Jan 24, 2026
3 min read
A roundup of all the film reviews of the 2026 Sandan Film Festival, the last in park City before the event has been moved to boulder, Co.
It was Sundance's last dance in Park City as the indie-focused festival prepares to move to Boulder, Colorado next year.It is also the first festival to proceed without Oscar-winning founder Robert Redford, who died in September.
The 42nd edition of the event kicked off Jan. 22 and runs through Sunday, Feb. 1, with a lineup that includes 105 projects — including 90 features and seven TV episodes — being shown in Park City, near Salt Lake City, and online.
Below is a collection of our reviews of the festival.Click on the title of the film to read our full review.
Be careful
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Directed by: Casper Kelly
Screenwriters: Casper Kelly, Jamie King
Avec : Kristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, Topher Grace, Keegan-Michael Key, Michael Shannon, Patton Oswalt
The tykaway: Casper Kelly plays with shape in a way that may seem off-putting for some, but there is always a method to his madness.An ingenious slasher film with mass-dishes of colorless comedy, it is about what TV means for us - how much we invest in what is obviously fraud and what is really not.
Umlawuli – writer: Rachel Lambert
Actori: Chris Pine, Jenny Slate, Abby Ryder Fortson, Sam Waterston, Katey Sagal, Jessica Harper, Jeffrey DeMunn, Helene York
Takeaway: A story about love lost, love found again, and the cost of both, with the burden of the past, the lack of the present, and questions about the future.Chris Pine is a good actor who doesn't often get the chance to play this kind of brooding adult role, and he's good at it.- PH
Ha-chan, shake your attitude!
Section: Theater Competition in the United States
Directed by Joseph Kubota Vladyka
Aðalhlutverk: Rinko Kikuchi, Alberto Guerra, Alejandro Edda, YOU, Yoh Yoshida, Damián Alcázar
's takeaway: Wladyka paints a beautiful picture of life and love, grief and closure, using dance as a universal language to express all of the above, with the help of a talented group of Japanese and Latin actors led by Rinko Kikuchi.— GG
Section: World Drama Competition
Writer and Director: Louis Paxton
Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Gail Rankin, Grant O'Rourke, Michelle Gomez, John Hannah
N's takeaway: Against the odds, thanks to the main three, Incomer pulls together, finally addressing the story's dark well of sadness and ending on an upbeat but surprisingly mature and emotional note.— DW
Category: American drama competition
Writer-Director: Beth de Araujo
Cast: Mason Reeves, Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, Philip Ettinger, Syra McCarthy, Eleanore Pienta
Takeaway: Josephine has a tough time from the start, the rape is shown graphically on screen and witnessed by an 8-year-old girl.But it effectively offers a different POV on the human cost of rape and frustration with the legal system, and may help other victims of childhood trauma.— PH
Director and screenwriter: Natalie Erica James
Abalingisi: Midori Francis, Danielle Macdonald, Madeleine Madden
Seaway: When the main character in a graphic, overlong body horror image for trash doesn't seem like an apt metaphor, she doesn't see trash for a dumpster.- g
