The 2026 Sundance Film Festival has announced its award-winning films, presented at a ceremony at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah.
This year’s Sundance featured premieres, screenings, talks, events and more in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, including programming that honoured Robert Redford and his vision that has inspired generations of artists and redefined cinema around the world.
Grand Jury Prizes went to Josephine (U.S. Dramatic Competition), Nuisance Bear (U.S. Documentary Competition), Shame and Money (World Cinema Dramatic Competition), and To Hold a Mountain (World Cinema Documentary Competition).
The NEXT Innovator Award presented by Adobe was given to The Incomer, and the NEXT Special Jury Award presented by Adobe was given to TheyDream.
Films in competition eligible for audience awards were presented by Acura to Josephine (U.S. Dramatic Competition) and American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez (U.S. Documentary Competition) and presented by United Airlines to HOLD ONTO ME (ÊñÜôá Ìå) (World Cinema Dramatic Competition) and One in a Million (World Cinema Documentary Competition).
Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild] won the audience award for NEXT presented by Adobe.
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival jury included: Janicza Bravo, Nisha Ganatra, and Azazel Jacobs for the U.S. Dramatic Competition; Natalia Almada, Justin Chang, and Jennie Livingston for the U.S. Documentary Competition; Ana Katz, So Yong Kim, and Tatiana Maslany for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition; Toni Kamau, Bao Nguyen, and Kirsten Schaffer for the World Cinema Documentary Competition; A.V. Rockwell, Liv Constable-Maxwell, and Martin Starr for the Short Film Program Competition; and John Cooper and Trevor Groth for the NEXT section.
“As we conclude this memorable edition of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, we’re thrilled to celebrate our award-winning films and all the artists who participated in this year’s wonderful festival,” said Eugene Hernandez, director, Sundance Film Festival and public programming.
“Thank you to all of the artists and audiences who made this festival one we’ll remember for a long time, and we’re deeply grateful to our friends and partners in Park City, Salt Lake City, and all across Utah, home to so many cherished festivals.
“We salute and thank Utah’s moviegoers who have embraced this festival and our founder Robert Redford’s vision. As this 2026 edition draws to a close, we’re remembering all of these times spent together.”
“Our awards ceremony is a perfect moment to consider the journeys each artist team took while creating these stories they’ve so generously shared with us during the festival,” said Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival director of programming.
“As a programming team we are thankful for being part of the journey for so many talented filmmakers this and every year. Championing work that is distinctive, timely and impactful is our priority, and this event is a celebration of what these storytellers have achieved.”
This year’s Sundance Film Festival introduced audiences to 97 feature-length and episodic works and 54 short films — curated from a total 16,201 submissions — screening to audiences in Park City, Salt Lake City, and online across the US.
More information is available on the Sundance website.
