Friday, February 7, 2025

The Sundance Film Festival Announces 2025 Beyond Film Talks

Today, the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the lineup for the festival’s annual Beyond Film programming, which is a series of talks and events. The Festival will take place from January 23rd–February 2nd, 2025, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with a selection of titles available online from January 30th–February 2nd, 2025, for audiences across the country to discover bold, independent storytelling. Single Film Tickets go on sale next week on Thursday, January 16th, 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 onfestival.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-ticket event, so entry will require a digital ticket. For more information on how to access Beyond Film offerings online, 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 24th–Friday, January 31st, 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: Olivia Colman (Jimpa) and Steven Yeun (Bubble & Squeak)
Moderated by Kim Yutani (Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival)
Friday, January 24th, 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 25th, 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 28th, 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 29th, 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 30th, 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 discusses topics centered on the themes of this year’s program and explores 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 27th, 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.

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

FILM CHURCH
Friday, January 31st, 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

So what do you think of this news for Sundance? Will you be attending the festival this year? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our X account. Stay tuned for more from Next Best Picture and be sure to visit the Sundance Film Festival website for more information on the festival including the lineup.

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Matt Neglia
Matt Negliahttps://nextbestpicture.com/
Obsessed about the Oscars, Criterion Collection and all things film 24/7. Critics Choice Member.

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