As this year’s Sundance Film Festival continues its annual 11-day parade (which kicked off on January 23), it’s thrilling to witness the impressive lineup of films that spotlight storytelling from new voices and creators offering fresh perspectives.
From hotly anticipated debuts to intriguing surprises, this year’s festival showcases a powerful selection of films directed by and starring Black creators—many celebrating Black history while tackling today’s most pressing issues.
So, without further ado, here are 10 Black-led and directed films you won’t want to miss at Sundance 2025.
Love Brooklyn
- Director: Racheal Abigail Holder
- Cast: André Holland, DeWanda Wise, Nicole Beharie, Roy Wood Jr., Cassandra Freeman, and Cadence Reese
- Available in person and online for the public (January 30–February 2)
First-time feature director Racheal Holder’s film follows three longtime Brooklynites as they juggle careers, love, loss, and friendships in a city undergoing rapid transformation.
With humor and sharp insight, Holder crafts a layered, later-in-life coming-of-age story where past and present collide.
The charismatic cast shines, with André Holland portraying the freewheeling Roger, who meets his match in the no-nonsense Nicole (DeWanda Wise), a woman who’s unafraid to call his bluffs as she navigates dating with a younger daughter in tow.
Nicole Beharie enchants as Casey, a woman struggling to redefine her relationship with Roger amidst the evolving arts scene’s impact on her gallery.
Holder’s film poignantly captures the characters’ challenges in accepting change in a city that is transforming around them.
Seeds
- Director: Brittany Shyne
- Available in person and online for the public (January 30–February 2)
Brittany Shyne’s stunning directorial debut offers a poetic and poignant exploration of Black generational farmers in rural Georgia.
Through rich black-and-white cinematography, Seeds explores the fragility of legacy, land preservation, tradition, and identity in the face of discriminatory government policies.
SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)
- Director: Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson
- Features: Andre 3000, Chaka Khan, Q-Tip, Nile Rogers, Clive Davis
- Available to watch in person only
Academy Award-winning director and cultural polymath Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson returns to the festival with a profound, music-rich exploration of the life and legacy of Sly & The Family Stone – the legendary band led by the enigmatic Sly Stone.
Eschewing conventional biographical methods, the film traces Sly Stone’s road to stardom, his cultural influence, and eventual fadeout while shedding light on the unseen burden of fame and fortune for Black artists in America.
How To Build A Library
- Director: Maia Lekow
- Features: Angela Wachuka, Shiro Koinange
- Available to watch in person and online
Maia Lekow’s feature film follows two Kenyan women who quit their jobs to work to transform the McMillan Memorial Library—a former whites-only space until 1958—into a vibrant cultural hub.
Along the way, they must navigate local politics, raise millions for the rebuild, and reckon with the lingering ghosts of Kenya’s colonial past.
Opus
- Director: Mark Anthony Green
- Cast: Ayo Edebiri, John Malkovich, Juliette Lewis, Murray Bartlett, Amber Midthunder
- Available to watch in person
The bold, flashy, and darkly fun pop-horror feature debut by Mark Anthony Green follows a soft-spoken yet ambitious journalist (Ayo Edebiri) as she is invited to the remote desert home of a pop legend (John Malkovich) who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago.
Surrounded by the star’s cult of sycophants and intoxicated journalists, the writer soon realizes she’s at the center of his twisted plan. It’s the perfect fix for your horror cravings this year.
Move Ya Body: The Birth Of House
- Director: Elegance Bratton
- Available to watch in person and online
Directed by Elegance Bratton, Move Ya Body: The Birth Of House follows Vince Lawrence, an eccentric, nerdy Black child in segregated Chicago who transformed a transformative summer of personal exploration into a groundbreaking musical movement.
Unable to attend summer camp, Vince’s journey led him to become the first person to record a house song, sparking a revolutionary movement of togetherness that shattered the city’s invisible walls of segregation and redefined music and dance culture.
Ricky
- Director: Rashad Frett
- Cast: Stephan James, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Titus Welliver, Maliq Johnson, Imani Lewis, Andrene Ward-Hammond
- Available in person and online
In this warm and beautifully textured feature, director Rashad Frett explores the emotional journey of Ricky (Stephan James), a well-meaning but often misunderstood 30-something trying to adjust to civilian life after spending over a decade in prison.
Alongside him is his tough but big-hearted parole officer Joanne (Sheryl Lee Ralph), who is determined to keep him on the straight and narrow.
Can Ricky turn his talent as a barber into steady work that meets his parole officer’s requirements? Will he get a chance to live a fulfilling life? Head to sundance.org for all the answers.
Honorable Short Film Mentions
Hoops, Hopes & Dreams
- Director: Glenn Kaino
- Producers: Jesse Williams, Alexys Feaster
- Available in person and online
This short film uncovers the untold story of how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and an all-star team of civil rights activists took to basketball courts to rally young voters while capturing the hearts of Black communities and how their strategy shaped contemporary politics.
An Almost Successful Dating App Love Story
- Director: Winter Coleman
- Cast: Caleb Hearon, Olivia Washington, Caitlin Reilly, Derrick King
- Available in person and online
Determined to meet him—dead or alive—a curious young woman attends the funeral of a man she matched with on a dating app. Olivia Washington, Denzel Washington’s daughter, stars.
B(l)ind The Sacrifice
- Director: Nakhane
- Cast: Sihle Mnqwazana, Treasure Nkosi, Nandi Nyembe
- Available in person and online
Directed by Nakhane, B(l)ind The Sacrifice follows a nomadic family whose traditions are upended when the men ascend a mountain to make a sacrifice. The event disrupts their lives, leaving a lasting impact on their identity and community
