SEVEN Scottish movies are set to premiere at next year’s Sundance Film Festival in the United States, including five backed by public funding through Screen Scotland.
The festival will feature Everybody to Kenmure Street, a documentary about a 2021 Glasgow protest against a dawn immigration raid, and The Incomer, a film set on a Scottish island that follows two siblings retelling the stories of their ancestors.
The festival, started by Robert Redford and named after his Bafta-winning role in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, brings together over 100 indie film projects in Park City, Utah and is watched by a combined in-person and online viewership of over 420,000.
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Isabel Davis, executive director of Screen Scotland said: “Every one of these titles is entertaining, urgent and creatively uncompromising. It’s deeply rewarding to see Scotland’s creative achievements reflected in Sundance’s programme.
“Supporting original storytelling — from early development through to established careers — is a core part of Screen Scotland’s strategy.
“This selection showcases not only the vision of our filmmakers, but the breadth of talent and commitment across Scotland’s screen sector. Congratulations to all the teams heading to Park City — we look forward to what comes next.”
The Incomer, from Edinburgh-based director Louis Paxton, has been named as the opening night film for the Next category, which displays the top low-budget, boundary-pushing indie films, while Olive Nwosu’s Lady, produced by Glasgow-based Alex Polunin, will be screened as part of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition.
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Lady follows the life of a young cab driver in Lagos, Nigeria, who meets a sisterhood of sex workers who help her to transform her life. Polunin’s company, Ossian International, is based in Glasgow and helped to produce Filipiñana which will also be shown at the festival. Set in the “self-contained cosmos” of an elite golf course, the film follows tee-girl Isabel and takes a philosophical approach to exploring class hierarchies.
Co-produced by Edinburgh-based Wendy Griffin, Extra Geography will also feature in the Cinema Dramatic Competition and confronts the highs and lows of friendship, girlhood and love in an English girls boarding school.
Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said: “I am really pleased to see these films be selected for the Sundance Film Festival, showcasing the incredible breadth of creativity in Scotland. The Scottish Government is committed to building on the exceptional growth of Scotland’s screen sector.
“The funding, facilities, talent, crew, and specialist support available in Scotland mean that an ever-increasing number of, hugely exciting and ambitious domestically originated projects, such as these, are able to take shape and succeed on the global stage.”
One of the most anticipated films is the documentary Everybody to Kenmure Street from director Felipe Bustos Sierra and producer Ciara Barry. It follows the spontaneous acts of civil disobedience that occurred after a Home Office raid in Pollokshields which saw hundreds of local residents rush to the southside street to stop the deportation. The film was supported by Screen Scotland and by a successful Kickstarter campaign and Scottish trade unions and will be released in the UK and Ireland in Spring 2026.
Alongside Everybody to Kenmure Street, the love story Birds of War will premiere in the World Cinema Documentary Competition, using thirteen years of personal archives to tell the story of a London-based Lebanese journalist and Syrian activist and cameraman and their lives working and living through revolutions, war and exile.
Edinburgh based producer Sonja Henrici said: “I'm so grateful for the trust Screen Scotland placed in us to develop this timely film about love and belonging in times of revolution and exile. How can we be together despite our differences? I can't wait to share this film with audiences in 2026.”
The special screenings strand, which highlights new works that add a unique perspective to the festival experience, will also see Mark Cousin’s The Story of Documentary, which explores the documentary format and history through a feminist, jargon-free and international lens.
The Incomer, Lady, Everybody to Kenmure Street, Birds of War and The Story of Documentary were backed by funding from Screen Scotland, which includes public funding from the Scottish Government as well as donations from The National Lottery.
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