Virginia Pearce, executive director of the Utah Film Commission, discusses the state of Utah’s film industry, emphasizing the impact of independent and larger productions and the importance of economic incentives to attract them. She highlights ongoing funding for the Sundance Film Festival and the state's dual-city bid involving Park City and Salt Lake, aiming to maintain Sundance's presence while enhancing its accessibility. Pearce also reflects on the evolving nature of the film and festival industries in response to economic challenges and changing audience demands.

Geralyn Dreyfous, co-founder of Impact Partners and the Utah Film Center, discusses the challenges facing the independent documentary film industry, emphasizing the need for new audience engagement strategies like their digital marketing initiative, Jolt. She highlights the role of Sundance in showcasing emerging voices and the importance of keeping the festival in Utah amid competition from cities like Cincinnati. Dreyfous also underscores the critical need for sustainable funding models as streamers shift away from purchasing documentaries.

Alyssa, a rebellious 19-year-old girl, and her friend Mehdi, an introverted 23-year-old man, use their imagination to escape their unpromising reality. When they discover a contest in the south of Tunisia that may allow them to flee, they undertake a road trip regardless of the obstacles in their way. Director Amel Guellaty and actors Eya Bellagha and Slim Baccar talk about the film, "Where the Wind Comes From."

Directors Robert May and Barry Levinson preview the 5-part episodic series "Bucks County, USA." Evi and Vanessa, two 14-year-olds living in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, are best friends despite their opposing political beliefs. As nationwide disputes over public education explode into vitriol and division in their hometown, the girls and others in the community fight to discover the humanity in “the other side.”

Local filmmaker Naja Pham Lockwood’s short documentary "On Healing Land, Birds Perch" examines the trauma of the Vietnam War through the lens of Eddie Adams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph "Saigon Execution." Lockwood shares her personal connection to the photo, its profound impact on her understanding of the war and the challenges of exploring intergenerational trauma within the Vietnamese community.

In "Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny, dile que no soy malo)," Rico’s summer is a wild mix of chasing girls and hustling homemade cocktails out of a cooler on Orchard Beach, the Bronx. But when Destiny, his teenage girlfriend, crashes at his place with his family, it’s only a matter of time before his rowdy, carefree days come spiraling down. Director Joel Alfonso Vargas shares more about his film.

André, a brilliant idiot, is dying because he didn’t get a colonoscopy. His sobering diagnosis, complete irreverence and insatiable curiosity, send him on an unexpected journey learning how to die happily and ridiculously without losing his sense of humor. Director Tony Benna tells the stories behind "André is an Idiot."

Generations of artists call Robert A. Nakamura “the godfather of Asian American media,” but filmmaker Tadashi Nakamura calls him Dad. Robert’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease leads to an exploration of art, activism, grief and fatherhood.

In 1983, a disabled Californian woman named Elizabeth Bouvia sought the “right to die,” igniting a national debate about autonomy, dignity, and the value of disabled lives. After years of courtroom trials, Bouvia disappeared from public view. Disabled director Reid Davenport investigates what happened to Bouvia and her story’s disturbing relevance today.

Against the backdrop of sunbaked parking lots, deserted courthouses and empty suburban homes — the familiar spaces of true crime, stripped of all action and spectacle — a filmmaker describes his abandoned Zodiac Killer documentary and probes the inner workings of a genre at saturation point. "Zodiac Killer Project" director Charlie Shackleton talks about the challenges of making a true crime documentary.