87 features representing 33 countries lead the first wave of programming for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Sundance 2025, which screens in-person at Park City January 23 to February 2, offers a line-up with many new voices alongside notable names. 41% of the feature directors are making their feature debuts. This year’s line-up also boasts a respectable number of Canadian productions and co-productions.
Endless Cookie, directed by Seth Scriver and Peter Scriver will premiere in the World Cinema Documentary programme. The film offers a road movie about two half-brothers, one of whom is Indigenous, as they embark on an exploration of identity. The Scrivers previously made the acclaimed animated feature Asphalt Watches. Also premiering in the World Cinema Documentary slate is the Canadian co-production Cutting through Rocks. The film directed by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni tells the story of Sara Shahverdi, the first woman to be elected to council in her Iranian village. On the dramatic side, Canadian films in the World Cinema Dramatic competition include Two Women, directed by Chloé Robichaud; The Things You Kill, directed by Alireza Khatami; Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears), directed by Rohan Parashuram Kanawade; and in the Midnight section, Grace Glowicki’s Dead Lover.
Other documentaries coming to Sundance 2025 include 2000 Meters to Andriivka, which offers another story from the invasion in Ukraine as Sundance Audience Award winner and Oscar winner Mstyslav Chernov (20 Days in Mariupol) returns to the World Cinema Competition. On the U.S. side of the docs, Jennifer Tiexiera (Subject) and Guy Mossman (The Human Trial) offer Speak, a competition doc about spoken-word artists. After winning the directing prize for I Didn’t See You There, Reid Davenport returns to the festival with Life After, which explores the story of Elizabeth Bouvia, a disabled woman who sought the right to die, while Shoshannah Stern profiles Oscar winner Marlee Matlin, who made history as a Deaf performer, in the documentary Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore.
In the Premieres section, meanwhile, Sundance offers a stacked list of big names. After winning the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the 2021 festival for Summer of Soul, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson returns to the festival with music doc SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius). He’s joined by Oscar winner Davis Guggenheim, who is back with Deaf President, directed with Nyle DiMarco. The doc explores a tense week at a Deaf school where students face a fateful decision. Directors Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing get back to school too with Folktales, which observes students at a traditional folk high school in Arctic Norway. And in Middletown, Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine explore the story of a group of students who made a shocking discovery while making a film.
Also coming back to the festival is Good Night Oppy and Pamela: A Love Story director Ryan White with Come See Me in the Good Light, which promises a poetic take on two women’s experiences with cancer. Making some moves, meanwhile, is director Elegance Bratton, who returns to documentary after The Inspection with Move Ya Body: The Birth of House. The film lets audiences hit the dance floors of clubs in the South Side of Chicago. And in Sundance’s genre-bending Next Programme, Charlie Shackleton offers another signature film-on-film story by considering an abandoned Zodiac Killer documentary and the popularity of true crime.
“For nearly a year our team has been preparing for today, the moment when we can finally reveal the filmmakers who, in a few short weeks, we’ll present at the 2025 edition of the Sundance Film Festival,” said Eugene Hernandez, Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming, in a statement from the festival. “This year’s program is ready to meet our audiences, the industry, and the wider culture in a moment of many global questions. The works our artists will debut at our upcoming Festival will spark conversation and invite connection. We’re excited to be sharing these moments of discovery together with our communities soon and thankful to our artists for entrusting us with their stories.”
“This year’s program presents stories that confront many critical issues of our time, encouraging us to look both inward and outward. As always, we’re excited to introduce audiences to new voices, alongside new work from some familiar names,” said Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming. “Audiences at the Festival can not only look forward to engaging with the unexpected, but also to be entertained, challenged, and deeply moved by this year’s films.”
The documentaries announced for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival are as follows:
U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Andre is an Idiot / U.S.A. (Director: Anthony Benna, Producers: Andre Ricciardi, Tory Tunnell, Joshua Altman, Stelio Kitrilakis, Ben Cotner) — Andre, a brilliant idiot, is dying because he didn’t get a colonoscopy. His sobering diagnosis, complete irreverence, and insatiable curiosity, send him on an unexpected journey learning how to die happily and ridiculously without losing his sense of humor. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Life After / U.S.A. (Director: Reid Davenport, Producer: Colleen Cassingham) — In 1983, a disabled Californian woman named Elizabeth Bouvia sought the “right to die,” igniting a national debate about autonomy, dignity, and the value of disabled lives. After years of courtroom trials, Bouvia disappeared from public view. Disabled director Reid Davenport narrates this investigation of what happened to Bouvia. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Shoshannah Stern, Producers: Robyn Kopp, Justine Nagan, Bonni Cohen) — In 1987, Marlee Matlin became the first Deaf actor to win an Academy Award and was thrust into the spotlight at 21 years old. Reflecting on her life in her primary language of American Sign Language, Marlee explores the complexities of what it means to be a trailblazer. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
The Perfect Neighbor / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Geeta Gandbhir, Producers: Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne, Sam Bisbee) — A seemingly minor neighborhood dispute in Florida escalates into deadly violence. Police bodycam footage and investigative interviews expose the consequences of Florida’s “stand your ground” laws. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Predators / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: David Osit, Producers: Jamie Gonçalves, Kellen Quinn) — To Catch a Predator was a popular television show designed to hunt down child predators and lure them to a film set, where they would be interviewed and eventually arrested. An exploration of the scintillating rise and staggering fall of the show and the world it helped create. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Seeds / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Brittany Shyne, Producer: Danielle Varga) — An exploration of Black generational farmers in the American South reveals the fragility of legacy and the significance of owning land. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Selena y Los Dinos / U.S.A. (Director: Isabel Castro, Producers: Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, J. Daniel Torres, David Blackman, Simran Singh) — Selena Quintanilla — the “Queen of Tejano Music” — and her family band, Selena y Los Dinos, rose from performing at quinceañeras to selling out stadium tours. The celebration of her life and legacy is chronicled through never-before-seen footage from the family’s personal archive. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Speak. / U.S.A. (Directors and Producers: Jennifer Tiexiera, Guy Mossman, Producer: Pamela Griner) — Five top-ranked high school oratory students spend a year crafting spellbinding spoken word performances with the dream of winning one of the world’s largest and most intense public speaking competitions. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Sugar Babies / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Rachel Fleit, Producers: Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon, Mehrdod Heydari) — Autumn is an enterprising college scholarship recipient and burgeoning TikTok influencer. Part of a close circle of friends growing up poor in rural Louisiana, she is determined to overcome the struggles and barriers defining them. Faced with limited minimum wage job options, Autumn devises an online sugar baby operation. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Third Act / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Tadashi Nakamura, Producer: Eurie Chung) — Generations of artists call Robert A. Nakamura “the godfather of Asian American media,” but filmmaker Tadashi Nakamura calls him Dad. Robert’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease leads to an exploration of art, activism, grief, and fatherhood. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
2000 Meters to Andriivka / Ukraine (Director and Producer: Mstyslav Chernov, Producers: Michelle Mizner, Raney Aronson-Rath) — Amid the failing counteroffensive, a journalist follows a Ukrainian platoon on their mission to traverse one mile of heavily fortified forest and liberate a strategic village from Russian occupation. But the farther they advance through their destroyed homeland, the more they realize that this war may never end. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Coexistence, My Ass! / U.S.A., France (Director and Producer: Amber Fares, Screenwriters: Rachel Leah Jones, Rabab Haj Yahya, Producer: Rachel Leah Jones, Valérie Montmartin) — Comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi creates a personal and political one-woman show about the struggle for equality in Israel/Palestine. When the elusive coexistence she’s spent her life working toward starts sounding like a bad joke, she challenges her audiences with hard truths that are no laughing matter. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Cutting Through Rocks (اوزاک یوللار) / Iran, Germany, U.S.A., Netherlands, Qatar, Chile, Canada (Directors and Producers: Sara Khaki, Mohammadreza Eyni) — As the first elected councilwoman of her Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi aims to break long-held patriarchal traditions by training teenage girls to ride motorcycles and stopping child marriages. When accusations arise questioning Sara’s intentions to empower the girls, her identity is put in turmoil. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
The Dating Game / U.S.A., U.K., Norway (Director and Producer: Violet Du Feng, Producers: Joanna Natasegara, James Costa, Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas) — In a country where eligible men greatly outnumber women, three perpetual bachelors join an intensive seven-day dating camp led by one of China’s most sought-after dating coaches in what may be their last-ditch effort to find love. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Endless Cookie / Canada (Directors and Screenwriters: Seth Scriver, Peter Scriver, Producers: Daniel Bekerman, Chris Yurkovich, Alex Ordanis, Jason Ryle, Seth Scriver) — Exploring the complex bond between two half brothers — one Indigenous, one white — traveling from the present in isolated Shamattawa to bustling 1980s Toronto. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
GEN_ / France, Italy, Switzerland (Director and Screenwriter: Gianluca Matarrese, Screenwriter: Donatella Della Ratta, Producers: Dominique Barneaud, Donatella Palermo, Alexandre Iordachescu) — At Milan’s Niguarda public hospital, the unconventional Dr. Bini leads a bold mission overseeing aspiring parents undergoing in vitro fertilization and the journeys of individuals reconciling their bodies with their gender identities. He navigates the constraints set by a conservative government and an aggressive market eager to commodify bodies. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
How to Build a Library / Kenya (Directors, Screenwriters, and Producers: Maia Lekow, Christopher King, Screenwriter: Ricardo Acosta) — Two intrepid Nairobi women decide to transform what used to be a whites-only library until 1958 into a vibrant cultural hub. Along the way, they must navigate local politics, raise millions for the rebuild, and confront the lingering ghosts of Kenya’s colonial past. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Khartoum / Sudan, U.K., Germany, Qatar (Directors: Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed, Phil Cox, Screenwriter: Phil Cox, Producers: Giovanna Stopponi, Talal Afifi) — Forced to leave Sudan for East Africa following the outbreak of war, five citizens of Khartoum — a civil servant, a tea lady, a resistance committee volunteer, and two young bottle collectors — reenact their stories of survival and freedom through dreams, revolution, and civil war. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Mr. Nobody Against Putin / Denmark, Czech Republic (Director and Screenwriter: David Borenstein, Producer: Helle Faber) — As Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, primary schools across Russia’s hinterlands are transformed into recruitment stages for the war. Facing the ethical dilemma of working in a system defined by propaganda and violence, a brave teacher goes undercover to film what’s really happening in his own school. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Prime Minister / U.S.A. (Directors: Michelle Walshe, Lindsay Utz, Producers: Cass Avery, Leon Kirkbeck, Gigi Pritzker, Rachel Shane, Katie Peck) — A view inside the life of former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, capturing her through five tumultuous years in power and beyond as she redefined leadership on the world stage. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
NEXT
Zodiac Killer Project / U.S.A., U.K. (Director and Producer: Charlie Shackleton, Producers: Catherine Bray, Anthony Ing) — Against the backdrop of sunbaked parking lots, deserted courthouses, and empty suburban homes — the familiar spaces of true crime, stripped of all action and spectacle — a filmmaker describes his abandoned Zodiac Killer documentary and probes the inner workings of a genre at saturation point. World Premiere. Documentary. Available online for Public.
PREMIERES
April & Amanda / U.S.A. (Director: Zackary Drucker, Producers: Madison Passarelli, Douglas Banker, Alex Garinger, Noah Levy, Donovan Lovell, Stephen B. Strout) — Two legends contested their identities as women in the court of public opinion: April Ashley, who was immortalized as a trailblazer by embracing her transgender history; and Amanda Lear, who has consciously denied and obfuscated her history for decades. Their divergent paths reveal disparate but intertwined legacies. World Premiere. Documentary.
Come See Me in the Good Light / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Ryan White, Producers: Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen) — Two poets, one incurable cancer diagnosis. Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley go on an unexpectedly funny and poignant journey through love, life, and mortality. World Premiere. Documentary.
Deaf President Now! / U.S.A. (Directors and Producers: Nyle DiMarco, Davis Guggenheim, Producers: Jonathan King, Amanda Rohlke, Michael Harte) — During eight tumultuous days in 1988 at the world’s only Deaf university, four students must find a way to lead an angry mob — and change the course of history. World Premiere. Documentary. Available online for Public.
FOLKTALES / U.S.A., Norway (Directors and Producers: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady) — On the precipice of adulthood, teenagers converge at a traditional folk high school in Arctic Norway. Dropped at the edge of the world, they must rely on only themselves, one another, and a loyal pack of sled dogs as they all grow in unexpected directions. World Premiere. Documentary.
Free Leonard Peltier / U.S.A. (Director: Jesse Short Bull, Director and Producer: David France, Producers: Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire) — Leonard Peltier, one of the surviving leaders of the American Indian Movement, has been in prison for 50 years following a contentious conviction. A new generation of Native activists is committed to winning his freedom before he dies. World Premiere. Documentary.
Heightened Scrutiny / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Sam Feder, Producers: Amy Scholder, Paola Mendoza) — Amid the surge in anti-trans legislation that Chase Strangio battles in the courtroom, he must also fight against media bias, exposing how the narratives in the press influence public perception and the fight for transgender rights. World Premiere. Documentary. Available online for Public.
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Amy Berg, Producers: Ryan Heller, Christine Connor, Mandy Chang, Jennie Bedusa, Matthew Roozen) — Rising musician Jeff Buckley had only released one album when he died suddenly in 1997. Now, never-before-seen footage, exclusive voice messages, and accounts from those closest to him offer a portrait of the captivating singer. World Premiere. Documentary.
The Librarians / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Kim A. Snyder, Producers: Janique L. Robillard, Maria Cuomo Cole, Jana Edelbaum) — As an unprecedented wave of book banning is sparked in Texas, Florida, and beyond, librarians under siege join forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy. World Premiere. Documentary.
Middletown / U.S.A. (Directors, Screenwriters, and Producers: Jesse Moss, Amanda McBaine, Producers: Teddy Leifer, Florrie Priest, Danny Breen) — Inspired by an unconventional teacher, a group of teenagers in upstate New York in the early 1990s made a student film that uncovered a vast conspiracy involving toxic waste that was poisoning their community. Thirty years later, they revisit their film and confront the legacy of this transformative experience. World Premiere. Documentary.
Move Ya Body: The Birth of House / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Elegance Bratton, Producer: Chester Algernal Gordon) — Out of the underground dance clubs on the South Side of Chicago, a group of friends turn a new sound into a global movement. World Premiere. Documentary.
SALLY / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Cristina Costantini, Screenwriter: Tom Maroney, Producers: Lauren Cioffi, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin) — Sally Ride became the first American woman to blast off into space, but beneath her unflappable composure was a secret. Sally’s life partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy, reveals their hidden romance and the sacrifices that accompanied their 27 years together. World Premiere. Documentary. Available online for Public. 2025 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize Winner.
SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) / U.S.A. (Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Producers: Joseph Patel, Derik Murray) — An examination of the life and legacy of Sly & The Family Stone — the groundbreaking band led by the charismatic and enigmatic Sly Stone — captures the band’s rise, reign, and subsequent fadeout while shedding light on the unseen burden that comes with success for Black artists in America. World Premiere. Documentary.
EPISODIC
Bucks County, USA / U.S.A. (Directors and Executive Producers: Barry Levinson, Robert May, Executive Producer: Jason Sosnoff) — Evi and Vanessa, two 14-year-olds living in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, are best friends despite their opposing political beliefs. As nationwide disputes over public education explode into vitriol and division in their hometown, the girls and others in the community fight to discover the humanity in “the other side.” World Premiere. Documentary. Five-part docu-series, screening episodes one and two.
Pee-wee as Himself / U.S.A. (Director: Matt Wolf, Producer: Emma Tillinger Koskoff) — A chronicle of the life of artist and performer Paul Reubens and his alter ego Pee-wee Herman. Prior to his recent death, Reubens spoke in-depth about his creative influences, and the personal struggles he faced to persevere as an artist. World Premiere. Documentary. Two-part documentary, screening in its entirety.
