“Magic Farm”
Starring Chloë Sevigny, Alex Wolff, Joe Apollonio, Camila del Campo, and Simon Rex, Argentine-Spanish artist and filmmaker Amalia Ulman (known for Sundance drama “El Planeta”) returns with a science fiction film about a media crew who mistakenly ends up in the wrong country while trying to profile a musician. A health crisis emerges as they collaborate with locals to create a viral trend.
Festival Date: January 28 at Sundance.
“The Mastermind”
An art heist crime film from otherwise chill, deliberate and observationally unhurried Kelly Reichardt? Yes, please. Not much else is known, but it stars John Magaro, Josh O’Connor and Alana Haim. Also in the cast are Hope Davis, Bill Camp, Gaby Hoffmann, Amanda Plummer, Eli Gelb, Cole Doman, Javion Allen, Matthew Maher, and Rhenzy Feliz, and its MUBI, who are coming off their first big Oscar noms for “The Substance,” so maybe they can move the cultural film needle once more.
Release Date: Production started last fall, so we’re looking at a late 2025 awards season push.
“Materialists”
Following her luminous and acclaimed breakout Sundance drama and Oscar-nominated directorial debit “Past Lives,” filmmaker Celine Song quickly returns with her much-anticipated sophomore follow-up. Starring Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans, and Dakota Johnson, the movie is about the “business of love” and a woman who works as a high-end matchmaker for Manhattan’s elite.
Release Date: TBD, but it’s A24, and at this point, Song is probably big enough to debut at Cannes or Venice.
“Middletown”
Known for “Boys State,” “Girls State,” and “The Mission,” acclaimed filmmakers Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss return to Sundance with a doc about teens who shot a controversial student film about their community and its exposure to toxic waste in the early 1990s. 30 years later, those students reflect on their movie and the project’s impact,
Release Date: January 28 at Sundance
“Moonglow”
Filipino filmmaker and actress Isabel Sandoval really popped on the radar with her excellent 2019 drama “Lingua Franca.” Starring Arjo Atayde (“Trigger,” “BuyBust”), the film, set in 1970s Manila, follows a jaded female police detective who, unbeknownst to her colleagues, is the mastermind behind a successful heist. Paired up with an obsessively truth-seeking detective partner, they are tasked with cracking the very crime that she orchestrated.
Release Date: It’s in post-production, so it’s definitely a festival contender.
“Mother’s Baby”
Directed by Austrian/German filmmaker Johanna Moder (“Once Were Rebels”), her latest is an upcoming thriller film following a 40-year-old woman whose dreams of having her baby turn into a nightmare after she suspects the child—taken away from her for some time during a complicated birth—is not her own upon its return. Marie Leuenberger stars and Claes Bang plays a prominent role.
Release Date: Slated to debut at Berlinale.
“Mrs. America”
If you’re a longtime fan of this feature, you know that I love me some Penny Lane. The documentarian behind “Nuts!” and “Hail Satan?” knows how to dig into a topic and make it feel unique and fresh while still maintaining objectivity. We’re itching to see her approach to the Mrs. America pageant with “Mrs. America,” a project that’s been developing since at least 2022. If you think pageant stuff has been done to death, this one might prove you wrong. There’s already a lot to say about that world, but focusing on Mrs. America, which honors married women in particular, is sure to dig up a lot of interesting stuff about our nation’s social structure. —LW
Release Date: This one has been in the works for a while, so we’re hoping for a 2025 festival debut!
“Oh, Hi!”
Sophie Brooks’ (“The Boy Downstairs”) sophomore feature makes it onto this list based on intrigue alone. The film’s Sundance page is deliciously vague, promising a disastrous account of one couple’s romantic weekend getaway. The couple in question are played by Molly Gordon (“Theater Camp,” “Shiva Baby”) and Logan Lerman, and Geraldine Viswanathan (“Blockers”) and John Reynolds (“Search Party”) also star. That is a stacked cast for those of us who love off-beat comedies, and our own Rodrigo Perez praised Brooks’ first film — which also centered on a couple — so count us excited for this Sundance debut. —LW
Release Date: January 26 at Sundance
“The Old Guard 2”
During the pandemic summer of 2020, “The Old Guard” with Charlize Theron— playing the leader of a group of mercenaries unable to die who have fought to protect the world for centuries—became a surprise hit for Netflix. Its sequel, now directed by Victoria Mahoney (“Switch”), has been a long time coming, but returning to the cast are Theron, KiKi Layne, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Matthias Schoenaerts, Vân Veronica Ngô, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, with the addition of Uma Thurman and Henry Golding.
Release Date: TBA, but we bet this summer.
“Reflection in a Dead Diamond”
In the latest from French directors Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani, a retired spy suspects his former adversaries have resurfaced when his intriguing neighbor vanishes. The cast stars Maria de Medeiros, Koen De Bouw, and Fabio Testi.
Release Date: It’s been announced at Berlinale and is at least being shopped at Cannes.
