Sly Stone appears in “SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)” by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Stephen Paley.
By Lucy Spicer
Now that we’re well into February, another edition of the Sundance Film Festival is officially in the books, and we’ll be watching excitedly as this new group of extraordinary independent films find wider audiences throughout the year. The first of these titles — a documentary by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson following Sly Stone of the trailblazing funk group Sly & The Family Stone — is already slated for release this month.
Joining this in-depth music doc are two films that premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, one from the 2023 Festival, and one documentary supported by Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program. This fascinating mix of documentaries and fictional stories based in reality includes an account of an unprecedented prison hunger strike, an outrageous tale of a kidnapping gone wrong, a journey through an archive of transmasculine sexuality, and a poignant film about a reluctant getaway driver.
The Strike — In July 2013, thousands of incarcerated individuals in the California prison system participated in a hunger strike to protest inhumane conditions in facilities like Pelican Bay State Prison, a maximum security prison whose extensive Security Housing Unit was designed to hold inmates in solitary confinement for indefinite periods of time. Supported by Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program, this powerful film co-directed by JoeBill Muñoz and Lucas Guilkey examines the events surrounding the strike and features interviews with formerly incarcerated individuals who survived the debilitating isolation that results from indefinite solitary confinement. Making its broadcast premiere on PBS’ “Independent Lens” and available to stream online February 3.
Kidnapping Inc. — Part political thriller, part buddy comedy, Bruno Mourral’s feature directorial debut takes on rampant corruption and economic inequality in Haiti — a country with one of the highest kidnapping rates in the world. This wild ride of a film follows Doc (Jasmuel Andri) and Zoe (Rolaphton Mercure), two hopelessly inept kidnappers, as their directive to abduct a political candidate’s son goes ridiculously — and violently — wrong. The kidnappers’ efforts to salvage their assignment lead them through the unpredictable streets of Port-au-Prince with increasingly outrageous results. Kidnapping Inc. premiered in the Midnight section at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Coming to select theaters February 7.
SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) — After premiering his Oscar-winning debut feature, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson returned to the Festival in 2025 with a documentary spotlighting the iconic funk band Sly & The Family Stone. Extensive archival footage and interviews with scholars, musicians, and Sly Stone’s family and bandmates come together to create a portrait of a trailblazing musician whose rise to prominence was met with the pressures of success and the staggering expectations that arise amid Black genius. Streaming on Hulu February 13.
Desire Lines — Director Jules Rosskam explores an archive of transmasculine sexuality in Desire Lines, a hybrid documentary-narrative project that won the NEXT Special Jury Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. The film combines fictional vignettes in a dreamlike archive and bathhouse with contemporary interviews with trans men who developed an attraction to men upon their transition. Anchoring the contemplative film is archival interview footage of Lou Sullivan, a pivotal figure in the history of advocacy for trans men. Available online February 14.
The Accidental Getaway Driver — Sing J. Lee took home the Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival for this nuanced thriller based on a true story. Lonely driver Long (Hiep Tran Nghia) grudgingly accepts a late-night ride request to find that the three men he picks up are actually recent escapees from an Orange County jail. Tensions run high while the three fugitives figure out their next moves with the elderly Long as hostage, but, as time passes and the men learn more about one another, they discover that parts of their lives have traveled on parallel paths. Coming to select theaters February 28.
