Sundance for Free

You don’t have to brave the hype and cold of Sundance to spot the next generation of cinematic talent. The festival’s organizers have mounted a virtual film festival of unprecedented scope, with 46 dramatic, documentary, and animated short films that you can watch online free of charge.

The first batch got posted late yesterday (more will be added every day through January 21), including Happiness — not to be confused with the current Will Smith feature — which is about a spinster who visits a shop near her New York home and buys a mysterious sealed box that’s simply labeled Happiness.

It’s a beautifully shot film with precious little dialogue. And since it’s only 11 minutes long, we won’t say anything more about it other than that it’s sort of the anti–Sex and the City and that it captures the hopeful hollowness of contemporary consumer culture with the sweet, sad precision of Lost in Translation.

Watch Happiness.

Complete list of short films and their online premiere dates.