Jason and I attended the Sundance Film Festival again this February. Surprises are frequent at this festival and one of the best things about it.

Here are some examples of the types of exclamations of surprise you may encounter at Sundance:

• Boy, that random show we picked was way better than expected.
• Boy, I didn’t know that movie was going to be about Nazi necrophilia.
• Boy, I got to meet all those actors I never thought I would.
• Boy, I learned a lot about that controversial subject I didn’t even know was controversial before today.

Every year, we make a list of the movies that sound interesting to us out of the over 100 screening at the festival. This list has to be absurdly long because we often don’t get tickets to our first, second, or even tenth pick. This year, it was more like twelfth. Despite having to dig down into our list to find available tickets, we thoroughly enjoyed all four of the shows we saw. Some of these films have been making waves since their debut at Sundance.

The Edge of Democracy, a documentary, takes the political turmoil and corruption plaguing Brazil to a personal level. Admittedly, I knew little about the issues currently facing that country before watching this film, and I didn’t realize how recently Brazil was run by a military dictatorship. The similarities between the exploitations happening in Brazil and the ones occurring in the US are alarming. Petra Costa, the filmmaker, was on hand afterward for an interesting Q&A.

Cold Case Hammarskjold, another documentary, starts out a murder investigation and then takes a disturbing turn into a much broader treachery. The director, Mads Brugger, won the Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary. This film is now stunning crowds with the ghastly conspiracy it unravels, amid excellent reviews. We got to enjoy the complete shock of the show’s twists as we were amongst the first to see it in the world. One of the producers was on hand following our screening to answer questions.

Blinded by the Light is the unlikely story of a second-generation Pakistani immigrant living in the city of Luton, England in 1987. That teenager, Javed, becomes fixated on Bruce Springsteen’s tunes. This movie turns into a bit of a musical with all the fancy foot maneuvering and dramatic darting that go along with that. It’s nostalgic, warm, and occasionally a little cheesy. Oddly enough, its unlikely story isn’t that unlikely. It’s based on the memoirs of a real British journalist that’s seen Springsteen perform 150 times. Blinded by the Light premiered at Sundance and was quickly bought for $15 million, one of the biggest purchases Sundance has ever seen. The director, Gurinder Chadha, is the filmmaker behind Bend It Like Beckham and Bride & Prejudice.

Troop Zero is a cute, wistful show that will be appreciated by anyone that ever felt like an outcast as a child. I think that’s most of us. It’s a touching reminder that there are more people that care about us and support us than we realize, even if we aren’t the “cool” kid in town.

Sundance is full of surprises. This year, they were of the pleasant variety, but that isn’t always the case. Good or bad, the unexpected adds to Sundance’s independent atmosphere. Taking a few risks is part of the festival experience. Those surprises keep us coming back year after year.