Join Sundance Collab and some of the artists whose films are premiering in the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition section for a discussion around their directing process, regional filmmaking, and collaboration.
The World Cinema Program at the Sundance Film Festival showcases emerging talent from around the world who offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles. Panelists will include directors Nadia Fall (Brides), Rohan Kanawade (Cactus Pears), and Alireza Khatami (The Things You Kill).
You can view the films in this section here and buy tickets in person and online here.
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Live event registration for this Sundance Collab online event is free of charge. A recording of this event will be posted to our Video Library the next business day following the event. All registered attendees can watch the recording through February 3rd, 2025. After that, on-demand access to the recording can be purchased for $10.
Nadia Fall is the new Artistic Director of the Young Vic theatre in London. She was formerly Artistic Director and CEO of Theatre Royal Stratford East, and was an associate director at the National Theatre from 2015 to 2018. Prior to this she spent many years as assistant and protégé of acclaimed theatre and film director, Sir Nicholas Hytner. Her work includes a critically acclaimed production of Mike Leigh's cult classic Abigail's Party, August Wilson's King Hedley II and The Village at Stratford East; Three Sisters (in a new version by Inua Ellams), Home (also as writer), The Suicide, Our Country’s Good, Dara, Chewing Gum Dreams (created by Michaela Coel), Hymn and The Doctor’s Dilemma at the National; Talking Heads at The Bridge; Hir and Disgraced at Bush; Way Upstream at Chichester; Hobson’s Choice at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre; and The Maids and Oliver Twist at the Lyric Hammersmith. In 2018 she completed her debut short film, BUSH, with Neon Films and Film4. In 2020 she filmed NO MASKS, a Sky original drama based on the stories of key workers from the community and their fight against the coronavirus, starring Russell Tovey, Anya Chalotra and Eamonn Walker. Fall also filmed her production of Alan Bennett’s TALKING HEADS (THE OUTSIDE DOG), for BBC One, starring Rochenda Sandall. In 2020, Fall was named as a Sky Arts ambassador in 2020 and included as a Screen Star of Tomorrow in 2023. BRIDES is Nadia’s debut feature film.
more...Rohan Parashuram Kanawade had humble beginnings, raised in a Mumbai slum by a chauffeur father and homemaker mother. He is a self-made filmmaker with a background in interior design and is an alum of the 11th Venice Biennale College Cinema. Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) is his debut feature.
more...Alireza Khatami is an award-winning filmmaker based in Canada. Known for his bold cinematic choices, his films include OBLIVION VERSES (2017 Venice Film Festival, Best Screenplay) and TERRESTRIAL VERSES (2023 Cannes Film Festival). His latest work, THE THINGS YOU KILL (2025 Sundance Film Festival), continues to explore power and identity.
more...Moderator | Digital Course & Event Producer
Erica Elson is a Producer, Writer and Educator based in the mountains outside Los Angeles. Her short film, WING NIGHT, premiered at Method Fest in Los Angeles. She is the co-author of the book THE AWKWARD HUMAN SURVIVAL GUIDE and co-hosted a podcast by the same name on the 5by5 network for five years. Elson's articles have been published by HuffPost, Lifehacker, and Reader's Digest. Prior to working in education, she worked in television development and writers’ rooms such as VH1’s HINDSIGHT, where she had the chance to write for the spinoff web series PLANET SEBASTIAN.
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