Sundance Release Rundown: What to Watch in April

Five award-winning films from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival are set to reach wider audiences this April, all marking the feature directorial debuts of their creators. The Sundance Institute-supported theatrical releases — spanning genres from intimate character studies to coming-of-age dramas — will roll out in select theaters throughout the month, offering indie film enthusiasts a curated slate of critically acclaimed work that premiered at last year’s Festival in Park City.

The lineup opens with DJ Ahmet on April 3, a poignant story set in a remote Yuruk village in North Macedonia. Fifteen-year-old Ahmet (Arif Jakup) assumes shepherding duties and cares for his younger brother after his mother’s death, while secretly pursuing a passion for music and dance with his neighbor Aya (Dora Akan Zlatanova). Writer-director Georgi M. Unkovski’s debut feature blends humor, music, and authentic performances from first-time actors, earning both the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision and the Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic at Sundance.

On April 10, Bunnylovr arrives, a contemporary exploration of digital connection and isolation written, directed by, and starring Katarina Zhu. Zhu plays Rebecca, a New York City personal assistant and camgirl navigating strained relationships with her artist friend (Rachel Sennott), her dying estranged father (Perry Yung), and an increasingly obsessive online client (Austin Amelio) who sends her a live bunny. The film examines how virtual interactions can blur into emotional dependency, marking Zhu’s feature debut after premiering at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

April 17 brings Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo), a vibrant portrait of a Dominican American family in the Bronx. Nineteen-year-old Rico (Juan Collado) dreams of launching a beachside cocktail business, but faces pressure from his mother (Yohanna Florentino), sister (Nathaly Navarro), and pregnant girlfriend Destiny (Destiny Checho) to embrace responsibility. Writer-director Joel Alfonso Vargas expands his acclaimed short film into this improvised-dialogue feature, which won the NEXT Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast at Sundance for its authentic, tightly knit community portrayal.

The month concludes with two films debuting on April 24. First, Omaha follows a father (John Magaro) who wakes his two children — Charlie (Wyatt Solis) and Ella (Molly Belle Wright) — for an impromptu road trip to Nebraska in 2008. As the family traverses sweeping Utah landscapes, young Charlie embraces the adventure while 9-year-old Ella grows wary of her father’s evasiveness. Based on a screenplay by Robert Machoian (The Killing of Two Lovers) and directed by Cole Webley in his feature debut, the film captures the tension between parental intention and childhood innocence, having premiered at Sundance earlier this year.

Also arriving April 24 is Ricky, a post-incarceration coming-of-age story directed by Rashad Frett in his feature debut. Stephan James stars as Ricky, a 30-year-old man attempting to rebuild his life after serving half of it in prison. Despite support from a caring probation officer (Sheryl Lee Ralph), he faces systemic barriers in securing employment, obtaining a driver’s license, and forming meaningful relationships. The film, an expansion of Frett’s 2023 Sundance short, won the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award at the 2025 Festival and received backing from Sundance Institute’s Directors and Screenwriters Labs and Producers Lab prior to its premiere.

All five films were official selections of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and represent a diverse range of voices and stories from emerging American and international filmmakers. Their April theatrical rollout extends the Festival’s impact beyond Park City, bringing award-winning debut features to audiences in select cities nationwide. Exact theater listings and showtimes are available through participating distributors and the Sundance Institute’s official channels.