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Everything you need to know about the 2025 Sundance Film Festival

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Everything you need to know about the 2025 Sundance Film Festival
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Everything you need to know about the 2025 Sundance Film Festival

2025-01-23 02:08 Last Updated At:02:11

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — As many in the entertainment industry navigate the devastating effects of the California wildfires, some will soon be decamping to cleaner air in the mountains. The annual Sundance Film Festival begins Thursday in Park City, Utah.

The 41st edition of Robert Redford’s brainchild will, as always, be a year of discovery and discussion. There are timely films:

— “Free Leonard Peltier,” which will premiere just days after former President Joe Biden commuted the sentence of the Indigenous activist nearly half a century after he was imprisoned for the 1975 killings of two FBI agents.

— Oscar-winner Mstyslav Chernov’s“2000 Meters to Andriivka,” a joint production between The Associated Press and Frontline about an attempt to liberate an occupied territory in Ukraine

— Several films about trans rights including “Heightened Scrutiny,” about civil rights lawyer Chase Strangio. It's a topic even more pressing after President Donald Trump signed executive orders Monday rolling back protections for transgender people.

There are even some controversies brewing: “The Stringer,” from documentary filmmaker Bao Nguyen, calls into question who took the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Napalm Girl” photograph. Retired AP photographer Nick Ut and the AP, which conducted a six-month investigation into the allegation, are contesting it and Ut's lawyers have asked for it to be pulled from the program.

“The film is an investigation,” said Eugene Hernandez, the director of the festival, who is moving forward with plans to screen it. “I think it will be a really important conversation that will come out over the next few days after the film is seen by more people.”

Don’t worry, it’s not all heavy. There’s drama of course, even a film about starting over after a fire (“Rebuilding,” with Josh O’Connor), horror, satire, literary adaptations, comedy, documentaries about famous faces, and some that simply defy categorization.

“There’s some really funny stuff in the program,” Hernandez said. One of those Hernandez cited is “Bubble & Squeak,” about a married couple accused of smuggling cabbages into a nation where they’re banned.

For first time filmmakers, Sundance can be their chance to break through in a big way. That happened last year for “Dìdi” filmmaker Sean Wang. Some films that debuted last January are still in the awards conversation, like “A Real Pain” and “A Different Man.” For actors, the festival is both a casual respite to awards season glitz (snow boots are more likely on red carpets than high heels) and can be a chance to show audiences a new dimension of their talent.

“It’s a strong year of renewal for our artist community,” Hernandez said. “And we have a lot of really great voices and stories that we get to unveil in the coming days.”

Here’s everything you need to know:

Sundance runs from Jan. 23 through Feb. 2. There are about 90 features premiering across the 11 days, with screenings starting early in the morning through midnight. Award-winners will be announced on Jan. 31.

Stars with films premiering include Jennifer Lopez, Benedict Cumberbatch, Diego Luna, Conan O’Brien, Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Ayo Edebiri, Olivia Colman, André Holland, Steven Yeun, Mark Ruffalo, Bowen Yang, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Lily Gladstone, Dev Patel, Emily Watson, John Lithgow, Marlee Matlin, John Malkovich, Rose Byrne, Chloë Sevigny, Josh O’Connor, Ben Whishaw, Dylan O’Brien, Lili Reinhart and Willem Dafoe.

One of the greatest things about Sundance is that it’s often the under-the-radar movies that become the breakouts.

But some of the higher-profile premieres going into the festival include: Bill Condon’s “Kiss of the Spider-Woman,” starring Lopez; Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s documentary “SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)”; “Opus,” a horror about the cult of celebrity with Edebiri and John Malkovich; Andrew Ahn’s “The Wedding Banquet,” with Bowen Yang and Kelly Marie Tran; the war satire “Atropia,” with Alia Shawkat; “Pee-wee as Himself,” about the late Paul Reubens; “Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore”; and Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman’s doc “The Alabama Solution,” about a cover-up in one of America’s most notorious prison systems.

Festival organizers have been in dialogue with filmmakers, staff, audiences and donors about the effects of the fires, supporting and accommodating where possible including pushing back deadlines to allow filmmakers more time to finish. The festival will also have a QR code displayed before screenings for information on sharing resources or contributing to relief efforts.

“As hard as the last week has been, this will be a moment to come together,” Hernandez said. “The community’s really responding to support those who need it most right now. I think that’s going to be a profound aspect of this year’s festival.”

For the most part, yes. Starting in 2027 the festival will no longer be primarily based in Park City. It may stay in Utah but would operate mainly out of Salt Lake City. Other finalists are Boulder, Colorado, and Cincinnati, Ohio. The Sundance Institute is expected to announce its final decision in the first quarter of 2025.

“Park City as the home of Sundance is such a special place,” Hernandez said. “I look at it optimistically because we have two more exciting years in this current configuration. I think we’re going to make the most of those two years and make them as memorable and meaningful as we can.”

Access to the movies premiering at Sundance doesn’t necessary require an expensive trip to Park City anymore. The festival has fully embraced an online component for many of their films.

What started as a necessary COVID-19 adjustment has become a vital part of the program. From Jan. 30 through Feb. 2, audiences can stream much of the program online. Prices start at $35 for a single film ticket and go up to $800 for unlimited access.

Otherwise, films that secure distribution can take anywhere from a few weeks to over a year to hit theaters or streaming services. Steven Soderbergh's “Presence,” which premiered last January, is just hitting theaters this week.

For more coverage of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival visit: https://apnews.com/hub/sundance-film-festival

The marquee of the Egyptian Theatre is shown Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

The marquee of the Egyptian Theatre is shown Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in Park City, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

MUGHRAQA, Gaza strip (AP) — Israeli forces began withdrawing from a key Gaza corridor on Sunday, Israeli officials said, part of Israel's commitments under a tenuous ceasefire deal with Hamas that is moving ahead but faces a major test over whether the sides can negotiate its planned extension.

Israel agreed as part of the truce to remove its forces from the 4-mile (6-kilometer) Netzarim corridor, a strip of land that bisects northern Gaza from the south that Israel used as a military zone during the war.

At the start of the ceasefire last month, Israel began allowing Palestinians to cross Netzarim to head to their homes in the war-battered north, sending hundreds of thousands streaming across Gaza on foot and by car. The withdrawal of forces from the area will fulfill another commitment to the deal, which paused the 15-month war.

However, the sides appear to have made little progress on negotiating the deal's second phase, which is meant to extend the truce and lead to the release of more Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sending a delegation to Qatar, a key mediator in talks between the sides, but the mission included low-level officials, sparking speculation that it won’t lead to a breakthrough in extending the truce. Netanyahu is also expected to convene a meeting of key Cabinet ministers this week on the second phase of the deal.

Since it began on Jan. 19, the ceasefire deal has faced repeated obstacles and disagreements between the sides, underscoring its fragility. But it has held, raising hopes that the devastating war that led to seismic shifts in the Middle East may be headed toward an end.

On Sunday, cars heaped with belongings, including water tanks and suitcases, were seen heading north through a road that crosses Netzarim. Under the deal, Israel is supposed to allow the cars to cross through uninspected and there did not appear to be troops in the vicinity of the road.

The Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss troop movement with the media, did not disclose how many soldiers were withdrawing. Troops currently remain along Gaza's borders with Israel and Egypt and a full withdrawal is expected to be negotiated in a later stage of the truce.

During the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is gradually releasing 33 Israeli hostages captured during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack in exchange for a pause in fighting, freedom for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a flood of humanitarian aid to war-battered Gaza. The deal also stipulates that Israeli troops will pull back from populated areas of Gaza as well as the Netzarim corridor.

In the second phase, all remaining hostages would be released in return for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a “sustainable calm.” But details beyond that are unclear and repeated stumbling blocks throughout the first phase and the deep mistrust between the sides have cast doubt on whether they can nail down the extension.

Israel has said it won’t agree to a complete withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas’ military and political capabilities are eliminated. Hamas says it won’t hand over the last hostages until Israel removes all troops from the territory.

Netanyahu meanwhile is under heavy pressure from his far-right political allies to resume the war after the first phase so that Hamas, which carried out the deadliest attack on Israelis in their history, can be defeated. He is facing pressure from Israelis who are eager to see more hostages return home, especially after the gaunt appearances of the three male captives freed on Saturday stunned the nation.

Complicating things further is a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump to relocate the population of Gaza and take ownership of the Palestinian territory. Israel has expressed openness to the idea while Hamas, the Palestinians and the broader Arab world have rejected it outright.

The suggested plan is saddled with moral, legal and practical obstacles. But it may have been proposed as a negotiation tactic by Trump, to try to ratchet up pressure on Hamas or as an opening gambit in a bargaining process aimed at securing a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. That grand deal appeared to be rattled on Sunday as Saudi Arabia condemned remarks by Netanyahu who said Palestinians could create their state in that territory.

Saudi Arabia said his remarks “aim to divert attention from the successive crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against our Palestinian brothers in Gaza, including the ethnic cleansing they are being subjected to.”

In an interview Thursday with Israel’s Channel 14, Netanyahu said: “The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there.”

The United Arab Emirates, which reached a diplomatic recognition deal with Israel in 2020, also condemned Netanyahu’s remarks late Saturday.

The war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’ attack that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage, has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians according to local health authorities who do not differentiate between fighters and noncombatants in their count. Vast parts of the territory have been obliterated in the fighting, leaving many Palestinians returning to damaged or destroyed homes.

Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

FILE - Israeli soldiers drive near the northern Gaza Strip border in southern Israel, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)

FILE - Israeli soldiers drive near the northern Gaza Strip border in southern Israel, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)

FILE - Israeli soldiers wave to the camera from an APC as they cross from the Gaza Strip into Israel, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov, File)

FILE - Israeli soldiers wave to the camera from an APC as they cross from the Gaza Strip into Israel, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov, File)

Palestinians are seen near destroyed buildings by Israeli bombardments inside the northern Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Palestinians are seen near destroyed buildings by Israeli bombardments inside the northern Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

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