If it’s early December, it’s time for the unveiling of the annual Sundance Film Festival. The 2025 edition is potentially the second to last installment with any presence in Park City, Utah. If that is the case, the festival programmers are working to bring some familiar filmmakers back into the fold. January’s festival will see new films from Justin Lin, Elegance Bratton, Bill Condon, Ira Sachs, Andrew Ahn, Amy Berg, Questlove, Clint Bentley, Eugene Jarecki, Ryan White, and Clint Bentley, among others.
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Opening Day of the 2025 Festival is set for Thursday, January 23. Premieres will occur in Park City every day through Tuesday, January 28. Additional showings will take place in Park City and Salt Lake City until Sunday, February 2.
This year’s festival will feature 87 feature films and six episodic projects. That’s up slightly from 85 feature films in 2024. These projects represent 33 countries and territories, and 41% of the feature films are from first-time filmmakers. Sundance received 15,775 submissions from 156 countries or territories, including 4,138 feature-length films. That is down substantially from the record-breaking 17,435 submissions last year but closer to the 15,855 in 2023. 1,591 feature films submitted were from the U.S., and 2,547 were international. The six episodic projects were selected from 484 submissions.
January will see several familiar faces grace Sundance’s stages. Red carpet attendees may include Rachel Sennott in “Bunnylovr”; Isabelle Huppert in the under-the-radar project “Lutz,” Carey Mulligan in “The Ballad of Wallis Island”; Rose Byrne, A$AP Rocky, Conan O’Brien, and Danielle Macdonald in A24’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You”; Olivia Colman and John Lithgow in “Jimpa”; Diego Luna and Jennifer Lopez in Condon’s remake of the musical “Kiss of the Spider-Woman”; Felicity Jones and Joel Edgerton in Bentley’s “Train Dreams”; Chloë Sevigny in both “Magic Farm” and “Atropia”; Dev Patel in “Rabbit Trap”; John Magaro in “Omaha”; Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall in Sachs’ “Peter Hujar’s Day“; Josh O’Connor in “Rebuilding”; Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Thing With Fathers”; Bowen Yang and Lily Gladstone in Ahn’s remake of “The Wedding Banquet” (the original debuted at the 1993 Berlin Film Festival); Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, and Murray Bartlett in “Opus”; Juliet Lewis in both “Opus” and “By Design”; Alison Brie and Dave Franco in “Together”; Franco, Himesh Patel, Sarah Goldberg, and Steven Yeun in “Bubble & Squeak”; Lucas Hedges in “Sorry, Baby”; Russell Tovey in “Plainclothes“; Dylan O’Brien in “Twinless”; Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson, and Willem Dafoe in “The Legend of Ochi”; and “Abbott Elementary” stars Sheryl Lee Ralph and Chris Perfetti in “Ricky” and “Twinless,” respectively.
Beyond “If I Had Legs,” A24 has two other films in Park City this year, “The Legend of Ochi” and “Opus.” NEON has “Brides” from the U.K., while Bleecker Street has “The Wedding Banquet.” Focus Features will debut “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” and Disney’s Onyx Collective will unfurl Questlove‘s documentary “SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius),” which should eventually screen on Hulu. Apple Original Films just acquired Nyle DiMarco and Davis Guggenheim’s documentary “Deaf President Now!” before this morning’s announcement. Shudder picked up Norway’s Midnight selection, “The Ugly Stepsister,” minutes after the festival slate dropped. Overall, however, there are a plethora of acquisition titles for distributors to choose from.
The documentary selections at Sundance almost always reflect the global hotspot and political issues of the time. This year, there are two Ukrainian-themed docs, “2000 Meters to Andriivka” and “Mr Nobody Against Putin.” The horrors in the West Bank are chronicled in “All That’s Left of You.” Transgender rights lawyer Chase Strangio is profiled in “Heightened Scrutiny” while book banning in Texas is explored in “The Librarians.”
Additionally, some notable individuals will enjoy the spotlight, including former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern (“Prime Minister”), comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi (“Coexistence, My Ass!”), ’90s pop and Tejano music legend Selena Quintanilla (“Selena y Los Dinos,” promising never before seen footage) and groundbreaking Oscar winner Marlee Matlin (“Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore”). Oh, and recently freed Julian Assange is given another platform with Eugene Jarecki’s “The Six Billion Dollar Man” in the festival’s only “Special Screening” selection.
The 2025 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, an annual juried award granted to an artist with the most outstanding depiction of science and technology in a feature-length film, goes to Cristina Costantini’s “Sally.” Debuting in the Premieres category, “Sally” is about the first U.S. woman who went to space, Sally Ride, and her relationship with her longtime partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, that was kept secret from the public. The project will be distributed by National Geographic.
There also seems to be a substantial increase in LGBTQ+ themed films, including “Wedding Banquet,” “Spider Woman,” “Heightened Security,” “Plainclothes,” “Peter Hujar’s Day,” “Jimpa,” “Pee-wee as Himself,” “Come See Me In The Good Light,” and “GEN_,” among others.
In a release from the Sundance Institute, Robert Redford, Sundance Institute Founder and President, noted, “The Sundance Film Festival remains steadfast in its commitment to elevating unique and urgent voices in independent storytelling. Audiences can expect a 2025 program that showcases varied and vibrant filmmaking globally.”
Amanda Kelso, Sundance Institute Acting CEO remarked, “The Festival is our most significant public program as an Institute and builds on the artist support work we do year-round as a nonprofit that seeks to make meaningful storytelling accessible and sustainable. Our curation speaks to the breadth and depth of filmmaking today, and the work of the artists selected showcases the potential for storytelling to drive change through open dialogue while engaging audiences.”
Eugene Hernandez, Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming added, “For nearly a year our team has been preparing for today, the moment when we can finally reveal the filmmakers who, in a few short weeks, we’ll present at the 2025 edition of the Sundance Film Festival. This year’s program is ready to meet our audiences, the industry, and the wider culture in a moment of many global questions. The works our artists will debut at our upcoming Festival will spark conversation and invite connection. We’re excited to be sharing these moments of discovery together with our communities soon and thankful to our artists for entrusting us with their stories.”
Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming also noted, “This year’s program presents stories that confront many critical issues of our time, encouraging us to look both inward and outward. As always, we’re excited to introduce audiences to new voices, alongside new work from some familiar names. Audiences at the Festival can not only look forward to engaging with the unexpected, but also to be entertained, challenged, and deeply moved by this year’s films.”
This year’s current lineup is as follows:
U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION
Atropia / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Hailey Gates, Producers: 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. World Premiere. Acquisition title.
Bubble & Squeak / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Evan Twohy, Producers: 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. World Premiere. Acquisition title.
Bunnylovr / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Katarina Zhu, Producers: 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. World Premiere. Acquisition title.
Love, Brooklyn / U.S.A. (Director: Rachael Abigail Holder, Screenwriter: Paul Zimmerman, Producers: 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. World Premiere. Acquisition title.
Omaha / U.S.A. (Director: Cole Webley, Screenwriter: Robert Machoian, Producer: 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. World Premiere. Acquisition title.
Plainclothes / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Carmen Emmi, Producers: 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. World Premiere. Acquisition title.
Ricky / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Rashad Frett, Screenwriter: Lin Que Ayoung, Producers: 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. World Premiere. Acquisition title.
Sorry, Baby / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Eva Victor, Producers: 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. World Premiere. Acquisition title.
Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake) / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Sierra Falconer, Producer: 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. World Premiere. Acquisition title.
Twinless / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: James Sweeney, Producer: 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. Republic Pictures.
