The lineup of 90 films and seven episodic projects has been revealed as officials ready for a milestone moment: the final Sundance in its beloved Utah home.
The stage is nearly set for Sundance’s final bow in Park City, Utah.
Sundance Institute revealed today the 90 feature films and seven episodic projects picked to hit big screens on what will be a milestone Sundance Film Festival next January, the last edition before it moves to its new home in Boulder, Colorado for 2027 and beyond. Festival officials have once again filled the schedule with Oscar winners, festival veterans, first-time auteurs and bold-faced names like Charli xcx, Channing Tatum, Antoine Fuqua, Courtney Love, Salman Rushdie, Ethan Hawke, Olivia Wilde, Billie Jean King, Brittney Griner, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Natalie Portman, Jon Hamm and more.
The U.S. Dramatic Competition features 10 titles with stars including Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, Rob Lowe, Jenny Slate, Rinko Kikuchi, Will Poulter, Noah Centineo and others. Those titles include Stephanie Ahn’s Bedford Park, Rachel Lambert’s Carousel, Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei’s The Friend’s House is Here, Josef Kubota Wladyka’s Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty, Ramzi Bashour’s Hot Water, Beth de Araújo’s Josephine, Giselle Bonilla’s The Musical, NB Mager’s Run Amok, Liz Sargent’s Take Me Home and Adam Meeks’ Union County.
Lambert, who made a splash at Sundance with Sometimes I Think About Dying, returns with Carousel starring Pine, Slate, Abby Ryder Fortson, Sam Waterston and Katey Sagal in the story of what happens when a divorced doctor’s carefully constructed life in Cleveland gets upended by his daughter’s debate aspirations and the unexpected return of a past love. Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! stars Kikuchi opposite Alberto Guerra, Alejandro Edda, YOU, Yoh Yoshida and Damián Alcázar in the story of a woman who withdraws into isolation from Tokyo’s ballroom dance scene as a result of tragedy. When friends coax her back to the studio, she develops an infatuation with the new instructor.
Tatum and Chan star in de Araújo’s Josephine opposite Mason Reeves, Philip Ettinger, Syra McCarthy and Eleanore Pienta in the story of what happens after an 8-year-old girl accidentally witnesses a crime in Golden Gate Park. Bonilla’s The Musical casts Lowe opposite Will Brill and Gillian Jacobs in the story of a frustrated playwright and middle school theater teacher who finds out his ex-girlfriend has started dating his nemesis, the school’s principal. He then decides to ruin the principal’s chances of winning the Blue Ribbon of Academic Excellence.
Also on the musical front is Mager’s Run Amok, which stars Alyssa Marvin, Patrick Wilson, Margaret Cho, Sophia Torres, Elizabeth Marvel and Molly Ringwald. The film follows a teenage girl who stages an elaborate musical about the one day her high school wishes it could forget. Meanwhile, Meeks’ Union County is adapted from his short film of the same name. Poulter and Centineo star with Elise Kibler, Emily Meade and Annette Deao in the story of a man who embarks on a tenuous journey toward recovery amid the opioid epidemic in rural Ohio.
U.S. documentary selections feature titles that investigate such topics as the conflict in the Middle East from the personal perspectives of three American doctors who enter Gaza to save lives (Poh Si Teng’s American Doctor), an environmental nuclear bomb in Utah (Abby Ellis’ The Lake), the life and career of pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer (Brydie O’Connor’s Barbara Forever), the singular hacking talents of a blind man (Rachael J. Morrison’s Joybubbles), the Vietnam War’s first Black special operations team (J.M. Harper’s Soul Patrol), the assassination of a beloved Palestinian American activist in Southern California (Jason Osder and William Lafi Youmans’ Who Killed Alex Odeh?), and more.
Artificial intelligence is another hot button issue that will play out at Sundance with two festival selections. Oscar winners Daniel Kwan and Jonathan Wang, who collaborated on Everything Everywhere All at Once, are among the high-profile producers of The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist from directors Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell. The film follows a father-to-be as he tries to “figure out what is happening with the AI insanity, exploring the existential dangers and stunning promise of this technology that humanity has created.” Other producers include Oscar winners Shane Boris and Diane Becker with veteran multi-hyphenate Ted Tremper.
The other AI doc comes from Valerie Veatch with Ghost in the Machine in the Next section. The world premiere promises “the untold origins of artificial intelligence lie not in machines but in power, revealing the fantasies behind the hype that got us here and where we go next.”
The Premieres section features many titles that will surely have Main Street buzzing.
Pop superstar Charli xcx has two films in Sundance including Aidan Zamiri’s The Moment and Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex. The former follows a rising pop star as she navigates the complexities of fame and industry pressure while preparing an arena tour. She stars opposite Rosanna Arquette, Kate Berlant, Jamie Demetriou, Hailey Benton Gates and Alexander Skarsgård. The latter, which marks a major return to Sundance for Araki, stars Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, Mason Gooding, Chase Sui Wonders and Daveed Diggs in the story of what happens when a fresh-faced man lands a job with artist and provocateur only to see his fantasies come true as she taps him to become her sexual muse.
Also with two films at the festival is Wilde. In addition to her acting role in Araki’s I Want Your Sex, she returns to the director’s chair with The Invite, her newest outing after helming 2022’s Don’t Worry Darling. She stars opposite Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton in the story of a couple whose relationship is on thin ice. When their upstairs neighbors are about to arrive for dinner, “everything that can go wrong goes worse.”
Speaking of high profile artists, Courtney Love is sure to have her own moment in Park City. The singer, songwriter and actress is the subject of Antiheroine, Edward Lovelace and James Hall’s new documentary that follows the “now sober” star as she prepares to release new music for the first time in more than a decade. Per the film description, Love “is ready to reveal her story, unfiltered and unapologetic.”
Antoine Fuqua snagged a spot in the selection with Troublemaker, a documentary that tells the story of apartheid through Nelson Mandela’s own voice, drawn from recordings he made while writing Long Walk to Freedom.
Another person who reveals their story the nonfiction way is Brittney Griner. Alexandria Stapleton will debut The Brittney Griner Story, a film that offers up the circumstances that led the basketball star to playing outside the U.S. despite being one of the best players in the sport. The film will trace “her harrowing detainment, unwavering determination to secure her freedom and her advocacy for the release of other wrongful detainees,” per the fest. Also on the sports front, tennis legend Billie Jean King gets the documentary treatment from Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff in Give Me the Ball! The film focuses on her game-changing impact on culture and features rare archive and candid interviews with King and those closest to her.
Oscar winning documentarian Alex Gibney returns to Sundance by turning his lens on Salman Rushdie in Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie. Said to be inspired by Rushdie’s memoir, the doc promises previously unseen footage captured by his wife, Rachel Elizabeth Griffiths, along with revelations about his rehabilitation and restoration of his spirit and optimism.
The most eyebrow-raising film description belongs to Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer’s Wicker starring Olivia Colman, Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage, Elizabeth Debicki, Marli Siu and Nabhaan Rizwan. Here goes: A fisherwoman asks a basketmaker to weave her a husband.
Other high-profile Premieres selections: David Wain’s Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass starring Zoey Deutch, Jon Hamm, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley and Ben Wang; Cathy Yan’s The Gallerist starring Natalie Portman, Jenna Ortega, Sterling K. Brown, Zach Galifianakis, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Catherine Zeta-Jones; Sundance vet Jay Duplass’s See You When I See You starring Cooper Raiff, David Duchovny, Kaitlyn Dever, Hope Davis, Lucy Boynton and Ariela Barer; Macon Blair’s The Shitheads starring Dave Franco, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Mason Thames, Kiernan Shipka, Nicholas Braun and Dinklage; and How To guru John Wilson with The History of Concrete.
In addition to the lineup, Sundance broke news by unveiling the juried winner of the Alfred P. Sloan feature film prize, an honor doled out “to an artist with the most outstanding depiction of science and technology in a feature-length film.” The winner is In The Blink of An Eye, a selection from the Premieres category directed by Oscar winning multi-hyphenate and Pixar guru Andrew Stanton. Rashida Jones, Kate McKinnon, Daveed Diggs, Jorge Vargas and Tanaya Beatty star in the world premiere that spans thousands of years and connects three storylines on the topics of hope, connection and the circle of life.
Today’s reveal comes on the heels of an October announcement which detailed plans for the Park City Legacy program, artist talks with boldfaced name alumni and “meaningful tributes” to founder Robert Redford who passed away at age 89 in September. He will be remembered throughout the festival including at the marquee fundraiser, Celebrating Sundance Institute: A Tribute to Founder Robert Redford, the annual Directors Brunch, archival screenings and more.
Sundance, long hailed as a home for discovering new talent, will host many first time filmmakers. Of the 90 feature films plucked to screen, 36 of those come from first timers. Another noteworthy piece of data: 14 feature films in the lineup were supported by Sundance Institute in development through direct granting or residency labs.
Summarizing the selections, Eugene Hernandez, director of the Sundance Film Festival and public programming, described the lineup as “bold.”
“As we prepare to gather for this landmark edition of our festival in a cherished locale, we’re also honoring the enduring impact of our beloved founder, Robert Redford, and celebrating what he created: a dynamic home for independent, global storytelling,” he said. “In announcing this year’s selection, we’ve hit a major milestone on the road to the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. With 44 days to go, we’re proud to conclude our survey of submissions from artists around the world, curating a bold selection of new voices and renowned artists alike that we invite audiences to discover next month.”
Added Sundance Institute acting CEO Amanda Kelso: “We are eager to once again foster connection and creativity as we champion and share independent storytelling with audiences. This marks an especially defining year of coming together as a community to uplift independent film and the legacy of the festival.”
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival will be held from Jan. 22—Feb. 1, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with online screenings avail from Jan. 29–Feb. 1. Yet to be revealed: Selections for the short film program which will be unveiled on Dec. 15, Beyond Film talks and additional programming.
The lineup is below. More information on the fest, including details on tickets, can be found here.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
Bedford Park / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Stephanie Ahn; producers: Gary Foster, Chris S. Lee, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Theresa Kang, Son Sukku) — Haunted by an abusive childhood, Audrey, a Korean American woman in her 30s, faces her emotional past. When her mother’s car accident brings her back to her parents’ home, she meets the man responsible for the accident. Their relationship builds, passions ignite, and they form a loving connection. Cast: Moon Choi, Son Sukku, Won Mi Kyung, Kim Eung Soo, Jefferson White. World premiere. Available online for public.