The probability is pretty high that, before 2020, Sofia Alaoui had no idea where Utah was. Born in Casablanca, the filmmaker spent her childhood between Morocco and China before moving to Paris after high school to study cinema. But after bringing her short So What If the Goats Die to Park City in 2020 where she won Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize, the 33-year-old can most assuredly now point out the 45^th state on any map with ease. Good thing, for she is returning with her latest feature Animalia.

But Alaoui isn’t alone in her geographic awareness. The 2023 Sundance program, which features 2,399 international submissions, is bringing in rising filmmakers from such varied locales as Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Australia, Lithuania, Chile, India, Ukraine and Germany.

“Maintaining an essential place for artists to express themselves, take risks, and for visionary stories to endure and entertain is distinctly Sundance,” said Robert Redford, Sundance Institute Founder and President. “The Festival continues to foster these values and connections through independent storytelling. We are honored to share the compelling selection of work at this year’s Festival from distinct perspectives and unique voices.”

In past years, those voices have included Nigel Cole (Saving Grace), Zhang Yimou (The Road Home), Gabriele Muccino (L’ultimo bacio), Niki Caro (Whale Rider) and Zeze Gamboa (The Hero).

As with Alaoui, returning foreign filmmakers are Marija Kavtaradze back with a sophomore feature Slow; Venezuelan director Patricia Ortega with MAMACRUZ, and John Carney again with Flora and Son starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jack Reynor and Eve Hewson. The Once and Sing Street director brings another musical story, this time focusing on the journey of Flora, a young mother living in Dublin who lost touch with aspiration long ago. She juggles a sustenance-necessitated childcare job and a fraught co-parenting arrangement with her unkind ex as she tries to raise her son, Max.

Among the new filmmakers getting their opportunity at the Sundance showcase are David Zonana who takes an unflinching look at the Mexican military in his upcoming film Heroic. C.J. “Fiery” Obasi’s film, Mami Wata, takes us to a spiritual fable rooted in West African folklore. Glorimar Marrero brings her debut feature, La Pecera, centered on a young Puerto Rican woman whose attempts to defeat her cancer exhaust her. Christopher Murray brings his dark decolonial fantasy Sorcery, while Belgian actress/singer Veerle Baetens introduces us to her debut feature film When It Melts.

“In so many ways, this year’s slate reflects the voices of communities around the world who are speaking out with urgency and finally being heard,” noted Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming. “Across our program, impactful storytelling by fearless artists continues to provide space for the community to come together to be entertained, challenged, and inspired.”

Part of the emergence of foreign voices can be attributed to the proactive outreach by Sundance and its Screenwriters and Directors Labs, where artists from over 80 countries have been given creative and strategic support to share their deeply rooted personal and cultural stories.

It should be noted that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has been an active financial contributor to that program, giving support to the development and expansion of emerging international filmmakers.