Erivo, who currently stars as Elphaba in “Wicked,” will receive the Visionary Award for her “uncompromising work and notable contributions to the entertainment industry.”

Mangold, who directed the upcoming Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” that stars Timothée Chalamet, will receive the Trailblazer Award in recognition for his “unwavering dedication and notable contributions to the field of cinema.”

“Receiving the Visionary Award is an honor that fills me with immense gratitude,” Erivo said in a statement. “Sundance has always been a sanctuary for bold voices and transformative narratives, and to be a part of and recognized by this incredible community is deeply meaningful. Storytelling is the foundation of my work, and it’s a privilege to celebrate this art form alongside so many extraordinary creators. This recognition inspires me to continue championing bold, diverse stories that connect, challenge, and uplift us all.”

“Sundance has been many things in my life; a far away dream on a mountain, a laboratory at which I developed the script for Cop Land, a festival at which I debuted Heavy, my first feature, and later, a place I have proudly mentored talented young filmmakers,” Mangold said in a statement. “I am floored and flattered that Sundance thought my body of work was worthy of this honor.”

Added Amanda Kelso, acting CEO of the Sundance Institute, whose statement reads in part: “James Mangold and Cynthia Erivo embody the very essence of creativity and impact within the arts…. We are thrilled to honor James with the Trailblazer Award and Cynthia with the Visionary Award, celebrating their extraordinary achievements and the powerful stories they continue to bring to life.”

Erivo and Mangold join previously announced honoree Michelle Satter, founding senior director of artist programs at Sundance Institute, who will be recognized for her commitment to nurturing artists and cultivating independent film through Sundance Labs for the past four decades.

Dìdi writer-director Sean Wang and Sugarcane co-directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie will also be given the Vanguard Awards, as previously announced. Both of their films premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

The gala celebration will be held at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in Park City, Utah, and is co-chaired by board chair Ebs Burnough and board trustee Pat Mitchell. The gala aims to raise funds for the Sundance Institute to continue to support independent artists through labs, grants and public programming for artists from all over the world.

The post Cynthia Erivo, James Mangold to Be Honored at 2025 Sundance Gala appeared first on TheWrap.

Ahead of the festival, which runs from from Jan. 23 to Feb. 2, TheWrap spoke to Eugene Hernandez, Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming and Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming, about this year’s festival – what people should look out for and if they’re ready for the Sundance arrival of Lopez, whose new version of “Kiss of the Spider Woman” from director Bill Condon is one of the buzzier titles at the festival.

Considering this is awards season, Hernandez said that Sundance is “the crystal ball.” “This is the chance to look into the future,” Hernandez said. And he’s right – current Oscar contenders like “A Real Pain” and “Will and Harper” made their debut at this year’s festival.

“As we put together the program, we’re never looking for specific themes nor do we have a an agenda as we’re programming. But I think that what I think one of the things that we did see later, as we are looking back at the program and the work that we’ve done, is we did see this idea of very personal stories coursing through the films, from the fiction side to the documentaries,” Yutani said.

“You are seeing a lot of films that are made from a very personal perspective and maybe this is something that you see every year at Sundance, because I think what we are looking for is work that is authentic and is coming from a very pure place of film, and voices from filmmakers that are expressing something that is important to them. They’re trying to process the world.” She pointed out that over 40% of the films that will screen at Sundance 2025 are from first-time feature filmmakers.

Hernandez is looking forward to the “experience of discovery,” particularly as the lineup is revealed. “Folks can start Googling and searching to get more background, because there’s a lot here to connect with,” Hernandez said.

As for “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” it was a film that the team saw and was impressed to learn was an independent production — it was produced by Lopez’s former husband Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity. The film marks the first time director Bill Condon has been part of the festival since 1998 when he brought “Gods and Monsters,” which would eventually win Condon an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

“It feels like a great homecoming for Bill. We’re really excited to have him back. This is a film that I think really speaks to the moment. Many people are familiar with the source material, whether it be another film or a book or a musical, but I think this is such a great big screen cinematic experience. We cannot wait to world premiere this film,” said Yutani.

Hernandez added: “We are so excited that she is so excited to be at Sundance this year. It’s going to be a great experience to have the film.”

As for more under-the-radar picks, Yutani recommended “Together,” starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco and “Dead Lover,” “a Canadian film made in this lo-fi way.” Both are part of the Midnight Madness programming block.

You can read more about those films – and many more! – below.

U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION

The U.S. Dramatic Competition offers Festivalgoers a first look at the world premieres of groundbreaking new voices in American independent film. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Dìdi (弟弟), A Real Pain, In The Summers, Nanny, CODA, Minari, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, The Farewell, Clemency, Eighth Grade, and Sorry to Bother You.

Atropia / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Hailey Gates, Producers: Naima Abed, Emilie Georges, Luca Guadagnino, Lana Kim, Jett Steiger) — 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. Cast: Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, Chloë Sevigny, Tim Heidecker, Jane Levy. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

Bubble & Squeak / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Evan Twohy, Producers: Christina Oh, Steven Yeun) — 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. Cast: Himesh Patel, Sarah Goldberg, Steven Yeun, Dave Franco, Matt Berry. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Bunnylovr / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Katarina Zhu, Producers: Tristan Scott-Behrends, Ani Schroeter, Rhianon Jones, Roger Mancusi, Rachel Sennott) — 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. Cast: Katarina Zhu, Rachel Sennott, Austin Amelio, Perry Yung, Jack Kilmer. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

Love, Brooklyn / U.S.A. (Director: Rachael Abigail Holder, Screenwriter: Paul Zimmerman, Producers: André Holland, Kate Sharp, Patrick Wengler, Maurice Anderson, Liza Zusman) — Three longtime Brooklynites navigate careers, love, loss, and friendship against the rapidly changing landscape of their beloved city. Cast: André Holland, Nicole Beharie, DeWanda Wise, Roy Wood Jr., Cassandra Freeman, Cadence Reese. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Omaha / U.S.A. (Director: Cole Webley, Screenwriter: Robert Machoian, Producer: Preston Lee) — 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. Cast: John Magaro, Molly Belle Wright, Wyatt Solis, Talia Balsam. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

Plainclothes / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Carmen Emmi, Producers: Colby Cote, Arthur Landon, Eric Podwall, Vanessa Pantley) — A promising undercover officer assigned to lure and arrest gay men defies orders when he falls in love with a target. Cast: Tom Blyth, Russell Tovey, Maria Dizzia, Christian Cooke, Gabe Fazio, Amy Forsyth. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

Ricky / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Rashad Frett, Screenwriter: Lin Que Ayoung, Producers: Pierre M. Coleman, Simon TaufiQue, Sterling Brim, Josh Peters, DC Wade, Cary Fukunaga) — Newly released after being locked up in his teens, 30-year-old Ricky navigates the challenging realities of life post-incarceration, and the complexity of gaining independence for the first time as an adult. Cast: Stephan James, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Titus Welliver, Maliq Johnson, Imani Lewis, Andrene Ward-Hammond. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

Sorry, Baby / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Eva Victor, Producers: Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins) — Something bad happened to Agnes. But life goes on… for everyone around her, at least. Cast: Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Lucas Hedges, John Carroll Lynch, Louis Cancelmi, Kelly McCormack. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake) / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Sierra Falconer, Producer: Grant Ellison) — 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. Cast: Maren Heary, Jim Kaplan, Karsen Liotta, Dominic Bogart, Tenley Kellogg, Emily Hall. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

Twinless / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: James Sweeney, Producer: David Permut) — Two young men meet in a twin bereavement support group and form an unlikely bromance. Cast: Dylan O’Brien, James Sweeney, Lauren Graham, Aisling Franciosi, Tasha Smith, Chris Perfetti. World Premiere. Available online for Public. 

U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

The U.S. Documentary Competition offers Festivalgoers a first look at world premieres of nonfiction American films illuminating the ideas, people, and events that shape the present day. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Daughters, Sugarcane, Porcelain War, Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, Navalny, Fire of Love, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Boys State, Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution, Knock Down the House, One Child Nation, American Factory, Three Identical Strangers, and On Her Shoulders.

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 DRAMATIC COMPETITION

These narrative feature films from emerging talent around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Girls Will Be Girls, Sujo, Scrapper, Mami Wata, Hive, The Souvenir, The Guilty, Monos, Yardie, The Nile Hilton Incident, and Second Mother.

Brides / U.K. (Director: Nadia Fall, Screenwriter: Suhayla El-Bushra, Producers: Nicky Bentham, Marica Stocchi) — Two teenage girls in search of freedom, friendship, and belonging run away from their troubled lives with a misguided plan of traveling to Syria. Cast: Ebada Hassan, Safiyya Ingar, Yusra Warsama, Cemre Ebuzziya, Aziz Capkurt. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

DJ Ahmet /North Macedonia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Croatia (Director and Screenwriter: Georgi M. Unkovski, Producers: Ivan Unkovski, Ivana Shekutkoska) — 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. Cast: Arif Jakup, Agush Agushev, Dora Akan Zlatanova, Aksel Mehmet, Selpin Kerim, Atila Klince. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

LUZ /Hong Kong, China (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Flora Lau, Producers: Yvette Tang, Joseph Sinn Gi Chan, Stephen Lam) —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. Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Sandrine Pinna, Xiao Dong Guo, Lu Huang, David Chiang, En Xi Deng. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) /India, U.K., Canada (Director and Screenwriter: Rohan Parashuram Kanawade, Producers: Neeraj Churi, Mohamed Khaki, Kaushik Ray, Hareesh Reddypalli, Naren Chandavarkar, Sidharth Meer) — 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. Cast: Bhushaan Manoj, Suraaj Suman, Jayshri Jagtap. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Sauna /Denmark (Director and Screenwriter: Mathias Broe, Screenwriter: William Lippert, Producer: Mads-August Hertz) — 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. Cast: Magnus Juhl Andersen, Nina Rask, Dilan Amin, Klaus Tange. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Sukkwan Island / France (Director and Screenwriter: Vladimir de Fontenay, Producers: Carole Scotta, Eliott Khayat, Caroline Benjo) — 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. Cast: Swann Arlaud, Woody Norman, Alma Pöysti, Ruaridh Mollica, Tuppence Middleton. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

The Things You Kill /Turkey, France, Poland, Canada (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Alireza Khatami, Producers: Elisa Sepulveda Ruddoff, Cyriac Auriol, Mariusz Włodarski, Michael Solomon) — Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, a university professor coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance. Cast: Ekin Koç, Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, Hazar Ergüçlü, Ercan Kesal. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Two Women / Canada (Director: Chloé Robichaud, Screenwriter and Producer: Catherine Léger Producer: Martin Paul-Hus) — 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. Cast: Karine Gonthier-Hyndman, Laurence Leboeuf, Félix Moati, Mani Soleymanlou, Sophie Nelisse, Juliette Gariépy. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

The Virgin of Quarry Lake /Argentina, Spain, Mexico (Director: Laura Casabé, Screenwriter: Benjamin Naishtat, Producers: Tomas Eloy Muñoz, Valeria Bistagnino, Alejandro Israel, David Matamoros, Angeles Hernandez, Diego Martinez Ulanosky) — 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. Cast: Dolores Oliverio, Luisa Merelas, Fernanda Echevarría, Dady Brieva, Agustín Sosa. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

Where the Wind Comes From / Tunisia, France, Qatar (Director and Screenwriter: Amel Guellaty, Producers: Asma Chihoub, Karim Aitouna) — 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. Cast: Eya Bellagha, Slim Baccar. World Premiere. Available online for Public.

WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

These nonfiction feature films from emerging talent around the world showcase some of the most courageous and extraordinary filmmaking today. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include A New Kind of Wilderness, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, The Eternal Memory, 20 Days in Mariupol, All That Breathes, Flee, Honeyland, Sea of Shadows, Shirkers, and Last Men in Aleppo.

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, Clarke Gayford, 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

Pure, bold works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling populate this program. Unfettered creativity promises that the films in this section will shape the greater next wave in global cinema. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include Little Death, Seeking Mavis Beacon, KOKOMO CITY, A Love Song, RIOTSVILLE, USA, Searching, Skate Kitchen, A Ghost Story, and Tangerine.NEXT is presented by Adobe.

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Kahlil Joseph, Screenwriters: Saidiya Hartman, Irvin Hunt, Producers: Onye Anyanwu, Amy Greenleaf, Nic Gonda) –– 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. Cast: Shaunette Renée Wilson, Kaneza Schaal, Hope Giselle, Peter Hernandez, Penny Johnson Jerald, Zora Casebere. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

By Design / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Amanda Kramer, Producers: Miranda Bailey, Sarah Winshall, Natalie Whalen, Jacob Agger) –– A woman swaps bodies with a chair, and everyone likes her better as a chair. Cast: Juliette Lewis, Mamoudou Athie, Melanie Griffith, Samantha Mathis, Robin Tunney, Udo Kier. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

East of Wall / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Kate Beecroft, Producers: Lila Yacoub, Melanie Ramsayer, Shannon Moss) –– 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. Cast: Tabatha Zimiga, Porshia Zimiga, Scoot McNairy, Jennifer Ehle. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo) / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Joel Alfonso Vargas, Producer: Paolo Maria Pedullà) –– Rico’s summer is a 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 carefree days come spiraling down. Cast: Juan Collado, Destiny Checo, Yohanna Florentino, Nathaly Navarro. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

OBEX / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Albert Birney, Screenwriter and Producer: Pete Ohs, Producers: Emma Hannaway, James Belfer) –– 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. Cast: Albert Birney, Callie Hernandez, Frank Mosley. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

Rains Over Babel / Colombia, U.S.A., Spain (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Gala del Sol, Producers: H.A Hermida, Ana Cristina Gutiérrez, Andrés Hermida, Natalia Rendón Rodríguez) –– 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. Cast: Saray Rebolledo, Felipe Aguilar Rodríguez, John Alex Castillo, William Hurtado, Santiago Pineda, Celina Biurrun. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

Serious People /U.S.A. (Directors and Screenwriters: Pasqual Gutierrez, Ben Mullinkosson, Producers: Ryan Hahn, Teddy Lee, Laurel Thomson) –– 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. Cast: Pasqual Gutierrez, Christine Yuan, Miguel Huerta, Raul Sanchez. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

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

This showcase of world premieres presents highly anticipated films on a variety of subjects in both fiction and nonfiction. Fiction films that have screened in Premieres include A Different Man, Past Lives, Passages, Promising Young Woman, Kajillionaire, The Report, The Big Sick, and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande. Past documentary films include Will & Harper, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, Invisible Beauty, The Dissident, Lucy and Desi, and Miss Americana.

All That’s Left of You (اللي باقي منك) / Germany, Cyprus (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Cherien Dabis, Producers: Thanassis Karathanos, Martin Hampel, Karim Amer) –– 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. Cast: Cherien Dabis, Saleh Bakri, Adam Bakri, Mohammad Bakri, Maria Zreik, Muhammad Abed Elrahman. World Premiere. Fiction.

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.

The Ballad of Wallis Island / U.K. (Director: James Griffiths, Screenwriters: Tom Basden, Tim Key, Producer: Rupert Majendie) –– Eccentric lottery winner, Charles, dreams of getting his favorite musicians, Mortimer-McGwyer, 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. Cast: Tom Basden, Tim Key, Sian Clifford, Akemnji Ndifornyen, Carey Mulligan. World Premiere. Fiction.

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. 

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Mary Bronstein, Producers: Sara Murphy, Ryan Zacarias, Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie, Eli Bush, Richie Doyle) –– 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. Cast: Rose Byrne, A$AP Rocky, Conan O’Brien, Danielle Macdonald, Ivy Wolk, Daniel Zolghadri. World Premiere. Fiction.

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.

Jimpa / Australia, Netherlands, Finland (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Sophie Hyde, Screenwriter: Matthew Cormack, Producers: Liam Heyen, Bryan Mason, Marleen Slot)––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. Cast: Olivia Colman, John Lithgow, Aud Mason-Hyde. World Premiere. Fiction.

Kiss of the Spider Woman / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Bill Condon, Producers: Barry Josephson, Tom Kirdahy, Greg Yolen) –– 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. Cast: Diego Luna, Tonatiuh, Jennifer Lopez, Bruno Bichir, Josefina Scaglione, Aline Mayagoitia. World Premiere. Fiction.

Last Days / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Justin Lin, Screenwriter: Ben Ripley, Producers: Clayton Townsend, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Eric Robinson, Salvador Gatdula, Andrew Schneider) –– 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. Cast: Sky Yang, Radhika Apte, Naveen Andrews, Ken Leung, Toby Wallace, Ciara Bravo. World Premiere. Fiction.

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.

Lurker / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Alex Russell, Producers: Alex Orlovsky, Duncan Montgomery, Galen Core, Charlie McDowell, Archie Madekwe) –– 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. Cast: Théodore Pellerin, Archie Madekwe, Havana Rose Liu, Sunny Suljic, Zack Fox, Daniel Zolghadri. World Premiere. Fiction.

Magic Farm / Argentina, U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Amalia Ulman, Producers: Alex Hughes, Eugene Kotlyarenko, Riccardo Maddalosso) –– 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. Cast: Chloë Sevigny, Alex Wolff, Joe Apollonio, Camila del Campo, Simon Rex. World Premiere. Fiction.

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.

Oh, Hi! / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Sophie Brooks, Producers: David Brooks, Dan Clifton, Julie Waters, Molly Gordon) –– Iris and Isaac’s first romantic weekend getaway goes awry. Cast: Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan, John Reynolds. World Premiere. Fiction.

Peter Hujar’s Day / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Ira Sachs, Producers: Jordan Drake, Jonah Disend) –– 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. Cast: Ben Whishaw, Rebecca Hall. World Premiere. Fiction.

Rebuilding / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Max Walker-Silverman, Producers: Jesse Hope, Dan Janvey, Paul Mezey) –– After a wildfire takes the family farm, a rancher seeks a way forward. Cast: Josh O’Connor, Lily LaTorre, Meghann Fahy, Kali Reis, Amy Madigan. World Premiere. Fiction.

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.

The Thing with Feathers / U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: Dylan Southern, Producers: Andrea Cornwell, Leah Clarke, Adam Ackland) –– 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. Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Boxall, Henry Boxall, Eric Lampaert, Vinette Robinson, Sam Spruell. World Premiere. Fiction.

Train Dreams / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Clint Bentley, Screenwriter: Greg Kwedar, Producers: Marissa McMahon, Teddy Schwarzman, Will Janowitz, Ashley Schlaifer, Michael Heimler) –– 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. Cast: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, William H. Macy. World Premiere. Fiction. Salt Lake Celebration Film. 

The Wedding Banquet / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Andrew Ahn, Screenwriter and Producer: James Schamus, Producers: Anita Gou, Joe Pirro, Caroline Clark) –– 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. Cast: Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-chan, Joan Chen, Youn Yuh-jung. World Premiere. Fiction.

MIDNIGHT

From horror flicks and wild comedies to chilling thrillers and works that defy any genre, these films will keep you wide-awake and on the edge of your seat. Films that have premiered in this category in recent years include I Saw the TV Glow, Love Lies Bleeding, Infinity Pool, Talk to Me, FRESH, Hereditary, Mandy, Relic,and The Babadook.

Dead Lover / Canada (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Grace Glowicki, Screenwriter and Producer: Ben Petrie, Producer: Yona Strauss) –– 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. Cast: Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie, Leah Doz, Lowen Morrow. World Premiere. Fiction.

Didn’t Die / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Meera Menon, Screenwriter and Producer: Paul Gleason, Producers: Erica Fishman, Joe Camerota, Luke Patton) –– A podcast host desperately clings to an ever-shrinking audience in the zombie apocalypse. Cast: Kiran Deol, George Basil, Samrat Chakrabarti, Katie McCuen, Vishal Vijayakumar. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

Opus / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Mark Anthony Green, Producers: Collin Creighton, Brad Weston, Poppy Hanks, Jelani Johnson, Josh Bachove)–– 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. Cast: Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder. World Premiere. Fiction.

Rabbit Trap / U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: Bryn Chainey, Producers: Daniel Noah, Lawrence Inglee, Elijah Wood, Elisa Lleras, Adrian Politowski, Martin Metz) –– 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. Cast: Dev Patel, Rosy McEwen, Jade Croot. World Premiere. Fiction.

Together / Australia, U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Michael Shanks, Producers: Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Mike Cowap, Andrew Mittman, Erik Feig, Max Silva) –– 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. Cast: Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Damon Herriman. World Premiere. Fiction.

Touch Me / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Addison Heimann, Producers: John Humber, David Lawson Jr.) –– 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. Cast: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jordan Gavaris, Marlene Forte, Paget Brewster. World Premiere. Fiction.

The Ugly Stepsister / Norway (Director and Screenwriter: Emilie Blichfeldt, Producer: 

Maria Ekerhovd) –– 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. Cast: Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Ane Dahl Torp, Flo Fagerli, Isac Calmroth, Malte Gårdinger. World Premiere. Fiction.

EPISODIC

Our Episodic section was created specifically for bold stories told in multiple episodes, with an emphasis on independent perspectives and innovative storytelling. Past projects that have premiered within this category include Penelope, LOLLA: THE STORY OF LOLLAPALOOZA, Willie Nelson and Family, OJ: Made in America, Wild Wild Country, The Jinx, Work in Progress, State of the Union, Gentefied, Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, and Quarter Life Poetry.

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.

Hal & Harper / U.S.A. (Director and Executive Producer: Cooper Raiff, Executive Producers: Clementine Quittner, Lili Reinhart, Daniel Lewis, Addison Timlin) –– Hal and Harper and Dad chart the evolution of their family. Cast: Lili Reinhart, Mark Ruffalo, Betty Gilpin, Havana Rose Liu, Addison Timlin, Alyah Chanelle Scott. World Premiere. Fiction. Available Online for Public. Eight-episode season, screening first four episodes in person and full season online.

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.

Episodic Pilot Showcase:

BULLDOZER /U.S.A. (Writer and Executive Producer: Joanna Leeds, Director and Executive Producer: Andrew Leeds, Executive Producers: Rhett Reese, Caleb Reese) –– An undermedicated, chronically impassioned young woman lurches from crisis to crisis of her own making. Cast: Joanna Leeds, Mary Steenburgen, Nat Faxon, Harvey Guillen, Allen Leech, Kate Burton. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.  

Chasers /U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Erin Brown Thomas, Screenwriter: Ciarra Krohne, Producers: Elle Shaw, Olivia Haller, Beth Napoli, Hayden Greiwe) –– At a Los Angeles house party, an aspiring musician pursues her crush through a crowd of hopeful dreamers chasing empty promises. Cast: Ciarra Krohne, Louie Chapman, Keana Marie, Shannon Gisela, Brooke Maroon, Xan Churchwell. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for Public.

Never Get Busted! /Australia (Showrunners: David Anthony Ngo, Erin Williams-Weir, Executive Producers: John Battsek, Chris Smith) –– 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. Cast: Barry Cooper. World Premiere. Documentary.

SPOTLIGHT

The Spotlight program is a tribute to the cinema we love, presenting films that have played throughout the world. Films that have played in this category in recent years include Hit Man, Joyland, The Worst Person in the World, The Biggest Little Farm, The Rider, Ida, and The Lobster.Spotlight is presented by Audible.

April / Georgia (Director and Screenwriter: Dea Kulumbegashvili, Producers: Luca Guadagnino, David Zerat, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Archil Gelovani, Gabriele Moratti, Alexandra Rossi) –– 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. Cast: Ia Sukhitashvili, Kakha Kintsurashvili. Fiction.

One to One: John & Yoko / U.K. (Director and Producer: Kevin Macdonald, Producers: Peter Worsley, Alice Webb) –– 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. Documentary.

FAMILY MATINEE

For over a decade, the Family Matinee section of the Festival (formerly known as KIDS) has been built for audiences of all ages, but especially for our youngest independent film fans. Films that have played in this category in recent years include Out of My Mind, Blueback, The Elephant Queen, Science Fair, The Eagle Huntress, and Shaun the Sheep.

The Legend of Ochi / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Isaiah Saxon, Producers: Richard Peete, Traci Carlson, Jonathan Wang) — 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. Cast: Helena Zengel, Finn Wolfhard, Emily Watson, Willem Dafoe. World Premiere. Fiction.

SPECIAL SCREENINGS

One-of-a-kind moments highlight new independent works that add to the unique Festival experience.

The Six Billion Dollar Man / U.S.A. (Director: Eugene Jarecki, Producer: Kathleen Fournier) — Julian Assange faced a possible 175 years in prison for exposing U.S. war crimes until events took a turn in this landmark case. World Premiere. Documentary. Available online for Public.

FROM THE COLLECTION

From the Collection screenings give audiences the opportunity to discover and rediscover the films that have shaped the heritage of both Sundance Institute and independent storytelling. To address the specific preservation risks posed to independent film, Sundance Institute partnered with UCLA Film & Television Archive in 1997 to form the Sundance Institute Collection at UCLA and preserve independent films supported by Sundance Institute. 

El Norte / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Gregory Nava, Screenwriter and Producer: Anna Thomas) — 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. Cast: Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez, David Villalpando, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Lupe Ontiveros, Trinidad Silva, Alicia del Lago. Fiction.

This is a 4K digital restoration from the original negative, restored in 2017 by the Academy Film Archive, supported in part by the Getty Foundation. This screening is courtesy of Lionsgate.

Unzipped / U.S.A. (Director: Douglas Keeve, Producer: Michael Alden) — 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. Documentary. 

The film is a brand new digital restoration from a 4k scan of the 35mm interpositive and DA-88 audio files. It has been restored by Sundance Institute and UCLA Film & Television Archive, funded by Isaac Mizrahi Entertainment. 

The post Sundance 2025 Lineup Includes ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ With Jennifer Lopez, John Lennon/Yoko Ono Doc appeared first on TheWrap.

“Exhibiting Forgiveness” is an impressive first feature, boldly conceived and emotionally fraught, with masterful performances and powerful works of art woven into the narrative. It’s a film that confronts the multigenerational impact of addiction and abuse, and the way art can be personally transformative and therapeutic, even though the artist may struggle to communicate directly with those around them. If I’m “wrong” about that, I’m sorry, but that’s still a powerful takeaway.

Rodin lives in a big house with his wife, Aisha (Andra Day, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday) and their son, Jermaine (Daniel Berrier). It’s been a rough time for Tarrell, waking up in the middle of the night in mid-panic attack, trying to work out his feelings in the studio he shares with Aisha, a talented singer-songwriter. Despite their different disciplines they have a way to collaborate: Aisha sings a new song and Tarrell suggests adding the color yellow, which Aisha — and cinematographer Lachlan Milne (“Minari”) — divinely provides.

Tarrell has been trying to get his mother, Joyce (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor), to move out of her old house and in with his family, but when they arrive she hasn’t packed. She’s also brought Tarrell’s estranged father, La’Ron (John Earl Jelks, “New Amsterdam”) back into the Tarrell’s life against his will. Tarrell and his mother were both abused by La’Ron, a former crack addict. Tarrell had every intention of introducing his father to Aisha for the first time at La’Ron’s funeral.

The message that “Exhibiting Forgiveness” iterates, over and over again, is that if you can’t forgive someone else you cannot be forgiven. And, frankly, Tarrell can be forgiven for rejecting that. La’Ron may be eager to reconnect, and even willing to explain how he became the disappointment he is, but he never explicitly asks for forgiveness. It’s only expected that Tarrell provide it, despite all the suffering La’Ron has caused. Joyce seems to have forgiven him, many times over, after many shocking betrayals. She has a light in her than Tarrell cannot understand, let alone find in himself.

And what, exactly, does Tarrell need to be forgiven for anyway? To hear Titus Kaphar’s film tell it, his understandable failure to forgive is a character flaw in itself. Or, at least, it’s an infected wound that desperately needs lancing. Holland dives head first into a role of such unusual depth and complexity it’s almost hard to process “Exhibiting Forgiveness” on a performance level. Holland, Jelks, and Ellis-Taylor are operating on astounding levels, in material that challenges and rewards, even if it cannot possibly satisfy.

Kaphar’s paintings aren’t a backdrop, and even when they are, they’re literally pushed into frame by the ghost of Tarrell’s past. In lieu of some perhaps much-needed therapy, Tarrell communicates with and through his artwork. Perhaps that’s why he’s so offended when people don’t “get” it, critics or buyers alike. He’s putting everything into those paintings. To misunderstand his work is to deny his feelings, his thoughts, his reality. He can’t even feel nostalgia; when he visits a public swimming pool from his childhood, now empty and grown over, all he sees are the chips of paint that adorn it.

“Exhibiting Forgiveness” defies certain structural conventions, interrupting narrative flows for extended dramatic moments, just like the unexpected re-introduction of La’Ron has disrupted a life Tarrell’s spent trying to move forward. Looking back is hard, it’s disruptive, it takes time. In those scenes Ellis-Taylor and Jelks provide majestic parallels to Holland’s haunted, even frightened performance. Tarrell cannot fathom coming to terms with the past they share. It disturbs him to even consider it.

Kaphar brings something special, narratively raw, but thematically refined to his first feature. It’s painful and it doesn’t necessarily heal, but it’s a full experience, exceptional in its craft, with performances that cannot be dismissed or be forgotten.

“Exhibiting Forgiveness” opens in theaters on Oct. 18.

The post ‘Exhibiting Forgiveness’ Review: André Holland Brings Passion to This Raw Family Drama appeared first on TheWrap.

The finalists are:

• Atlanta, Georgia
• Boulder, Colorado
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Louisville, Kentucky
• Park City/Salt Lake City, Utah
• Santa Fe, New Mexico

As part of a thorough evaluation of each potential location, the Sundance Institute assessed each city’s infrastructure, ethos and equity values, event capabilities to host the Festival, and how each finalist could sustainably serve and support the ever-growing Sundance Film Festival community of independent artists and audiences. Each finalist was required to demonstrate how they would welcome and continue to foster the diverse Sundance community and culture of independent creativity that is an integral part of the Institute and Festival experience. 

The Sundance Film Festival will take place in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah in 2025 and 2026. The location decision will apply to the Festival in 2027 and subsequent years.

According to the official release, members of the Sundance Institute selection committee will visit each of the finalist cities in the coming weeks to further explore the possibilities of hosting the Festival. 

“For over 40 years, Sundance has supported, sustained, and helped shine an essential spotlight on independent filmmakers and their work. As we very carefully consider this important decision for our Festival, we believe these six finalists allow us the best opportunity to not only secure a sustainable future for our Festival, but also to build upon its legacy while continuing to support the next generation of storytellers and highlight bold new works of art,” said Ebs Burnough, Sundance Institute Board Chair, and Amanda Kelso, Sundance Institute Acting CEO, in an official statement.”We are grateful to all the communities who have expressed interest and been a part of the process, and we have valued the opportunity to learn about the uniqueness of each location. We look forward to the site visits in each of the finalist cities.” 

“Throughout this process, we engaged in thoughtful, lively, creative, and supportive conversations with Governors, Mayors, arts advocates, film commissioners, and other local leaders from locations across the country. We’ve been buoyed by the tremendous enthusiasm and submissions from cities around the country and deeply appreciate the energy that went into each proposal,” said Eugene Hernandez, Festival Director and Director of Public Programming, in a statement. “Getting to six finalists was a difficult decision. Each of these cities has a vibrant creative ecosystem, either expanding or established, and has enabled creativity to flourish in their cities through their support of the arts. These cities understand our ethos, are aligned with our key values, and have shown us interesting possibilities for partnership with our Festival — for our artists, audiences, and all who want to be a part of the Sundance Film Festival — and that makes us want to see more.”

The Institute will continue “to focus on completing a fair and comprehensive review of the six possible partners and will not be providing comments while the review process is taking place. Sundance Institute will provide more information once the location for the 2027 Festival has been selected,” according to the official release.

With the Festival’s current contract with Park City up for renewal starting in 2027, the RFP process is providing the Sundance Institute a responsible way to evaluate, consider, and build on its foundation of serving a growing global independent creative community.

A Sundance Film Festival potentially divorced from the snowy setting that the festival has made iconic, is an interesting proposition. It’ll be fascinating to see how the process shakes out and what city ends up with the celebrated festival.

The post Sundance Sets 6 Cities as Finalists to Host Festival in 2027 and Beyond appeared first on TheWrap.

But that may be because Vicente’s exit wasn’t triggered by a signature blow-up, a specific conflict or a particular programming failure, even though the Sundance Film Festival 2024 was smaller than in recent years, raised less money and sold fewer titles. 

Multiple insiders told TheWrap that Vicente’s exit followed a failure to articulate a clear and compelling vision for the festival at a critical inflection point for independent film. While facing the complications of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CEO struggled to find common ground with an unwieldy board of directors, and was unable to nurture an internal culture of innovation, they said. Most damaging, she could not inspire donors at a time when independent film itself is being called into question.

“It wasn’t a good fit between her experience, her personal style, her abilities and that job,” said a former Sundance executive. “Sundance is an idea, and it is holding up a space in the sector that is under incredible duress.”

The problem isn’t the availability of funding, said the executive. Sundance remains beloved, but donors need a reason to invest. “There’s a massive amount of funding circling that organization, but they need vision. Not only from the CEO, but from the team. You have to paint a picture of what is happening. That’s not something she was good at.”

A person familiar with the board’s thinking said Vicente did a “lovely” job while facing difficult headwinds, noting that the Institute underestimated the impact of COVID, the loss of revenue from in-person festival ticket sales and the anxiety of donors. But they also noted that it was tough to galvanize a culture over Zoom meetings. 

A third person familiar with the organization cited conflicts among the programming staff, going back to a dispute over the documentary “Jihad Rehab” in 2022, which saw the director accused of being Islamophobic and the Sundance Institute accused of betraying her after it disavowed the film a month after it played the festival.

“She seemed in over her head,” this person said of Vicente. 

A Sundance executive disputed that Vicente’s leadership was lacking, noting that she worked to break down silos internally and unite the culture. But the executive did acknowledge that independent film is in “uncharted waters” and in a letter to Park City officials in September, Vicente herself noted “several years of declining revenue…that we still have not recovered from.”

Vicente declined to comment for this story, as did a spokeswoman for Sundance. 

As for those “uncharted waters,” the crisis facing Sundance goes hand in hand with the challenges facing independent film as the arthouse business shrinks and streamers seek more mainstream fare.

One leading producer lamented the loss of in-person bidding wars in the hallways of Park City hotels, and with them the fancy gifting suites for talent and their posses, offering everything from parkas to snow boots to vacations, that used to clog Main Street.

“They have to upgrade the whole event in my opinion,” said the producer, who attends Sundance every year but finds the status quo frustrating. “They have made it indie niche.” 

Money troubles 

Major festivals have experienced turbulence in recent years.

The Berlinale Film Festival pushed out its well-respected artistic director Carlo Chatrian last year; in response 200 filmmakers signed a petition requesting his reinstatement (that didn’t happen). The Toronto Film Festival lost its longtime patron, Bell Canada, after a 28-year relationship, last August. And the upcoming Hot Docs film festival in Canada was plunged into chaos in March after 10 programmers quit, alleging a “toxic workplace.” Artistic director Hussain Currimbhoy also left for what he said were “personal reasons.”

The programmer exodus at Hot Docs followed a March 8 statement by President Marie Nelson saying the organization faced a cash crisis. “We are currently facing a significant operational deficit that threatens our long-term sustainability,” Nelson said. “While we’re already seeing positive signs of recovery as audiences both old and new are returning to the cinema, and while we’ve taken steps to reduce our overhead without impacting our core programming, we are quickly losing runway and urgently need direct support to ensure our future viability.”

As the granddaddy of independent film festivals founded by Robert Redford in 1980, you might think Sundance would be an exception. 

It is not.  

According to available audited financial filings, the festival has lost money in two of the last three years for which there is data. It lost $6 million in 2021 after total revenue dropped to a scary ​​$34,554,834. Things picked up again in 2022, when Sundance reported $12 million in profit. But in the organization’s fiscal year 2023, which ends in August, it reported losses of $6.2 million thanks to revenues of $45,626,596 against costs of nearly $52 million. (The year 2024 is not yet available.) 

According to multiple insiders, the biggest financial blow came in 2022, when the festival had planned to return in person after a brutal year of COVID, only for the Omicron strain in the winter of 2021 to force Sundance to pivot to a remote-only version. 

Caught off guard, Sundance was ill-equipped to maximize revenue from a digital-only platform, even though that platform, created in 2021, had opened up the festival to a broader and younger audience than in the past. Update: A Sundance executive disputed that they were caught off guard, and were prepared to put the full program on line.

“The festival got cancelled at the last minute,” said the former Sundance executive. “They did it digitally, but they hadn’t invested in marketing and sales for digital. So those parts of revenue needed more ramp, because they were counting on the live [portion].”

Since then, this person said, budgets have been cut, including some Sundance lab programs, but there has been a paucity of new ideas to drive investment from donors. 

Two individuals told TheWrap that the festival has missed its donor targets in the last year.

Still, the audited financial statements reflect that “contribution revenue” went from a total of $47 million in 2022 to $32 million in 2023, with the largest category drops coming from Foundations and Government.

The ecosystem has changed. The festival doesn’t exist as a catalyst for sales.

a current Sundance executive

But the larger context of these financial issues is the crisis facing independent film as a whole. Sundance 2024 only accepted 83 feature films, compared to more than 100 the year before, a result, many believe, of the double strikes that crippled Hollywood in 2023. (It may also have been due to Sundance having fewer venues to screen movies.)

A lack of sufficient quality films in the pipeline was surely an offshoot of the strike, but also a likely outcome of the shriveling marketplace for them to be sold. It is common for only a fraction of the films that appear at Sundance to be sold to distributors, but as the costs of producing a film have dropped, the appetite by streamers seems to have dropped to near zero. 

This year TheWrap called the Sundance marketplace “sluggish” after reporting that the streamers made clear they were not interested in edgy, independent filmmaking. Perhaps a dozen films were bought, but very few by the large streamers. Instead, Focus Features bought the crowd-pleasing “Didi,” which opens this summer, among a slew of purchases by arthouse distributors like Neon, A24 and Sony Classics. Netflix acquired worldwide rights to the horror film “It’s What’s Inside” for $17 million. 

The winner of the top prize at Sundance, “In the Summers,” about two sisters and their relationship with loving but volatile father during their yearly summer visits to his home in Las Cruces, New Mexico, does not have distribution.

It’s a far cry from 2021, when Apple paid $25 million for the crowd-pleasing Sundance hit “CODA” and took it all the way to the Oscar for Best Picture. In 2023 Netflix paid $20 million for the psychosexual thriller “Fair Play,” which did not make the same impact. 

Some producers blame Sundance for programming films that aren’t mainstream in their appeal. “They need a major rethink on the programming front,” said the leading producer who declined to use their name. “So few deals — nothing big showed, and the indie distribution business is already suffering.”

This producer noted that the big buyers no longer needed to come in person, as the films are available online. “They need to add more commercial films and stop this lunacy of putting the movie online which lets buyers not have to come and creates no bidding wars which was really the excitement of being there.” 

Regardless of the reason, the distribution hole impacts the entire ecosystem of independent film — from producers to filmmakers to distributors. “If you expect Sundance to continue to be a place where films get bought at an 85% buy rate for a lot of money, you haven’t talked to those streamers,” said the former Sundance executive. “They are not interested in independent films.”

Said a current Sundance executive: “The ecosystem has changed. The festival doesn’t exist as a catalyst for sales.”

Meanwhile, Sundance’s ability to continue to hold the festival in Park City is also up in the air. The contract with Park City expires in 2026, and Sundance has been looking at alternatives as hard costs for the festival continue to rise, as has housing during the festival for attendees and filmmakers, making the festival out of reach for the people it is made for. 

In September, Sundance asked Park City officials to extend the contract renewal deadline from March 1 to October of this year. “We have new executive leadership, we have had several years of declining revenue triggered by a global pandemic that we have still not recovered from,” Vicente wrote in a letter to the mayor and city council. “There are many uncertainties but also great possibilities this moment presents.”

Woke tensions

Far left-driven political turmoil has beset media outlets and arts organizations in recent years, and it hit Sundance hard in 2022, just after Vicente took over as CEO following her exit as co-head of the Toronto International Film Festival.

In January 2022, Vicente had been CEO for only three months when a documentary then-called “Jihad Rehab” (the title was later changed to “The UnRedacted”) screened in competition at the festival, held online that year due to COVID. 

The film, directed by Meg Smaker, is about a rehabilitation center for Islamist jihadis in Saudi Arabia. Smaker had learned to speak Arabic and spent five years convincing the Saudi government to allow her access to the center to make the film. But even before it premiered at Sundance to strong reviews, it had been attacked on social media by a group Muslim filmmakers (the majority of whom hadn’t yet seen it), who wrote Sundance to object that the film took up space that could have gone to Muslim, and/or ‘MENASA’ (Middle East, North Africa and South Asia) filmmakers to tell non-terrorism related stories, and for allegedly “endangering its subjects.”

Two Sundance Institute staffers later resigned over the film, after which Vicente and festival director Tabitha Jackson issued a statement apologizing for it, saying, “In this case it is clear that the showing of this film hurt members of our community — in particular, individuals from Muslim and MENASA communities — and for that we are deeply sorry.”

Smaker, who found her film pulled from every other film festival after the Sundance release, felt betrayed. Programmers internally questioned the process. Meanwhile, almost no one had actually seen the film.  The board, which includes prominent Hollywood figures like former Disney production chief Sean Bailey and producer Jason Blum, was dismayed by the negative attention. 

“They didn’t expect to be hit so hard,” said the former executive, referring to the board. “They didn’t know who to believe in terms of the situation. They were seeing letters from hundreds of artists saying Sundance has betrayed us by playing this (movie)… And programmers saying, ‘We stand by it.’ The board didn’t know what to do.” 

It was an early black mark on Vicente’s leadership. Jackson exited Sundance as festival director within a few months. From there, Vicente had to work to regain the confidence of her team and the board. Fast forward two years later and what was described as “long, hard conversations” with the board, she resigned.

**** 

Whether or not Vicente was the right fit, the Sundance Film Festival will need to find a way to regroup and reimagine. Some people interviewed by TheWrap feel that Vicente’s replacement, Amanda Kelso, now acting CEO, is the right choice. Kelso has been on the board for four years, and was involved in the transition to an online festival during the early days of the pandemic.  

Several said that identifying a vision and reinvigorating the mission of the festival was the most important priority. 

As a programmer from another festival observed: “Festivals run on passion, the passion of the audience and the passion of the festival team. Once you crack that, once you break it open and the team can see you really don’t think they are important at all, it’s over.”

Steve Pond and Kristen Lopez contributed to this article.

The post At Sundance, Behind the Exit of CEO Joana Vicente Looms a Larger Crisis appeared first on TheWrap.

Wang was recently nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Short for “Nai Nai & Wài Pó,” in which he followed his grandmothers as they went about their lives together. The short doc won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at SXSW as well as the Audience Prize at TheWrap’s ShortList Film Festival.

Set in 2008, “Didi 弟弟,” stars Izaac Wang” as a 13-year-old Taiwanese-American teen enjoying the last month of summer break before he goes off to high school. In that month, he learns all the things he didn’t learn in middle school: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom.

Joan Chen, Shirley Chen, and Chang Li Hua also star in “Didi 弟弟,”, which Wang produced with Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, and Valerie Bush. After its Sundance premiere, the film won the festival’s U.S. Dramatic Audience Award and the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast.

Focus Features, which recently released Zelda Williams’ feature debut “Lisa Frankenstein,” will next release Ethan Coen’s “Drive Away Dolls” later this month. Other films on Focus’ 2024 slate include Morgan Neville’s stop-motion Lego animated documentary “Brick By Brick,” Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu,” Jeff Nichols’ “The Bikeriders,” and Kobi Libii’s “The American Society of Magical Negroes.”

The post Focus Sets Sundance Coming-of-Age Film ‘Didi’ for July Release appeared first on TheWrap.

On a Jan. 22 inclusivity panel at the festival, titled “Championing Change: The Power of Inclusive Filmmaking,” presented by TheWrap, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and NFP, Sealey said that she hopes audiences learn from her drama’s hero, Melody (Phoebe-Rae Taylor), that “everybody communicates in a different way.”

The filmmaker, who’s previously known for 2021’s “No Man of God” and here worked with screenwriter Daniel Stiepleman to adapt Sharon M. Draper’s 2010 novel of the same name, admitted that there “was a big learning curve for me” to get it right. 

“I remember early on in my research phase, the Think Tank for Inclusion and Equity, they did do a lot of asking people with disabilities, like, what do you want to see more?” she recalled, “What largely came out of that was people with disabilities wanted to see movies that centered on them as human beings and not just on their disability.” 

Sealey added that those consultants also emphasized a desire to see stories that “focused on them not only as human beings, but also wasn’t always about pitying them, and also wasn’t always about them only being only worthy or only valuable because they were superhuman.”

In the case of Melody, she’s a sixth grader who “is very smart,” but Sealey was conscious of adapting the novel in a way that framed her as being “special” for more than just “because she’s a genius.”

“She’s a human being. She’s just like anybody else – she has thoughts, feelings, fears. And so that was what my approach with the film was like. This is like any other tween girl, she just happens to be nonverbal. She happens to use a wheelchair,” Sealey said. “Her having cerebral palsy is a part of how she moves through the world. Her being nonverbal is a part of the way she moves through the world, but it’s not everything about her.”

In telling Melody’s story – which costars Rosemarie DeWitt, Luke Kirby, Judith Light and Michael Chernus – Sealey said that inclusivity was practiced in front of and behind the camera. 

“The inclusivity part was really about not only including people with disabilities in the cast, in the crew, in the creative process, consultants, writers, all of that,” she said. “But, also, just about how we look at people with disabilities, trying not to treat them as objects, trying not to treat them just as their disability, but treating them as a human being.”

“It’s about her finding her voice, but it’s also more importantly about the rest of us learning how to listen and understanding that everybody communicates in a different way,” she said. “Some of us use our voice, some of use our hands, some of us use a computer – we all communicate differently.”

Sealey was joined on the Monday morning panel by “Frida” documentarian Carla Gutierrez, Funny Or Die founder Henry Muñoz and Brown Girls Doc Mafia founder Iyabo Boyd, all of whom spoke to the importance of inclusivity in their own work, their reservations about the state of DEI initiatives in Hollywood today and more. 

Watch the full panel — as moderated by The Curvy Critic, Carla Renata — in the video above.

Check out all our Sundance coverage here

The post ‘Out of My Mind’ Director Says Learning ‘Everybody Communicates in a Different Way’ Was Key to Making Her Disability Drama | Video appeared first on TheWrap.

The documentary was in a competitive bidding situation as three companies puts bids in.

The documentary garnered the Audience Award in the Documentary Competition category and was voted the overall Festival Favorite. The production of “Daughters” spanned eight years before its debut at Sundance.

“Daughters” co-director Dawn Neely Patton serves as the CEO of Girls For A Change, an organization dedicated to creating opportunities for young Black women. Working alongside Patton is co-director Nicole Rae, an acclaimed director known for music videos, commercials and films commissioned by the United Nations and Gates Foundation.

Rae has received nominations at the prestigious Cannes Young Lions awards. “Daughters” marks the first feature-length documentary for both Patton and Rae.

The documentary was produced by Lisa Mazzotta, Natalie Rae, Justin Benoliel, Mindy Goldberg, Sam Bisbee, Kathryn Everett, Laura Choi Raycroft, James Cunningham. Paul Rachman served as co-producer.

The execuive producers are Kerry Washington, Pilar Savone, Angela Patton, Joel Edgerton, Jessica Seinfeld, Hallee Adelman, Lydia Kives, J.M. Harper, Lance Acord, Jackie Kelman Bisbee, Wendy Neu, Dom Thomas, Morgan Clement, Jessica Taneja, Bryn Mooser, Shane Riley, Harland Weiss, Donovan M. Boden, Isil Gilderdale, Emily Harris

The deal was brokered by CAA and Submarine  on behalf of the filmmakers.

Variety first reported the news of Netflix’s acquisition of “Daughers.”

The post Netflix Acquires ‘Daughters’ Out of Sundance appeared first on TheWrap.

“Thelma” stars Squibb in her first leading role, as the title character, a grandmother who gets conned by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson (Fred Hechinger) and sets on an action-packed odyssey across Los Angeles to reclaim what is hers.

The film also features the final performance from the legendary Richard Roundtree, who plays Thelma’s friend who accompanies her on her journey. Parker Posey, Clark Gregg and Malcolm McDowell round out the cast. The film marks the feature debut of director Josh Margolin, who also wrote the screenplay.

“Brilliantly marrying Magnolia’s love of action, revenge, and grandmothers, ‘Thelma’ is totally unique yet universally irresistible,” said Magnolia Pictures co-CEOs Eamonn Bowles and Dori Begley in a statement. “The team at Magnolia is beyond excited to bring Josh Margolin’s thrilling and loving caper to audiences across the country.”

“This has all been a dream come true — to get to make this movie, to premiere it at Sundance, and now to release it in theaters with Magnolia,” said Margolin.  “I’ve admired their films for years and feel truly lucky to be partnering with them. We’re so excited to share ‘Thelma’ with everyone!”

Our own review of “Thelma’ out of Sundance called the movie “a totally pure delight that gives June Squibb a much-deserved leading role” with Margolin’s script described as “breezy and sharp in equal measure.”

Magnolia is planning a wide theatrical release though a release date wasn’t announced.

The post Sundance Breakout ‘Thelma’ Acquired by Magnolia appeared first on TheWrap.

Compared to last year’s relatively sluggish market, sales activity could spike before Sundance wraps on Sunday if buyers want to leverage the excitement and momentum coming out of Park City. There are currently offers on the table for numerous titles, and just Saturday news broke that Warner Bros. is in talks to take the doc “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” for $15 million

Here’s a roundup of all the 2024 Sundance deals made so far, and we’ll be updating the list as more deals close.

My Old Ass

Amazon’s MGM Studios is in final negotiations to acquire Megan Park’s second film, “My Old Ass,” which stars Aubrey Plaza and Maisy Stella. The deal is for a robust $15 million. In her review of “My Old Ass,” TheWrap’s Ariana Martinez wrote that the coming-of-age dramedy “blends the YA journey with elements of sci-fi fantasy through fresh-faced 18-year-old Elliott (Stella) as she rings in adulthood by coming face-to-face with her 39-year-old self (Plaza).” The film was a charmer, playing to a standing ovation at its Sundance premiere.

Presence

Neon picked up the worldwide distribution rights to Steven Soderbergh’s unique ghost story film “Presence” on Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Written by David Koepp, the film tells the story of a family who move into a house, only to discover it may or may not be haunted. It’s a story we’ve seen countless times before, but what sets “Presence” apart is it’s told entirely from the point of view of the ghost. Shot in secret over 11 days, the film stars Lucy Liu and “This Is Us” alum Chris Sullivan. In his review for TheWrap, Chase Hutchinson said the film plays “as both a haunted house story and a family drama about what happens when we drift away from those closest to us.”

Ghostlight

IFC Films and Sapan Studio acquired the North American rights to “Ghostlight,” the second film from “Saint Frances” directors Alex Thompson & Kelly O’Sullivan, on Thursday. The film stars Keith Kupferer as Dan, a melancholic construction worker who unexpectedly joins a local theater’s production of “Romeo and Juliet.” When the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to address a recent tragedy.

A Real Pain

In the first major deal of the festival, Searchlight Pictures acquired the global rights to the dramedy “A Real Pain,” directed by Jesse Eisenberg and starring newly minted Emmy winner Kieran Culkin for a reported $10 million. The deal closed on Sunday, early in the fest.

Eisenberg stars in the film alongside Culkin as a pair of cousins who have trouble getting along — David (Eisenberg) is a polite and responsible father and husband, while Benji (Culkin) is more free-spirited, but blunt. The two go on a trip to Poland after the death of their grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, tracing the steps of her struggle to survive. In his review for TheWrap, Chase Hutchinson called Culkin a “force of nature” in the “hilarious” and “heartfelt” dramedy.

Kneecap

Sony Pictures Classics acquired director Rich Peppiatt’s musical biopic parody “Kneecap,” although deal terms were not disclosed.

The film follows “self-proclaimed ‘low-life scum’ Liam Óg and Naoise, along with school teacher JJ, who become a political symbol and the defiant voice of Ireland’s restless youth. As they struggle to make their mark on the world, and family and relationship pressures threaten to pull the plug on their dreams, the trio weave a narrative that transcends music.” Michael Fassbender also appears in this offbeat comedy, which won the Audience award at Sundance in the NEXT category.

It’s What’s Inside

Netflix acquired worldwide rights to horror film “It’s What’s Inside” for $17 million on Monday. The film is written and directed by Greg Jardin and centers on a pre-wedding party that descends into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend shows up with a mysterious suitcase.

The film, which played in the Midnight section at the festival, stars Brittany O’Grady, James Morosini, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Devon Terrell, Gavin Leatherwood, Reina Hardesty, Nina Bloomgarden and David Thompson.

Ibelin

Netflix picked up the documentary feature “Ibelin” on the Friday of the festival’s opening weekend, the day after the film’s premiere. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the film went on to win the Audience award from Sundance in the World Documentary category.

“Ibelin” centers on Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer, who died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated life, when they started receiving messages from online friends around the world.

Skywalkers: A Love Story

Netflix also picked up the documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” which played to acclaim in the U.S. Documentary Competition category. The film stars Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus as a daredevil couple who journey across the globe to climb the world’s last super skyscraper and perform a bold acrobatic stunt on the spire.

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

This deal isn’t yet closed, but Warner Bros. Discovery is in final negotiations to take the crowdpleasing documentary “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” for $15 million. The film charts the life of Christopher Reeve, including his tenure as “Superman” and the accident that made him paralyzed from the neck down. Warner Bros. seems a solid fit given it could leverage its DC brand for the doc’s marketing.

The post Deal List: All the 2024 Sundance Sales So Far appeared first on TheWrap.