What to watch: Bittersweet Sundance 2026 serves up some great films
Two ground-shifting events profoundly affected the Sundance Film Festival this year — the 2025 death of beloved founder Robert Redford and the fest’s pending 2027 relocation to Boulder, Colorado. It turned what remains the premiere celebration of independent cinema into a bittersweet affair.
But there were still numerous films and shorts — including the award-winning “The Baddest Speechwriter of All” (it’s a gem) from Oscar winner Ben Proudfoot and Warriors star Stephen Curry — to keep things from getting too melancholy.
The good news? Some films are heading to screens near you soon.
In fact, one of the buzzier Sundance titles — “The Moment” — opens this weekend in the Bay Area.
Here are some of the full-length features that impressed us.
“The Moment”: Aidan Zamiri uses a scalpel, not a cleaver, to carve away at the absurdity of celeb culture and corporate sponsorship in his mockumentary that fictionalizes a hyped-to-the-max debut concert tour of one of today’s most meteoric talents — Charli xcx. “The Moment” is a slyly rebellious film. Zamiri’s gift for the visual (he’s a photographer and videographer) clicks with the material and lends it an appropriate flashy style. The plot, if you could call it that, finds “Brat” singer Charli and her entourage clashing with less-than-visionary director Johannes Godwin (Alexander Skarsgård), who’s tagged by corporate types to direct Charli xcx’s anticipated tour concert film. Johannes’ limited talents are best suited for tire commercials and has an assistant who smiles, says nothing and doesn’t understand the concept of personal space. She’s a minor player in this film, but a scene stealer, as is Rosanna Arquette, who plays the head of Charli’s record label. At its epicenter, though, is Charli xcx, who’s already showing signs of being a major actor. While “The Moment” could have satirized celebs, fame and fandom with more venom, it does show fangs at times. An emergency trip for Charli xcx to an Ibiza wellness retreat jabs at the coddling of the rich and famous and the temperamental stars who who care for them. That bit is a high point in a cunning time-capsule-worthy satire that socks it to corporate America and our fan worshipping selves. Details: 3 stars out of 4; opens Feb. 6 in Bay Area theaters.
“Cookie Queens”: The one Sundance film that brightened my days (and warmed my cold nights in Park City) was Alysa Nahmias’ sweet-as-Snickerdoodles documentary. This undeniable charmer rambles along with four Girl Scouts as they go about the business of selling cookies. Executive produced by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, it’s a little yet major pick-me-up that celebrates girl power (one Girl Scout even advocates for better pay!). It’s adorable but it also presents the real-life challenges that the girls and their parents face. You’d have to be the ultimate sourpuss not to have your heart melted by this one, especially when cute 5-year-old Ara takes her Radio Flyer wagon onto the San Diego beach to sell cookies and is willing to wait for one potential customer to return. Now that’s dedication. Details: 3½ stars; release date pending.
“I Want Your Sex”: The raunchiest and funniest comedy I saw at Sundance was Gregg Araki’s take-down of Generation Z’s ambivalent attitude toward sex. As sex-deprived Elliot, Cooper Hoffman is well-cast to become the willing plaything for the desires and needs of Olivia Wilde’s Erika Taylor, a boss with an enormous sexual appetite and an even more enormous collection of sex toys. The supporting players — including some too-good-to-reveal-here cameos — get into Araki’s frisky spirit, from Oakland native Daveed Diggs as Erika’s right-hand person who might have the upper hand, Charli xcx as Elliot’s sexually disinterested girlfriend and Mason Gooding and Chase Sui Wonders as sideline characters that get caught in the Erika-Elliot sexual hijinks. What goes on here is so outrageous it’d make the head of HR run screaming from the building. “I Want Your Sex” surprises at every turn and is impossible to resist. Eyebrows will get raised. Details: 3½ stars; release date pending.
“Wicker”: A medieval fisherwoman (Oliva Colman), whom everyone in a narrow-minded village treats wretchedly, tromps off into the woods and demands that a basket-weaver (Peter Dinklage) weave her a husband. Before you can say presto-change-o, Wicker Man (the hunky Alexander Skarsgård) appears and some avid lovemaking ensues. But their arduous passion and love story rankles some jealous villagers. Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson’s ribald fable casts a comedic spell as it leads to a Satisfying finale. You’ll have a good time with this one. Details: 3½ stars; release date pending.
“Union County”: Of all the Sundance performances I saw this year, the one that most blew me away (and left me in tears) was delivered by Will Poulter. He rips your heart out as Cody Parks, a homeless Ohio man struggling to climb out of an addiction snake pit and agonizing over his past actions that led him to be ostracized from his sister. Debuting director Adam Meeks’ sensitive and compassionate drama is realistic but has more going for it than just being bleak and hopeless. In fact, it extends a hand and offers hope. The testimonials from real people who are getting their life back, along with Poulter’s perfect performance, power this beautiful drama that has an electrified real docudrama feel to it. Details: 3½ stars; release date pending.
“Bedford Park”: Writer/director Stephanie Ahn’s ambitious feature explores tough cultural concepts and is honest, aware and smart in every way. At face value, Audrey (Moon Choi) and Eli (Son Sukku) don’t seem to have much in common, but as we get to know them it’s evident that Audrey, a physical therapist, and Eli, who works security, are both lugging around some hefty emotional baggage. They share another bond; both feel trapped by family demands and expectations. Sexy, moving and poignant, “Bedford Park” doesn’t soft-pedal the reality of being children of immigrants and never takes the easy way with overly convenient answers or solutions. It also should turn Sukku into a star. Details: 3½ stars; acquired by Sony Pictures Classics, release date pending.
“Leviticus”: While a bunch of films arrived at the festival with studio deals in hand, many didn’t. The first film to sell was Aussie director Adrian Chiarella’s unforgettable queer horror debut. Neon snatched it up for good reason. Scary and sexy, it gives us two closeted teens (Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen) who fall victim to a gay exorcism of sorts. But there’s a catch: All that fire and brimstone nonsense conjures up for each youngster mirror image of the person they desire — each other. But there’s a catch: The doppelganger is a brute and wants to kill. The premise offers ample opportunities for good scares, tension and symbolism, and there’s a steamy scene aboard a bus. Details: 3½ stars; release date pending.
“The Incomer”: An office drone (Domhnall Gleeson) with a huge appreciation of “The Lord of the Rings” gets saddled with a rotten task, booting off a remote Scottish island its two sole inhabitants – an eccentric sister and brother duo who dress up and caw like gulls. Nutty characters like that could well test our patience but actors Gayle Rankin and Grant O’Rourke and writer/director Louis Paxton make them the type of kooks you can’t help but love. You’ll also crush on Gleeson. “The Incomer” is refreshingly upbeat, never mean and immediately puts you in a good mood. No wonder it took home the top prize in the Next category Details: 3½ stars; release date pending.
“Josephine”: While on an early morning jog with her dad (Channing Tatum), 8-year-old Josephine (Mason Reeves in a knockout debut) witnesses a rape in Golden Gate Park. a violent act that goes on to traumatize and change and reshape the comfortable lives of both her and her parents. San Francisco native Beth de Araújo’s sophomore feature film collected two Sundance awards and deservedly so. Told from the perspective of Josephine, this is one tough and raw picture, especially in its first 15 minutes. But it is a forceful and important work, one that painstakingly reflects how a loving family struggles to do right by each other but find that they don’t always say and do the right things. Gemma Chan co-stars and gives a nuanced performance as Jospehine’s mom. But this is Tatum’s finest few hours on film. He’s never been better. Details: 3½ stars; release date pending.
“The Last First: Winter K2”: A mad dash to be first mountaineers to conquer K2 in winter leads to fatal missteps in Berkeley native Amir Bar-Lev’s gripping investigative documentary. With frank testimonials and unsettling video from that deadly ascent, it becomes quite evident that unsound decisionmaking and mistakes contributed to this 2021 tragedy. What an eye-opening but heartbreaking film. Details: 3½ stars; release date pending.
“Hot Water”: Sundance is ever so fond of its “road trip” dramedies, funny-sad crowdpleasers with dysfunctional relatives better understanding each other as they clock more miles. Ramzi Bashou’s first feature doesn’t deviate from that playbook per se and that’s OK given its mother-son dynamic – she’s an Arabic professor, and he’s a student and hockey player in trouble for taking a hockey stick to another student – is so compelling, touching and real. The duo’s car trip from Indiana and Colorado so that mom Layal (Lubna Azabel) can bring 19-year-old Danny (Daniel Zolghadri) to his father (Gabe Fazio) leads to stop overs with likeable eccentrics, including one played by Dale Dickey. It’s an undemanding watch but I enjoyed riding along with both the characters and the actors, especially when they land in Santa Cruz. Details: 3 stars; release date pending.
“Barbara Forever”: When done well, film bios about an influential person – such as someone like groundbreaker Barbara Hammer, who made over 80 sensual films that illuminated the lesbian experience – not only inform but conveys the various hues of their subject’s personality. Director Brydie O’Connor deep dive into an archive of videos and films of Hammer gives us a rich, loving portrait of Hammer, an icon who lived in Berkeley and filmed some of her films in the Bay Area. “Barbara Forever” took home an editing award (justly deserved) and takes an experimental approach that mirrors Hammer’s indelible work that is as touching as it is elucidating. Details: 3½ stars; release date pending.
“Nuisance Bear”: One film that captures the late Robert Redford’s vision and intention for creating a festival dedicated to films that shine a light on a subject, a place and a people often not heard from, is director Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman’s sad but enlightening award winner (audience award for U.S. documentary). It opens our eyes to the plight of polar bears – one in particular that has become too familiar with the human realm in Canada’s Churchill, Manitoba – deemed “the polar bear capital of the world.” Narrated by an Inuit man, “Nuisance Bear” defies categorization but offers wise insight through showing not telling. It’s subtle, affecting and unforgettable. Details: 3½ stars; release date pending.
Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.