The Sun Valley Film Festival is a Hidden Gem of Films, Celebrities, and Events in Idaho

For 14 years, the Sun Valley Film Festival (SVFF), held from December 3-7, 2025, has established itself as one of the most interesting boutique film festivals in the country. Located in the Wood River Valley of south-central Idaho, the SVFF celebrates the history of Sun Valley, which will mark its 90th anniversary as the country’s first ski resort in 2026. It also showcases the creativity and storytelling it shares across all levels of filmmaking, from its own programs and initiatives to major industry players who often participate in free public events. It’s a festival where you meet and enjoy people who love independent film, and you become inspired. Its dedication to storytelling is unique and often exciting.

This year’s festival lineup features 16 narrative and documentary features along with 32 shorts, including the opening-night film The Brotherhood, the closing-night film Is This Thing On?, and films like Dead Man’s Wire, The Plague, The Testament of Ann Lee, and Train Dreams. Festival honorees include Vision Award recipients Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gus Van Sant, Clint Bentley, and Greg Kwedar, who will receive the Disruptor Award presented by Deadline. Patrick Schwarzenegger will receive the Rising Star Award, and Ondi Timoner will be honored with the Impact Award.

“We’ve always been a place for bold voices, for stories that take risks and break rules,” says SVFF Executive Director Teddy Grennan. “This year’s lineup captures that same energy, with filmmakers pushing the boundaries of what cinema can be. It’s thrilling to gather in these mountains in December, when the world slows down but creativity ignites.”

“Returning in December has become a beautiful new tradition—a time when the community, our sponsors, and creators come together to share in the warmth of great stories,” says SVFF Director Candice Pate. “There’s a magic that happens here—filmmakers, Academy voters, and audiences connecting in an intimate setting that celebrates the art of cinema at its finest.”

SVFF 2025 honorees include Arnold Schwarzenegger, who will receive the prestigious Vision Award and participate in a Cocktail Talk on Saturday, December 6. Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-born American actor, former bodybuilder, and politician, best known for his prolific film career and for serving as the 38th Governor of California. He and his family own a home in Sun Valley and have deep ties to the area.

“This year’s lineup captures that same energy, with filmmakers pushing the boundaries of what cinema can be.”

Additionally, director Gus Van Sant will be honored with the Vision Award at the Vision Award Dinner on Friday, December 5. He will participate in a Coffee Talk that morning, and the festival will also screen his latest film, Dead Man’s Wire. An auteur whose work has profoundly influenced contemporary cinema, Van Sant’s acclaimed filmography includes Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, To Die For, Elephant, and Good Will Hunting, which was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director at the Academy Awards.

Past Vision Award honorees include last year’s recipient Demi Moore (who went on to earn a Best Actress Academy Award nomination), Clint Eastwood, Gwyneth Paltrow, Oliver Stone, David O. Russell, Amy Poehler, Annette Bening, Josh Brolin, and Woody Harrelson.

Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar will receive the Disruptor Award from Deadline, honoring creative talents who are shaping the industry with innovative and impactful work. This marks the first time the award is presented at the festival. Both will participate in a Coffee Talk on Sunday, December 7. Their latest film, Train Dreams, will screen in the lineup on Saturday, December 6. Co-written by Bentley and Kwedar and directed by Bentley, Train Dreams is an adaptation of Denis Johnson’s Pulitzer Prize finalist novella of the same name. The film premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and features Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, William H. Macy, and Kerry Condon.

Academy Award-nominee Clint Bentley is a writer, director, and producer whose debut feature, Jockey, received the AFI Audience Award and multiple Independent Spirit Award nominations. Bentley co-wrote and produced Sing Sing with Greg Kwedar, which earned three Academy Award nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay, and was named one of the AFI and National Board of Review Top 10 Films of the Year.

Greg Kwedar co-wrote and produced Jockey, and also directed and co-wrote Sing Sing, which won the 2024 SXSW Festival Audience Award and received three Academy Award nominations, three BAFTA nominations, and five Critics’ Choice nominations. Kwedar also directed Transpecos, a winner of the SXSW Audience Award, and produced several acclaimed documentaries, including Rising From Ashes and Running With Beto. He most recently served as co-writer and executive producer on Bentley’s Train Dreams and is set to direct Saturn Return for Netflix. Together, Bentley and Kwedar run ETHOS, their production company developing original and collaborative projects, including Possum Song, a fantastical comedy in development with Miles Teller attached.

“SVFF 2025 honorees include Arnold Schwarzenegger, who will receive the prestigious Vision Award…”

Actor Patrick Schwarzenegger will be honored with the Rising Star Award on Saturday, December 6, recognizing a promising talent whose work on screen is quickly gaining industry attention. Patrick Schwarzenegger most recently starred in season 3 of Mike White’s critically acclaimed HBO series White Lotus and Ryan Murphy’s new FX limited series, American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez. Previous credits include the Amazon series Gen V, HBO’s critically acclaimed series The Staircase, The Terminal List, Amy Poehler’s film Moxie for Netflix, Echo Boomers, and the independent film Daniel Isn’t Real, which premiered to great reviews at the SXSW Film Festival. Up next, he will star opposite Margaret Qualley in Love of Your Life for Amazon MGM and be seen in the psychological thriller Bunker alongside Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Previous recipients include the cast of Outer Banks, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Winston Duke, Sophie Thatcher, and Allison Williams.

Ondi Timoner will receive the Impact Award, which honors a film that highlights the resilience of the human spirit, for her recent documentary All the Walls Come Down. The film tells the story of a community affected by the Eaton Fire. Last year, the documentary Porcelain War received the award.

SVFF opening night and film selections include The Brotherhood (dir. Mandon Lovett), a powerful documentary about the National Brotherhood of Snowsports—the first all-Black ski group—tracing its history, archival legacy, and mission to elevate Black athletes on the slopes.

Searchlight Pictures’ Is This Thing On?, directed by Bradley Cooper, will close the festival. As their marriage quietly unravels, Alex (Will Arnett) faces middle age and seeks a new purpose in the New York comedy scene. At the same time, Tess (Laura Dern) confronts the sacrifices she made for their family—forcing them to navigate co-parenting, identity, and whether love can take a new form.

“Creativity erupts in the mountains as SVFF turns December into a filmmaking hot zone.”

The Festival’s full lineup showcases a wide range of narrative and documentary storytelling from emerging and established filmmakers, including Above the Line (dir. Jeffrey Scott Collins) with Cedric the Entertainer, Sophia Ali, and Logic in attendance. Other noteworthy films include Ask E Jean (dir. Ivy Meeropol), Carolina Caroline (dir. Adam Carter Rehmeier), The Dating Game (dir. Violet Du Feng), Dead Man’s Wire (dir. Gus Van Sant), Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul (dir. James Keach), Hard Twist: Through the Lens of Barbara Van Cleve (dir. Cynthia Matty-Huber), The Plague (dir. Charlie Pollinger), The Testament of Ann Lee (dir. Mona Fastvold), Tusker: Brotherhood of Elephants, and Train Dreams (dir. Clint Bentley)

SVFF will screen over 30 shorts in select programs, including highlight conversations and several Academy Award-eligible projects, such as All the Walls Came Down (dir. Ondi Timoner, attending for a discussion after the screening), All Heart (dir. Michael Govier and Will McCormack, Academy Award winners in attendance), Go Forward (dir. Peter Cambor—NBA star Isaiah Thomas attending for a discussion after the World Premiere screening), Idaho Film Block featuring shorts shot exclusively in Idaho, Pine (dir. Lilah Pate, attending for a discussion after the World Premiere screening), and The New Yorker documentary series, followed by a Q&A hosted by George Prentice with Paul Moakley, Executive Producer of Video at The New Yorker.

The program includes the live action short Two People Exchanging Saliva (dir. Natalie Musteata, Alexandre Singh), animated short Criminal (dir. Robe Imbriano), and documentary short Cashing Out (dir. Matt Nadel). Saving Our Ancestors – Reflections by Dr. Biruté Galdikas (dir. Charles Annenberg Weingarten), The Truck, dir. Elizabeth Rao is in attendance for a discussion after the screening, and Wrecking Party, dir. Elizabeth Giamatti in attendance for a discussion after the screening. Award-winning and popular festival shorts to screen at SVFF also include Sundance winner Tiger, along with RISE, and I Want to Feel Fun.

Tickets for the 2025 Sun Valley Film Festival are available now. For additional information, visit sunvalleyfilmfestival.org.