It’s true, the 2026 Sundance Film Festival hasn’t wrapped up quite yet. In-person screenings continue through February 1, and the fest won’t hand out its awards until January 30. But the crazed flurry of the event’s first weekend is in the rearview mirror—and now that its biggest titles have started to be snatched up by distributors, it’s time to take stock of what we saw, what we liked, and yes, what we didn’t.
This week on Little Gold Men, John Ross, Rebecca Ford, and Hillary Busis chat about Sundance’s ups and downs: the narrative films that earned the biggest ovations, the docs that might have a bright future next awards season, and the reasons why we frankly are not overly upset about the festival moving from Park City, Utah to Boulder, Colorado next year. (Short answer: the food situation. Long answer: you’ll need to listen to find out.)
Throughout the conversation, a few themes emerge. Charli xcx, who had not two but three films at the fest this year, might be the queen of Sundance—unless the title belongs to Olivia Wilde, who starred in two films there and directed one. The latter, a pitch-black comedy called The Invite, sparked a three-day bidding war that ended with A24 acquiring the film, reportedly for upward of $10 million. Sundance’s slate this year was filled with raunchy comedies, typically timely documentaries, and at least one star-studded ensemble film that met a more negative reception than its creators were hoping for. The group also talks about how the event unfolded even as the real world intruded on the festival bubble, in the form of both news about Minnesota and a violent incident at Sundance itself.
Listen below for our full Sundance report, as well as a masterclass on awards show fashion from VF style correspondent José Criales-Unzueta
Hillary Busis
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