Firelight Media x Sundance Film Festival 2025
Firelight Media will kick off its 25th-anniversary celebrations in Park City during the Sundance Film Festival, where 6 Firelight Media-supported filmmakers will premiere documentaries.
Firelight Media has announced that it will kick off its 25th-anniversary celebrations during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival with an event presented by the MacArthur Foundation.
On Monday, January 27, 2025, 4:00–6:00 pm MT at the Impact Lounge (Presented by Caspian), Prospector Square in Park City, Utah, Firelight Media and the MacArthur Foundation will host a panel discussion and reception titled “Our State of the Union: Documentary Industry Leaders on What Comes Next.”
Panelists include Marcia Smith, filmmaker & co-founder of Firelight Media, a nonprofit organization that supports documentary filmmakers of color and celebrates 25 years in 2025; Vinnie Malhotra, president of Higher Ground, the production company co-founded by President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama to lift up diverse voices in the entertainment industry; Geeta Gandbhir, director of The Perfect Neighbor (Sundance 2025) and co-founder of Beyond Inclusion, a BIPOC-led collective of nonfiction executives and filmmakers; and Carrie Lozano, president and CEO of ITVS, public media’s leading incubator and presenter of independent film. The event will be moderated by Firelight Media Documentary Lab alum Cristina Ibarra, director of Infiltrators (Sundance 2019), 2021 MacArthur Fellow, and Co-Founder of Borderlands Studio, which challenges conventional narratives about the borderlands, and introduced by Kathy Im, director of Journalism & Media, MacArthur Foundation.
Accessibility Notice: Please write to events@firelightmedia.org with any accessibility needs so that we may share them with the venue.
Firelight Media is also celebrating six Documentary Lab alumni who are premiering films at Sundance this year. The filmmakers will be celebrated at Firelight Media’s event reception.
Find details of each film below:
‘Seeds,’ dir. Brittany Shyne
Seeds, directed by Brittany Shyne and supported by the Firelight Documentary Lab (2020–2022), is an exploration of Black generational farmers in the American South, revealing the fragility of legacy and the significance of owning land.
‘Third Act,’ dir. Tadashi Nakamura
Third Act, directed by Tadashi Nakamura and supported by the Firelight Documentary Lab (2020–2022), follows Robert A. Nakamura, who generations of artists call “the godfather of Asian American media” — but Tad, the filmmaker, calls him Dad. Robert’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease leads to an exploration of art, activism, grief, and fatherhood.
‘Cutting Through Rocks’ (اوزاک یوللار), co-dirs. Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni
Cutting Through Rocks (اوزاک یوللار), co-directed by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni and supported by the Firelight Documentary Lab (2021–2023), follows Sara Shahverdi, who, as the first elected councilwoman of her Iranian village, aims to break long-held patriarchal traditions by training teenage girls to ride motorcycles and stopping child marriages. When accusations arise questioning Sara’s intentions to empower the girls, her identity is put in turmoil.
‘Selena y Los Dinos,’ dir. Isabel Castro
Selena y Los Dinos, directed by Isabel Castro (whose Documentary Lab-supported film Mija premiered at Sundance in 2022), follows Selena Quintanilla — the “Queen of Tejano Music” — and her family band, Selena y Los Dinos, as they rose from performing at quinceañeras to selling out stadium tours. This celebration of her life and legacy is chronicled through never-before-seen footage from the family’s personal archive.
‘The Stringer,’ dir. Bao Nguyen
The Stringer, directed by Documentary Lab alum Bao Nguyen, stems from a two-year investigation that uncovers a scandal behind the making of one of the most-recognized photographs of the 20th century. Five decades of secrets are unraveled in the search for justice for a man known only as “the stringer.”
‘The Perfect Neighbor,’ dir. Geeta Gandbhir
Also premiering at Sundance this year is The Perfect Neighbor, directed by long-time Firelight Media collaborator and Sundance event panelist Geeta Gandbhir, follows aseemingly minor neighborhood dispute in Florida as it escalates into deadly violence. Police bodycam footage and investigative interviews expose the consequences of Florida’s “stand your ground” laws.
About Firelight Media
Firelight Media, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2025, is a nonprofit organization that supports, resources, and advocates on behalf of documentary filmmakers of color. Firelight Media’s artist programs include the Documentary Lab, an 18-month fellowship for underrepresented filmmakers; Groundwork Regional Lab, which supports underrepresented filmmakers in the American South, midwest, and U.S. Territories; and the William Greaves Funds for mid-career filmmakers. Firelight Media also produces digital short films, including the collection HOMEGROWN: A Part Of/Apart From, for PBS Digital Studios, and the forthcoming season 3 of In the Making, with PBS’ American Masters.
