“Jimpa,” the latest film from “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” director Sophie Hyde, does this about as fully as one could ever hope to do. In a script Hyde wrote with her “52 Tuesdays” co-writer Matthew Cormack, we are taken fully into the world of Jim (aka Jimpa), played by John Lithgow, and his daughter Hannah, played by Olivia Colman, as they try to navigate their respective lives. Jim is a gay man who left Hannah and her mother when she was a child and she is now attempting to make a film about him while also raising her own child Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde), who is nonbinary.

As they all spend time together in the beauty of Amsterdam, the love they have for each other comes crashing into the lingering tension that Hannah has spent most of her adult life attempting to not just process, but speak openly about. 

The result is a film that’s not just incisive and compassionate, but fully attuned to the rhythms of this modern family. Conversations around queerness, polyamory and sexuality take place throughout in ways that embrace their complexity rather than shy away from them. In a world that seeks not just to repress such conversations but target those who have them, it is as refreshing as it is essential to see a film tackling them with such frankness.

As we hear them talk with radical openness about some things, Hyde pulls off a delicate balancing act where we come to see that there is also much that they are not yet fully able to talk through. It’s a film built around such conversations and our desire for connection that may be a little fragmented at times but cuts deep all the same.

Just as last year’s Sundance saw the excellent film “A Real Pain” capture the delicate relationship between two cousins, this one sees its own messy family trying to open up to each other and make sense of the pain they’re feeling before it’s all too late. It earns every emotion and then some, breaking the heart open with such breathtaking truthfulness that you get bowled over just before you land softly in its final frames. That it is also a film partly about its very construction only makes it all the more wonderfully rich to experience. 

Premiering Thursday at Sundance, “Jimpa” begins with Hannah and Frances talking about Jim. The former is doing so as part of a pitch about the film she wants to make about her father, and the latter is doing so for a class presentation. Both are earnestly passionate and clearly love him, though there is still a sense that we are hearing a possibly rosy portrait of the man. Critically, this earnestness must not be mistaken for complete honesty.

Instead, as Hyde gently teases out, we realize that Hannah in particular is invested in not expressing anger or even conflict about her father. This results in a humorous opening conversation about how all dramas must contain some element of conflict, but “Jimpa” doesn’t just use this for jokes. It is also flagging up to us that the film we are watching is about someone attempting to reckon with their past and the challenges of making art that can do full justice to this. That it does so within some of the familiar narrative beats of the family dramedy is part of its potency. Not only does Hyde remain aware of how the overly saccharine version of this film could go, she holds it up to the light in order to see all the ways the narratives we fall back on may actually be hiding critical parts of the lives we lead. 

You see, Jim is a flawed man as well as a caring one. He fought for the civil rights of others, speaking out after being diagnosed with AIDS even as the world was fighting him at every turn. And he has tried to continue doing so even in his older age. He is also egotistical, selfish and occasionally cruel, especially when he doesn’t always listen to others.

Lithgow, all tattooed up and often bearing his body in addition to his soul, is terrific at capturing all the seemingly contradictory yet completely authentic layers of the man. He is capable of turning a scene on its head with such withering charm and conviction that you go along with it until you realize just how hurtful he can be to the others around him. Alongside Colman, whose eyes contain entire worlds of tumultuous emotion in these scenes, we feel how it is the family has settled into this comfortable uncomfortableness. 

However, if there is a breakout star in the film, it is Aud Mason-Hyde. That they are the child of director Hyde only makes it all the more engaging as we can feel an extra sense of natural lived-in emotion in the way the scenes unfold. Even alongside heavy-hitters like Lithgow and Colman, it is remarkable how effortlessly Mason-Hyde holds their own. In many ways, their scenes are what bring everything out that the adults are looking away from. Even when there are some conversations amongst the older generation that can feel a little clunky in how they underline what they are saying, it is Mason-Hyde who brings us into the more complicated gray areas that are necessary to understanding what “Jimpa” is attempting to grapple with. For all the joy that Frances discovers in the city and the desire they have to move away from home in order to find community, we see in their eyes how life is not always so simple. When tragedy does inevitably arise, it makes the quiet and often unspoken details of their performance all the more impactful.  

As we see in the hands of cinematographer Matthew Chuang, who previously shot the gorgeous “You Won’t Be Alone,” the past and present are always crashing together. It is in these striking juxtapositions that the lives of all the characters come into greater focus. There is pain in how they are intercut into the present, but there is also a captivating quality to them that only cinema can provide. At times, it even recalls the shattering way director Barry Jenkins captured the various characters in his astounding adaptation “If Beale Street Could Talk.”

With that being said, there is still much that Hyde uncovers that she can call her own in her directing. The way moments will linger and intersect takes the breath away just as they never feel like they are overdone. It’s all one would hope a film like this to be: honest, bittersweet and true. In the end, whether Hannah the character is able to make her film, Hyde has done so herself in beautiful fashion.

The post ‘Jimpa’ Review: Olivia Colman and John Lithgow Soar in Beautiful, Bittersweet Drama appeared first on TheWrap.

“My goodness, that chair is gorgeous,” we hear via playful, often poetic, narration by Melanie Griffith before we cut to a sad little meal being shared by Camille, played by a fantastic and committed Juliette Lewis, plus her two friends. The voiceover shifts into being biting as the camera notably pulls away. Gone is Griffith’s effusive affection and in its place is a more oddly wistful sadness. 

In terms of all the memorable ways films have opened, this doesn’t sound like it would be that meaningful of a way to do so, but my goodness is it. It’s gleefully silly without overselling itself while laying the seeds for a humorous yet heartfelt juxtaposition between the life being led by Camille and the chair at the furniture showroom. If this sounds ridiculous, it’s just the wondrous beginning to the journey Kramer takes us on — one where Camille, after attempting to buy the chair, does the next best thing: become the furniture herself. Rather than serve as a shallowly classical body swap story that provides a moral lesson about her growing to appreciate the life she had, the aftermath of this decision is more thematically complicated and engaging. It’s also sincere, tapping into anxieties about being not just liked or even loved, but truly seen. 

You see, rather than despise her confinement, Camille’s lonely existence becomes infinitely better. The people around her love her far more when she is nothing but a chair. 

Premiering Thursday at Sundance, this is the first film Kramer has shown at the festival and it also feels like the one she’s spent her whole career building up to. Rather than compromise her ideas that she’s explored with spirited, if sometimes a little scattered, verve in past works, she deepens the emotions she’s tapping into just as she dives further and further into absurdity. Merging a somewhat similar visual style to “Please Baby Please” with the thorny introspective elements of the smaller-scale “Pity Me,” it’s not just her funniest film yet, but also her best. 

Set in only a handful of locations, all are shot with maximum creativity and an eye for whimsical compositions by cinematographer Patrick Meade Jones, who has worked on all of Kramer’s previous narrative features. As it traces the path Camille takes in her newfound existence as a chair, she discovers something oddly liberating in the change that is also not to last.

Initially, she is bought as a gift for Olivier, played by a magnificent Mamoudou Athie, who is living a lonely life of his own but also becomes infatuated with her in chair form. He takes her to a dinner party and must fight off the other attendees from getting their hands on her. The expressions that Athie makes in this scene and his repeated outbursts of “No!” are a riot, though the actor never descends into relying on one-note gags.

Instead, he takes part in a variety of eerie dance numbers, both with others that seem to come from his subconscious and by himself with Camille/the chair being rapidly cut between, as well as an uproarious sequence surrounding an awkward photo shoot being done for a magazine. It’s strange in an intentionally stilted fashion. Critically, the cast approaches their parts with the seriousness necessary to pull the cocktail of silliness and sincerity off. It will alienate some, but that’s also what makes it work. 

At the center of this is Lewis, whose every rhythmic line delivery, desperate expression, and eventual scream is operating on the precise wavelength that the film needs. It’s all ludicrous in snapshots, but the full picture that lurks underneath is one of discontentment. The film lays this out in both the narration that interjects throughout and the commitment that Lewis brings to the part. This includes her spending a significant portion of the film playing the chair as Camille, as the swap involves the furniture taking over her body, meaning she doesn’t move or speak. If this sounds like it’d distance you from her character, the opposite that ends up happening. Even as there is one darker scene in the middle that sends the film teetering a bit, it’s everything that surrounds it which proves to be unexpectedly yet richly saddening and silly to sort through. 

While she has never been one to shy away from what are often impenetrable narratives about troubled people struggling to connect, “By Design” is the one that brings it all together in the most potent package. The film’s final fleeting lines underline this perfectly, making it land with an unexpected gut punch as you get one last look at Camille, back alone all over again.

We feel all the pieces Kramer has been designing for us falling into place one last dreamlike and despairing time, echoing where we began in a lonely showroom with the spotlights coming down. All you need do is pull up a chair and take it all in.    

The post ‘By Design’ Review: Juliette Lewis and Mamoudou Athie Are a Joy in This Bold Body Swap Comedy appeared first on TheWrap.

Nearly all of her characters are shatteringly isolated, divided even in their faltering attempts at connection. But they are bound, at minimum, through a mystical deer created by a celebrated Chinese artist before he died. The deer sits at the center of a giant painting in a seedy Chongqing club, where strangers escape into virtual reality alone and together.

The club’s most popular VR world — called Luz, which means both “Light” and “Separation” — also involves the deer, who has to evade participants hunting it. Among the players is young camgirl Fa (En Xi Deng), whose livestreams are persistently interrupted by Wei (Xiao Dong Guo), a middle-aged man claiming to be her lost father. Since she won’t agree to meet him in real life, he has to learn how to seek her out in the game.

Meanwhile, the late artist’s lonely daughter, Ren (Sandrine Pinna), is in Hong Kong, until she gets a call that her former stepmother — her father’s equally creative ex-wife, Sabine (Isabelle Huppert) — is ailing. Somewhat reluctantly, she travels to France to help Sabine, only to be shocked when the patient wants no aid at all. Sabine’s plan, in fact, is to embrace life as wholeheartedly as she can, for as long as possible. Stubbornly refusing any attempts to curtail her active existence, she instead pulls Ren into the tactile delights of a Parisian artist: galleries and dances and gardens, music and food and adventures.

Lau (“Bends”) and her talented cinematographer, Benjamin Echazarreta (“A Fantastic Woman”), treat the screen like a canvas themselves, building layer upon layer to evoke multiple mediums. An electro-eerie score is the perfect match for Chongqing’s dark, neon-lit streets, which call to mind “Blade Runner” in their futuristic alienation.

But since “Luz” is, more than anything, a study in contrasts, Sabine’s Paris is as verdant and lush as Chongqing is stark and disaffected. The people we meet in her world are older and more engaged with their senses: individuals converse rather than text; pulsing techno gives way to sentimental French pop; the palate shifts from shades of black to vibrant color. As actors, Huppert and Pinna are both luminous. But while Sabine shines as if lit from within, Ren is dimmer, visibly lacking vitality even as her dynamic stepmother is the one living with a potentially fatal aneurism.

Because Lau is so intent on drawing distinctions between their ways of life, her script can occasionally feel black-and-white in its themes, too. And her artistic perspectives are idiosyncratic enough that we do notice when she lapses into clichéd terrain. Most of the time, though, she keeps us suspended in a state of awed anticipation. Even as her intentions are to nudge us back into real life, the images flickering on screen continue to hold us rapt.

The post ‘Luz’ Review: Flora Lau Conjures a Gorgeous Drama of Technology and Isolation appeared first on TheWrap.

As a PBS American Masters portrait designed to celebrate Matlin’s accomplishments, “Not Alone Anymore” can’t really be called a traditional documentary. Matlin chose first-time director Shoshannah Stern herself (they worked together on the Sundance Now series “This Close”), and the connection between them is evident. Though this obviously precludes a lack of neutral distance, it also opens up space for Matlin to share her story with unguarded intimacy.

And what a story it turns out to be. Matlin lost her hearing as a toddler — no one knew exactly why — and her parents took the traditional approach at the time: encouraging her to live, as much as possible, as though she hadn’t.

As a result, she had one foot in two worlds but her full self in neither. She felt left out in her family, and lacked the community that other kids found in Deaf spaces. There was one exception, though, and that was in the acting program at the International Center on Deafness and the Arts. Eventually, she was cast in Randa Haines’ film “Children of a Lesser God,” about a Deaf woman and the hearing teacher (William Hurt) who pushes her to speak.

Matlin opens up in “Not Alone Anymore” (as she did in her 2009 memoir, “I’ll Scream Later”) about her on- and off-screen relationships with her late co-star, Hurt. She was 19 and he was 35, and their two-year affair was marked by his repeated emotional and physical abuse. She was both the first Deaf performer to win an Oscar and the youngest woman to win Best Actress. But when we rewatch her historic night now, annotated by her own memories, it feels palpably different than it did at the time. Today, we notice her discomfort when she hesitantly takes the trophy from Hurt, and can see how young she really is as the media immediately drops public responsibility for the Deaf community onto her slim shoulders.

Many of Matlin’s recollections take place as she sits comfortably on her couch with Stern, who is also Deaf, the two of them signing in screen-captioned American Sign Language without an interpreter. Their non-mediated ASL is so seamlessly presented that it becomes one of several elements to drive home how essential representation really is. In both contemporary interviews and past clips, we see people talking about the doors Matlin opened for them as an actor and celebrity, an award winner and an outspoken advocate of Deaf rights. (There was no closed captioning on most movies or TV shows before her public push.)

Matlin is a thoughtful, funny and intense presence, and therefore a fantastic interview. But Stern also makes excellent use of her co-workers, family and friends — including Aaron Sorkin, an inspired choice to discuss the subtleties of language; her “CODA” co-star Troy Kotsur, who looked to Matlin when he became the second Deaf actor to earn an Oscar; and longtime friend Henry Winkler, whose unshakable support from her earliest years reinforces his status as a Hollywood hero.

Stern, who is seen crying on camera more than once, makes no attempt to achieve objectivity, nor does a project like this require it. This is, in fact, the sort of celebratory personal retrospective that is often created for people much older than Matlin (who is 59, and radiates with ageless energy). Much of the structure is unsurprising; interspersed with her stories and old media clips are a lot of admirers, who enthusiastically share the many ways in which she changed the world. But their case is strong, and the stories worth telling. It’s a testament to both Stern and her subject that we leave already anticipating the chapters still to come.

The post ‘Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore’ Review: An Unguarded Portrait of a Groundbreaking Talent appeared first on TheWrap.

The mood was already nostalgic at the event, with shared memories of the chaotic shoot of the original film, 2004’s “DIG!” But after the devastating fires, which also took the home of her brother, the film’s editor David Timoner, the gathering of the film and music community also became a wake of sorts.

“I love that this loving audience was here,” she said of the sold-out event, where she and David were met with hugs, condolences and offers to help catalog everything she lost in the fire. Vidiots gifted Ondi and David, as well as their mother Elissa, with branded merchandise from the theater and video store to help replace their lost wardrobe.

“It’s just really sad to be home and not go home. I knew this would suck so hard to be back,” she told TheWrap in the lobby after the screening, as friends and fans politely interrupted to offer their love and support.

The following Monday, Timoner missed the intro to her new documentary “All God’s Children” at the Museum of Tolerance because she and her wife Morgan were combing through the rubble of their house. Her film archives and all her other possessions were a total loss, but she found remnants of her two Sundance awards, which were still recognizable but damaged beyond repair.

The crowd at the museum was moved by the emotional, sometimes difficult film about a Brooklyn rabbi — Timoner’s sister Rachel — and a Bed-Stuy Baptist pastor working together to fight antisemitism and racism. At least a dozen attendees, from a young woman who had come in from Las Vegas to an older gentleman with a white beard, thanked her for the film and marveled that she could keep going despite her loss.

The film, which still needs a distributor, will be shown at a private screening at Sundance, as will Timoner’s other new documentary, “The Inn Between,” about a hospice in Utah for the homeless. Timoner recalled the moment, during an ABC News interview in New York on Jan. 15, where she realized that she, too, was now homeless.

“It can happen in an instant,” Timoner told TheWrap. “I’m not trying to say that David and I are in the position of the people that I filmed [for ‘The Inn Between’]. I have resources,” she said, praising friends and the film community who have been hosting her, her wife and their pets since the fires that destroyed more than 7,000 homes in the area.

Timoner was touched by the outpouring of support, including from Sundance Director Eugene Hernandez, who, ahead of her return to the fest, was sizing festival gear to replace her lost winter clothes.

“I told him quite honestly that for me it feels like returning to my Sundance home,” Timoner said Wednesday as she prepared to head to Park City.

OK, yeah, I lost my house. It doesn’t mean that I’m not totally bereft, but the work helped me.” – Ondi Timoner

Former Utah Congressman Ben McAdams will host a Sundance screening of “The Inn Between” on Sunday, with members from the hospice in Salt Lake City joining her for a Q&A. The following day, “All God’s Children” EP Geralyn Dreyfous is hosting a Q&A with executive producers Aaron, Julia and Marcus Gershenberg.

Timoner has a 20-year history with the festival, having premiered “DIG!” in 2004 and “We Live in Public” in 2009. Both films won the fest’s U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize, making her the only director to win the award twice. Fortunately, both films are part of the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection in New York.

When the fires erupted, Timoner was in Budapest and had planned to interview a Holocaust survivor named Joseph (she didn’t want to disclose his last name) when a neighbor texted that her house had burned down.

“I was like, I’m not going to let Joseph down. I’m going to show up for Joseph,” she said of deciding in the moment not to give in to despair.

“I sat down with him and he warmed my heart,” she said of the interview. “He survived and had a family. It was so beautiful to be with him. And then I was like, ‘F–k it. My house burned down, but his father was murdered. He was supposed to die 17 times over, and he’s sitting there. He’s 86 there and he’s having a beer.'”

She added, “So, OK, yeah, I lost my house. It doesn’t mean that I’m not totally bereft, but the work helped me.”

While Timoner isn’t sure where she and her wife will be staying next (possibly at a friend’s vacant apartment in New York), actress Tara Subkoff has started a GoFundMe for Timoner and her family. Both Timoner and her brother lived within a mile of their mother’s house in Altadena, which survived the fires.

Oscilloscope, which is distributing “Dig! XX,” is also donating a portion of the sales of T-shirts for the film to help victims of the Los Angeles wildfires.

The post Filmmaker Ondi Timoner Doesn’t Have Time to Dwell on Losing Her House in the Eaton Fire — She’s Got 3 Movies to Promote appeared first on TheWrap.

In the letter, filed on Tuesday, Participant said it was “shocked” to learn on Jan. 17 that Joseph — a filmmaker who contributed to Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” film — had worked on a different version of “BLKNWS” that was due to be screened at CAA without telling the company.

“Given that Mr. Joseph delivered the film to Participant in November 2024, and Participant submitted that version to Sundance in reliance that it was the final cut of the film, it is completely unacceptable that Mr. Joseph continued to purport to make changes to the film,” the letter says.

Participant alleges that Joseph submitted the new cut to both Sundance and Berlin, which will no longer be showing the film. The movie, which was written, directed and produced by Joseph, follows a West African curator and scholar whose magnum opus leads her to the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, drawing a journalist into a journey “that shatters her understanding of consciousness and time,” according to the official synopsis in the Sundance program.

Joseph did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

In a statement, Sundance said it was “deeply disappointed” to be informed by Participant that the film was being pulled from the festival, calling it “a radiant and immersive cinematic experience which we were looking forward to premiering for our audiences this Friday.”

The studio’s letter alleges that Joseph was required to submit a final cut of the film in June 2022, and that the delays – which they put on Joseph – caused A24 to drop out as co-financier and distributor.

It continues: “Participant cannot work with a director that it can no longer trust and who is actively working to circumvent Participant and to frustrate the planned and agreed debut of the film. Participant will therefore be pulling the film from the Sundance and Berlin film festivals and reserves all rights to seek recourse from Mr. Joseph and his related entities for their contractual breaches and wrongdoing.”

Participant, the studio behind films like “Spotlight” and “Green Book,” formally shuttered last April, but it owns the copyright to “BLKNWS” and currently exists as a holdings company for the studio’s library.

The post ‘BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions’ Pulled From Sundance and Berlin Over Director’s Alleged ‘Secret’ Cut appeared first on TheWrap.

Below, TheWrap rounded up some of the buzziest titles for sale at this year’s festival.

“Kiss of the Spider-Woman”

Valentín, a political prisoner, shares a cell with Molina, a window dresser convicted of public indecency. The two form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna.

Directed by Bill Condon and starring Jennifer Lopez and Diego Luna.

REP: CAA/WME

“The Thing with Feathers”

Struggling to process the sudden and unexpected death of his wife, a young father loses his hold on reality as a seemingly malign presence begins to stalk him from the shadowy recesses of the apartment he shares with his two young sons.

Directed by Dylan Southern and starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

REP: 42 West

“Peter Hujar’s Day”

A recently discovered conversation between photographer Peter Hujar and his friend Linda Rosenkrantz in 1974 reveals a glimpse into New York City’s downtown art scene and the personal struggles and epiphanies that define an artist’s life.

Directed by Ira Sachs and starring Ben Wishaw.

REP: Jordan Drake

“Jimpa”

Hannah takes her nonbinary teenager, Frances, to Amsterdam to visit their gay grandfather, Jim – lovingly known as Jimpa. But Frances’ desire to stay abroad with Jimpa for a year means Hannah is forced to reconsider her beliefs about parenting and finally confront old stories about the past.

Directed by Sophie Hyde and starring Olivia Colman and John Lithgow.

REP: Protagonist Pictures

“Rebuilding”

After a wildfire takes the family farm, a rancher seeks a way forward.

Directed by Max Walker-Silverman and starring Josh O’Connor and Lily LaTorre.

REP: Cow Hip Films

“Rabbit Trap”

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.

Directed by Bryn Chainey and starring Dev Patel.

REP: CAA, Bankside Films

“Atropia”

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.

Directed by Hailey Gates and starring Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner, produced by Luca Guadagnino.

REP: UTA/WME

“Ricky”

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.

Directed by Rashad Frett and starring Stephan James and Sheryl Lee Ralph.

REP: Sunshine Sachs

“Train Dreams”

Robert Grainier is a day laborer building America’s railroads at the start of the 20th century as he experiences profound love, shocking defeat, and a world irrevocably transforming before his very eyes.

Directed by Clint Bentley and starring Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones.

REP: Black Bear Pictures

“Oh, Hi!”

Iris and Isaac’s first romantic weekend getaway goes awry.

Directed by Sophie Brooks and starring Molly Gordon and Logan Lerman.

REP: UTA

“The Perfect Neighbor”

A seemingly minor neighborhood dispute in Florida escalates into deadly violence. Police bodycam footage and investigative interviews expose the consequences of Florida’s “stand your ground” laws.

Directed by Geeta Gandbhir.

REP: Message Pics

“Love, Brooklyn”

Three longtime Brooklynites navigate careers, love, loss, and friendship against the rapidly changing landscape of their beloved city.

From first-time feature director Rachael Abigail Holder and starring André Holland and DeWanda Wise.

REP: CAA

“The Perfect Neighbor”

A seemingly minor neighborhood dispute in Florida escalates into deadly violence. Police bodycam footage and investigative interviews expose the consequences of Florida’s “stand your ground” laws.

Directed by Geeta Gandbhir.

REP: Message Pics

“Love, Brooklyn”

Three longtime Brooklynites navigate careers, love, loss, and friendship against the rapidly changing landscape of their beloved city.

From first-time feature director Rachael Abigail Holder and starring André Holland and DeWanda Wise.

REP: CAA

The post 12 of the Buzziest Movies for Sale at Sundance 2025, From ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ to ‘Rebuilding’ appeared first on TheWrap.

The annual gathering in Park City, which kicks off Thursday, arrives when both the physical and financial landscapes have dramatically shifted, with some filmmakers, actors and executives literally displaced from their homes while the broader market continues its drift away from the streaming-fueled bidding wars of recent years.

Adding to the challenges, the impact of the Los Angeles wildfires is palpable among industry figures headed to the festival. “I think going into Sundance, that provides people there with a bit of perspective,” Julien Levesque, an agent in Gersh’s film finance group, told TheWrap. “People are going to be at Sundance with a little bit of a renewed sense of purpose, and just that community feeling that we’ve been feeling in Los Angeles I think definitely will continue.”

Picturestart’s Erik Feig, who has been displaced from his Palisades home due to the fires, sees the festival as an opportunity for renewal. “What’s so great about Sundance, what I always love about it, is it’s the community of creativity,” Feig said. “It’s by far my favorite festival, because it’s such a festival of discoveries, more than Venice or Toronto. There are so many movies that you don’t really know anything about, and so many filmmakers who are brand new.”

The market dynamics at this year’s festival reflect an industry in transition. Every industry insider who spoke to TheWrap agreed that the days of all-night bidding wars are pretty much over, making way for a more measured sale process that can extend beyond the festival’s end date. Those seeking distribution are cautiously optimistic that buyers will be spreading around the love — and their bets — instead of plopping down big money for one or two films and leaving.

“I think that we’re in a positive direction in terms of the market,” Levesque said. “For several years we had these big booms in acquisitions, which was obviously very nice, but we’re returning, and we’re evolving as an industry, towards a more strategic and thoughtful acquisition market, and I’m positive Sundance will be a great place to have a lot of these great films that we can showcase and to get picked up.”

Topic Studios’ EVP of Film and Documentary Ryan Heller, who had great success last year with “A Real Pain,” the Kieran Culkin-starring drama that was snatched up by Searchlight for $10 million and is now considered a contender in awards season, echoed Levesque’s sentiment that the sales process is now more diversified.

“There are more buyers playing more distinct games from one another,” he said, noting that there are pure streaming buyers, pure theatrical buyers and some who are a hybrid of both, each with their own windowing strategy. “What that means for us as sellers is that you can have the same movie and five buyers with varied ideas about release timing, how to reach an audience [and] who the audience is.”

Heller, who has two documentaries in the festival this year in “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley” and “FOLKTALES,” described the relatively new experience as both exciting and more complicated, since it depends on what the sellers feel is the best path for the movie.

The biggest sales at last year’s festival were largely marked by either big stars or genre fare, but none of them made a huge splash at the box office: There was “A Real Pain” ($12 million gross), Magnolia snatched the June Squibb actioner “Thelma” for an undisclosed sum ($12.6 million gross) and Amazon MGM Studios picked up the Aubrey Plaza-starring coming-of-age film “My Old Ass” for $15 million ($5.7 million gross before streaming on Prime Video). Netflix also plopped down $17 million for the body-swap horror movie “It’s What’s Inside” and an undisclosed amount for the Will Ferrell documentary “Will & Harper.”

This year’s lineup is more muted, with fewer films featuring big stars and only a couple from established filmmakers. That said, two of the buzziest acquisition titles are the Jennifer Lopez-fronted “Kiss of the Spider Woman” from director Bill Condon and the Benedict Cumberbatch grief drama “The Thing With Feathers.”

What impact that dynamic will have on the market is unclear, but Republic Pictures president and chief content licensing officer Dan Cohen, who is bringing the Dylan O’Brien film “Twinless” to the festival, acknowledged this year’s lineup feels “pretty indie.”

Levesque added: “I feel that there’s not going to be huge bidding wars, but I do feel that there will be deals made and there will be opportunities for these films to be seen.” That of course includes streamers — Apple picked up “CODA” for $25 million in 2021 and won the Oscar for Best Picture, Hulu and Neon paid $17.5 million for the Andy Samberg comedy “Palm Springs” in 2020 and Netflix has been a constant presence at the festival over the last several years.

“Streamers are very well educated. They know their market, they know their audience, they know the consumer,” Feig said. “They know what works on their platform. They know what doesn’t.”

But the overall state of independent film remains complex. “I think why buyers go to Sundance is to be surprised,” Heller said, tempering expectations about big sales. “It’s less about the tempo of the market or how quickly things sell, and it’s really about the long game on every title.”

As Feig puts it, “In independent film, as in so many other areas about media and the economy at large, it’s feast or famine. You either really work or you really don’t work.”

That extends to the documentary community, which has been struggling in recent years. Amplify Pictures founder Joe Lewis and head of documentary Lauren Haber have “Pamela, A Love Story” director Ryan White’s new film “Come See Me in the Good Light,” about poet and LGBTQ activist Andrea Gibson, at this year’s festival. But as veterans of the documentary space, they acknowledged a changed environment, one in which they strive to combine passion with commercial prospects.

“We’re honest about the state of the industry,” Lewis said, noting that the current documentary market favors films about sports, music, true crime or celebrity. “How do we make something that’s elevated and smart and has great filmmaking but is also commercial?” The “Fleabag” and “Transparent” producer said they focus on serious subjects “but done in a fun way,” while noting they don’t run after every trend. “If we wanted to chase what was commercial, we’d do a lot more true crime.”

Haber, who worked on the acclaimed documentary “Sugarcane” that premiered at Sundance last year and is firmly in the Oscar race, pointed out that many documentaries shortlisted for this year’s Oscars struggled to find U.S. distribution. “I do feel like there’s a disconnect there that I hope is so obvious right now, that it’s being recognized, and that it will start to move in a different direction,” she said of critically acclaimed docs failing to find a distributor.

Of course, coming out of the dual strikes and overall contraction in Hollywood, narrative indie film is not immune to constraints either.

“I think the industry as a whole is evolving, and indie film as a whole is evolving to exist in this new marketplace. So I feel good about the state of indie film,” Levesque said. “I think that there’s inherently going to be a latent period between what the market is selling and what the producers and financiers are making.”

He added: “And we’ve had this big slowdown in acquisition. We had a big slowdown in production. A lot of producers and financiers have had to kind of structure how they build their budget in a much more thoughtful way that allows for a film to be successful.”

The post Sundance Preview: LA Fires Cast Shadow Over Park City as Market Seeks New Balance appeared first on TheWrap.

Ahead of the festival, which runs from from Jan. 23 to Feb. 2, TheWrap spoke to Eugene Hernandez, Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming and Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming, about this year’s festival – what people should look out for and if they’re ready for the Sundance arrival of Lopez, whose new version of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” from director Bill Condon is one of the buzzier titles at the festival.

Considering this is awards season, Hernandez said that Sundance is “the crystal ball.” “This is the chance to look into the future,” Hernandez said. And he’s right – current Oscar contenders like “A Real Pain” and “Will and Harper” made their debut at this year’s festival.

“As we put together the program, we’re never looking for specific themes nor do we have a an agenda as we’re programming. But I think that what I think one of the things that we did see later, as we are looking back at the program and the work that we’ve done, is we did see this idea of very personal stories coursing through the films, from the fiction side to the documentaries,” Yutani said.

“You are seeing a lot of films that are made from a very personal perspective and maybe this is something that you see every year at Sundance, because I think what we are looking for is work that is authentic and is coming from a very pure place of film, and voices from filmmakers that are expressing something that is important to them. They’re trying to process the world.” She pointed out that over 40% of the films that will screen at Sundance 2025 are from first-time feature filmmakers.

Hernandez is looking forward to the “experience of discovery,” particularly as the lineup is revealed. “Folks can start Googling and searching to get more background, because there’s a lot here to connect with,” Hernandez said.

As for “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” it was a film that the team saw and was impressed to learn was an independent production — it was produced by Lopez’s former husband Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity. The film marks the first time director Bill Condon has been part of the festival since 1998 when he brought “Gods and Monsters,” which would eventually win Condon an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

“It feels like a great homecoming for Bill. We’re really excited to have him back. This is a film that I think really speaks to the moment. Many people are familiar with the source material, whether it be another film or a book or a musical, but I think this is such a great big screen cinematic experience. We cannot wait to world premiere this film,” said Yutani.

Hernandez added: “We are so excited that she is so excited to be at Sundance this year. It’s going to be a great experience to have the film.”

As for more under-the-radar picks, Yutani recommended “Together,” starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco and “Dead Lover,” “a Canadian film made in this lo-fi way.” Both are part of the Midnight Madness programming block.

You can read more about those films – and many more! – below.

U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION

The U.S. Dramatic Competition offers Festivalgoers a first look at the world premieres of groundbreaking new voices in American independent film. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Dìdi (弟弟), A Real Pain, In The Summers, Nanny, CODA, Minari, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, The Farewell, Clemency, Eighth Grade, and Sorry to Bother You.

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. Available online for Public. 

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. Available online for Public.

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. Available online for Public. 

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. Available online for Public.

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. Available online for Public. 

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. Available online for Public. 

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. Available online for Public. 

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. Available online for Public. 

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. Available online for Public. 

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. Available online for Public. 

U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

The U.S. Documentary Competition offers Festivalgoers a first look at world premieres of nonfiction American films illuminating the ideas, people, and events that shape the present day. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Daughters, Sugarcane, Porcelain War, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, Navalny, Fire of Love, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Boys State, Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, Knock Down the House, One Child Nation, American Factory, Three Identical Strangers, and On Her Shoulders.

Andre is an Idiot / U.S.A. (Director: Anthony Benna, Producers: Andre Ricciardi, Tory Tunnell, Joshua Altman, Stelio Kitrilakis, Ben Cotner) — Andre, a brilliant idiot, is dying because he didn’t get a colonoscopy. His sobering diagnosis, complete irreverence, and insatiable curiosity, send him on an unexpected journey learning how to die happily and ridiculously without losing his sense of humor. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

Life After / U.S.A. (Director: Reid Davenport, Producer: Colleen Cassingham) — In 1983, a disabled Californian woman named Elizabeth Bouvia sought the “right to die,” igniting a national debate about autonomy, dignity, and the value of disabled lives. After years of courtroom trials, Bouvia disappeared from public view. Disabled director Reid Davenport narrates this investigation of what happened to Bouvia. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Shoshannah Stern, Producers: Robyn Kopp, Justine Nagan, Bonni Cohen) — In 1987, Marlee Matlin became the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award and was thrust into the spotlight at 21 years old. Reflecting on her life in her primary language of American Sign Language, Marlee explores the complexities of what it means to be a trailblazer. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

The Perfect Neighbor / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Geeta Gandbhir, Producers: Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne, Sam Bisbee) — A seemingly minor neighborhood dispute in Florida escalates into deadly violence. Police bodycam footage and investigative interviews expose the consequences of Florida’s “stand your ground” laws. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

Predators / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: David Osit, Producers: Jamie Gonçalves, Kellen Quinn) — To Catch a Predator was a popular television show designed to hunt down child predators and lure them to a film set, where they would be interviewed and eventually arrested. An exploration of the scintillating rise and staggering fall of the show and the world it helped create. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

Seeds / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Brittany Shyne, Producer: Danielle Varga) — An exploration of Black generational farmers in the American South reveals the fragility of legacy and the significance of owning land. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

Selena y Los Dinos / U.S.A. (Director: Isabel Castro, Producers: Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, J. Daniel Torres, David Blackman, Simran Singh) — Selena Quintanilla — the “Queen of Tejano Music” — and her family band, Selena y Los Dinos, rose from performing at quinceañeras to selling out stadium tours. The celebration of her life and legacy is chronicled through never-before-seen footage from the family’s personal archive. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

Speak. / U.S.A. (Directors and Producers: Jennifer Tiexiera, Guy Mossman, Producer: Pamela Griner) — Five top-ranked high school oratory students spend a year crafting spellbinding spoken word performances with the dream of winning one of the world’s largest and most intense public speaking competitions. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Sugar Babies / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Rachel Fleit, Producers: Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon, Mehrdod Heydari) — Autumn is an enterprising college scholarship recipient and burgeoning TikTok influencer. Part of a close circle of friends growing up poor in rural Louisiana, she is determined to overcome the struggles and barriers defining them. Faced with limited minimum wage job options, Autumn devises an online sugar baby operation. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Third Act / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Tadashi Nakamura, Producer: Eurie Chung) — Generations of artists call Robert A. Nakamura “the godfather of Asian American media,” but filmmaker Tadashi Nakamura calls him Dad. Robert’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease leads to an exploration of art, activism, grief, and fatherhood. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION

These narrative feature films from emerging talent around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Girls Will Be Girls, Sujo, Scrapper, Mami Wata, Hive, The Souvenir, The Guilty, Monos, Yardie, The Nile Hilton Incident, and Second Mother.

Brides / U.K. (Director: Nadia Fall, Screenwriter: Suhayla El-Bushra, Producers: Nicky Bentham, Marica Stocchi) — Two teenage girls in search of freedom, friendship, and belonging run away from their troubled lives with a misguided plan of traveling to Syria. Cast: Ebada Hassan, Safiyya Ingar, Yusra Warsama, Cemre Ebuzziya, Aziz Capkurt. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

DJ Ahmet /North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia (Director and Screenwriter: Georgi M. Unkovski, Producers: Ivan Unkovski, Ivana Shekutkoska) — Ahmet, a 15-year-old boy from a remote Yuruk village in North Macedonia, finds refuge in music while navigating his father’s expectations, a conservative community, and his first experience with love — a girl already promised to someone else. Cast: Arif Jakup, Agush Agushev, Dora Akan Zlatanova, Aksel Mehmet, Selpin Kerim, Atila Klince. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

LUZ /Hong Kong, China (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Flora Lau, Producers: Yvette Tang, Joseph Sinn Gi Chan, Stephen Lam) —In the neon-lit streets of Chongqing, Wei desperately searches for his estranged daughter Fa, while Hong Kong gallerist Ren grapples with her ailing stepmother Sabine in Paris. Their lives collide in a virtual reality world, where a mystical deer reveals hidden truths, sparking a journey of discovery and connection. Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Sandrine Pinna, Xiao Dong Guo, Lu Huang, David Chiang, En Xi Deng. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) /India, U.K., Canada (Director and Screenwriter: Rohan Parashuram Kanawade, Producers: Neeraj Churi, Mohamed Khaki, Kaushik Ray, Hareesh Reddypalli, Naren Chandavarkar, Sidharth Meer) — Anand, a 30-something city dweller compelled to spend a 10-day mourning period for his father in the rugged countryside of western India, tenderly bonds with a local farmer struggling to stay unmarried. As the mourning ends, forcing his return, Anand must decide the fate of his relationship born under duress. Cast: Bhushaan Manoj, Suraaj Suman, Jayshri Jagtap. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Sauna /Denmark (Director and Screenwriter: Mathias Broe, Screenwriter: William Lippert, Producer: Mads-August Hertz) — Johan thrives as a gay man in Copenhagen, enjoying endless bars, parties, and casual flings. Everything changes when he meets William, a transgender man, and falls into a deep love that defies societal norms around gender, identity, and relationships. Cast: Magnus Juhl Andersen, Nina Rask, Dilan Amin, Klaus Tange. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Sukkwan Island / France (Director and Screenwriter: Vladimir de Fontenay, Producers: Carole Scotta, Eliott Khayat, Caroline Benjo) — On the remote Sukkwan Island, 13-year-old Roy agrees to spend a formative year of adventure with his father deep in the Norwegian fjords. What starts as a chance to reconnect descends into a test of survival as they face the harsh realities of their environment and confront their unresolved turmoil. Cast: Swann Arlaud, Woody Norman, Alma Pöysti, Ruaridh Mollica, Tuppence Middleton. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

The Things You Kill /Turkey, France, Poland, Canada (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Alireza Khatami, Producers: Elisa Sepulveda Ruddoff, Cyriac Auriol, Mariusz Włodarski, Michael Solomon) — Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, a university professor coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance. Cast: Ekin Koç, Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, Hazar Ergüçlü, Ercan Kesal. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Two Women / Canada (Director: Chloé Robichaud, Screenwriter and Producer: Catherine Léger Producer: Martin Paul-Hus) — Violette is having a difficult maternity leave. Florence is dealing with depression. Despite their careers and families, they feel like failures. Florence’s first infidelity is a revelation. When having fun is far down the list of priorities, sleeping with a delivery guy could be revolutionary. Cast: Karine Gonthier-Hyndman, Laurence Leboeuf, Félix Moati, Mani Soleymanlou, Sophie Nelisse, Juliette Gariépy. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

The Virgin of Quarry Lake /Argentina, Spain, Mexico (Director: Laura Casabé, Screenwriter: Benjamin Naishtat, Producers: Tomas Eloy Muñoz, Valeria Bistagnino, Alejandro Israel, David Matamoros, Angeles Hernandez, Diego Martinez Ulanosky) — In 2001, three teenagers from the outskirts of Buenos Aires all fall in love with Diego. Natalia has always had the most chemistry with him, but when it seems inevitable that their friendship will turn into something more, the older and more experienced Silvia appears and soon captures Diego’s attention. Cast: Dolores Oliverio, Luisa Merelas, Fernanda Echevarría, Dady Brieva, Agustín Sosa. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Where the Wind Comes From / Tunisia, France, Qatar (Director and Screenwriter: Amel Guellaty, Producers: Asma Chihoub, Karim Aitouna) — Alyssa, a rebellious 19-year-old girl, and her friend Mehdi, an introverted 23-year-old man, use their imagination to escape their unpromising reality. When they discover a contest in the south of Tunisia that may allow them to flee, they undertake a road trip regardless of the obstacles in their way. Cast: Eya Bellagha, Slim Baccar. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

These nonfiction feature films from emerging talent around the world showcase some of the most courageous and extraordinary filmmaking today. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include A New Kind of Wilderness, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, The Eternal Memory, 20 Days in Mariupol, All That Breathes, Flee, Honeyland, Sea of Shadows, Shirkers, and Last Men in Aleppo.

2000 Meters to Andriivka / Ukraine (Director and Producer: Mstyslav Chernov, Producers: Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson-Rath) — Amid the failing counteroffensive, a journalist follows a Ukrainian platoon on their mission to traverse one mile of heavily fortified forest and liberate a strategic village from Russian occupation. But the farther they advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realize that this war may never end. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Coexistence, My Ass! / U.S.A., France(Director and Producer: Amber Fares, Screenwriters: Rachel Leah Jones, Rabab Haj Yahya, Producer: Rachel Leah Jones, Valérie Montmartin) –– Comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi creates a personal and political one-woman show about the struggle for equality in Israel/Palestine. When the elusive coexistence she’s spent her life working toward starts sounding like a bad joke, she challenges her audiences with hard truths that are no laughing matter. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Cutting Through Rocks (اوزاک یوللار) / Iran, Germany, U.S.A., Netherlands, Qatar, Chile, Canada (Directors and Producers: Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni) — As the first elected councilwoman of her Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi aims to break long-held patriarchal traditions by training teenage girls to ride motorcycles and stopping child marriages. When accusations arise questioning Sara’s intentions to empower the girls, her identity is put in turmoil. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

The Dating Game / U.S.A., U.K., Norway (Director and Producer: Violet Du Feng, Producers: Joanna Natasegara, James Costa, Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas) ––In a country where eligible men greatly outnumber women, three perpetual bachelors join an intensive seven-day dating camp led by one of China’s most sought-after dating coaches in what may be their last-ditch effort to find love. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Endless Cookie /Canada (Directors and Screenwriters: Seth Scriver, Peter Scriver, Producers: Daniel Bekerman, Chris Yurkovich, Alex Ordanis, Jason Ryle, Seth Scriver) — Exploring the complex bond between two half brothers — one Indigenous, one white — traveling from the present in isolated Shamattawa to bustling 1980s Toronto. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

GEN_ / France, Italy, Switzerland (Director and Screenwriter: Gianluca Matarrese, Screenwriter: Donatella Della Ratta, Producers: Dominique Barneaud, Donatella Palermo, Alexandre Iordachescu) — At Milan’s Niguarda public hospital, the unconventional Dr. Bini leads a bold mission overseeing aspiring parents undergoing in vitro fertilization and the journeys of individuals reconciling their bodies with their gender identities. He navigates the constraints set by a conservative government and an aggressive market eager to commodify bodies. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

How to Build a Library / Kenya (Directors, Screenwriters, and Producers: Maia Lekow, Christopher King, Screenwriter: Ricardo Acosta) — Two intrepid Nairobi women decide to transform what used to be a whites-only library until 1958 into a vibrant cultural hub. Along the way, they must navigate local politics, raise millions for the rebuild, and confront the lingering ghosts of Kenya’s colonial past. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

Khartoum /Sudan, U.K., Germany, Qatar(Directors: Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed, Phil Cox, Screenwriter: Phil Cox, Producers: Giovanna Stopponi, Talal Afifi) –– Forced to leave Sudan for East Africa following the outbreak of war, five citizens of Khartoum — a civil servant, a tea lady, a resistance committee volunteer, and two young bottle collectors — reenact their stories of survival and freedom through dreams, revolution, and civil war. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Mr. Nobody Against Putin /Denmark, Czech Republic (Director and Screenwriter: David Borenstein, Producer: Helle Faber) — As Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, primary schools across Russia’s hinterlands are transformed into recruitment stages for the war. Facing the ethical dilemma of working in a system defined by propaganda and violence, a brave teacher goes undercover to film what’s really happening in his own school. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Prime Minister / U.S.A. (Directors: Michelle Walshe, Lindsay Utz, Producers: Cass Avery, Clarke Gayford, Leon Kirkbeck, Gigi Pritzker, Rachel Shane, Katie Peck) — A view inside the life of former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, capturing her through five tumultuous years in power and beyond as she redefined leadership on the world stage. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

NEXT

Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling populate this program. Unfettered creativity promises that the films in this section will shape the greater next wave in global cinema. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Little Death, Seeking Mavis Beacon, KOKOMO CITY, A Love Song, RIOTSVILLE, USA, Searching, Skate Kitchen, A Ghost Story, and Tangerine.NEXT is presented by Adobe.

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Kahlil Joseph, Screenwriters: Saidiya Hartman, Irvin Hunt, Producers: Onye Anyanwu, Amy Greenleaf, Nic Gonda) –– Preeminent West African curator and scholar Funmilayo Akechukwu’s magnum opus, The Resonance Field, leads her to the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, drawing a journalist into a journey that shatters her understanding of consciousness and time. Cast: Shaunette Renée Wilson, Kaneza Schaal, Hope Giselle, Peter Hernandez, Penny Johnson Jerald, Zora Casebere. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

By Design / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Amanda Kramer, Producers: Miranda Bailey, Sarah Winshall, Natalie Whalen, Jacob Agger) –– A woman swaps bodies with a chair, and everyone likes her better as a chair. Cast: Juliette Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Melanie Griffith, Samantha Mathis, Robin Tunney, Udo Kier. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

East of Wall / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Kate Beecroft, Producers: Lila Yacoub, Melanie Ramsayer, Shannon Moss) –– After the death of her husband, Tabatha — a young, tattooed, rebellious horse trainer — wrestles with financial insecurity and unresolved grief while providing refuge for a group of wayward teenagers on her broken-down ranch in the Badlands. Cast: Tabatha Zimiga, Porshia Zimiga, Scoot McNairy, Jennifer Ehle. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo) / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Joel Alfonso Vargas, Producer: Paolo Maria Pedullà) –– Rico’s summer is a mix of chasing girls and hustling homemade cocktails out of a cooler on Orchard Beach, the Bronx. But when Destiny, his teenage girlfriend, crashes at his place with his family, it’s only a matter of time before his carefree days come spiraling down. Cast: Juan Collado, Destiny Checo, Yohanna Florentino, Nathaly Navarro. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

OBEX / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Albert Birney, Screenwriter and Producer: Pete Ohs, Producers: Emma Hannaway, James Belfer) –– Conor Marsh lives a secluded life with his dog, Sandy, until one day he begins playing OBEX, a new, state-of-the-art computer game. When Sandy goes missing, the line between reality and game blurs and Conor must venture into the strange world of OBEX to bring her home. Cast: Albert Birney, Callie Hernandez, Frank Mosley. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

Rains Over Babel / Colombia, U.S.A., Spain (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Gala del Sol, Producers: H.A Hermida, Ana Cristina Gutiérrez, Andrés Hermida, Natalia Rendón Rodríguez) –– A group of misfits converges at Babel, a legendary dive bar that doubles as purgatory, where La Flaca — the city’s Grim Reaper — presides. Here, souls gamble years of their lives with her, daring to outwit Death herself. Cast: Saray Rebolledo, Felipe Aguilar Rodríguez, John Alex Castillo, William Hurtado, Santiago Pineda, Celina Biurrun. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

Serious People /U.S.A. (Directors and Screenwriters: Pasqual Gutierrez, Ben Mullinkosson, Producers: Ryan Hahn, Teddy Lee, Laurel Thomson) –– A successful music video director and expectant father pushes his work-life balance to the extreme as he hires a doppelgänger to work in his stead. Cast: Pasqual Gutierrez, Christine Yuan, Miguel Huerta, Raul Sanchez. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

Zodiac Killer Project / U.S.A., U.K. (Director and Producer: Charlie Shackleton, Producers: Catherine Bray, Anthony Ing) –– Against the backdrop of sunbaked parking lots, deserted courthouses, and empty suburban homes — the familiar spaces of true crime, stripped of all action and spectacle — a filmmaker describes his abandoned Zodiac Killer documentary and probes the inner workings of a genre at saturation point. World Premiere. Documentary. Available online for Public.

PREMIERES

This showcase of world premieres presents highly anticipated films on a variety of subjects in both fiction and nonfiction. Fiction films that have screened in Premieres include A Different Man, Past Lives, Passages, Promising Young Woman, Kajillionaire, The Report, The Big Sick, and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande. Past documentary films include Will & Harper, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, Invisible Beauty, The Dissident, Lucy and Desi, and Miss Americana.

All That’s Left of You (اللي باقي منك) / Germany, Cyprus (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Cherien Dabis, Producers: Thanassis Karathanos, Martin Hampel, Karim Amer) –– After a Palestinian teen confronts Israeli soldiers at a West Bank protest, his mother recounts the series of events that led him to that fateful moment, starting with his grandfather’s forced displacement. Cast: Cherien Dabis, Saleh Bakri, Adam Bakri, Mohammad Bakri, Maria Zreik, Muhammad Abed Elrahman. World Premiere. Fiction.

April & Amanda / U.S.A. (Director: Zackary Drucker, Producers: Madison Passarelli, Douglas Banker, Alex Garinger, Noah Levy, Donovan Lovell, Stephen B. Strout) –– Two legends contested their identities as women in the court of public opinion: April Ashley, who was immortalized as a trailblazer by embracing her transgender history; and Amanda Lear, who has consciously denied and obfuscated her history for decades. Their divergent paths reveal disparate but intertwined legacies. World Premiere. Documentary.

The Ballad of Wallis Island / U.K. (Director: James Griffiths, Screenwriters: Tom Basden, Tim Key, Producer: Rupert Majendie) –– Eccentric lottery winner, Charles, dreams of getting his favorite musicians, Mortimer-McGwyer, back together. His fantasy turns into reality when the bandmates and former lovers accept his invitation to play a private show at his home on Wallis Island. Old tensions resurface as Charles tries desperately to salvage his dream gig. Cast: Tom Basden, Tim Key, Sian Clifford, Akemnji Ndifornyen, Carey Mulligan. World Premiere. Fiction.

Come See Me in the Good Light / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Ryan White, Producers: Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen) –– Two poets, one incurable cancer diagnosis. Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley go on an unexpectedly funny and poignant journey through love, life, and mortality. World Premiere. Documentary.

Deaf President Now! / U.S.A. (Directors and Producers: Nyle DiMarco, Davis Guggenheim, Producers: Jonathan King, Amanda Rohlke, Michael Harte) –– During eight tumultuous days in 1988 at the world’s only Deaf university, four students must find a way to lead an angry mob — and change the course of history. World Premiere. Documentary. Available online for Public. 

FOLKTALES / U.S.A., Norway (Directors and Producers: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady) –– On the precipice of adulthood, teenagers converge at a traditional folk high school in Arctic Norway. Dropped at the edge of the world, they must rely on only themselves, one another, and a loyal pack of sled dogs as they all grow in unexpected directions. World Premiere. Documentary. 

Free Leonard Peltier / U.S.A. (Director: Jesse Short Bull, Director and Producer: David France, Producers: Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire) –– Leonard Peltier, one of the surviving leaders of the American Indian Movement, has been in prison for 50 years following a contentious conviction. A new generation of Native activists is committed to winning his freedom before he dies. World Premiere. Documentary. 

Heightened Scrutiny / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Sam Feder, Producers: Amy Scholder, Paola Mendoza) –– Amid the surge in anti-trans legislation that Chase Strangio battles in the courtroom, he must also fight against media bias, exposing how the narratives in the press influence public perception and the fight for transgender rights. World Premiere. Documentary. Available online for Public. 

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Mary Bronstein, Producers: Sara Murphy, Ryan Zacarias, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Eli Bush, Richie Doyle) –– With her life crashing down around her, Linda attempts to navigate her child’s mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist. Cast: Rose Byrne, A$AP Rocky, Conan O’Brien, Danielle Macdonald, Ivy Wolk, Daniel Zolghadri. World Premiere. Fiction.

It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Amy Berg, Producers: Ryan Heller, Christine Connor, Mandy Chang, Jennie Bedusa, Matthew Roozen) –– Rising musician Jeff Buckley had only released one album when he died suddenly in 1997. Now, never-before-seen footage, exclusive voice messages, and accounts from those closest to him offer a portrait of the captivating singer. World Premiere. Documentary.

Jimpa / Australia, Netherlands, Finland (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Sophie Hyde, Screenwriter: Matthew Cormack, Producers: Liam Heyen, Bryan Mason, Marleen Slot)––Hannah takes her nonbinary teenager, Frances, to Amsterdam to visit their gay grandfather, Jim — lovingly known as Jimpa. But Frances’ desire to stay abroad with Jimpa for a year means Hannah is forced to reconsider her beliefs about parenting and finally confront old stories about the past. Cast: Olivia Colman, John Lithgow, Aud Mason-Hyde. World Premiere. Fiction.

Kiss of the Spider Woman / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Bill Condon, Producers: Barry Josephson, Tom Kirdahy, Greg Yolen) –– Valentín, a political prisoner, shares a cell with Molina, a window dresser convicted of public indecency. The two form an unlikely bond as Molina recounts the plot of a Hollywood musical starring his favorite silver screen diva, Ingrid Luna. Cast: Diego Luna, Tonatiuh, Jennifer Lopez, Bruno Bichir, Josefina Scaglione, Aline Mayagoitia. World Premiere. Fiction.

Last Days / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Justin Lin, Screenwriter: Ben Ripley, Producers: Clayton Townsend, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Eric Robinson, Salvador Gatdula, Andrew Schneider) –– Determined to fulfill his life’s mission, 26-year-old John Allen Chau embarks on a dangerous adventure across the globe to convert the uncontacted tribe of North Sentinel Island to Christianity, while a detective from the Andaman Islands races to stop him before he does harm to himself or the tribe. Cast: Sky Yang, Radhika Apte, Naveen Andrews, Ken Leung, Toby Wallace, Ciara Bravo. World Premiere. Fiction.

The Librarians / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Kim A. Snyder, Producers: Janique L. Robillard, Maria Cuomo Cole, Jana Edelbaum) –– As an unprecedented wave of book banning is sparked in Texas, Florida, and beyond, librarians under siege join forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy. World Premiere. Documentary.

Lurker / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Alex Russell, Producers: Alex Orlovsky, Duncan Montgomery, Galen Core, Charlie McDowell, Archie Madekwe) –– A retail employee infiltrates the inner circle of an artist on the verge of stardom. As he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life and death. Cast: Théodore Pellerin, Archie Madekwe, Havana Rose Liu, Sunny Suljic, Zack Fox, Daniel Zolghadri. World Premiere. Fiction.

Magic Farm / Argentina, U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Amalia Ulman, Producers: Alex Hughes, Eugene Kotlyarenko, Riccardo Maddalosso) –– A film crew working for an edgy media company travels to Argentina to profile a local musician, but their ineptitude leads them into the wrong country. As the crew collaborates with locals to fabricate a trend, unexpected connections blossom while a pervasive health crisis looms unacknowledged in the background. Cast: Chloë Sevigny, Alex Wolff, Joe Apollonio, Camila del Campo, Simon Rex. World Premiere. Fiction.

Middletown / U.S.A. (Directors, Screenwriters, and Producers: Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine, Producers: Teddy Leifer, Florrie Priest, Danny Breen) –– Inspired by an unconventional teacher, a group of teenagers in upstate New York in the early 1990s made a student film that uncovered a vast conspiracy involving toxic waste that was poisoning their community. Thirty years later, they revisit their film and confront the legacy of this transformative experience. World Premiere. Documentary.

Move Ya Body: The Birth of House / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Elegance Bratton, Producer: Chester Algernal Gordon) –– Out of the underground dance clubs on the South Side of Chicago, a group of friends turn a new sound into a global movement. World Premiere. Documentary.

Oh, Hi! / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Sophie Brooks, Producers: David Brooks, Dan Clifton, Julie Waters, Molly Gordon) –– Iris and Isaac’s first romantic weekend getaway goes awry. Cast: Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan, John Reynolds. World Premiere. Fiction.

Peter Hujar’s Day / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Ira Sachs, Producers: Jordan Drake, Jonah Disend) –– A recently discovered conversation between photographer Peter Hujar and his friend Linda Rosenkrantz in 1974 reveals a glimpse into New York City’s downtown art scene and the personal struggles and epiphanies that define an artist’s life. Cast: Ben Whishaw, Rebecca Hall. World Premiere. Fiction.

Rebuilding / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Max Walker-Silverman, Producers: Jesse Hope, Dan Janvey, Paul Mezey) –– After a wildfire takes the family farm, a rancher seeks a way forward. Cast: Josh O’Connor, Lily LaTorre, Meghann Fahy, Kali Reis, Amy Madigan. World Premiere. Fiction.

SALLY / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Cristina Costantini, Screenwriter: Tom Maroney, Producers: Lauren Cioffi, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin) –– Sally Ride became the first American woman to blast off into space, but beneath her unflappable composure was a secret. Sally’s life partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, reveals their hidden romance and the sacrifices that accompanied their 27 years together. World Premiere. Documentary. Available online for Public. 2025 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize Winner.

SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) / U.S.A. (Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Producers: Joseph Patel, Derik Murray) –– An examination of the life and legacy of Sly & The Family Stone — the groundbreaking band led by the charismatic and enigmatic Sly Stone — captures the band’s rise, reign, and subsequent fadeout while shedding light on the unseen burden that comes with success for Black artists in America. World Premiere. Documentary.

The Thing with Feathers / U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: Dylan Southern, Producers: Andrea Cornwell, Leah Clarke, Adam Ackland) –– Struggling to process the sudden and unexpected death of his wife, a young father loses his hold on reality as a seemingly malign presence begins to stalk him from the shadowy recesses of the apartment he shares with his two young sons. Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Boxall, Henry Boxall, Eric Lampaert, Vinette Robinson, Sam Spruell. World Premiere. Fiction.

Train Dreams / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Clint Bentley, Screenwriter: Greg Kwedar, Producers: Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, Will Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer, Michael Heimler) –– Robert Grainier is a day laborer building America’s railroads at the start of the 20th century as he experiences profound love, shocking defeat, and a world irrevocably transforming before his very eyes. Cast: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, William H. Macy. World Premiere. Fiction. Salt Lake Celebration Film. 

The Wedding Banquet / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Andrew Ahn, Screenwriter and Producer: James Schamus, Producers: Anita Gou, Joe Pirro, Caroline Clark) –– Frustrated with his commitment-phobic boyfriend, Chris, and out of time, Min makes a proposal: a green card marriage with his friend Angela in exchange for expensive in vitro fertilization treatments for her partner, Lee. Plans change when Min’s grandmother surprises them with an elaborate Korean wedding banquet. Cast: Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-chan, Joan Chen, Youn Yuh-jung. World Premiere. Fiction.

MIDNIGHT

From horror flicks and wild comedies to chilling thrillers and works that defy any genre, these films will keep you wide-awake and on the edge of your seat. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include I Saw the TV Glow, Love Lies Bleeding, Infinity Pool, Talk to Me, FRESH, Hereditary, Mandy, Relic,and The Babadook.

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.

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. Available online for Public.

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.

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.

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.

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.

EPISODIC

Our Episodic section was created specifically for bold stories told in multiple episodes, with an emphasis on independent perspectives and innovative storytelling. Past projects that have premiered within this category include Penelope, LOLLA: THE STORY OF LOLLAPALOOZA, Willie Nelson and Family, OJ: Made in America, Wild Wild Country, The Jinx, Work in Progress, State of the Union, Gentefied, Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, and Quarter Life Poetry.

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.

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.

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.

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. Cast: Barry Cooper. World Premiere. Documentary.

SPOTLIGHT

The Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love, presenting films that have played throughout the world. Films that have played in this category in recent years include Hit Man, Joyland, The Worst Person in the World, The Biggest Little Farm, The Rider, Ida, and The Lobster.Spotlight is presented by Audible.

April / Georgia (Director and Screenwriter: Dea Kulumbegashvili, Producers: Luca Guadagnino, David Zerat, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Archil Gelovani, Gabriele Moratti, Alexandra Rossi) –– 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

For over a decade, the Family Matinee section of the Festival (formerly known as KIDS) has been built for audiences of all ages, but especially for our youngest independent film fans. Films that have played in this category in recent years include Out of My Mind, Blueback, The Elephant Queen, Science Fair, The Eagle Huntress, and Shaun the Sheep.

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.

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

One-of-a-kind moments highlight new independent works that add to the unique Festival experience.

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. Available online for Public.

FROM THE COLLECTION

From the Collection screenings give audiences the opportunity to discover and rediscover the films that have shaped the heritage of both Sundance Institute and independent storytelling. To address the specific preservation risks posed to independent film, Sundance Institute partnered with UCLA Film & Television Archive in 1997 to form the Sundance Institute Collection at UCLA and preserve independent films supported by Sundance Institute. 

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. 

The post Sundance 2025 Lineup Includes ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ With Jennifer Lopez, John Lennon/Yoko Ono Doc appeared first on TheWrap.

The festival founded by Robert Redford is facing a fork in the road as it considers leaving its snow-capped home of Park City, Utah in 2027 — and could end up in Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, Ohio or Boulder, Colorado.

The Rocky Mountains have served as a backdrop for the festival for decades and become synonymous with Sundance itself. And the festival may stay right where it is.

But Sundance, which has been running for 40 years each January, is confronting two stark realities that have led the Sundance Institute to explore other options. The festival has struggled to find funding in recent years, operating at a loss in two of the last three. In fiscal year 2023, which ends in August, the Institute reported losses of $6.2 million on revenues of $45.6 million against costs of nearly $52 million. 

And for many struggling indie filmmakers, the fancy ski town has simply become too pricey.

“There’s a big opportunity for growth, and there were just limited advantages in its current home,” Colorado film commissioner Donald Zuckerman told TheWrap. “Having to build all those theaters has to be phenomenally expensive, and there’s just no place to put the people.”

Both Boulder and Cincinnati say they are prepared to breathe fresh air into the festival, which has long prided itself on pushing the envelope for independent filmmaking. City officials there say they are eager to place their film industries on the world stage and give indie filmmakers a more financially viable, physically accessible, provocative and creatively fulfilling festival experience. 

But dedicated Sundance attendees are not convinced that the festival needs reinvention. And local Park City officials are making a bid to retain the event by fully combining it with facilities in neighboring Salt Lake City.

Over the past few years, the Institute has moved three of the festival’s 11 screening locations to downtown Salt Lake, which is 32 miles away. The city’s renewal bid initially framed itself as “Two Cities, One Experience,” but TheWrap has learned that if that bid is chosen, the festival will be anchored in Salt Lake City.

The festival’s losses in recent years illustrate the increasing cost for the Institute to maintain excellence in its current home, something the two-city model would hope to remedy by making it more affordable for organizers and attendees alike. 

“From the perspective of someone who goes to Sundance but does not work at the Institute, it does not feel like it needs reinvention,” a distribution executive told TheWrap. “But if a change in venue gives the festival and its programs greater financial freedom and opportunity, then it’s a good thing.” 

The Institute will announce its decision on whether to leave its Utah home behind by the end of March 2025. The organization declined to speak to TheWrap for this article.

The Institute announced an open bidding process in April, allowing each city to pitch itself to become the annual festival’s new host. Sundance whittled down the list in September from six to three finalists based on the cities’ “ethos and equity values,” infrastructure and capabilities to host the festival with an emphasis on diversity in filmmaking. 

Leaving Park City would mark a dramatic shift. Redford famously started Sundance in 1980 when he invited a small group of filmmakers to the mountains of Utah, where he made his home, to have a meeting of the minds.

But Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Jim Cummings believes the spirit of Sundance is not location-dependent. 

“It doesn’t change the integral nature of what we’re all doing there,” Cummings told TheWrap. “We’re there to see weird stuff. We’re there to see discoveries of the next generation of filmmakers, or, like, a new swing from an old filmmaker. I don’t think that the location would change much, apart from the economy of Park City, which I’m sure is still doing fine.”

Trading one ski state for another? 

Zuckerman, who competed in the festival three years in a row as a filmmaker and has since collaborated with the Institute as his state’s film commissioner, told TheWrap that Sundance is ready for a shake-up, and that Boulder understands the culture of the festival. 

In May, the Sundance Institute hosted a directors lab at the Stanley Hotel, an hour outside of Boulder. Zuckerman said the festival’s new initiative held at the hotel featured in “The Shining” gave the organization a taste of Colorado, and he said Sundance plans on continuing the partnership.

In Boulder, Sundance would have access and creativity at its fingertips without having to leave behind the backdrop of the mountain West, Zuckerman said. The filmmaker added that people in Boulder and Colorado “don’t believe in censorship. We won’t tell a festival what they could or should not play.” That’s an issue that has not yet been a problem at Sundance but has been at other film festivals across the globe.

The film commissioner called Boulder the epicenter of documentary film production, referencing award-winning films like “Chasing Ice,” “Chasing Coral,” “Porcelain War” and “The Social Dilemma,” all produced by the local social impact film studio Exposure Labs.

The Colorado Film Incentive program has increased production in the state by providing a tax credit for up to 20% of qualified expenses. Since the program’s inception in 2012, the incentives have generated $182.8 million in actual and predicted production spend through the end of 2022, according to the state’s Film Incentive Task Force.

The lower-cost option: Cincinnati

Rather than bundling up in parkas and snowshoes, the coastal elites may be flocking to the Midwest if the Sundance Institute chooses the Cincinnati neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine.

Allyson West, founder of Cindependent Film Festival in Cincinnati, told TheWrap that if Sundance wants to break the mold and “shrug off this exclusive experience,” Cincinnati is ready for the challenge.

“If Sundance really does want to change what they’re doing, Cincinnati is the city for that,” she said. 

The director-producer said that since she founded Cindependent in 2017, its mission has been to cultivate a love for cinema and filmmaking in the state. 

While Cincinnati may seem like an unlikely choice, the city of 309,000 has served as the backdrop for numerous iconic films including “Rain Man” and Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic,” along with newer titles like “Carol” starring Cate Blanchett. Within the past four years alone, the city has experienced a relative boom in film production. 

Between 2019 and 2022, the local film industry brought in $258 million to the region, creating 1,873 jobs, according to a January report by the University of Cincinnati Economic Center. Film Cincinnati supported 26 projects in 2023 alone, including “Alto Knights” starring Robert De Niro — the first sale out of the Toronto International Film Festival, which is set to be released by Warner Bros. in March — and 2024’s “Nutcrackers” starring Ben Stiller.

Cincinnati could solve another problem plaguing the Park City festival: the rising cost to attend.

The luxury ski town has become prohibitively expensive for the up-and-coming filmmakers the festival intends to support. The average cost per night for a hotel in Park City is $531, but during peak travel season in the winter, when Sundance takes place, availability can be slim to none.

“If you’re going there trying to sell a film, you probably don’t have the wherewithal to do much aside from get there,” Oscar Garza, the director of the USC arts and culture masters program, said. “And then, if you get there and your film doesn’t sell, then that’s a real hardship financially. It’s a beautiful setting, but that certainly shouldn’t be the driving force.”

If you get [to Sundance] and your film doesn’t sell, then that’s a real hardship financially.

— Oscar Garza, director of USC arts and culture masters program

Even Park City is aware of how expensive it has become for many. During the lucrative ski season, the flood of both film fanatics and snow bunnies has surpassed what the city can handle, with the population of 8,500 swelling to more than 80,000 during the two week-long event.  

“By moving it to a slightly more accessible city, a slightly more central city, it might make the festival even more accessible to critics, journalists, fans of film, who would like to experience it, but have found the logistics of Park City to be challenging,” Kate Hagen, SVP of The Black List, a platform that showcases screenplays to industry professionals and prospective buyers, told TheWrap.

Accessibility problems

The sleek, steep streets of Park City have also proven to be physically inaccessible for disabled attendees. Those who attend the festival know that even non-disabled attendees can easily slip on the icy mountain sidewalks.

The Colorado Film Commissioner made the case that during the early winter months “it’s sunny almost every day” in Boulder, arguing that even when it snows, it melts right away. While snowfall is more sporadic in Cincinnati, temperatures will be brisk in the high 30s and low 40s during Sundance season.   

Cindependent founder West said that Cincinnati has regularly spotlighted the work of disabled filmmakers and creators, noting that the city is prepared to accommodate attendees with a broad range of access levels.

“One of our largest film programs in the city is based around disability,” she said. “It’s a diversity film festival led by people with disabilities.”

The filmmaker added that Cincinnati’s robust transportation system, including an international airport, a downtown Metro loop and free parking, would ensure that attendees can conveniently see all of the new films without feeling added physical or financial burdens.

Price, price baby

Finding a location with a lower cost structure could also help alleviate some of the financial pressures of Sundance. 

According to publicly available audited financial filings, the festival has lost money in two of the last three years. The Institute lost $6 million in 2021 after total revenue dropped to ​​$34.5 million. Post-pandemic in 2022, Sundance reported $12 million in profit, but in 2023, it reported losses of $6.2 million.

Boulder and Cincinnati both have flourishing college campuses nearby, providing resources to the festival including the opportunity to engage younger audiences. Both cities would be walkable with cheaper accommodations and robust public transportation systems. 

But the big question remains: will a new city be able to maintain the spirit of Sundance?

“There are a couple cities and places on that list that I think we’re all grimacing at,” a publicist who represents filmmakers and regularly attends the festival told TheWrap. “I mean, who wants to go to Cincinnati? … Even if it’s in Salt Lake City, I don’t want to go to Salt Lake City. I don’t want to stay in Salt Lake City.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is not so sure, either. 

“It would be a huge mistake,” he said of moving the festival during a September news conference. “It would hurt Sundance to leave this state and leave the place where their identity is so much a part of the fabric of our state.” 

Representatives from the hopeful host cities disagree. 

“We’d like to put Colorado and Boulder on the world stage, and Sundance, if we get it, it puts us on the world stage. People will be looking at Colorado and Boulder in a different way than they look at it now,” Zuckerman said.

“If Sundance was to come to Cincinnati, it would validate an artist’s perspective at a very down-to-earth, human level,” Cindependent’s West countered. “It would remove what could be perceived as the pretension of filmmaking in a lot of instances and instead allow people to connect as humans.”

For filmmakers like Sundance’s 2024 Audience Award winner Sean Wang, the festival will always be his dream come true. 

“Sundance is such an industry-facing festival,” Wang told TheWrap. “But from my experiences as a filmmaker there — not just at the festival, but through the labs — it really was such a nourishing and creative environment for my voice to be watered and not just how my voice fit within the industry.”

When his feature-length directorial debut “Didi” got accepted to the festival, Wang said he could not tell anyone without crying. 

“Those experiences were just so formative for me and life-changing in a big way, not just for the movie, but for me as a filmmaker,” he said. 

Wang added that he would like to think wherever Sundance goes next, its heart and core values will follow.

The post Sundance Shakeup: Has Price Pushed the Festival Off the Mountain? appeared first on TheWrap.