Best of Sundance Film Festival 2026

Sundance 2026 reminded audiences why independent cinema remains the most daring, intimate, and resonant forum for storytelling. From heartbreak to humor, cultural reckoning to historical reflection, this year’s selections offered voices both new and profoundly personal. Here are ten films that stood out, each leaving a lasting imprint.

#1 — Jazz Infernal

A still from Jazz Infernal by Will Niava, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

Winner: Best International Short Film
Jazz Infernal breathes like memory itself—exhilarating, haunting, and alive with the tension of not knowing whether to laugh or cry. It exists in that rare cinematic space where comedy and tragedy share the same heartbeat.
Set against the winters of Montreal, the film traces the filmmaker’s own arrival from Ghana, transforming raw misadventures into art. The sudden loss of his father during production reshaped what began as a fish-out-of-water comedy into a sacred exploration of grief, memory, and healing. Music, silence, and storytelling converge to create a work that feels both intensely personal and universally resonant.

#2 — Superman Doesn’t Steal

Set in Atlanta, 1979, this true story explores morality, mercy, and childhood vulnerability. When a young Black boy steals a Superman comic, the expected consequences—harsh and swift—are replaced by a quiet act of humanity: a non-racist officer chooses restraint over punishment.
The film becomes a meditation on heroism as everyday courage, reframing justice as guidance and compassion rather than fear. A simple act, both rare and profound, underscores the transformative power of empathy in a world that often demands conformity.

#3 — Los Mentirosos / The Liars

A story of childhood rebellion and ingenuity, Los Mentirosos follows two brothers whose mischief—lying, candy theft, and enlistment of strangers—escalates into a daring scheme to sneak into a movie.
Set largely in and around a neighborhood theater, the film uses humor and tension to explore family dynamics, innocence, and moral experimentation. The brothers’ audacity is less about crime and more about testing boundaries, highlighting the fleeting exhilaration of childhood autonomy.

#4 — A Road Map to Happiness

Alec Baldwin, Elijah Wood and Darin Olien for the Teaser Premiere of A ROAD MAP TO HAPPINESS during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at World of Hyatt House on January 24, 2026 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images for The World of Hyatt)

Not all Sundance experiences unfold in theaters. A Road Map to Happiness premiered in a star-studded, immersive event at the World of Hyatt, blending storytelling, conversation, and intention. Featuring Alec Baldwin, Elijah Wood, Jason Momoa, Shailene Woodley, and host Darin Olien, the series sends viewers across the globe in search of the happiest people on Earth.
The 10-minute teaser balances spectacle and sincerity, exploring joy not as a destination but as a practice. Through travel, dialogue, and cultural immersion, the project encourages audiences to reconsider fulfillment, positioning storytelling as both guidance and inspiration.

With the launch of roadtohappy.net, the creators are inviting people to join an interactive platform that captures the universal keys to happiness uncovered on this journey to find the happiest people on Earth.

#5 — Seniors

Noah Pacht and Brooke Bloom appear in Seniors by Adam Curley, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Conor Murphy.

Bold and unflinching, Seniors examines the private lives of a family as they prepare for a college tour. Secrets, desire, and mischief surface in ways both humorous and revealing, particularly when privacy collides with parental authority.
The arboretum where much of the film unfolds serves as a symbolic landscape of order and nurture, contrasting with the family’s messy, unpredictable humanity. Seniors trusts the audience to feel the friction and tenderness of real-life relationships, where rebellion, love, and understanding exist in uneven balance.

#6 — Side Effects May Include

Rachel Strauss’ documentary exposes the inner workings of America’s pharmacy benefit system with clarity and moral urgency. Premiering at a red carpet event at Kemo Sabe, the film mixes star support—including Brandi Glanville and Jon Gosselin—with incisive exploration of systemic failures in healthcare.
Side Effects May Include blends human stories, expert voices, and investigative insight to illuminate the hidden costs of medication, highlighting transparency, access, and accountability. It is a catalyst for conversation, an advocacy piece, and a call to action—all grounded in lived experience and systemic critique.

#7 — The Baddest Speechwriter of All

Short Film Grand Jury Prize — Winner

Now 93, Martin Luther King Jr.’s lawyer and speechwriter Clarence E. Jones reflects on the personal cost and surprising truths of making history, offering an intimate insider’s view of the Civil Rights Movement in the directorial debut from NBA Basketball legend Stephen Curry co-directing with Oscar Winner Ben Proudfoot.

Clarence E. Jones, Martin Luther King Jr.’s lawyer and speechwriter, reflects on the moral and personal costs of shaping history. Co-directed by Ben Proudfoot and NBA legend Stephen Curry, the film privileges intimacy over spectacle, letting Jones’ insights unfold with restraint and authority.
The short film honors the labor behind legendary words, revealing how collaboration, doubt, and responsibility underpinned the Civil Rights Movement. It reminds audiences that history is built not only by those in the spotlight but by those who craft its very language.

#8 — How Brief

Set over a single night in 1962, How Brief follows a woman returning to her childhood home for the last time. Through Tatiana Maslany’s nuanced performance, the film navigates familial tension, memory, and unspoken longing.
The story’s quiet power lies in its perspective: sibling dynamics and marital negotiation unfold in intimate, emotionally precise beats. Connie Converse’s music weaves through the narrative, accentuating fleeting moments of connection, conflict, and loss. The result is a meditation on endings, memory, and the impermanence of home.

#9 — Pankaja

Anooya Swamy’s Pankaja traces a mother and daughter navigating the slums of Bangalore to find the missing father. The film balances heartbreak and humor through the lens of the child’s innocence, capturing the chaos and resilience of life in urban India.
Swamy’s empathetic lens transforms streets, alleys, and rooftops into a stage for endurance, love, and improvisation. Through comedy and tragedy, Pankaja illustrates how hope persists in the face of uncertainty, making the search for family a universal, emotional journey.

#10 — Taga

Vivi, a third-culture Filipina American, travels to the Philippines to reconnect with her roots but falls in with a group of Western eco-volunteers. When they scorn the customs of a remote mountain village, an ancient evil comes knocking. Filmmaker Jill Marie Sachs brings her culture and presence into this story of the spirits of the indigenous lands of her people.

Jill Marie Sachs’ Taga blends horror, cultural reflection, and personal identity. Vivi, a third-culture Filipina American, returns to the Philippines to reconnect with her roots but encounters Western eco-volunteers whose arrogance provokes an ancient, spiritual reckoning.
The film explores cultural misappropriation, privilege, and ancestral accountability, framing horror as both entertainment and moral lesson. Sachs’ presence and heritage infuse the story with authenticity, creating a narrative that respects indigenous traditions while critiquing modern entitlement.

Sundance 2026 showcased a striking array of stories: some intimate, some grand, all fearless. These ten films exemplify the festival’s power to challenge, inspire, and linger—reminding audiences that independent cinema still moves at the pulse of our collective imagination.