Among the many exciting projects at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival are 14 films by filmmakers who identify as African American, of African descent, or Black. As the Festival kicks off, these feature-length and short films offer a mosaic of perspectives, telling stories that resonate deeply across cultures and experiences.
Feature Films
How to Build a Library
Co-Director: Maia Lekow
Section: World Cinema Documentary Competition
Available to watch in person and online.
Two women in Nairobi transform a formerly whites-only library into a vibrant cultural hub, navigating local politics, raising millions for the rebuild, and confronting Kenya’s colonial past.
Khartoum
Co-Directors: Anas Saeed, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea Ahmed, Rawia Alhag
Section: World Cinema Documentary Competition
Available to watch in person and online.
Five citizens of Khartoum, forced to flee Sudan amid war, re-enact their stories of survival and freedom through dreams, revolution, and civil war.
Love, Brooklyn
Director: Rachael Abigail Holder
Section: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Available to watch in person and online.
Three lifelong Brooklyn residents navigate love, loss, friendship, and careers against the backdrop of a rapidly changing city.
Move Ya Body: The Birth of House
Director: Elegance Bratton
Section: Premieres
Available to watch in person.
A documentary chronicling the rise of house music, born in Chicago’s underground clubs, and how a group of friends turned a local sound into a global movement.
Opus
Director: Mark Anthony Green
Section: Midnight
Available to watch in person.
A young writer visits the compound of a legendary pop star who disappeared 30 years ago, finding herself in the middle of his sinister plans.
Ricky
Director: Rashad Frett
Section: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Available to watch in person and online.
Ricky, newly released after being incarcerated as a teenager, navigates adulthood and independence for the first time.
Seeds
Director: Brittany Shyne
Section: U.S. Documentary Competition
Available to watch in person and online.
An exploration of generational African American farmers in the American South reveals the challenges of preserving land and legacy.
SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)
Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
Section: Premieres
Available to watch in person.
An examination of the life and legacy of Sly & The Family Stone, exploring the band’s rise and the pressures that came with groundbreaking success.
Short Films
AN ALMOST SUCCESSFUL DATING APP LOVE STORY
Director: Winter Coleman
Section: Short Film Program 5
Available to watch in person and online.
A curious woman attends the funeral of a man she matched with on a dating app.
B(l)ind The Sacrifice
Director: Nakhane
Section: Short Film Program 4
Available to watch in person and online.
A nomadic family’s traditions are upended when men ascend a mountain to make a sacrifice that forever changes their lives.
Entre le Feu et le Clair de Lune
Director: Dominic Yarabe
Section: Documentary Short Film Program
Available to watch in person and online.
An Ivorian father and daughter collaborate to finish a book about war while connecting timelines across generations.
Hold Me Close
Directors: LaTajh Simmons-Weaver, Aurora Brachman
Section: Documentary Short Film Program
Available to watch in person and online.
A tender exploration of the cycles of joy and pain shared by two queer African American women in their shared home.
THE LILY (เดอะลิลลี่)
Director: Quintessa Swindell
Section: Short Film Program 4
Available to watch in person and online.
Two Muay Thai fighters and former childhood friends come together for a final, brutal fight to confront their families’ history of hatred.
Miss You Perdularia
Director: Manu Zilveti
Section: Short Film Program 3
Available to watch in person and online.
At a Cuban high school, a group of girls, “Las Perdularias,” cope with the growing emptiness on their island through their bond.
