Top 10 Most Anticipated Films at Sundance 2025 – Indies to Discover
by Alex Billington
January 21, 2025
We’re days away from another edition of the Sundance Film Festival up in the snowy mountains of Utah. The 2025 festival is about to kick off in a few days, and FS is back in Utah, ready to start watching. Ready to dive into the enthralling line-up of new films this year. This is our 19th time we have covered Sundance, ever since 2007, bringing attention to unique films and the festival experience. I am always looking forward to wading through all the fresh films the fest. Packing in as many as I can catch. Out of the 88 films showing at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, I’ve picked 10 films (well, it’s 11 in total) that I’m looking forward to watching the most. To keep things well balanced, I’ve chosen 5 feature films and 5 documentaries from the line-up. For 2025, the fest has once again programmed an intriguing selection of unknown directors, first-time filmmakers, and potential indie hits that could become all-timer favorites. As usual with Sundance, you never can really tell what’ll good or bad before watching anything, but here’s my early picks from the diverse line-up anyway. I recommend adding these 11 films below to your festival schedule / or to your watchlist.
For the full line-up of films showing at Sundance 2025 – click here. Follow my reviews on Letterboxd. This is my 19th year in a row covering Sundance, starting way back in 2007. I’m always so excited to be watching the latest indie creations and fascinating docs, hopeful that there’s at least a few amazing discoveries despite the strange times we’re living in. It’s almost time to start, here’s my Top 10 11 most anticipated 2025 films.
Alex’s Most Anticipated ~Sundance 2025~ Feature Films:
Bubble & Squeak
Directed by Evan Twohy
I’m always, always excited about watching the weirdest, wackiest, unlike-anything-else films that Sundance programs (last year had Sasquatch Sunset; there was also a film about manure salesmen at Sundance 2009). This one sounds like a must watch just based on the premise: “Accused of smuggling cabbages into a nation where cabbages are banned, Declan and Delores must confront the fragility of their new marriage while on the run for their lives.” Wait, what?! A nation where cabbages are banned?! But why?? 🥬 What is this really about – marriage?? Bubble & Squeak stars Himesh Patel and Sarah Goldberg as the couple Declan & Delores, along with Steven Yeun, Dave Franco, Matt Berry. Sundance adds this very cabbage-y tease: “Patel & Goldberg lead a committed cast who deliver Twohy’s oddball dialogue with utter conviction, gently unearthing the melancholy beneath the film’s idiosyncratic surface. Bubble & Squeak explores the vagaries of love with uncanny humor and heart.” No idea what we’re all in for with this – but I can’t wait to find out.
Sorry, Baby
Directed by Eva Victor
I’ve got a feeling this is going to be one of the most talked-about films of Sundance 2025 and a big breakout from the festival. Sorry, Baby marks the feature directorial debut of actress / comedian / filmmaker Eva Victor, best known for her many wacky & fun videos online (on IG @evavictor / on Twitter @evavictor). The synopsis is rather vague, only stating: “Something bad happened to Agnes. But life goes on – for everyone around her, at least.” Apparently it’s about sexual assault – addressing this in a unique way. They add: “In an aching and tender debut feature, Eva Victor displays a tremendous specificity of voice, depicting graduate student-turned-professor Agnes with sensitivity & emotional clarity both before & after her trauma. Infusing the character’s sardonic wit into its cinematic language of isolation and confusion, Sorry, Baby uses its nonlinear formal structure and five-year duration to capture the complexities and inconsistencies, triumphs and setbacks of Agnes’ attempts to heal.” Will be there at the world premiere for this film no matter what.
Touch Me
Directed by Addison Heimann
Another very mysterious film playing in the prestigious Midnight section at Sundance this year. Much like last year’s mega surprise It’s What’s Inside (it’s a must watch on Netflix now), this film is one of my most anticipated mainly to find out what the hell it’s really about. Here’s the initial pitch from the festival: “Two codependent best friends become addicted to the heroin-like touch of an alien narcissist who may or may not be trying to take over the world.” Wait – an alien who touches people and takes away their anxiety and fears? Is it a metaphor for drugs? For sex? Or something else? What kind of alien is this? What will he/she/it look like? Will it have tentacles? So many questions. The film stars Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lou Taylor Pucci, and Jordan Gavaris; and it’s directed by Addison Heimann of the horror Hypochondriac before. To top it off, Sundance drops this spicy tidbit about the film’s influences: “An ode to the deliriously stylistic lens of Japanese cinema in the ’60s and ’70s, Touch Me dares to ‘go there’ with its themes of mental health, desire, and Hentai-infused sexual abandon.” Wow, okay, sure – this is going to be crazy with an audience.
OBEX
Directed by Albert Birney
I am a huge fan of the underrated, underseen lo-fi sci-fi indie film Strawberry Mansion – which premiered at Sundance 2021 a few years ago. I’ve never, ever seen anything else like it. Albert Birney, one of the co-creators of that film, is back again at Sundance with his latest lo-fi sci-fi indie creation called OBEX. It’s basically about a guy who goes on a search to find his missing dog (I’m sold) but there’s much more going on in it. Here’s the initial pitch: “Conor Marsh lives a secluded life with his dog, Sandy, until one day he begins playing OBEX, a new, state-of-the-art computer game. 🐶 When Sandy goes missing, the line between reality and game blurs and Conor must venture into the strange world of OBEX to bring her home.” This is going to be rad. Sundance hints at where the plot goes next: “The film’s dreamy nostalgia soon becomes an analog nightmare as Conor finds himself trapped in a low-tech but high-stakes video game.” This is for the geeks.
Opus / Lurker
Opus directed by Mark Anthony Green / Lurker directed by Alex Russell
It was impossible to decide between these two films, which sound quite similar, so I decided to include both anyway. And both have great buzz already from insiders in the film industry – from what I’m hearing. Opus has been described as The Menu but about music instead of food. “A young writer is invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago. Surrounded by the star’s [biggest fans], she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan.” Featuring Ayo Edebiri, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder, and John Malkovich as the mysterious musician. It’s going to be crazy and good (+ in theaters in March). Lurker is also about a musician: “A retail employee infiltrates the inner circle of an artist on the verge of stardom. As he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life & death.” Featuring a break-out performances from Théodore Pellerin as the musician and Archie Madekwe. So curious to find out how both of these music stories will play out.
Other Feature Films I’m Looking Forward To: Carey Mulligan’s fun musical The Ballad of Wallis Island (view trailer), Sukkwan Island with Swann Arlaud, Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams film about trains, Meera Menon’s low budget zombie film Didn’t Die, Amalia Ulman’s Magic Farm, Bill Condon’s Kiss of the Spider Woman, Amanda Kramer’s By Design, Amel Guellaty’s Where the Wind Comes From, Rashad Frett’s Ricky, Sierra Falconer’s Sunfish, James Sweeney’s Twinless, Cole Webley’s Omaha, Katarina Zhu’s Bunnylovr, and also Hailey Gates’ Atropia.
Alex’s Most Anticipated ~Sundance 2025~ Documentaries:
André is an Idiot
Directed by Tony Benna
Andre! You idiot! I love a good Sundance film with a provocative title, one that makes you stop and go “wait, what is this about?! Maybe I should watch it…?” Yes, maybe we all should. The film is about a kooky, one-of-a-kind creative individual named André Ricciardi. The fest explains: “André, a brilliant idiot, is dying because he didn’t get a colonoscopy. His sobering diagnosis, complete irreverence, and insatiable curiosity, send him on an unexpected journey learning how to die happily and ridiculously without losing his sense of humor.” This is another film about cancer (and how horrible it is), and it’s about how comedy can help deal with mortality and illness, as Andre discusses his situation and his experiences with colon cancer. It seems to be a special film in many ways. Sundance is known for discovering really amazing documentaries, so this one I have to watch just to find out how it handles this topic and how Andre deals with his tragic situation.
Folktales
Directed by Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady
🐕 This image (seen above) of the husky howling is all that it takes to make me list this doc as a must watch. I’m there for the doggies! And for everything else that this will get into – spending time at a folk high school in Arctic Norway. This is the latest doc from two incredibly acclaimed filmmakers, Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady, who have been to Sundance many times before with many great films – including Jesus Camp, 12th & Delaware, Freakonomics, Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You, One of Us, Dogs, and the narrative feature film I Carry You with Me (from 2020 – highly recommended). This film sounds extra fascinating from Norway: “On the precipice of adulthood, teenagers converge at a traditional folk high school in Arctic Norway. Dropped at the edge of the world, they must rely on only themselves, one another, and a loyal pack of sled dogs as they all grow in unexpected directions.” Well, that’s all I need to hear, I’m already expecting it to be one of my favorites – not only for the dogs but also about this integration within the natural world.
Move Ya Body: The Birth of House
Directed by Elegance Bratton
As a fan of house music, this doc is another must watch for me. I’ve been a fan of techno/EDM for almost all of my life so I’m always interested in stories like this. And I’m well aware that house music first started in Detroit. This is also why I’m very excited to discover more about the origins of house music and its roots in Detroit and the early days of this music scene. This documentary is made by filmmaker Elegance Bratton, his first documentary feature after making the narrative film The Inspection (quite good) a few years ago. Sundance hypes it up: “Bratton concocts a loving mix of interviews with the lively characters of house music blended together with an archive treasure, creating a definitive history of a cultural revolution rarely told. Move Ya Body: The Birth of House is a road map of how a rebellion against bodily repression can clutch joy and creative expression to sidestep empire.” Yep that sounds exactly like the kind of film I’m going to enjoy.
Deaf President Now!
Directed by Nyle DiMarco & Davis Guggenheim
One of my all-time favorite Sundance docs is Crip Camp: A Disability Revolatuon (from Sundance 2020 – view on Netflix). It has remained with me ever since and inspired me deeply following a group of disability activists. This new doc sounds like a follow-up to that one and I definitely have to see it. Here’s the pitch: “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.” Yep, that sounds awesome. A bit more on the story: In 1988, students at Gallaudet University protested until the school appointed its first Deaf president, Dr. I. King Jordan, marking a pivotal moment for Deaf rights and representation. There is also another doc at Sundance this year about a Deaf actress – Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore. Both of these sound like must watch docs about the disability revolution – that started decades ago and is still underway today.
Sally
Directed by Cristina Costantini
This is the unfiltered story of Sally Ride – the first American woman in space (the third woman in space after two cosmonauts). I’m always fascinated by these kind of films about famous people revealing way more than any of us actually knew. Sally is not only about her experiences at NASA (she launched in 1983 on the Space Shuttle Challenger) but it’s also about her secret home life. Sundance explains that director “Cristina Costantini’s rich portrait of astronaut Sally Ride brings a fullness to her life that goes beyond the headlines of her trailblazing voyage past Earth’s atmosphere. Sally skillfully weaves together the dual threads of Ride’s story: the private romance she shared with her partner and the professional trajectory of her time in the space program that saw her contend with overt sexism & homophobia, prompting her secrecy. Rare archival footage brings the viewer behind the scenes to witness NASA training & missions, while press appearances reflect the media frenzy Ride was subjected to both before & after her historic first flight.” Will be watching.
More Docs I’ll Be Watching During the Fest: Jesse Moss & Amanda McBaine’s Middletown, Reid Davenport’s Life After, Amy Berg’s It’s Never Over Jeff Buckley, Questlove’s music story Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), Sam Feder’s Heightened Scrutiny, Gianluca Matarrese’s GEN_, Amber Fares’ Coexistence My Ass!, Isabel Castro’s Selena y Los Dinos, and Brittany Shyne’s Seeds.
For ALL of Alex’s Sundance 2025 updates: follow @firstshowing or follow @alexb.bsky.social
For more Sundance 2025 previews around the web, highlighting early picks and potential breakouts, also see: The Film Stage’s 20 Must-See Film Premieres, Rolling Stone’s 20 Most Anticipated Movies of Sundance 2025, Next Best Picture’s Most Anticipated Films List, Variety’s The 12 Buzziest Releases to Look Out For, Green Slates “Get Excited For These Films“, The Star’s Sundance Preview, and also The Playlist’s 25 Most Anticipated Premieres. You never know what might be a winner, and it’s vital to have a pulse on the early buzz – even before the fest starts. There’s plenty of intriguing films found in the selection this year, tons of discoveries from first time filmmakers and up-and-coming talent, so let’s jump right in and start watching.
You can follow our Sundance 2025 coverage and reviews right here and on Alex’s Letterboxd. The festival begins on January 23rd until February 2nd, with films premiering online + in person. Glad to be back again.
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Article by:Source: Alex Billington
