Sundance Film Festival 2025

“This Experience Really Drives Home the Idea of What a Passion Project Really Is”: Editor Sydney Cowper on Endless Cookie

Half-brothers Seth and Peter Scriver investigate their differing identities in Endless Cookie, an “animated hangout film” that chronicles their lives from 1980s Toronto to present-day remote Shamattawa. Peter’s Indigeneity and Seth’s whiteness are contrasted and contextualized, yet their fraternal bond is never scrutinized. Editor Sydney Cowper discusses cutting the project, shedding insight on the film’s lengthy production, how piano lessons helped shape her craft and the “truly validating” feeling of signing onto this project. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2025
“Let the Weight of the Words Carry the Scene”: DP Bao Nguyen on The Stringer

Nick Ut’s Pulitzer Prize–winning photo The Terror of War, sometimes referred to as “Napalm Girl,” is one of the most recognizable photographs ever taken. The Stringer, directed by Bao Nguyen (The Greatest Night in Pop) and playing the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s Premires sections, investigates the history of the photograph and contests its authorship. Nguyen also served as one of three cinematographers on the film, alongside Andrew Yuyi Truong. Below, the three of them answer discuss establishing a consistent visual language and connecting the themes of secrecy and discovery with shadow and light. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2025
“Claustrophobic Framing Became the Photographic Heart”: DP Ben Fordesman on The Thing with Feathers

A young father (Benedict Cumberbatch) of two boys suspects he is being stalked by a malevolent creature after the sudden death of his wife in The Thing with Feathers. The Premieres section film is the fiction feature debut of Dylan Southern, best known for a slew of music documentaries (Shut Up and the Play the Hits, Meet Me in the Bathroom). Ben Fordesman (Love Lies Bleeding, Saint Maud) served as DP on the film after working with Southern on commercials and music videos. Below, he details at length how he made the crow stalking the young father feel real and how he […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2025
“I’ve Never Prepped a Movie So Many Times.”: DP Christopher Aoun, All That’s Left of You

Taking place in 1948, 1978, 1988 and 2022, All That’s Left of You traces the history of a fictional Palestinian family in flashback after a confrontation at a West Bank protest. All That’s Left of You is the third feature of director Cherien Dabris, whose Amreeka and May in the Summer played Sundance in 2009 and 2013, respectively. Christopher Aoun (Capernaum) served as the film’s cinematographer. Below, he talks about how he distinguished the film’s four timelines and the difficulties of prepping the film from scratch after the crew was forced out of the West Bank in the aftermath of October 7, 2023. See all responses to our […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2025
“Each Set of Rushes Presents a Unique Puzzle”: Editor George Cragg on The Thing with Feathers

In The Thing with Feathers, a widower and father of two suspects he is being stalked by a crow-like figure. The adaptation of Max Porter’s book of the same name stars Benedict Cumberbatch and is the fiction feature debut of director Dylan Southern (Shut Up and Play the Hits, Meet Me in the Bathroom). The versatile George Cragg (Collective, I Am Not a Witch, Earth Mama) served as the film’s editor in his first collaboration with Southern. He talks about how he made his way up in the industry and how he and Southern restructured the film below. See all responses to our […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2025
“All the Delicate Layers Gently Rose to the Surface”: DP Daisy Zhou on Bunnylovr

In Bunnylovr, a Chinese American cam girl tries to reconnect with her father while managing a deteriorating relationship with one of her clients. The film, part of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, is director Katarina Zhu directorial feature debut. Handling cinematographer duties is Daisy Zhou (The African Desperate, Suicide by Sunlight). Below, she rattles off a number of influences and goes into detail about her camera selection and approach to lighting. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2025
“Everything That Can Go Wrong Did” | Katarina Zhu, Bunnylovr

Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why? The second day of the shoot will be forever seared into my memory, partly because everything that can go wrong did, but mainly because it was the moment I realized just how extraordinary my team was and how grateful I was to be surrounded by them. It was the first day that another actor, […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2025
“A Joyous Return to the Wonder and Thrill of Youthful Invention” | Albert Birney, OBEX

Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why? We filmed a few scenes in the woods behind my childhood home. I know these woods like the back of my hand. I know where the deer paths are and where the ground is steep and where the old abandoned stone building is. I’ve been playing in these woods for as long as I […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2025
“It Was Always Fun, But Not Necessarily Easy”: DP Pete Ohs on OBEX

In OBEX, the secluded Conor finds his life take a turn for the worse when a state-of-the-art computer game begins to intrude into his reality. The film, directed by Albert Birney (The Strawberry Mansion), will premiere as part of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s NEXT section. Multi-hyphenate Pete Ohs was a co-writer as well as the director of photography for OBEX. He speaks in his capacity as cinematographer below, describing the goals and influences for the film’s look and explaining how his close friendship with Birney informed the film. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2025
“A Feeling of Magical Imperfection that Film Brings”: DP Sara Mishara on Two Women

Two Women is retelling of the 1970 cult classic Two Women in Gold with a feminist spin, directed by Chloé Robichaud (Sarah Prefers to Run). In the film, a pair of struggling women decide to let loose and fulfill their unmet desires. Sara Mishara (Tu Dors Nicole, My Salinger Year) shot the film on 35mm. Below, she explains that choice and how the film’s cinematography offers thematic answers to its source material. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2025

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