The film, which premiered Saturday night at the Sundance Film Festival, had audiences raving and some already speculating about Oscar chances. Based on Hillary Jordan's 2008 novel "Mudbound," chronicles the lives of two families in the WWII-era South — one white and one black, and the complicated intersectionality of their paths. Both Jamie and Ronsel go off to fight in WWII, where Jamie's once shiny life becomes clouded by the horrors of war and alcohol. Rees, who directed "Pariah" and the HBO movie "Bessie," found in the story a deep resonance with her grandmother too. The audience at the premiere gave Rees and the cast a long standing ovation, and subsequent screenings have elicited similar praise.