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. Welcome to Atropia: an invented city constructed to exercise Western imaginations and soldiers. Mostly home to war games rendered in dazzling 4D (smells included), Atropia is just close enough to Los Angeles to double as a film set — and just far enough away that the performers who live on-site to bring the bustling faux-Iraqi streets to life are not exactly flourishing in their acting careers. This mirage of a place is a bizarre, liminal construction of writer-director Hailey Gates, whose incisive satire and clever wit are on full display. Co-stars Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner are joined by Chloë Sevigny, Tim Heidecker, and more in this completely original, surprisingly romantic, and sharply amusing directorial debut.—Ash Hoyle

DIRECTOR
Hailey Gates

SCREENWRITER
Hailey Gates

PRODUCERS
Naima Abed
Emilie Georges
Luca Guadagnino
Lana Kim
Jett Steiger

CAST
Alia Shawkat
Callum Turner
Chloë Sevigny
Tim Heidecker
Jane Levy

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. Writer-director Evan Twohy’s eccentric debut feature — adapted from his acclaimed comedic play — strands bickering newlyweds Declan (Himesh Patel) and Dolores (Sarah Goldberg) in a fictional foreign country, doggedly pursued by Shazbor (Matt Berry), a ruthless customs enforcer who suspects them of smuggling cabbages. Arranged in discreet chapters, Bubble & Squeak is a skewed storybook fable about a marriage tested by tourism and slowly coming apart at the seams. Twohy derives deadpan comedy from his patchwork vision of a cheerfully malevolent European backwater, alternating between scenes of pastoral beauty and whimsical artifice. Patel and Goldberg lead a committed cast who deliver Twohy’s oddball dialogue with utter conviction, gently unearthing the melancholy beneath the film’s idiosyncratic surface. Bubble & Squeak explores the vagaries of love with uncanny humor and heart.—Matt Cornell

DIRECTOR
Evan Twohy

SCREENWRITER
Evan Twohy

PRODUCERS
Christina Oh
Steven Yeun

CAST
Himesh Patel
Sarah Goldberg
Steven Yeun
Dave Franco
Matt Berry

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. In her debut feature, writer-director and star Katarina Zhu crafts a sensitive portrait of Rebecca (Zhu), a rootless online sex worker whose yearning for connection collides with her vigilance for maintaining emotional and physical safety. Rebecca’s unexpected reunion with her father, William (Perry Yung), is bittersweet, with his illness giving them little time to repair before she loses him again. Zhu’s nuanced, nonjudgmental approach to sex work and her vulnerable performance ground Bunnylovr’s vision of a precarious social world, in which intimacy is mediated and commodified, and family is fragmented across blood relations and chosen bonds. Fellow NYU Tisch alum and co-producer Rachel Sennott is abrasively funny as Rebecca’s more grounded BFF, while Austin Amelio is both alluring and unsettling as her mysterious online admirer.—Matt Cornell

DIRECTOR
Katarina Zhu

SCREENWRITER
Katarina Zhu

PRODUCERS
Tristan Scott-Behrends
Ani Schroeter
Rhianon Jones
Roger Mancusi
Rachel Sennott

CAST
Katarina Zhu
Rachel Sennott
Austin Amelio
Perry Yung
Jack Kilmer

Three longtime Brooklynites navigate careers, love, loss, and friendship against the rapidly changing landscape of their beloved city. With humor and keen observation, first-time feature director Rachael Abigail Holder invites us into a world where past and present collide, mining Paul Zimmerman’s script and her charismatic cast for a layered, later-in-life coming-of-age story. André Holland is perfect as freewheeling Roger, meeting his match in no-bullshit Nicole (DeWanda Wise), who’s unafraid to call his bluffs as she navigates dating with a young daughter in tow. Nicole Beharie charms as Casey, a woman endeavoring to understand the renegotiation of her relationship with Roger as the evolving arts scene impacts her gallery. Holder guides her actors to do some of their best work as they face the challenge of accepting change in a city transforming around them. A love letter to NYC that breathes fresh air into a modern romance, Love, Brooklyn firmly marks Holder as a filmmaker to watch.—Ana Souza

DIRECTOR
Rachael Abigail Holder

SCREENWRITER
Paul Zimmerman

PRODUCERS
André Holland
Kate Sharp
Patrick Wengler
Maurice Anderson
Liza Zusman

CAST
André Holland
Nicole Beharie
DeWanda Wise
Roy Wood Jr.
Cassandra Freeman
Cadence Reese

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. Omaha has a stripped-down intimacy that forgoes overly written dialogue and plotting, instead providing space for the deep emotional depths experienced by this family trudging along their pained road trip across America. Director Cole Webley’s first feature shines in its care for quiet humanity by bringing a loving touch to the screenplay from filmmaker Robert Machoian (The Killing of Two Lovers, 2020 Sundance Film Festival). The filmmakers lean heavily on the cast to provide the film’s biggest power in the performances of John Magaro (Past Lives) and newcomers Molly Belle Wright and Wyatt Solis. As Magaro fights to perfect the illusion of a fun family vacation for the free-spirited Solis, the knowing eyes of Wright keep careful watch and become the emotional core of the entire film.—Charlie Sextro

DIRECTOR
Cole Webley

SCREENWRITER
Robert Machoian

PRODUCER
Preston Lee

CAST
John Magaro
Molly Belle Wright
Wyatt Solis
Talia Balsam

A promising undercover officer assigned to lure and arrest gay men defies orders when he falls in love with a target. Plainclothes is brimming with an atmosphere of paranoia and anxiety. As Lucas, a young police officer contending with a secret attraction to men, Tom Blyth palpably embodies this tension in a breakout performance. Straining to fill a prescribed role in the implicitly straight culture of the police force, he carries the crushing weight of both the consequences of his increasingly fraught undercover work as well as the threat of exposure of his exhilarating, clandestine encounters with Andrew (Russell Tovey). Writer-director Carmen Emmi, making his feature directorial debut, cleverly deploys lo-fi VHS footage at key moments to ramp up the sense of unease, alternately signifying the police surveillance that haunts his conscience as well as flashes of memory. A shrewd play with chronology similarly keeps the audience on its toes, wondering if Lucas will be able to handle the stress of his secret or if he’ll finally reach a breaking point.—Basil Tsiokos

DIRECTOR
Carmen Emmi

SCREENWRITER
Carmen Emmi

PRODUCERS
Colby Cote
Arthur Landon
Eric Podwall
Vanessa Pantley

CAST
Tom Blyth
Russell Tovey
Maria Dizzia
Christian Cooke
Gabe Fazio
Amy Forsyth

Something bad happened to Agnes. But life goes on… for everyone around her, at least. In an aching and tender debut feature, writer-director Eva Victor displays a tremendous specificity of voice, depicting graduate student-turned-professor Agnes with sensitivity and emotional clarity both before and after her trauma. Infusing the character’s sardonic wit into its cinematic language of isolation and confusion, Sorry, Baby uses its nonlinear formal structure and five-year duration to capture the complexities and inconsistencies, triumphs and setbacks of Agnes’ attempts to heal. Victor also gives an endearingly vulnerable and fearlessly honest performance as her central character. Naomi Ackie radiates warmth as the sharp-witted roommate whose intimate, frank bond with Agnes allows her the safety to grapple with the enormity of what has happened to her, while Lucas Hedges brings tenderness to his role as Agnes’ befuddled but kind neighbor.—Heidi Zwicker

DIRECTOR
Rashad Frett

SCREENWRITERS
Rashad Frett
Lin Que Ayoung

PRODUCERS
Pierre M. Coleman
Simon TaufiQue
Sterling Brim
Josh Peters
DC Wade
Cary Fukunaga
Rashad Frett

CAST
Stephan James
Sheryl Lee Ralph
Titus Welliver
Maliq Johnson
Imani Lewis
Simbi Kali

Something bad happened to Agnes. But life goes on… for everyone around her, at least. In an aching and tender debut feature, writer-director Eva Victor displays a tremendous specificity of voice, depicting graduate student-turned-professor Agnes with sensitivity and emotional clarity both before and after her trauma. Infusing the character’s sardonic wit into its cinematic language of isolation and confusion, Sorry, Baby uses its nonlinear formal structure and five-year duration to capture the complexities and inconsistencies, triumphs and setbacks of Agnes’ attempts to heal. Victor also gives an endearingly vulnerable and fearlessly honest performance as her central character. Naomi Ackie radiates warmth as the sharp-witted roommate whose intimate, frank bond with Agnes allows her the safety to grapple with the enormity of what has happened to her, while Lucas Hedges brings tenderness to his role as Agnes’ befuddled but kind neighbor.—Heidi Zwicker

DIRECTOR
Eva Victor

SCREENWRITER
Eva Victor

PRODUCERS
Adele Romanski
Mark Ceryak
Barry Jenkins

CAST
Eva Victor
Naomi Ackie
Lucas Hedges
John Carroll Lynch
Louis Cancelmi
Kelly McCormack

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. Sierra Falconer’s perceptive debut feature immerses us in the rhythms of life on Green Lake, drawing us into distinct slices of life unfolding. Each chapter introduces new lives and relationships portrayed with subtlety and nuance, capturing the quiet beauty of human connection. Against the backdrop of the lake, the characters experience a profound yearning for something different while discovering new facets of themselves — independence, joy, excitement, and heartache. Falconer’s impressive sensitivity to both people and place shines through, with cinematography that feels both alluring and deeply introspective. The film leaves a vivid impression of this place — the sounds, colors, and textures of the lake echo — and the characters linger long after our encounter with them ends, sparking curiosity about the lives they continue to lead beyond the frame.—Stephanie Owens

DIRECTOR
Sierra Falconer

SCREENWRITER
Sierra Falconer

PRODUCERS
Grant Ellison
Sierra Falconer

CAST
Maren Heary
Jim Kaplan
Karsen Liotta
Dominic Bogart
Tenley Kellogg
Emily Hall

Two young men meet in a twin bereavement support group and form an unlikely bromance. Writer-director-actor James Sweeney’s bittersweet tale of trauma-bonding friendship is a smart comedy willing to confront themes like loss, loneliness, and codependency head-on. Sweeney scripts a slippery narrative to mirror his emotionally damaged characters as they struggle for connection, revealing painful personal truths along the way. With his Sundance debut, Sweeney shows major promise both in front of and behind the camera. Dylan O’Brien returns to the Festival after starring in the 2024 U.S. Dramatic Competition entry Ponyboi. O’Brien has quickly established himself as one of the great new actors of his generation. With Twinless he continues to impress, showing an acting range not only in characters but also between the film’s comedic voice and tender heart.—Charlie Sextro

DIRECTOR
James Sweeney

SCREENWRITER
James Sweeney

PRODUCERS
David Permut
James Sweeney

CAST
Dylan O’Brien
James Sweeney
Lauren Graham
Aisling Franciosi
Tasha Smith
Chris Perfetti

André, 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. When André receives dreadful news that a disease is destroying his body and his days on Earth can be counted in weeks and months, he decides to make a movie about it. An admittedly strange choice for the average person, André is no average person. Creative, funny, and inappropriate, he approaches the story of what it feels like to know he will die with the same passion and excitement his loved ones know him for and expect. André is an Idiot is a hilarious portrait of a unique human being who goes on the journey we all must go on and learns that endings, while heart-wrenching and final, can be an opportunity for gratitude and joy for the path taken.—Sudeep Sharma

DIRECTOR
Tony Benna


PRODUCERS
André Ricciardi
Tory Tunnell
Joshua Altman
Stelio Kitrilakis
Ben Cotne

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. Life After brings Reid Davenport back to Sundance after his 2022 Sundance Film Festival debut, I Didn’t See You There. Reid’s signature participatory approach makes this investigation both gripping and personal. His insightful perspective and evident passion build a look at one complex case into an expansive and existential exploration of the theoretical sanctity of life and the stark practical realities of disabled experience in an ableist society. Profound and unflinching, this documentary engages in philosophical terrain that is treacherous, challenging, and ultimately rich and necessary. Life After looks closely and critically at where progressive values of bodily autonomy and individual choice collide with latent fears of disability and an unequal value of the lives of disabled people. In doing so, Reid untangles an issue at the heart of our moral societal standing.—Ash Hoyle

DIRECTOR
Reid Davenport

PRODUCER
Colleen Cassingham

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. Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore feels like a full-circle moment. As a child, filmmaker Shoshannah Stern was inspired to believe that a deaf woman like herself could pursue a career as an actor after seeing Matlin win her Oscar. Stern’s directorial debut is an intimate, honest, and loving conversation between two profoundly connected people that weaves together Matlin’s first-person account with interviews from those who know her best. Matlin and the filmmaker’s genuine understanding allows them to explore the good, the bad, and the traumatic throughout Matlin’s career. From the early days and major successes to her famously tumultuous high-profile relationship, to the years of being ignored and patronized by Hollywood, and on to getting sober and repeatedly changing the game for her community — with and without their approval.—Ania Trzebiatowska

DIRECTOR
Shoshannah Stern

PRODUCERS
Robyn Kopp
Justine Nagan
Bonni Cohen
Shoshannah Stern

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. In a normal American neighborhood with families living their lives and kids playing with each other, one woman was quick to see any conflict as an attack that required police attention. The annoying behaviors of a local “Karen” are slowly revealed to be something darker and appalling. Director Geeta Gandbhir tells this uniquely American story through the artful presentation of real-life footage that allows the circumstances to speak for themselves with terrifying clarity. Yet the question remains: Will justice be done, or will the legal system built to protect one class of people from another step in and excuse the inexcusable? The Perfect Neighbor is a remarkable exploration of one horrific event that has profound implications for the challenge of living in community with the monsters who might live next door.—Sudeep Sharma

DIRECTOR
Geeta Gandbhir

PRODUCERS
Nikon Kwantu
Geeta Gandbhir
Alisa Payne
Sam Bisbee

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. Posing provocative, uncomfortable, and perhaps unanswerable questions about society’s conception of crime and punishment, Predators focuses its lens on the phenomenon of To Catch a Predator. Director David Osit conducts a thoughtful, layered analysis of the show, its meaning, and its larger legacy — from the original series to both its sanctioned and copycat progeny. He surfaces legally and ethically questionable tactics employed to turn vigilante justice into media spectacle, with little thought to the life-changing consequences for the perpetrators and others impacted by the program. In the process, Osit subverts expectations about To Catch a Predator and its ilk as well as, self-reflexively, about the morality and purpose of his own film. How are we complicit by consuming true crime programs, or documentaries about them, which trade in public humiliation and schadenfreude as popular entertainment?—Basil Tsiokos

DIRECTOR
David Osit

PRODUCERS
Jamie Gonçalves
Kellen Quinn
David Osit

An exploration of Black generational farmers in the American South reveals the fragility of legacy and the significance of owning land. In her stunning directorial debut, Brittany Shyne crafts a poetic and poignant portrait of Black farmers in the American South. With an intimate lens, Shyne immerses us in the rhythms of everyday life. The rich black-and-white cinematography relishes simple moments — wind through hair, candy from grandma’s purse, conversations through car windows — turning them into striking vignettes that honor the families’ connection to the land and each other. A sobering statistic underscores the urgency of their story — Black farmers owned 16 million acres in 1910, but today, that number has dwindled to just a fraction. The farmers in this community struggle to access funding that white farmers nearby seem to secure with ease. The dream of continuing to pass their land to future generations is at stake, and Shyne’s portrait vividly and lovingly captures a legacy that deserves to endure.—Stephanie Owens

DIRECTOR
Brittany Shyne

PRODUCERS
Danielle Varga
Brittany Shyne
Sabrina Schmidt Gordon

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. Isabel Castro returns to Sundance (Mija, 2022) with a heartfelt tribute to Selena Quintanilla that deftly captures the singer’s exuberance, humility, and the profound bond she shared with her family. Interviews with those close to her reveal the heart and sacrifice behind her rise to fame, while nostalgic home videos transport us back to the 1990s, offering never-before-seen glimpses into their lives on tour. The warmth of the home videos is like sitting with the Quintanillas and reliving their journey firsthand. Castro showcases Selena’s charisma and love of performing while giving her family space to celebrate their daughter, sister, and wife. Whether a lifelong fan or just discovering Selena, Castro offers an intimate new lens to experience Selena’s legacy and a reason to want to belt out “Como la Flor.”—Stephanie Owens

DIRECTOR
Isabel Castro

PRODUCERS
Julie Goldman
Christopher Clements
J. Daniel Torres
David Blackman
Simran Singh

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. Directors Jennifer Tiexiera and Guy Mossman take us behind the scenes of the prestigious competition that’s seen Oprah, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Josh Gad, and Brad Pitt compete. The film provides a heartfelt glimpse into the lives of five competitors — raising prized pigs, managing TikTok fame, dating dreamy boyfriends, and navigating complicated family dynamics — all while handling the immense pressure of striving for a championship title. Tiexiera and Mossman skillfully blend moments of youthful levity with the weight of urgent social issues tackled in their speeches, from anti-LGBTQ+ legislation to the epidemic of school shootings. These students aren’t just driven competitors. They’re grappling with real-life problems, but their passion and ambition offer hope that the next generation of leaders is ready to rise to the challenge of an increasingly fraught world.—Stephanie Owens

DIRECTORS
Jennifer Tiexiera
Guy Mossman

PRODUCERS
Pamela Griner
Guy Mossman
Jennifer Tiexiera

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. The key to her business strategy: no sugar — just talking, flirting, and sharing photos and videos to get what she wants from her followers, all without meeting the men who give her money. Autumn refuses to be defined by her economic status, using this online enterprise to reclaim control and assert power. Director Rachel Fleit, known for her nuanced exploration of identity and belonging through female protagonists, skillfully and empathetically illuminates Autumn’s life and tight-knit community while drawing attention to pervasive economic challenges across the country. Sugar Babies stands out for its intimate, judgment-free portrayal of an impressively self-aware and ambitious young woman. Fleit’s film is both deeply personal and broadly resonant, offering a poignant commentary on poverty and dignity in modern America.—Ania Trzebiatowska

DIRECTOR
Rachel Fleit

PRODUCERS
Mickey Liddell
Pete Shilaimon
Mehrdod Heydari
Rachel Fleit

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. Director Tadashi Nakamura was in many ways born into filmmaking and his father’s career, appearing as a crying baby being sent to a Japanese American concentration camp in Robert’s landmark film Hito Hata: Raise the Banner (1980). In Third Act, Tad tells the story of his father, his life and career, and the profound influence it has had on Tad’s sense of self, artistry, and citizenship. With Robert in the last stage of his life and Tad a father himself, Tad looks to the past and the future with a searching curiosity of what legacy means and how it can be lived. With a poignant relevancy to this moment in American history, Third Act is an intimate and emotional story of the Asian American experience in its political, historic, personal, and artistic fullness.—Sudeep Sharma

DIRECTOR
Tadashi Nakamura

PRODUCERS
Eurie Chung
Tadashi Nakamura

Two teenage girls in search of freedom, friendship, and belonging run away from their troubled lives with a misguided plan of traveling to Syria. In a nuanced first feature, acclaimed theater director and playwright Nadia Fall explores the irreducible challenges of teenage girlhood through a boldly specific sociopolitical lens. Ebada Hassan and Safiyya Ingar masterfully embody Doe and Muna: girls on the cusp of adulthood looking to escape the pervasive minoritization and othering in their native U.K. by any means necessary. Through Suhayla El-Bushra’s precise, compassionate writing, the girls embark on a transformative journey entangled with diverse provocations that complicate their conceptions of identity, faith, and positionality at every scale. Though the setting and journey hold tension and gravity, a core, universal tenderness surfaces. Brides is a gutsy, loving, and pensive coming-of-age tale — a depiction of the loyalty of friendship, teenage autonomy, and the illusion of invulnerable youth.—Cameron Asharian

DIRECTOR
Nadia Fall

SCREENWRITER
Suhayla El-Bushra

PRODUCERS
Nicky Bentham
Marica Stocchi

CAST
Ebada Hassan
Safiyya Ingar
Yusra Warsama
Cemre Ebuzziya
Aziz Capkurt

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. Sundance Film Festival’s Short Film Program alum Georgi M. Unkovski (Sticker, 2020) makes his delightful feature film debut with this inspiring tribute to the unifying power of music at any age, as well as the unexpected freedoms it can provide. Undeterred by his shepherding responsibilities, Ahmet enlists the help of his brother Naim to channel his musical ambitions and dazzle Aya, whose dance troupe is preparing to take the village festival by storm. Unkovski looks to a charming young cast and sumptuous, dreamlike cinematography to capture the clash of modernity and tradition with fresh eyes, revealing a rural landscape transformed by the beat and bursting with color and movement. Uplifted by warm humor, lovable characters, and an unsurprisingly catchy soundtrack, DJ Ahmet casts a welcome spell that reverberates long after the last joyous note.—Ana Souza

DIRECTOR
Georgi M. Unkovski

SCREENWRITER
Georgi M. Unkovski

PRODUCERS
Ivan Unkovski
Ivana Shekutkoska

CAST
Arif Jakup
Agush Agushev
Dora Akan Zlatanova
Aksel Mehmet
Selpin Kerim
Atila Klince

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. Through a uniquely structured narrative, the vibrant VR world of LUZ plays host to parallel quests to rekindle familial love. Writer-director Flora Lau skillfully world-builds through dualities: subversive parent-child relationships, the blurred line between cyberspace and the physical, the seamless switch between the neon-flooded Chongqing and the neutral-brushed Paris. Sandrine Pinna and Isabelle Huppert hold a captivating chemistry as daughter and mother, while Xiao Dong Guo excels at depicting a layered, touching paternal longing. Though there’s an immersive quality to LUZ, Lau deftly refuses a singular, escapist reading of VR’s employment, opting instead to guide us towards technology’s expansive complexity in its relation to art, family, and healing. LUZ is an intellectually substantial, emotionally spectral work, boldly treading new ground.—Cameron Asharian

DIRECTOR
Flora Lau

SCREENWRITER
Flora Lau

PRODUCERS
Yvette Tang
Flora Lau
Joseph Sinn Gi Chan
Stephen Lam

CAST
Isabelle Huppert
Sandrine Pinna
Xiao Dong Guo
Lu Huang
David Chiang
En Xi Deng

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. Anand’s (Bhushaan Manoj) grief over losing his father is compounded by having to return to his ancestral home with his mother, and the inevitable questions from extended family about his marital status. Wholly original in depicting queer life among the rural and lower castes of India, writer and director Rohan Parashuram Kanawade in his debut feature shares this semi-autobiographical story of two men who find each other amid their shared origins in the farming life of their elders. Featuring impressive turns from the cast, beautiful cinematography in open landscapes and small villages, and gentle, open-hearted storytelling that skews predictable tropes, Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) is an achievement of independent Indian filmmaking with characters and a story that will connect with audiences around the world.—Sudeep Sharma

DIRECTOR
Rohan Parashuram Kanawade

SCREENWRITER
Rohan Parashuram Kanawade

PRODUCERS
Neeraj Churi
Mohamed Khaki
Kaushik Ray
Hareesh Reddypalli
Naren Chandavarkar
Sidharth Meer

CAST
Bhushaan Manoj
Suraaj Suman
Jayshri Jagtap

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. The steamy mystique of the gay bathhouse is the perfect location for this exploration of queer affinity and slippery understanding. The storied setting is paired perfectly with the breaking of brand new narrative ground in this film that marries sweet romance with spiny complexity. Johan and William echo, invert, flip, and reconfigure the stories that they have been told about themselves, their world, and their community. Vacillating between attraction and revulsion, affection and grotesque jealousy, these two young people negotiate the tricky terrain of the contemporary queer romantic landscape. Writer-director Mathias Broe flexes his storytelling musculature and dexterity in this intricately engineered and beautifully fashioned film with stellar performances from leads Magnus Juhl Andersen and Nina Rask. This talented trio brings fresh dimension and unforgettable specificity to a culture ravenously hungry for it.—Ash Hoyle

DIRECTOR
Mathias Broe

SCREENWRITERS
William Lippert
Mathias Broe

PRODUCERS
Mads-August Hertz

CAST
Magnus Juhl Andersen
Nina Rask
Dilan Amin
Klaus Tange

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. Sukkwan Island is the second feature by Vladimir de Fontenay, whose Mobile Homes debuted in the 2017 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight. De Fontenay’s latest is a taut psychological thriller that blends elements of a survival film and father-son drama before reaching a surprising, poignant conclusion that artfully reorients the story. Although its striking photography captures the foreboding, desolate beauty of the wilderness, the film is propelled by phenomenal performances from three-time César Award winner Swann Arlaud (Bloody Milk, Anatomy of a Fall) and brilliant newcomer Woody Norman. Together they create a spellbinding depth and complexity to the gradually unfolding relationship: its tentative rapprochement, vulnerability, and the exchange that occurs as Tom tries to usher Roy into manhood. But as the situation intensifies, so too do Tom’s tangled emotions around the painfully unresolved breakup of his family.—John Nein

DIRECTOR
Vladimir de Fontenay

SCREENWRITER
Vladimir de Fontenay

PRODUCERS
Carole Scotta
Eliott Khayat
Caroline Benjo

CAST
Swann Arlaud
Woody Norman
Alma Pöysti
Ruaridh Mollica
Tuppence Middleton

Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, a university professor coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance. Celebrated Iranian American director Alireza Khatami (Terrestrial Verses, 2023 Cannes Film Festival) makes his Sundance competition debut with his striking third feature, a quietly insidious psychological thriller that hits close to home. With ingenuity and bold self-awareness, Khatami orchestrates a gradual descent into the oppressive depths of generational patriarchy, peeling back long-held secrets and collectively condoned behavior to confront the decaying internalized ugliness underneath. Set against sweeping landscapes, the film boasts a renowned Turkish cast whose nuanced performances punctuate this searing examination of cycles of violence, ensuring that voice is given to a generation desperately seeking to renounce the dark legacy they have inherited. Ambitious and unsettling, The Things You Kill shatters expectations to deliver a timely and original vision of the cost of personal and collective liberation.—Ana Souza

DIRECTOR
Alireza Khatami

SCREENWRITER
Alireza Khatami

PRODUCERS
Elisa Sepulveda Ruddoff
Cyriac Auriol
Mariusz Włodarski
Alireza Khatami
Michael Solomon

CAST
Ekin Koç
Erkan Kolçak Köstendil
Hazar Ergüçlü
Ercan Kesal

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. Chloé Robichaud playfully directs screenwriter Catherine Léger’s sharp and surprising contemporary adaptation of Claude Fournier’s 1970 comedy Two Women in Gold. The filmmakers’ reimagining embraces the absurdity and fun of the women’s misadventures while detailing with clarity and empathy the unmet needs that led them there, adding poignancy to the film’s full-bodied focus on female desire. As neighbors bonded by their shared realization of a deep dissatisfaction with their would-be cozy family lives, actors Karine Gonthier-Hyndman and Laurence Leboeuf depict Violette and Florence’s burgeoning rejuvenation and renewed sense of self with bold comic flair. A lively sex romp embedded within a pointedly witty, complex examination of mental health, motherhood, and marriage, Two Women is a terrifically layered film written, directed, and performed with keen insight and comedic gusto.—Heidi Zwicker

DIRECTOR
Chloé Robichaud

SCREENWRITER
Catherine Léger

PRODUCERS
Martin Paul-Hus
Catherine Léger

CAST
Karine Gonthier-Hyndman
Laurence Leboeuf
Félix Moati
Mani Soleymanlou
Sophie Nelisse
Juliette Gariépy

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. With stylish visual precision, director Laura Casabé brings Benjamin Naishtat’s evocative script to life, marking the first on-screen adaptation of celebrated author Mariana Enríquez’s unsettling short stories. Casabé immerses us in the tense socio-economic reality of an Argentina facing an unprecedented crisis — one that seeps into everyday life and interactions in ever more disturbing and surprising ways. In this surreal and uncertain moment, Dolores Oliverio depicts Natalia’s coming of age with grit, nailing the contradictions inherent to this phase of life as she gradually comes to realize and embrace her sexuality and the sinister world around her. Brilliantly luxuriating in a steamy summer where everyone is on edge, The Virgin of Quarry Lake draws on a fusion of dark folklore and adolescent angst that pushes simmering self-empowerment to its boiling point.—Ana Souza

DIRECTOR
Laura Casabé

SCREENWRITER
Benjamin Naishtat

PRODUCERS
Tomas Eloy Muñoz
Valeria Bistagnino
Alejandro Israel
David Matamoros
Angeles Hernandez
Diego Martinez Ulanosky
Livi Herrera

CAST
Dolores Oliverio
Luisa Merelas
Fernanda Echevarría
Dady Brieva
Agustín Sosa

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. Director Amel Guellaty offers us a window into a side of Tunisia we have rarely seen, imbuing the world of her charming debut feature with surreal visual flourishes that transform and brighten everyday moments. Eya Bellagha and Slim Baccar have undeniable chemistry as Alyssa and Mehdi, organically capturing the crossfire banter of their friendship as well as their shared struggle to break free from the responsibilities and restrictions that hold them back from pursuing their dreams. Their unexpectedly chaotic journey to Djerba is underscored by a thoughtful comedic touch and a hypnotic indie soundtrack from the region. With creativity, warmth, and spirit, Where the Wind Comes From honors Tunisian youth while recognizing the uncertain road that lies ahead of them.—Ana Souza

DIRECTOR
Amel Guellaty

SCREENWRITER
Amel Guellaty

PRODUCERS
Asma Chiboub
Karim Aitouna

CAST
Eya Bellagha
Slim Baccar

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. Surrounded by mines and only accessible through a tiny sliver of wooded land that is fought over meter by meter, the village of Andriivka, Ukraine, lies in ruins. Following 20 Days in Mariupol (2023 Sundance Film Festival), Ukrainian director and journalist Mstyslav Chernov returns with a stunning portrayal of life in the trenches, and in the battle for this one small place, the desperate struggle against Russia to free the Ukrainian nation. In this picture of total war — from the command centers leading the soldiers to the funerals for those who lost their lives and the brutal combat by people who only a few years ago were civilians — Chernov has created a remarkable film about the terrible beauty in liberating one’s home while also unflinchingly looking at the futility and horror of war itself. —Sudeep Sharma

DIRECTOR
Mstyslav Chernov

PRODUCERS
Mstyslav Chernov
Michelle Mizner
Raney Aronson-Rath

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. Coexistence, My Ass! in title, conception, and content brings a bold frankness and lens of great clarity to address perhaps the most critical issue of our time. Director Amber Fares makes her Sundance debut with this urgent documentary made over several years. With a narrative backbone of Noam Shuster Eliassi’s brilliant stand-up set developed at Harvard University and filmed before a live audience, the film documents not only the shifting perspective of Eliassi — a UN diplomat turned comedian — but also the unfolding realities in the region and the resulting seismically dynamic discourse surrounding it. Audiences will come away with a laugh, a tear, and an openness that feels all together like both a salve and a kick in the ass.— Ash Hoyle

DIRECTOR
Amber Fares

PRODUCERS
Amber Fares
Rachel Leah Jones
Valérie Montmartin

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. From the moment we meet Sara Shahverdi, she embodies perseverance and strength. Not easily intimidated — despite constant attempts — she is determined to uplift her community and put an end to the empty promises and laziness perpetuated by local councilmen over the years. In their insightful debut feature documentary, co-directors Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni shine a light through simple observation on an extraordinarily tenacious individual. We witness Sara’s many wins and joys, as well as her struggles and heartbreaking setbacks. Her greatest goal, which feels so basic yet radical in this context, is to give women the option to choose their path — or at a minimum, have a say in it. Cutting Through Rocks (اوزاک یوللار) is a deeply moving vérité account of one woman’s fight for dignity that demands to be seen.—Ania Trzebiatowska

DIRECTORS
Sara Khaki
Mohammadreza Eyni

PRODUCERS
Mohammadreza Eyni
Sara Khaki

Exploring the complex bond between two half brothers — one Indigenous, one white — traveling from the present in isolated Shamattawa to bustling 1980s Toronto. Seth and Peter Scriver’s endearing handcrafted animated hangout film sweetly careens through issues of race and identity, making observations about city and reservation life that spring geysers of giggles everywhere it treads. From trying to make a documentary with clean sound while raising nine kids and a bunch of dogs, to incredible grocery and game trapping adventures, the Scrivers spin love yarn around their community, and the Caribou who make the kids do things they never thought they would. Sharply observed and rooted in an Indigenous resistance to colonialism, Endless Cookie is a smart, fun-to-watch documentary that sits gentle in its own skin. Pete and Seth offer an oral history and a cosmic vision as they unravel their bittersweet testimonials of life under the Cacanada sun.—Shari Frilot

DIRECTORS
Seth Scriver
Peter Scriver

PRODUCERS
Daniel Bekerman
Chris Yurkovich
Alex Ordanis
Jason Ryle
Seth Scriver

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. In a politically charged environment where an individual’s reproductive rights and gender expression are often discussed in the abstract, it is easy to be distracted from the reality that in vitro fertilization and gender-affirming surgeries are medical procedures conducted by professionals working with deep scientific knowledge. In one of the few public hospitals in Italy allowed to provide this kind of care, Dr. Maurizio Bini and his team meet with a diverse group of patients who need medical intervention in order to lead healthy, purposeful, and meaningful lives. With rare access and an intimate cinematic style, we see the profound emotional and physical care that Dr. Bini and his colleagues bring to their work in corporally realizing the dreams of people to bear children or transition to their true identity.—Sudeep Sharma

DIRECTOR
Gianluca Matarrese

PRODUCERS
Dominique Barneaud
Donatella Palermo
Alexandre Iordachescu

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. Shiro and Wachuka have never tackled a project like this before, but their determination to redefine what the formerly whites-only McMillan Memorial Library can be pushes them through each challenge. Their friendship gives us a glimpse into their warm personalities, and their candidness about their frustrations draws us into their journey, making us feel like we’re right there with them. Directors Maia Lekow and Christopher King capture the complicated work to restore a library and the deeper challenges of confronting colonial legacies. As the library team sifts through archival images, they face conflicting emotions of anger and appreciation, grappling with what aspects of this colonial history should be remembered and what can be left behind. When are compromises justified in the larger conversation about decolonization? The result is a nuanced exploration of legacy and reclamation that extends beyond the library’s walls.— Stephanie Owens

DIRECTORS
Maia Lekow
Christopher King

PRODUCERS
Maia Lekow
Christopher King

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. In 2022, Sudanese filmmakers Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, and Timeea Ahmed joined with British director Phil Cox to begin chronicling the lives of their five participants. After a military coup, a war broke out that displaced over 10 million people, including the filmmakers and their subjects. Khartoum boldly demonstrates determination and invention borne out of necessity as the film team adapts their project to their new reality. Blending footage shot before their escape with imaginative green screen sequences guided by their participants, the filmmakers create a safe space for Majdi, Khadmallah, Jawad, Lokain, and Wilson to share and process their experiences of conflict and exile, but not without moments of hope and joy. The result is a singular, emotional, and personal journey into a devastating conflict that has gone underreported in the West.—Basil Tsiokos

DIRECTORS
Anas Saeed
Rawia Alhag
Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad
Timeea Mohamed Ahmed
Phil Cox

PRODUCERS
Giovanna Stopponi
Talal Afifi

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. In his hometown in the Ural Mountains, fun-loving Pasha works as a nonconformist teacher at the same primary school he attended as a child. However, Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine changed everything. Suddenly the school and community he loved transformed from a place of education and self-expression to one of militarization and state ideology. Soon, his own students and their family members are recruited to fight, and Pasha must ask himself what one person can do. Filmed secretly over two years, Mr. Nobody Against Putin is an unforgettable portrait of life in Russia today and the impossible choices citizens face when the country they love is in the hands of a ruler who demands it become something they cannot accept.—Sudeep Sharma

DIRECTORS
David Borenstein
Pavel Talankin

PRODUCER
Helle Faber

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. Jacinda Ardern’s outlook is summarized by a quote from her childhood hero, Sir Ernest Shackleton: “Optimism is true moral courage.” She reluctantly took on what she called “the worst job in politics” and led with humanity, compassion, and common sense. Ardern guided her country through the pandemic by relying on science and risked her popularity by reforming gun laws and stepping down earlier than expected. Co-directors Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz craft an intimate portrait of Ardern’s journey, featuring footage shot by her husband and classified audio interviews recorded while she was prime minister. As only the second head of state in the world to give birth in office, she faced relentless ridicule but left office saddened rather than hardened. Prime Minister is much like Ardern herself: eloquent, compassionate, funny, and inspiring.—Ania Trzebiatowska

DIRECTORS
Michelle Walshe
Lindsay Utz

PRODUCERS
Cass Avery
Leon Kirkbeck
Gigi Pritzker
Rachel Shane
Katie Peck
Clarke Gayford

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. Dating coach Hao’s signature method, “strategic deception,” is built on surface-level ideas about image and status that he believes will attract women. Being yourself is not an option if you’re considered too nerdy, old, or poor. Meanwhile, his wife, Wen, a dating coach herself, focuses on boosting her female clients’ self-esteem and disapproves of Hao’s makeovers and questionable teachings. Unsurprisingly, such differences of opinion can cause friction — the irony of two relationship experts struggling to relate to each other. The Dating Game is both entertaining and deeply nuanced. Director Violet Du Feng skillfully navigates themes of loneliness, self-worth, and social desirability with humor and empathy. By weaving personal stories into a broader narrative, she connects the one-child policy, societal pressures, and shifting gender norms in a thoughtful and compelling way.— Ania Trzebiatowska

DIRECTOR
Violet Du Feng

PRODUCERS
Joanna Natasegara
James Costa
Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas
Violet Du Feng

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. Kahlil Joseph returns to Sundance with this crowning achievement and latest iteration of his ongoing visionary project, BLKNWS (featured in New Frontier, 2020 Sundance Film Festival). A boldly inventive feature film, firmly rooted in an encyclopedic survey of a people manifesting a generative world history that sidesteps empire, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions weaves together the journeys of W. E. B. Du Bois, Joseph’s own family legacy, and a mysterious young journalist who boards an International cruise liner, the Nautica, to cover the Transatlantic Biennial while cleverly staying undercover. Magnetic and vibrational, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions is a radiant and immersive cinematic experience that offers seminal insight into the distinct phenomenon of what it means to occupy a state of being intoxicated with freedom.—Shari Frilot

DIRECTOR
Kahlil Joseph

SCREENWRITERS
Kahlil Joseph
Saidiya Hartman
Irvin Hunt

PRODUCERS
Onye Anyanwu
Kahlil Joseph
Amy Greenleaf
Nic Gonda

CAST
Shaunette Renée Wilson
Kaneza Schaal
Hope Giselle
Peter Jay Fernandez
Penny Johnson Jerald
Zora Casebere

A woman swaps bodies with a chair, and everyone likes her better as a chair. Writer-director Amanda Kramer brilliantly collages tropes of literature, cinema, and performance art to cleverly take the piss out of common social scripts people use to convince themselves that they have full lives of purpose when they do not. Fashioned as an epic fable featuring diminutive characters, By Design recounts the story of Camille (exceptionally played by Juliette Lewis), a woman sustained by friendships with women who use her to talk about themselves. When Camille falls in love with a chair she can’t afford, she becomes the chair, which gets gifted to a beautiful piano player-for-hire, Olivier (Mamoudou Athie), by his ex. Camille and Olivier are intriguing people with rich interior character landscapes. But in a society that refuses to acknowledge their existence, is it better to be a chair?—Shari Frilot

DIRECTOR
Amanda Kramer

SCREENWRITER
Amanda Kramer

PRODUCERS
Miranda Bailey
Sarah Winshall
Natalie Whalen
Jacob Agger

CAST
Juliette Lewis
Mamoudou Athie
Melanie Griffith
Samantha Mathis
Robin Tunney
Udo Kier

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. A chance encounter brought together writer-director Kate Beecroft and her latest subject and lead, Tabatha Zimiga. A wrong turn down an unnamed road led to years of cohabitation on Zimiga’s unusual ranch, where she and her band of teenage girls reinvent the American West, the nuclear family, and the place of women within both. In this creative work of hybridity, first-time feature director Beecroft collaborates beautifully with the actual individuals who inspired this project and a cast that includes Scoot McNairy and Jennifer Ehle. Together they weave fact and fiction into this sweepingly cinematic and deeply rooted human story. Shot in gorgeous harmony with its stunning natural setting, East of Wall is a testament to the value of people, skill, and generosity.—Ash Hoyle

DIRECTOR
Kate Beecroft

SCREENWRITER
Kate Beecroft

PRODUCERS
Lila Yacoub
Kate Beecroft
Melanie Ramsayer
Shannon Moss

CAST
Tabatha Zimiga
Porshia Zimiga
Scoot McNairy
Jennifer Ehle

Rico’s summer is a wild 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 rowdy, carefree days come spiraling down. Using his hometown as a canvas, writer-director Joel Alfonso Vargas immerses us in the beating heart of his lively Dominican American community, collaborating with street-cast actors to bring authenticity and fresh humor to his engrossing debut feature. A blend of improvisation and whip-smart dialogue shape this slice-of-life portrait into an unapologetic look at the bittersweetness of growing up quickly when life takes an unexpected turn. Juan Collado balances portraying Rico’s charm and fumbling swagger with nuance and compassion, complementing Destiny Checo’s wistful gumption, as the young lovers find themselves in over their heads while playing house. Like the DIY “Nutty” drinks driving Rico’s income, Mad Bills to Pay creatively maximizes its resources and packs a sweet punch for a sensitive yet incisive exploration of diasporic identity and the idiosyncrasies of urban life.—Ana Souza

DIRECTOR
Joel Alfonso Vargas

SCREENWRITER
Joel Alfonso Vargas

PRODUCER
Paolo Maria Pedullà

CAST
Juan Collado
Destiny Checo
Yohanna Florentino
Nathaly Navarro

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. Baltimore-based writer-director Albert Birney (Strawberry Mansion, 2021 Sundance Film Festival) returns with another delightfully skewed and surreal lo-fi fantasy. Set in pre-internet 1987 and strikingly shot in monochromatic black and white, the film depicts Conor’s (Birney) lonely existence of solitary screen time, transfixed by early Macs with slowly rendering graphics and TVs aglow with the horror movie late show. Matching these hypnotic images, Birney immerses us in a dense soundscape of warm droning synths, clacking keyboards, malevolent static, chirping cicadas, and the click and whine of dot matrix printers. The film’s dreamy nostalgia soon becomes an analog nightmare as Conor finds himself trapped in a low-tech but high-stakes video game. Audacious and uncanny, OBEX revisits the dawn of personal computing to reflect on the loneliness of our always-online present.—Matt Cornell

DIRECTOR
Albert Birney

SCREENWRITERS
Albert Birney
Pete Ohs

PRODUCERS
Emma Hannaway
Pete Ohs
James Belfer
Albert Birney

CAST
Albert Birney
Callie Hernandez
Frank Mosley

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. Steeping us in the intoxicating brew of a tropical Colombian steampunk fever-dream, first-time feature director Gala del Sol creates a mesmerizing, fantastical world where life and death collide and fates turn on the roll of dice. A patchwork of vibrant characters inhabited by an alluring ensemble cast take us on a playful ride of subversions running wild where rebellion is king. Everyone’s personal demons are exorcised on this colorful, retro-futuristic stage as passion and performance promise an escape from heartbreak. Filled to the brim with lively music and queer joy, Rains Over Babel sings an ode to the resilience and reimagination needed to heal in a world driven by societal pressure. Daring, ambitious, and stylish, it ensures a dreamy cinematic experience.—Ana Souza

DIRECTOR
Gala del Sol

SCREENWRITER
Gala del Sol

PRODUCERS
H.A. Hermida
Ana Cristina Gutiérrez
Gala del Sol
Andrés Hermida
Natalia Rendón Rodríguez

CAST
Saray Rebolledo
Felipe Aguilar Rodríguez
John Alex Castillo
William Hurtado
Santiago Pineda
Celina Biurrun

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. Pasqual is convinced this idea will solve all his problems. He believes he can finally be more present for his pregnant partner, Christine, without sacrificing the dream project he and his business partner, Raul, were offered. The plan includes mentoring a young man from a similar background, providing an opportunity neither Pasqual nor Raul ever had. But while Miguel, the doppelgänger, may resemble Pasqual, he certainly doesn’t behave like him, preferring to flex physically more than mentally. Co-directors Pasqual Gutierrez and Ben Mullinkosson deliver a genre-bending trip of a movie that captures the challenges of balancing the anxieties of impending parenthood with the demands of a career in an often absurdly self-important industry. Serious People is a clever and entertaining commentary on the artistic process, capturing both its joys and pretensions.—Ania Trzebiatowska

DIRECTORS
Pasqual Gutierrez
Ben Mullinkosson

SCREENWRITERS
Pasqual Gutierrez
Ben Mullinkosson

PRODUCERS
Ryan Hahn
Laurel Thomson
Teddy Lee

CAST
Pasqual Gutierrez
Christine Yuan
Miguel Huerta
Raul Sanchez

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. The true crime genre’s ubiquity is driven by people’s endless fascination, disgust, and — bizarrely — search for comfort in genre conventions that still have the ability to generate complex emotions despite their predictability and familiarity. Filmmaker and multimedia artist Charlie Shackleton’s projects have used his uniquely funny, intellectually engaging style to examine how popular culture, mass media, and storytelling create meaning. In this wholly original, self-aware cinematic work, Shackleton dissects the true crime genre by recreating it. Using Bay Area landscapes, archival material, reenactments, film and TV clips, and voice-over to walk the viewer through what his film would have been like and why, Zodiac Killer Project is a captivating and entertaining experience that will forever change how you watch your next murder program.—Sudeep Sharma

DIRECTOR
Charlie Shackleton

PRODUCERS
Catherine Bray
Anthony Ing
Charlie Shackleton

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. After first winning a 2016 Sundance Short Film Special Jury Award For Outstanding Performance (Her Friend Adam), Grace Glowicki returns to Park City as director, co-writer, and the grave-digging star of this glorious Midnight comedy. She supercharges the film with a feverish lead performance fueled by an absurd energy that is somehow magically matched by performers Leah Doz, Lowen Morrow, and Ben Petrie, who each handle supporting characters more bizarre than the next. From disco to German Expressionism to sketch comedy to Bugs Bunny, Dead Lover draws on countless inspirations spanning a century of creative influences to manifest an exciting, new cinematic fever dream. Director of photography Rhayne Vermette and production designer Becca Brooks Morrin take a dynamic eye toward sparse theatrical set design that achieves a vibrant handcrafted effect.—Charlie Sextro

DIRECTOR
Grace Glowicki

SCREENWRITERS
Grace Glowicki
Ben Petrie

PRODUCERS
Yona Strauss
Ben Petrie
Grace Glowicki

CAST
Grace Glowicki
Ben Petrie
Leah Doz
Lowen Morrow

A podcast host desperately clings to an ever-shrinking audience in the zombie apocalypse. Vinita (Kiran Deol) hosts a snarky post-apocalyptic podcast, hiding her fear behind an armor of ironic distance. Rabid “biters” roam the Earth, and Vinita’s dwindling audience — including her traumatized siblings — live in quarantine. When her philandering ex Vincent (George Basil) suddenly arrives clutching a baby, Vinita’s armor begins to crack. Writer-director Meera Menon’s low-budget thriller is an homage to zombie pioneer George Romero and a moving drama about the emotional toll of living through civilizational crisis. Like Romero, Menon uses the genre to confront contemporary horrors, stoking pandemic-era anxieties through a distinctly millennial sensibility. Deploying stark black-and-white cinematography and an eerie soundtrack, Menon conjures a clammy atmosphere of dread. Deol adds color to the darkness, locating Vinita’s vulnerability under a veneer of disaffection and gallows humor.—Matt Cornell

DIRECTOR
Meera Menon

SCREENWRITERS
Meera Menon
Paul Gleason

PRODUCERS
Erica Fishman
Joe Camerota
Luke Patton
Meera Menon
Paul Gleason

CAST
Kiran Deol
George Basil
Samrat Chakrabarti
Katie McCuen
Vishal Vijayakumar

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. Mark Anthony Green’s feature debut is a bold, fun, and flashy pop-horror. Ayo Edebiri delivers as the meek yet hungry journalist Ariel — her unique charm radiating alongside a distinct final-girl prescience. John Malkovich is effervescent and hypnotic as Moretti, a deified global phenomenon making a dramatically malevolent reintroduction. Amidst eye-catching, synthy musical numbers and the enigmatic desert compound, the facade of civility gradually erodes between the pair, revealing the underbelly of a tense, psychosocial game of cat and mouse. Opus offers an electric, clever indictment of the literal cult of celebrity, presenting characters and dangers within a symphonic ambience — giving way to a foreboding ease through which power is generated and embedded within pop culture.—Cameron Asharian

DIRECTOR
Mark Anthony Green

SCREENWRITER
Mark Anthony Green

PRODUCERS
Collin Creighton
Brad Weston
Poppy Hanks
Jelani Johnson
Mark Anthony Green
Josh Bachove

CAST
Ayo Edebiri
John Malkovich
Juliette Lewis
Murray Bartlett
Amber Midthunder

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. Set in 1973, writer and director Bryn Chainey’s extraordinary debut feature invokes the eerie spirit of British folk horror, conjuring supernatural dread in a fecund Welsh forest. Obsessive avant-garde musician Daphne (Rosy McEwen) toils over reel-to-reel tape machines and oscillators in their cottage while her withdrawn husband, Darcy (Dev Patel), collects field recordings in the nearby woods. Their activities draw the attention of a mysterious young rabbit trapper (an unnerving Jade Croot) who beguiles them, disturbing their fragile peace. Rabbit Trap casts a spell of haunted sensuality and submerged trauma through cinematographer Andreas Johannessen’s tactile 35mm images and Lucrecia Dalt’s synesthetic soundscape. Patel and McEwen are quietly moving as the young couple, grounding this otherworldly fable with a portrait of a marriage sustained through fraught intimacy and restless creative collaboration.—Matt Cornell

DIRECTOR
Bryn Chainey

SCREENWRITER
Bryn Chainey

PRODUCERS
Lawrence Inglee
Daniel Noah
Elijah Wood
Elisa Lleras
Alex Ashworth
Sean Marley
Adrian Politowski
Martin Metz

CAST
Dev Patel
Rosy McEwen
Jade Croot

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. A twisted retelling of Cinderella with gruesome fidelity to the Grimm-est rendition, The Ugly Stepsister shifts the focus to stepsister Elvira’s pursuit of beauty at all costs. But where fairy tale Cinderellas have silkworms, this one has tapeworms. For good measure, Norwegian filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt throws in decomposing corpses, tongue-in-cheek body horror, and a 19th-century surgical makeover, creating a darkly funny, blithely grotesque debut feature. It shrewdly satirizes manufactured beauty and its industries, selling body image as the means to attain desirability, success, and social status. We can’t help but empathize with Elvira, who is insecure and drawn into her avaricious mother’s barbaric beautification scheme largely as a means to an end: acceptance and happiness (ever after). From nose to toe, the vessel of Elvira’s disturbing transformation is breakout talent Lea Myren, who gives a heroically committed performance.—John Nein

DIRECTOR
Emilie Blichfeldt

SCREENWRITER
Emilie Blichfeldt

PRODUCER
Maria Ekerhovd

CAST
Lea Myren
Thea Sofie Loch Næss
Ane Dahl Torp
Flo Fagerli
Isac Calmroth
Malte Gårdinger

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. Writer-director Michael Shanks approaches horror with a devilish exuberance that relishes in creating wildly expressive nightmarish moments. His feature-length directorial debut pulls off an impressive progression of body horror freak-outs as it follows a dysfunctional couple’s big move away from the city to a more isolated existence. As they lose contact with home, friends, and their sense of self beyond their troubled dynamic, Shanks’ clever script grounds their emotional turmoil within its extreme take on the horrors of codependent relationships. With this couple, things will have to get worse — like a lot worse — before they get better. Bringing an unquantifiable chemistry to their roles, Dave Franco and Alison Brie give their all to this freakish world, diving headfirst into a physical and emotional maelstrom.—Charlie Sextro

DIRECTOR
Michael Shanks

SCREENWRITER
Michael Shanks

PRODUCERS
Alison Brie
Dave Franco
Mike Cowap
Andrew Mittman
Erik Feig
Max Silva
Julia Hammer
Tim Headington

CAST
Dave Franco
Alison Brie
Damon Herriman

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. Writer and director Addison Heimann’s second feature film is provocatively comedic, inventive, and unhinged in the best possible way. An ode to the deliriously stylistic lens of Japanese cinema in the ’60s and ’70s, Touch Me dares to “go there” with its themes of mental health, desire, and Hentai-infused sexual abandon. Olivia Taylor Dudley sinks into character to portray a fractured and wandering human being in desperate need of a life-affirming touch, while Lou Taylor-Pucci’s tracksuit-clad alien persona is played to delightful perfection. Jordan Gavaris and Marlene Forte round out an impeccable cast of far-out characters who manage to be at once acrimonious yet relatable. The end result is a weird, wild, and frenzied fever dream with so much to unpack. While we may not be able to relieve ourselves of self-doubt, deep-seated childhood trauma, and debilitating anxiety with the simple touch of an extraterrestrial being, maybe life isn’t so bad after all?—Adam Montgomery

DIRECTOR
Addison Heimann

SCREENWRITER
Addison Heimann

PRODUCERS
John Humber
David Lawson Jr.
Addison Heimann

CAST
Olivia Taylor Dudley
Lou Taylor Pucci
Jordan Gavaris
Marlene Forte
Paget Brewster

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. In her extraordinary, profoundly moving third feature, Palestinian American actor and filmmaker Cherien Dabis (Amreeka, 2009 Sundance Film Festival; May in the Summer, 2013 Sundance Film Festival) chronicles the lives of three generations of a Palestinian family spanning almost 75 years of history. Both epic and intimate in the same breath, expertly crafted and deeply personal, the film is reminiscent of cinema’s most enduring family sagas. Its ensemble of intricately drawn characters, intertwining lives, dreams, and frictions are carefully stitched into a larger historical tapestry. In addition to writing and directing, Dabis stars alongside the incomparable Saleh Bakri. Together they portray a married couple whose beautiful relationship and shared anguish form the film’s heart and soul while also contending with Palestinian history, collective grief, anger, and intergenerational trauma. A heartbreaking, soul-searching film, All That’s Left of You is also an exploration of healing.—John Nein

DIRECTOR
Cherien Dabis

SCREENWRITER
Cherien Dabis

PRODUCERS
Thanassis Karathanos
Martin Hampel
Cherien Dabis
Karim Amer

CAST
Cherien Dabis
Saleh Bakri
Adam Bakri
Mohammad Bakri
Maria Zreik
Muhammad Abed Elrahman

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. Zackary Drucker’s beautifully balanced approach illuminates the juxtaposition of the dovetailing stories of two inversely complex titans of trans feminine history. Returning Drucker to Sundance after she co-directed The Stroll, which premiered in the U.S. Documentary Competition in 2022, April & Amanda navigates fine lines with such grace it feels like watching narrative ballet performed on high wires. Drucker continues to flex her strong archival sensibility in this piece while also deploying contemporaneous interviews that capture her remarkable generosity, her sparkling intellect, and her extraordinary literacy in nuance. Examining who we leave behind to become who we want to be, this document of proximate lives antithetically led unfurls a multiplicity of experience that is relatable to anyone with a human heart and an active imagination.—Ash Hoyle

DIRECTOR
Zackary Drucker

PRODUCERS
Madison Passarelli
Douglas Banker
Alex Garinger
Noah Levy
Donovan Lovell
Stephen B. Strout

Two poets, one incurable cancer diagnosis. Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley go on an unexpectedly funny and poignant journey through love, life, and mortality. “In the good light and in the lightning strike. My love come become beside me,” invites Gibson in their poem “The Good Light.” The Colorado poet laureate and beloved spoken word performer extends this welcome and challenge to audiences in this intimate and heartbreaking yet buoyant documentary. The perspective of such a radically tender, magnanimously thoughtful, and thoroughly in love individual on themes of mortality, grief, legacy, and letting go is a vital instruction on how to both live and die gracefully. Rallied around by powerhouse executive producers Tig Notaro, Brandi Carlile, and Sara Bareilles, director Ryan White (Assassins, 2020 Sundance Film Festival; Ask Dr. Ruth, 2019 Sundance Film Festival) returns with this moving portrait that will dare any eye to stay dry.—Ash Hoyle

DIRECTOR
Ryan White

PRODUCERS
Jessica Hargrave
Ryan White
Tig Notaro
Stef Willen

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. With two Deaf candidates up for the role of president, Gallaudet University students saw the possibility of finally being led by someone like them. But when the board of trustees — composed overwhelmingly of hearing individuals — selected the lone hearing candidate, the groundswell of student activism that followed forced a reckoning of more than a century of paternalism. Told primarily through American Sign Language, Deaf President Now! creates an immediacy through immersive archival footage and experiential use of silence and sound. Gallaudet alumnus, model, actor, and Deaf activist Nyle DiMarco (America’s Next Top Model) makes his directorial debut alongside veteran filmmaker Davis Guggenheim (Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, 2023 Sundance Film Festival) with this rousing documentary that demonstrates the power of collective action to demand meaningful change, foster self-determination, and realize dreams long deferred.—Basil Tsiokos

DIRECTORS
Nyle DiMarco
Davis Guggenheim

PRODUCERS
Jonathan King
Nyle DiMarco
Davis Guggenheim
Amanda Rohlke
Michael Harte

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. Co-directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Love Fraud, 2020 Sundance Film Festival) draw on the myth of Norse god Odin as an evocative framing device. Just as Odin observed the Norns, three fates who dwell at the base of the world tree spinning threads of destiny, we witness how this unconventional school shapes the lives of its students. The mission is simple: Return to basics by quieting the chaos of modern life. The teens learn Arctic survival skills and care for sled dogs, building confidence and self-reliance. They bond with their canine companions and practice patience and kindness. It’s a tough journey, and some students resist their wise teachers, quickly discovering that the price for not wearing mittens can be steep. FOLKTALES is an intimate, moving film about connection and rekindling hope for a brighter future.—Ania Trzebiatowska

DIRECTORS
Heidi Ewing
Rachel Grady

PRODUCERS
Heidi Ewing
Rachel Grady

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. Leonard Peltier remains a beacon of resilience against oppression for so many. In this in-depth, archive-rich exploration, Jesse Short Bull and David France delve into Peltier’s imprisonment, the FBI actions that led to his controversial conviction, and the ongoing efforts to secure his release. Key figures from the American Indian Movement offer illuminating context alongside an archival interview with Peltier himself. Together they trace the events surrounding the 1975 Pine Ridge shoot-out, where he was convicted of killing two FBI agents — a charge he has denied for 50 years. Positioning Peltier’s struggle within a 500-year continuum of Indigenous resistance connects it to the U.S. government’s historical and ongoing abuses against Indigenous people, emphasizing that the fight for Peltier’s freedom is part of an enduring fight for overdue justice.—Stephanie Owens

DIRECTORS
Jesse Short Bull
David France

PRODUCERS
David France
Jhane Myers
Paul McGuire
Bird Runningwater

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. After his 2020 premiere of Disclosure, Sam Feder returns to the Sundance Film Festival with Heightened Scrutiny, another cornerstone contribution to contemporary trans cinema. Feder’s deep research and keen sociopolitical eye map a disturbing correlative relationship between media coverage of trans issues and material legislation impacting the lives of trans Americans with crystalline and alarming clarity. These macro forces are illuminated with intimacy and charisma in the story of Chase Strangio and his consequential career as an ACLU lawyer participating in historic trans litigation. His preparation for Supreme Court argumentation is as urgent as it is high stakes. In Heightened Scrutiny, both Feder and Strangio display signature intellectual rigor, critically contributive insight, and unshakable commitment to justice that solidifies them both as preeminent trans masculine voices of our time.—Ash Hoyle

DIRECTOR
Sam Feder

PRODUCERS
Amy Scholder
Sam Feder
Paola Mendoza

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. In the second feature film from writer-director Mary Bronstein, life’s responsibilities pile up — parenting alone, house is a construction zone, countless doctors visits, no available parking — all of which grows into an anxiety that overwhelms every aspect of our protagonist’s life. The audience is pushed into a downward spiral of motherhood where there is never any solution or support in sight. But as its title suggests, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is also very funny — very darkly… bizarrely… uncomfortably funny. Rose Byrne’s lead performance brilliantly rides the edge of exhaustion and delirium, bouncing between the pressures of her life that includes two character irritants played by Conan O’Brien and A$AP Rocky, who have memorable supporting roles.—Charlie Sextro

DIRECTOR
Mary Bronstein

SCREENWRITER
Mary Bronstein

PRODUCERS
Sara Murphy
Ryan Zacarias
Ronald Bronstein
Josh Safdie
Eli Bush
Richie Doyle
Conor Hannon

CAST
Rose Byrne
A$AP Rocky
Conan O’Brien
Danielle Macdonald
Ivy Wolk
Daniel Zolghadri

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. Amy Berg returns to the Sundance Film Festival with her fifth film as director, following Phoenix Rising (2022 Sundance Film Festival). This time, she paints an elegant and compassionate portrait of the late Jeff Buckley, whose one-in-a-generation voice and boundary-pushing artistry are spotlit for both existing fans and newcomers to his catalog. Beautiful scores and resonant, rare live performances underscore Buckley’s fullness of character — a history of the love and loss that shaped him, and thus the international music culture of the late 20th century. Discordant as Buckley’s end is, Berg makes space for the consonances in between, imbuing the film with special archival material and the permeation of Buckley’s own diaristic narration. This film is a hum that echoes, and like Buckley’s “Hallelujah,” it takes on a light and life of its own.—Cameron Asharian

DIRECTOR
Amy Berg

PRODUCERS
Amy Berg
Ryan Heller
Christine Connor
Mandy Chang
Jennie Bedusa
Matthew Roozen

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. Sophie Hyde, winner of the World Cinema Directing Award Dramatic for 52 Tuesdays (2014 Sundance Film Festival), returns with an expansive family portrait centered on Jimpa (John Lithgow), an aging, hedonistic patriarch living loud and proud in Amsterdam’s vibrant gay community. Reconnecting with Jimpa during a long working holiday, Hannah (Olivia Colman) navigates ambivalence toward her estranged father while Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde) discovers the pleasures and perils of queer life in the big city. Co-written by Hyde and Matthew Cormack (52 Tuesdays), Jimpa is a loving and insightful examination of intergenerational tensions within the LGBTQ+ community and the complex and contradictory attachments that form between family, friends, lovers, and comrades. Lithgow breathes messy life into the mercurial but bighearted Jimpa, complementing Colman’s moving turn as his weary yet loving daughter.—Matt Cornell

DIRECTOR
Sophie Hyde

SCREENWRITER
Matthew Cormack
Sophie Hyde

PRODUCERS
Liam Heyen
Sophie Hyde
Bryan Mason
Marleen Slot

CAST
Olivia Colman
John Lithgow
Aud Mason-Hyde

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. No stranger to the Festival (Gods and Monsters, 1998 Sundance Film Festival) or the megaplex (Dreamgirls, The Twilight Saga, Beauty and the Beast), director Bill Condon returns with a stellar, reimagined interpretation of Kiss of the Spider Woman (previously a 1985 film and 1993 Chita Rivera–helmed, Tony-sweeping musical). Set amid Argentina’s Dirty War of the 1980s, Condon marries a textually rich historical and political drama with the flashy technicolor extravagance of an old Hollywood musical. Jennifer Lopez is an astonishing scene-stealer in a career-highlight performance as Luna/Aurora, with showstopping musical numbers that underscore the exuberant prowess of her dancing and voice. Diego Luna delivers unrelenting revolutionary conviction as Valentín, and Tonatiuh gives his Molina a tenderhearted power and theatrical flair. Kiss of the Spider Woman is a grounded yet sumptuous spectacle, a masterfully vivacious cinematic experience for our modern times.—Cameron Asharian

DIRECTOR
Bill Condon

SCREENWRITER
Bill Condon

PRODUCERS
Barry Josephson
Tom Kirdahy
Greg Yolen

CAST
Diego Luna
Tonatiuh
Jennifer Lopez
Bruno Bichir
Josefina Scaglione
Aline Mayagoitia

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. Based on the tragic true story of doomed Christian missionary John Chau (Sky Yang), this harrowing drama examines an idealistic dreamer driven by overzealous faith and a reckless desire for adventure. Last Days follows Chau’s escape from the grasp of his strict father (Ken Leung) and subsequent radicalization by a macho missionary (Toby Wallace) who gives him a sense of purpose. Justin Lin, director of five films in the Fast & Furious franchise, switches gears and returns to the themes of his audacious debut, Better Luck Tomorrow (2002 Sundance Film Festival), depicting how family and social pressures shape a young Asian American man’s misguided ambitions. Last Days charts Chau’s treacherous trek with the momentum of a thriller, while maintaining an introspective focus on the demons that drove him.—Matt Cornell

DIRECTOR
Justin Lin

SCREENWRITER
Ben Ripley

PRODUCERS
Justin Lin
Clayton Townsend
Ellen Goldsmith-Vein
Eric Robinson
Salvador Gatdula
Andrew Schneider

CAST
Sky Yang
Radhika Apte
Naveen Andrews
Ken Leung
Toby Wallace
Ciara Bravo

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. A gripping slow-burn tale about the thin line between devoted fandom and dangerous obsession, Lurker fittingly worms its way under the viewer’s skin and echoes how the calculating Matthew (Théodore Pellerin) insinuates himself within Oliver’s (Archie Madekwe) inner circle. Forced to assume Matthew’s perspective, the audience is made complicit in the power plays and desperate measures he takes to retain his status when he finds his position in the entourage under threat. Writer and director Alex Russell, who has produced and written for critically acclaimed series The Bear and Beef, makes a confident feature directorial debut with this sharp critique of modern fame and social media celebrity, which was previously featured on the influential Black List. Pellerin and Madekwe leave a lasting impression, embodying the shifting power dynamics of Matthew and Oliver’s relationship in committed performances that mark them as stars on the rise. —Basil Tsiokos

DIRECTOR
Alex Russell

SCREENWRITER
Alex Russell

PRODUCERS
Alex Orlovsky
Duncan Montgomery
Galen Core
Charlie McDowell
Archie Madekwe
Olmo Schnabel
Marc Marrie
Francesco Melzi D’Eril
Jack Selby

CAST
Théodore Pellerin
Archie Madekwe
Havana Rose Liu
Sunny Suljic
Zack Fox
Daniel Zolghadri

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. Acclaimed multidisciplinary artist and director Amalia Ulman returns to the festival with her highly anticipated follow-up to El Planeta (2021 Sundance Film Festival), blessing us with her signature idiosyncratic humor and surreal characters in a fresh setting that honors her Argentine roots. Equipped with a fantastic cast, including Chloë Sevigny, Simon Rex, Alex Wolff, and Joe Apollonio, Ulman drops us into a satire that is at once an excavation of media exploitation and a charming look at the unexpectedly profound exchanges that can emerge when cultures blend. Not one to shy away from subverting stereotypes or uncovering uncomfortable truths, Ulman reaffirms the singularity of her voice, ensuring her visual playfulness and absurdity fuse seamlessly with the warmth she has for the vibrant world of Magic Farm.—Ana Souza

DIRECTOR
Amalia Ulman

SCREENWRITER
Amalia Ulman

PRODUCERS
Alex Hughes
Eugene Kotlyarenko
Riccardo Maddalosso

CAST
Chloë Sevigny
Alex Wolff
Joe Apollonio
Camila del Campo
Simon Rex

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. No strangers to stories centering on resourceful young people, filmmaker alums Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine (Girls State, 2024 Sundance Film Festival; Boys State, 2020 Sundance Film Festival) revisit an improbable but true tale of civic engagement and youth empowerment. Tasked with teaching filmmaking and media production, Fred Isseks’ Electronic English class at Middletown High School also provided his students a space for self-expression and critical thinking. As this uplifting documentary reveals, the teens — underestimated because of their age — regularly caught adults off-guard as they conducted a multiyear investigation into illegal dumping, organized crime, and political corruption. Deftly crafting a time capsule of a more innocent, less documented era before ubiquitous camera phones and social media, Middletown simultaneously reveals the power of investigative journalism and the life-changing impact of teachers.—Basil Tsiokos

DIRECTOR
Jesse Moss
Amanda McBaine

SCREENWRITER
Jesse Moss
Amanda McBaine

PRODUCERS
Teddy Leifer
Florrie Priest
Jesse Moss
Amanda McBaine
Danny Bree

Out of the underground dance clubs on the South Side of Chicago, a group of friends turn a new sound into a global movement. Vince Lawrence was an eccentric, nerdy Black child growing up in Mayor Daley’s segregated Chicago. One summer when his dad couldn’t afford to send him to summer camp, Lawrence embarked on a personal journey that would lead him to become the first person to record a house song. He catalyzed a force of radical togetherness that would break down his city’s invisible walls of segregation, and fundamentally transform the music world. Director Elegance Bratton concocts a loving mix of interviews with the lively characters of house music blended together with an archive treasure, creating a definitive history of a cultural revolution rarely told. Move Ya Body: The Birth of Chicago House is a road map of how a rebellion against bodily repression can clutch joy and creative expression to sidestep empire.—Shari Frilot

DIRECTOR
Elegance Bratton

PRODUCER
Chester Algernal Gordon

Iris and Isaac’s first romantic weekend getaway goes awry. This romantic comedy of miscommunication and mismatched expectations basks in the magnetically charged opposites-attract chemistry between Iris (Molly Gordon) and Isaac (Logan Lerman). When their relationship swiftly unravels, Iris’ desperate hope that her beau’s reluctance to commit is merely curable confusion leads her to take increasingly unhinged actions to solidify her hold on Isaac’s heart. Writer-director Sophie Brooks maintains a sense of cheeky, off-kilter whimsy and twisted humor as the couple’s complete inability to read one another leads to an escalating series of potentially perilous misunderstandings. Oh, Hi! draws us into the pair’s smitten rendezvous at a gorgeous rustic farmhouse amid a picturesque, bucolic landscape, cleverly setting an alluring and refreshing romantic scene before abruptly upending it and sending Iris, Isaac, and the audience hurdling into the emotional chaos that ensues.—Heidi Zwicker

DIRECTOR
Sophie Brooks

SCREENWRITER
Sophie Brooks

PRODUCERS
David Brooks
Dan Clifton
Julie Waters
Sophie Brooks
Molly Gordon

CAST
Molly Gordon
Logan Lerman
Geraldine Viswanathan
John Reynolds

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. In Peter Hujar’s Bloomsday-esque narration of one day in his life, quotidian details like the price of a sandwich mingle with cameos by the likes of Allen Ginsberg. As trivialities and incidents accumulate, softly spoken is the voice of an artist wishing to be truly seen amid his existential fear it won’t happen. In recreating the recounting of Peter’s day to author Linda Rosenkrantz in her 94th Street apartment in New York City in 1974, director Ira Sachs playfully creates a wholly new work of contemporary cinema. With a consciously self-aware style and actors Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall reenacting the encounter with fidelity and elegance, Peter Hujar’s Day is an evocative experience rooted in a particular time and place, but it is also eternal in its recognition of the unstoppable flow of time.—Sudeep Sharma

DIRECTOR
Ira Sachs

SCREENWRITER
Ira Sachs

PRODUCERS
Jordan Drake
Jonah Disend

CAST
Ben Whishaw
Rebecca Hall

After a wildfire takes the family farm, a rancher seeks a way forward. Max Walker-Silverman’s sophomore feature is a personal, affecting story of a community’s life and resilience. A follow-up to his captivating debut, A Love Song (2022 Sundance Film Festival), Rebuilding similarly operates as a careful, loving portrait of the American West — this time whispered in the quiet aftermath of environmental and personal disaster. Against the backdrop of charred lands and a struggling small town, scattered lives coalesce in grief, and a uniquely resonant love story emerges. Josh O’Connor is a subdued and assiduous protagonist, embracing a call to heal his fledgling family and newfound community. Authentic, nuanced performances from Meghann Fahy, Amy Madigan, and Kali Reis quilt a narrative enveloped by the multiplicity of the American experience — legacies of land, labor, and family. Rebuilding is a warm tip of the hat to community building through human tenacity, and the abundance of life and love contained therein.—Cameron Asharian

DIRECTOR
Max Walker-Silverman

SCREENWRITER
Max Walker-Silverman

PRODUCERS
Jesse Hope
Dan Janvey
Paul Mezey

CAST
Josh O’Connor
Lily LaTorre
Meghann Fahy
Kali Reis
Amy Madigan

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. Cristina Costantini’s rich portrait of astronaut Sally Ride brings a fullness to her life that goes beyond the headlines of her trailblazing voyage past Earth’s atmosphere. SALLY skillfully weaves together the dual threads of Ride’s story: the private romance she shared with her partner and the professional trajectory of her time in the space program that saw her contend with overt sexism and homophobia, prompting her secrecy. Rare archival footage brings the viewer behind the scenes to witness NASA training and missions, while press appearances reflect the media frenzy Ride was subjected to both before and after her historic first flight. O’Shaughnessy takes a fitting central role in recounting her beloved Ride’s story and the legacy she left behind that inspires countless women and girls to dream for the stars.—Basil Tsiokos

DIRECTOR
Cristina Costantini

SCREENWRITERS
Cristina Costantini
Tom Maroney

PRODUCERS
Lauren Cioffi
Dan Cogan
Jon Bardin
Cristina Costantini

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. Academy Award-winning director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson returns to the festival with a music-rich, profound exploration. Eschewing conventional biographical methods, the film immediately envelops us in band leader Sly Stone’s extraordinary musical talent while asking: What is the burden of Black genius? Sly transcended musical boundaries like no one else, but trailblazing comes at a personal cost. While many fear failure, the film highlights how success can bring its own pain. The result is a revelatory journey born from a deep understanding of the band’s far-reaching influence and impact. Through an incredible soundtrack, exuberant archival footage and thought-provoking discussions with family, band members, scholars, and musicians, Thompson presents a powerful tribute to the visionary musical artistry of Sly & The Family Stone, while honoring and celebrating Black creativity.—Stephanie Owens

DIRECTOR
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson

PRODUCERS
Joseph Patel
Derik Murray

Eccentric lottery winner, Charles, dreams of getting his favorite musicians, McGwyer Mortimer, 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. There is no more picturesque location to set a charming British comedy than this fictional remote Welsh island. It’s a romantic locale that sets the scene for the remarkable chemistry that longtime comedy partners Tom Basden and Tim Key (Two Films About Loneliness, 2015 Sundance Film Festival), who write and star here, have developed with each other. For The Ballad of Wallis Island, Basden and Key reunite with director James Griffiths to adapt the trio’s 2007 short film, The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island. To perfect their winning formula this time around they’ve invited a dream duo of actresses Carey Mulligan and Sian Clifford to come play in their sandbox, creating a tale so humorous and lovely that you’ll be humming its songs long after the credits roll.—Charlie Sextro

DIRECTOR
James Griffiths

SCREENWRITERS
Tom Basden
Tim Key

PRODUCER
Rupert Majendie

CAST
Tom Basden
Tim Key
Sian Clifford
Akemnji Ndifornyen
Carey Mulligan

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. Kim A. Snyder (Us Kids, 2020 Sundance Film Festival) takes us to an unexpected front line where librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy and free access to information. As they well know, controlling libraries and the flow of ideas means control over communities. Across the U.S., sweeping book bans target stories addressing race and LGBTQ+ issues. Snyder immerses us in this escalating conflict, capturing heated community meetings that lay bare the arguments for censorship. At the center of it all are the steadfast librarians, determined to protect children’s right to access books that educate, empower, and provide solace — despite facing harassment, threats, and even laws aimed at criminalizing their work. A cautionary tale and rallying cry, Snyder captures how these librarians transform their seemingly quiet profession into a bold stand for freedom.—Stephanie Owens

DIRECTOR
Kim A. Snyder

PRODUCERS
Kim A. Snyder
Janique L. Robillard
Maria Cuomo Cole
Jana Edelbaum

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. Two-time Sundance Film Festival alum Dylan Southern’s (Shut Up and Play the Hits, 2012; Meet Me in the Bathroom, 2022) adaptation of the acclaimed Max Porter novella Grief Is the Thing with Feathers artfully emphasizes the transformative and terrible momentousness of one family’s bereavement. The film’s inspired execution of the physical manifestation of their grief on screen creates an exquisite visual rendering of the sinister reality dominating the family’s unkept home and shattered lives. Benedict Cumberbatch submerges himself in his performance of a shell-shocked father while the film juxtaposes his character’s altered reality with that of his two vivacious boys. The sons, played with sensitivity by Richard and Henry Boxall, grapple with both the enormity of their loss as well as their unmoored father’s attempts to carry on parenting them alone.—Heidi Zwicker

DIRECTOR
Dylan Southern

SCREENWRITER
Dylan Southern

PRODUCERS
Andrea Cornwell
Leah Clarke
Adam Ackland

CAST
Benedict Cumberbatch
Richard Boxall
Henry Boxall
Eric Lampaert
Vinette Robinson
Sam Spruell

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. Andrew Ahn returns to Sundance (Spa Night, 2016 Sundance Film Festival) with an exuberant romantic comedy that pays tribute to the unexpected ways friendship and community form modern family. Ahn collaborates with James Schamus, co-writer of Ang Lee’s beloved 1993 classic The Wedding Banquet, to create a contemporary reimagining that playfully complicates the original film’s conflict and comedy, updating a romantic triangle into a codependent queer quad of young lovers. Led by a cast of some of the most acclaimed and funny actors working today, the core four’s charming performances are complemented by the beautifully articulated work of Joan Chen and Academy Award winner Youn Yuh-jung (Minari) as the complex, formidable matriarchs of the bride and groom’s families.—Heidi Zwicker

DIRECTOR
Andrew Ahn

SCREENWRITERS
Andrew Ahn
James Schamus

PRODUCERS
Anita Gou
Joe Pirro
Caroline Clark
James Schamus

CAST
Bowen Yang
Lily Gladstone
Kelly Marie Tran
Han Gi-chan
Joan Chen
Youn Yuh-jung

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. Adapted from Denis Johnson’s novella, Train Dreams finds its center in the mesmerizing figure of Grainier (Joel Edgerton). An ordinary man, a logger, a husband, and a father, Grainier’s life unfolds amid the vast wilderness of the American West — the age of the locomotive, the country’s epic expansion. Despite that grandeur, the film’s lens is focused and intimate. Filmmaker Clint Bentley brings a naturalism to this historical drama, love story, and metaphysical meditation that wrestles with our sense of being, and how we reconcile the immensity of our lives with our barely discernible place in the world, the forces of nature, and the sweep of history. A humble, passively curious man, Grainier is haunted by his past, bewildered by the changing world, and mystified by his own fleeting existence.—John Nein

DIRECTOR
Clint Bentley

SCREENWRITER
Clint Bentley
Greg Kwedar

PRODUCERS
Marissa McMahon
Teddy Schwarzman
Will Janowitz
Ashley Schlaifer
Michael Heimler

CAST
Joel Edgerton
Felicity Jones
Kerry Condon
William H. Macy

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. Dea Kulumbegashvili’s April — an uncompromising, singular examination of the ways women’s rights and bodies are controlled and imperiled by patriarchy and cultural oppression — premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize. Aided by cinematographer Arseni Khachaturan (and incorporating actual scenes of childbirth), Kulumbegashvili deploys transcendently beautiful, frequently unsettling visual compositions to confront grim truths head-on in ways both surrealistically poetic and heartbreakingly matter-of-fact. Straddling worlds and identities, Nina provokes a simmering tension as an outsider in the most modern and traditional of spaces. Actor Ia Sukhitashvili maintains her character’s haunted dignity with a performance that vividly manifests the personal cost of her choices. April is a violent whisper of a film, forcing us to acknowledge the parallel truths between Nina’s world and our own.—Heidi Zwicker

DIRECTOR
Dea Kulumbegashvili

SCREENWRITER
Dea Kulumbegashvili

PRODUCERS
Luca Guadagnino
David Zerat
Francesco Melzi d’Eril
Archil Gelovani
Gabriele Moratti
Alexandra Rossi
Ilan Amouyal

CAST
Ia Sukhitashvili
Kakha Kintsurashvili

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. One to One: John & Yoko, which premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, is a remarkable gem that will captivate even the most devoted Lennon and Ono fans. At its core is the masterfully restored footage of the charity concert benefiting disabled children, the only full-length performance Lennon gave after leaving The Beatles. Co-directors Kevin Macdonald (Life in a Day 2020, 2021 Sundance Film Festival) and Sam Rice-Edwards weave a treasure trove of unseen personal archives, offering an intimate yet vibrant glimpse into Lennon and Ono’s newly established New York life. While they spent time watching TV and exploring the highs and lows of American culture and politics, they were also deeply engaged: creating music, resisting deportation threats, and connecting with radical thinkers.—Ania Trzebiatowska

DIRECTOR
Kevin Macdonald

PRODUCERS
Kevin Macdonald
Alice Webb
Peter Worsley

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. Where adventure, wonder, and magic converge, the Ochi reside. Writer-director Isiah Saxon crafts a world that’s rife with imagination — a paradise for fantastical creatures and humans alike, though not without a little danger. Dense forests and alpine terrain give way to one girl’s culture-shifting bravery that serves to light a fire in the parts of us that are keen to go against the grain. Helena Zengel delivers an impassioned performance of defiance and care, opposite the ever-animated Willem Dafoe, her Ochi-crazed father. Ochi is an environmentalist’s tale, a family’s tale, an animal lover’s tale, and more — reminiscent of our favorite (and now seldom-seen) fantastical family adventure films. The Legend of Ochi is an adventure in the purest sense, suitable for and sure to enliven most audiences.—Cameron Asharian

DIRECTOR
Isaiah Saxon

SCREENWRITER
Isaiah Saxon

PRODUCERS
Richard Peete
Traci Carlson
Isaiah Saxon
Jonathan Wang

CAST
Helena Zengel
Finn Wolfhard
Emily Watson
Willem Dafoe

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. An independent film pioneer, Gregory Nava developed El Norte at the first Sundance Institute Directors Lab in 1981. Its lyrical intensity and epic quality (Roger Ebert called it “Grapes of Wrath for our time”) stems from its blend of social and dream realism and its captivating performances. As timely as ever, it advances a politics of compassion while depicting two Central American refugees fleeing political violence. Their harrowing journey through Mexico to the U.S. delivers them into an America they’ve seen only in magazines. With humanity and humor, it portrays a community of undocumented workers struggling to find identity and a sense of home. Oscar-nominated for Best Original Screenplay, El Norte was restored in 2017 by the Academy Film Archive, supported in part by the Getty Foundation. Special thanks to Lionsgate Films.

DIRECTOR
Gregory Nava

SCREENWRITERS
Gregory Nava
Anna Thomas

PRODUCER
Anna Thomas

CAST
Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez
David Villalpando
Ernesto Gómez Cruz
Lupe Ontiveros
Trinidad Silva
Alicia del Lago

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. Sundance is proud to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the first great American fashion documentary, Unzipped, a film that launched an entire subgenre. Director Douglas Keeve established a formula when he chose to follow a breakout designer rushing to create a new collection to launch at Fashion Week. Keeve weaves together a dizzying collection of go-sees, fittings, photoshoots, and fashion shows, riding the whirlwind of Isaac Mizrahi’s work life. Editor Paula Heredia’s rapid-fire style darts between passing moments of glamour, only occasionally slowing down to relish time backstage with icons like Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford. Cinematographer Ellen Kuras’ camera oozes cool as it swaps black-and-white to color film, giving the viewer an insider’s peek into ’90s chic.— Charlie Sextro Unzipped has been digitally restored by Sundance Institute and UCLA Film & Television Archive, funded by Isaac Mizrahi Entertainment.

DIRECTOR
Douglas Keeve

PRODUCER
Michael Alden

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.” Remarkably important on a national level, Bucks is a swing county within a swing state that boasts a mix of suburbia, rural farmland, and industrial working-class folks. While division has always existed, a global pandemic expanded the nationwide culture war to a new frontier, landing in tight-knit communities and schools. As starkly opposing factions vie for control of the school boards and the policies they create, all in the name of protecting their children, the future generation is watching, listening, and absorbing it all. Through the youthful lens of Evi and Vanessa, can we learn that it’s possible to coexist and love one another despite our differing political views? The Festival is proud to present the first two episodes of this timely five-part docu-series, along with a preview of what’s to come.—Adam Montgomery

DIRECTOR
Robert May
Barry Levinson

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Barry Levinson
Robert May
Jason Sosnoff
Mark Axelwitz
Nick Dunn
Sarah Cross
David Smick
Jonathan E. Lim
Robin Jonas
Steven P. Wegner

An undermedicated, chronically impassioned young woman lurches from crisis to crisis of her own making.

DIRECTOR
Andrew Leeds

SCREENWRITER
Joanna Leeds

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Joanna Leeds
Andrew Leeds
Rhett Reese
Caleb Reese

CAST
Allen Leech
Tim Bagley
Nick Armstrong
Andrew Friedman
Adargiza De Los Santos
Leonard Robinson
Karen Huie

At a Los Angeles house party, an aspiring musician pursues her crush through a crowd of hopeful dreamers chasing empty promises.

DIRECTOR
Erin Brown Thomas

SCREENWRITERS
Erin Brown Thomas
Ciarra Krohne

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Tara Hotchkis
Jake Thomas
Erin Brown Thomas
Ciarra Krohne

CAST
Amber Khieralla
Daniel Rashid
Dexter Farren Haag
Hunter Stiebel
Nicko Sabado

Hal and Harper and Dad chart the evolution of their family. Director Cooper Raiff (Cha Cha Real Smooth, 2022 Sundance Film Festival), also appearing as the eponymous Hal, presents two siblings who consider their codependence a feature, not a bug. As Harper, Lili Reinhart superbly mirrors Raiff’s sardonic yet wounded nature, while demonstrating an engaging solemnity all her own. Their intimacy is built on a lifetime of inside jokes and shared pains, portrayed via flashbacks where Raiff and Reinhart play the elementary school-aged versions of themselves. Raiff’s familial tone weaves the balance between children on the precipice of damage and adults mired in self-made messes. As their father, Mark Ruffalo brings a wry charm that belies a chasm of guilt, firmly at the root of all that Hal & Harper is trying to uncover.

The Festival is thrilled to share the first four episodes of this outstanding new series with our in-person audience, as well as all eight episodes of the first season via our online platform.— Drea Clark

DIRECTOR
Cooper Raiff

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Cooper Raiff
Clementine Quittner
Lili Reinhart
Daniel Lewis
Addison Timlin

CAST
Lili Reinhart
Mark Ruffalo
Betty Gilpin
Havana Rose Liu
Addison Timlin
Alyah Chanelle Scott
Cooper Raiff

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.

SHOWRUNNERS
David Anthony Ngo
Erin Williams-Weir

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
John Battsek
Chris Smith

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. Beloved for nostalgic, avant garde programs like Pee-wee’s Playhouse, Pee-wee Herman became a lynchpin of American culture and a household name. Behind the scenes, artist Paul Reubens wanted control of Pee-wee’s fictional world as much as he wanted to dictate the public’s awareness of himself (or lack thereof). That divide backfired when scandal hit. Attempting to unearth the real Paul is the heart of this documentary, where revelations are equally vulnerable, candid, and sarcastically guarded. His earliest influences, performance art background, and complicated relationship with sexuality are aided by a trove of archival footage and never- before-seen personal photographs. Often sparring with off-screen director Matt Wolf, Reubens is a captivating and complex subject seeking to control his own story until the very end. The Festival is excited to present this remarkable two-part documentary in its entirety.—Drea Clark

DIRECTOR
Matt Wolf

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Josh Safdie
Benny Safdie
Ronnie Bronstein
Eli Bush
Paul Reubens
Candace Tomarken
Kyle Martin
Sara Rodriguez
Lisa Heller
Nancy Abraham

SUBJECT
Paul Reubens