Sundance Film Festival 2016: Top five most anticipated films to watch

Sundance Film Festival 2016, the largest of independent film festivals kick-off at Park City, Utah on 21 January. The fest will feature movies, documentaries and events based on various social topics.

This year, the film festival – hosted by the Sundance Institute – will address topics such abortion rights, victims of Islamic militancy and the struggle of LGBT teenagers. Ahead of the 10-day event, which will conclude on 31 January, IBTimes UK has compiled a list of top five movies that could win the hearts of both fans and critics. They are as follows:

Christine: The movie tells the tale of a woman journalist, who finds it difficult to adjust with the demands of her station manager to produce eye-catching stories, rather than serious ones. Rebecca Hall plays the titular role in the movie.

Produced by Craig Shilowich and Melody Roscher, the movie also stars Michael Hall, Maria Dizzia, Tracy Letts and J Smith-Cameron. The film is directed by Antonio Campos.

Lovesong: This movie portrays unspoken love in an aesthetic manner. A young mother, Sarah, (Riley Keough) feels abandoned by her husband who is perpetually travelling on work. She discovers some comfort after meeting her old friend, Mindy, with whom she goes a road trip. On the trip, they realise a bond, which was unspoken for years. The bittersweet love story portrays a woman suffocating in isolation.

Directed by So Yong Kim, the movie stars Jena Malone, Riley Keough, Brooklyn Decker, Amy Seimetz, Ryan Eggold and Rosanna Arquette in lead roles.

Spa Night: The movie talks delicately about the struggle faced by LGBT teens. The Korean movie narrates the story of David Cho who is transitioning towards manhood. When his family business of restaurant fails, David decides to take things in his own hand and secretly takes a job at a Korean spa. However, he was in for a shock after discovering an underground world of gay sex. Although scared, he finds his adventure "exciting".

Ali & Nino: Set in Azerbaijan in the 1920s, the movie is a love story between a Muslim and a Christian teenager. Ali and Nino are upper-class teenagers living in Azerbaijan just as the First World War is about to begin. They love each other and get married despite cultural differences and disapproval of their parents. The movie is directed by Asif Kapadia.

Antibirth: Written and directed by Danny Perez, the movie exploits the dark world of drugs infused with wild parties. It is a story of Lou and her best friend Sadie who spend most of their nights at pot and booze-filled wild parties. But one day Lou awakens with symptoms of a bizarre illness and psychosomatic visions. This is when their lives take a different turn.