“Romería”
Directed by Spanish filmmaker Carla Simón (the Oscar-nominated “Alcarràs”), her latest drama centers on a woman traveling to meet her biological father’s family. Like her mother, he died of AIDS when she was very young. Through her encounters with the family, she attempts to piece together the story of her father and the love he shared with her mother. Llúcia Garcia stars.
Release Date: TBA, but definitely slated for this year.
“Sally”
Sally Ride’s groundbreaking journey as the first American woman in space conceals a deeply personal story. Filmmaker Cristina Costantini (the short “Awakening: After Parkland”) directs the story, featuring her life partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, who tells the story of their hidden romance and the sacrifices accompanying their extraordinary life together.
Release Date: January 28 at Sundance
“Silent Friend”
Helmed by Hungarian film director and screenwriter Ildikó Enyedi (Best International Oscar nominee “On Body and Soul”), her latest reunites her with her “The Story of My Wife” stars Léa Seydoux and Tony Leung and is told from the perspective of a lonely old tree standing in the middle of a botanical garden.
Release Date: TBA, presumably Cannes or Venice.
“Sontag”
Kirsten Johnston already made a beautiful pivot from cinematographer to director with her documentaries “Cameraperson” and “Dick Johnson Is Dead,” and now she’s poised to direct her first fiction feature, “Sontag,” a biopic about Susan Sontag starring Kristen Stewart. (Let’s go, lesbians: “Fun Home” writer Lisa Kron is also co-writing the project.) True to Johnson’s previous work, “Sontag” is reportedly “a hybrid documentary, research project, experiment, film-within-a-film type thing” that started filming at Berlinale 2023. The only bad thing about this film is that it’s deeply unclear when it’ll be done — last year, Stewart called the production “an open-ended process.” —LW
Release Date: TBA, but this is major festival bait.
“Sorry, Baby”
If you don’t know the name, Eva Victor, you probably at least recognize the face. Victor went viral on Twitter circa 2018/19 as a clever comedian, and her career quickly ascended (Brian Koppelman, a very online writer/director, cast her in “Billions”). Produced by Barry Jenkins, her directorial debut, which she also wrote, centers on a college professor who tries to recover from a sexual assault. Victor stars alongside Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges, John Carroll Lynch, Louis Cancelmi, Kelly McCormack, Hettienne Park and more.
Release Date: January 27 at Sundance.
“Stitches”
Following up on 2022’s “Paris Memories,” writer/director Alice Winocour (“Mustang,” “Proxima”) returns with a drama about an American filmmaker who arrives in Paris for Fashion Week on a life-and-death journey, facing challenges and self-discovery. Given that it stars Angelina Jolie, it will be WInocour’s biggest film by far. Louis Garrel, Ella Rumpf and Garance Marillier co-star.
Release Date: Production started last fall, so we’re hopefully looking at a late 2025 awards season push.
“Sugar Babies”
In Rachel Fleit’s (2021’s “Introducing, Selma Blair”) latest documentary, a college student from rural Louisiana uses her TikTok social media presence to create an unconventional online business for sugar babies. What’s that? A strategy of just talking, flirting, and sharing photos and videos to get what she wants from her followers, all without meeting the men who give her money.
Release Date: January 27 at Sundance.
“Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake)”
An anthology drama follows the residents of a small town and the lake that binds them together; first-time writer/director Sierra Falconer’s indie draws the viewer into distinct slices of life unfolding. Joanna Hogg (“The Souvenir”) is an executive producer whose principal cast is primarily full of little-known actors such as Maren Heary, Jim Kaplan, Karsen Liotta, Dominic Bogart, Tenley Kellogg and Emily Hall.
Release Date: January 26 at Sundance in the U.S. Dramatic Competition section.
“Two Women”
A Canadian sex comedy by Quebecois filmmaker Chloé Robichaud (2013 Cannes entry “Sarah Prefers to Run”), her latest is a modernized remake of Claude Fournier’s1970 comedy film “Two Women in Gold,” about two suburban mothers, unfulfilled with their lives, who begin to re-examine their life priorities after one of them enters an extramarital affair. Karine Gonthier-Hyndman and Laurence Leboeuf star.
Release Date: January 25 at Sundance.
“The Ugly Stepsister”
Retelling the Cinderella story in a twisted fashion, Norwegian director Emilie Blichfeldt’s comedy horror debut centers on a young girl competing against her beautiful stepsister in a bloody battle for beauty. The film stars Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Ane Dahl Torp, and Flo Fagerl.
Release Date: January 23 at Sundance in the Midnight section.
