Next year's will feature singing and dancing in Bill Condon鈥檚 鈥淜iss of the Spider Woman,鈥� exploring the legacy of Sly & The Family Stone and Associated Press journalist latest documentary about the war in Ukraine.
The Sundance Institute on Wednesday unveiled 87 feature films set to premiere at the 2025 festival, kicking off on Jan. 23 in Park City, Utah.
Now in its 41st year, the festival remains a place of discovery for independent cinema and emerging voices. Because of its January timing, it鈥檚 also a gathering that arrives alongside the presidential inauguration. At the 2017 festival following Donald Trump鈥檚 first inauguration, Main Street was taken over by a lively women鈥檚 march full of celebrities. This year, no such plans have been announced.
鈥淪undance as a festival has endured as a place to gather through inaugurations every four years, through different cultural moments and political moments,鈥� said festival director Eugene Hernandez. 鈥淲e have a program that both engages with the world and also offers at the very same time an escape.鈥�
Narrative films and documentaries premiering this year will touch on politicized topics like transgender stories and rights, 鈥渟tand your ground鈥� laws, incarceration, the right to die and book banning. But Sundance doesn鈥檛 program by theme or have mandates about topics, said Kim Yutani, the festival鈥檚 director of programming.
鈥淚 think what you see across the program are stories that are told with real authenticity. There鈥檚 an innovative quality to many of these films,鈥� Yutani said. 鈥淎nd the idea of free expression is something that is just as important to us.鈥�
Urgent issues and familiar faces in documentaries
Documentaries are always a highlight at Sundance, where the conversation starts and often continues through the year into the Oscar race. Chernov follows his with 鈥�2000 Meters to Andriivka,鈥� which looks at a Ukrainian platoon on a mission to liberate a village from Russian occupation. It's a joint project between AP and PBS 鈥淔rontline."
鈥淔ree Leonard Peltier鈥� looks at the Indigenous activist who has spent most of his life in prison since his conviction in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents in South Dakota. .
Hernandez further spotlighted Barry Levinson and Robert May鈥檚 episodic series 鈥淏ucks County, USA鈥� about political divides in small town America and the friendship of two teenage girls despite their opposing views.
There are also several docs about famous musicians and actors including Ahmir 鈥淨uestlove鈥� Thompson鈥檚 鈥淪LY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius),鈥� Shoshannah Stern鈥檚 鈥淢arlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore,鈥� Amy Berg鈥檚 鈥淚t鈥檚 Never Over, Jeff Buckley鈥� and Matt Wolf鈥檚 鈥淧ee-wee as Himself.鈥� also looks at the roots of house music in 鈥淢ove Ya Body: The Birth of House.鈥�
Star turns to watch at Sundance
Some performances that may have people talking into the year include: Benedict Cumberbatch in 鈥淭he Thing with Feathers,鈥� about a father processing the loss of his wife; Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones in 鈥淭rain Dreams鈥� about a railroad day laborer from the 鈥淪ing Sing鈥� writer and director; John Lithgow and Olivia Colman as father and daughter in 鈥淛impa鈥�; Lopez in Condon鈥檚 lush and vibrant musical adaptation; and in Andrew Ahn鈥檚 鈥淭he Wedding Banquet鈥�; Josh O鈥機onnor in 鈥淩ebuilding鈥�; and Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall in 鈥淧eter Hujar鈥檚 Day,鈥� about New York鈥檚 downtown art scene in the 1970s, from Ira Sachs.
New Voices
Over 40% of the films, selected from nearly 16,000 submissions, are directorial debuts, like Rachael Abigail Holder's 鈥淟ove, Brooklyn鈥� with Andr茅 Holland.
Yutani also highlighted Rashad Frett鈥檚 鈥淩icky,鈥� starring Stephan James as a man trying to rebuild his life post incarceration. Another notable debut is 鈥淪orry, Baby,鈥� which Eva Victor wrote, directed and stars in and produced.
鈥淭here are scenes in this film that I have never seen before,鈥� Yutani said. 鈥淚t was a real revelation.鈥�
Sundance from home
Film enthusiasts don鈥檛 need to make the trek through the snow to pricey Park City to engage with the festival鈥檚 offerings anymore. As with the past few years, about 60% of the program will be available online starting on Jan. 30. Tickets go on sale for individual films on Jan. 16 for the general public and even earlier for members.
鈥淚t's a really a great opportunity to just get a sampling of what鈥檚 to come in the new year for films that will travel far and wide to other festivals or make it into theaters down the line,鈥� Hernandez said.
Is Sundance leaving Park City?
This will be one of the last years that the festival is primarily based out of Park City. Over the past year, the Sundance Institute has been exploring options for host cities starting in 2027. Salt Lake City, Utah (with some events still in Park City), Boulder, Colorado, and Cincinnati, Ohio. An announcement is expected in the first quarter of 2025.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
