The Sundance Film Festival is preparing for a final bow in Park City, Utah.
Festival officials unveiled Tuesday the first wave of programming details for next year’s edition — scheduled for Jan. 22 – Feb. 1, 2026 — the final Sundance at its longtime home before moving to Boulder, Colorado, for 2027 and beyond. Pieces of intel revealed include the Park City Legacy program with archival screenings of high-profile festival selections, artist talks with boldfaced name alumni and more special events. Before getting deep into the details, top of mind for many in Hollywood will be how Sundance will pay tribute to its beloved founder, Robert Redford, who passed away last month at 89.
Per the fest, the entire event will serve as a “meaningful tribute” to Redford and his vision, not only the fest itself but the Sundance Institute, which has served as a launching and learning pad for countless filmmakers, producers and writers. In addition to “gatherings that uplift the mission he envisioned” throughout the festival — such as a Directors Brunch at Sundance Mountain Resort and a Salt Lake City celebration — Redford will be the focal point of the festival’s annual marquee fundraiser. Celebrating Sundance Institute: A Tribute to Founder Robert Redford will take place at the start of the festival.
Sundance will also present a commemorative screening of Michael Ritchie’s Downhill Racer, a drama that cast Redford as quietly cocky David Chappellet, who joins the U.S. ski team only to clash with its coach, Eugene Claire, played by Gene Hackman. The 1969 film marked Redford’s first independent film and the experience served as a catalyst that led him to create Sundance.
The Park City Legacy program, scheduled for the fest’s second half on Jan. 27-30, encompasses screenings of past festival favorites and standout titles spanning a variety of genres. It is poised to be a nostalgia bonanza with talent (directors and select cast) from each title expected to make the trek to Park City for the showings.
The program spotlights special anniversaries and will feature brand-new digital restorations of Little Miss Sunshine from Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, House Party from Reginald Hudlin, Half Nelson from Ryan Fleck, American Dream from Barbara Kopple and Mysterious Skin from Gregg Araki, as well as a recent restoration of Saw from James Wan. The series will also feature an archival screening of the late Lynn Shelton’s Humpday. More to come: A retrospective short film program and the full lineup of world premieres from emerging and established filmmakers that will run throughout the fest. Full details on confirmed participants are below.
A teaser for the films being presented at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival as part of its legacy program. From top center, left to right: Mysterious Skin, American Dream, Little Miss Sunshine, Downhill Racer, Half Nelson, Humpday, House Party, Saw. “We are not just screening classic films at the festival, but we’re shining a light on film preservation,” Nein added.
Courtesy of Sundance
“We have been so moved by the coverage, outpouring, love, stories and just the incredible response that Mr. Redford’s passing has had on his fans, the community and the industry. For us, it’s been very grounding and very clarifying to be putting together this festival that will have a culmination in Utah this year at a time when we’re also honoring and celebrating the legacy of the man who created the Institute and this festival,” offered Eugene Hernandez, director of the Sundance Film Festival and public programming, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “It will be a very emotional, significant and fun festival this year as we try to do our best to honor that legacy and that impact.”
Hernandez added that the Sundance team has also fielded a lot of incoming outreach from “amazing artists, filmmakers, actors and industry folks” that want to participate in the festival in some capacity as a way to celebrate Redford and this final Utah bow. John Nein, Sundance Film Festival senior programmer and director of strategic initiatives, added that next year’s program “is very much a reflection” of Redford’s vision and his values by way of the legacy screenings (done in collaboration with longtime partners at the UCLA Film & Television Archive), artist talks and special events, which serve the purpose of bringing community together.
“The community has always been at the center of it,” he said. “It was at the center of it for Redford. And this is a way of celebrating that [by bringing together] filmmakers, industry, staff, volunteers, the audiences in particular, and the local community. I really hope that this program reflects all of those things and honors that vision.”
The Park City Legacy program includes special talks as part of the Beyond Film series, which offers artist and filmmaker conversations on cinema, legacy, culture and more. Participants and topics will be announced at a later date but what is known (and previously reported) is that a number of those events will be held at Main Street’s iconic Egyptian Theatre, one of the first Sundance venues. Next year, it will celebrate a milestone 100 years as “the jewel of Main Street.” Said Hernandez: “To have a few special events in this iconic venue in this special year will be really meaningful. It represents and embodies the spirit, enthusiasm and significance of this moment.”
One more special event of note: A culmination event for the public will be held Jan. 30, one that, per the festival, is designed to “celebrate the many cherished memories of the over 40-year history of the annual festival founded by Robert Redford and show deep gratitude for the local Utah community.” Details and location will also be unveiled later.
While they continue to sort out details for all the special events, Hernandez and Nein confirmed that they’re still glued to screens watching as many films as possible every single day to curate the main festival programming in tandem with the team, which includes director of programming Kim Yutani. “We’re exhausted and fried, and it is incredibly competitive, as it always is,” Nein confirmed. “It’s a tough period of time for us, but I will say that these are the moments that we recognize that the festival is happening. We have passes and packages going on sale tomorrow. We have [today’s programming] announcement and it very much underscores all of the things that we are working toward.”
Ticket packages — for both in-person and online screenings or a combination thereof — will go on sale Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 9 a.m. PT. Single tickets go on sale Jan. 14. In addition to Park City screenings, Salt Lake City will once again be home to many Sundance events. More details can be found here.
Park City Legacy Films
American Dream: The Barbara Kopple-directed documentary follows what happens when workers at the Hormel meatpacking plant in Austin, Minnesota, are asked to take a substantial pay cut in a highly profitable year. The local labor union calls for a strike but as the work stoppage drags on and the strikers face losing everything, friends become enemies, families are divided, and the very future of this typical mid-American town is threatened. American Dream played at the 1991 Sundance and won an audience award, a filmmaker trophy and the grand jury prize, all in doc categories before winning an Oscar. Kopple is confirmed to return to Sundance.
Half Nelson: Ryan Fleck’s film stars Ryan Gosling as a New York City middle school teacher with a drug habit. He forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers his secret. Shareeka Epps, Ryan Gosling, Tina Holmes, Anthony Mackie, Deborah Rush and Jay O. Sanders round out the cast. Confirmed to attend the 20th anniversary screening are Fleck, his co-writer Anna Boden and others.
House Party: Reginald Hudlin’s film follows Kid, who decides to go to his friend Play’s house party, but neither of them can predict what’s in store for them on what could be the wildest night of their lives. Tisha Campbell, Full Force, Robin Harris, A.J. Johnson, Martin Lawrence and Kid ‘N Play star in the film, which premiered at Sundance in 1990. It won an excellence in cinematography prize and a filmmaker trophy. Confirmed to attend the screening are Hudlin and Warrington Hudlin.
Humpday: Lynn Shelton’s film follows two guys who take their bromance to another level when they participate in an art film project. Alycia Delmore, Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Trina Willard and Shelton star in the film that premiered in Sundance in 2009. It won a special jury prize for “spirit of independence.” Per Sundance, “It’s being screened at this year’s festival in memory of all the festival artists who have passed away but whose work remains with us.”
Little Miss Sunshine: The Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris film follows a family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant as they take a cross-country trip in their VW bus. Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano and Greg Kinnear star. It debuted at Sundance in 2006 and went on to earn four Oscar nominations, winning best original screenplay and best supporting actor for Arkin. The version screening at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival was restored by the Walt Disney Studios. Confirmed to attend the festival are Dayton, Faris, Michael Arndt, Breslin, Dano and Kinnear.
Mysterious Skin: Gregg Araki’s film follows two preadolescent boys who both experience a strange event and later it affects their lives in different ways. One becomes a reckless, adventurous sex worker, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brady Corbet, Jeffrey Licon, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Elisabeth Shue and Michelle Trachtenberg star. The film debuted at Sundance in 2005. The film was digitally restored by the Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive in conjunction with Sundance Institute, with additional funding by mk2, Frameline, Antidote Films and Strand Releasing. Araki and others will be in attendance.
Saw: James Wan’s film follows two men who awaken to find themselves on the opposite sides of a dead body, each with specific instructions to kill the other, escape or face the consequences. Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, Tobin Bell and Leigh Whannell star. The horror entry premiered in 2004 in the festival’s midnight category before launching a box office franchise. Wan and others will appear in Park City.
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