
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. While we can learn a lot about the filmmakers from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival through the art that these storytellers share with us, there's always more we can learn about them as people. We decided to get to the bottom of those artistic wells with our ongoing series: Give Me the Backstory!
As the first American woman to fly in space, Sally Ride has inspired countless women and girls not only to pursue careers in science, but to pursue their dreams, period. One devoted admirer of Ride is filmmaker Cristina Costantini, whose film SALLY premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Winner of the 2025 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, Costantini's new documentary chronicles Ride's life, employing archival footage from NASA and interviews with Ride's friends and family to craft a portrait of the incomparable individual she was before her death in 2012.
But the most prominently featured interviewee in Costantini's documentary is not a fellow astronaut or even a member of Ride's immediate family - it's Tam O'Shaughnessy, Ride's decadeslong romantic life partner, whose relationship to Ride was unknown to most of the world until it was mentioned in Ride's obituary. Part of what drew me to this story is the question of what it means to lead your life as a symbol. National heroes like Sally inspire us, give us hope, and show us just how far we can go. But fame so often means hurting the people we love most for the benefit of those we'll never meet, explains Costantini. In Sally's case, her life partner, Tam O'Shaughnessy, was forced to live in the shadows for much of her life, her love never truly recognized until it was too late.
Costantini's film doesn't gloss over Ride's scientific and professional accomplishments, but it gives equal weight to the parts of her life that she felt she couldn't show the world, ultimately allowing viewers to know her better. I was drawn to telling the story of a trailblazing woman fighting for respect in a male-dominated world. But, above all, I wanted to explore this beautiful, unknown love story. Our film celebrates the Sally whom we all knew through her accomplishments and, for the first time, pays homage to the one we never could, says Costantini.
Read on to learn more about SALLY and its filmmaker, including the decision behind Costantini's strategic use of 16mm film and why she feels Ride's story is especially relevant to audiences today.
More from Sundance Institute
30/07/2025
The 2009 Directors Lab fellows share a moment together outside at the Sundance R...
29/07/2025
Six Fellows Selected for Program Supporting Projects From Transgender Storytellers of Color
Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the six artists p...
29/07/2025
By Jessica Herndon
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...
25/07/2025
By Lucy Spicer
At Sundance Institute, we're always in awe of the power independent film has to bring people together. That's why we love asking filmmak...
24/07/2025
Diane Quon speaks with an advisor at Sundance Institute's 2019 Creative Producing Lab. (Photo by Jen Fairchild)...
24/07/2025
(L-R) Heidi Ewing, Iselin Breivold, Hege Birch Wik, Thor-Atle Svortevik, and Rachel Grady attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival FOLKTALES premiere at Library...
21/07/2025
(L-R) Molly Gordon, Sophie Brooks, and Logan Lerman attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Oh, Hi! at Eccles Theatre on January 26, 2025, in Park ...
18/07/2025
Blanche Barton, Peter Gilmore, Scott Cummings, Sundance Institute Director of Programming Kim Yutani, and Peggy Nadramia throwing horns. (Stephen Lovekin/Shutte...
18/07/2025
By Jessica Herndon
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...
17/07/2025
Blanche Barton, Peter Gilmore, Scott Cummings, Sundance Institute Director of Programming Kim Yutani, and Peggy Nadramia throwing horns. (Stephen Lovekin/Shutte...
16/07/2025
It's Emmy nominations day, and Sundance Institute storytellers are basking i...
15/07/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
12/07/2025
Ryan Coogler accepting the 2013 Vanguard Award. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez.
Editor's Note: In honor of Fruitvale Station s 12th anniversary, we're d...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
09/07/2025
By Bailey Pennick
There's something arresting about the way Jomo Fray captures the world. The cinematographer, now best known for his unparalleled work on ...
08/07/2025
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a fro...
04/07/2025
By Lucy Spicer
Editor's note: We are deeply saddened by the passing of Robe...
02/07/2025
Hege Wik and Odin appear in FOLKTALES by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institut...
02/07/2025
(Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Patty Consolazio
This one's for any person who's ever felt put down, left out, marginaliz...
27/06/2025
By Jessica Herndon
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...
26/06/2025
Louis Greatorex, Amrou Al-Kadhi and Bilal Hasana. (Stephen Lovekin/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Veronika Lee Claghorn
The world premiere of Amr...
25/06/2025
Aubrey Plaza getting ready for My Old Ass (photo by George Pimentel/Shutterstock...
25/06/2025
On the set of Leslie McCleave's The Shamrocks with Mount Timpanogos as a backdrop during the 1999 Directors Lab. Photo by Sandria Miller...
24/06/2025
John August with fellow Kibwe Tavares at Sundance Institute's 2016 June Screenwriters Lab. Photo by Brandon Cruz for Sundance Institute...
24/06/2025
The Comprehensive and Customized Program Supports and Sustains Mid-Career Directors & DPs with Support from Netflix...
20/06/2025
(L-R) Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, and Shoshannah Stern attend the 2025 Sundance ...
20/06/2025
Ignite Lab Will Kick Off a Year of Opportunities for Emerging Filmmakers Ages 18 to 25 Marking the Program's 10th Year...
20/06/2025
Zackary Drucker attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Enigma at the Egyptian Theatre on January 28, 2025, in Park City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walk...
18/06/2025
Kasi Lemmons with fellow Daniel Kaluuya at Sundance Institute's 2016 January Screenwriters Lab. Photo by Brandon Cruz for Sundance Institute...
18/06/2025
Sam Feder at Heightened Scrutiny premiere (photo by Robin Marshall / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Bailey Pennick
Editor's note: Since the...
17/06/2025
Top L-R: The Dating Game, All That's Left of You ( )
Center L-R: Come See Me in the Good Light, Omaha, Rebuilding
Bottom L-R: Selena y Los Din...
17/06/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 20: River Gallo attends the 2024 Sundance Film Festival Ponyboi premiere at the Library Center Theatre on January 20, 2024, in Park ...
16/06/2025
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
13/06/2025
(L-R) Lindsay Utz, Michelle Walshe, and The Right Honourable Dame Jacinda Ardern attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Prime Minister at Eccles T...
10/06/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Whi...
07/06/2025
By Bailey Pennick
Alex Ross Perry is in the middle of a thought. It's not following just one strand, though. It's a textured and tangent-filled journey...
05/06/2025
(L-R) Cristina Costantini, Tam O'Shaughnessy, Bear Ride, and Lauren Cioffi attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of SALLY at The Ray Theatre on ...
04/06/2025
By Jessica Herndon
The Tribeca Festival is back, bringing a whirlwind of world ...
03/06/2025
Sally Ride appears in SALLY by Cristina Costantini, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by NASA....
03/06/2025
PARK CITY UT, June 2, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today th...
03/06/2025
[Kelly Marie Tran, Lily Gladstone, Han Gi-Chan, and Bowen Yang appear in The We...
29/05/2025
Director Erica Tremblay on the set of Little Chief' during the 2018 Native Filmmakers Lab. Photo by Tytianna Harris for Sundance Institute...
28/05/2025
Creative advisor Joan Darling and artistic director Gyula Gazdag chat with fello...
24/05/2025
(L-R) Senior Manager and Festival Programmer Adam Montgomery and Matt Wolf attend the Sundance Film Festival premiere of Pee-wee as Himself January 23 at The ...
23/05/2025
Elijah Wood and Melanie Lynskey star in Macon Blair's award-winning film I ...
20/05/2025
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
15/05/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH JANUARY 20: Skye P. Marshall, Omari Hardwick, Cory Hardrict, Qasim Basir, Dana Gourrier, and Amin Joseph attend the 2023 Sundance Film Festiva...
15/05/2025
Director of photography Benjamin Kasulke, actors Katie Henney and Hannah Marks, ...
12/05/2025
The Sundance Film Festival: CDMX 2025 program is composed of 15 feature films an...
08/05/2025
A sinister fairy infiltrates a desperate family in Kenneth Dagatan's In My Mother's Skin, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Photo co...