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HtN’s 20 Most Anticipated Films at Sundance 2025

There’s so much uncertainty in the world and strangely, as it always somehow seems to, the Sundance Film Festival reflects that. On a surface level, there’s the fact that no one knows where the 2026 Sundance Film Festival will be held. There’s a list of three “finalists” for where the fest’s new location will be (Boulder, Colorado; Cincinnati, Ohio; or staying in Salt Lake City/Park City, Utah) but on a deeper level, one can’t help but wonder if Sundance means as much as it used to.

Once the end all/be all of the independent world we’ve seen the cinema landscape explode over the last decade. Content- good, bad or indifferent- is king so that anointment of a coveted Sundance screening maybe doesn’t have the cred it used to. The Oscar nominations came out today and Sean Baker’s outstanding Anora scored 6 including Best Actress (Mikey Madison), Best Supporting Actor (Yura Borisov), Best Director, Best Editing and Best Original Screenplay (all Baker) but a film like Anora is exactly the kind of film that, in decades past, would have been a Sundance breakout yet, it didn’t play the fest.

Look, I’m just spit balling here and to me personally, the Sundance Film Festival means more than I have rom to use here. I think it matters because it’s a chance for people from all over to get together with hopes and dreams and share in them for a week or two. Our writers who are covering the fest (Matt Delman, Jack Schenker and M.J. O’Toole, in person and Chris Reed and Bears Rebecca Fonté, virtually) are all hopeing for something great to share with readers, friends and colleagues. Filmmakers who have scrapped their way to get a film made are hoping to be seen, to be heard and, let’s be honest, hit a jackpot distribution deal. Programmers, staffers, volunteers and executives are all hoping for a combination of those last two things as well as hoping to be part of something cool and maybe even moving.

I believe in Sundance and I believe in Film Festivals. While they may be a little down right now, they’re not out and everything comes back around.

– Don R. Lewis

 

Lead Critic, Chris Reed

Cutting Through Rocks

In this intimate, emotionally wrenching documentary, directors Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki take us into the world of Sara Shahverdi, the first woman to be elected to her town council in northwestern Iran. Not only is her actual election a milestone, but so is the fact that she receives the most votes. This is due to her rigorous campaigning and promises to shake up the status quo. Long a maverick, Shahverdi is one of six older sisters to three brothers, and before those boys came along her father raised her in an unconventional way, teaching her construction and motorcycle riding. Now she wants to open the minds of the young girls of today. Unfortunately, though she achieves some initial success, she soon runs up against angry traditionalists, among them one of her brothers, who is also a councilman. Facing such aggressive pushback, Shahverdi is forced to readjust. Cutting Through Rocks is never not gripping, though it can be hard to watch.

 

Hal & Harper

Still only in his twenties, writer/director Cooper Raiff (Shithouse, Cha Cha Real Smooth) has already made quite a mark for himself as a talent to watch. At this year’s Sundance, he drops Hal & Harper, an eight-episode series about two adult siblings navigating life in their twenties as their father and his new wife expect a child. Brother, sister, and dad all still have baggage left over from the interruption to family life years ago when mom left the scene. Mixing his usual incisive humor and emotionally truthful dialogue, Raiff—who also plays Hal—makes a compelling lost soul (though he will soon have to give up these kinds of parts, as he is almost too old for it here) opposite Lili Reinhart (Look Both Ways), as the slightly more mature, if not a whole-lot-more-composed, Harper. Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things) stars as the pater familias, with Betty Gilpin (Future ‘38) as his younger bride. The cast is excellent, and the narrative promises to be, as well.

 

Mr. Nobody Against Putin

In this age of rising fascism—even here at home—tales of resistance prove inspiring. In the documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin, we watch as one determined high-school event coordinator and videographer in the town of Karabash, Russia, mounts a lonely campaign of disobedience as his country is overtaken with forced patriotic fervor. This nationalism-from-on-high comes in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, following which the school curriculum and daily activities are changed to help prepare the next generation of soldiers and workers. Imagine a Hitler Youth program in all but name, and you get the idea. Ask yourself what you would do (which you might have to do in our own land pretty soon) and then watch what Pasha Talankin (credited as co-director) does to subvert the system. The footage is all from behind the scenes, since his job was to gather video, and it is both frightening and funny (it’s always good to laugh at totalitarian goons if you can). Fortunately, Talankin, working with the other director, David Borenstein, is safely out of Russia now. Even better, we have this movie to watch. It’s a good lesson plan for the very near future.

 

The Virgin of the Quarry Lake

A still from THE VIRGIN OF THE QUARRY LAKE

From Argentina comes The Virgin of the Quarry Lake, director Laura Casabé’s exploration of teenage love, lust, and rage. Young Natalia (Dolores Oliverio)—or Nati—was long ago left in Buenos Aires with her grandmother, Rita (Luisa Merelas), by her mother, who is apparently in Spain. She wiles away her post-school summer days with friends Josefina (Isabel Bracamonte) and Mariela (Candela Flores), lusting after her crush, Diego (Agustín Sosa). It appears she might finally land her man when the older Silvia (Fernanda Echeverría) shows up, seemingly out of nowhere, distracting Diego from what should have been his primary focus. Beware infuriating Nati, however, for she may just have hidden powers within. Part of the charm of this alternatingly lyrical and mystical examination of desire is the way Casabé (The Returned) blurs the boundaries of the factual and supernatural, mixing fantasy with coming-of-age tropes and even social realism. If elliptical allegories are your thing, you’ll love it.

 

Where the Wind Comes From

In Where the Wind Comes From, Tunisian director Amel Guellaty, making her feature debut, explores the pain of hopelessness when dreams seem impossible. Years after the 2011 revolution that swept away the former dictatorship, the plight of the average person in Tunisia seems hardly better than before. 19-year-old Alyssa (Eya Bellagha) and her 23-year-old bestie, Mehdi (Slim Baccar), each have different approaches to their lack of opportunities. When Alyssa discovers an upcoming German-sponsored competition for best new artist, she pushes her more passive friend—who draws beautiful sketches—to submit a work. He does, is accepted, and then their challenge is how to get to Djerba from Tunis. They have no car and no money to speak of. But Alyssa is resourceful, even if her methods can be less than legal. And so they embark on a series of adventures and misadventures, with the potential prize of a trip abroad as their motivation. Things work out differently than they anticipate, but heartbreak breeds resilience. Thanks to the gorgeous images shot by cinematographer Frida Marzouk (My Driver & I), this bittersweet parable comes packaged in stunning frames and colors.

 

Editor-at-Large, Matt Delman

2000 Meters to Andriivka (Dir. Mstyslav Chernev)

If you thought trench warfare was a thing of the past, think again. Director Mstyslav Chernev, fresh off his Oscar win for 20 Days in Mariupol, returns to war torn Ukraine and goes somewhere no journalist has yet been. The frontline is a narrow strip of forest leading up to a small town of Andriivka. Soldiers on both sides have dug trenches, and shoot at each other from mere meters away. Grenades are tossed and comrades are lost in extremely intense body cam footage. There are interspersed quieter moments of reflection. As a 47 year old soldier smokes a hand-rolled cigarette in a crudely carved out trench and reflects on the personal changes he wants to make when he gets home, the director’s narration explains how we will die in battle six months later. (MD)

 

Twinless (Dir. James Sweeney)

James Sweeney is a triple threat. Absolutely loved him in his last film Straight Up, a screwball comedy about sexual fluidity and self discovery. In the press still, Sweeney’s wearing a shirt that resembles the carpet from his first film. This time he’s paired up with Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner), and the two form a bond at a support group for twins who’ve lost their sibling. The title itself is pretty funny, and humor mixed with heart is Sweeney’s strong suit. Expect a major up-leveling for Sweeney’s career with Twinless. (MD)

 

Selena y Los Dinos (Dir. Isabel Castro)

I remember in middle school, our Spanish teacher put on the Jennifer Lopez star vehicle Selena (1997), about Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla. It was perhaps an odd choice, but the film really stuck with me. Now Selena gets the documentary treatment from director Isabel Castro, who was recently at the Sundance festival with Mija, a doc about music talent management that landed on Disney+. If this is anything like the Linda Rondstadt doc, you won’t want to miss it. Though I’ve yet to see the film, I’m confident the team behind Selena y Los Dinos will make her a smash hit once again. (MD)

 

Bubble & Squeak (Evan Twohy)

A still from BUBBLE & SQUEAK

Evan Twohy’s 97 minute comedic romp about smuggling cabbages is charmingly titled ‘Bubble & Squeak’. Starring Barry breakout Sarah Goldberg, as well as Himesh Patel, Steven Yeun, Dave Franco and Matt Berry, the cast alone should get you onboard. This is Twohy’s debut feature, produced by Christopher Storer who has produced some of the most relevant comedies over the years, from The Bear to Ramy to Eighth Grade. I’m seeing it at the Eccles, but it would probably play better at the Library theater, as most comedies do. Unless it becomes a huge breakout like Kumail Nanjiani’s The Big Sick. (MD)

 

Magic Farm (Dir. Amalia Ulman)

I freaking ADORED Amalia Ulman’s black and white comedy, El Planeta. She’s back, and in color, with Magic Farm, starring Chloe Sevigny, Alex Wolff and Simon Rex. Mubi has preemptively snatched it up ahead of its premiere, because of course they did. Though I don’t know much more about it, I also like horses and other farm animals, particularly magical ones. Plus it premieres at the Library, my favorite venue. How could it miss? (MD)

 

Staff Writer, Bears Rebecca Fonté

Move Your Body – I grew up in Chicago in the 80s in the South Side Suburbs (Cal City), honorably a next door neighbor to House music, with its signature four-on-the-floor rhythms manufactured by drum machines like the Roland TR-808 or TR-909 and the sawtooth sounds of the Roland TB-303. I remember kids trading tapes of Mr. Fingers in junior high, recorded off WBMX – Black Music eXperience. I can’t remember the DJ’s name but it was Saturday Night 10pm. Admittedly, at the time I was trading VHS cassettes of Yo! MTV Raps– my uncle lived in France and would tape it off MTV Europe for me  – and Video Music Box off whatever UHF station currently had the rights. But I loved House too. And because it became so ubiquitous so fast, no one has ever really tried to chronicle it. BIPOC LGBTQ+ filmmaker Elegance Bratton, who made the beautifully simple documentary Pier Kids, has arrived to fix that. And it all starts with the infamous Disco Demolition Night.

 

Plainclothes — Russell Tovey and Tom Blyth star in this queer love story set in 1990s Syracuse when undercover cops were taskesd with arresting gay men for soliciting sex in public bathrooms. Blyth, the latest Hunger Games hunky thirst trap leaves the Songbirds behind but finds himself bit by snake of a different kind, in Tovey, acclaimed for his performances in Looking, Angels in America, and the BBC drama Years and Years. LGBTQ+ Director Carmen Emmi credits making the film for finally letting his 7-year-old self exhale.

Enigma – A month ago this film was called April & Amanda referencing the two transgender women at the heart of the documentary: April Ashley, British Vogue fashion model of 1960 and maybe the first person outed by the media; and Amanda Lear, the French Model who famously adorned the Roxy Music album For Your Pleasure and managed to keep her gender identity obfuscated for fifty years. LGBTQ+ Director Zackary Drucker returns to Sundance after her excellent doc The Stroll and staring in Framing Agnes, not to mention directing the HBO series The Lady and the Dale.

Heightened Scrutiny – LGBTQ+ Sam Feder, responsible for Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen, one of the most important documentaries to ever play in the faces of Sundance attendees, turns to politics for his next film. Chase Strangio, staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, is the first known transgender person to make oral arguments before the Supreme Court of the United States. The 2023 Tennessee law banning youth gender-affirming medical care (LW v. Skrmetti) Strangio argued against won’t receive its consequential decision until June 2025. Hopefully, a celebratory epilogue will need to be filmed for the film’s wide release.

Sugar Babies – Sundance has a history of showcasing unapologetically honest films about the adult entertainment industry. I’m thinking about documentaries like Hot Girls Wanted and narratives like Pleasure. Cam girls straddle that fine line between sex performer and sex worker. Since the US government implemented the misguided dual laws FOSTA-SESTA, legal sex workers have lost many of the protections built up through years of online infrastructure, putting lives at risk. Safety, for sex workers, lies in ‘space’ – the space between the worker and client that allows the worker to negotiate and make a decision whether someone is safe, and the space where the interaction takes place, preferably a place of the worker’s choosing where they feel safe [i.e. not in a car or a pimp’s designated hotel rental]. A “sugar baby” finds financial support from an older companion, usually in exchange for sex. Sites like Seeking.com [Matt Gaetz was a registered user] have 19 years of history offering “sophisticated matchmaking, where accomplished individuals can make exceptional connections and find hypergamy” – marrying into a higher social/weath class. In this doc, a TikTok influencer with little hope for financial advancement in rural Louisiana dives into this post FOSTA sex-worker-world.

Staff Writer, M.J. O’Toole

André Is An Idiot

A still from ANDRE IS AN IDIOT

When you hear a documentary with the name André Is An Idiot, it makes you want to stop and see who’s being an idiot and in what way. Your curiosity in this case might lead to both your leg and heartstrings being pulled on. Tony Benna’s feature documentary debut follows the life of André Ricciardi, a kooky middle-aged guy who is faced with terminal colon cancer after failing to get a colonoscopy. As he tries to stay positive for himself and his loved ones while undergoing treatment, the film explores his life with hilarious testimonials and his brilliant imagination using stop-motion animation. While we all may have an André in our lives, this film will make you want to hug them close and not let go.

Love, Brooklyn

After breaking our hearts last Sundance with his moving performance in the underrated Exhibiting Forgiveness, André Holland returns to the festival with charm in another refreshing take on the rom-com. Rachel Holder’s feature debut Love, Brooklyn stars Holland as a struggling columnist trying to balance his career, maintaining a complex friendship with his ex (Nicole Beharie), and pursuing a burgeoning romance with a widowed single mother (DeWanda Wise). Steven Soderbergh, who directed Holland in The Knick and High Flying Bird, is on board as an executive producer. The film also features comedian Roy Wood, Jr. and I Saw The TV Glow breakout Jack Haven (formerly Brigette Lundy-Paine) in welcoming supporting turns. The intense chemistry, witty banter, and realistic dialogue (from a script by Paul Zimmerman) will make for one enjoyable, easy-viewing experience.

OBEX

Humanity’s relationship with virtual reality is tackled through bizarre lengths in OBEX, the latest mind-bender from Albert Birney (Strawberry Mansion). Directing from a script co-written with Pete Ohs (Jethica), Birney stars as a loner filling his life with computer games. His sheltered life soon takes a turn when his beloved dog gets sucked into his newest game, and he jumps into it himself to save her in this high-stakes odyssey. Sounds like a rad, heartfelt trip that geeks might marvel at and audiences might drop their jaws at.

Rebuilding

Max Walker-Silverman, who brought his warm and gentle feature debut A Love Song to the festival a few years ago, is back with his newest tale of contemporary life in the rural West. Rebuilding stars the ever-magnificent Josh O’Connor as a cowboy who loses his ranch to a wildfire and finds himself in a community with others in a similar predicament. Sounds like the right kind of film you’d want to have screened somewhere like rural Utah. Also featuring Meghann Fahy, Kali Reis, and Amy Madigan, we should expect a tale that is as graceful and beautifully framed as the director’s freshman hit.

Train Dreams

Sing Sing co-writers Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar bring their newest collaboration Train Dreams to Park City. Bentley takes the helm in this adaptation of Denis Johnson’s epic novella set in the turn of the 20th century. Joel Edgerton stars as laborer Robert Granier who is trying to get through life in the American West after an unthinkable tragedy befalls him. As the Sundance synopsis notes, he experiences “profound love, shocking defeat, and a world irrevocably transforming before his very eyes.” As the filmmakers have shown their eye for compassion and empathy, it should be fair not to expect anything different in the duo’s latest venture. And don’t count out the incredible rest of the ensemble that includes Felicity Jones, William H. Macy, Kerry Condon, Clifton Collins Jr. (who also starred in Bentley’s Jockey), and Sing Sing breakout Sean San Jose.

– Christopher Llewellyn Reed (@ChrisReedFilm), Bears Rebecca Fonté, Matthew Delman (@ItsTheRealDel) and M.J. O’Toole (@mj_otoole93)

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