HtN’s 12 Most Anticipated Films of Sundance 2026

After making a splash in 2025 with his unforgettable performances in Blue Moon and The Lowdown, Ethan Hawke is set to light the screen on fire again in a new American period piece. Longtime editor Padraic McKinley makes his feature directorial debut with The Weight, a Depression-era crime drama that turns into a tale of survival. Hawke stars as a convict in 1930s Oregon who makes a deal with the devil when Russell Crowe’s warden offers him a chance at freedom to reunite with his daughter, only if he smuggles gold through 100 miles of wilderness. If there’s one period piece at this year’s Sundance that should rival last year’s hit Train Dreams, let’s hope this one will have us on the edge of our seats with some stunning landscape views.

Less than a year after his stellar The Baltimorons, Jay Duplass is back behind the camera again to direct this dramedy about life after loss. See You When I See You, based on screenwriter Adam Cayton-Holland’s memoir Tragedy Plus Time, stars Duplass’ mentee Cooper Raiff in a role that the director might have handpicked for him. Aaron, a young comedy writer, is mourning the tragic loss of his sister and best friend (Kaitlyn Dever). That sentence alone may sound bleak, but knowing the knack Duplass has for turning dark material into something to laugh at/with, we should expect something that tugs on both our heartstrings and funnybones. Even with David Duchovny, Lucy Boynton, and Hope Davis backing him up as the rest of his family, this is definitely not one to sleep on in Park City.

Beth de Araújo, who made her mark with her ever-disturbing vision of modern America Soft & Quiet, is back with a look at trauma through the eyes of an 8-year-old girl. Josephine stars young newcomer Mason Reeves as the eponymous girl who witnesses a disturbing crime in Golden Gate Park and begins to succumb to fear and paranoia. Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan star as her parents, who try to help her in this unthinkable period. The film will also be making its international premiere in competition at Berlinale, so you might wanna get first dibs at Sundance. If you’ve watched de Araújo’s first film, it’s safe to presume she won’t be pulling any punches here with Josephine.

Barbara Forever

The late Barbara Hammer (1939-2019) was a pioneer not only in the world of experimental filmmaking but more significantly in the arena of Lesbian cinema. Starting in the 1970s, she explored her blossoming new (to her) sexuality both on- and off-screen, documenting her lovers in explicit images that both shocked and inspired (depending on who was watching). She finally received recognition from the art world with her inclusion in the 1987 Whitney Biennial, though by then she had already amassed a devoted following among queer fans. With Barbara Forever, director Brydie O’Connor makes her feature debut with a rousing documentary that showcases Hammer’s œuvre and lustful life in all its considerable glory. The body may not last forever, but the body of work indeed does.

Everybody to Kenmure Street

Now more than ever, citizens across the globe need to hold their governments accountable through peaceful protest, demanding that they follow the rule of law and treat everyone—especially the most vulnerable—with respect and compassion. In Everybody to Kenmure Street, documentarian Felipe Bustos Sierra (Nae Pasaran) showcases an important act of civil disobedience as the residents of the diverse neighborhood of Pollokshields in Glasgow, Scotland, refuse to allow national immigration agents and local police officers to spirit away two immigrant men on May 12, 2021. Once word gets out that a raid is in progress, residents slowly, then more quickly, begin to gather. Through interviews, footage of the day and reenactments starring, among others, Emma Thompson and Kate Dickie, Bustos Sierra walks us through the power of resistance and how, yes, we all can make a difference if we try.

To Hold a Mountain

In To Hold a Mountain, Balkan filmmaking duo Petar Glomazic and Biljana Tutorov (When Pigs Come) profile the struggles of the inhabitants of Mt. Sinjajevina in Montenegro as they work to keep the military from conducting training exercises (complete with live ammunition) on the rugged landscapes where they have lived, worked, and farmed for generations. We focus in particular on a mother, Gara, and daughter, Nada, who share quarters (and a tragic history, about which we learn later) and a lot of frequently expressed words of love. The directors and their cinematographer, Eva Kraljević, do the majestic scenery ample justice, though they also explore the inner beauty of the characters and their impressive strength and resilience. Tradition and patriarchy—and the embedded violence towards women that these twin forces empower—form the unsettling backdrop of this otherwise tender and deeply moving documentary about the true nature of heroism.

 

Staff Writer Jack Schenker

Chasing Summer

Josephine Decker returns to Sundance with a project that feels like a sharp left turn from the psychologically knotty ways of Madeline’s Madeline and Shirley. Iliza Shlesinger writes and stars as Jamie, who, after losing both her job and boyfriend, retreats to her small Texas hometown where friends and flings from a fateful high school summer turn her life upside down. The pairing of Decker’s sensory, emotionally charged filmmaking with Shlesinger’s comedic voice is an intriguing combo and the supporting cast, Megan Mullally, Lola Tung, Tom Welling, suggests something warmer and funnier than Decker’s previous work while likely retaining her poetic eye. This should be one of the best of the festival.

I Want Your Sex

Gregg Araki’s first feature film since 2014’s White Bird in a Blizzard is exactly the kind of provocation you’d hope for from the New Queer Cinema pioneer. Olivia Wilde plays Erika Tracy, a renowned artist and provocateur who hires fresh-faced Elliot (Cooper Hoffman) as her sexual muse, but Elliot soon finds himself pulled into a world of sex, obsession, power, betrayal, and murder. Araki has described it as a “sex-positive love letter to Gen Z,” co-written with Karley Sciortino, whose own affair with her boss inspired the original script over a decade ago. The cast is stacked, Chase Sui Wonders, Daveed Diggs, Johnny Knoxville, Margaret Cho, and Charli XCX in what Araki calls one of his favorite scripts. I read it myself and can assure Arraki fans they are in for retreat. A return to the neon-drenched, erotically charged chaos of his earlier work? I can only pray for a ticket.

Saccharine

Natalie Erika James opens the Midnight program on Thursday with her third feature, following the slow-burn psychological horror of Relic and the Rosemary’s Baby prequel Apartment 7A. The film revolves around a lovelorn medical student (Midori Francis) who becomes terrorized by a hungry ghost after taking part in an obscure weight-loss craze: eating human ashes. That premise alone is enough to guarantee my attendance. James has a gift for grounding supernatural terror in bodily unease and emotional isolation, and with Danielle Macdonald and Madeleine Madden rounding out the cast, this looks like body horror with real emotional stakes. Shudder and Independent Film Company snapped up the rights ahead of its premiere, which feels like a vote of confidence that this one will land. Expect another scary emotional ride.

You can check out the complete lineup of films and events at the Official Sundance Film Festival Website

– The Editorial Team