The Sundance Film Festival has unveiled its lineup for 2025, featuring 93 films, including documentaries and films.
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival is set to take place from January 23 to February 2 in Park City, Utah. The non-profit has announced its interest in relocating the festival, with Georgia cities such as Atlanta, Athens, and Savannah among the 15 cities under consideration.
At this year’s festival, eight Black-led films are premiering. Check out the list below.
BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions
Director: Kahlil Joseph
Screenwriters: Saidiya Hartman, Irvin Hunt
Cast: Shaunette Renée Wilson, Kaneza Schaal, Hope Giselle, Peter Jay Fernandez, Penny Johnson Jerald, Zora Casebere
Synopsis: BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions invites viewers on a deeply immersive and inventive journey where history, consciousness, and storytelling intertwine. Renowned West African curator Funmilayo Akechukwu’s groundbreaking work, The Resonance Field, leads her to the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, where her quest intersects with that of a young journalist secretly covering the Transatlantic Biennial aboard the Nautica cruise liner. Melding the legacies of figures like W. E. B. Du Bois with personal and collective narratives,
Khartoum
Directors: Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad, Timeea Mohamed Ahmed, Phil Cox
Screenwriter: Phil Cox
Synopsis: Khartoum tells the powerful story of five citizens forced to flee Sudan for East Africa after the outbreak of war. Through a blend of personal reenactments and vivid storytelling, a civil servant, a tea vendor, a resistance committee volunteer, and two young bottle collectors share their experiences of survival, freedom, and resilience. The film weaves their dreams, revolutionary struggles, and the haunting realities of civil war into a profound narrative of hope amidst chaos.
Love, Brooklyn
Director: Rachael Abigail Holder
Screenwriter: Paul Zimmerman
Cast: André Holland, Nicole Beharie, DeWanda Wise, Roy Wood Jr., Cassandra Freeman
Synopsis: Love, Brooklyn follows the intertwined lives of three lifelong Brooklynites as they navigate the complex realities of careers, love, loss, and friendship in a city undergoing rapid transformation. Roger, a free-spirited musician, finds his match in Nicole, a no-nonsense single mother redefining modern romance. Meanwhile, Casey, grappling with the shifting dynamics of her gallery and her relationship with Roger, brings a heartfelt perspective to this later-in-life coming-of-age story. As Brooklyn changes around them, the trio must confront evolving priorities and the pursuit of meaning in a beloved, gentrifying community.
Move Ya Body: The Birth of House
Director: Elegance Bratton
Producer: Chester Algernal Gordon
Synopsis: Move Ya Body: The Birth of House is a documentary that explores the underground dance clubs of Chicago’s South Side, where a group of friends revolutionized music by creating house music, transforming it from a local phenomenon into a global movement. At the heart of this story is Vince Lawrence, a young, eccentric Black visionary who recorded the first house track and broke barriers in a city deeply divided by segregation. Through radical creativity and a spirit of togetherness, Lawrence and his peers reshaped the music industry and unified communities across invisible divides.
Opus
Director: Mark Anthony Green
Cast: Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder
Synopsis: Opus follows Ariel, a young writer invited to the secluded compound of Moretti, a legendary pop icon who vanished three decades ago. What begins as a career-defining opportunity spirals into a sinister experience as Ariel discovers herself entangled in Moretti’s manipulative and twisted schemes.
Ricky
Director: Rashad Frett
Screenwriters: Rashad Frett, Lin Que Ayoung
Cast: Stephan James, Simbi Kali, Maliq Johnson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Imani Lewis, Titus Welliver, and Andrene Ward-Hammond.
Synopsis: Ricky, a 30-year-old man freshly released from prison after being incarcerated since his teens, struggles to rebuild his life while adapting to a world that has moved on without him. Returning to his devout Caribbean mother’s home in Hartford, Connecticut, he must juggle personal growth, the demands of his parole, and the challenges of integrating into a society he barely recognizes. Ricky explores themes of redemption, identity, and the pursuit of a second chance in an often unforgiving world.
Seeds
Synopsis: SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) is a documentary about the life and legacy of Sly & The Family Stone, the trailblazing band fronted by the magnetic and enigmatic Sly Stone. The film chronicles the group’s rise and its reign as a transformative force in American music. It examines the profound and often unseen challenges faced by Black artists navigating fame, success, and the systemic pressures of the entertainment industry.
Director: Brittany Shyne
Producers: Brittany Shyne, Danielle Varga
Synopsis: Seeds is a poetic exploration of Black generational farmers in the American South, illuminating the fragility of legacy and the profound significance of owning land. Director Brittany Shyne captures the intimate rhythms of daily life, celebrating the beauty of tradition and resilience through striking black-and-white cinematography.
SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)
Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Producers: Joseph Patel, Derik Murray
Executive Producers: Amit Dey, Shawn Gee, Zarah Zohlman, Lonnie Rashid Lynn (aka Common)
Synopsis: SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) is a documentary about the life and legacy of Sly & The Family Stone, the trailblazing band fronted by the magnetic and enigmatic Sly Stone. The film chronicles the group’s rise and its reign as a transformative force in American music. It examines the profound and often unseen challenges faced by Black artists navigating fame, success, and the systemic pressures of the entertainment industry.
To check out the full list of films, click here. If you can’t make it out to Utah, virtual screenings will begin on January 30.
Photo Credit: Sundance Website
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