Slamdance Film Festival has announced the line-up for its inaugural edition in Los Angeles running February 20-26, 2025. The 31st annual festiva
Slamdance Film Festival has announced the line-up for its inaugural edition in Los Angeles running February 20-26, 2025.
The 31st annual festival’s roster comprises 146 films, 21 of which are world premiere features from more than 20 countries including the UK, Australia, Canada, China, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, and Uganda.
The selection was culled from nearly 10,000 submissions including 1,795 features. All films in the Narrative Features and Documentary Features competition are directorial debuts without US distribution, budgeted at $1m or less.
The festival takes place at Director’s Guild of America and Quixote – West Hollywood, and opening night is at The Egyptian Theatre. Online screenings will be available on the Slamdance Channel from February 24 to March 7, 2025. Slamdance operated out of Park City, Utah, in its first 30 years.
“At this pivotal moment for independent film, Slamdance’s new era in Los Angeles is the perfect home for a 2025 lineup that defies convention, champions bold new voices, and reflects the fearless, independent spirit at our core: by filmmakers, for everyone,” said festival director Taylor Miller.
Slamdance brass said that 38% of this year’s films are by BIPOC creators and 55% are by female filmmakers.
Sections include episodes, shorts, and the DIG (Digital, Interactive, Gaming) strand. New programmes include 6xty, a series of one-minute brief films made on any format, and Slamdance Utah, a selection of films by Utah-based filmmakers to commemorate Slamdance’s roots in Park City. Returning in 2025 is the inclusion of Revolution Short Film Program featuring films addressing the decoloniation of Indigenous and underrepresented people.
Narrative Features include Erica Xia-Hou’s Banr (Can-Chin) about an elderly couple facing a heartbreaking farewell; Woody Bess’s Portal To Hell (USA) about a debt-collector who finds a portal to hell in a washing machine; and Universe 25 (UK-Rom), Richard Melkonian’s film about a postman who tries to deliver a letter from someone claiming to be an angel.
Playing in Documentary Features are Coroner To The Stars (USA-Port, pictured) from Ben Hethcoat and Keita Ideno, about a high-profile coroner; Yana Osdman’s Twin Fences (Rus-Ukr) about a Ukrainian-born, Russian-bred, Afghan-raised filmmaker who catalogues his fences; and Lola Rocknrolla’s The Big Johnson (USA), about the life and mysterious death of drag legend Dean Johnson.
COMMENTS