After two plane rides, five days in Park City, 11 different film screenings and many a sleepless night, the Ampersand team that attended the 2025 Sundance Film Festival is back in Los Angeles. After a trip that was both anxiety-ridden and fulfilling, they now reflect on their experience attending the esteemed film festival.
Ona Martini
I went into this trip feeling a lot more nervous than I was willing to admit to anyone beforehand. A mixture of some good old-fashioned imposter syndrome and a genuine inability to know exactly what to expect, I had a hard time letting the excitement of what was to come actually sink in — until getting off the plane in Salt Lake City. From that moment, however, the trip quickly unfolded into what was perhaps one of the most enjoyable and life-changing experiences of my adult life.
I knew securing tickets to screenings with our level of press pass would be a challenge, and at times, it certainly was. If we wanted to see anything that was sold out (and so many of these amazing films were, of course), we had to join the waitlist via an app. It involved refreshing a page exactly two hours before showtime and showing up at least 30 minutes in advance to cluster among dozens of other hopeful viewers — sounds fun right? It actually was. There was something truly gratifying about it; a sense of camaraderie was built in small-talking with strangers about their own Sundance experiences. Even if we didn’t make it into a screening, I never felt as though that time was wasted. On our first night, I made my way to an evening screening of “Jimpa” (which I successfully saw, despite being number 49 on the waitlist!). Along the way, I met such a wide variety of people — a kind bus driver who had spent all week ferrying festival goers, a group of local veteran Sundance volunteers and an artist who was there participating in panels, to name a few — all of whom made me feel like I belonged right there with them in Park City.
While so much of the Sundance magic was merely buzzing in the people and the crisp Park City air, the best moments were, of course, watching the films. I’ve never been in a movie theater as packed as these were. Even the films that weren’t my favorite were still enjoyable to watch. Being at Sundance was a reminder of the love, the heart and all of the hard work that goes into every film, especially indie films. This trip really reinforced my belonging in the world of film and performing arts — art is really such a powerful thing. I’m so grateful to have learned so much along the way and feel so lucky to have spent this formative time with such a great team.
Casey Loving
All week, I kept hearing the same lamentation: Sundance isn’t what it used to be.
This might be true. Any number of factors affect both the festival and the film industry as a whole — times are tight, studio priorities are changing and streaming changes moviegoing attitudes. For longtime festival-goers, I can imagine how this year’s Sundance could be something of a letdown.
For me, it was anything but.
I loved every moment of my time in Utah. It felt like paradise. For five days, I ran around the town, obsessively scheduling and rescheduling on my phone to make it into as many screenings as possible. I ended up seeing seven films — a meager sum in comparison to veteran festival-goers, but a number I’m happy with for my first venture. There’s a lot to love from these films on their own merits. “Sorry, Baby” will likely go down as one of my favorite movies of 2025. “Kiss of the Spider Woman” gave me the return to Technicolor musicals I’ve been waiting for. “Oh, Hi!” surprised me as a high-energy comedic favorite from the festival. I wish I could write about every movie I watched this week, but I’ll have to settle for the handful of reviews you can find on Ampersand during my last stretch at USC.
But the movies aren’t what I will remember about my time at Sundance. I’ll remember craning my neck in the second row of the body-horror film “Together,” locking eyes with the stranger to my right halfway through the movie to ask, “Is this really happening?” I’ll remember receiving an email from a man I met in line for “Sorry, Baby” saying he loved sitting with my friends and I at the screening. I’ll remember reconnecting with two critics I chatted with in line for “Kiss of the Spider Woman” after the movie, sharing our thoughts before we went our separate ways. Every time I saw a film, I connected in some way with a complete stranger in my proximity. I wish it felt this easy all the time.
I am so grateful for my time at Sundance. Getting to travel with two close friends to watch movies for days on end felt like a dream. A lack of sleep, bitter cold and failed waitlists felt like nothing compared to the immense joy I experienced on my trip. I don’t know whether Sundance is what it used to be, but I can confidently say I want to return as soon as possible.
Divya Subbiah
I don’t think any amount of studying I did ahead of going to Sundance could have adequately prepared me for being boots-on-the-ground in Park City — and trust me, I did a lot of research. Before going to Sundance, I was most worried about getting waitlist tickets to films. With the level of our press pass, getting into screenings from waitlists was the only way to see a film, short of paying for a ticket or asking publicists very nicely if they would please, pretty please consider giving us a comped ticket. I knew the unknowns associated with waitlists would be stressful, but I didn’t take into consideration how involved actually signing up for a film’s waitlist would be — we had to be exactly on time (down to the second) in signing up two hours in advance, then had to arrive at the theater at least 40 minutes before the screening was scheduled to begin. And while there was some trial and error, there was also a day where all of us were able to see three films, just by being strategic with our sign-ups. I wouldn’t say we got it down to a science, but the muscle memory of clicking on a film in the Sundance app, just seconds before the waitlist opened, became a familiar feeling.
Beyond the technicalities of the festival, though, was the experience itself. The films I saw were moving and thought-provoking, and occasionally confusing to write about. (I particularly had trouble cracking an angle for my review of “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.”) The audiences we were surrounded by in the theaters were reactive and lovely. (I remember audible laughter, gasps and sniffles being echoed around the room during “Sorry, Baby.”) And even in the waitlist lines, conversations were free-flowing and genuine, creating a sense of community and belonging as all of us united over our love for films. I think getting to attend Sundance (this year, and with this group of people) will be an experience I’d be hard-pressed to forget, one that will absolutely define my time at USC, and one that I’ll be trying to recreate for years to come.
