The winners of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival were announced today, Friday, January 30. A list of the feature awards follows:
US Documentary Competition Awards:
World Cinema Documentary Competition Awards:
US Dramatic Competition Awards:
World Cinema Dramatic Competition Awards:
NEXT Awards:
Festival Favorite:
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
AMERICAN DREAM (1990)
When workers at the Hormel meatpacking plant in Austin, Minnesota are forced to take a substantial pay cut, the local union takes a stand for its members. Their strike tests the fragile promise of the American ideal, revealing the cost of survival when the dream no longer feels shared.
Director:
Barbara Kopple
Producers:
Arthur Cohn, Barbara Kopple
Festival Section:
Park City Legacy
More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
THE STORY OF DOCUMENTARY FILM
Tracing the evolution of documentary film across time, examining landmark works and hidden treasures, while revealing how the form has helped us see and make sense of our world.
Director:
Mark Cousins
Producer:
John Archer
Country of Origin:
UK
Festival Section:
Special Screening
More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
COOKIE QUEENS
It’s Girl Scout Cookie season, and four tenacious girls strive to be a top-selling “Cookie Queen,” navigating an $800 million business in which childhood and ambition collide.
Director:
Alysa Nahmias
Producers:
Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw, Alysa Nahmias, Jennifer Sims
Festival Section:
Family Matinee
More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
BROKEN ENGLISH
A portrait of the inimitable singer, songwriter, and icon Marianne Faithfull.
Directors:
Jane Pollard, Iain Forsyth
Producer:
Beth Earl
Country of Origin:
UK
Festival Section:
Spotlight
More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
THE OLIGARCH AND THE ART DEALER
Yves Bouvier brokers masterpieces, from da Vinci to Rothko, into the private collection of Dmitry Rybolovlev until Bouvier is accused of a billion-dollar betrayal. Rising ambitions, frayed relationships, and bruised egos fuel a decade-long all-out war between the Swiss art dealer and the elusive Russian oligarch.
Director:
Andreas Dalsgaard
Executive Producers:
Libby Geist, Connor Shell, Brandon Harrison, Justin Lacob, Charles De Lardemelle, Rain Rannu, Ines Bensalem
Producers:
Christoph Jörg, Miriam Norgaard
Country of Origin:
Denmark/France/USA
Festival Section:
Episodic
More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
MURDER 101
A case that haunted Tennessee’s best detectives for decades is cracked wide open by the most unlikely of investigators: a high school sociology class.
Director:
Stacey Lee
Executive Producers:
Stephanie Lydecker, Dianne McGunigle, Jon Watts
Producer:
William Crouse
Festival Section:
Episodic
More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
THE BEST SUMMER
Immersive POV camera footage reveals electric performances, candid interviews, and intimate backstage life with the Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Pavement, Rancid, Beck, The Amps, and Bikini Kill — an all-access view inside an era-defining moment in music.
Director:
Tamra Davis
Producers:
Tamra Davis, Shelby Meade
Festival Section:
Midnight
More Info:
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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
WHEN A WITNESS RECANTS
In 1983, author Ta-Nehisi Coates learned that a 14-year-old boy was murdered in his Baltimore middle school. Upon revisiting the case, he uncovers the truth: Three innocent teenagers were wrongfully convicted and spent 36 years in prison — creating a lasting impact on the accused, the witnesses, and their community.
Director:
Dawn Porter
Producers:
Dawn Porter, Miriam Weintraub, Jennifer Oko
Festival Section:
Premieres
More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
TROUBLEMAKER
The struggle against apartheid is recounted through Nelson Mandela’s own voice, drawn from recordings he made while writing his autobiography LONG WALK TO FREEDOM.
Director:
Antoine Fuqua
Producers:
Antoine Fuqua, Mac Maharaj, Arthur Landon, Kevin Mann, Mark Bauch, Markus Davies
Country of Origin:
South Africa/USA/UK
Festival Section:
Premieres
More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
