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For documentaries at Sundance, Oscar nominations (and wins) often follow

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) 鈥 The Sundance Film Festival welcomed back three Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers to help kick off the annual independent film showcase in Park City, Utah.
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Mstyslav Chernov speaks at the premiere of "2000 Meters to Andriivka" during the Sundance Film Festival on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) 鈥 The welcomed back three Oscar-winning documentary filmmakers to help kick off the annual independent film showcase in Park City, Utah.

On Thursday night at The Ray Theater, filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov, who last year, debuted his latest dispatch from Ukraine, 鈥2000 Meters to Andriivka,鈥 a harrowing journey to the front lines of a 2023 counteroffensive. A few hours later, at the Eccles, who won an Oscar for in 2022, unveiled his Sly Stone portrait, 鈥淪LY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genuis).鈥 Earlier, filmmaker Kevin MacDonald also showcased his film 鈥淥ne to One: John & Yoko,鈥 which debuted last year at the Venice Film Festival and will get an IMAX release on April 11 before hitting Max later this year.

Some critics reflected that a joint production between The Associated Press and PBS Frontline, was even more powerful than 鈥20 Days in Mariupol.鈥 鈥淪LY LIVES!鈥 (on Hulu Feb. 13) was called 鈥渟ublime鈥 and 鈥渋lluminating鈥 in its examination of an underappreciated, shapeshifting genius.

鈥淚鈥檝e been coming here since 2000 and I thought the coolest thing you could do would be to DJ an after party,鈥 Thompson said before the screening. 鈥淚 never dreamt this for my future, so this is really humbling.鈥

It was a full-circle end to a day that began with a slate of documentary all connected to the Sundance Institute in some way. Some were supported by the Institute, some debuted at the festival as recently as last year.

鈥淏lack Box Diaries,鈥 in which a Japanese filmmaker investigates her own sexual assault, had its premiere in Park City last year and was supported by the Institute鈥檚 doc film program. made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective, was also supported by the film fund. 鈥淧orcelain War,鈥 about Ukrainian artists in wartime, debuted at the festival in 2024, where it won the grand jury prize. 鈥淪oundtrack to a Coup d鈥橢tat,鈥 about the assassination of in 1961, also launched last year and won a special jury prize. And, finally, a 2024 festival premiere investing abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school, was supported by a Sundance grant.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really special,鈥 said Basil Tsiokos, a Sundance senior programmer. 鈥淚t does speak to what Sundance brings to the artistic community and to the support that we show to artists out there.鈥

On Friday night, 鈥淪ugarcane鈥 filmmakers Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie are also being given an award at the Institute鈥檚 fundraising gala. and are also being honored.

It鈥檚 not lost on those who program for the festival and run the artists programs how crucial that initial support can be for someone trying to make a documentary.

鈥淭he funding landscape is challenging, particularly in the nonfiction space,鈥 Tsiokos said. 鈥淕etting early support from the artists programs, from the documentary feature programs is sort of a stamp of approval, of encouragement that helps other funders come in later on to take a seed of an idea and bring it into fruition.鈥

The Oscars and Sundance have long been connected, especially in the documentary space. For the past 25 years, there has been at least one Sundance movie every year that goes on to get an Oscar nomination. Some that have won the statuette include 鈥淎n Inconvenient Truth,鈥 鈥淢an on Wire,鈥 鈥淪earching for Sugar Man,鈥 鈥20 Feet From Stardom,鈥 鈥淚carus,鈥 鈥淎merican Factory鈥 and

鈥淲e just provide a space for the films,鈥 Tsiokos said. 鈥淭he films are from the artists. They鈥檙e the ones with the vision to make these films possible. We provide them a platform to be able to meet their audiences. That鈥檚 quite an important role that we take very seriously.鈥

This year, the festival has about 40 feature documentaries premiering across sections on everything from and Selena Quintanilla, to one about Nairobi women transforming a formerly whites-only library into a cultural hub, to another on Florida鈥檚 stand-your-ground laws. While it鈥檚 difficult to project what might be in the Oscar race next year, Tsiokos has observed one trend that might help audiences pick and choose.

鈥淭he influence of the international voters is growing. In the last couple of years especially, most of the nominees for the Oscar race tend to be international titles,鈥 Tsiokos said. 鈥淚 would tell people to make sure to check out the World Cinema Documentary Competition. There are some real gems.鈥

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For more coverage of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival visit:

Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press

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