Film

The film based on director Beth de Araújo’ own childhood experience won the U.S. dramatic grand jury prize and the audience award at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

As the storied independent film festival prepares to leave its longtime Utah home, attendees and film industry insiders look back.

Streaming became popular during COVID-19 and remains a beloved option. You can watch on your computer or TV through the Sundance Film Festival website.

It's a question asked as people move from film to film and wander Park City's streets: “Will you still go to the festival when it moves to Boulder?”

Sundance 2026 marks the last edition in its longtime Utah home and the first without founder Robert Redford, who died in September. Redford will be honored with tributes and retrospective screenings.

Price hikes and password sharing crackdowns have customers reconsidering how much they’re willing to spend on streaming services. But physical media isn’t dead, and “take a movie, leave a movie” is easy on the wallet.

The final Utah festival slate includes documentaries on figures like Brittney Griner and Nelson Mandela, and feature films starring the likes of Natalie Portman and Channing Tatum.

This January, Sundance's last in Utah, will feature a screening of Redford's first independent film, “Downhill Racer,” along with restored festival classics like “Little Miss Sunshine” and “House Party.”

Redford died “at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,” publicist Cindi Berger said in a statement. No cause of death was provided.

During the pandemic, the country lost thousands of movie screens. Utah has seen theater closures over the past few years in towns like Park City, Sandy, American Fork, and West Valley City.

Colorado, like Outdoor Retailer before, has lured away another Utah institution. The film festival has called Utah home since 1978.

Film wasn’t the only thing on people’s minds at Sundance this year. The effects of the wildfires in Southern California loomed large, as did the bittersweet knowledge that this year will be the second to last Sundance based in Park City.