Sundance Film Festival’s 2025 line-up comprises 87 features, nearly half of which are directed by women, and is crammed with new work by returning stars and indie stalwarts including Olivia Colman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jennifer Lopez, Isabelle Huppert, Mark Ruffalo, and Dev Patel.
Among anticipated highlights are the feature directorial debut of UK playwright and incoming Young Vic artistic director Nadia Fall with her Bankside Films sales title Brides in World Cinema Dramatic Competition, about teenage friends who plan to travel to Syria.
Scroll down for the full line-up
Peter Hujar’s Day, a drama in Premieres about the New York portrait photographer starring Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall, comes from Ira Sachs, Sundance’s most frequent visiting director.
There are non-fiction follow-ups to Oscar-winning documentaries. Summer Of Soul director Questlove returns with Premieres entry Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), a profile of funk pioneers Sly & The Family Stone that Hulu will stream in the US. World Cinema Documentary Competition entry 2000 Meters To Andriivka, from 20 Days In Mariupol director Mstyslav Chernov, follows a Ukrainian platoon on a mission to liberate a village from Russian occupation.
Selection arrives in ”moment of many global questions”
Announcing the roster of 87 features on Wednesday, festival director Eugene Hernandez said the roster was “ready to meet our audiences, the industry, and the wider culture in a moment of many global questions”. Director of programming Kim Yutani said audiences could expect “the unexpected, but also to be entertained, challenged, and deeply moved by this year’s films”. Sundance 2025 runs January 23 to February 2, 2025, in Park City and Salt Lake City, with premieres in Park City every day through the end of January 28.
The festival takes place just after Donald Trump’s second term inauguration on January 20 and the typically diverse offering of films and timely subject matter, from the Middle East to Ukraine, right to die and book banning, will be on show.
Hernandez pointed out Episodics docuseries Bucks County, USA from Barry Levinson and Robert May, about two teenage best friends in Pennsylvania with opposing political beliefs who fight to discover the humanity in those with differing viewpoints. “No film better embodies what’s happening on the ground in our country from a purely humane level,” he said.
Acclaimed documentarians are writ large over the 2025 selection. Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady are back with Folktales, which looks at teenagers at an Arctic high school, while Davis Guggenheim co-directs with Nyle DiMarco Apple Original Films’ Deaf President Now!, which unfolds over eight days in 1988 at the world’s only deaf university. Amy Berg’s It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley looks at the gifted musician whose life was cut short in 1997.
A24 brings three films – comedy drama If I Had Legs I’d Kick You in Premieres starring Rose Byrne and comedian and talk show host Conan O’Brien; Family Matinee selection The Legend Of Ochi starring Helena Zengel, Finn Wolfhard and Emily Watson; and Midnight selection Opus starring Ayo Edebiri from The Bear, John Malkovich, and Juliette Lewis. Midnight includes Dev Patel in Bryn Chainey’s UK entry and folk magic tale Rabbit Trap.
Premieres picks
Olivia Colman and John Lithgow star in Premieres selection Jimpa, a drama about a woman’s life-changing visit to her gay father in Amsterdam, which marks Australian filmmaker Sophie Hyde’s follow-up to her Sundance 2022 hit Good Luck To You, Leo Grande and is sold by Protagonist Pictures and CAA Media Finance.
Premieres also sees Cumberbatch play a haunted widower in Dylan Southern’s The Thing With Feathers sold by mk2 Films; Bill Condon’s remake of Kiss Of The Spider Woman starring Diego Luna, Tonatiuh and Jennifer Lopez and produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity; as well as James Griffiths’ UK comedy The Ballad Of Wallis Island, which Bankside has sold to Focus Features in the US.
Andrew Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet co-written and produced by James Schamus, is being distributed in the US by Bleecker Street in partnership with ShivHans Pictures. Cherien Dabis, whose Amreeka and May In The Summer premiered in Park City, returns as director and star of the historical drama All That’s Left Of You. The film’s production schedule was disrupted by the October 7 Hamas attacks in 2023.
Clint Bentley, a producer on awards season contender Sing Sing and director of Sundance 2021 entry Jockey, directs Train Dreams starring Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones from The Brutalist. Sing Sing director Greg Kwedar wrote the screenplay about a day labourer on the American railroads at the start of the 20th century.
Romantic road movie Bubble & Squeak from Evan Twohy in US Dramatic Competition hails from the Black List and stars Himesh Patel and Sarah Goldberg. The section also brings John Magaro from awards contender September 5 in Cole Webley’s drama Omaha; and Eva Victor’s tragedy drama Sorry, Baby with Naomi Ackie and Lucas Hedges.
World Cinema Dramatic Competition entries include Canadian auteur Chloé Robichaud’s Two Women, about mothers grappling with expectations; TrustNordisk sales title Sauna, a romantic drama from Mathias Broe; and Isabelle Huppert in Flora Lau’s fantasy Luz, in which three troubled people experiment with a mysterious online game.
US Documentary Competition selections look at the life of Marlee Matlin, the pioneering deaf Oscar winner, in Shoshannah Stern’s Marlee Matlin: Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore, while World Cinema Documentary Competition selections include Prime Minister from Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz, which follows former New Zealand premier Jacinda Ardern over five years.
The recipient of the 2025 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, the annual juried award granted “to an artist with the most outstanding depiction of science and technology in a feature-length film”, has gone to Cristina Costantini’s Premieres selection Sally, a documentary about the pioneering US astronaut Sally Ride.
From January 30, more than half of the feature programme including all competition titles will be available online for US audiences nationwide to watch. Preferring to focus on the line-up, Hernandez confirmed to Screen that the identity of the festival’s location from 2027 onwards will be announced “well after the festival”. Salt Lake City/Park City in Utah, Boulder in Colorado, and Cincinnati in Ohio are the three final contenders.
Of the 85 feature films selected for 2025’s edition, 40 or 47% were directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as women; three (4%) by one or more filmmakers who identify as nonbinary individuals; 38 (45%) by one or more filmmakers who identify as people of colour; 25 (29%) by one or more filmmakers who identify as LGBTQ+; two (2%) by one or more filmmakers who identify as transgender; and seven (8%) were directed by one or more filmmakers who identify as a person with a disability.
Including shorts, which will be announced on December 16, the Sundance programme was curated from 15,775 submissions from 156 countries or territories. The annual fundraising gala will take place on January 24 and the Sundance Film Festival Awards ceremony will be held on January 31.
This year, Prospector Square will not be one of the main Park City venues, which are: Eccles Theatre, Egyptian Theatre, Holiday Village Cinemas, Park City Library Theatre, The Ray Theatre, Megaplex Theatres Park City at Redstone. The two Salt Lake City venues are Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center and Broadway Centre Cinemas.
The full features and episodic selections appear below with synopses provided by the festival. All titles are world premieres and hail from the United States unless stated otherwise.
Sundance 2025 line-up
U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION
The U.S. Dramatic Competition offers Festivalgoers a first look at the world premieres of groundbreaking new voices in American independent film. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Dìdi (弟弟), A Real Pain, In The Summers, Nanny, CODA, Minari, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, The Farewell, Clemency, Eighth Grade, and Sorry To Bother You.
Atropia
Dir-scr. Hailey Gates
Pdrs. Naima Abed, Emilie Georges, Luca Guadagnino, Lana Kim, Jett Steiger
When an aspiring actress in a military role-playing facility falls in love with a soldier cast as an insurgent, their unsimulated emotions threaten to derail the performance.
Cast: Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, Chloë Sevigny, Tim Heidecker, Jane Levy.
Available online for public
Sales: UTA Independent Film Group and WME Independent / Memento International
Bubble & Squeak
Dir-scr. Evan Twohy
Pdrs. Christina Oh, Steven Yeun
Accused of smuggling cabbages into a nation where cabbages are banned, Declan and Delores must confront the fragility of their new marriage while on the run for their lives.
Cast: Himesh Patel, Sarah Goldberg, Steven Yeun, Dave Franco, Matt Berry.
Available online for public
Sales: WME Independent /CAA Media Finance
Bunnylovr
Dir-scr. Katarina Zhu
Pdrs. Tristan Scott-Behrends, Ani Schroeter, Rhianon Jones, Roger Mancusi, Rachel Sennott
A drifting Chinese American cam girl struggles to navigate an increasingly toxic relationship with one of her clients while rekindling her relationship with her dying estranged father.
Cast: Katarina Zhu, Rachel Sennott, Austin Amelio, Perry Yung, Jack Kilmer.
Available online for public
Sales: WME Independent
Love, Brooklyn
Dir. Rachael Abigail Holder
Scr. Paul Zimmerman
Pdrs. André Holland, Kate Sharp, Patrick Wengler, Maurice Anderson, Liza Zusman
Three longtime Brooklynites navigate careers, love, loss, and friendship against the rapidly changing landscape of their beloved city.
Cast: André Holland, Nicole Beharie, DeWanda Wise, Roy Wood Jr., Cassandra Freeman, Cadence Reese.
Available online for public
Sales: CAA Media Finance
Omaha
Dir. Cole Webley
Scr. Robert Machoian
Pdr. Preston Lee
After a family tragedy, siblings Ella and Charlie are unexpectedly woken up by their dad and taken on a journey across the country, experiencing a world they’ve never seen before. As their adventure unfolds, Ella begins to understand that things might not be what they seem.
Cast: John Magaro, Molly Belle Wright, Wyatt Solis, Talia Balsam.
Available online for public
Sales: UTA Independent Film Group
Plainclothes
Dir-scr. Carmen Emmi
Pdrs. Colby Cote, Arthur Landon, Eric Podwall, Vanessa Pantley
A promising undercover officer assigned to lure and arrest gay men defies orders when he falls in love with a target.
Cast: Tom Blyth, Russell Tovey, Maria Dizzia, Christian Cooke, Gabe Fazio, Amy Forsyth.
Available online for public
Sales: WME Independent
Ricky
Dir-scr-pdr. Rashad Frett
Scr. Lin Que Ayoung
Pdrs. Pierre M. Coleman, Simon TaufiQue, Sterling Brim, Josh Peters, DC Wade, Cary Fukunaga
Newly released after being locked up in his teens, 30-year-old Ricky navigates the challenging realities of life post-incarceration, and the complexity of gaining independence for the first time as an adult.
Cast: Stephan James, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Titus Welliver, Maliq Johnson, Imani Lewis, Andrene Ward-Hammond.
Available online for public
Sales: WME Independent
Sorry, Baby
Dir-scr. Eva Victor
Pdrs. Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins
Something bad happened to Agnes. But life goes on… for everyone around her, at least.
Cast: Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges, John Carroll Lynch, Louis Cancelmi, Kelly McCormack.
Available online for public
Sales: UTA Independent Film Group for North America; Charades for international
Sunfish (& Other Stories On Green Lake)
Dir-scr-pdr. Sierra Falconer
Pdr: Grant Ellison
Lives intertwine around Green Lake as a girl learns to sail, a boy fights for first chair, two sisters operate a bed-and-breakfast, and a fisherman is after the catch of his life.
Cast: Maren Heary, Jim Kaplan, Karsen Liotta, Dominic Bogart, Tenley Kellogg, Emily Hall.
Available online for Public
Sales: WME Independent
Twinless
Dir-scr-pdr. James Sweeney
Pdr. David Permut
Two young men meet in a twin bereavement support group and form an unlikely bromance. Cast: Dylan O’Brien, James Sweeney, Lauren Graham,
Aisling Franciosi, Tasha Smith, Chris Perfetti. World premiere
Available online for public
Sales: Republic Pictures
U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
The U.S. Documentary Competition offers Festivalgoers a first look at world premieres of nonfiction American films illuminating the ideas, people, and events that shape the present day. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Daughters, Sugarcane, Porcelain War, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, Navalny, Fire of Love, Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Boys State, Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, Knock Down The House, One Child Nation, American Factory, Three Identical Strangers, and On Her Shoulders.
Andre Is An Idiot
Dir. Anthony Benna
Pdrs. Andre Ricciardi, Tory Tunnell, Joshua Altman, Stelio Kitrilakis, Ben Cotner
Andre, a brilliant idiot, is dying because he didn’t get a colonoscopy. His sobering diagnosis, complete irreverence, and insatiable curiosity, send him on an unexpected journey learning how to die happily and ridiculously without losing his sense of humor.
Available online for public
Sales: Submarine
Life After
Dir. Reid Davenport
Pdr. Colleen Cassingham
In 1983, a disabled Californian woman named Elizabeth Bouvia sought the “right to die,” igniting a national debate about autonomy, dignity, and the value of disabled lives. After years of courtroom trials, Bouvia disappeared from public view. Disabled director Reid Davenport narrates this investigation of what happened to Bouvia.
Available online for public
Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
Dir-pdr. Shoshannah Stern
Pdrs. Robyn Kopp, Justine Nagan, Bonni Cohen
In 1987, Marlee Matlin became the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award and was thrust into the spotlight at 21 years old. Reflecting on her life in her primary language of American Sign Language, Marlee explores the complexities of what it means to be a trailblazer.
Available online for public
The Perfect Neighbor
Dir-pdr. Geeta Gandbhir
Pdrs. Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne, Sam Bisbee
A seemingly minor neighborhood dispute in Florida escalates into deadly violence. Police bodycam footage and investigative interviews expose the consequences of Florida’s “stand your ground” laws.
Available online for public
Predators
Dir-pdr. David Osit
Pdrs. Jamie Gonçalves, Kellen Quinn
To Catch a Predator was a popular television show designed to hunt down child predators and lure them to a film set, where they would be interviewed and eventually arrested. An exploration of the scintillating rise and staggering fall of the show and the world it helped create.
Available online for public
Seeds
Dir-pdr. Brittany Shyne
Pdr. Danielle Varga
An exploration of Black generational farmers in the American South reveals the fragility of legacy and the significance of owning land.
Available online for public
Selena y Los Dinos
Dir. Isabel Castro
Pdrs. Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, J. Daniel Torres, David Blackman, Simran Singh
Selena Quintanilla — the “Queen of Tejano Music” — and her family band, Selena y Los Dinos, rose from performing at quinceañeras to selling out stadium tours. The celebration of her life and legacy is chronicled through never-before-seen footage from the family’s personal archive.
Available online for public
Speak.
Dirs-pdrs. Jennifer Tiexiera, Guy Mossman
Producer: Pamela Griner
Five top-ranked high school oratory students spend a year crafting spellbinding spoken word performances with the dream of winning one of the world’s largest and most intense public speaking competitions.
Available online for public
Sales: WME Independent
Sugar Babies
Director and Producer: Rachel Fleit, Producers: Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon, Mehrdod Heydari
Autumn is an enterprising college scholarship recipient and burgeoning TikTok influencer. Part of a close circle of friends growing up poor in rural Louisiana, she is determined to overcome the struggles and barriers defining them. Faced with limited minimum wage job options, Autumn devises an online sugar baby operation.
Available online for public
Third Act
Dir-pdr. Tadashi Nakamura
Pdr. Eurie Chung
Generations of artists call Robert A. Nakamura “the godfather of Asian American media,” but filmmaker Tadashi Nakamura calls him Dad. Robert’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease leads to an exploration of art, activism, grief, and fatherhood.
Available online for public
WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION
These narrative feature films from emerging talent around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Girls Will Be Girls, Sujo, Scrapper, Mami Wata, Hive, The Souvenir, The Guilty, Monos, Yardie, The Nile Hilton Incident, and Second Mother.
Brides (UK)
Dir. Nadia Fall
Scr. Suhayla El-Bushra
Pdrs. Nicky Bentham, Marica Stocchi
Two teenage girls in search of freedom, friendship, and belonging run away from their troubled lives with a misguided plan of traveling to Syria.
Cast: Ebada Hassan, Safiyya Ingar, Yusra Warsama, Cemre Ebuzziya, Aziz Capkurt.
Available online for public
Sales: Bankside Films
DJ Ahmet (Nth Mac-Czech-Ser-Cro)
Dir-scr. Georgi M. Unkovski
Producers: Ivan Unkovski, Ivana Shekutkoska
Ahmet, a 15-year-old boy from a remote Yuruk village in North Macedonia, finds refuge in music while navigating his father’s expectations, a conservative community, and his first experience with love — a girl already promised to someone else.
Cast: Arif Jakup, Agush Agushev, Dora Akan Zlatanova, Aksel Mehmet, Selpin Kerim, Atila Klince.
Available online for public
LUZ (HK-Chin)
Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Flora Lau
Producers: Yvette Tang, Joseph Sinn Gi Chan, Stephen Lam
In the neon-lit streets of Chongqing, Wei desperately searches for his estranged daughter Fa, while Hong Kong gallerist Ren grapples with her ailing stepmother Sabine in Paris. Their lives collide in a virtual reality world, where a mystical deer reveals hidden truths, sparking a journey of discovery and connection.
Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Sandrine Pinna, Xiao Dong Guo, Lu Huang, David Chiang, En Xi Deng.
Available online for public
Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears, India-UK-Can)
Dir-scr. Rohan Parashuram Kanawade
Pdrs. Neeraj Churi, Mohamed Khaki, Kaushik Ray, Hareesh Reddypalli, Naren Chandavarkar, Sidharth Meer
Anand, a 30-something city dweller compelled to spend a 10-day mourning period for his father in the rugged countryside of western India, tenderly bonds with a local farmer struggling to stay unmarried. As the mourning ends, forcing his return, Anand must decide the fate of his relationship born under duress.
Cast: Bhushaan Manoj, Suraaj Suman, Jayshri Jagtap.
Available online for public
Sauna (Den)
Dir-scr. Mathias Broe
Scr. William Lippert
Pdr. Mads-August Hertz
Johan thrives as a gay man in Copenhagen, enjoying endless bars, parties, and casual flings. Everything changes when he meets William, a transgender man, and falls into a deep love that defies societal norms around gender, identity, and relationships.
Cast: Magnus Juhl Andersen, Nina Rask, Dilan Amin, Klaus Tange.
Available online for public
Sales: TrustNordisk
Sukkwan Island (Fr)
Dir-scr. Vladimir de Fontenay
Pdrs. Carole Scotta, Eliott Khayat, Caroline Benjo
On the remote Sukkwan Island, 13-year-old Roy agrees to spend a formative year of adventure with his father deep in the Norwegian fjords. What starts as a chance to reconnect descends into a test of survival as they face the harsh realities of their environment and confront their unresolved turmoil.
Cast: Swann Arlaud, Woody Norman, Alma Pöysti, Ruaridh Mollica, Tuppence Middleton.
Available online for public
Sales: mK2
The Things You Kill (Tur-Fr-Pl-Can)
Dir-scr-pdr. Alireza Khatami
Pdrs. Elisa Sepulveda Ruddoff, Cyriac Auriol, Mariusz Wlodarski, Michael Solomon
Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, a university professor coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance.
Cast: Ekin Koç, Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, Hazar Ergüçlü, Ercan Kesal.
Available online for public
Two Women (Can)
Dir. Chloé Robichaud
Scr-pdr. Catherine Léger
Pdr. Martin Paul-Hus
Violette is having a difficult maternity leave. Florence is dealing with depression. Despite their careers and families, they feel like failures. Florence’s first infidelity is a revelation. When having fun is far down the list of priorities, sleeping with a delivery guy could be revolutionary.
Cast: Karine Gonthier-Hyndman, Laurence Leboeuf, Félix Moati, Mani Soleymanlou, Sophie Nelisse, Juliette Gariépy.
Available online for public
The Virgin Of Quarry Lake (Arg-Sp-Mex)
Dir. Laura Casabé
Scr. Benjamin Naishtat
Pdrs. Tomas Eloy Muñoz, Valeria Bistagnino, Alejandro Israel, David Matamoros, Angeles Hernandez, Diego Martinez Ulanosky
In 2001, three teenagers from the outskirts of Buenos Aires all fall in love with Diego. Natalia has always had the most chemistry with him, but when it seems inevitable that their friendship will turn into something more, the older and more experienced Silvia appears and soon captures Diego’s attention.
Cast: Dolores Oliverio, Luisa Merelas, Fernanda Echevarría, Dady Brieva, Agustín Sosa.
Available online for public
Where The Wind Comes From (Tun-Fr-Qat)
Dir-scr. Amel Guellaty
Pdrs. Asma Chihoub, Karim Aitouna)
Alyssa, a rebellious 19-year-old girl, and her friend Mehdi, an introverted 23-year-old man, use their imagination to escape their unpromising reality. When they discover a contest in the south of Tunisia that may allow them to flee, they undertake a road trip regardless of the obstacles in their way.
Cast: Eya Bellagha, Slim Baccar.
Available online for public
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
These nonfiction feature films from emerging talent around the world showcase some of the most courageous and extraordinary filmmaking today. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include A New Kind Of Wilderness, The Remarkable Life Of Ibelin, The Eternal Memory, 20 Days In Mariupol, All That Breathes, Flee, Honeyland, Sea Of Shadows, Shirkers, and Last Men In Aleppo.
2000 Meters To Andriivka (Ukr)
Dir-pdr. Mstyslav Chernov
Pdrs. Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson-Rath
Amid the failing counteroffensive, a journalist follows a Ukrainian platoon on their mission to traverse one mile of heavily fortified forest and liberate a strategic village from Russian occupation. But the farther they advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realise that this war may never end.
Available online for public
Coexistence, My Ass! (USA-Fr)
Dir-pdr. Amber Fares
Scrs. Rachel Leah Jones, Rabab Haj Yahya
Prds. Rachel Leah Jones, Valérie Montmartin
Comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi creates a personal and political one-woman show about the struggle for equality in Israel/Palestine. When the elusive coexistence she’s spent her life working toward starts sounding like a bad joke, she challenges her audiences with hard truths that are no laughing matter.
Available online for public
Cutting Through Rocks (اوزاک یوللار, Iran-Ger-USA-Neth-Qat-Chile-Can)
Dirs-pdrs. Sara Khaki, Mohammad Reza Eyni
As the first elected councilwoman of her Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi aims to break long-held patriarchal traditions by training teenage girls to ride motorcycles and stopping child marriages. When accusations arise questioning Sara’s intentions to empower the girls, her identity is put in turmoil.
Available online for public
The Dating Game (USA-UK-Nor)
Dir-pdr. Violet Du Feng
Pdrs. Joanna Natasegara, James Costa, Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas
In a country where eligible men greatly outnumber women, three perpetual bachelors join an intensive seven-day dating camp led by one of China’s most sought-after dating coaches in what may be their last-ditch effort to find love.
Available online for public
Endless Cookie (Can)
Dirs-scrs. Seth Scriver, Peter Scriver
Pdrs. Daniel Bekerman, Chris Yurkovich, Alex Ordanis, Jason Ryle, Seth Scriver
Exploring the complex bond between two half brothers — one Indigenous, one white — traveling from the present in isolated Shamattawa to bustling 1980s Toronto.
Available online for public
GEN_ (Fr-It-Switz)
Dir-scr. Gianluca Matarrese
Scr. Donatella Della Ratta
Pdrs. Dominique Barneaud, Donatella Palermo, Alexandre Iordachescu
At Milan’s Niguarda public hospital, the unconventional Dr. Bini leads a bold mission overseeing aspiring parents undergoing in vitro fertilization and the journeys of individuals reconciling their bodies with their gender identities. He navigates the constraints set by a conservative government and an aggressive market eager to commodify bodies.
Available online for public
How To Build A Library (Ken)
Dirs-scrs-pdrs. Maia Lekow, Christopher King
Scr. Ricardo Acosta
Two intrepid Nairobi women decide to transform what used to be a whites-only library until 1958 into a vibrant cultural hub. Along the way, they must navigate local politics, raise millions for the rebuild, and confront the lingering ghosts of Kenya’s colonial past.
Available online for public
Khartoum /(Sud-UK-Ger-Qat)
Dirs. Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed, Phil Cox
Scr. Phil Cox
Pdrs. Giovanna Stopponi, Talal Afifi
Forced to leave Sudan for East Africa following the outbreak of war, five citizens of Khartoum — a civil servant, a tea lady, a resistance committee volunteer, and two young bottle collectors — reenact their stories of survival and freedom through dreams, revolution, and civil war.
Available online for public
Mr. Nobody Against Putin (Den-Czech)
Dir-scr. David Borenstein
Pdr. Helle Faber
As Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, primary schools across Russia’s hinterlands are transformed into recruitment stages for the war. Facing the ethical dilemma of working in a system defined by propaganda and violence, a brave teacher goes undercover to film what’s really happening in his own school.
Available online for public
Prime Minister (USA)
Dirs. Michelle Walshe, Lindsay Utz
Pdrs. Cass Avery, Clarke Gayford, Leon Kirkbeck, Gigi Pritzker, Rachel Shane, Katie Peck
A view inside the life of former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, capturing her through five tumultuous years in power and beyond as she redefined leadership on the world stage.
Available online for public
NEXT
Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling populate this program. Unfettered creativity promises that the films in this section will shape the greater next wave in global cinema. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Little Death, Seeking Mavis Beacon, KOKOMO CITY, A Love Song, RIOTSVILLE, USA, Searching, Skate Kitchen, A Ghost Story, and Tangerine. NEXT is presented by Adobe.
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
Dir-scr-pdr. music video director Kahlil Joseph
Scrs. Saidiya Hartman, Irvin Hunt
Pdrs. Onye Anyanwu, Amy Greenleaf, Nic Gonda
Preeminent West African curator and scholar Funmilayo Akechukwu’s magnum opus, The Resonance Field, leads her to the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, drawing a journalist into a journey that shatters her understanding of consciousness and time.
Cast: Shaunette Renée Wilson, Kaneza Schaal, Hope Giselle, Peter Hernandez, Penny Johnson Jerald, Zora Casebere.
Fiction
Available online for public
By Design
Dir-scr. Amanda Kramer
Pdrs. Miranda Bailey, Sarah Winshall, Natalie Whalen, Jacob Agger
A woman swaps bodies with a chair, and everyone likes her better as a chair.
Cast: Juliette Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Melanie Griffith, Samantha Mathis, Robin Tunney, Udo Kier.
Fiction
Available online for public
East Of Wall
Dir-scr-pdr. Kate Beecroft
Pdrs. Lila Yacoub, Melanie Ramsayer, Shannon Moss
After the death of her husband, Tabatha — a young, tattooed, rebellious horse trainer — wrestles with financial insecurity and unresolved grief while providing refuge for a group of wayward teenagers on her broken-down ranch in the Badlands.
Cast: Tabatha Zimiga, Porshia Zimiga, Scoot McNairy, Jennifer Ehle.
Fiction
Available online for public
Sales: UTA Independent Film Group
Mad Bills To Pay (Or Destiny, Dile Que No Soy Malo)
Dir-scr. Joel Alfonso Vargas
Pdr. Paolo Maria Pedullà
Rico’s summer is a mix of chasing girls and hustling homemade cocktails out of a cooler on Orchard Beach, the Bronx. But when Destiny, his teenage girlfriend, crashes at his place with his family, it’s only a matter of time before his carefree days come spiraling down.
Cast: Juan Collado, Destiny Checo, Yohanna Florentino, Nathaly Navarro.
Fiction
Available online for public
OBEX
Dir-scr-pdr. Albert Birney
Scr-pdr. Pete Ohs
Pdrs. Emma Hannaway, James Belfer
Conor Marsh lives a secluded life with his dog, Sandy, until one day he begins playing OBEX, a new, state-of-the-art computer game. When Sandy goes missing, the line between reality and game blurs and Conor must venture into the strange world of OBEX to bring her home.
Cast: Albert Birney, Callie Hernandez, Frank Mosley.
Fiction
Available online for public
Rains Over Babel (Col-USA-Sp)
Dir-scr-prd. Gala del Sol
Pdrs. H.A Hermida, Ana Cristina Gutiérrez, Andrés Hermida, Natalia Rendón Rodríguez
A group of misfits converges at Babel, a legendary dive bar that doubles as purgatory, where La Flaca — the city’s Grim Reaper — presides. Here, souls gamble years of their lives with her, daring to outwit Death herself.
Cast: Saray Rebolledo, Felipe Aguilar Rodríguez, John Alex Castillo, William Hurtado, Santiago Pineda, Celina Biurrun.
Fiction
Available online for public
Serious People
Dirs-scrs. Pasqual Gutierrez, Ben Mullinkosson
Pdrs. Ryan Hahn, Teddy Lee, Laurel Thomson
A successful music video director and expectant father pushes his work-life balance to the extreme as he hires a doppelgänger to work in his stead.
Cast: Pasqual Gutierrez, Christine Yuan, Miguel Huerta, Raul Sanchez.
Fiction.
Available online for public
Zodiac Killer Project (USA-UK)
Dir-pdr. Charlie Shackleton
Pdrs. Catherine Bray, Anthony Ing
Against the backdrop of sunbaked parking lots, deserted courthouses, and empty suburban homes — the familiar spaces of true crime, stripped of all action and spectacle — a filmmaker describes his abandoned Zodiac Killer documentary and probes the inner workings of a genre at saturation point.
Documentary
Available online for public
PREMIERES
This showcase of world premieres presents highly anticipated films on a variety of subjects in both fiction and nonfiction. Fiction films that have screened in Premieres include A Different Man, Past Lives, Passages, Promising Young Woman, Kajillionaire, The Report, The Big Sick, and Good Luck To You, Leo Grande. Past documentary films include Will & Harper, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, Invisible Beauty, The Dissident, Lucy And Desi, and Miss Americana.
All That’s Left Of You (اللي باقي منك, Ger-Cyp)
Dir-scr-pdr. Cherien Dabis
Pdrs. Thanassis Karathanos, Martin Hampel, Karim Amer
After a Palestinian teen confronts Israeli soldiers at a West Bank protest, his mother recounts the series of events that led him to that fateful moment, starting with his grandfather’s forced displacement.
Cast: Cherien Dabis, Saleh Bakri, Adam Bakri, Mohammad Bakri, Maria Zreik, Muhammad Abed Elrahman.
Fiction
April & Amanda
Dir. Zackary Drucker
Pdrs. Madison Passarelli, Douglas Banker, Alex Garinger, Noah Levy, Donovan Lovell, Stephen B. Strout
Two legends contested their identities as women in the court of public opinion: April Ashley, who was immortalised as a trailblazer by embracing her transgender history; and Amanda Lear, who has consciously denied and obfuscated her history for decades. Their divergent paths reveal disparate but intertwined legacies.
Documentary
The Ballad Of Wallis Island (UK)
Dir. James Griffiths
Scrs. Tom Basden, Tim Key
Pdr. Rupert Majendie
Eccentric lottery winner, Charles, dreams of getting his favorite musicians, Mortimer-McGwyer, back together. His fantasy turns into reality when the bandmates and former lovers accept his invitation to play a private show at his home on Wallis Island. Old tensions resurface as Charles tries desperately to salvage his dream gig.
Cast: Tom Basden, Tim Key, Sian Clifford, Akemnji Ndifornyen, Carey Mulligan.
Fiction
Sales: Bankside Films. US distribution: Focus Features
Come See Me In The Good Light
Dir-pdr. Ryan White
Pdrs. Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen
Two poets, one incurable cancer diagnosis. Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley go on an unexpectedly funny and poignant journey through love, life, and mortality.
Documentary
Sales: WME Independent
Deaf President Now!
Dirs-pdrs. Nyle DiMarco, Davis Guggenheim
Pdrs. Jonathan King, Amanda Rohlke, Michael Harte
During eight tumultuous days in 1988 at the world’s only Deaf university, four students must find a way to lead an angry mob — and change the course of history.
Documentary
Available online for public
Apple Original Films
Folktales (USA-Nor)
Dirs-pdrs. Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
On the precipice of adulthood, teenagers converge at a traditional folk high school in Arctic Norway. Dropped at the edge of the world, they must rely on only themselves, one another, and a loyal pack of sled dogs as they all grow in unexpected directions.
Documentary
Sales: WME Independent
Free Leonard Peltier
Dir. Jesse Short Bull
Dir-pdr. David France
Pdrs. Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire
Leonard Peltier, one of the surviving leaders of the American Indian Movement, has been in prison for 50 years following a contentious conviction. A new generation of Native activists is committed to winning his freedom before he dies.
Documentary
Heightened Scrutiny
Dir-pdr. Sam Feder
Pdrs. Amy Scholder, Paola Mendoza
Amid the surge in anti-trans legislation that Chase Strangio battles in the courtroom, he must also fight against media bias, exposing how the narratives in the press influence public perception and the fight for transgender rights.
Documentary
Available online for public
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Dir-scr. Mary Bronstein
Pdrs. Sara Murphy, Ryan Zacarias, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Eli Bush, Richie Doyle
With her life crashing down around her, Linda attempts to navigate her child’s mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist.
Cast: Rose Byrne, A$AP Rocky, Conan O’Brien, Danielle Macdonald, Ivy Wolk, Daniel Zolghadri.
Fiction
Distribution: A24
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley
Dir-pdr. Amy Berg
Pdrs. Ryan Heller, Christine Connor, Mandy Chang, Jennie Bedusa, Matthew Roozen
Rising musician Jeff Buckley had only released one album when he died suddenly in 1997. Now, never-before-seen footage, exclusive voice messages, and accounts from those closest to him offer a portrait of the captivating singer.
Documentary
Sales: Submarine
Jimpa (Australia-Neth-Fin)
Dir-scr-pdr. Sophie Hyde
Scr. Matthew Cormack
Pdrs. Liam Heyen, Bryan Mason, Marleen Slot
Hannah takes her nonbinary teenager, Frances, to Amsterdam to visit their gay grandfather, Jim — lovingly known as Jimpa. But Frances’ desire to stay abroad with Jimpa for a year means Hannah is forced to reconsider her beliefs about parenting and finally confront old stories about the past.
Cast: Olivia Colman, John Lithgow, Aud Mason-Hyde.
Fiction
Sales: Protagonist Pictures / CAA Media Finance
Kiss Of The Spider Woman
Dir-scr. Bill Condon
Pdrs. Barry Josephson, Tom Kirdahy, Greg Yolen Valentín, a political prisoner, shares a cell with Molina, a window dresser convicted of public indecency. The two form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna.
Cast: Diego Luna, Tonatiuh, Jennifer Lopez, Bruno Bichir, Josefina Scaglione, Aline Mayagoitia.
Fiction
Sales: WME Independent / CAA Media Finance
Last Days
Dir-pdr. Justin Lin
Scr. Ben Ripley, Producers: Clayton Townsend, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Eric Robinson, Salvador Gatdula, Andrew Schneider
Determined to fulfill his life’s mission, 26-year-old John Allen Chau embarks on a dangerous adventure across the globe to convert the uncontacted tribe of North Sentinel Island to Christianity, while a detective from the Andaman Islands races to stop him before he does harm to himself or the tribe.
Cast: Sky Yang, Radhika Apte, Naveen Andrews, Ken Leung, Toby Wallace, Ciara Bravo.
Fiction
The Librarians
Dir-pdr. Kim A. Snyder
Pdrs. Janique L. Robillard, Maria Cuomo Cole, Jana Edelbaum
As an unprecedented wave of book banning is sparked in Texas, Florida, and beyond, librarians under siege join forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy.
Documentary
Lurker
Dir-scr. Alex Russell
Pdrs.Alex Orlovsky, Duncan Montgomery, Galen Core, Charlie McDowell, Archie Madekwe
A retail employee infiltrates the inner circle of an artist on the verge of stardom. As he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.
Cast: Théodore Pellerin, Archie Madekwe, Havana Rose Liu, Sunny Suljic, Zack Fox, Daniel Zolghadri.
Fiction
Sales: WME Independent
Magic Farm (Arg-USA)
Dir-scr. Amalia Ulman
Pdrs. Alex Hughes, Eugene Kotlyarenko, Riccardo Maddalosso)
A film crew working for an edgy media company travels to Argentina to profile a local musician, but their ineptitude leads them into the wrong country. As the crew collaborates with locals to fabricate a trend, unexpected connections blossom while a pervasive health crisis looms unacknowledged in the background.
Cast: Chloë Sevigny, Alex Wolff, Joe Apollonio, Camila del Campo, Simon Rex.
Fiction
Middletown
Dirs-scrs-pdrs. Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine
Pdrs. Teddy Leifer, Florrie Priest, Danny Breen
Inspired by an unconventional teacher, a group of teenagers in upstate New York in the early 1990s made a student film that uncovered a vast conspiracy involving toxic waste that was poisoning their community. Thirty years later, they revisit their film and confront the legacy of this transformative experience.
Documentary
Move Ya Body: The Birth Of House
Dir-scr. Elegance Bratton
Pdr. Chester Algernal Gordon
Out of the underground dance clubs on the South Side of Chicago, a group of friends turn a new sound into a global movement.
Documentary
Sales: WME Independent
Oh, Hi!
Dir-scr-pdr. Sophie Brooks
Pdrs. David Brooks, Dan Clifton, Julie Waters, Molly Gordon
Iris and Isaac’s first romantic weekend getaway goes awry.
Cast: Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan, John Reynolds.
Fiction
Sales: WME Independent / UTA Independent Film Group
Peter Hujar’s Day
Dir-scr. Ira Sachs
Pdrs. Jordan Drake, Jonah Disend
A recently discovered conversation between photographer Peter Hujar and his friend Linda Rosenkrantz in 1974 reveals a glimpse into New York City’s downtown art scene and the personal struggles and epiphanies that define an artist’s life.
Cast: Ben Whishaw, Rebecca Hall.
Fiction
Sales: WME Independent
Rebuilding
Dir-scr. Max Walker-Silverman
Pdrs. Jesse Hope, Dan Janvey, Paul Mezey
After a wildfire takes the family farm, a rancher seeks a way forward.
Cast: Josh O’Connor, Lily LaTorre, Meghann Fahy, Kali Reis, Amy Madigan.
Fiction
Sally
Dir-scr-pdr. Cristina Costantini
Scr. Tom Maroney
Pdrs. Lauren Cioffi, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin
Sally Ride became the first American woman to blast off into space, but beneath her unflappable composure was a secret. Sally’s life partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, reveals their hidden romance and the sacrifices that accompanied their 27 years together. At National Geographic.
Documentary.
Available online for public
2025 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize winner
Sly Lives! (aka The Burden Of Black Genius)
Dir. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Pdrs. Joseph Patel, Derik Murray
An examination of the life and legacy of Sly & The Family Stone — the groundbreaking band led by the charismatic and enigmatic Sly Stone — captures the band’s rise, reign, and subsequent fadeout while shedding light on the unseen burden that comes with success for Black artists in America.
Documentary
Distribution: US SVoD on Hulu.
The Thing With Feathers (UK)
Dir-scr. Dylan Southern
Pdrs. Andrea Cornwell, Leah Clarke, Adam Ackland
Struggling to process the sudden and unexpected death of his wife, a young father loses his hold on reality as a seemingly malign presence begins to stalk him from the shadowy recesses of the apartment he shares with his two young sons.
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Boxall, Henry Boxall, Eric Lampaert, Vinette Robinson, Sam Spruell.
Fiction
Sales: UTA Independent Film Group for North America; mk2 Films for international
Train Dreams
Dir-scr. Clint Bentley,
Scr. Greg Kwedar
Pdrs. Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, Will Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer, Michael Heimler
Robert Grainier is a day laborer building America’s railroads at the start of the 20th century as he experiences profound love, shocking defeat, and a world irrevocably transforming before his very eyes.
Cast: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, William H. Macy.
Fiction.
Salt Lake Celebration Film
Sales: WME Independent
The Wedding Banquet
Dir-scr. Andrew Ahn
Scr-pdr. James Schamus
Pdrs. Anita Gou, Joe Pirro, Caroline Clark
Frustrated with his commitment-phobic boyfriend, Chris, and out of time, Min makes a proposal: a green card marriage with his friend Angela in exchange for expensive in vitro fertilization treatments for her partner, Lee. Plans change when Min’s grandmother surprises them with an elaborate Korean wedding banquet.
Cast: Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-chan, Joan Chen, Youn Yuh-jung.
Fiction
US distribution: Bleecker Street/ShivHans Pictures
MIDNIGHT
From horror flicks and wild comedies to chilling thrillers and works that defy any genre, these films will keep you wide-awake and on the edge of your seat. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include I Saw The TV Glow, Love Lies Bleeding, Infinity Pool, Talk To Me, FRESH, Hereditary, Mandy, Relic, and The Babadook.
Dead Lover (Can)
Dir-scr-pdr. Grace Glowicki
Scr-pdr. Ben Petrie
Pdr. Yona Strauss
A lonely gravedigger who stinks of corpses finally meets her dream man, but their whirlwind affair is cut short when he tragically drowns at sea. Grief-stricken, she goes to morbid lengths to resurrect him through madcap scientific experiments, resulting in grave consequences and unlikely love.
Cast: Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie, Leah Doz, Lowen Morrow.
Fiction
Didn’t Die
Dir-scr-pdr. Meera Menon
Scr-pdr. Paul Gleason
Pdrs. Erica Fishman, Joe Camerota, Luke Patton
A podcast host desperately clings to an ever-shrinking audience in the zombie apocalypse.
Cast: Kiran Deol, George Basil, Samrat Chakrabarti, Katie McCuen, Vishal Vijayakumar.
Available online for public.
Opus
Dir-scr-pdr. Mark Anthony Green
Pdrs. Collin Creighton, Brad Weston, Poppy Hanks, Jelani Johnson, Josh Bachove
A young writer is invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago. Surrounded by the star’s cult of sycophants and intoxicated journalists, she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan.
Cast: Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder.
Fiction
Distribution: A24
Rabbit Trap (UK)
Dir-scr: Bryn Chainey
Pdrs. Daniel Noah, Lawrence Inglee, Elijah Wood, Elisa Lleras, Adrian Politowski, Martin Metz
When a musician and her husband move to a remote house in Wales, the music they make disturbs local ancient folk magic, bringing a nameless child to their door who is intent on infiltrating their lives.
Cast: Dev Patel, Rosy McEwen, Jade Croot.
Fiction
Sales: Bankside Films, CAA Media Finance
Together (Australia-USA)
Dir-scr. Michael Shanks
Pdrs. Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Mike Cowap, Andrew Mittman, Erik Feig, Max Silva
With a move to the countryside already testing the limits of a couple’s relationship, a supernatural encounter begins an extreme transformation of their love, their lives, and their flesh.
Cast: Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Damon Herriman.
Fiction
Sales: WME Independent
Touch Me
Dir-scr-pdr. Addison Heimann
Pdrs. John Humber, David Lawson Jr.
Two codependent best friends become addicted to the heroin-like touch of an alien narcissist who may or may not be trying to take over the world.
Cast: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jordan Gavaris, Marlene Forte, Paget Brewster
Fiction
The Ugly Stepsister (Nor)
Dir-scr. Emilie Blichfeldt
Pdr. Maria Ekerhovd
In a fairy-tale kingdom where beauty is a brutal business, Elvira battles to compete with her incredibly beautiful stepsister, and she will go to any length to catch the prince’s eye.
Cast: Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Naess, Ane Dahl Torp, Flo Fagerli, Isac Calmroth, Malte Gårdinger.
Fiction
Sales: Memento International
Distribution: Shudder in North America, UK, Australia & New Zealand
EPISODIC
Our Episodic section was created specifically for bold stories told in multiple episodes, with an emphasis on independent perspectives and innovative storytelling. Past projects that have premiered within this category include Penelope, LOLLA: THE STORY OF LOLLAPALOOZA, Willie Nelson and Family, OJ: Made In America, Wild Wild Country, The Jinx, Work In Progress, State Of The Union, Gentefied, Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics And Men, and Quarter Life Poetry.
Bucks County, USA
Dirs-Eps. Barry Levinson, Robert May
EP. Jason Sosnoff
Evi and Vanessa, two 14-year-olds living in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, are best friends despite their opposing political beliefs. As nationwide disputes over public education explode into vitriol and division in their hometown, the girls and others in the community fight to discover the humanity in “the other side.”
Documentary
Five-part docuseries, screening episodes one and two
Hal & Harper
Dir-EP. Cooper Raiff
EPs. Clementine Quittner, Lili Reinhart, Daniel Lewis, Addison Timlin
Hal and Harper and Dad chart the evolution of their family.
Cast: Lili Reinhart, Mark Ruffalo, Betty Gilpin, Havana Rose Liu, Addison Timlin, Alyah Chanelle Scott.
Fiction
Eight-episode season, screening first four episodes in person and full season online.
Available Online for public
Pee-Wee As Himsel
Dir. Matt Wolf
Pdr. Emma Tillinger Koskoff
A chronicle of the life of artist and performer Paul Reubens and his alter ego Pee-wee Herman. Prior to his recent death, Reubens spoke in-depth about his creative influences, and the personal struggles he faced to persevere as an artist.
Documentary
Two-part documentary, screening in its entirety
Episodic Pilot Showcase:
BULLDOZER
Scr-EP. Joanna Leeds
Dir-EP. Andrew Leeds
EPs. Rhett Reese, Caleb Reese
An undermedicated, chronically impassioned young woman lurches from crisis to crisis of her own making.
Cast: Joanna Leeds, Mary Steenburgen, Nat Faxon, Harvey Guillen, Allen Leech, Kate Burton. Fiction
Available online for public
Chasers
Dir-scr-pdr. Erin Brown Thomas
Scr. Ciarra Krohne
Pdrs. Elle Shaw, Olivia Haller, Beth Napoli, Hayden Greiwe
At a Los Angeles house party, an aspiring musician pursues her crush through a crowd of hopeful dreamers chasing empty promises.
Cast: Ciarra Krohne, Louie Chapman, Keana Marie, Shannon Gisela, Brooke Maroon, Xan Churchwell.
Fiction
Available online for public
Never Get Busted! (Australia)
Showrunners: David Anthony Ngo, Erin Williams-Weir
EPs. John Battsek, Chris Smith
Barry Cooper was a highly decorated Texas narcotics officer — until he turned on the police force by busting crooked cops and teaching drug users how to hide their stash.
Cast: Barry Cooper
Documentary
SPOTLIGHT
The Spotlight programme is a tribute to the cinema we love, presenting films that have played throughout the world. Films that have played in this category in recent years include Hit Man, Joyland, The Worst Person In The World, The Biggest Little Farm, The Rider, Ida, and The Lobster. Spotlight is presented by Audible. Both films receive their US premiere after the world premiere took place at Venice Film Festival.
April (Geo)
Dir-scr. Dea Kulumbegashvili
Pdrs. Luca Guadagnino, David Zerat, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Archil Gelovani, Gabriele Moratti, Alexandra Rossi
Nina is an obstetrician at a maternity hospital in Eastern Georgia. After a difficult delivery, an infant dies and the father demands an inquiry into her methods. The scrutiny threatens to expose Nina’s secret side job — visiting village homes of pregnant girls and women to provide unsanctioned abortions.
Cast: Ia Sukhitashvili, Kakha Kintsurashvili.
Fiction
One to One: John & Yoko (UK)
Dir-pdr. Kevin Macdonald
Pdrs. Peter Worsley, Alice Webb
An exploration of the seminal and transformative 18 months that one of music’s most famous couples — John Lennon and Yoko Ono — spent living in Greenwich Village, New York City, in the early 1970s.
Documentary
FAMILY MATINEE
For over a decade, the Family Matinee section of the Festival (formerly known as KIDS) has been built for audiences of all ages, but especially for our youngest independent film fans. Films that have played in this category in recent years include Out of My Mind, Blueback, The Elephant Queen, Science Fair, The Eagle Huntress, and Shaun The Sheep.
The Legend Of Ochi
Dir-scr-pdr. Isaiah Saxon
Pdrs. Richard Peete, Traci Carlson, Jonathan Wang
In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an animal species known as Ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby Ochi has been left behind, she escapes on an adventure to bring him home.
Cast: Helena Zengel, Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson, Willem Dafoe.
Fiction
Distribution: A24
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
One-of-a-kind moments highlight new independent works.
The Six Billion Dollar Man
Dir. Eugene Jarecki
Pdr. Kathleen Fournier
Julian Assange faced a possible 175 years in prison for exposing U.S. war crimes until events took a turn in this landmark case.
Documentary
Available online for public
Sales: WME Independent
FROM THE COLLECTION
From The Collection screenings give audiences the opportunity to discover and rediscover the films that have shaped the heritage of both Sundance Institute and independent storytelling. To address the specific preservation risks posed to independent film, Sundance Institute partnered with UCLA Film & Television Archive in 1997 to form the Sundance Institute Collection at UCLA and preserve independent films supported by Sundance Institute.
El Nort
Dir-scr. Gregory Nava
Scr-pdr. Anna Thomas
After their family is murdered by the government in a massacre during the Guatemalan Civil War, Indigenous siblings Rosa and Enrique flee up “Norte” to the United States for a chance at survival. When they arrive, they find life in the U.S. is not what they had hoped for.
Cast: Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez, David Villalpando, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Lupe Ontiveros, Trinidad Silva, Alicia del Lago.
Fiction
This is a 4K digital restoration from the original negative, restored in 2017 by the Academy Film Archive, supported in part by the Getty Foundation. This screening is courtesy of Lionsgate.
Unzipped
Dir. Douglas Keeve
Pdr. Michael Alden
Director Douglas Keeve goes behind the scenes of designer Isaac Mizrahi’s relentless drive and bold vision to bring his 1994 collection to life. From sketches to runway, this insider’s journey is packed with backstage drama, creative triumphs, and iconic supermodels, including Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista.
Documentary
The film is a brand new digital restoration from a 4K scan of the 35mm interpositive and DA-88 audio files. It has been restored by Sundance Institute and UCLA Film & Television Archive, funded by Isaac Mizrahi Entertainment
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