Issue 33: Sundance Recap 2025
Currently on the films I saw (at home) for Sundance Film Festival.
Sundance Film Festival is the largest independent film festival in the U.S. Since COVID, they’ve expanded to include virtual screenings—an opportunity I’ve embraced for the past four years. Each year, I aim to share my love of film, catch early screenings with friends, and support independent cinema. This year, I curated a weekend lineup featuring one full season of television and eight feature films. Here’s a look at what we watched—and what you should keep an eye out for this year.
Friday
Hal & Harper 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
Cooper Raiff is one of my favorite contemporary filmmakers, known for crafting personal, raw, and charming films. At 27, he has already won SXSW’s Grand Jury Prize with Shithouse and sold his second feature, Cha Cha Real Smooth, to Apple for $15 million. His latest project, Hal & Harper, is an 8-episode TV series he self-financed and has been developing for the past six years. The series follows two siblings navigating adulthood after being forced to grow up too fast by their father. With his signature blend of vulnerability, humor, and heart, Raiff delivers another emotional story about love, family, and figuring it all out—together.
Hal & Harper is still seeking distribution.
Saturday
2000 Meters to Andriivka 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕
Mstyslav Chernov’s 20 Days in Mariupol was one of the most depressing and devastating documentaries I’ve ever seen, capturing the first weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The film went on to win a Pulitzer Prize and an Oscar. Now, Chernov turns his lens to Ukraine’s counteroffensive in Andriivka. Using helmet-mounted GoPros, he crafts an unbelievably cinematic yet devastatingly real portrayal of war. Just when I thought nothing could be more harrowing than Mariupol, Andriivka goes even further—an unrelenting, must-watch testament to the cost of conflict.
2000 Meters to Andriivka won the Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary and will be released by Frontline/Associated Press.
DJ Ahmet 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
DJ Ahmet is a tribute to the unifying power of music, marking the feature debut of director Georgi Unkovski. Set in rural North Macedonia, the film follows 15-year-old Ahmet, who falls in love for the first time and dreams of becoming a DJ, all while challenging the conservative norms of his village. Unkovski and his team spent three months living with locals just miles from his home to authentically immerse themselves in the community. Shot in stunning locations, DJ Ahmet is not only laugh-out-loud funny and unexpectedly enjoyable but also delivers a refreshing, cliché-free ending. With heartfelt storytelling and beautiful cinematography, this was a surprise hit for me.
DJ Ahmet won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision
and the Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic and is still seeking distribution.
Speak 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
From Friday Night Lights, Boys State, Minding the Gap, and Going Varsity in Mariachi, I’m a sucker for coming-of-age stories set in high school, and Speak delivers exactly that. The film follows five top-ranked oratory students as they spend a year crafting spoken word performances, diving into the high-stakes world of one of the most intense public speaking competitions. With past competitors like Oprah, Stephen Colbert, and Brad Pitt, Speak captures how the power of words can shape perspectives, inspire change, and turn vision into reality. We’re sure to see more of these students in important roles in the future—and that's a future I can get behind.
Speak is still seeking distribution.
Bubble & Squeak 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑
Writer-director Evan Twohy makes his feature debut with this adaptation of his acclaimed comedic play, which landed on the 2020 Hollywood Black List—a coveted survey of the industry’s most-liked unproduced scripts, previously spotlighting films like Juno, The King’s Speech, and Slumdog Millionaire. In this offbeat satire, newlyweds Declan and Delores find their marriage tested when they’re accused of smuggling… cabbages into a nation where cabbages are banned. Knowing the festival would lean dramatic, I added this to the lineup for some brevity. However, it turned out to be too silly and outlandish for my tastes.
Bubble & Squeak is still seeking distribution.
Sunday
Plainclothes 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
Plainclothes is the feature debut of writer-director Carmen Emmi. It’s a romantic thriller about an undercover cop who, assigned to lure and arrest gay men, falls in love with a target. The film is inspired by an L.A. Times article and Emmi’s own coming-out experience in the 90s. Plainclothes explores themes of identity, fear, and resilience, serving as both a warning and homage to the past. Intense moments are conveyed through subtle glances, ultimately building to a boiling point of chaos, reminiscent of The Bear's "Fishes" episode.
Plainclothes won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast and is still seeking distribution.
Seeds 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
Seeds is the debut feature from director and cinematographer Brittany Shyne, originally developed as her MFA thesis film. Shot over nine years, it explores the legacy of Black generational farmers in the American South. While Shyne’s intention was likely to honor Black heritage and highlight their impact on agriculture, the film only briefly touches on the exploitation and government discrimination Black farmers have faced—a perspective that could have sparked education and action. Instead, its contemplative, fly-on-the-wall approach ultimately falls flat and drags, much like the plows we're forced to sit on throughout the film.
Seeds won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary and Sundance Institute | Amazon MGM Studios Producers Award for Nonfiction and is still seeking distribution.
Omaha 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
Omaha, written by screenwriter Robert Machoian, was first conceived in 2008 and submitted to the Sundance Screenwriters Lab in 2013, only to be rejected. Years later, the script was rediscovered by longtime festival attendee Cole Webley after meeting Machoian at Sundance. The film follows siblings Ella and Charlie, who, after an ambiguous family tragedy, are unexpectedly woken up by their father and taken on a journey across the country. As their adventure unfolds, Ella begins to realize that things might not be as they seem. The film reminded me of Nomadland, with wonderful performances and cinematography set in the American Midwest, culminating in an ending that snuck up on me and left me devastated.
Omaha is still seeking distribution.
Sorry, Baby 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑
Sorry, Baby is the feature debut of Eva Victor, who gained recognition through viral Twitter videos in the late 2010s. During the pandemic lockdown, they retreated to a cabin in Maine to write their first screenplay. Victor's Twitter presence caught the attention of Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), who produced the film and convinced them to direct and star in it. This slice-of-life "traumedy" consists of five chapters, each representing a key moment in the life of a professor at a New England college struggling to regain her footing after being sexually assaulted. With its blend of witty banter and earnest vulnerability, the film showcases Victor's writing talent. While it wasn't a complete win for me, possibly due to being screened last over the weekend, it’s clear that Victor is a writer to watch.
Sorry, Baby won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and will be released by A24.
Thanks for being here.
— Justin