The 2026 Sundance Film Festival took place in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah from January 22 to February 1, 2026. Film premieres at the festival were held from January 22 to January 27, 2026. The first selection lineup was announced on December 10, 2025. The festival would be the last Sundance Film Festival held in Utah before the festival relocates to Boulder, Colorado in 2027. Several films notably received standing ovations during the festival, including Fing, Josephine, Wicker, The Invite, Levitating, and Union County.
Films U.S. Dramatic Competition English titleDirector(s)Production Country Bedford Park United StatesCarousel Rachel LambertThe Friend's House Is Here Hossein Keshavarz, Maryam Ataei United States, IranHa-Chan, Shake Your Booty! Josef Kubota WladykaUnited StatesHot Water Ramzi BashourJosephine Beth de Araújo United StatesThe Musical Giselle BonillaUnited StatesRun Amok NB MagerTake Me Home Liz SargentUnion County Adam Meeks
World Cinema Dramatic Competition English title Original titleDirector(s)Production Country Big Girls Don't Cry Paloma Schneideman New Zealand Extra Geography Molly Manners United Kingdom Filipiñana Rafael Manuel Singapore, United Kingdom, Philippines, France, Netherlands Hold onto Me Κράτα Με Myrsini Aristidou Cyprus, Denmark, Greece How to Divorce During the War Skyrybos karo metu Andrius Blaževičius Lithuania, Luxembourg, Ireland, Czech Republic The Huntress La Cazadora Suzanne Andrews Correa Mexico, United States LADY Olive Nwosu United Kingdom, Nigeria Levitating Para Perasuk Wregas Bhanuteja Indonesia, Singapore, France Shame and Money Visar Morina Germany, Kosovo, Slovenia, Albania, North Macedonia, Belgium Tell Me Everything עצמאות Moshe Rosenthal Israel, France
U.S. Documentary Competition English title Director(s) Production Country American Doctor Poh Si Teng United States, State of Palestine, Malaysia, Qatar American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez David Alvarado United States Barbara Forever Brydie O'Connor United States Joybubbles Rachael J. Morrison United States The Lake Abby Ellis United States Nuisance Bear Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman United States, Canada Public Access David Shadrack Smith United States Seized Sharon Liese United States Soul Patrol J.M. Harper United States Who Killed Alex Odeh? Jason Osder and William Lafi Youmans United States
World Cinema Documentary Competition English title Director(s) Production Country All About the Money Sinéad O'Shea Ireland Birds of War Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak United Kingdom, Syrian Arab Republic, Lebanon Closure Michał Marczak Poland Everybody to Kenmure Street Felipe Bustos Sierra United Kingdom Hanging by a Wire Mohammed Ali Naqvi United States, United Kingdom, Pakistan Kikuyu Land Andrew H. Brown and Bea Wangondu Kenya One in a Million Itab Azzam, Jack MacInnes United Kingdom Sentient Tony Jones Australia Silenced Selina Miles Australia To Hold a Mountain Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić Serbia, France, Montenegro, Slovenia, Croatia
Premieres English titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production CountryThe AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist Daniel Roher, Charlie Tyrell United StatesAntiheroine Edward Lovelace and James Hall United Kingdom, United StatesThe Brittney Griner Story Alexandria StapletonUnited StatesChasing Summer Josephine DeckerTHE DISCIPLE Joanna Natasegara United Kingdom, United StatesFrank & Louis Petra Biondina Volpe Switzerland, United KingdomGail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass David WainUnited States The Gallerist Cathy YanGive Me the Ball! Liz Garbus and Elizabeth WolffThe History of Concrete John WilsonI Want Your Sex Gregg ArakiIdiots (premiered as The Shitheads) Macon BlairIn The Blink of an Eye Andrew StantonThe Invite Olivia WildeJane Elliott Against the World Judd EhrlichKnife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie Alex GibneyThe Last First: Winter K2 Amir Bar-Lev United Kingdom, United StatesThe Moment Aidan ZamiriUnited StatesThe Oldest Person in the World Sam GreenOnce Upon a Time in Harlem William Greaves, David GreavesThe Only Living Pickpocket in New York Noah SeganParalyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story Judd Apatow, Neil BerkeleyQueen of Chess Rory KennedySee You When I See You Jay DuplassTime and Water Sara Dosa United States, IcelandTroublemaker: The Story Behind the Mandela Tapes Antoine Fuqua South Africa, United States, United KingdomThe Weight Padraic McKinley United States, GermanyWhen a Witness Recants Dawn Porter United StatesWicker Eleanor Wilson, Alex Huston Fischer United States, United Kingdom
Next English titleOriginal titleDirector(s)Production CountryAanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild]Adam Khalil, Zack KhalilUnited States, DenmarkBurn炎上Makoto NagahisaJapanGhost in the MachineValerie VeatchUnited StatesIf I Go Will They Miss MeWalter Thompson-HernándezThe IncomerLouis PaxtonUnited KingdomJaripeoEfraín Mojica, Rebecca ZweigMexico, United States, FranceNight NurseGeorgia BernsteinUnited StatesTheyDreamWilliam D. CaballeroZiKogonada
Midnight English titleDirector(s)Production CountryThe Best SummerTamra DavisUnited States, Australia, IndonesiaBuddyCasper KellyUnited StatesLeviticusAdrian ChiarellaAustraliaMum, I'm Alien PregnantTHUNDERLIPSNew ZealandRock SpringsVera MiaoUnited States, CanadaSaccharineNatalie Erika JamesAustraliaundertoneIan TuasonCanada
Episodic English title Director(s) Production Country Bait Bassam Tariq United Kingdom Episodic Fiction Pilot Showcase Various United States Episodic Nonfiction Pilot Showcase Various United States FreeLance The Turner Brothers United States Murder 101 Stacy Lee United States The Oligarch and the Art Dealer Andreas Dalsgaard Denmark, France The Screener Jim Cummings and PJ McCabe United States Soft Boil United States Worried United States
Family Matinee English title Director(s) Production Country Cookie Queens Alysa Nahmias United States Fing! Jeffrey Walker United Kingdom
U.S. Fiction Short Films English title Director(s) Production Country Albatross Amandine Thomas United States Balloon Animals Anna Baumgarten Birdie Praise Odigie Paige Callback Matthew Puccini The Creature of Darkness Lisa Malloy, Ray Whitaker Crisis Actor Lily Platt Don't Tell Mama Chloe Leigh King Gender Studies Jamie Kiernan O’Brien The Oracle JJ Adler Pankaja Anooya Swamy United States, India Prime Meagan Coyle United States Radiant Frost Hannah Schierbeek Seniors Adam Curley Stairs Riley Donigan Taga Jill Marie Sachs United States, Philippines Together Forever Gregory Barnes United States
International Fiction Short Films English title Director(s) Production Country Agnes Leah Vlemmiks United Kingdom, Canada Blue Heart Samuel Suffren Haiti, France Candy Bar Nash Edgerton Australia Faux Bijoux Jessy Moussallem France, Lebanon Fruit (Buah) Jen Nee Lim Singapore How Brief Kelly McCormack Canada I'm Glad You're Dead Now Tawfeek Barhom France, Greece, Palestine Ivar Markus Tangre Norway Jazz Infernal Will Niava Canada The Liars Eduardo Braun Costa Argentina Marga en el DF Gabriela Ortega Mexico, United States Norheimsund Ana A. Alpizar Cuba, United States O’Sey Balamma Raman Nimmala India ¡PIKA! Alex Fischman Cárdenas Peru Sauna Sickness Malin Barr Sweden Without Kelly (Utan Kelly) Lovisa Sirén The Worm Tom Noakes Australia
Animated Short Films English title Director(s) Production Country 1981 Andy London, Carolyn London United States The Bird’s Placebo Rami Jarboui Tunisia Busy Bodies Kate Renshaw-Lewis United States Cabbage Daddy Grace An Canada Homemade Gatorade Carter Amelia Davis United States HUGS Nicolas Fong Belgium The Gnawer of Rocks (Mangittatuarjuk) Louise Flaherty Canada Living with a Visionary Stephen P. Neary United States Once in a Body María Cristina Pérez Colombia, United States Paper Trail Don Hertzfeldt United States Sorrow Doesn't Sleep at Night Josefina Montino, Martín André Chile UM Nieto France
Nonfiction Short Films English title Director(s) Production Country The Baddest Speechwriter of All Ben Proudfoot, Stephen Curry United States The Boys and the Bees Arielle C. Knight The Chimney Sweeper Jack Raese Going Sane: The Rise and Fall of the Center For Feeling Therapy Joey Izzo The Home of the Brave (La Tierra del Valor) Cristina Costantini Luigi Liza Mandelup Some Kind of Refuge Alexandra Kern Still Standing Victor Tadashi Suarez, Livia Albeck-Ripka Tuktuit : Caribou Lindsay Aksarniq McIntyre Canada
Special Screenings To commemorate the final Sundance in Park City, the 2026 festival will include several special screenings of classic films that screened at festivals in years past, along with the 1969 film Downhill Racer as a tribute to founder Robert Redford, who died in September 2025.
TitleDirector(s)Production CountryYear American Dream Barbara Kopple United States, United Kingdom 1990 Downhill Racer Michael Ritchie United States 1969 Half Nelson Ryan Fleck United States 2006 House Party Reginald Hudlin United States 1990 Humpday Lynn Shelton United States 2009 Little Miss Sunshine Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris United States 2006 Mysterious Skin Gregg Araki United States, Netherlands 2004 Saw James Wan United States 2004
Awards For the last time in Park City, the following awards were given out:
Grand Jury Prizes
U.S. Dramatic: Josephine (Beth de Araújo) U.S. Documentary: Nuisance Bear (Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman) World Cinema Dramatic: Shame and Money (Visar Morina) World Cinema Documentary: To Hold a Mountain (Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić) Short Films: The Baddest Speechwriter of All (Ben Proudfoot and Stephen Curry)
Audience Awards
U.S. Dramatic: Josephine (Beth de Araújo) U.S. Documentary: American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez (David Alvarado) World Cinema Dramatic: Hold onto Me (Myrsini Aristidou) World Cinema Documentary: One In A Million (Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes) NEXT: Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild] (Adam Khalil and Zack Khalil)
Directing, Editing, and Screenwriting Prizes
U.S. Dramatic Directing Award: Josef Kubota Wladyka for Ha-chan, Shake Your Booty! U.S. Documentary Directing Award: J.M. Harper for Soul Patrol World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award: Andrius Blaževičius for How to Divorce During the War World Cinema Documentary Directing Award: Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes for One In A Million Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: Matt Hixon for Barbara Forever Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic: Liz Sargent for Take Me Home NEXT Innovator Award: The Incomer (Louis Paxton)
Special Jury Awards
U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast: the cast of The Friend's House Is Here U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Debut Feature: Bedford Park U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Journalistic Excellence: Who Killed Alex Odeh? U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Impact for Change: The Lake World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision: Filipiñana World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting Ensemble: LADY World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Journalistic Impact: Birds of War World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Civil Resistance: Everybody To Kenmure Street NEXT Special Jury Award for Creative Expression: TheyDream Short Film Special Jury Award for Acting: Noah Roja and Filippo Carrozza for The Liars Short Film Special Jury Award for Creative Vision: Paper Trail
Shorts Program Awards
U.S. Fiction: Crisis Actor (Lily Platt) Animation: Living with a Visionary (Stephen P. Neary) Nonfiction: The Boys and the Bees (Arielle C. Knight) International Fiction: Jazz Infernal (Will Niava)
Sundance Institute Awards
Producers Award for Nonfiction (presented by Amazon MGM Studios): Dawne Langford for Who Killed Alex Odeh? NHK Award: Leo Aguirre for Verano Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize: Andrew Stanton In The Blink of An Eye Adobe Mentorship Award for Nonfiction: Flavia de Souza