The curtain is preparing to close on an era as the Sundance Film Festival released its highly anticipated programming for the 2026 edition, marking its last appearance in Park City before relocating to Boulder, Colorado. Festival organizers revealed 90 feature films and seven episodic projects that will fill screens from January 22 through February 1, representing the culmination of more than four decades in Utah’s mountain community.
A Farewell Rich With Cinema History
This milestone edition carries special significance beyond its programming excellence. The festival will honor the memory of founder Robert Redford, who passed away in September at age 89, through carefully curated legacy screenings and special tributes. His vision transformed Park City into a global epicenter for independent storytelling, launching countless careers and reshaping American cinema.
Programming officials have organized a special Park City Legacy section running from January 27 through January 30, featuring anniversary screenings that showcase the festival’s enduring cultural impact. These retrospective presentations include Redford’s 1969 breakthrough performance in sports drama Downhill Racer, marking his first venture into truly independent filmmaking.
The celebration extends to beloved festival alumni films including the 20th anniversary screening of the Oscar-winning Little Miss Sunshine and the 35th anniversary presentation of Barbara Kopple’s acclaimed documentary American Dream. Additional retrospectives feature cult favorites such as Saw, Mysterious Skin directed by Gregg Araki, House Party, and Wet Hot American Summer.
Diverse Programming Highlights Emerging Voices
Among the 90 features selected from 4,255 submissions representing 164 countries, approximately 40 percent come from first-time directors. This commitment to discovering new talent remains central to the festival’s identity, even as it prepares to transition to its Colorado home next year.
Several notable narrative features anchor the programming lineup. The Gallerist stars Academy Award winner Natalie Portman alongside Zach Galifianakis and Jenna Ortega in a dark satire about an art dealer who devises an outrageous scheme involving selling a deceased body through her gallery.
Director Olivia Wilde returns behind the camera for The Invite, her first feature since Don’t Worry Darling. She also stars opposite Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton in this remake of the Spanish film Sentimental, chronicling a couple whose fragile relationship faces ultimate testing during a disastrous dinner party with neighbors.
Pop sensation Charli xcx makes an impressive festival presence, appearing in three separate productions. Her starring role in mockumentary The Moment explores the pressures facing a rising musician preparing for her inaugural arena tour. Festival director Eugene Hernandez described her screen presence as magnetic, praising her creative approach to examining fame and artistry.
Documentary Programming Tackles Critical Issues
The documentary slate reflects Sundance’s reputation for championing socially conscious nonfiction storytelling. Alex Gibney examines the 2022 assassination attempt on author Salman Rushdie in Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushie, while Liz Garbus profiles tennis legend Billie Jean King in Give Me the Ball!
Music documentaries include Antiheroine, following musician Courtney Love as she prepares her first new releases in over a decade while reflecting on her controversial impact on rock culture. Basketball star Brittney Griner features in The Brittney Griner Story, examining her experiences and advocacy work.
Local environmental concerns receive prominent attention in The Lake, directed by Abby Ellis. This documentary follows two scientists and a political insider racing to prevent ecological catastrophe as Utah’s Great Salt Lake continues shrinking to dangerous levels, threatening the region with what the film describes as an environmental crisis.
Author Ta-Nehisi Coates appears in When a Witness Recants, revisiting a 1983 Baltimore middle school murder case to uncover previously hidden truths. Additional documentaries explore artificial intelligence’s implications through The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist and examine animal testing ethics in Sentient.
Technology and Innovation Featured
The festival announced the winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, awarded annually for outstanding depictions of science and technology. Andrew Stanton, the Oscar-winning director behind Finding Nemo and WALL-E, received the honor for In the Blink of an Eye. This ambitious project features Rashida Jones, Kate McKinnon, and Daveed Diggs in three interconnected storylines spanning thousands of years, exploring themes of hope and human connection.
Multiple productions address artificial intelligence’s rapidly evolving role in society. Besides The AI Doc, the lineup includes Ghost in the Machine, both examining how emerging technologies reshape human experiences and social structures.
Festival Format and Accessibility
Following recent precedent, competition categories including United States Dramatic, United States Documentary, World Cinema Dramatic, World Cinema Documentary, and NEXT will stream online during the festival’s concluding days, January 29 through February 1. This hybrid approach extends access beyond physical attendees while maintaining the in-person experience that defines the Park City atmosphere.
The Sundance Institute confirmed that 54 of the 90 features will be available through the digital platform, allowing nationwide audiences to participate in this historic final Utah edition. Single-film tickets become available in January, with festival passes offering comprehensive access to both physical and virtual programming.
Returning Filmmakers and Fresh Perspectives
Veteran Sundance participants rejoin the lineup alongside newcomers. Gregg Araki, whose 1992 premiere of The Living End helped establish the New Queer Cinema movement, returns with the provocative I Want Your Sex, starring Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman. Judd Apatow chronicles comedian Maria Bamford’s mental health journey in Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story.
Director Eugene Hernandez emphasized the programming’s eclectic nature, noting the difficulty in defining what constitutes a typical Sundance selection. The varied slate resists easy categorization, featuring everything from intimate character studies to ambitious genre experiments and urgent social documentaries.
Colorado Transition on the Horizon
While celebrating its Utah legacy, the Sundance Film Festival simultaneously prepares for its 2027 debut in Boulder, Colorado. Festival officials have expressed both excitement about future possibilities and gratitude for the Park City community’s four-decade support.
The awards ceremony will take place January 30 at The Ray Theatre in Park City, recognizing outstanding achievements across multiple categories. Additional programming announcements, including the short film slate set for December 15 and Beyond Film talks, will roll out through January.
This final Utah edition represents both an ending and a continuation of the festival’s mission to champion independent voices and innovative storytelling. As Hernandez noted, the programming honors Sundance’s founding vision while positioning the festival for its next chapter, creating what he described as a unique alchemy between established excellence and emerging talent.
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival stands as a testament to independent cinema’s enduring vitality and the creative community that has flourished in Park City’s mountain setting for more than 40 years.
