer 2

There were moments in the film loaded with humour. How was it playing this vulnerable character despite this?

I was there as Casey. Watching the film is really funny. James, Night and I have a very similar sense of humour so it’s very much our humour. As you’re shooting it, I was experiencing it through Casey, and Casey does not find this situation funny at all. There were maybe two scenes where I couldn’t hold it together and Night does not like that at all. He’s very serious with his work and he expects you to be serious too. But we got to a place of mental exhaustion where we couldn’t keep it together.

How did working on The Witch compare to Split?

I find it very difficult to compare any two projects because they’re all such different beasts. I’m growing up, I’m only 20 now. I’m a different person on each of these films because I’m growing very rapidly. The Witch was Rob[ert Eggers] and I finding our feet. He had never directed anything, I had never acted in anything. I didn’t know what a mark was. When he said “go and hit the mark” I was like “what am I hitting?” I was so enthralled and excited by everything I was doing and picking things up because I had to. How many things am I allowed to do? How many takes do we get? Am I allowed to do things differently? I was finding my way. For Split, I was going up against James and Betty Buckley, so you want to give as much as you can – especially against James when he’s giving me so much. He’s playing all these personalities. All the work is subtle. He is very big. Casey is incredibly internal, such an introvert, so I was concerned I wasn’t giving as much back as he was giving me.

How did you get involved with acting?

I don’t remember wanting anything different. I’ve really tried to pinpoint the moment I was like “this is me, this is what I want to dedicate my life to”. I just sort of knew. I got scouted for modelling on the street. I’m such a tomboy, still am. I just never thought about modelling before but I thought “ooh, interesting, similar world, perhaps it’s a way into something”. Then, I was on my third photo shoot ever and Adam Leech from Downton Abbey saw me reading poetry and asked me to recite some. He put me in contact with his agent and I got The Witch from there. It’s mad. And I know I’m incredibly lucky to be here and so glad it worked out this way otherwise I’d be a very unstable individual.

Where were you when you got scouted?

I was walking outside Harrods in London, and I was wearing heels for the first time. They were probably like “oh, little blonde girl in heels, interesting”.

How do you feel about the way everything is going?

Again, I know myself. If I thought about it, I’d freak the f**k out and you wouldn’t be able to get me out of the room, you’d have to prise my fingers from the door. I’m really lucky, and the pace at which everything is happening I think it’s a genuine giant blessing in disguise. I don’t have time to sit down and think “oh my god, what happened to my life?” I used to joke that I went to Sundance and never went home again. I went to Utah as this 18-year-old girl who had never made a movie. Not because it wasn’t any good but because when you make a tiny, little independent pure horror movie you don’t expect bright lights, big city. It was unprecedented and me and Robert got catapulted on a life sphere that we never thought was possible.

Where do you see yourself in five years time?

I just want to see what life’s going to throw my way. So far, it’s been very unexpected. I’m kinda on a rollercoaster and want to enjoy that. I’m so lucky that I can genuinely say every film I do I love the f**k out of, I love it so much. I would follow my directors to the end of the earth. I’m so lucky because I know some of these directors and [they are now] some of my closest friends. When you share something that intimate with someone, our emotional babies. We were saying “this is my art, this is my passion. I’m putting it in your hands because I trust you”. It’s such a beautiful thing. I guess I just want to keep going and look back in 5 years and feel good about my choices.

Who are your role models?

I remember the first time I saw Kirsten Dunst in Jumanji. I’d never seen a kid in a movie before who wasn’t much older than me. I thought “maybe I can do that, that’s interesting”. She was also in Interview with the Vampire, and I was like “you can get even darker and be in movies and still be little! That’s amazing”. Now, it’s Tilda Swinton. It’s been Tilda Swinton for a long time. I think she’s just such an artist. She really follows her artistic integrity. She really doesn’t give a f**k what other people think. At least that’s my projection onto her. I don’t know her, and I’m really nervous to meet her because she might think I’m a stalker because I've mentioned her so much.

What have you got coming up that you’re most excited about?

I’m excited to see the movies I’ve been working on. They’ve been so close together, I just want to actually see the f**king movie. I’ve got one going to Sundance called Thoroughbred, which I’m really excited about because Sundance is such a magical place for me and I’m going back with Olivia Cooke who was also there the same year she was with Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. So we’re kinda going back which is exciting. There’s another film, Marrowbone, which we filmed in Spain. It was the time of my life. We were staying in this castle and we could communicate with each other through the walls, it was very summer camp vibes.

The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Show all 29 1 /29 The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Beach Rats Frankie, an aimless teenager on the outer edges of Brooklyn, is having a miserable summer. With his father dying and his mother wanting him to find a girlfriend, Frankie escapes the bleakness of his home life by causing trouble with his delinquent friends and flirting with older men online. When his chatting and webcamming intensify, he finally starts hooking up with guys at a nearby cruising beach while simultaneously entering into a cautious relationship with a young woman. As Frankie struggles to reconcile his competing desires, his decisions leave him hurtling toward irreparable consequences. Writer/director Eliza Hittman’s short film Forever’s Gonna Start Tonight played the Festival in 2011. Her first feature, It Felt Like Love, premiered at the 2013 Festival and put her on the map as someone to watch. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Beatriz at Dinner Beatriz (Salma Hayek) is a miracle worker—highly sensitive with her touch, and passionately dedicated to curing pain through holistic therapy. After treating the mother of a young woman Beatriz helped recover from chemotherapy, her car breaks down, so she is invited to stay for a dinner celebrating a lucrative business deal. Beatriz at Dinner is riveting, yet with an apprehensive tone. Half chamber drama, half dark dramedy of errors, director Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl, 2002 Sundance Film Festival) discerns his characters by showing their most telling reactions, such as the subliminal determination of Hayek’s face, while spinning an indelible wickedness onto this tale of a fateful encounter. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Burning Sands In his freshman year of college, it seems Zurich has everything going for him; he has the respect of his teachers and university administration, the love and devotion of a wonderful girlfriend, and he’s been selected for admission to a prestigious black fraternity on campus. But as Zurich embarks on the Hell Week of pledging his fraternity, the harsh trials of entry into brotherhood begin to test the limits of his self-worth. As the intensifying abuse begins to become untenable, Zurich struggles to honor the fraternity’s code of silence, and the scaffolding of his life outside the frat begins to dismantle. Gerrard McMurray’s Burning Sands constructs a deeply complex cross section of the fabled fraternity hazing culture and the vicious power of the desire for acceptance. McMurray’s grounded filmmaking builds a textured world populated with an exceptional young cast, resulting in a deeply profound exploration of being a young black man in America. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Call Me By Your Name It’s the summer of 1983 in northern Italy, and Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), a 17-year-old American-Italian boy, spends his days in his family's seventeenth century villa lazily transcribing music and flirting with his friend Marzia. One day Oliver (Armie Hammer), a charming, 24-year-old American scholar working on his doctorate, arrives as the annual summer intern tasked with helping Elio's father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an eminent professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture. Amid the sun-drenched splendor of this sensual setting, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will change their lives forever. The latest film by Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love, 2010 Sundance Film Festival) is adapted from the novel by André Aciman, with a screenplay by Guadagnino and James Ivory. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Casting JonBenet After 20 years of media speculation and public hysteria, the unsolved death of six-year-old American beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey remains one of the world’s most sensational child murder cases. Casting JonBenet presents audiences with a hybrid of nonfiction and fiction filmmaking that examines the complicated legacy of this tiny starlet. Relying on a local casting call to entirely voice her film, director Kitty Green expands on a fascinating technique she last explored in her short film which won a 2014 Jury Award for nonfiction (The Face Of Ukraine: Casting Oksana Baiul). The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 City of Ghosts A real-life international thriller, City of Ghosts exposes a new type of warfare: a battle over ideas, a fight for hearts and minds, a conflict over clicks and views. Captivating in its immediacy, it follows the journey of “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently”—a handful of anonymous activists who banded together after their homeland was taken over by ISIS in 2014. Directed, produced, and filmed by Academy Award–nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, 2015 Sundance Film Festival Directing Award), City of Ghosts is a singularly powerful cinematic experience that is sure to shake audiences to their core as it elevates the canon of one of the most talented and exciting documentary filmmakers working today. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Colossal Gloria (Anne Hathaway) is a hard partying New York scene girl who is thrust into crisis when her boyfriend, Tim (Dan Stevens), grows sick of her antics and kicks her out of their apartment. With no other options, she moves back to her hometown and quickly regresses, drinking every night until last call and accepting a job at a bar owned by her childhood friend Oscar (Jason Sudeikis). One day she wakes up and blurrily finds out that Seoul was terrorized by a giant creature the night before. Eventually, Gloria begins to suspect her own drunken actions are bizarrely connected to the monster rampaging in South Korea. Writer/Director Vigalondo, aided by an outstanding cast, weaves a twisty, funny tale with real depth and emotional resonance. Colossal is proof that the ambitions of indie filmmakers can be epic in scope without losing their humanity. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Crown Heights On April 10, 1980, a shot rang out on the streets of Crown Heights, igniting a decades-long quest for justice in this harrowing true story. Colin Warner, played with heartbreaking sincerity by Lakeith Stanfield, is arrested and tried for a crime he did not commit, a victim of a deeply broken system that refuses to listen. Quick to throw him away, the court wrongfully convicts him. But as Colin loses hope to reclaim an innocence that has been cast aside, his best friend, Carl King, devotes his life to restoring Colin's freedom, doggedly pursuing every lead for years. Writer/director Matt Ruskin, who worked closely to earn the trust of the real Colin Warner, imbues this film with a gifted touch and emotional authenticity to shed light on a painful personal story—and on a horrifying systemic issue. Anchored by Stanfield, an indie film secret weapon, Crown Heights unfolds as a powerful ode to those we leave behind. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Dayveon In the wake of his big brother’s violent death, 13-year-old Dayveon (Devin Blackmon) struggles to find his way in an economically depressed Arkansas town. With no parents and few role models around, Dayveon is soon torn between the lure of a local gang and the friendship of his sister’s boyfriend, who reluctantly acts as a father figure. Amman Abbasi’s remarkable debut feature is a lyrical slice of Southern life, with an uncanny feeling for the rhythms of rural existence. Abbasi, the son of Pakistani immigrants who settled in Arkansas, developed the script (co-written by Steven Reneau) with input from local gang members. First-time actor Blackmon anchors the film with a poignant performance, complementing Abbasi’s introspective approach. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 A Ghost Story Lauded filmmaker David Lowery, last at the Festival with the lyrical Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (2013), reunites with his collaborators for a haunted tale like no other—one conceived in secret and fueled by the spirit of pure, creative expression. Lowery's meticulously sparse narrative contemplates a spectral figure who was once a man (Casey Affleck). Prematurely taken from this Earth, he makes his way toward his former home, where he is fated to remain forevermore. Shrouded in a white sheet, he observes the lament of his grief-stricken lover (Rooney Mara). Bearing unseen witness to her pain, the wisp stands sentry for years to come, interacting only with time as it hurtles further and further forward, the remnants of his humanity quietly evaporating. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Golden Exits Nick has settled into a safe existence in a small pocket of Brooklyn, where he currently toils on an archival project for his father-in-law. Soon, 20-something Naomi arrives from Australia to assist Nick for the semester. She has no acquaintances in the city beyond a loose family connection to Buddy, a music producer who lives in the same neighborhood. For the few months she spends around Nick, Buddy, and their families, Naomi's presence upsets the unpleasant balance holding these two households together. Writer/director Alex Ross Perry (2014’s Listen Up Philip) returns to the Festival with another acerbic ensemble, this time exploring the personal torment belying domesticated oblivion. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 ICARUS The ruthless worlds of international sports and politics rarely collide as spectacularly on screen as they do in Bryan Fogel’s thriller that is sure to set off convulsions of controversy. While investigating the furtive world of illegal doping in sports, Fogel connects with renegade Russian scientist Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov—a pillar of his country’s “anti-doping” program. Over dozens of Skype calls, urine samples, and badly administered hormone injections, Fogel and Rodchenkov grow closer despite shocking allegations that place Rodchenkov at the center of Russia’s state-sponsored Olympic doping program. When the truth is more complex than imagined, and accusations of illegalities run to Russia's highest chains of command, the two realize they hold the power to reveal the biggest international sports scandal in living memory. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Ingrid Goes West Ingrid is an unstable young woman with a checkered past of obsessive behavior. She secretly moves to Los Angeles to get close to Taylor Sloane—an Instagram “lifestyle guru” with a fabulous artist boyfriend, a camera-ready terrier, and an array of new products and brands to promote to her followers. After Ingrid adopts a Taylor-made identity for herself, her machinations to prove she’s BFF material for her Insta idol are underway—that is, until she meets Taylor’s obnoxious brother Nicky, who threatens to tear down her façade. Writer/director Matt Spicer and co-writer David Branson Smith brilliantly satirize the ideal lives we create online, yet at the same time acknowledging the effects of a technologically dominated society where the human needs for truth and connection are still essential to our being. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Kuso Broadcasted through a makeshift network of discarded televisions, this story is tangled up in the aftermath of Los Angeles's worst earthquake nightmare. Travel between screens and aftershocks into the twisted lives of the survived. Welcome to the weird and wild mind of filmmaker Steven Ellison. Already acclaimed for his expansive psychedelic albums as musician Flying Lotus, Ellison steps behind the camera to direct this mind-altering freakshow of a first feature, co-written with David Firth and Zach Fox. Their unbridled imaginations plunge the audience into a magical mix of filth-covered fables and hypnotic animations to reveal a film rotting from the inside out. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Landline The Manhattan of 1995: a land without cell phones, but abundant in CD listening stations, bar smoke, and family dysfunction. Enter the Jacobs. Eldest daughter Dana’s looming marriage to straight-laced Ben prompts a willful dive into her wild side, while her younger sister, Ali, is still in high school but leads a covert life of sex, drugs, and clubbing. After discovering love letters penned by their father, the sisters try to expose his apparent affair while keeping it from their all-too-composed mother. Gillian Robespierre’s follow-up to Obvious Child reprises her talent for subversive comedy and explores how family bonds grow sturdier through lying, cheating, and strife. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Lemon Isaac Lachmann has seen better days. His acting career is tanking, while his colleagues succeed; his blind girlfriend of 10 years plans to leave him; and his own family singles him out as a constant disappointment at their latest reunion. Even as he takes a chance on new romance, Isaac struggles to define his place in a world that has seemingly turned against him. Director Janicza Bravo (Gregory Go Boom, 2014 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Award winner) returns to the Festival with her description-defying debut feature that promises to delight and unsettle audiences in equal measure with its unique brand of discomforting humor. Bravo unflinchingly strips down her stellar lead and co-writer, Brett Gelman, to appalling levels of vulnerability, emphasized by idiosyncratic supporting turns from Michael Cera, Judy Greer, Nia Long, Martin Starr, and Gillian Jacobs. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Manifesto Tour-de-force: a term so overused that we need an undeniable acting performance to renew its meaning for cinema. Cate Blanchett has just given us one, going all-out in Manifesto. Already respected as one of the best actresses in film, Blanchett raises the bar even higher by playing 13 different roles in Manifesto, embodying some of the most influential and emotional artist manifestos in history. The architect of this unique film idea is director Julian Rosefeldt, a veteran of intricate films and installations. In Manifesto, he uses the words from various twentieth century manifestos of artists, architects, and filmmakers for dialogue. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Newness In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries. Drake Doremus, director of the 2011 Grand Jury Prize winner Like Crazy, returns to Park City with his fourth feature to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. He and screenwriter Ben York Jones (who co-wrote Like Crazy with Doremus) display a masterful ability to capture the emotional texture and physical intimacy of a relationship as it twists and turns through the sometimes turbulent currents of life in the modern age. A strikingly contemporary love story, Newness features breathtaking performances from Nicholas Hoult and Laia Costa as lovers brought together by technology, but connected by something deeper. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Nobody Speak: Hulk Hogan, Gawker and Trials of a Free Press When online tabloid Gawker posted a sex tape starring former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, a high-stakes legal battle pitting privacy rights against the First Amendment ensued. Hogan won the case and the staggering settlement he received not only bankrupted Gawker and its founder Nick Denton, but also exposed a controversial, behind-the-scenes benefactor: Silicon Valley venture capitalist Peter Thiel. Whether you love or hate Gawker, Brian Knappenberger’s gripping polemic reveals the forces that really brought down the news portal. Taking examples like Sheldon Adelson’s purchase of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, this compelling documentary illustrates a growing, sinister trend at odds with our country’s free press. Corporate executives, titans, and billionaires are tipping the balance on the public’s access to news, posing new threats to society’s relationship to the truth. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Pop Aye Thana, a once-illustrious architect, drifts ever further into existential crisis, propelled by the impending demolition of his proudest work and his wife’s waning romantic interest. Unexpectedly running into his long-lost childhood “pet” elephant Popeye, performing in the streets of Bangkok, spurs Thana on a quest across Thailand to return his displaced friend to rural Loei, the small village where they grew up. Pop Aye is a humane ode to the power of simple acts of kindness in a world of lost innocence and missed opportunities, punctuated by well-timed bursts of deadpan absurdity. Director Kirsten Tan, in her impressive feature debut, deftly weaves the poignance and humor of Popeye and Thana’s journey with a series of indelibly beautiful cinematic images of the film’s gigantic star in this lyrical road-trip dramedy. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Raw An electrifying film that took Cannes by storm upon its premiere in the Critics’ Week section this past May, Julia Ducournau’s wild, primal, flesh-eating marvel, Raw, boldly introduces a major new French talent to the world stage. Brilliant, shy 16-year-old Justine heads to the same veterinary college her parents attended, and where her older sister, Alexia, is also a student. Along with the other newbies, Justine is subjected to a series of bizarre initiations, including a hazing ritual that forces her to eat a raw rabbit liver. Although she’s a committed vegetarian, Justine is desperate to fit in and ultimately caves to the peer pressure. Afterward, she grows a voracious appetite for meat, which starts branching out to other forms of flesh. At the same time, the young virgin’s new carnivorous tendency coincides with a burgeoning sexual desire. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Roxanne Roxanne In 1984, Lolita Shanté Gooden was just another 14-year-old living in New York’s Queensbridge projects. When she famously laid down the lyrics to “Roxanne’s Revenge”—an underground answer rap to U.T.F.O.’s popular single “Roxanne, Roxanne”—she sparked one of the earliest and most significant beefs in hip-hop history, establishing herself as a feared battle emcee in a genre on the verge of worldwide recognition. In director Michael Larnell’s follow-up to his debut feature, Cronies (2015 Sundance Film Festival), newcomer Chanté Adams delivers a mic-dropping performance as the embodiment of the legendary Roxanne Shanté, backed by a stellar supporting cast featuring Nia Long and Mahershala Ali. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 The Big Sick Based on the true story of the film’s writers (and real-life couple), Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani, this modern culture clash shows how Pakistan-born Kumail and his American girlfriend, Emily, have to overcome the expectations of his family and their 1,400-year-old traditions. As his parents relentlessly set him up with potential brides for an arranged marriage, Kumail navigates treacherous waters in the worlds of both dating and stand-up comedy. Produced by Judd Apatow, The Big Sick features a sterling collection of comedy talent in front of and behind the camera. Having acted in numerous previous Sundance Film Festival selections, Michael Showalter returns this time as a director with a hilariously insightful film that shrewdly puts the spotlight on its writer/star Kumail Nanjiani (HBO’s Silicon Valley). The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 The Discovery What would you do if there was proof of an afterlife? The answer to this question is rivetingly explored in The Discovery, where world-renowned physicist Doctor Thomas Harber (Robert Redford) is able to scientifically prove the existence of an afterlife—but with dire consequences. His estranged son, Will (Jason Segel), tries to confront the situation by returning to the New England–esque island where he grew up. He crosses paths with Isla (Rooney Mara), who's returning to the island for mysterious reasons of her own. The tale unfolds over the ensuing days as the regret of past choices forces these lost characters to reflect on how they've gotten to where they are. Director/co-writer Charlie McDowell (2014’s The One I Love) returns to the Festival with another metaphysical thriller that uses a fascinating premise as a launching point to explore complex issues in a deftly absorbing fashion. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Thoroughbred Emotionally challenged Amanda and contemptuous Lily reboot their childhood friendship after years of instability and judgment, thrown back together by standardized-test tutoring. When Lily’s icy stepdad, Mark, conspires to ship her off to reform school instead of her dream college, Amanda’s nonchalant quips about killing him suddenly seem enticing. Even as Amanda’s sinister tendencies surface and the girls hatch a plan, the mutual manipulation that has always defined their relationship threatens to derail their ambitions. First-time director Cory Finley’s impressively stylish and assured filmmaking evokes a high-class world that is simultaneously familiar and strange, dripping with acidic dark wit and a disquietingly eerie score. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Wilson Woody Harrelson stars as Wilson, a lonely, neurotic, and hilariously honest middle-aged, misanthropic dog lover who reunites with his estranged wife (Laura Dern) and gets a shot at happiness when he learns he has a teenage daughter he’s never met. In his uniquely outrageous and slightly twisted way, Wilson sets out to connect with her in what could be his last chance at having a family. In Skeleton Twins, which won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, director Craig Johnson displayed a knack for finding humor and warmth in the darkest of places, which is why he was the perfect choice to bring to life this Daniel Clowes graphic novel of the same name. The writer of the Ghost World and Art School Confidential graphic novels, Clowes is a master of making the unlikable lovable. His Wilson is a bit of jerk, but a jerk who refreshes our empathy for people—in all of their imperfections. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Wind River U.S. Fish & Wildlife agent Cory Lambert discovers a body in the rugged wilderness of the Wind River Indian Reservation. The FBI sends in rookie agent Jane Banner, but she’s unprepared for the difficulties created by the oppressive weather and isolation of the Wyoming winter. When she employs Cory as a tracker, the two venture deep into a world ravaged by violence and the elements. Wind River is a stark look at life on the edge of an imposing wilderness, where the rule of law is eclipsed by the laws of nature. Acclaimed screenwriter Taylor Sheridan makes his directorial debut with the final film in his trilogy of screenplays on the American frontier. He showed the power of his writing in Sicario and Hell or High Water, both of which reverberated with unforgettable characters and dialogue, while creating a level of texture and detail that felt more like a novel. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 XX Gather round if you dare for four murderous tales of supernatural frights, predatory thrills, profound anxiety, and Gothic decay in the first all-female-driven horror anthology film. Audacious new works from some of the genre's most promising voices—Annie Clark (better known to fans as St. Vincent), Karyn Kusama (The Invitation, Girlfight), Roxanne Benjamin (Southbound), and Jovanka Vuckovic (former editor of Rue Morgue magazine)—bring forth a study in the proper unspooling of dread for your viewing pleasure. Framed around innovative animator Sofia Carrillo's haunting tableaus, these modern myths range from Vuckovic's reverent control of grotesque elegance to Clark's deliciously macabre sense of comic timing, Benjamin's skillful powers of tonal transformation, and Kusama's authorial grasp of simmering psychological fear. The films to watch out for from Sundance 2017 Sidney Hall Sidney Hall harbors a precocious talent for writing. His classroom essays exhibit a danger that some find off-putting, though one teacher recognizes his talent and urges Sidney to pursue a writing career. Early success with his first novel makes Sidney a celebrity, though his dystopian observations about suburbia provoke tragic outcomes among some young readers, cloaking his name in scandal. Heightened scrutiny and expectations haunt him, as do dark secrets from his past that complicate his creativity, and interfere with his chances of finding love with a childhood sweetheart. When the disillusioned writer has all but disappeared from public life, a mysterious detective seeks the answer to his mystery. Shawn Christensen's impressive second feature offers a far-reaching examination of the societal pressures and failings that can send a life of promise into free fall.

Do you feel like you’re missing out on other experiences people your age are having?

No. I never fit in with people my own age. I grew up around adults. I was separated from everyone in my age group by a sheet of glass. I found my place in movies. I have fun, I have a great time. I’m a true professional and take my job very very seriously but I need an outlet. I found my tribe, I found my people and we have a lot fun.

What do you do for downtime?

I haven’t had any of that yet. It sounds really boring but I act for fun. I don’t see it as a job. I’m never more at peace than when I’m in a scene and I get the opportunity to act with these f**king world renowned actors. It’s amazing. I write a lot too. My world is changing so quickly so it really helps to sit down and write a poem. Something neat and concise and wrapped up in a bow. Or write a song about it. I find it very meditative.

What does the BAFTA nomination mean to you?

It feels so surreal to be acting. I really see myself as an artist, and to be an artist and to be able to make art – that sounds terrifying to me. I don’t think I’m strong enough to deal with that but when people allow me to do that it’s unreal. Then you add on top of that that people are recognising me for that, I would never ever, it’s so out of the realm of possibility for me. So, it’s really exciting, I’m overwhelmed and it’s so great to be in the company of such great actors. I can’t wait to meet them. I just love so many of their individual performances. Like, Laia Costa in Victoria is amazing, it blew me away. I’m excited just to fangirl.