16 Movies We Can't Wait to See at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival

"The 2026 Sundance Film Festival marks the annual cinema celebration's final year in Utah before heading to Boulder for the 2027 edition and beyond. While the festival is packed with plenty of legacy programming to honor both the festival's decades in Park City and the legacy of late founder Robert Redford, 11 days of feature-length world premieres are ahead. Below, IndieWire has hand-picked 16 films we're pretty excited about this year in Park City."

"Between this films and more, stars including Ethan Hawke, Charli XCX (making a splash this year with multiple films!), Olivia Wilde, Jenna Ortega, Natalie Portman, Iliza Shlesinger, Zoey Deutch, Rinko Kikuchi, Cooper Hoffman, Rachel Sennott, Alexander Skarsgård, Olivia Colman, Dave Franco, Peter Dinklage, Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, and many more are all bringing new films to the festival, with filmmakers from Gregg Araki to Jay Duplass, John Wilson, and Josephine Decker."

""'Barney' as a horror movie" is more than enough of an elevator pitch to attract a certain brand of cinephile to a midnight festival screening. Then throw in the fact that said film hails from director Casper Kelly, an alt comedy favorite for projects like "Too Many Cooks" and "Adult Swim Yule Log," and you end up with arguably the buzziest film of the 2026 Sundance Midnight lineup. "Buddy" makes no attempt to claim that it's anything more than its hooky prem"

The 2026 Sundance Film Festival marks the final Park City edition in Utah before the festival relocates to Boulder for 2027 and beyond. The program combines legacy programming honoring the festival's decades in Park City and the legacy of founder Robert Redford with 11 days of feature-length world premieres. A selection of 16 anticipated films spans documentary and narrative features. A wide array of actors and filmmakers, from Ethan Hawke and Charli XCX to Gregg Araki and Josephine Decker, are presenting new work. The lineup also includes numerous short films and active market coverage. Casper Kelly's 'Buddy' emerges as a buzzy midnight pick.

Read at IndieWire