2025 Sundance Film Festival Announces Beyond Film Talks with Olivia Colman, Steven Yeun, Celine Song, Daniel Kaluuya and More

Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the lineup for the Festival’s annual Beyond Film programming, a series of talks and events. The Sundance Film Festival will take place from January 23–February 2, 2025, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with a selection of titles available online from January 30–February 2, 2025.

Beyond Film will feature conversations from various participants, including artists from films screening in the 2025 Festival, such as Mstyslav Chernov (Director, 2000 Meters to Andriivka), Chloë Sevigny (Actor, Atropia and Magic Farm), Olivia Colman (Actor, Jimpa), Steven Yeun(Actor/Producer, Bubble & Squeak), Jacinda Ardern (former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Subject, Prime Minister), Marlee Matlin(Subject, Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore), Eva Victor(Writer-director-actor, Sorry, Baby), Katarina Zhu (Writer-director-actor, Bunnylovr), Rashad Frett (Writer-director, Ricky), Théodore Pellerin (Actor, Lurker), Gregory Nava (Writer-director, El Norte), Isabel Castro (Director, Selena y Los Dinos), and Cristina Costantini (Director, SALLY).

Beyond Film serves as a community hub for attendees, offering artist discussions, conversations with filmmakers and experts from various disciplines, and opportunities for audience engagement. The Beyond Film series will feature talks within the program strands of Power of Story, Cinema Café presented by Audible, Film Church, and The Big Conversation. All Beyond Film activities are free to the public with the exception of Power of Story, which is a paid ticket. The talks will take place in person from January 24–31, 2025, with most of the Beyond Film offerings available to audiences online the day following the in-person event on festival.sundance.org throughout the Festival. See full lineup below.

“We are thrilled to announce the Beyond Film lineup for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival,” said Kim Yutani, Director of Programming. “The conversations at these events further amplify the ways in which our audiences can engage with the themes and ideas within this year’s Festival Program. We look forward to featuring the inspiring voices of filmmakers, artists, and politicians to connect even more with audiences.”

This year’s programming will include a live podcast recording of Visitations with hosts Elijah Wood (Producer, Rabbit Trap) and Daniel Noah (Producer, Rabbit Trap). There will also be conversations featuring panelists Celine Song (Writer-director, Past Lives), Nicole Perlman (Writer, Guardians of the Galaxy), and Daniel Kaluuya (Actor, Judas and the Black Messiah).

“Beyond Film programming is a dynamic and inspiring part of the Sundance Film Festival experience, designed to spark what can only be described as collective effervescence,” said Ania Trzebiatowska, Beyond Film Program Curator. “We invite our audiences to step beyond the screens — whether attending in person or joining from home — and to connect deeply with artists and their stories.”

BEYOND FILM LINEUP

POWER OF STORY

The Sundance Film Festival’s Power of Story conversation looks to deepen public engagement with the art of storytelling, delve into cinema culture, and celebrate artists whose work propels and reinvents the form as we know it. By contemplating the future of storytelling, we explore how revolutionary narrative experiences will reshape culture through artistic discovery, emerging media, and the reassertion of independence in filmmaking.

Power of Story: On Success

Tuesday, January 28, 3–4:30 p.m.

The Egyptian, 328 Main St, Park City, UT

This year, the Power of Story conversation will convene a group of artists, thinkers, and culture makers to talk about the meaning of success. We’ll examine what success truly means, how it’s shaped by socioeconomic and political factors, and how these influences affect the ways we measure, appreciate, and define success. By addressing the roles of privilege, opportunity, and systemic barriers, we aim to foster an honest, critical, and inclusive dialogue about success and its complexities.

Featuring: Mstyslav Chernov (2000 Meters to Andriivka), Celine Song (Past Lives), Chloë Sevigny (Atropia, Magic Farm), and Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah)

Moderated by Stacey Wilson Hunt (Contributing Editor, The Hollywood Reporter)

CINEMA CAFÉ

Friday January 24–Friday, January 31, 2025

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St, Park City, UT

The doors are open again at Cinema Café, where the culture of conversation is reinvigorated. Our series of informal chats brings together special guests for thought-provoking encounters and fascinating dialogue. Previous Cinema Café guests have included Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Tessa Thompson, Jane Campion, Eugenio Derbez, Lena Dunham, Norman Lear, Kumail Nanjiani, Zazie Beetz, Saoirse Ronan, Spike Lee, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Radha Blank, Ira Glass, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bassem Youssef, Charlie Kaufman, Ice-T, Nick Hornby, Winston Duke, Samantha Power, Steve Coogan, Roger Corman, D. Smith, and many others.

Cinema Café is presented by Audible

Cinema Café: Olivia Colman (Jimpa) and Steven Yeun (Bubble & Squeak)

Moderated by Kim Yutani (Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival)

Friday, January 24, 11–11:45 a.m.

Cinema Café: Jacinda Ardern (former Prime Minister of New Zealand and Subject, Prime Minister) and Marlee Matlin (Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore) 

Moderated by Sudeep Sharma (Programmer, Sundance Film Festival)

Saturday, January 25, 11 a.m.–noon

Cinema Café: Fresh Faces

Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby), Katarina Zhu (Bunnylovr), Rashad Frett (Ricky), and Théodore Pellerin (Lurker)

Moderated by Ash Hoyle (Programmer, Sundance Film Festival)

Tuesday, January 28, noon–1 p.m.

Cinema Café: Gregory Nava (El Norte) and Isabel Castro (Selena y Los Dinos)

Moderated by Stephanie Owens (Programmer, Sundance Film Festival)

Wednesday, January 29, 11 a.m.–noon

Cinema Café: Visitations Live Podcast with Elijah Wood (Producer, Rabbit Trap) and Daniel Noah (Producer, Rabbit Trap)

Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah of indie production company SpectreVision will host a live taping of their podcast Visitations.

Thursday, January 30, 11 a.m.–noon

THE BIG CONVERSATION

The Big Conversation tackles science, art, culture, and the movements that are fueling today’s independent artists. A compelling selection of speakers discuss topics centered on the themes of this year’s program and explore broader trends in art and culture. In considering how artists make meaning of the world, we’re reminded how the big conversations connect us to the big ideas.

The Big Conversation: Breaking Barriers

Monday, January 27, 11 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St, Park City, UT

Pushing the boundaries of human knowledge and capability has never been a frictionless endeavor. Whether barriers are scientific or technological, or whether they’re exemplified by broader cultural and social challenges faced by scientists, engineers, and mathematicians, they are united in being the dramatic engine of many fascinating, complex narratives in film and television — including this year’s SALLY. In this talk, storytellers and scientists delve into the art and science of breaking barriers. 

Supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Featuring: Cristina Costantini (SALLY) and Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy)

FILM CHURCH

Friday, January 31, 2–3:30 p.m.

Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St, Park City, UT

What could be more divine than 11 days of film watching? Finish off your Sundance Film Festival experience by sharing a near-spiritual occasion with a group of film lovers. Join us as we wrap up with a variety of special guests, including filmmakers who took home awards that morning. All will be forgiven.

Hosted by Eugene Hernandez and Kim Yutani