MIDNIGHT
Dead Lover / Canada (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Grace Glowicki, Screenwriter and Producer: Ben Petrie, Producer: 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. World Premiere. Fiction. Acquisition title.
Didn’t Die / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Meera Menon, Screenwriter and Producer: Paul Gleason, Producers: 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. World Premiere. Fiction.
Opus / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Mark Anthony Green, Producers: 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. World Premiere. Fiction. A24 Films. In theaters March 14.
Rabbit Trap / U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: Bryn Chainey, Producers: 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. World Premiere. Fiction.
Together / Australia, U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Michael Shanks, Producers: 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. World Premiere. Fiction. Acquisition title.
Touch Me / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Addison Heimann, Producers: 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. World Premiere. Fiction. Acquisition title.
The Ugly Stepsister / Norway (Director and Screenwriter: Emilie Blichfeldt, Producer: 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 Næss, Ane Dahl Torp, Flo Fagerli, Isac Calmroth, Malte Gårdinger. World Premiere. Fiction. Sudder.
EPISODIC
Bucks County, USA / U.S.A. (Directors and Executive Producers: Barry Levinson, Robert May, Executive Producer: 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.” World Premiere. Documentary. Five-part docu-series, screening episodes one and two. Acquisition title.
Hal & Harper / U.S.A. (Director and Executive Producer: Cooper Raiff, Executive Producers: 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. World Premiere. Fiction. Available Online for Public. Eight-episode season, screening first four episodes in person and full season online. Acquisition title.
Pee-wee as Himself / U.S.A. (Director: Matt Wolf, Producer: 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. World Premiere. Documentary. Two-part documentary, screening in its entirety. HBO
Episodic Pilot Showcase:
BULLDOZER /U.S.A. (Writer and Executive Producer: Joanna Leeds, Director and Executive Producer: Andrew Leeds, Executive Producers: 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. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.
Chasers /U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Erin Brown Thomas, Screenwriter: Ciarra Krohne, Producers: 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. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.
Never Get Busted! /Australia (Showrunners: David Anthony Ngo, Erin Williams-Weir, Executive Producers: 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. World Premiere. Documentary.
SPOTLIGHT
April / Georgia (Director and Screenwriter: Dea Kulumbegashvili, Producers: Luca Guadagnino, David Zerat, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Archil Gelovani, Gabriele Moratti, Alexandra Rossi, Ilan Amouyal) –– 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 / U.K. (Director and Producer: Kevin Macdonald, Producers: 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
The Legend of Ochi / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Isaiah Saxon, Producers: 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. World Premiere. Fiction. A24 Films. In theaters February 28.
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
The Six Billion Dollar Man / U.S.A. (Director: Eugene Jarecki, Producer: 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. World Premiere. Documentary.
FROM THE COLLECTION
El Norte / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Gregory Nava, Screenwriter, and Producer: 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 / U.S.A. (Director: Douglas Keeve, Producer: 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.
