The 2025 Sundance Film Festival begins this week! For two weeks starting in January, Park City and Salt Lake City feel culturally relevant in a way we can’t normally achieve without shameless forays into the salacious world of reality television (hello, Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City) or ripped-from-the-headlines true crime series (Murder Among the Mormons, Under the Banner of Heaven, Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, etc.). 

The Sundance Film Festival is different. It’s when Hollywood comes to us, rather than the other way around. This year’s festival will be as star-studded as ever, with films featuring the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Benedict Cumberbatch, Diego Luna, Conan O’Brien, Olivia Colman, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe and many, many more.

For locals, there’s a number of free screenings you can attend. For everyone, here’s what has the editors, critics and contributors at Salt Lake magazine, as well as the festival programmers, excited for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. 

Film highlights at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival

Sally Ride was the first American woman in space and a powerful advocate for STEM education. The Sundance documentary SALLY shows a portrait of Ride, incorporating the perspectives from her once secret partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy and rare archival footage of NASA training and missions and Ride’s press appearances.  

SALLY also received the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize—an award for a Festival film that incorporates science or technology into the storytelling. 

“It’s an incredibly inspirational film about a real-life hero who’s no longer with us,” says Heidi Zwicker, a Senior Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival. 

“I’m not at all surprised that the Sloan jury was moved by this detailed accounting of what it meant to be the first woman in space and what it took,” says Zwicker. “It’s incredibly powerful.”

A local filmmaker has his debut film at Sundance this year.  Cole Webley directed Omaha, about a family’s unexpected cross-country journey following a tragedy. Some of the film was shot in Utah, and it will be shown among the handful of free screenings for Utah locals. 

“I think about this film when I think about films that speak to the current moment in the United States,” says Zwicker. “It’s about a family struggling, houseless, and how they’re going to get by. It’s incredibly heartstring-pulling and definitely a tearjerker.”

Omaha stars actor John Magaro, “who I think is an amazing actor and, after Past Lives, is getting his due. I’m really excited for that one,” adds Zwicker.

Among the international films at Sundance this year, Zwicker draws attention to a film shot in North Macedonia, DJ Ahmet. The filmmaker, Georgi M. Unkovski, previously had an entry in Sundance’s shorts competition, and now he’s back with his first feature. 

“This feels like the movie I could recommend to anybody,” says Zwicker. The story follows a teenage boy who was growing up in a very rural shepherding village. He struggles to express his love is music, while navigating his father’s expectations in a conservative community. 

“So it’s kind of like Footloose in North Macedonia,” says Zwicker. “But it’s really about this battle between tradition and modernity, and it’s just such a good time.” 

When it comes to a star-studded feature premiere, look no further than Kiss of the Spider Woman, a film adaptation of the Tony-winning stage musical and a previous 1985 film. It stars a scene-stealing Jennifer Lopez and Diego Luna and is directed by Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, Dreamgirls), including showstopping musical and dance numbers.

“It’s just exciting to have big, cool talent come to the festival,” says Zwicker. “So I have to mention Kiss of the Spider Woman with Jennifer Lopez. She is so incredible in this movie. And so I’m really excited for that premiere.”

As far as themes and trends that emerge this year at the Festival,  the focus seems pulled in a variety of directions as filmmakers attempt to broach the myriad challenges in the current moment, including the challenges of the economy, the environment and political conflict. 

Sundance 2025 Recommendations 

From Jaime Winston, Salt Lake magazine contributor: 

While Sundance is giving us many worthwhile films this year, the festival program’s description for By Design definitely sticks out: “A woman swaps bodies with a chair, and everyone likes her better as a chair.” The idea alone says dark comedy, but it also offers commentary on social interactions, friendships and self-worth. Juliette Lewis plays Camille, who becomes the chair. Amanda Kramer writes and directs. 
Other films to look forward to include Third Act, which tells the story of filmmaker Robert A. Nakamura’s career and battle with Parkinson’s in a documentary by his son, Tadashi, and Dead Lover, Grace Glowicki’s Midnight film about a lonely grave digger resurrecting the man she loves.
If in Park City, Top of Main Brew Pub for lunch and a pint of beer is also recommended.

From Salt Lake magazine contributor Phillip Sevy:

Looking at the Sundance Film Festival from a high-level, the thing I always look forward to the most is discovering something new and great. With no trailers, sparse descriptions, and almost no buzz to go off of, it’s always exciting to pick movies you hope are good and seeing what happens. Often, my favorite films of every festival are unexpected (Freaky Tales 2024, Infinity Pool 2023, Cha Cha Real Smooth 2022). Who knows what I’ll love this year! 
On a more specific examination, I’m really looking forward to seeing Didn’t Die—which sounds quirky, smart, and something I haven’t seen before (a podcast during the zombie apocalypse)—and OBEX (which sounds so unique and potentially weird, it could be brilliant). I’ve got a lot of films I’m trying to see this year, so we’ll check back with reviews, but the slate of films this year has a lot of potential for hidden gems. 

From Christie Porter, managing editor at Salt Lake magazine:

The writer, director and star of one of my favorite Sundance films in recent years, is returning to the 2025 Sundance Film Festival with an episodic entry. Cooper Raiff surprised the Festival in 2022 with Cha Cha Real Smooth, a painfully authentic romantic dramedy—starring Raiff and Dakota Johnson, with the incomparable Leslie Mann in a supporting role—which also won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award that year. 
This year, Raiff’s entry is Hal & Harper, a series starring Raiff as Hal and Lili Reinhart as Harper, two siblings who share inside jokes, past wounds and co-dependency. Mark Ruffalo plays their father as the siblings explore the “balance between children on the precipice of damage and adults mired in self-made messes.” Raiff has demonstrated his ability to weave wit, charm and humor into a piece without undercutting the film’s heavier themes or emotional resonance. I’m curious to see how he takes on a series. (The first four episodes of Hal & Harper will be screened in-person at the festival, and all eight episodes of the first season will show on Sundance’s online platform.)

Getting to the 2025 Sundance Film Festival 

The 2025 Sundance Film Festival will take place from January 23–February 2, 2025, in person at venues in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. Over half of the projects will be available online from January 30–February 2, 2025. 

Single Film Tickets for in-person and online screenings are available for purchase at festival.sundance.org/tickets. If the screenings are sold out for the film you would like to see, be sure to keep checking as more screenings could open up, and get on the eWaitlist for the film by clicking “join waitlist” next to the aforementioned screening. For more information about this year’s Sundance films and Beyond Film programming, there’s the Festival Program Guide. 

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Need help navigating this year’s festival? Check out our top tips here and our list of where to eat while attending Sundance in Park City!

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The 2025 Sundance Film Festival begins this weekend and runs through Feb. 2nd. For locals, these two weeks are marked by a flurry of film buffs inundating our street with their expensive winter ware and industry speak. We overhear our fair share of “Wow this little ski town is so cute!” and “What do you mean I need my ID?” It’s like Salt Lake and Park City are discovered all over again. For most locals, the ones who’d rather our rad state stay a secret, Sundance is blacked out as a time to avoid the riff-raff of Main Street and instead explore the festival offerings in a more remote way. 

To accommodate our wish, Sundance is once again offering free Local Lens screenings. This year’s lineup includes four in-person screenings and one online screening—all free and available to Utah residents. To register, purchase a single film ticket through the Sundance Film Festival website and check out as normal. 

Four In-Person Films Free to Locals 

What: Omaha with a special screening of the short film The Long Valley
When: Wednesday, 01/29 at 6:15 p.m. 
Where: The Ray Theater, Park City 
Synopsis: After a family tragedy, siblings Ella and Charlie are unexpectedly woken up by their dad and taken on a journey across the country, experiencing a world they’ve never seen before. As their adventure unfolds, Ella begins to understand that things might not be what they seem.

What: Deaf President Now! 
When: Thursday, 01/30 at 4:30 p.m. 
Where: The Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City
Synopsis: During eight tumultuous days in 1988 at the world’s only Deaf university, four students must find a way to lead an angry mob — and change the course of history.

What: Best of Fest
When: Sunday, 02/02 at 3 p.m. 
Where: The Ray Theater, Park City 
About: Sundance Institute’s Utah Community Program presents complimentary screenings of this year’s Festival favorites to Locals in Salt Lake and Summit Counties. In addition to serving as a thank you to our local community for hosting the Festival, these screenings allow many in the community to participate in our programming who may otherwise not have an opportunity.

What: Best of Fest
When: Sunday, 02/02 at 5:30 p.m. 
Where: The Rose Wagner Theater, Salt Lake City
About: Sundance Institute’s Utah Community Program presents complimentary screenings of this year’s Festival favorites to Locals in Salt Lake and Summit Counties. In addition to serving as a thank you to our local community for hosting the Festival, these screenings allow many in the community to participate in our programming who may otherwise not have an opportunity.

Online Sundance Film Screening Access 

If an at-home screening is more your style, Sundance is offering locals the choice of four films to screen at home: Sally, Speak, East of Wall, and Where the Wind Comes From. Sign up here to receive your promo code which can be used at checkout. 

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Need help navigating this year’s festival? Check out our top tips here!

Unless you are tight with some influential key grip’s nephew, navigating the Sundance Film Festival can be difficult. Without those sweet, sweet insider hookups, you’ll likely be stuck in line outside the exclusive screenings and hot, popup clubs Sundance is famous for. By following these tips, even those of us outside the Hollywood power vacuum can enjoy the spoils of Park City’s Biggest Little Film Festival.

WHAT DO I EAT?

Let’s be blunt: Stay away from Main Street! Many restaurants in the center of the whirlwind are commandeered for private events or have waiting lines measured in eons. Many great nearby options won’t be inundated, like Twisted Fern’s chic natural cuisine in the Snow Creek Shopping Center or Sammy’s Bistro’s high-class comfort food in Prospector. Even easier is to pick up some Italian food at Bartolos in Kimball Junction or elevated Mexican fare at Billy Blanco’s in Pinebrook before you head to the center of town.

WHERE DO I DRINK?

Twenty-dollar cover charges at dive bars are borderline offensive, especially when you can waltz in for free the other 50 weeks a year. The Boneyard on S.R. 248 has the same idealized local/visitor melting pot vibe as its Main Street analog, No Name Saloon, and there’s a mirror image of O’Shucks Bar and Grill—schooners, peanuts and all—in Pinebrook. 

HOW DO I GET THERE?

Do not drive into the heart of Sundance. The roads are a madhouse. Parking is rare and expensive. Park City’s already robust bus system transforms into a well-oiled mass transit machine that leaves major metropolitan areas envious. Park at the new Ecker Hill Park & Ride, and catch High Valley Transit from Kimball Junction and enjoy the ride. The army of patient Sundance volunteers will help you get to where you’re going.

WHAT MOVIES DO I WATCH?

Unless you bought a ticket package long before reading this article, you’re going to have to use the Sundance Film Festival app to get on the waitlist for a screening. It can still be difficult to get into high-demand screenings, but the app is a must for anyone planning on catching a film at Sundance. Shoot for late-night screenings—you’d be shocked how many people might no-show after a few cocktails—or catch a film at the Festival’s excellent venues in Salt Lake City, like the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center or the Broadway Centre Cinema.

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Looking to involve the kids in your Sundance experience? Here are some family-friendly screenings to attend in 2025.