The 2025 Sundance Film Festival just wrapped and these 13 films garnered a lot of attention, and should be on your radar as the year goes along.
1. The Ballad of Wallis Island
Our first film is actually going to be in theaters rather quickly, as in March 28. Word is that you should prepare yourself for a full range of emotions when watching director James Griffiths’ The Ballad of Wallis Island. The full length film was first conceived and produced as a short film 18 years ago by Griffiths along with co-writers and stars Tom Basden and Tim Key. The presentation of The Ballad of Wallis Island is of a quirky comedy about an eccentric millionaire and the washed up musician who has traveled to his home for a private concert. Meanwhile, under the surface, Wallis Island is subtly serving up themes of love and loss, creativity and ownership, and the oh so painful importance of moving on.
The Ballad of Wallis Island will be in theaters March 28.
2. The Legend of Ochi
If you miss the charm of old-school fantasy films, full of magical creatures and stunning matte paintings, instead of high-end digital effects, director Isaiah Saxon in his first feature film, had you in mind. Shot on location in the Carpathian mountains, The Legend of Ochi, showcases the importance of harmony with nature through a simple story of a girl on a journey to reunite a baby creature called an ochi with its family. Saxon looks to have truly created a world where every frame is a painting as Yuri (Helena Zengel) travels through woods, caves, snow, and water in defiance of her father (Willem Dafoe), whose fear of the creatures has led him to create an army of boys (including Finn Wolfhard) to hunt the animals. This is certainly one I’m really excited about, as everything from the performances, set designs, and locations all look amazing, not to mention the little creature at the center of the story that Saxon says we will find most impressive. Jonathan Nolan Studios gets the credit for bringing the ochi to intricate, articulate, and heart-melting life through fully practical puppet effects.
The Legend of Ochi will be in theaters April 25.
3. Omaha
Okay, there has been a lot of secrecy around this film currently at Sundance. What I have heard is that the audience is going to need to be in a good place mentally before engaging with director Cole Webley’s devastating drama about a family on the edge. Omaha will take us on a road trip with a father (John Magaro) and his two children (Molly Belle Wright and Wyatt Solis), the true nature of this trip is slowly revealed, but I have been told that it’s clear from the first few scenes that they were probably better off not embarking on this journey. I have also been told that we will want to see this one through to the very end, the richness is in the payoff.
4. Sorry, Baby
Details for Sorry, Baby have been even scarcer, but I do know that it follows Agnes (Eva Victor) over a period of five years, as she is a professor living in the wake of a traumatic accident. Victor, who some may recognize as Rian from Billions, serves as the director, writer, and star of the film. Filmmaker Barry Jenkins is one of several notable producers on the project that co-stars Naomi Ackie as Agnes’ roommate and Lucas Hedges as her neighbor.
5. The Thing With Feathers
Dylan Southern (Meet Me in the Bathroom) adapts Max Porter’s acclaimed novella “Grief Is the Thing with Feathers,” illustrating on film the unbearable sadness and often horrific experience of loss, and persistent presence of the grief which follows. In the film, Grief itself is personified as the haunting, hulking Crow, voiced by David Thewlis, a sardonic, sometimes violent, and unrelenting character overshadowing the lives of a father (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his two sons as they wade through the sudden death of their wife/mother. Cumberbatch’s performance has all the critics talking, calling it “an extraordinarily demanding physical and emotional performance in this wildly creative (albeit abstract) expression of Porter’s intellectual prose.” Word from Sundance says the film is clearly weighty throughout, but its highlighted with moments of humor and provides some relief as you watch the broken family ever so closely allow themselves to settle into grief’s embrace, coexisting with it rather than fighting it with fists of rage.
6. Atropia
Director Hailey Gates described her new film and entry at this year’s Sundance as a satire in the tradition of stories like M*A*S*H*. And while they might be true, I dare to say, based on the film synopsis and feedback, we have never seen a film like Atropia. Set at a US military training camp during the Iraq war, Atropia follows Fayruz (Alia Shawkat), an aspiring actress working as part of a 24/7 role playing experience for deploying soldiers. Along the way, she develops a friendship with fellow reenactor and veteran (Callum Turner), who is playing a “terrorist” named Abu Dice.
7. Ricky
Ricky, Rashad Frett’s debut feature film is a story that he has been developing for a long time. Frett first conceived the story of a man putting his life back together following 15 years of incarceration while he was a graduate student at NYU Tisch. After that, Frett and his collaborators took the script through several Sundance labs, which resulted in a short film that premiered at the festival just two years ago, in 2023. And now, Ricky has been actualized in its final feature form, and judging by early festival reaction, the many years Frett has lived with this project has paid off. I believe audiences can look for this film to be full of rich, painful moments, but Frett says Ricky in it’s totality, is a movie about hope.
8. Oh, Hi!
Two years after her Sundance favorite, Theater Camp, Molly Gordon is back at Sundance. This time, co-starring in a romantic comedy alongside Logan Lerman for director Sophie Brooks. Gordon and Brooks co-wrote the screenplay for Oh, Hi!, which tells the story of Iris and Isaac’s romantic weekend gone amok. The supporting cast includes Geraldine Viswanathan (Blockers, Drive-Away Dolls) and John Reynolds (Search Party).
9. Train Dreams
Director Clint Bentley is on a roll, after his indie moment with his last film, Jockey, he’s a producer of the recently Oscar-nominated drama, Sing Sing. And now, his latest film, Train Dreams is making waves at Sundance. The theme of Train Dreams, a period western starring Joel Edgerton as Robert Grainier, a day laborer who’s helping build America’s railroads, might bring The Brutalist to mind for some, which is fair, as Edgerton nearly starred as architect Laszlo Toth in that newly minted American epic. For extra Brutalist connections, Oscar nominee Felicity Jones co-stars as Grainier’s wife. Word is Train Dreams performed really well at Sundance and could be coming to a living room near you as Netflix scooped it up at the festival.
10. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, the new film premiering at Sundance from director Mary Bronstein was conceived while the director was caring for her sick child. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You explores the darker sides of motherhood. Rose Byrne stars as a woman whose life is hanging by a thread as she struggles to balance the needs of her chronically ill child, her therapy patients, and the reconstruction of her apartment ceiling after a dramatic cave in. The word from Sundance is Byrne’s performance is stellar, but there are two other surprises in standout performances from Conan O’Brien as her therapist and an easygoing performance from A$AP Rocky.
11. Rabbit Trap
Rabbit Trap, the British horror tale and Sundance import, stars Dev Patel and Rosy McEwen as a musician couple who conjure up some folksy trouble in the woods of Wales. After moving from London to a cottage in Wales to complete their new album, by accident they record a mystical sound never heard before and gradually disconnect from reality. With word from the festival strong on this one, I’m betting a horror specialty label snaps it up fairly quickly.
12. Bubble & Squeak
This one is for those of you who have always wanted to smuggle in some cabbage. Don’t look at me, you know who you are. In Bubble & Squeak, Himesh Patel, Sarah Goldberg, and Matt Berry star in writer-director Evan Twohy’s first feature, which he adapted from his play. Patel and Goldberg play a couple who are pursued by the fabulously named customs agent, Shazbor (Berry). That casting alone has me excited, as it should give Berry a spotlight to do his unique comedic thing in his first role since What We Do in the Shadows signed off.
13. Together
Michael Shanks’ body horror film Together stars real-life couple Dave Franco and Allison Brie, and follows their characters Tim and Millie as they leave city life behind for Millie’s new job out in the suburbs. Unfortunately, it would seem the two are not destined for a life of domestic bliss. Tim, a musician without a drivers license, feels trapped in the country, while Millie fears they may have fallen out of love. What they don’t know is that these worries will pale in comparison to what’s waiting for them out in the woods. The most important and common things I have heard about this film at Sundance, is that the film, though it utilizes some classic horror tropes, the execution of those elements make Together feel extremely fresh and special. Secondly, there has been this prevailing request for potential audiences to avoid trailers and reviews, and hold out for the release of what some critics from Sundance are hailing as a “slam dunk horror comedy.” Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long.
That concludes my look at the thirteen buzz-worthy films of 2025 Sundance. I hope you have enjoyed. As always, your thoughts are welcome in the comments section below. If you would like to get my posts delivered to your inbox, please subscribe below as well.
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