'A lot for everyone': Sundance releases programming for final Utah film festival

PARK CITY — From Girl Scouts selling cookies, to a Tokyo ballroom dancer dealing with tragedy and a hilarious rivalry between a middle school teacher and his principal, the final Sundance Film Festival in Utah has something for just about everyone.

The Sundance Institute announced its 2026 film festival lineup on Wednesday, featuring many easily recognizable celebrities, up-and-coming stars and soon-to-be-discovered artists. It includes documentaries about environmental impacts and feature films ranging from wacky and weird comedy to thrillers and romance.

"I think there's just a lot for everyone in the lineup this year," senior programmer Basil Tsiokos said. "It's going to be a fun year."

Tsiokos and fellow programmer Heidi Zwicker, who together have more than three decades of experience with the film festival, help decide on the film lineups each year. The Sundance Film Festival is a place for audiences to discover new stories, new talent and different kinds of storytelling, the programmers said.

"There is a lot of films that will give audiences totally different experiences," said Zwicker. "It's really based on what artists are thinking about ... and what artists are thinking about and making work about is what's on everybody's minds."

The film that won this year's title of Salt Lake City Celebration Film was "Cookie Queens," a documentary following a group of Girl Scouts with winning personalities competing to sell the most cookies. It will premiere on Jan. 24 as part of the family matinee section of the festival.

The festival puts a spotlight on the Salt Lake City Celebration Film, hoping it "makes a splash" and is something everyone can love.

"What are the movies you could recommend to literally anybody, knowing nothing about them? 'Cookies Queens' is the movie that you will have a good time," Zwicker said.

"We love this film so much. It's got great energy, it's funny, it's sweet, and just fantastic personalities involved," Tsiokos added.

Another film likely to interest Utahns is "The Lake," directed by local filmmaker Abby Ellis. The film is a "smart look" at what is happening environmentally with the Great Salt Lake and potential future repercussions.

"A super resonant, topical film for Utah audiences that we thought was just amazing ... It looks at it in the perspective of 'How can we work together to save this incredible, valuable resource in the state?' We think it'll be of great interest to local Utahns," Tsiokos said.

The complete film lineup is available on the Sundance website.

A legacy of discovery

At the heart of this year's Sundance Film Festival, which will be the final one held in Utah before it moves to Boulder, Colorado, is founder Robert Redford.

The Oscar-winning director founded the Sundance Institute in 1981 to support up-and-coming films and producers through labs, workshops and mentorship programs. His goal for the festival was to find and support independent storytellers and although he died this past September, his legacy of discovery is continuing.

"Mr. Redford had a quote that 'Everybody has a story.' I think that is so true. And it's us being the platform for people sharing those stories," Tsiokos said.

Sundance still functions that way, he added, by providing a space for different filmmakers who may not have the same resources or the right connections in the industry yet, to create big-budget films. The festival creates space for artists to reach audiences in new ways.

Supporting independent artists is the "core of what we've done and will always do," Zwicker said. While there are many existing art support systems in America and other popular film hubs, he said it is important to be an option for anyone who doesn't have traditional or clear paths to filmmaking.

"It just feels good and feels like it's something that is important for us to consider and make sure the opportunity of a festival is available to artists, even if they don't have a lot of the frameworks that get them there automatically," Zwicker said.

Out of thousands of submissions from 164 countries, the 90 films that made the lineup represent almost 30 countries and territories. Honoring Redford's legacy means looking at a variety of perspectives from all over the world.

"There's more than just Hollywood and New York. It's important for us to find those voices and those creators that are working in nontraditional places ... because that's where they draw inspiration. Internationally, there's fantastic storytellers out there that should be exposed to U.S. audiences," Tsiokos said.

This year, 40% of the films feature first-time filmmakers.

"We really hold tight to this idea of being a festival of discovery, which typically means we are looking at a lot of first-time director works. To discover new talent and offer them a platform at a new stage is really central to what we're doing," Zwicker said.

But discovery doesn't always mean just first-time filmmakers, she said. Sometimes there are producers or directors who have made several movies, but they haven't gotten a lot of recognition until they find a place at the Sundance Film Festival. Other filmmakers start out with short films before branching into the feature film world, bringing talent the Sundance audience has already seen, but in a new medium. Four of the films this year are from such filmmakers.

Related:

How Sundance Film Festival came to be what it is

Sundance Film Festival is celebrating 40 seasons this year, but Utah's premier film festival wasn't always a 10-day extravaganza in Park City, or even in the winter.

Fourteen of this year's feature films started as projects supported by the Sundance Institute through grants or residency labs. While there is no requirement for films made at the Sundance Institute to submit for the film festival, people choosing to do so is a testament to the success of the institute's labs and programs, Tsiokos said.

"It's always fantastic to see the work that comes out of that realm," Tsiokos said. "It's really exciting because we know our colleagues have seen something in this work and that they've helped shepherd these projects."

The Sundance Film Festival will be held in Park City and Salt Lake City from Jan. 22 to Feb. 1. A Park City Legacy program during the second half of the festival will honor the city through archival screenings, artist talks and a special, public "culmination event" to celebrate the final Utah festival.

"We have such gratitude for Utahns who have helped make this festival possible, from providing films, volunteering, working with us, opening up their homes and city to us, we really wanted to give back in a certain way," Tsiokos said.

Related topics