Sundance lens focuses on Israeli, Palestinian films amid Main St. protest

PARK CITY, Utah — In recent years, the first Saturday of the Sundance Film Festival typically features a planned, permitted, peaceful protest on Main Street, and this year was no different.

Sundance spectators, industry insiders and local law enforcement watched protesters representing Palestinian causes march on Main Street, with some shouting “Death to America!” in Arabic.

Hours later, the Eccles Theater hosted the premiere of “All That’s Left of You (اللي باقي منك),” a fiction film written, directed, produced and starred in by Palestinian Emmy nominee Cherien Dabis. The screening was well-attended and embodied the Sundance Institute’s mission of representation for all.

The film, by a Palestinian filmmaker, explores themes of Palestine and Israel. On Monday, The Megaplex theater in Redstone screened another premiere examining Israeli-Palestinian relations, this time from an Israeli perspective.

“Coexistence, My Ass!” documents the life of Noam Shuster, whose experience spans borders and languages. The subtitled film in Arabic, Hebrew and English follows the social media sensation’s journey from meetings with Hillary Clinton and the Dalai Lama to her role as a United Nations peacekeeper. Ultimately, Shuster chose comedy as her medium for social change, performing stand-up at Harvard University and Palestinian comedy shows.

While Dabis’ film contains no humor, it presents stark reality storytelling about generational existential questions in the Middle East. Though it seemingly avoids government, politics, geography, violence and religion, these themes remain inherent throughout.

The films reflect the Sundance Institute’s perspective in different ways. Shuster’s documentary notes that “human being” shares the same meaning in Hebrew and Arabic, while Dabis’ film emphasizes the fundamental sameness of people in Israel and Palestine.

The 2025 festival’s films, produced in the previous year, naturally reflect the events of October 7, either in content or production. The lineup includes another regionally relevant short film by a Palestinian filmmaker, “The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing.”

Mediterranean food restaurant Nosh co-owner told TownLift, “It’s nice to have so many people in town each year for Sundance who are familiar with our menu items. The added opportunity to cater so many international special events and parties adds to our enjoyment of the Festival experience.”

The 2025 Sundance Film Festival includes a European contingent housed alongside the Media and Industry offices, facilitating operations for international filmmakers, films and festival attendees.