The 2025 Sundance Film Festival is taking place soon, from January 23 to February 2. The festival is the largest independent film festival in the United States, where many first-time directors get their start. We’re here to put a spotlight on the exciting slate of Arab features, shorts and documentaries that will be premiering at Sundance 2025, many of them having their feature debuts! Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, Sundance is the only one of the major five film festivals that has an online streaming option, so several of these films are available to stream at home. Without further ado, let’s get right to it:
All film descriptions and stills courtesy of the Sundance Institute.
Saleh Bakri and Cherien Dabis appear in All That’s Left of You by Cherien Dabis, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
All That’s Left of You by Cherien Dabis – Premieres
After a Palestinian teen confronts Israeli soldiers at a West Bank protest, his mother recounts the series of events that led him to that fateful moment, starting with his grandfather’s forced displacement. Cherien Dabis is a wonderful Emmy-nominated Palestinian-American director who’s previous feature May in the Summer played at AFF2014. She also served as the Jury Chair of our 2024 Arab Film Festival. Wishing her great success at Sundance, and we can’t wait to see this movie! Available in-person only.
Safiyya Ingar and Ebada Hassan appear in Brides by Nadia Fall, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Neon Films/Rosamont
Brides by Nadia Fall – World Cinema Dramatic Competition
Two teenage girls in search of freedom, friendship, and belonging run away from their troubled lives with a misguided plan of traveling to Syria. This is director Nadia Fall’s debut feature. Available in-person and online.
Eya Bellagha and Slim Baccar appear in Where the Wind Comes From by Amel Guellaty, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Where the Wind Comes From by Amel Guellaty – World Cinema Dramatic Competition
Alyssa, a rebellious 19-year-old girl, and her friend Mehdi, an introverted 23-year-old man, use their imagination to escape their unpromising reality. When they discover a contest in the south of Tunisia that may allow them to flee, they undertake a road trip regardless of the obstacles in their way. This is director Amel Guellaty’s debut feature. Available in-person and online.
Noam Shuster Eliassi appears in Coexistence, My Ass! by Amber Fares, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Coexistence, My Ass! by Amber Fares – World Cinema Documentary Competition
Comedian Noam Shuster Eliassi creates a personal and political one-woman show about the struggle for equality in Israel/Palestine. When the elusive coexistence she’s spent her life working toward starts sounding like a bad joke, she challenges her audiences with hard truths that are no laughing matter. Palestinian filmmaker Amber Fares is an AFF alum! We interviewed her for her previous documentary Speed Sisters, which had its Bay Area premiere as part of our Arab Film Series several years back. Available in-person and online.
A still from Khartoum by Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea Ahmed and Phil Cox, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Native Voice Films.
Khartoum by Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea Ahmed and Phil Cox – World Cinema Documentary Competition
Forced to leave Sudan for East Africa following the outbreak of war, five citizens of Khartoum — a civil servant, a tea lady, a resistance committee volunteer, and two young bottle collectors — reenact their stories of survival and freedom through dreams, revolution, and civil war.
Seif Eddine Ait Ouareb appears in Deadlock by Lucien Beucher and Mahdi Boucif, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Julien Artaud
Deadlock by Lucien Beucher and Mahdi Boucif – Documentary Short Film Program
Stuck in their Algiers neighborhood, Sifou and Mahrez gaze at the sea while thinking of their brothers who left for new lives. As uncertainty lingers on the horizon, they wonder if they can break the deadlock. Available in-person and online.
A still from The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing by Theo Panagopoulos, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by National Library of Scotland
The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing by Theo Panagopoulos – Short Film Program 2
When a filmmaker of Palestinian descent based in Scotland unearths a rarely seen film archive of Palestinian wildflowers, he decides to reclaim the footage. Available in-person and online.
Rahaf Armanazi appears in Almost Certainly False by Cansu Baydar, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Almost Certainly False by Cansu Baydar – Short Film Program 3
Having fled the war in Syria, Hanna and her younger brother, Nader, find themselves staying in a run-down neighborhood in Istanbul. Available in-person and online.
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