This year’s edition of the storied Sundance Film Festival marks a significant turning point. It is the first to proceed without its iconic founder, Robert Redford, and will be the final chapter for its long-time home in Park City, Utah. As the event prepares for a future in a new location, the 2026 lineup presents a compelling mix of anticipated titles from established names and provocative new voices.
Natalie Portman headlines one of the most talked-about entries, The Gallerist. Directed by Cathy Yan, the film is a darkly comedic satire set against the backdrop of Miami’s Art Basel, where Portman’s character becomes entangled in a macabre artistic scheme. The project boasts a formidable ensemble cast including Jenna Ortega, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Sterling K. Brown.
The festival will also showcase a notable pivot for pop star Charli XCX, who appears in multiple projects. Her most prominent role is in The Moment, a satirical mockumentary where she plays an exaggerated version of herself, reflecting on the alternate paths her career could have taken.
On the documentary front, a major highlight is Alex Gibney’s Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie. The film promises an intimate examination of the 2022 attack on the author, utilizing personal footage and framed not as a true-crime narrative but, according to Rushdie, as a story of resilience and love.
The perennial Sundance horror breakout spot may belong to Buddy, a secretive midnight movie from the producers of Barbarian. Details are scarce, but the film reportedly involves a sinister twist on a classic children’s television program and features a cast including Cristin Milioti and Michael Shannon.
Timeliness defines The Friend’s House Is Here, a clandestinely produced drama about artistic freedom in Iran. Its premiere is shadowed by real-world geopolitical tensions, including a U.S. travel ban preventing its lead actors from attending.
The burgeoning conversation around artificial intelligence is addressed in The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, a new film from Oscar-winning director Daniel Roher. It aims to explore both the profound risks and potential of the technology.
Other notable selections include documentarian John Wilson’s idiosyncratic first feature, which applies the formula of a Hallmark movie to a documentary about concrete, and Olivia Wilde’s latest directorial effort, The Invite. The latter, a relationship drama featuring Wilde, Seth Rogen, and Penélope Cruz, is based on a Spanish comedy about a married couple drawn into their neighbors’ libertine lifestyle.
Ethan Hawke returns to Sundance with The Weight, a 1930s-era drama where he stars as a father forced to smuggle gold to escape a labor camp, opposite Russell Crowe. The documentary slate also offers Antiheroine, a portrait of musician Courtney Love focusing on her life in London, sobriety, and creative process, billed as an unfiltered look at the complex artist.
As the festival bids farewell to its Utah roots, this year’s program underscores its enduring role as a vital platform for independent cinema, blending star power with urgent storytelling.