“Frank & Louis”
(Premieres, World Premiere, Fiction)
Written and directed by Petra Biondina Volpe, this prison-set drama centers on Frank, serving a life sentence, who takes a job caring for aging inmates with Alzheimer’s and dementia—work that starts as a calculated play for parole and turns into something knottier and more redemptive. It stars Kingsley Ben-Adir and Rob Morgan.
“Union County”
(U.S. Dramatic Competition, World Premiere, Fiction)
A court-mandated drug program becomes the shaky path toward recovery amid the opioid epidemic in rural Ohio—precisely the kind of contemporary American story Sundance has historically championed. Director Adam Meeks pairs Will Poulter and Noah Centineo up top, backed by Elise Kibler, Emily Meade, and Annette Deao.
“Josephine”
(U.S. Dramatic Competition, World Premiere, Fiction)
After a child witnesses a crime in Golden Gate Park, the fallout isn’t mystery-plot mechanics—it’s the slow, volatile attempt to regain control when the adults around her can’t fix anything. Writer-director Beth de Araújo has Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan in support, alongside Philip Ettinger, Syra McCarthy, and Eleanore Pienta.
“Carousel”
(U.S. Dramatic Competition, World Premiere, Fiction)
A divorced doctor’s “carefully constructed” Cleveland life gets thrown off-balance by his daughter’s debate ambitions and the sudden return of an old love—midlife recalibration with a clean emotional hook. Director Rachel Lambert puts Chris Pine at the center, with Jenny Slate, Abby Ryder Fortson, Sam Waterston, and Katey Sagal around him.
“Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!”
(U.S. Dramatic Competition, World Premiere, Fiction)
Tokyo ballroom dance becomes both sanctuary and pressure cooker after tragedy pushes Haru into isolation—until friends lure her back and a new instructor sparks something messier than inspiration. Josef Kubota Wladyka directs, and the cast includes Rinko Kikuchi, Alberto Guerra, Alejandro Edda, YOU, Yoh Yoshida, and Damián Alcázar.
“The Musical”
(U.S. Dramatic Competition, World Premiere, Fiction)
A frustrated playwright and middle school theater teacher tries to sabotage his ex’s new boyfriend—who also happens to be the principal he can’t stand—by wrecking the guy’s shot at an academic-excellence prize. Director Giselle Bonilla brings Will Brill, Gillian Jacobs, and Rob Lowe into a premise that sounds like a petty spiral staged as a school-pageant war.
“Run Amok”
(U.S. Dramatic Competition, World Premiere, Fiction)
A teenage girl stages an elaborate musical about the one day her high school wishes it could erase—turning communal shame into choreography and spectacle. Writer-director NB Mager casts Alyssa Marvin opposite a stacked lineup: Patrick Wilson, Margaret Cho, Sophia Torres, Elizabeth Marvel, and Molly Ringwald.
“The Incomer”
(NEXT, World Premiere, Fiction)
An Irish girl dreams of leaving for America and becomes entangled with a dangerous con artist—romance, opportunity, and threat braided together. Director Nathalie Álvarez Mesén assembles a terrific cast: Nicola Coughlan, Brid Brennan, Daryl McCormack, Niamh Cusack, and Peter Mullan.
“Night Nurse”
(NEXT, World Premiere, Fiction)
Writer-director Georgia Bernstein drops a starry-eyed nurse into an idyllic retirement community rattled by a string of perverse scam calls; as panic spreads, she’s pulled into a dangerous orbit around a mysterious patient. The film stars Cemre Paksoy and Mimi Rogers.
“zi”
(NEXT, World Premiere, Fiction)
Kogonada’s Hong Kong-set drama follows a young woman who’s spooked by visions of her future self, then collides with a stranger who might tilt the entire night—and her life—off its axis—the film stars Michelle Mao, Haley Lu Richardson, and Jin Ha.
