Brooklyn-based filmmaker Philip Thompson first attended the Sundance Film Festival in 2025, but even that couldn’t have prepared him for the frenzy of the 2026 festival.

Some made friends with strangers in the standby line for in-demand films. Others wandered the streets simply to experience the energy. There was networking and industry veterans and greenhorns letting loose at parties. And every Uber driver Thompson talked to was hell-bent on making bank from the tourists one last time before the festival moved to Boulder in 2027.

“Boulder is way more spread out, so that’s going to have a different feeling to it. … Park City is so crammed in and compact and condensed, it’s like everyone’s bumping into each other, all the cars are about to hit each other, and you really feel that energy,” Thompson said. “Sometimes it is a lot. I was there for a week, and by the end of it, I was ready to go home. But it is this magical feeling that you really can’t get anywhere else.”

There was a much different feeling at the Sundance Institute’s annual, three-day Screenwriters Lab. 

Thompson, who is currently writing the script for his first feature film, had been invited to the Sundance Mountain Resort, along with 10 other fellows, to receive feedback from accomplished screenwriters like Michael Arndt, Lulu Wang and Meg LeFauve in the days leading up to the festival in January.

The lab’s vibe was exemplified by a screening of the 2016 Academy Award Best Picture winner, “Moonlight,” with co-writers Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney, two of the creative advisers who worked with the fellows on their scripts. Both hadn’t seen “Midnight” in years, Thompson said.

“I forgot that ‘Moonlight’ was about (McCraney’s) life. So, being able to talk to him and know him as a human being, and then watching the movie after was so emotional and devastating but beautiful. Both of them broke down in tears after the screening,” he recalled. 

Ilyse McKimmie, deputy director of the Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program, said the feeling of the lab was especially reverent this year as the fellows and lab organizers honored Sundance Institute founder Robert Redford, who died in September, by discussing what the actor and director meant to them.

McKimmie, who has worked for the Sundance Institute since 1999, remembers Redford as committed to his craft, forthright and funny. 

“When he was there, he was just another person at the lab,” she said. “He always wanted to make it very much about the work and was very eager to get to know each fellow.”

While the death of Redford and the moving of the film festival to Boulder have left the Sundance Institute in a season of change, the Screenwriters Lab will continue to be held at Sundance Mountain Resort, the “ancestral home” of the Institute and Film Festival, as McKimmie called it.

The Directors Lab will also return to Sundance Mountain Resort in 2027 after it moved to the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, in 2024 amid construction at the resort.

Redford founded the resort in 1969 and the Sundance Institute in 1981. Though he sold the resort in 2020, the location is rich with the Sundance Institute’s history and ties into Redford’s lifelong passions for nature and Native American rights.

“I have many wonderful memories of doing everything from snowshoeing in the winter to riding the ski lift in the summer and going hiking,” McKimmie said. “And traditionally, when our Directors Lab has been there in the past, we always kick things off by going up to Elk Meadows, which is a meadow a little bit up the road from the base of the mountain, and receive a blessing from a Ute tribal leader.”

McKimmie is hopeful that by maintaining a connection with Sundance Mountain Resort and continuing its outreach to Utah organizations, like the film programs of the University of Utah and Utah Valley University, that the Sundance Institute can “get away with having the best of both worlds,” she said, beginning “a version of our story in Boulder” while repaying Utah communities and ensuring they stay a key part of that story.

As for the Screenwriters Lab fellows, they’ll continue to walk away from the lab with their confidence shaken “in a good way,” as Thompson put it.

His script, “Dance Monkey Dance,” is a found-footage documentary about a fictional comedian, equal parts “Blair Witch Project” and a satire of fame and the commodification of Black artists by white audiences. He’s been working on it for well over a year.

He had to cut down his 180-page epic to 130 pages to even apply to the Screenwriters Lab. Now, he has a thousand new ideas — but the script is too long again.

Fellow Renee Zhan is also working through revisions. The London-based filmmaker has been working on her script, “BAOBAO,” for two years. 

“BAOBAO” follows an only daughter returning home to China to find that her parents have had another baby. It’s inspired by a true story from a friend, studying in London, who returned to China in her mid-20s to find her parents had brought a baby brother into the world without letting her know.

“They’d done this at the time because the one-child policy was revoked, so they could finally have, basically, the son that they’ve always wanted, because it’s still such an important thing for the patriarchal system in China to have that boy,” Zhan explained. “I’m a very much spoiled only daughter, and the thought of, suddenly, this new intruder of a baby arriving … I just could imagine how angry I’d be.”

With such a wacky premise that becomes even wackier as supernatural horror and baby puppetry enter the mix, Zhan’s greatest challenge has been ensuring that the characters remain relatable rather than cartoonish even as the tone becomes increasingly surreal. 

After receiving feedback from five industry veterans, Zhan is back to square one in developing her main character.

“To be honest, before I got to the labs, I was feeling pretty good about the script,” she said. “Now, I’m rethinking everything. I’m confused, but in a good way. I think the lab really challenged me to look deeper and to think about it in different directions, which I think, ultimately, is going to make it a much better script.”

And that, McKimmie said, is the point of the Screenwriters Lab.

“They’re not at the lab trying to find all the answers,” she said. “We always say, ‘Actually, if you leave asking the right questions, that’s a great result.’”

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Park City-based independent filmmaker Jill Orschel is taking a quick intermission from sprinkling the magic of her documentary, “Snowland,” at the Slamdance and DOCUTAH International film festivals.

The film, about Cora Lee Witt, a former child bride who escaped the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint cult, screened Feb. 20 and 22 at the 32nd Slamdance festival in Los Angeles and on Feb. 28 at the 17th DOCUTAH festival in St. George.

Orschel enjoyed both festivals. 

“Slamdance was all about my team and was very supportive of filmmakers, and DOCUTAH was all about supporting Cora and her family,” she said. “I feel the time spent with Cora and her family and the trust that was built let us hold that kind of energy and that kind of curiosity.”

Slamdance, which ran in-person Feb. 19-24, was eye-opening for Orschel, who was more familiar with the Sundance Film Festival and its parent nonprofit, the Sundance Institute, through her involvement in filmmaking labs.

“Slamdance’s people met with us weeks before the festival as a group, a team and family to build community,” she said. “They met with us and then did break-out groups where they encouraged everyone to get to know one another and gave us tools for us to work together to bring people into the theater.”
Many times filmmakers think once their films are done and are selected for festivals, it’s the festivals’ responsibility to do the promotional work.

“Nothing can be further from the truth, unless you’re Chloe Zhao or Steven Spielberg,” Orschel said with a laugh. “The message Slamdance gave us from the beginning is, ‘We’re all in this together.”
While one Slamdance staffer sent out personal invitations to Orschel’s network, another engaged in social media with other filmmakers. 

“One of the things I did the second I got to L.A. was make some ‘Snowland’ swag,” Orschel said. “I put some ‘Snowland’ crystal snowflakes into some cool bags and put our postcards in there. Then I gave them out to everybody I met and invited them to come to our screenings.”
Orschel didn’t expect to be that hands-on while promoting “Snowland.”

“But it got me out of my comfort level, and I built an audience and community,” she said.

Both screenings nearly sold out, Orschel said. 

The first took place in the state-of-the-art DGA Theater in West Hollywood. 

“DGA is the Director’s Guild of America, and it was such an honor to be there,” Orschel said. “There was some Park City paraphernalia in the lobby of the DGA Theater, and there was a huge poster box where you pin up your posters. It was great to see that there because, in the past, we’ve seen that in Park City on Main Street and the Yarrow Hotel.”

The second screening was set in the Landmark Theater.

“It was just down the road, and our team couldn’t believe how responsible everyone was in the audiences,” she said. “It was one of those perfect moments for us. It was so satisfying.”

Another thing that surprised Orschel was how accessible Slamdance co-founder Peter Baxter was even though he oversees the whole festival, which moved to Los Angeles in 2025, after nearly 30 years in Park City.

“He was always around and very approachable,” she said.

Slamdance staff and audiences enjoyed meeting Orschel and her team.

“Whenever I told people we were from Park City, we’d hear, ‘Oh, we miss Park City,’ so I was known as the ‘Park City, full-circle’ girl,” she said.

The follow-up comment would always be how costly it got to bring Slamdance to Park City, according to Orschel.

“We’d hear ‘It got too expensive for independent filmmakers,’ and I would think that Park City did a disservice to ourselves by not helping out the filmmakers and organizers,” she said. “There’s a misconception about independent filmmaking. The reality is it’s not this money-making machine. It’s culture, creativity and sharing a passion with an audience while making the world a little brighter. That’s something that needs to be supported, not exploited to make a buck out of.”

Orschel and her team felt so welcome at Slamdance.

“Everyone was given passes and encouraged to attend screenings and go to panel discussions,” she said.

Through those discussions, Orschel saw how Slamdance lives on the cutting-edge of addressing issues facing the film industry and independent filmmakers. 

“Those issues include film distribution and other challenges for independent filmmakers,” she said. “They also discussed consolidations of media companies, with the latest being HBO and CNN. These were companies that helped independent filmmakers by giving them opportunities.”

Online streaming was also another issue addressed during the panels, Orschel said.

“Beacuse of that, it’s hard to get over the theater, and I’m included in that,” she said.

Still, Orschel felt she was moving forward as an artist and filmmaker.

“Slamdance puts you in the position where you can put things out there,” she said. “They see you. They know you have something to offer and here’s a platform. It was amazing.”

Slamdance’s mantra has always been a festival “by filmmakers for filmmakers,” and everyone whose films have screened in it since its 1995 inception are considered family. And like every good family, the festival takes care of its members.

“They have a fantastic set up,” Orschel said. “As part of that family, you can become a programmer.”

Programmers, most of whom have had films screened in the festival, take one duties such as watching and selecting films for the festival’s various categories. They all get equal voices when they debate and “duke” it out for the films they want included in the event.

“It’s a big commitment, so I don’t think I’ll have time to do that, but it’s still an opportunity,” Orschel said.

Slamdance offered another opportunity that appealed to Orschel.

One of the festival’s major sponsors is LUMIX, a line of digital cameras built by Panasonic, which supports the independent filmmaker community through hands-on camera demos, workshops and grants for gear.

“They had a booth with tons of cameras and lenses, and I was able to put my hands on all of these cameras,” Orschel said. “The people at the LUMIX booth told me I could apply for a $10,000 grant and a brand-new LUMIX camera with a proposal of your next project.”

After working on “Snowland” for 12 years, Orschel began thinking about her next project.

“I kind of want to do something leading up to the 2034 Winter Olympics, and I came up with this proposal of making a series of short films about things connected with the spirit of the upcoming Olympics and Paralympics — artists, athletes, venues or the environment,” she said.

The proposal was due last Friday.

“I hope I get the grant, but if not, I’m still going to do this,” Orschel said about her idea. “I am not going to miss this opportunity.”

Right after Slamdance, Orschel took off to St. George for DOCUTAH.

“Traditionally a film has a year to a year-and-a-half window, but everything is different now,” she said. “If you choose to go the long-tail route, it can be an engaging thing, and that is a nontraditional way to screen your film. Plus it doesn’t have to be on the big screen, either.” 

DOCUTAH was one of those experiences, Orschel said.

“It was one of the festivals we applied to, and we heard in December that they chose ‘Snowland’ to be in their lineup,” she said. “We were so excited.”

“Snowland” screened in the Megaplex Theatres at Sunset on Feb. 28.  

“It was packed,” Orschel said. “Cora and her daughter were there, and people took their pictures. It was a joy to see Cora, who has gone through so much, to get the recognition of being this courageous woman who reinvented her life.”

Orschel also enjoyed the post-screening Q and A.

“People asked questions left and right, and family members added things while sitting in their seats,” she said. “We were like, ‘All right. We’re doing this.’” 

Furthermore, “Snowland” received a Best Music nomination.

“Our wonderful composer Connor Cook has been with us for four years, and created the most mesmerizing original score,” Orschel said. “She’s a huge part of our team, and I just love her. I love the fact that she was acknowledged with the nomination.”

The next big “Snowland” screening is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29, at the Utah Film Center, 375 W. 400 North in Salt Lake City.

“The Utah Film Center is our fiscal sponsor, and they have a brand-new theater where they will host a free screening,” Orschel said. “Cora will be there, and we’re excited for that.”

A year ago in January, “Snowland” premiered at the Big Sky Documentary Film Fest in Missoula, Montana, and Park City Film, the locally based arthouse nonprofit, screened it last autumn.

Since then Orschel has experienced an abundance of growth as an independent filmmaker, and her team has gone through “plenty of ups and downs and endless memories,” she said. 

“I want to thank my family and friends, my film team, participants, audiences, festivals and programmers who believed in us,” she said. “We’re going to continue to reach out to festivals. I’d love to go to a lot of Utah festivals, because I saw first hand at DOCUTAH how interested so many people were interested in Cora and her story.”
Orschel hopes the documentary will continue to touch future audiences. 

“People who see this — maybe experts of religious cults or domestic abuse — can use it to help others who have experienced those things,” she said.

Overall, Orschel hopes people will take time out of their lives to watch the film.

“One thing we talked about at Slamdance was people’s attention span,” she said. “It’s a major issue, and so many things are vying for our attention. I’m still a huge believer that films have the power to transport us from all of that and take us to new and interesting worlds. I think ‘Snowland’ does that. For 90 minutes you’re swept up and taken away into Cora’s magic, and I hope people give films on the big screen that chance.”

For information about filmmaker Jill Orschel and her documentary ‘Snowland,’ visit jillorschel.com.   

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Last week, Park City Fashion Week hosted its fifth annual runway show alongside the Sundance Film Festival. Despite last-minute venue challenges that forced the event to be postponed and relocated, organizers pivoted quickly with the desire to still hold the event during Sundance and secured a new space at Black Rock Mountain Resort.

Behind the scenes, leading up to show time, bodies moved in every direction along the hallway that led past a dozen rooms to the event space as models and designers prepared to take the floor, with last minute touches to makeup and hair, and quick alterations to the garments.

Attendees were welcomed into a space where nearly every corner inspired a selfie — in most cases, multiple. Runway lighting set the tone, while artwork by artist Eddy Ekpo lining the room added to the appeal.

As the show started, organizer Kim Kienow spoke, thanking guests for their attendance before introducing the show, which featured designer collections and styles from local boutiques: The Collective Park City, Flight Boutique, Panache Boutique and Burns Cowboy Co.

Highlights from these local collections included:

The Collective Park City

Flight Boutique Park City

Panache Boutique Park City

Burns Cowboy Shop

Utah Indigenous Fashion Week

This year’s show also featured a dedicated runway segment highlighting three local indigenous designers — Jessica Wiarda, Faith Browning and Bryan Beyal — in partnership with Utah Indigenous Fashion Week.

Kienow said the collaboration was intentional, aligning with Sundance’s longstanding acknowledgment of the Indigenous land on which the festival takes place.

Before the designers showed their curations, a powwow Fancy Shaw dance was performed by Jessy Chief, one of the models with Utah Indigenous Fashion Week, and drummer Philip Manning.

Chief said she applied to participate in the event in November and was excited to be selected, describing the experience as meaningful both personally and culturally. 

“It was really amazing last night to be in my regalia,” she said. “There are some people out there that are not knowledgeable or aren’t completely educated on Native Americans, and to bring that aspect to Sundance and being able to share my culture with them, in my mind, it made a really big impact for the people I got to interact with and people that got to see me dance.”

Additionally, Utah designers Davis Hong, Hannah Gordon and Heggy Gonzalez, all previous event participants, returned to the Park City Fashion Week stage to show their latest work. Highlights from their collections include:

Hannah Gordon

“The inspiration behind this collection comes from Southern Utah, the Red Rock, the sand, bentonite hills, which are these incredible fusion up deep and bright tones and color tones that just fuse together and harmonize so beautifully,” said designer Gordon before her collection was shown.

Heggy Gonzalez

Designer Gonzalez said that other than the show simply being fun, the energy and community are what keep her coming back.

“We have a really cool fashion scene here in Utah, it’s just a matter of providing these cool outlets for Utah artists and out-of-state artists,” Gonzalez said. “We’re fashion designers, but we’re all artists, and the community here is very loving and supportive of each other.”

Gonzalez, who is also a hairstylist, described her artistic approach as organic, saying she allows things to develop naturally rather than forcing a structure. That philosophy also informs how she thinks about who her clothing is for, a point she expanded on when discussing representation and fit in the fashion industry.

“I think it’s very important that we have clothing that fits all body types,” Gonzalez said. “In the fashion industry, that’s so important, to not just have clothing for one particular type of body. That’s something that I really love about mine, is I celebrate all body types because they’re all beautiful.”

Expressing her love for the style and details found on ballroom dresses, Gonzalez said she collaborated on some of her pieces with her sister and ballroom dress designer Jennifer Bernardi this year.

“She was gracious enough to help with a couple of the looks to kind of create that flow of the movement of it through ballroom,” Gonzalez said.

Davis Hong

Other designer brands included We Norwegians, a Scandinavian luxury and lifestyle brand, which opened its first ever retail space in Park City back in 2018; SKYAIRE, the label designed by Denver-based stylist and designer Skye Barker Maa; Texas-based Nomadic Reign, which blends history and elegance; and NBA champion Lamar Odom’s new fashion brand Le Saint Noir, which made its debut this year on the Park City Fashion Week runway. Highlights from these collections included:

Nomadic Reign

While visiting the Sundance Film Festival last year to explore whether the festival could be a place for her brand to establish a presence, Michelle Nichols Assiter, founder of Nomadic Reign, connected with Park City Fashion Week, designers and others involved, forming relationships that would later lead to deeper collaboration.

A few months ago, she received a message about getting involved in the show, which led to their participation this year, she said.

“This experience has been absolutely tremendous,” Nichols Assiter said. “Mr. Redford is a tremendous icon in my eyes, and such a loss for the world. He was such an amazing human being, and was involved in philanthropy and preservation, and we just were huge fans of his as well. And so to create the Sundance Film Festival, and then for all of these extra entities to be a part of it, is just tremendous.”

Nomadic Reign specializes in one-of-a-kind coats made from antique carriage blankets dating from the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Nichols Assiter said the brand’s signature pieces are created using original wool textiles produced between roughly 1880 and 1920 by mills across the United States, many of which initially manufactured horse blankets and military uniforms during wartime before evolving into carriage blankets used by frontier families.

Each coat is fully repurposed from these historical materials, retaining original details such as stenciled patterns and metal grommets, with no two pieces exactly alike.

The brand works primarily with private clients and direct to consumer on its website rather than wholesale, offering custom-fitted, handmade men’s and women’s coats, said Nichols Assiter.

“We also do a few each season where we hand bead them with gemstones. It’s very time-consuming, so we only do perhaps four or five a year,” she said, adding that these exclusive options are only available to returning customers. “Once you buy a coat, you are able to see products that the general public isn’t able to see.”

After the show, Park City Fashion Week attendees took advantage of the opportunity to shop for a coat in person.

Le Saint Noir

We Norwegians

SKYEAIRE

As the Sundance Film Festival prepares to leave Park City for a new home in Boulder, Colorado, Park City Fashion Week plans to continue building on the community it has established locally. Founder Kienow said the event has grown enough to stand on its own and will remain a winter fixture in Park City, with potential plans to expand into additional shows or seasonal events in the future.

To stay up to date with future events, follow @parkcity_fashionweek on Instagram.

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The Sundance Film Festival and its mother organization Sundance Institute has been using the Dolores Doré Eccles Center as a venue in Park City for more than 25 years, since it opened its doors in 1999.

This theater is connected to Park City High School and, as such, has led to a long-lasting connection between the school and the film festival.

While most of the festival isn’t geared towards students or even minors in general, Sundance still offered several different student outreach programs.

Students can watch short and feature-length films and participate in Q & A sessions with the directors and makers of those films. 

Sundance’s partnership with Park City High has always had the goal of exposing high school students to new artists and teaching them about the filmmaking process, specifically by inviting them to talk to people involved in making the films, such as the directors, actors, or producers. Sundance has tried to use the program to inspire the next generation to get involved with the arts, whether that is filmmaking or other arts.

Park City High film director Kyle Fish has seen firsthand the influence that the Sundance programs have had on his students.

“Sundance has definitely had a strong influence on inspiring students in my program to see possibilities for themselves becoming filmmakers in the future. I have students every year that go on to film school and beyond, with many of them being inspired by the Sundance program.”

Fish also talked about what it’s like to work with the Sundance Institute. 

Because Sundance has such a high expectation of itself and how it presents itself to the community in general, the program does an exceptional job of providing films that are high quality and age-appropriate, as well as relevant to student interests, he said.

When asked about the impact of Sundance leaving Park City, Fish talked about how much of a positive impact that he’s seen Sundance have on the community.

“While a lot of locals are bothered by the increased congestion during Sundance, I do think it has had a positive influence on Park City as a community, and the raised level of interest in filmmaking as an art.”

Fish said he hopes that the community of Park City will maintain the sense of connectedness that Sundance brings.

“I hope that the town doesn’t lose that excitement about film and filmmaking, because that culture of filmmaking has opened a lot of doors with local businesses, and things that would open up their facilities up for students to use for their creative work, that otherwise they maybe wouldn’t have been as interested in.”

Because the film festival is leaving Park City, its partnership with the school has also come to an end.

“I specifically will miss the Filmmakers in the Classroom program, which is the shorts program that takes place right here (in the school). And we’re the only high school that gets that. Like, there are other programs that other Utah schools can participate in, but the Sundance Institute brings those filmmakers right to us.”

On the opposite side of things, Sundance has always enjoyed working with students. The Institute is always grateful for the feedback that Park City High School students give to the filmmakers who come and present.

Fish mentioned how appreciative they are of students’ questions, saying, “They’ve always said that our questions are the most insightful and raw, and that’s really encouraging because that means that the students are really engaging with it directly.”

He continued, explaining that Sundance hopes to continue offering student art services online in the future, even though the festival itself will be located in Boulder, Colorado.

Fish is grateful for the festival.

“I want to say thank you to the Sundance Institute for bringing this cultural event to our town and giving our students access to this art form in a way that they otherwise would not be able to access. One of the most impactful things for my students, I think, is hearing the filmmakers tell the stories about why they made the films they made, and how their own personal life inspired the art, or a story they heard, inspired them to make this film. And so to see the artist behind the art gives those students a much deeper experience of getting to receive that message and really interact with the movies in that way.”

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It doesn’t take much to scare filmmaker James Wan, creator of the “Saw,” “Insidious” and “The Conjuring” horror franchises.

“People say to me, ‘You make a lot of scary movies, (so) you must not be afraid of anything,” the Australian filmmaker said Thursday at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival’s final Cinema Cinema Café panel discussion at the Filmmaker Lodge. “I’m afraid of everything. I’m scared of ghosts. I’m scared of the supernatural. I believe in this. It’s in my Asian culture, my Malaysian culture. Growing up, I heard a lot of superstitious stories and stuff, so I’m a pretty superstitious guy, and that’s what I try to do.”

Wan culls horror film topics and scenes from his heritage, he said during the discussion — a live recoding of Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah’s “Visitations” podcast.

“With (things like) ‘Insidious’ or ‘The Conjuring,’ I try to remember what it was that scared me about certain things, and a lot of my scare scenes are actually based on the ghost stories that have been told to me throughout my life,” he said. “I try to put them on screen and try to share with the world things that scare me.”

During the discussion, which was also part of the Sundance Film Festival’s Legacy programming that celebrated its 43 years in Park City, Wan, at Wood and Noah’s prompting,   made a list of his artistic influences.

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg is at the top of Wan’s list.

“I’m GenX, and growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, the biggest artist/filmmaker to me was Steven Spielberg,” he said. “If I had to put my finger on which of his movies inspired me the most, got me most excited and (helped) me realize that there was a person behind the films was ‘Jaws.’”

While Wan loved the great-white-shark thriller, he pointed to Spielberg’s 1982 ghost story, “Poltergeist,” as the film that inspired him to make horror films.

“I think that’s the movie I can blame for my creepy doll fascination,” the filmmaker said about his trademark of featuring possessed inanimate toys in his movies. “It was basically the first haunted-house movie that did not take place in a classic, gothic mansion. It was in suburbia. It was a normal home we could have grown up in during the ’80s and ’90s.”

The idea that something could viciously interrupt the safe comfort of a home stuck with Wan.

“And (those) scary things don’t have to be ghosts,” he said. “Classic home invasion is terrifying. It’s terrifying to know something can just come into your house and pull you away.”

Once Wan saw “Poltergeist,” he couldn’t get enough of horror, action and exploitation films, especially those made by Australian filmmakers such as George Miller.

 “I grew up on a diet of VHS movies — the more schlocky, the better,” he said. “But it’s really different (in Australia). We don’t really make the kind of genre films that America makes, so to speak. But George Miller is a big idol of ours. We’re huge fans of what he has done and what he has done for the Australian film industry as well with the whole ‘Mad Max’ series.”

Wan also pointed to the 1984 film “Razorback” as one of his go-to films.

“It’s basically ‘Jaws’ with a killer pig movie set in the Outback of Australia,” he said. “It’s directed by Russell Mulcahy, who is another one of my heroes as well. He went on to become a massive director in the MTV music video generation. He did Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ and some of the great Duran Duran videos. And ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ by The Buggles, the very first video on MTV.”

Another of Wan’s influences isn’t a filmmaker, nor a person.

“I’m a big fan of the power of sound design,” he said. “I think the key is knowing what to use, when to use and when not to use (something). The biggest complaint of horror movies today is the overuse of sound.”

In addition to sound, Wan is enamored by lighting, especially the type of lighting captured in paintings from the Renaissance, which he said is usually depicted from one source. 

“(It’s about) where it (comes) from one direction, and everything just fades into black,” he said. “My movies are driven by the visual, and the look is very important to me. So, what I look for in a cinematographer, a director of photography, is how good they are with lighting.”

Wan referred to his 2010 film, “Insidious,” which takes place in real and fantasy worlds, as an example of how he uses lighting.

“When I’m in the real world, I try to use as much natural light as I can, and in the fantasy world I try to go with the one-light sources,” he said. “That can literally be just an actor holding up a lantern.”

Comic books are another of Wan’s influences.

“I read a lot growing up in my teen years, and I don’t read them much these days because I’m too busy to get into them,” he said. “But I learned a lot from comic books, manga and anime — all of that stuff that shaped who I am from a visual standpoint.”

Comic books taught the filmmaker about shot-framing, the economy of storytelling and storyboarding, which shows each scene in comic book-like panels.

“You have to tell a succinct story in a short amount of space, and I think that helped me understand how to focus on the importance of storytelling,” he said. “I did draw comics when I was a kid, and I storyboarded my earlier movies, until I could hire a storyboard artist.”

The last of Wan’s influences is Asian cinema.

“I consumed everything from horror films to Hong Kong (action) movies,” he said. “I grew up (watching) John Woo, Chow Young Fat and Jackie Chan.”

Wan said one of the biggest events of his professional life was premiering “Saw” at the Egyptian Theatre during the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.

“It was the first time we played the movie for an actual paying audience, and even though we were nervous as hell, being here was a dream come true,” he said. “This was something that (screenwriter) Leigh Whannell and I had dreamt about our whole life. So, to get the chance to do it, we couldn’t be more thankful to Sundance for the opportunity.” 

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Amy Redford shared a story about her late father, Robert, during the last Beyond Film gathering Friday afternoon at the Marquis during the final Sundance Film Festival in Park City.

“He cherished his time at his grandfather’s house in Austin, Texas, and the house, which was built into the rock of the land, was built by his grandfather and another man,” she said. “One day when Dad was about 6 years old, this man was digging a trench, and he looked at my dad, and called to him and said, ‘Freeze!’ Then he said, ‘Bobby, we are going to play a game.’”

The man told the boy that in order to win the game, he had to stay still and focus on the man’s eyes until the man stood next to him, according to Redford.

“When the man finally reached my dad, he took the shovel and severed a coral snake that was coiled between my dad’s feet and ready to strike,” she said. “That man saved my dad’s life. Without that man, there is no dad. Without that man, there is no Sundance Resort or the institute or any of the films he made that we all love and made his vision possible.”

The man was a Mexican immigrant whom Redford’s great-grandfather employed.

“People told him to fire him and let him go, but he refused,” Redford said. “The choice was a singular decision that helped my dad do his part to change the world — to protect the land, to amplify the storytellers who have shared their works with us over the past 10 days, whose works help us understand the world we live in with new eyes and fresh hearts.”

The story, Redford said, isn’t just her father’s story.

“(It’s) the story of the rich tapestry of this country,” she said. “It’s what made my dad such a passionate American. So many of us make our voices heard through our work, but it’s also time to call your tribe. It is time for action to support the immigrant and refugee communities, whose contributions will change our course for the better.”

That story was one of many during the event, which was fittingly titled, “Everyone Has a Story,” culled from a phrase Robert Redford told the Sundance Institute and Sundance Film Festival administration and employees a few months before his death in September, said Festival Director Eugene Hernandez. 

“It’s been such a grounding and clarifying statement,” he said. “We knew this would be the framing for this year’s festival. As we reflect on 43 years here, there are so many stories, so many memories, so many endearing moments — first screenings, first encounters, moments of inspiration, moments of elation, moments of sadness.”

Some of these stories are poignant, and others are small and even sometimes mundane, according to Hernandez.

“But these are the stories that we take back home with us every year after this festival,” he said. “Isn’t that part of what brings us back here, together the following year?”

John Nein, the festival’s senior programmer, took up the task to curate a cast of 13 in-person characters and a few recorded appearances from the Sundance Film Festival’s four-decade history to tell their stories. 

The stories were told by Sundance Institute Artist Programs Founding Director Michelle Satter, Sundance Film Festival alumni filmmakers Richard Linklater, Celine Song and Jared and Jerusha Hess, producer Effie T. Brown, Salt Lake Tribune editor and former movie critic Sean P. Means, IndieWire Editor-at-Large Anne Thompson, former Sundance Film Festival Director John Cooper, former Sundance Film Festival Managing Director Sarah Pearce and lawyer and documentary filmmaker Dawn Porter.

A few of those appearing in pre-recorded video included Geoff Gilmore, who directed the Sundance Film Festival from 1991-2009, and filmmakers Ryan Coogler and Chloé Zhao.

Hernandez also shared his memories of The Marquis, which was known as Harry O’s when he first attended the festival in 1993.

“It was the place where we would gather in the evening to hang out and meet each other, and then we would stand out on the sidewalk in the front and ask, ‘What are you doing now?’ and end up at someone’s condo at a party and then end up at someone else’s condo,” he said. “This was the central hub, and it makes so much sense for us that we would gather here once again, today.”

Satter, who has been with the Sundance Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences, from its beginning, said the institute would continue to build the future when the film festival moves to Boulder, Colorado, next year.

“Even though our festival will take place in a new location, the Sundance Institute will continue to be the home for independent voices to engage and connect with audiences and build the future of independent storytelling,” she said. “And our labs are going to stay in Utah (at) the Sundance Resort, which means the world to me.”

Brown took the microphone and remembered a time in 2002 she heard and saw the late film critic Roger Ebert stand up for filmmaker Justin Lin after he and his film “Better Luck Tomorrow” were criticized by an audience member for portraying Asian Americans in a way that didn’t adhere to tropes.

She also talked about the predominantly white audience’s emotional reaction to a film she produced, “Real Women Have Curves,” which is about a Latina’s coming-of-age experience. 

“I remember when the movie came up and looking around us, seeing the tears, seeing the laughter and seeing the audience was 100% with us as they stood up and clapped,” she said. “I said, ‘This is it. This is how movies and stories can change the world.”

The Hesses talked about how their 2004 breakout film, “Napoleon Dynamite,” which they described as a “goofy comedy about an Idaho teenager in Moonboots” got into the festival.

During the editing process, producer Jeremy Coon, without even telling the Hesses, submitted the rough cut without any music to the festival.

“(I said), ‘My career is over,’” Jared said. “I was like, ‘Friggin’ dang. Couldn’t you have waited until the film was finished and polished?”

But the film charmed Trevor Groth, the festival’s senior programmer at the time.

“Lo and behold, Jerusha and I were driving up to my home in Idaho for Thanksgiving, and we got a call. That was the best phone call I had ever gotten,” Jared emotionally said before he stopped to gather himself. “Then it was like, ‘Holy crap. We we’ve got to finish this thing.’”

Jerusha thanked Sundance and the fans of the film for their support.

“Jared and I might never win an award,” she said. “Our movies are pretty dumb, but the day we got into Sundance, we won the biggest (award) ever. It’s the audience. You guys gave us that, and we are forever grateful for this festival.”

Means shared his story, “The Day Jackie Chan Kicked My Ass,” and remembered when he interviewed Chan at a restaurant in 1996, when the martial-arts pioneer’s film, “Rumble in the Bronx,” premiered at the festival.

“I started with a question about how he choreographed a fight scene,” Means said. “And he said, ‘We sit, and we think.’”

Then Chan picked up a ketchup bottle and mimicked squeezing the condiment into Means’ face.

“Then he’d (tell me that I would) knock the Sweet ‘n’ Lo in his face, and he sort of imagined the fight would get to the point where I’d be on my back on the bar.”

Chan described the fight so well that Means actually pictured himself all bloody and lying on the bar.

“So when people ask me what my favorite Jackie Chan fight scene is, it’s not from ‘Project A’ or ‘Drunken Master,’” he said. “It’s from when he beat me up.”

Cooper and Pearce enjoyed their time at the microphone recapping a partial list of festival highlights that included things they learned and people they endured. 

They laughed as they talked about building state-of-the-art cinemas in hotel ballrooms, promising the Temple Har Shalom rabbi that Kim Basinger would show up if they turned the temple into the Temple Theatre, the 1994 opening night screening of Mike Newel’s “Four Weddings and a Funeral” on the day the United States bombed Kuwait, marking the start of Operation Desert Storm.

“We were excited for that film, except the first 17 lines in the film are (the word) ‘F—,” Cooper said. “So about one-third of the audience, who were part of the Mormon contingency, stood up and left the theater.”

Song wrapped up the presentations and said she considers the Sundance Film Festival her birthplace as a filmmaker. 

It happened in 2023 at the Eccles Theatre right after her debut feature, “Past Lives,” premiered. 

“I wrote the script in 2019, and we were going to shoot in 2020, but of course, what happened was COVID,” she said.

Song was able to shoot the film in 2021 in the United States and Korea, and finished it in 2022.

“I remember learning the incredible honor that I got into Sundance for the year 2023, but there was a part of me that was so stressed out that it took four years to work on this movie,” she said.

Still, she took on a positive facade.

“I remember telling my cast and crew, ‘The movie’s a banger,’ because it was a banger to me,” she said. “I remember introducing the film and going to sit down in the audience.” 

By the end of the film, Song, her cast and crew, watched as the audience gave two standing ovations while crying.

“I knew I was being born into a filmmaker,” she said. 

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Tamra Davis’ “The Best Summer” began when the filmmaker grabbed boxes of old Hi8 footage in her haste to evacuate from the Palisades fires in January 2025. 

Davis, who is known for films such as “Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child,” was also, in the ’90s, a “wife on the road” as she toured with her husband, Mike D of the Beastie Boys. When she began to review the boxes of footage saved from the fires, Davis said she didn’t yet know what she had unearthed. 

“I was like ‘Oh my God.’ Like, I knew that I had Beastie Boys footage, and I knew that I had Bikini Kill footage, but I didn’t know I had Foo Fighters or Pavement or any of the interviews,” Davis said. “I couldn’t even believe I did that.”

“The Best Summer” immerses the viewer in the point-of-view of Davis touring with the legendary bands. A young Davis is seen on screen with Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna as the pair interview members of the bands throughout a summer of touring around the world. 

It’s an intimate sit-down with the musicians and a ticket to the bands’ concerts in their early days. “The Best Summer” leads to conversations that uncover what the musicians feel when they are on stage, if they take on a stage persona and, more simply, their favorite colors and what they are reading.

A “baby-faced” Dave Grohl said his favorite color was green. Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon said she did not stray much from her regular personality on stage. Hanna, alongside Davis, dutifully interviewed the musicians at each stop on the tour. 

The interviews are intercut with live performances. When Bikini Kill performs “Rebel Girl,” it feels less on-screen and more in-person. The song is riveting with Hanna singing into the microphone, her guttural voice echoing. Beastie Boys jump around, rapping in their trademark chaotic fashion. Dave Grohl whips his hair around in between guitar riffs and vocals. 

It’s the “golden era” of alternative rock. 

“I just wanted it to feel like it was your experience. Like, if you’re sitting at the stage or on the side of the stage, what your eye would go to,” Davis said. 

Davis’ documentary is nostalgic not only because of the content, but also because of the medium. The Hi8 footage has low-definition quality with vivid color and surprisingly rich audio. 

“And also just how everybody was so young and beautiful,” Davis said. “Like, we’re all beautiful now but just, wow, what a fun time. How happy we were. … That’s why I called it ‘The Best Summer’ because, when you look back at it, we really all had such a great time together.”

Davis began cutting the film together on the editing software DaVinci Resolve after viewing the footage on a second-hand camera. She decided to pursue an independent approach to filmmaking this time to avoid limitations and expectations. 

The goal, she said, was to “chunk it together” like a tour diary. Davis did not want to be held up by anyone. 

“I’m not going to wait for Hollywood,” Davis said. “I’m just going to start making a film all by myself.”

The result does not follow a classic documentary format with introductions, explanations and talking heads. Instead, it’s an immediate jump into the world of the bands. It is interviews with Beck, Rancid and Pavement. It is talks with Hanna and Gordon on peach-colored couches and in random hallways.

“There’s no explanation. There’s no commentary. You just go into it like you’re going to go day one at a festival,” Davis said. 

There was plenty of downtime on the road in 1995, Davis said. She started filming because she “wanted to have fun on the road, too.” The musicians knew Davis as a director, so it was common for her to have a camera in hand. When they saw her in the front row, the bandmates would cater to her videography, jumping up and down, singing and playing in front of the camera. 

Davis said she is most proud of some behind-the-scenes moments when she captures chemistry between musicians, or in-depth, “real” conversations. There is some footage Davis said she is surprised by the result, like the quality of a Sonic Youth performance featuring a strobe light. It’s just as jarring on screen as it would be in person. 

“Every time I watch it, you feel like you’re all high, like all of a sudden something happens to you where you really feel like you’re on the side of the stage and you’re having an experience at a concert. You’re really there,” Davis said. 

The spirit of independent filmmaking, Davis said, gives voice to the filmmakers that offers a chance to produce a result outside of the mainstream. 

“The heart that I put into it — I got every single band to approve this movie, which is nearly impossible for anybody to have ever done that,” Davis said. 

The film is like putting a captive audience in a time machine for 80 minutes, Davis said. 

“It’s just a beautiful piece of nostalgia and memory. … What a beautiful time that was. And to treasure our past with honor and to see where we’ve come from, but also to look back and go, wow, what a beautiful moment we had,” Davis said. 

Davis said she is proud of the result and the film’s 2026 Sundance Film Festival debut. 

“I was so excited to know that the independent film spirit is still there, and that’s all Sundance was about,” Davis said. “It’s just giving a voice to independent film.”

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If there’s one type of movie you can expect to see at the Sundance Film Festival, it’s a coming-of-age film.

For Paloma Schneideman, directing and premiering “Big Girls Don’t Cry” at Sundance was her way of giving back to the genre that had given her so much. 

Schneideman opened a post-screening Q&A by talking about her experience living in New Zealand and being exposed to independent films for the first time. 

“Films have always helped me to understand myself way more than, growing up in rural New Zealand, my community could, because we just weren’t having those kinds of conversations,” Schneideman said.

Her town eventually started to gentrify, but with that came an art house cinema where she saw “Little Miss Sunshine,” a Sundance darling that happened to be celebrating its 20th anniversary at the festival. 

“My mind was just blown that there was so much more out there for me, that there was a world beyond the hills,” Schneideman said. “Every time a film is made like that, the dialogue is open, and the shame is distilled, and we feel more comfortable to speak, and speaking is healing.”

That set Schneideman on a path that would eventually lead her to write and direct “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” her take on the queer coming-of-age picture. 

“I think I had just been given that by so many films that were so formative that I would love to pass on some of that legacy and give it back,” Schneideman said. “It felt like a film for New Zealand, but I hope it resonates with you guys as well.”

“Big Girls Don’t Cry” stars first-time screen actor Ani Palmer as Syd, a young teen living in rural New Zealand and navigating the throes of adolescence. Her summer vacation has just started, it’s 2006, and, inexplicably, all Syd seems to want to do is spend time with the older, cooler girls in her life — like her sister’s friend from America, Freya, played by Rain Spencer of “The Summer I Turned Pretty.” 

Syd is earnest, a bit aloof and a lot naive. She’s daring, too, willing to take the plunge where others might stand on the edge. She gains a new group of friends by providing them alcohol from her father’s stash, which he’s too checked out to notice, and a summer of firsts begins. Syd goes to her first party, poses as an older boy online, has her first drink, pierces her own belly button, tries marijuana, makes friends with boys and realizes girls are actually so, so pretty. Her questionable decision-making fast tracks her burgeoning sense of self faster than she can seem to understand. 

Part of that exploding sense of self is thanks to the year the film is set, 2006, said Schneideman.

“The mid-2000s were a big time for us (in New Zealand.) Did you guys have Bibo?” Schneideman asked the crowd. “You’re more Myspace, yeah. Ripping songs off Pirate Bay or Limewire — hopefully there’s a statute of limitations.” 

She said the arrival of MTV in her home was huge. 

“Those were probably my first experiences or models of anything of sexuality, but also, I remember seeing Tila Tequila for the first time, just having my mind blown. So it felt like a really fitting backdrop for a coming-of-age story because it wasn’t just this young woman on the edge of discovering her sexuality and her identity, but it was like the nation was coming of age as well,” she said. “I felt like the pairing of the two would make this really great pressure cooker.”

The film depended on the chemistry between the actors, who were a mix of first-timers and the more seasoned, Schneideman said. Casting Syd in particular was one of the production’s big challenges. 

“I got sent through a wave of maybe 100 audition tapes,” Schneideman said. 

She decided her approach would be to look at the auditions’ thumbnails and start with the actor who looked the least like the picture of Syd in her mind. 

“And so I was scrolling through, and I saw this little person with dark emo hair. They look a little like punk rock chick,” Schneideman said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s definitely not her.’ So I click on it, and I watch it for eight seconds, and I was like, ‘That’s my … Syd.’ And it was Ani’s tape, the first one I clicked on. It was just one of those divine moments.”

She said what stood out to her was seeing how well Palmer showed the act of listening. 

“Even if she’s folding socks, she’s very compelling to watch,” Schneideman said.

Palmer laughed. She said she appreciated the director’s trust and the time spent in rehearsals just getting to know the other actors. 

“We spent quite a few days just going to, like, a cafe, and talking about life and our experiences,” Palmer said. “And I think that really helped us connect and therefore helped me understand the character more.” 

For Spencer, whose character is a cool-girl, devil-may-care American through whom Syd begins to understand she likes girls, Schneideman was a great collaborator.  

“I trusted Paloma immediately. Might be the coolness or the charm, or just the script and the honesty that you brought to us,” Spencer said. “I just feel like you’re very honest in yourself, and you just made it extremely easy, set up a safe environment for us.”

Noah Taylor, who plays Syd’s somewhat absent but loving father, said he was initially concerned about working with a young, first-time director. But his fears were quickly assuaged, particularly through the strength of the script.

“Working with her was really one of the most profound experiences I’ve had, actually, on a set,” Taylor said. “There are risks working with a first-time filmmaker. (But) she had such a precise vision and was so generous in wanting everyone else to come on that journey with her.”

“Big Girls Don’t Cry” ends on an ambiguous note. Schneideman said that was intentional, something taken from the coming-of-age genre she had learned to appreciate. 

“I really wanted to invite viewers to project their own understanding and their own means to resolve it for themselves instead of pushing them to feel a certain type of way,” she said. “It’s really a film that invites you to project your own experience and understanding onto it.”

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A splash of Utah-based poetic serendipity rolled into the final award ceremony during the last Sundance Film Festival in Park City when Abby Ellis’ “The Lake” received the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Impact for Change.

The film itself is about Utah and follows the efforts of two scientists and a politician to save the Great Salt Lake.

Producer Fletcher Keyes, who was born and raised in Park City, thanked the film’s team and remembered the Ray’s space used to be a Sports Authority sporting goods store.

“As someone who grew up in Park City, I bought my first pair of skis in this room,” he said. “So it’s really meaningful to have this moment at the last Sundance and to feature our film here.”

Ellis also thanked Sundance.

“I’m pregnant and hormonal but so happy to be here,” she said. “It’s such an inspiration to be here with all of you. This last week has been inspiring to keep going.”

The film is already making waves in raising awareness about the Great Salt Lake, Ellis said.

“We think we helped to save the lake, the state of Utah and maybe the West,” she said. 

Filmmaker Jennie Livingston, who was the U.S. Documentary Competition Jury chair, said her team saw 10 films, each of which addressed the current zeitgeist in its unique way, but also this film moved and encouraged the jury by “its vision of people working across political divides.”

“This environmental crisis story is a probing and provocative look at the interdependence of science and faith and the power of individuals and communities to avert disaster by working together,” she said.

Other top winners of the day included Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes’ “One In a Million,” which won the Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary. Azzam and MacInnes were also given the Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary.

The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to Beth de Araújo’s “Josephine,” which also won the Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic.

The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic was presented to Liz Sargent for “Take Me Home.” The Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary was presented to Matt Hixon for “Barbara Forever.”

The awards ceremony opened with words given by Amanda Kelso, Sundance Institute’s acting chief executive officer.

“You all look surprisingly awake for a morning awards show after nine days of films and afterparties,” she said. “So, if you’re here, awake and wearing real clothes, you’re already winning the day.”

Kelso also honored the Sundance founder, late Robert Redford, and his vision of creating space to celebrate artists and their power of independent storytelling.

“This has been such a meaningful festival where we’ve been able to celebrate his legacy,” she said. “Mr. Redford famously said, ‘Everyone has a story,’ which is also this year’s festival’s theme. And after the past nine days, I think it’s safe to say you all, as artists, have proven that point beautifully. Watching Mr. Redford’s legacy live on in our work has been truly fantastic.”

Kelso also thanked Utah, Summit County and Park City.

Sundance Film Festival Director Eugene Hernandez also addressed the audience before the ceremony.

“As we arrive at this morning’s ceremony, we’re entering this final weekend of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival,” he said. “At a time when our communities are speaking out and speaking up, we’re here to elevate vital artistic voices. Today, we celebrate and platform you, the artists. All of us are proud to create a festival that hosts, elevates and celebrates art through the most challenging moments.”

More than 16,000 features, shorts and episodic works were submitted, but only 150 were invited to this year’s festival, according to Hernandez.

“The odds were steep, but each of you were chosen by our programmers,” he said. “We salute your work, your passion and your creativity.”

He also thanked Sundance’s staff, seasonal workers and 1,400 volunteers.

Kim Yutani, the festival’s director of programming, also gave a short address.

“I know we’re here for an award ceremony, but just to reiterate, if you are in this festival, you are already a winner,” she said. “So thank you for being here and thank you for trusting us with your work.”

Below is the list of 2026 Sundance Film Festival awards, provided by the Sundance Institute.

Grand Jury Prizes

The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to “Josephine” / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Beth de Araújo, Producers: David Kaplan, Josh Peters, Marina Stabile, Mark H. Rapaport, Crystine Zhang) — After 8-year-old Josephine accidentally witnesses a crime in Golden Gate Park, she acts out in search of a way to regain control of her safety while adults are helpless to console her. Cast: Mason Reeves, Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, Philip Ettinger, Syra McCarthy, Eleanore Pienta. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: For the depth and nuance of storytelling. For the delicate and elegant execution of a challenging subject matter. The skilled direction of performance from the cast. The humanistic view of the filmmaker and how they withheld judgment of those dealing with the impact of victimization. This filmmaker offered an empathetic view into the many different ways we as humans cope and try to set the wrongs right.

The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to “Nuisance Bear” / U.S.A., Canada (Directors: Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman, Producers: Michael Code, Will N. Miller, Teddy Leifer) — A polar bear is forced to navigate a human world of tourists, wildlife officers and hunters as its ancient migration collides with modern life. When a sacred predator is branded a nuisance, it becomes unclear who truly belongs in this shared landscape. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: This film tells an enormous story with great drama, beauty and verve, and powerfully confronts the realities of climate change, the tensions between Indigenous tradition and Western capitalist encroachment and the complexities of humanity’s relationship with the natural world. It also features a standout sequence that is, like the film itself, humorous, terrifying and unforgettable. Of all the documentaries we saw, this one was the least … polarizing. The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary goes to Nuisance Bear.

The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to “Shame and Money” / Germany, Kosovo, Slovenia, Albania, North Macedonia, Belgium (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Visar Morina, Screenwriter: Doruntina Basha, Producers: Fabian Altenried, Sophie Ahrens, Kristof Gerega, Pia Hellenthal) — After losing their livelihood in a village, a Kosovar family is forced to move to the capital in pursuit of a place in a hypercapitalist society. Cast: Astrit Kabashi, Flonja Kodheli, Kumrije Hoxha, Fiona Gllavica, Alban Ukaj. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: For his powerful and unique portrayal of human dignity in contemporary Kosovo that universally resonates. A sensitive filmmaker who masterfully draws the audience into the daily struggles of a family. For his deep empathy for his characters in a crucial moment in which they are beginning again, the World Cinematic Grand Jury Prize goes to Shame and Money.

The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to “To Hold a Mountain” / Serbia, France, Montenegro, Slovenia, Croatia (Directors, Screenwriters, and Producers: Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazić, Producers: Quentin Laurent, Rok Biček) — In the remote highlands of Montenegro, a shepherd mother and daughter proudly defend their ancestral mountain from the threat of becoming a NATO military training ground, stirring memories of the violence that shattered their family. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: This visually and emotionally stunning film transported us to a remote mountain top and into the most intimate moments of a family fighting to protect not only their land, but their way of life. The truest example of the power of cinema to make the personal political.

NEXT Innovator Award

The NEXT Innovator Award, presented by Adobe, was awarded to “The Incomer” / U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: Louis Paxton, Producers: Shirley O’Connor, Emily Gotto) — On a remote Scottish isle, siblings Isla and Sandy hunt birds and talk to mythical beings while fighting off outsiders. Their lives change when Daniel, an awkward official, arrives to relocate them. Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Gayle Rankin, Grant O’Rourke, Emun Elliott, Michelle Gomez, John Hannah. World Premiere. Fiction. Available online for public.

Jury citation: This award goes to a boldly original comic fable that blends folklore with formal playfulness. Deadpan humor, animation, and myth collide — proof that fearless invention can be both uproarious and deeply humane.

Audience Awards

The Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic, presented by Acura, was awarded to “Josephine” / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Beth de Araújo, Producers: David Kaplan, Josh Peters, Marina Stabile, Mark H. Rapaport, Crystine Zhang) — After 8-year-old Josephine accidentally witnesses a crime in Golden Gate Park, she acts out in search of a way to regain control of her safety while adults are helpless to console her. Cast: Mason Reeves, Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, Philip Ettinger, Syra McCarthy, Eleanore Pienta. World Premiere. Available online for public.

The Audience Award: U.S. Documentary, presented by Acura, was awarded to “American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez” / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: David Alvarado, Producers: Lauren DeFilippo, Everett Katigbak, Amanda Pollak) — Against political resistance and industry skepticism, Luis Valdez pushes Chicano storytelling from the fields to the film screen with Zoot Suit and La Bamba, crafting iconic works that challenge, celebrate, and expand America’s story. World Premiere. Available online for public.

The Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic, presented by United Airlines, was awarded to “HOLD ONTO ME (Κράτα Με)” / Cyprus, Denmark, Greece (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Myrsini Aristidou, Producer: Monica Nicolaidou) — 11-year-old Iris learns her estranged father, Aris, is back in town for his own father’s funeral. Determined to know him, Iris tracks him down to a dilapidated shipyard, where he’s been keeping to himself. What begins as a stubborn attempt to reconnect slowly unfolds into a fragile bond. Cast: Christos Passalis, Maria Petrova. World Premiere. Available online for public.

The Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary, presented by United Airlines, was awarded to “One In A Million” / U.K. (Directors: Itab Azzam, Jack MacInnes, Producers: Raney Aronson-Rath, Will Anderson, James Bluemel, Andrew Palmer) — Filmed over 10 years, one girl’s epic journey from Syria to Germany and back again. She and her family navigate war, exile, and heartbreak in a foreign land, illuminating the complexities of the refugee experience. World Premiere. Available online for public.

The Audience Award: NEXT, presented by Adobe, was awarded to “Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild]” / U.S.A., Denmark (Directors and Producers: Adam Khalil, Zack Khalil, Producers: Steve Holmgren, Grace Remington, Jacque Clark, Franny Alfano) — Trapped in museum archives, Ancestors bend time and space to find their way home. History, spirituality, and the law collide as tribal repatriation specialists fight to return and rebury Indigenous human remains, offering a revealing look at the still-pervasive worldviews that justified collecting them in the first place. World Premiere. Documentary. Available online for public.

Jury Awards for directing, screenwriting and editing

The Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic was presented to Josef Kubota Wladyka for “Ha-chan, Shake Your Booty!” / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Josef Kubota Wladyka, Screenwriter: Nicholas Huynh, Producers: Kimberly Parker Zox, Mao Nagakura) — Haru and Luis love competing in Tokyo’s ballroom dance scene, but after tragedy strikes, Haru withdraws into isolation. When friends coax her back to the studio, she develops an infatuation with the new instructor. She must face what comes next as sparks fly. Cast: Rinko Kikuchi, Alberto Guerra, Alejandro Edda, YOU, Yoh Yoshida, Damián Alcázar. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: For bringing us into a creative world that allowed us to explore love, loss and grief through dance with deep emotion and surprising joy and laughter. We will carry Rinko Kikuchi’s performance in our hearts and thank this film for reminding us that when magical realism works, it is truly a feat to behold.

The Directing Award: U.S. Documentary was presented to J.M. Harper for “Soul Patrol” / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: J.M. Harper, Producers: Sam Bisbee, Danielle Massie, Nasir Jones, Peter Bittenbender) — From deep behind enemy lines, a hidden chapter of American military history is uncovered, prompting the question of whether reckoning with the past can bring peace to those who lived it. The Vietnam War’s first Black special operations team reunites to tell their story. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: With remarkable intelligence and resourcefulness, and an elegant attention to cultural context, this filmmaker achieves a skillful balance of archival footage, vivid re-enactments and troubling hallucinations. In doing so, he makes palpable the trauma of Black Americans who have never gotten due recognition for their sacrifices in war. The Directing Award: U.S. Documentary goes to J.M. Harper for Soul Patrol.

The Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic was presented to Andrius Blaževičius for “How to Divorce During the War” / Lithuania, Luxembourg, Ireland, Czech Republic (Director and Screenwriter: Andrius Blaževičius, Producer: Marija Razgutė) — In Vilnius in 2022, Marija has a revelation that she wants to divorce her husband, Vytas, right before Russia invades Ukraine. Forced to confront their crumbling relationship, they navigate the process of divorce as it collides with the ongoing war. Cast: Marius Repšys, Žygimantė Elena Jakštaitė, Amelija Adomaitytė, Indrė Patkauskaitė, Gintarė Parulytė. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: For his immense talent and steady hand in a darkly comedic film about life in times of war, this director’s subtle observation holds a mirror to our contradictions without neglecting the humanity of his characters … the Directing Award goes to Andrius Blaževičius for How to Divorce During the War.

The Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary was presented to Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes for “One In A Million” / U.K. (Directors: Itab Azzam, Jack MacInnes, Producers: Raney Aronson-Rath, Will Anderson, James Bluemel, Andrew Palmer) — Filmed over 10 years, one girl’s epic journey from Syria to Germany and back again. She and her family navigate war, exile, and heartbreak in a foreign land, illuminating the complexities of the refugee experience. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: Elegantly exploring the ideas of freedom and the importance of home in the aftermath of war, this film impressed us with its sense of scale and decade-long directorial commitment to its subjects. It is a beautiful synthesis of one family’s migration across multiple countries as they seek refuge from societal upheaval.

The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic was presented to Liz Sargent for “Take Me Home” / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Liz Sargent, Producers: Apoorva Guru Charan, Minos Papas) — Anna, a 38-year-old Korean adoptee with a cognitive disability, cares for her aging parents in a fragile balance of meeting one another’s needs. When a Florida heat wave shatters their family and Anna’s routine, her future is uncertain until she creates a world where she can thrive. Cast: Anna Sargent, Victor Slezak, Ali Ahn, Marceline Hugot, Shane Harper. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: For modeling a different way to tell a story. This is a movie that embraced the truth of the moment on set, necessitating the filmmaker be fully present to shift, reflect and trust her vision in order to capture the miracle that she did.

The Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary was presented to Matt Hixon for “Barbara Forever” / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Brydie O’Connor, Producer: Elijah Stevens) — An archive-driven exploration of the life, work, and legacy of iconic, pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: Drawing on an artist’s deep archive of original work and forming exquisite connections between history and biography, art and life, this intimate and expansive portrait gives a pioneering figure in queer experimental filmmaking her rightful due. The Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary goes to Matt Hixon for Barbara Forever.

Special Jury Awards

A U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Debut Feature was presented to “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.

Jury citation: For inviting us into a world we’ve never seen depicted on film, and daring to share the very personal, the filmmaker upended all of our assumptions of a story told with depth and skill.

A U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast was presented to “The Friend’s House is Here” / U.S.A., Iran (Directors, Screenwriters, and Producers: Hossein Keshavarz, Maryam Ataei) — In Tehran’s underground art scene, two young women build a blissful world of freedom and sisterhood. But when their creative circle is exposed, they must fight to save each other. Cast: Mahshad Bahram, Hana Mana, Farzad Karen, Zohreh Pirnia. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: For delivering performances that each of us could find ourselves in, revealing a story that is frighteningly universal. The ensemble injects the world with gravity, love, and humor, and shows us the way community and connection are often our key to survival.

A U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Journalistic Excellence was presented to “Who Killed Alex Odeh?” / U.S.A. (Directors: Jason Osder, William Lafi Youmans, Producer: Dawne Langford, William Lafi Youmans, Jason Osder, Daniel J. Chalfen) — The assassination of a beloved Palestinian American activist in Southern California ignites a 40-year quest for justice, revealing the roots of a dangerous political movement that thrives today. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: This engrossing and surprising true-crime saga begins as an investigation into an unsolved murder and, with great procedural rigor, excavates a nefarious history about America’s role in suppressing justice for a Palestinian American family. The Special Jury Award: Journalistic Excellence goes to Who Killed Alex Odeh?

A U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Impact for Change was presented to “The Lake” / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Abby Ellis, Producer: Fletcher Keyes) — An environmental nuclear bomb looms in Utah. Two intrepid scientists and a political insider race the clock to save their home from unprecedented catastrophe. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: This environmental-crisis story is a probing and provocative look at the interdependency of science and faith, and the power of individuals and communities to avert disaster by working together. We were moved and encouraged by its vision of people working across political divides. A Special Jury Award: Impact for Change goes to The Lake.

A World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision was presented to “Filipiñana” / Singapore, U.K., Philippines, France, Netherlands (Director and Screenwriter: Rafael Manuel, Producers: Jeremy Chua, Alex Polunin, Bianca Balbuena, Bradley Liew, Nadia Turincev, Omar El Kadi) — Tee girl Isabel feels strangely drawn to Dr. Palanca, the president of the country club where she works. However, after piecing together a violent picture of what lies beneath the club’s pristine surface, she realizes that what began as an innocent infatuation is actually rooted in a sinister shared history. Cast: Jorrybell Agoto, Carmen Castellanos, Teroy Guzman, Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, Isabel Sicat, Nour Houshmand. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: With stunning visual command and sensitivity to the setting, the filmmaker thoughtfully evokes a world where characters languish. Through its static form, the filmmaker highlights insidious tension between luxury and labor. The special jury award for Creative Vision goes to Filipiñana.

A World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting Ensemble was presented to “LADY” / U.K., Nigeria (Director and Screenwriter: Olive Nwosu, Producer: Alex Polunin) — In the sprawling African metropolis of Lagos, a fiercely independent young cab driver meets a band of radiantly reckless sex workers whose sisterhood pulls her into danger and joy, setting her on a journey toward her own transformation. Cast: Jessica Gabriel’s Ujah, Amanda Oruh, Tinuade Jemiseye, Binta Ayo Mogaji, Seun Kuti, Bucci Franklin. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: For a film full of depth and texture and with a rhythm all its own, with an electric ensemble cast that brings life and humor and insight to a story about day-to-day challenges and finding safety in unexpected friendships, the special jury award for Acting Ensemble goes to… LADY.

A World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Journalistic Impact was presented to “Birds of War” / U.K., Syrian Arab Republic, Lebanon (Directors, Screenwriters, and Producers: Janay Boulos, Abd Alkader Habak, Producer: Sonja Henrici) — The love story of a London-based Lebanese journalist and a Syrian activist and cameraman as told through 13 years of personal archives across revolutions, war and exile. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: By turning the camera on themselves, the co-directors follow the arc of their own love story as the vehicle for a deeply moving narrative about the complexity of revolution and war. This film showcases the power of journalism through emotion and vulnerability; enduring, bearing witness, and telling one’s own story oftentimes has the most impact.

A World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Civil Resistance was presented to “Everybody To Kenmure Street” / U.K. (Director and Producer: Felipe Bustos Sierra, Producer: Ciara Barry) — In May 2021, a U.K. Home Office dawn raid triggers one of the most spontaneous and successful acts of civil resistance in recent memory. In Scotland’s most diverse neighborhood, hundreds of residents rush to the streets to stop the deportation of their neighbors. World Premiere. Available online for public.

Jury citation: Not your typical social issue film, this documentary utilizes a touch of humor and a wide diversity of perspectives to call upon people to stand up for their neighbors. In a time when xenophobia and authoritarianism are on the rise, the power of collective action here is a global rallying cry.

The NEXT Special Jury Award for Creative Expression was awarded to “TheyDream” / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: William David Caballero, Screenwriters and Producers: Erin Ploss-Campoamor, Elaine del Valle, Producer: Brad Jones) — After 20 years of chronicling his Puerto Rican family, a director and his mother face devastating losses. Through tears and laughter, they craft animations that bring their loved ones back to life, discovering that every act of creation is also an act of letting go. World Premiere. Documentary. Available online for public.

Jury citation: For fully exploring multiple filmmaking techniques blending craft and emotion to tell a personal story of those often overlooked … more importantly with loving humor and brutal honesty.

For information about the Sundance Film Festival, visit festival.sundance.org.

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In 2001, Argentina was almost three years into an economic recession. That December, the government limited withdrawals to prevent citizens and companies from transferring funds to foreign accounts, a decision that led to widespread protest and the resignation of President Fernando de la Rúa in the following weeks. 

Filmmaker Eduardo Braun Costa was around 10 at the time, growing up in downtown Buenos Aires with his six siblings. His father lost his job as a result of the economic crisis, and his parents divorced not long after. 

“In my life and my brothers’ and sisters’ lives, that meant very early access to a lot of freedom and independence and fun adventures, but also trying to survive, and dealing with things that we couldn’t really understand,” Costa said. “It was very, very common, just being alone in the streets with them, 10 years old, and being exposed to adulthood and strange people.”

The director’s first short film, “The Liars,” which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, is a slice of life cut straight from the cake of Costa’s childhood. It follows the escapades of two brothers, Matías and Jaime, as they explore the premier cultural gathering place of the early 2000s: the shopping mall.

But this shopping mall looks as if it’s falling apart, its shopkeepers scraping along day by day, and so cold indoors that most characters wear coats — a reflection of the country at the time, Costa explained.

Matías and Jaime’s adventure begins with trying to sneak into the Jim Carrey black comedy, “Me, Myself & Irene.” Costa said at the Sundance premiere, the entire audience laughed when they realized what movie the boys were trying to get into.

While he agreed with the consensus that it’s a terrible film, full of raunchy gags and bad-taste jokes, he thought the comedy was the perfect example of the kind of age-inappropriate movie a kid would be drawn to.

“We all feel attracted to cinema because we can spy on the intimacy of other people living their lives,” Costa said. “When I was very young, and I started watching films, I remember the moment I started shifting and felt very interested in films that simply had nudity in them. … We have this sense of things that are starting to attract us, and we feel pulled into them, but they also come with this imposed language.”

The other film Matías and Jaime watch, a “James Bond” flick, hammers home Costa’s point about how cinema can expose boys to exaggerated ideals of masculinity and sexuality.

Those exaggerations can be spoonfed to boys by older men, too. 

“You’re maybe just an 8-year-old, and you have a doorman showing you a photo of a naked woman, telling you, ‘Take it. It’s yours,’” Costa said. “Being a man is facing growing up fast and assuming a sexuality that you don’t really understand yet.”

Costa explores this tension as Jaime is detained by mall security for shoplifting, and Matías is forced to find a stranger to pretend to be his father. The man who helps him turns out to be a loose cannon of aggression, both a vessel for emotions running high during the economic crisis and a premonition of what the boys could become.

As Matías and Jaime crawl into the movie theater, a visual reference to Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s 2007 short film “Dans l’obscurité,” the boys accomplish their goal of making it into “Me, Myself & Irene.” 

In the background, Carrey and Renée Zellweger’s characters discuss fatherhood, photographs and memories — a beautiful scene in the center of a horrible film, as Costa put it.

Costa minimized the number of shots not only to avoid wearing down the child actors but to provide a more grounded tone. The faces of adults are mostly kept out of frame throughout the film’s runtime to put the viewer in the shoes of a child.

“When I was a kid … I slept in a little room with my brother. But to me, it felt enormous. I could be under the bed, inside the wardrobe. Even a small room could feel like a landscape,” Costa said. “I wanted that sense with the camera, to be a little detached from reality.”

Noah Roja and Filippo Carrozza, who played Matías and Jaime, won the Sundance Short Film Special Jury Award for Acting.

Costa knew the only way a film with such a simple plot would work was if the child actors could carry the film emotionally. 

“(Roja) wasn’t really paying the part. He was just being himself. He was very shy, but he had this kind of internal universe going on that felt very interesting,” Costa said. “I could really see after each day how Noah was slowly becoming an actor.”

That’s best exemplified by the film’s final shot of Roja sitting in the theater, silently turning around in his seat to look back at the camera, trepidation in his eyes. 

As Costa looks back on his childhood, his childhood looks back at him. 

“The Liars” is available online as part of the Short Film Program 2 through 11:55 p.m. on Sunday. Learn more and reserve tickets at festival.sundance.org.

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