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Last year, when speaking to writer and actor Brit Marling about Sound of My Voice, we got to talking about the films that have informed us creatively and the longing to expose everyday life in an abstract way. "Like that moment in Three Colors: Blue when she’s dragging her knuckles across that stone wall or in Red when the bubble gum ad becomes like the metaphysical portal into how she nearly dies and meets the love of her life. A fucking bubble gum ad! I love that pairing," she said. "I think our generation has that desire. You see it in music now, too; there’s a kind of earnestness and deep desire for something romantic and honest, but also the possibility for something magical in the mundane. We’re all hoping there’s more to all of this that meets the eye, and I hope that’s true." And with her latest film, The East—which she stars in and co-wrote with the film's director, the wonderfully talented Zal Batmanglij, they've once again have collaborated to create something both thrilling and emotional, relevant to our current generation and questions that plague our society.

Since falling in love with Another Earth when it premiered in the summer of 2011, I have been anxiously waiting to see what director Mike Cahill would melt our minds with next. His brilliantly crafted interplanetary debut not only established him as one of the most interesting and intelligent new voices in independent cinema but exposed the world to fascinating actor and writer Brit Marling, who has gone on to not only star and co-write Sound of My Voice and The East with Zal Batmanglij, but land a host of coveted acting roles as well.

Last week, we talked about the need for films that not only show us where we're at as a society and where we're going, but how it feels. Alongside that, came new stills for Zal Batmanglij's upcoming eco-thriller The East, a film that speaks to the confounding nature of our generation with a voice that's refreshing and unique. Brimming with kinetic energy and emotion Batmanglij's sophomore feature was co-written with Brit Marling, the two exploring similar territory as their first film Sound of My Voice—investigation of identity, the allure of charismatic leaders, and questions of personal belief—but now tackling those questions on a larger scale. And with The East, Batmanglij has proven himself a filmmaker to be excited about, whose career feels important to our current independent cinematic climate with the desire to tell authentic stories that reflect what it means to exist in today. 

Now more than ever, we need films that speak to where we're at and where we're going, exposing now only how it is, but how it feels. As culture assimilates to what's happening in our society, the art and entertainment we consume shouldn't be purely escapism to dull our anxiety, but a reflection of what it's like to exist in a time when no one quite knows where to hang their beliefs. "I feel tremendously lucky to be a filmmaker in this decade but it’s also daunting because nobody knows what the fuck is going on. We live in a strange, strange time," said director Zal Batmanglij, whose new film The East speaks the discontent of our generation and how we're dealing with the issues that permeate our society. But rather than haranguing you, The East invites you in with its intriguing thrill yet feels and feels as immediate as it does emotionally stirring.

This spring, we'll see sophomore film debuts from myriad directors whose first features set the hooks in our film fancies and intrigued us as to what they would have up their sleeves next. For some, it's taken half a decade or more for their second films to come to fruition and for others their successful first features carved the path for a speedy and welcome return. Between Shane Carruth's shockingly brilliant Upstream Color, Antonio Campos' hauntingly visceral Simon Killer, Zal Batmanglij's audacious thriller The East, and a handful more, there are plenty of new films to look forward to from directors to get excited about. However, the second film is tricky territory.

"Your beliefs are always coming into question; it's a hallmark of our time; it's very hard to believe fully in something," said director Zal Batmanglij, who in the last year has emerged as one of the most exciting and innovative voices in a new wave of American film. With a style that blends both intimate drama with high-concept thrill, his evocative debut Sound of My Voice—a film that mixed science fiction, psychological drama, and ethnographic study—left us eagerly awaiting just what he would have in store for us next. And to our delight, we didn't have to wait long. His sophomore feature The East premiered this January at Sundance to a warm reception and, thanks to Fox Searchlight, his wholly important eco-thriller will be hitting theaters this May.

For the past nine years, we've all been waiting to see if Jesse ever got on that plane and what became of him and Celine in Richard Linklater's 2004 intimate walking-and-talking romance Before Sunset, the follow-up to 1995's Before Sunrise. And now, eighteen years since that first moment in Vienna, we finally get to see where their story lands. Sony Pictures Classics have acquired Before Midnight, and to our delight it's been revealed that the film we've been waiting so long with baited breath to see will finally have a limited release run starting May 24th in New York and Los Angeles. But Linklater's decade-spanning drama isn't the only one getting an official date. Pedro Almodovar's follow-up to last year's The Skin I Live in, the vibrant comedy I'm So Excited, will hit New York and L.A. on June 28th. And to top it off, as Woody Allen's annual film will have a mid-summer's release. Midnight in Paris and To Rome with Love both premiered in early June but his latest, Blue Jasmine (starring Cate Blanchett, Alec baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard, and Louis CK), will roll out on July 26th for a limited release.

Zal Batmanglij and Brit Marling's latest collaboration, eco-thriller The East premiered at Sundance last night to a warm reception. Produced by Fox Searchlight with Marling, Alexander Skarsgard, and Ellen Page leading the cast, the film explores similar themes as the previous Sound of My Voice, with questions of identity,  the allure of charismatic leaders, and a sense of well-nuanced thrill. Batmanglij has a knack for exploring the questions of our age with a mystical sense that at once heightens reality and reminds us of our basic human desires. And in The East:

Reviews can be dangerous. Personally, I tend not to read too many of them until after I've seen a film—and even then, only after I've processed my own thoughts. What's the point in seeing a film if you're just going to walk out of the theater and think, Well that was a disaster, but I know I'm supposed to love it or being profoundly moved by something but knowing that critics felt just the opposite so, I'll keep this absolute joy to myself. Come on, now. If there's a discussion to be had about the film before its release, it's always more interesting to learn about the person or people behind the film and how that person made this specific piece of art and what it meant for them, so you can at least learn the intentions behind the work.

Amidst the delirium of award season, the annual Sundance Film Festival creeps up every January to remind us each year that the scope of Hollywood is changing and being infiltrated with a host of new talent and emerging artists from around the world. The festival is a beacon for A-list talent as well as those new to the world of cinema who are getting their first premieres and chance at large-scale recognition. With an enormous slate of films, the festival will commence on Thursday and feature new work from those you already know and worship and those whose names are on the tip of our tongues.