As the snow settles onto the ski slopes of Park City, Utah, the 2025 Sundance Film Festival is poised to deliver another year of cinematic discoveries that celebrate creativity, diversity, and audacity. As one might expect, this year’s lineup is a kaleidoscope of stories spanning genres, cultures, and themes, from incisive dramas and daring documentaries to inventive, genre-bending midnight fare. Below are 13 selections from this year’s catalog that we’re most interested in seeking out.
From the US Dramatic Competition, a fresh wave of voices tells stories that are deeply personal and uniquely American. Rashad Frett’s Ricky offers a poignant portrait of life after incarceration, following a man wrestling with systemic challenges and personal growth as he rebuilds his life. Sierra Falconer’s Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake) weaves a tender, multi-character tapestry of lives interconnected by the quiet beauty of a lakeside town, evoking profound yearning and introspection. There’s also Hailey Gates’ incisive and satirical Atropia, a romantic dramedy set in a surreal military role-playing facility. Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner lead a sharp ensemble cast in this offbeat exploration of love, performance, and the blurred lines between reality and fiction in an invented warzone.
The World Cinema Dramatic Competition brings international perspectives into focus, capturing the universal human spirit through distinctly regional lenses. Amel Guellaty’s Where the Wind Comes From follows a rebellious teen and her introverted companion on a road trip through Tunisia, blending surreal flourishes with warmth and humor. Laura Casabé’s The Virgin of the Quarry Lake plunges into the sultry, simmering tensions of a Buenos Aires summer, fusing adolescent longing and dark folklore against the backdrop of Argentina’s economic crisis.
In the Midnight category, where boldness knows no bounds, audiences are in for a wild ride. Addison Heimann’s Touch Me explodes onto the scene with its fusion of alien addiction, Hentai-infused surrealism, and a biting exploration of human vulnerability. Meanwhile, Mark Anthony Green’s Opus plunges viewers into a stylish, cultish world of celebrity obsession and psychological manipulation. Ayo Edebiri shines as an eager journalist drawn into the sinister orbit of a reclusive pop icon (John Malkovich), delivering a pop-horror spectacle with razor-sharp commentary on fame’s dark underbelly. Meera Menon’s Didn’t Die offers a fresh, sardonic take on the zombie apocalypse, following a podcaster struggling to keep her audience engaged amid existential dread. Menon’s stark black-and-white visuals underscore the film’s gallows humor, blending millennial malaise with pandemic-era anxieties.
Documentaries this year spotlight resilience, community, and untold stories from around the world. Khartoum offers a moving and inventive exploration of life amidst war and displacement, combining raw footage with imaginative reenactments to amplify the voices of Sudanese refugees. Shoshannah Stern’s Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore provides an intimate, full-circle portrait of the Oscar-winning trailblazer, celebrating her triumphs while candidly exploring her challenges. And David Osit’s Predators provokes deep questions about the ethics of true-crime entertainment through its examination of To Catch a Predator and the ripple effects of turning vigilante justice into spectacle.
Finally, the Premieres category delivers star-studded, emotionally resonant offerings that push boundaries in storytelling. Justin Lin’s Last Days chronicles the ill-fated journey of missionary John Allen Chau with the intensity of a thriller, while diving deep into the motivations and cultural misunderstandings behind his tragic choices. Elsewhere, Andrew Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet reimagines Ang Lee’s classic through a contemporary queer lens, celebrating the messiness of chosen family and the ways tradition can evolve, anchored by a cast the includes Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran.
Of course, this is just a small sample of the diverse array of films being featured this year. While these selections have captured our attention, we encourage attendees to dive into the full program and discover the stories that speak most powerfully to you. Whether you’re drawn to unflinching documentaries, quirky romances, or boundary-pushing experimental films, Sundance 2025 will almost certainly have something for everyone.
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival will take place from January 23–February 2, 2025, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. More than half of the festival program will also be available online from January 30–February 2, 2025, for audiences across the United States to discover the festival’s signature blend of bold independent storytelling. Find more information at festival.sundance.org