Slamdance announced Tuesday that its annual film festival will move to Los Angeles starting in February 2025. The move, organizers said, will allow for the continued growth of the festival’s year-round mission of creating an accessible community for independent filmmakers and creators.
The 2025 festival runs February 20-26 at venues in and around Hollywood, including Landmark Theaters and the DGA Theater Complex. Further locations will be announced later. The festival is intended to be financially accessible, with tickets for personal use starting at $50 and many programs free to the public.
The festival will showcase existing and new programs including Polytechnic, Slamdance’s free educational offering; “6ixty,” a series of one-minute short films shot in any format; Next Wave LA, a program of new media works by LA-based artists; and the experimental DIG (Digital, Interactive, Gaming) program.
Panasonic Lumix will be the official sponsor of the 2025 Slamdance Film Festival in Los Angeles. Other industry partners include the DGA, Landmark Theaters and AGBO.
“Our journey in the film industry began at Slamdance and our commitment to the festival and the opportunities it offers filmmakers has remained unwavering,” said AGBO co-founders Anthony and Joe Russo in a press release today announcing the news. “Over the years, we have had the privilege of working with numerous filmmakers through our fellowship program and various initiatives at our studio. We look forward to seeing Slamdance’s continued growth and impact in its new home.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has also endorsed the move.
“We are excited to announce that the Slamdance Film Festival is moving to Los Angeles and will host its first event here beginning in February 2025,” she said. “Anyone who knows the history and landscape of independent storytelling must know that as the creative capital of the world, Los Angeles has always been a home and source of inspiration for artists.” As we welcome filmmakers, artists and cinephiles from around the world, Slamdance Film Festival will serve as a dynamic center for creativity, connections and employment opportunities for Angelenos.”
“Slamdance is coming to Los Angeles! Building on our success in Utah, we will expand the festival with greater accessibility in Los Angeles and continue our work to introduce new films, new careers and new ideas in filmmaking,” said Peter Baxter, president and founder of Slamdance. “With new and existing collaborative partners, our mission is to increase the global value of independent film and digital media and serve the Los Angeles arts community.”
Notable Slamdance alumni and supporters include the Russo Brothers (Avengers: Endgame), Emma and Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), Gina Prince-Bythewood (The old guard), Sean Baker (Anora), Rian Johnson (Knife out), Bong Joon Ho (parasite), Merawi Gerima (Residue), Marie Jamora (Queen Sugar) and Steven Soderbergh (Soaring bird).
Slamdance has been based in Park City, Utah since its inception in 1995, with performances in both Park City at the Doubletree Park City – The Yarrow and Salt Lake City at the University of Utah. Viewership for this year’s edition was record-breaking, resulting in an 18% increase in ticket and pass sales compared to 2023. The move follows the Sundance Institute’s announcement that it has opened calls for proposals for potential locations outside of Park City, Utah, to host the festival starting in 2027.
Slamdance’s 2024 lineup consisted of 113 films, 17 of which were world premieres, with 43% of films from BIPOC creators and 43% from female or non-binary filmmakers. All films selected in the Narrative Features and Documentary Features competition categories are directorial debuts without U.S. distribution with budgets of less than $1 million.
The submission period for Slamdance 2025 begins on May 8th.