January 5, 2026
🎥 Basic Details
Dates: In-person festival: January 22 – February 1, 2026 in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. Online/at-home program: January 29 – February 1, 2026. Host & Organizer: Sundance Institute — nonprofit organization dedicated to discovering and supporting independent storytellers. This will be the last Sundance Film Festival held in Utah before the festival relocates to Boulder, Colorado in 2027.
Official site: festival.sundance.org (full schedules, ticketing details, and film info).
Selected Projects
The Festival unveiled 97 projects — including 90 feature films and 7 episodic projects — representing global voices and innovative cinema. Short Films: A slate of 54 short films has been announced, drawn from a record number of submissions. Highlighted Films: Films scheduled to premiere include Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant (Midnight section) and the documentary Cookie Queens, among many others.
Lineup Variety: The festival features a mix of feature films, documentaries, episodic storytelling, and experimental works, including world premieres and works by both emerging and established artists.
Premieres & Screenings:
- Official film premieres take place Jan 22 – Jan 27, with continued showings throughout the festival.
Park City Legacy Program:
A special program celebrating the festival’s history with archival screenings, artist talks, and community events.
Tribute Event
A “Celebrating Sundance Institute: A Tribute to Founder Robert Redford” fundraiser event will honor cinema and storytelling, with awards for distinguished contributors. (sundance.org – sundance.org)
Awards Ceremony
The jury and audience awards will be presented on January 30, 2026 in Park City.
🎟️ Tickets & Access
Ticket packages and passes are already on sale; individual screening tickets were scheduled to go on sale January 14.Online festival passes grant access to on-demand streaming of many films between Jan 29–Feb 1 (with limitations on availability per film). Tip: Popular screenings, especially in the first half of the festival, can sell out quickly, so planning and early purchase are advised
the WORD Editor Gregg W. Morris
The Sundance Film Festival is the premier showcase for independent cinema in the United States, known for discovering emerging filmmakers and launching breakout hits outside the Hollywood mainstream. Organized by the nonprofit Sundance Institute, it emphasizes original storytelling through dramatic features, documentaries, shorts, and innovative sections like New Frontier. History.
The festival began in 1978 as the Utah/US Film Festival in Salt Lake City, founded by Sterling Van Wagenen (head of Robert Redford’s company) and John Earle of the Utah Film Commission. Its original goal was to attract filmmakers to Utah and spotlight American independent films.In 1981, it moved to Park City, Utah, and shifted to January to coincide with ski season.
The Sundance Institute, founded by Robert Redford in 1981, took over operations in 1985, expanding the event and aligning it with support for independent artists.
It was renamed the Sundance Film Festival in 1991, after Redford’s character (the Sundance Kid) from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and his Sundance Resort in Utah.
Redford’s involvement was pivotal in elevating its profile, though the event predates the Institute.Significance and ImpactSundance has launched careers and films that shaped indie cinema, including:sex, lies, and videotape (1989) by Steven Soderbergh
Reservoir Dogs (1992) by Quentin Tarantino
Clerks (1994) by Kevin Smith
Works by the Coen Brothers, Ava DuVernay, Ryan Coogler, and many others
It features competitive sections for U.S. and international films, plus non-competitive premieres, midnight screenings, and panels. The festival draws global attention, with awards often propelling films to wider distribution and Oscars.Location and Recent Developments Held annually in January in Park City (with some screenings in Salt Lake City), the 2025 edition ran from January 23 to February 2 in Utah. However, 2025 marked one of the last in Park City; starting in 2027, the festival will relocate to Boulder, Colorado.visitutah.com