Sundance 2026 came and went, leaving behind an odd feeling in the air. This year’s festival seemed less like a celebration of cinema and more like a remembrance of Park City. Last year, word broke that the 2026 festival would be the final one held in Park City, Utah, before moving to Boulder, Colorado. The end of an era was palpable, even for someone like me who attended virtually. When I look back on the 2026 slate, the films themselves may become an afterthought, partly due to their uneven quality and the surrounding noise.
There were three especially buzzy premieres. Olivia Wilde and pop star Charli XCX emerged as the unofficial MVPs of Sundance, each debuting major projects. The loudest title was I Want Your Sex, an erotic comedy starring Wilde and Charli XCX and directed by Gregg Araki. The film was a hit out of the gate, ending with Magnolia securing distribution in a seven-figure deal.
Charli XCX also appeared in the mockumentary The Moment, playing herself on tour for her album BRAT. Meanwhile, Wilde stirred up her own frenzy with her directed film The Invite, which sparked a massive bidding war before A24 acquired it for over $12 million. The film stars Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, Edward Norton, and Wilde as neighbors who decide to attend an orgy together. None of these titles were available to virtual attendees, although The Moment is now available in select theaters.
Of the films I was able to see, none were outright bad, but few were truly remarkable either. The narrative feature that impressed me most was Louis Paxton’s British comedy, The Incomer. The film follows Daniel, played by Domhnall Gleeson, who travels to a remote island to remove two siblings who have lived in isolation there for 30 years. Quirky and heartfelt, The Incomer is slight but clever, with a few knockout jokes that land beautifully.
Another notable comedy was Giselle Bonilla’s twisted and psychotic The Musical. The story centers on Doug, played by Will Brill, a middle school theater teacher and loner whose girlfriend and co-worker leaves him for the principal. Doug responds by plotting theatrical revenge, staging a production designed to humiliate his boss and become the talk of the town, perhaps even the country. It may be the pettiest film I have ever seen, following one man’s obsessive descent as he tries to cause as much damage as possible. The film does not always fully land its punches, but I appreciated the chaotic energy that drives it forward.
Charming, albeit a bit dull, Molly Manners’ Extra Geography was the first film I watched at the festival, and I wish I liked it more than I did. The story follows two English boarding school girls determined to discover what it means to fall in love. The film feels heavily indebted to Rushmore by Wes Anderson, and Iyla Sundarsingh McKaig is quite charming as one of the leads. Still, the film never fully clicks.
Neither did La Cazadora, which tells the deeply disturbing story of a Mexican border city where violence against women, especially children, has become a way of life, and one mother decides to fight back. Adriana Paz delivers a gripping performance in this vigilante thriller, but I ultimately left wanting more from the film as a whole.
The final film I saw was, by far, the standout of the festival. Sundance has built a reputation for launching powerful documentaries, and this year Poh Is Teng’s American Doctor proved triumphant. The film follows three American doctors who enter Gaza and find themselves caught between medicine and politics as they confront media narratives that minimize the genocide carried out by Israeli forces.
The first half unfolds largely in the war zone, presenting tragedy on an almost unimaginable scale. One of the film’s most devastating moments comes when the director and one of the doctors debate what should be shown on screen, questioning whether cutting away from the bodies of dead children is an act of respect or a reinforcement of the sanitization of war crimes. The second half shifts focus to Western media and its role in shaping public perception, revealing how difficult it is to make the world listen. The documentary is as infuriating as it is essential. It reminds us that the best art often emerges when people are willing to risk everything to tell a universal truth. In that sense, American Doctor is not only a success but a film that embodies the spirit of Sundance.
Author Bio:
Ben Friedman is a contributing writer and film critic at Highbrow Magazine.
For Highbrow Magazine