The nonprofit Sundance Institute has announced the 2025 Sundance Film Festival: Local Lens, a free summer screening series specially for the local community of Utah, taking place July 17-19 at The Ray Theatre in Park City and Broadway Centre Cinemas in Salt Lake City. The series will bring Utahns free showings of some of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s celebrated films before they are released.
Local Lens is part of Sundance Institute’s rich history as a nonprofit rooted in Utah that supports engaging new stories and groundbreaking independent artists by bringing audiences together.
Filmmakers who will join to introduce their films and participate in Q & As following their screenings include director Cole Webley (“Omaha”) and director Kim A. Snyder (“The Librarians”).
Free tickets available to reserve now at www.sundance.org/local-lens. See full schedule below.
“We are thrilled to again be hosting the 2025 Sundance Film Festival: Local Lens free movie series for our local Utah community as part of our year-round programming in the state,” said Eugene Hernandez, Sundance Film Festival director and director of public programming. “Celebrating the deep connection with Utah audiences, this year’s program features standout films from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and reflects the spirit of discovery that is at the heart of Sundance Institute. We look forward to sharing these stories with local audiences and gearing up to come together at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in Utah starting next January!”
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival: Local Lens program will include eight fiction and documentary films:
- “Twinless” (2025 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic and U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting presented to Dylan O’Brien), where two young men form an unexpected friendship
- “Omaha,” in which two siblings are taken on a journey across the country by their father, played by John Magaro and experience a world they’ve never seen before (in addition, the film’s director, Cole Webley, has connections to Utah having lived there and most of the film was shot in and around the state)
- “Rebuilding,” which stars Josh O’Connor as a rancher finding his way forward after a wildfire destroys his family farm
- “All That’s Left of You” (اللي باقي منك), an epic multigenerational story about a Palestinian family; “Selena y Los Dinos” (2025 Sundance Film Festival U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Archival Storytelling), featuring the iconic Mexican American singer Selena Quintanilla as chronicled through footage from the family’s personal archive
- “Come See Me in the Good Light” (2025 Sundance Film Festival Audience Favorite Award), following two poets as they try to come to terms with a terminal cancer diagnosis, produced by Tig Notaro and executive-produced by Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, Brandi Carlile and Sara Bareilles
- “The Librarians,” documenting librarians joining forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom
- “The Dating Game,” following three Chinese bachelors as they attend an intensive dating camp.
In addition to the screenings, the 2025 Sundance Film Festival: Local Lens program will include an Artist Roundtable, presented in collaboration with Spy Hop, Salt Lake City’s digital media arts center for youth interested in film, music, audio and design.
Geared toward Utah’s vibrant local artist community, the Artist Roundtable will convene artists with Sundance Film Festival programmers for a creative exchange around artistic process and the opportunities and challenges that arise along the way. For more information and to RSVP, sign up here.
2025 Sundance Film Festival: Local Lens Screenings Schedule
“Twinless” / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter and Producer: James Sweeney, Producer: David Permut) — Two young men meet in a twin bereavement support group and form an unlikely bromance. Cast: Dylan O’Brien, James Sweeney, Lauren Graham, Aisling Franciosi, Tasha Smith, Chris Perfetti. Distributed by Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate. Fiction.
- Thursday, July 17, at 7:30 p.m., Broadway Centre Cinemas, 111 E. Broadway 300 South, Salt Lake City
“Omaha” / U.S.A. (Director: Cole Webley, Screenwriter: Robert Machoian, Producer: Preston Lee) — After a family tragedy, siblings Ella and Charlie are unexpectedly woken up by their dad and taken on a journey across the country, experiencing a world they’ve never seen before. As their adventure unfolds, Ella begins to understand that things might not be what they seem. Cast: John Magaro, Molly Belle Wright, Wyatt Solis, Talia Balsam. Distributed by Greenwich Entertainment. Fiction.
- Thursday, July 17, at 7:30 p.m., The Ray Theatre, 1768 Park Ave. Cole Webley (Director) will be in attendance for an intro and post-screening Q & A.
- Saturday, July 19, at 3 p.m., Broadway Centre Cinemas, 111 E. Broadway 300 South, Salt Lake City. Cole Webley (Director) will be in attendance for an intro and post-screening Q & A
“All That’s Left of You” (اللي باقي منك) / Germany, Cyprus (Director, Screenwriter and Producer: Cherien Dabis, Producers: Thanassis Karathanos, Martin Hampel, Karim Amer) — When a Palestinian teen gets swept up into a West Bank protest, his mother recounts their family’s story of hope, courage and relentless struggle that led them to this fateful moment. Cast: Cherien Dabis, Saleh Bakri, Adam Bakri, Mohammad Bakri, Maria Zreik, Muhammad Abed Elrahman. Fiction.
- Friday, July 18, at 5 p.m., The Ray Theatre, 1768 Park Ave., Park City
- Saturday, July 19, at 7 p.m., Broadway Centre Cinemas, 111 E. Broadway 300 South, Salt Lake City
“The Librarians” / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Kim A. Snyder, Producers: Janique L. Robillard, Maria Cuomo Cole, Jana Edelbaum) — As an unprecedented wave of book banning is sparked in Texas, Florida and beyond, librarians under siege join forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy. Documentary.
- Friday, July 18, at 5 p.m., Broadway Centre Cinemas, 111 E. Broadway 300 South, Salt Lake City. Kim A. Snyder (Director) will be in attendance for an intro and post-screening Q & A
- Saturday, July 19, at 11 a.m., The Ray Theatre, 1768 Park Ave., Park City. Kim A. Snyder (Director) will be in attendance for an intro and post-screening Q & A
“Selena y Los Dinos” / U.S.A. (Director: Isabel Castro, Producers: Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, J. Daniel Torres, David Blackman, Simran Singh) — Selena Quintanilla — the “Queen of Tejano Music” — and her family band, Selena y Los Dinos, rose from performing at quinceañeras to selling out stadium tours. The celebration of her life and legacy is chronicled through never-before-seen footage from the family’s personal archive. Distributed by Netflix. Documentary.
- Friday, July 18, at 8:30 p.m, The Ray Theatre | 1768 Park Ave., Park City
“The Dating Game” / U.S.A., U.K., Norway (Director and Producer: Violet Du Feng, Producers: Joanna Natasegara, James Costa, Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas) — In a country where eligible men greatly outnumber women, three perpetual bachelors join an intensive seven-day dating camp led by one of China’s most sought-after dating coaches in what may be their last-ditch effort to find love. Documentary.
- Friday, July 18, at 8:30 p.m., Broadway Centre Cinemas | 111 E. Broadway 300 South, Salt Lake City
- Saturday, July 19, at 3 p.m., The Ray Theatre, 1768 Park Ave., Park City
“Come See Me in the Good Light” / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Ryan White, Producers: Jessica Hargrave, Tig Notaro, Stef Willen) — Two poets, one incurable cancer diagnosis. Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley go on an unexpectedly funny and poignant journey through love, life and mortality. Distributed by Apple TV+. Documentary.
- Saturday, July 19, at 11 a.m., Broadway Centre Cinemas, 111 E. Broadway 300 S., Salt Lake City
“Rebuilding” / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Max Walker-Silverman, Producers: Jesse Hope, Dan Janvey, Paul Mezey) — After a wildfire takes the family farm, a rancher seeks a way forward. Cast: Josh O’Connor, Lily LaTorre, Meghann Fahy, Kali Reis, Amy Madigan. Distributed by Bleecker Street. Fiction.
- Saturday, July 19, at 7 p.m., The Ray Theatre, 1768 Park Ave., Park City
2025 Sundance Film Festival: Local Lens Artist Roundtable
The Artist Roundtable, presented in collaboration with Spy Hop, will convene artists with Sundance Film Festival programmers for a creative exchange around artistic process. Panel participants will reflect on their creative journey, exploring the emotional, technical and philosophical opportunities and challenges of bringing a project to life. In addition to the roundtable, there will be a Q&A with Eugene Hernandez (Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming) and Basil Tsiokos (Senior Programmer, Sundance Film Festival), followed by casual networking with attendees.
- Friday, July 18, at 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Spy Hop Rooftop Event Space, 208 West Harvey Milk Blvd., Salt Lake City, This event is open to the general public and geared towards filmmakers and other artists at all levels of experience.
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival will be held Jan. 22-Feb. 1 in Park City and Salt Lake City. For information, visit festival.sundance.org.