From House Music to Sly Stone, 6 films by Black directors at Sundance 2025

The Sundance Film Festival has announced its 2025 lineup. The festival will take place in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, from January 23 to February 2. The festival’s hybrid format continues evolving, offering selected titles online from January 30 to February 2. 

Among the 93 selected projects, six films by Black directors illuminate diverse narratives: Questlove’s “Sly Lives!” examines Sly Stone’s musical legacy, Elegance Bratton’s “Move Ya Body: The Birth of House” chronicles Chicago’s house music evolution, Kahlil Joseph’s “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” exploring consciousness through an Afrofuturistic lens, Maia Lekow and Christopher King’s “How to Build a Library” documenting Kenya’s postcolonial transformation, Brittany Shyne’s “Seeds” portraying Black generational farmers, and Rashad Frett’s “Ricky” depicting post-incarceration challenges.

Sly Lives!

Leading the vanguard is Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s “Sly Lives!” (alternatively titled “The Burden of Black Genius”), marking the filmmaker’s anticipated return after his Oscar-winning “Summer of Soul.” This documentary delves deep into the complex legacy of Sly Stone, examining not merely the meteoric rise and subsequent retreat of Sly & The Family Stone but interrogating broader questions about the intersection of Black artistic genius and American cultural dynamics. Produced by Joseph Patel and Derik Murray, the film promises to unpack the often-unseen psychological and social burdens accompanying Black artistic success in America.

Move Ya Body: The Birth of House

Elegance Bratton’s “Move Ya Body: The Birth of House” transports viewers to Chicago’s South Side, chronicling the electric emergence of house music from underground clubs to a global cultural phenomenon. Produced by Chester Algernal Gordon with Roger Ross Williams as executive producer, the documentary captures a pivotal moment in music history, examining how a localized sound transformed into a worldwide movement. Bratton’s approach, departing from his previous work on “The Inspection,” promises to illuminate the social and cultural conditions that birthed this revolutionary musical genre.

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions

Kahlil Joseph’s “BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions” represents an ambitious evolution of his acclaimed conceptual news program BLKNWS, which debuted at the 2019 Venice Biennale. The film follows West African curator Funmilayo Akechukwu’s journey through consciousness and time, featuring Shaunette Renée Wilson leading an ensemble cast. Joseph’s experimental narrative, enriched by screenwriters Saidiya Hartman and Irvin Hunt, challenges conventional storytelling while exploring profound questions of identity, perception, and temporal experience. The film’s selection for online public viewing significantly broadens access to its innovative approach.

How to Build a Library

“How to Build a Library,” directed by Maia Lekow and Christopher King, emerges as a powerful chronicle of cultural reclamation in post-colonial Kenya. The documentary follows two visionary Nairobi women, Shiro and Wachuka, transforming the McMillian Memorial Library from a symbol of colonial exclusion into a vibrant contemporary cultural hub. Their journey, extending beyond physical renovation, confronts complex questions about historical legacy, cultural preservation, and technological innovation in modern Africa. The film’s exploration of how communities reimagine colonial spaces resonates with global discussions about decolonization and cultural heritage.

Seeds

Brittany Shyne’s “Seeds” examines Black agricultural heritage through striking black-and-white cinematography. The documentary explores the delicate balance between legacy and land ownership among centennial African-American farmers in Thomasville, Georgia. Shyne’s feature documentary debut poetically captures the significance of land ownership in the rural South while addressing the broader context of declining Black generational farming traditions. The film’s selection for online viewing enables broader engagement with this vital aspect of American agricultural history.

Ricky

Completing this remarkable lineup is Rashad Frett’s “Ricky,” featuring Stephan James alongside acclaimed actors Sheryl Lee Ralph and Titus Welliver. Expanded from Frett’s 2023 short film, this narrative feature explores the complex realities of post-incarceration life through the story of a 30-year-old man experiencing adult independence for the first time. Supported by both the Spike Lee and Cary Fukunaga Production Funds, the film promises a nuanced examination of personal identity and societal reintegration.

Collectively, these six films represent diverse perspectives on Black experiences while exploring universal themes of cultural preservation, artistic expression, and social transformation. The documentary selections examine institutional change and cultural heritage, from Kenya’s reimagined colonial library to America’s agricultural traditions. Meanwhile, the narrative and experimental works push boundaries in exploring personal identity, artistic legacy, and social justice.