PARK CITY, UTAH, January 13, 2025 — Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the lineup for the Festival’s annual Beyond Film programming, a series of talks and events. The Festival will take place from January 23–February 2, 2025, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with a selection of titles available online from January 30–February 2, 2025 for audiences across the country to discover bold independent storytelling. Single Film Tickets go on sale next week on Thursday, January 16 at 9 a.m. PT / 10 a.m. MT / 12 p.m. ET. Visit the Sundance Film Festival site for more information: festival.sundance.org.

Beyond Film serves as a community hub for attendees, offering artist discussions, conversations with filmmakers and experts from various disciplines, and opportunities for audience engagement. The Beyond Film series will feature talks within the program strands of Power of Story, Cinema Café presented by Audible, Film Church, and The Big Conversation. All Beyond Film activities are free to the public with the exception of Power of Story, which is a paid ticket. The talks will take place in person from January 24–31, 2025, with most of the Beyond Film offerings available to audiences online the day following the in-person event on festival.sundance.org throughout the Festival.

“We are thrilled to announce the Beyond Film lineup for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival,” said Kim Yutani, Director of Programming. “The conversations at these events further amplify the ways in which our audiences can engage with the themes and ideas within this year’s Festival Program. We look forward to featuring the inspiring voices of filmmakers, artists, and politicians to connect even more with audiences.”

Beyond Film will feature conversations from various participants, including artists from films screening in the 2025 Festival, such as Mstyslav Chernov (Director, 2000 Meters to Andriivka), Chloë Sevigny (Actor, Atropia and Magic Farm), Olivia Colman (Actor, Jimpa), Steven Yeun (Actor/Producer, Bubble & Squeak), Jacinda Ardern (former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Subject, Prime Minister), Marlee Matlin (Subject, Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore), Eva Victor (Writer-director-actor, Sorry, Baby), Katarina Zhu (Writer-director-actor, Bunnylovr), Rashad Frett (Writer-director, Ricky), Théodore Pellerin (Actor, Lurker), Gregory Nava (Writer-director, El Norte), Isabel Castro (Director, Selena y Los Dinos), and Cristina Costantini (Director, SALLY).

This year’s programming will include a live podcast recording of Visitations with hosts Elijah Wood (Producer, Rabbit Trap) and Daniel Noah (Producer, Rabbit Trap). There will also be conversations featuring panelists Celine Song (Writer-director, Past Lives), Nicole Perlman (Writer, Guardians of the Galaxy), and Daniel Kaluuya (Actor, Judas and the Black Messiah). See the schedule below for the full lineup.

“Beyond Film programming is a dynamic and inspiring part of the Sundance Film Festival experience, designed to spark what can only be described as collective effervescence,” said Ania Trzebiatowska, Beyond Film Program Curator. “We invite our audiences to step beyond the screens — whether attending in person or joining from home — and to connect deeply with artists and their stories.”

For admission to Cinema Café and The Big Conversation events, arrive at least 30 minutes early, as seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Upon arrival, present your Festival ID QR code on your mobile device for entry. You can access your Festival ID by logging in to your free Festival account and going to “My Schedule.” (Important: Festival tickets and Festival IDs serve different functions. Both can be retrieved as QR codes using the mobile app.) Note: Power of Story is a paid ticketed event so will require a digital ticket for entry. For more on how to access online Beyond Film offerings, visit the How to Fest page on our website.

BEYOND FILM LINEUP

POWER OF STORY

The Sundance Film Festival’s Power of Story conversation looks to deepen public engagement with the art of storytelling, delve into cinema culture, and celebrate artists whose work propels and reinvents the form as we know it. By contemplating the future of storytelling, we explore how revolutionary narrative experiences will reshape culture through artistic discovery, emerging media, and the reassertion of independence in filmmaking.

Power of Story: On Success

Tuesday, January 28, 3–4:30 p.m.

Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main St, Park City, UT

This year, the Power of Story conversation will convene a group of artists, thinkers, and culture makers to talk about the meaning of success. We’ll examine what success truly means, how it’s shaped by socioeconomic and political factors, and how these influences affect the ways we measure, appreciate, and define success. By addressing the roles of privilege, opportunity, and systemic barriers, we aim to foster an honest, critical, and inclusive dialogue about success and its complexities.

Featuring: Mstyslav Chernov (2000 Meters to Andriivka), Celine Song (Past Lives), Chloë Sevigny (Atropia, Magic Farm), and Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah)

Moderated by Stacey Wilson Hunt (Contributing Editor, The Hollywood Reporter)

CINEMA CAFÉ

Friday January 24–Friday, January 31, 2025

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St, Park City, UT

The doors are open again at Cinema Café, where the culture of conversation is reinvigorated. Our series of informal chats brings together special guests for thought-provoking encounters and fascinating dialogue. Previous Cinema Café guests have included Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Tessa Thompson, Jane Campion, Eugenio Derbez, Lena Dunham, Norman Lear, Kumail Nanjiani, Zazie Beetz, Saoirse Ronan, Spike Lee, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Radha Blank, Ira Glass, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bassem Youssef, Charlie Kaufman, Ice-T, Nick Hornby, Winston Duke, Samantha Power, Steve Coogan, Roger Corman, D. Smith, and many others.

Cinema Café is presented by Audible

Cinema Café: Olivia Colman (Jimpa) and Steven Yeun (Bubble & Squeak)

Moderated by Kim Yutani (Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival)

Friday, January 24, 11–11:45 a.m.

Cinema Café: Jacinda Ardern (former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Subject, Prime Minister) and Marlee Matlin (Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore) 

Moderated by Sudeep Sharma (Programmer, Sundance Film Festival)

Saturday, January 25, 11 a.m.–noon

Cinema Café: Fresh Faces

Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby), Katarina Zhu (Bunnylovr), Rashad Frett (Ricky), and Théodore Pellerin (Lurker)

Moderated by Ash Hoyle (Programmer, Sundance Film Festival)

Tuesday, January 28, noon–1 p.m.

Cinema Café: Gregory Nava (El Norte) and Isabel Castro (Selena y Los Dinos)

Moderated by Stephanie Owens (Programmer, Sundance Film Festival)

Wednesday, January 29, 11 a.m.–noon

Cinema Café: Visitations Live Podcast with Elijah Wood (Producer, Rabbit Trap) and Daniel Noah (Producer, Rabbit Trap)

Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah of indie production company SpectreVision will host a live taping of their podcast Visitations.

Thursday, January 30, 11 a.m.–noon

THE BIG CONVERSATION

The Big Conversation tackles science, art, culture, and the movements that are fueling today’s independent artists. A compelling selection of speakers discuss topics centered on the themes of this year’s program and explore broader trends in art and culture. In considering how artists make meaning of the world, we’re reminded how the big conversations connect us to the big ideas.

The Big Conversation: Breaking Barriers

Monday, January 27, 11 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St, Park City, UT

Pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and capability has never been a frictionless endeavor. Whether barriers are scientific or technological, or whether they’re exemplified by broader cultural and social challenges faced by scientists, engineers, and mathematicians, they are united in being the dramatic engine of many fascinating, complex narratives in film and television — including this year’s SALLY. In this talk, storytellers and scientists delve into the art and science of breaking barriers. 

Supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Featuring: Cristina Costantini (SALLY) and Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy)

FILM CHURCH

Friday, January 31, 2–3:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St, Park City, UT

What could be more divine than 11 days of film watching? Finish off your Sundance Film Festival experience by sharing a near-spiritual occasion with a group of film lovers. Join us as we wrap up with a variety of special guests, including filmmakers who took home awards that morning. All will be forgiven.

Hosted by Eugene Hernandez and Kim Yutani

PARTNER EVENTS

The Sundance Film Festival’s official partner events give audiences the opportunity to hear from experts from around the world as they discuss a variety of topics. Events are hosted and produced by members of our partner community. Each of these partner organizations helped make this year’s Festival possible. To explore this year’s partner events, please visit festival.sundance.org/program/partner-events.

Sundance Film Festival®

The Sundance Film Festival, a program of the nonprofit, Sundance Institute, is the pre-eminent gathering of original storytellers and audiences seeking new voices and fresh perspectives. Since 1985, hundreds of films launched at the Festival have gone on to gain critical acclaim and reach new audiences worldwide. The Festival has introduced some of the most groundbreaking films and episodic works of the past three decades, including Daughters, Dìdi (弟弟), A Real Pain, Sujo, Thelma, Will & Harper, Past Lives, 20 Days in Mariupol, The Eternal Memory, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, A Thousand and One, Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields, Rye Lane, Navalny, Fire of Love, Flee, CODA, Passing, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Minari, Clemency, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Zola, O.J.: Made in America, On the Record, Boys State, The Farewell, Honeyland, One Child Nation, The Souvenir, The Infiltrators, Sorry to Bother You, Top of the Lake, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, Hereditary, Call Me by Your Name, Get Out, The Big Sick, Mudbound, Fruitvale Station, Whiplash, Brooklyn, Precious, The Cove, Little Miss Sunshine, An Inconvenient Truth, Napoleon Dynamite, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Reservoir Dogs, and sex, lies, and videotape. The program consists of fiction and nonfiction features and short films, series and episodic content, innovative storytelling, and performances, as well as conversations, and other events. The Festival takes place in person in Utah, as well as online, connecting audiences to bold new artists and films. The 2025 Festival will be held January 23–February 2, 2025. Be a part of the Festival at festival.sundance.org and follow the Festival on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.

The Festival is a program of the nonprofit Sundance Institute. To date 2025 Festival sponsors include: Presenting Sponsors – Acura, AMC+, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Adobe; Leadership Sponsors – Audible, Casamigos, Omnicom Group, Shutterstock, United Airlines; Sustaining Sponsors – Canon U.S.A., Inc., Darling&Co., Dropbox, World of Hyatt®, IMDbPro, MACRO, Rabbit Hole Bourbon & Rye, University of Utah Health, Vimeo, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, White Claw Hard Seltzer; Media Sponsors – Deadline Hollywood, IndieWire, Los Angeles Times, Variety, Vibe, Vulture, TheWrap. Sundance Institute recognizes critical support from the State of Utah as Festival Host State. The support of these organizations helps offset the Festival’s costs and sustain the Institute’s year round programs for independent artists. Please visit festival.sundance.org for more. 

Sundance Institute

As a champion and curator of independent stories, the nonprofit Sundance Institute provides and preserves the space for artists across storytelling media to create and thrive. Founded in 1981 by Robert Redford, the Institute’s signature labs, granting, and mentorship programs, dedicated to developing new work, take place throughout the year in the U.S. and internationally. Sundance Collab, a digital community platform, brings a global cohort of working artists together to learn from Sundance advisors and connect with each other in a creative space, developing and sharing works in progress. The Sundance Film Festival and other public programs connect audiences and artists to ignite new ideas, discover original voices, and build a community dedicated to independent storytelling. Through the Sundance Institute artist programs, we have supported such projects as Beasts of the Southern Wild, The Big Sick, Bottle Rocket, Boys Don’t Cry, Boys State, Call Me by Your Name, Clemency, CODA, Drunktown’s Finest, The Farewell, Fire of Love, Flee, The Forty-Year-Old Version, Fruitvale Station, Half Nelson, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hereditary, Honeyland, The Infiltrators, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Little Woods, Love & Basketball, Me and You and Everyone We Know, Mudbound, Nanny, One Child Nation, Pariah, Raising Victor Vargas, Requiem for a Dream, Reservoir Dogs, RBG, Sin Nombre, Sorry to Bother You, Strong Island, Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Swiss Army Man, A Thousand and One, Top of the Lake, Walking and Talking, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, and Zola. Through year-round artist programs, the Institute also nurtured the early careers of such artists as Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Gregg Araki, Darren Aronofsky, Lisa Cholodenko, Ryan Coogler, Nia DaCosta, The Daniels, David Gordon Green, Miranda July, James Mangold, John Cameron Mitchell, Kimberly Peirce, Boots Riley, Ira Sachs, Quentin Tarantino, Taika Waititi, Lulu Wang, and Chloé Zhao. Support Sundance Institute in our commitment to uplifting bold artists and powerful storytelling globally by making a donation at sundance.org/donate. Join Sundance Institute on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube.

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MEDIA CONTACTS: Tammie Rosen, tammie_rosen@sundance.org; Tiffany Duersch, tiffany_duersch@sundance.org; Alex Courides, alex_courides@sundance.org; Sylvy Fernández, sylvy_fernandez@sundance.org; Ray Love Jr., ray_love@sundance.org