Traverse City Filmmakers Selected for World Premiere at Sundance
A film set and shot in Interlochen with a cast and crew of many northern Michigan residents - including co-producers Nick Loud and Chris Loud of Traverse City and director/writer/producer Sierra Falconer and producer Grant Ellison, who both originally hail from northern Michigan - has been selected to have its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Sunfish (& other Stories on Green Lake), one of only 10 features chosen for Sundance's U.S. Dramatic Competition out of thousands of submissions, tells intertwining stories centered around Green Lake, where Falconer grew up.
The film's summary describes the narrative as follows: "Lives intertwine around Green Lake as a girl learns to sail, a boy fights for first chair, two sisters operate a bed-and-breakfast, and a fisherman is after the catch of his life." The film was shot on location in northern Michigan in 2023, receiving a SAG-AFTRA exemption to continue production during the Hollywood strike as an independent production. In an interview with UCLA, where Falconer received her MFA in production/directing from the department of Film, Television & Digital Media, she spoke about her personal connection to Green Lake and trying to capture the essence of her hometown through four interconnected stories.
"I was fascinated by the idea of a first film that was a portrait of where I come from, and introducing myself to the world as an artist through place," she told UCLA. "Green Lake is so small and I just love the feel of a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. It's like a perfect bubble where nothing ever changes, nothing comes in and nothing comes out."
Sundance's U.S. Dramatic Competition "offers festivalgoers a first look at the world premieres of groundbreaking new voices in American independent film," according to the festival. Films that have premiered in the category in recent years include Dìdi, A Real Pain, CODA, Minari, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, The Farewell, Eighth Grade, and Sorry to Bother You. The 2025 Sundance Film Festival program was curated from 15,775 submissions from 156 countries or territories, including 4,138 feature-length films. Of these feature film submissions, 1,591 were from the U.S. and 2,547 were international. Sunfish (& other Stories on Green Lake) will have its world premiere with both in person and online screenings during the festival, which takes place January 23-February 2 in Park City, Utah.
Nick Loud tells The Ticker that the filmmaking team is "excited to have this film that was all shot in northern Michigan be on the stage at Sundance and to be able to showcase our local film community." He points to numerous independent feature films and documentaries that have been made in northern Michigan in recent years, with the scene starting to receive national attention. "It feels like there's some good momentum, and people like Sierra and Grant are only furthering it," Loud says. Many of the local cast and crew members are planning to travel to Park City for the festival, according to Loud.
"Chris and I are planning to go to Sundance, which will be our first time, and it's also Sierra's first feature film," Loud says. "So it's exciting to have this opportunity to be there."