Sundance Says Farewell to Park City in Politically Charged Final Year

It’s hard to believe this will be the last time Hollywood descends on the slopes of Utah, but Park City is rolling up its red carpet for good after this year’s edition of the Sundance Film Festival. Usually a celebratory, cinematic kickoff to the year and an escapist cinephile event, 2026 was overshadowed by the charged political climate in the United States.

Things didn’t get off to a good start. During the festival’s opening weekend, Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a Florida Democrat, recounted being punched in the face by a man who uttered racist remarks and said, “Trump was going to deport me.” Meanwhile, the harrowing events in Minneapolis continued to unfold and were on every film-goer’s mind. “We are sitting here talking about movies while an illegal army is being mounted against US citizens,” actor Edward Norton said during press rounds for Olivia Wilde’s The Invite.

Nonetheless, audiences and filmmakers soldiered on, and buyers were busy. The mountain air always seems to power big-time deals, and Neon snapped up North American theatrical and international rights to the buzzy queer horror Midnight flick, Leviticus. Meanwhile, A24 and Focus are grappling over The Invite, based on the Spanish film The People Upstairs and starring Wilde, Norton, Seth Rogen, and Penelope Cruz. The surprise, buyers-only screening of Jim Rash and Nat Faxon’s Miss You, Love You was buoyed by Julia Roberts who popped into town to show her support, even though she’s not in the film.

Among the pictures generating must-see accolades is Carousel, a romance starring Chris Pine and Jenny Slate, from director Rachel Lambert, whose last effort was the severely underrated Sometimes I Think About Dying. Gregg Araki’s saucy I Want Your Sex sparked discussions about Gen Z’s timidity toward sex. Beth de Araujo’s Josephine starring Gemma Chan and Channing Tatum is already sparking awards season predictions. David Wain’s big broad comedy Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass earned lots of laughs with its outrageous hijinks paired with plenty of cameos. And Charli xcx continues her move into movies with The Moment, a music world satire that looks to finally close the curtain on brat season.

European Film Promotion were busy on the ground, getting the word out about a strong handful of movies. Among the highlights is Andrius Blazevicius How To Divorce During The War, a thorny look at Russia’s invasion of Ukraine through the lens of a couple falling apart and turning to activism. The title seems poised to be a favorite with programmers at festivals through the rest of the year. Sinead O’Shea’s documentary All About the Money should draw similar interest, with its timely look at the fascinating story of James “Fergie” Chambers, a mega-multimillionaire using his wealth to fund a revolution. Coming from the other end of the equation, Visar Morina’s drama Shame and Money is a highlight chronicling a Kosovar family who find themselves starting over and struggling to make ends meet in the gig economy.

Next year, the Sundance Film Festival will trade the hustle and bustle of Park City for Boulder, Colorado. It will be an interesting transition for a festival that has long staked its reputation on the intimacy Sundance affords; the possibility that you’ll be sharing a screening room or bus ride with an A-lister seated beside you or a future Christopher Nolan or Steven Soderbergh next to you in line for a sandwich. But as the festival approaches its 50th year, it’s no longer the cozy shindig first started by Robert Redford — it’s an event that reminds us that in a world that seems more divided, cinema has the power to bring us together.