Stream your own film festival with these Sundance hits

On Friday, it comes to living rooms, tablets and phones via Netflix.

From stars to snowdrifts, there’s nothing quite like the annual moviegoing extravaganza in Park City, Utah. But if “Velvet Buzzsaw” whets your appetite, you can get a taste of Sundance — and its irresistible mix of discovered talent, established stars, documentaries and shorts — from the comfort and, most importantly, warmth of your home.

Several Sundance essentials are missing from the major streaming services, so you’ll have to do without high-profile debuts such as “Reservoir Dogs,” “Sex, Lies, and Videotape,” “Roger & Me” and “The Usual Suspects.” (Not that many people are still clamoring for that last one, though, thanks to the involvement of the toxic tag team of Kevin Spacey and director Bryan Singer.)

There are still plenty of possibilities, though, for you to stream your own version of Sundance with this curated list.

“Little Miss Sunshine” (2006)

Streaming on: Hulu

A breakout hit that remains synonymous with Sundance more than a decade later, this road-trip comedy starring Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and Alan Arkin was purchased at the festival for a then-record $10.5 million and ultimately topped $100 million at the worldwide box office. It’s still among Sundance’s highest-grossing alums, though it’s no match for horror titles such as “Get Out” and “The Blair Witch Project.”

“Hoop Dreams” (1994)

Streaming on: Amazon Prime

One of the most acclaimed documentaries of all time follows two African-American basketball phenoms as they hope their talent delivers them out of two of Chicago’s worst neighborhoods. Fellow Chicagoan Roger Ebert named it the best film of the 1990s.

“Clerks” (1994)

Streaming on: Netflix (until Friday)

Act fast if you want to catch this winner of the Filmmakers Trophy that takes place over the course of one very long day at a New Jersey Quick Stop. The low-fi, black-and-white comedy launched writer-director Kevin Smith’s career and unleashed Jay, Silent Bob and “Snoochie Boochies” on an unsuspecting populace.

“Winter’s Bone” (2010)

Streaming on: Hulu and Amazon Prime

The gritty drama follows Ree, a proud, dirt-poor teenager in the Ozarks, during a dangerous quest to find her estranged, crank-cooking dad. Since he hasn’t been seen since posting bond with the house she shares with her incapacitated mother and two young siblings, Ree has a week to produce him — or proof of his death — before the family loses what little it has. The Grand Jury Prize winner was nominated for four Oscars and introduced Jennifer Lawrence, who stars as Ree, to the world — at least the part of the world that hadn’t been regular viewers of “The Bill Engvall Show.”

“Moon” (2009)

Streaming on: Netflix

Sam Rockwell, the reigning best supporting actor Oscar winner and a nominee again this year for “Vice,” had his first true acting showcase in this trippy, sci-fi tale. As Sam Bell, a worker nearing the end of his three-year solo mission overseeing an automated lunar mining operation, Rockwell is essentially alone onscreen throughout the film. GERTY, the HAL 9000-style computer that’s his only companion, was voiced by Spacey, which today just serves as a distraction. Maybe there’s a way to convince Christopher Plummer to come in and dub all of the disgraced actor’s lines.

“Brick” (2005)

Streaming on: Netflix

The recipient of a special jury prize at the festival, this high school noir thriller teams Joseph Gordon-Levitt with writer-director Rian Johnson, who was making his feature debut. Gordon-Levitt would go on to become a Sundance regular, thanks to movies such as “(500) Days of Summer” and “Don Jon.” The two would reunite for 2012’s “Looper,” the last film Johnson made before writing and directing a little film called “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

“Wind River” (2017)

Streaming on: Netflix

Looking for something featuring movie stars who already were movie stars during filming? Check out this wintry tale that teams Avengers Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen as a tracker and the rookie FBI agent from the Las Vegas field office who seeks his help when a teenager is found frozen to death on a Wyoming reservation. Written and directed by “Sicario” screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, “Wind River” is one of the best movies of 2017 that you probably didn’t see.

“Blackfish” (2013)

Streaming on: Netflix

This controversial documentary focuses on Tilikum, an orca in captivity at SeaWorld Orlando, who had been involved in the deaths of three people. Because it was acquired by CNN Films and aired multiple times on the news channel, “Blackfish” received more attention than it otherwise might have. It’s also the reason why, after a backlash sent stocks tumbling, SeaWorld no longer makes the whales perform in shows and why the park ended its controversial orca breeding program.

Various short films

Streaming on: vimeo.com/channels/sundanceshorts

Filmmakers as diverse as Damien Chazelle, Jason Reitman, Wes Anderson and Paul Thomas Anderson (no relation) found their big breaks thanks to short films screened at Sundance. The major services only traffic in feature-length movies, but Vimeo has gathered this crop of Sundance shorts that you can stream for free.

Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence @reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter.