Everything you need to know about the 2025 Sundance Film Festival

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)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)