Sundance has announced the Park City Legacy program for the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, the last festival to be held in Park City, Utah.
The program is meant to celebrate “the Festival’s rich history and shared experiences in Utah through archival and restoration screenings of iconic films from previous editions, artists talks with notable Festival alumni, and a special event for the community,” according to the official statement. Additionally, this year’s festival will serve “as a meaningful tribute to Robert Redford and his vision that has inspired generations of artists and redefined cinema around the world.”
The Sundance Film Festival will be held from January 22–February 1, 2026, both in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with an at-home program available online from January 29–February 1, 2026, for audiences across the country.
In remembrance of Redford, there will be a commemorative screening of “Downhill Racer,” “his first independent film and a passion project that was his catalyst for the creation of Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival.” Also throughout the festival, there will be “gatherings that uplift the mission he envisioned, including the Celebrating Sundance Institute: A Tribute to Founder Robert Redford event, Salt Lake City Celebration event, and the Directors Brunch at Sundance Mountain Resort where the 2026 filmmakers will convene, among other moments,” according to the press release.
The Park City Legacy program will take place from Tuesday, January 27, through Friday, January 30, during the second half of the festival.
“This year’s lineup represents a cross section of the stories that reflect the Sundance Film Festival’s tradition of programming bold narratives,” with screenings that include director appearances and select cast members (to be revealed), “sparking fresh dialogue and connection through storytelling,” for brand-new digital restorations of “Little Miss Sunshine,” “House Party’” “Half Nelson,” “American Dream” and “Mysterious Skin,” as well as a recent restoration of “Saw.”
The series will also feature an archival screening of “Humpday.” Also showing is a retrospective short film program. A full lineup will be announced of world premieres from emerging and established filmmakers that will run throughout the duration of the Festival.
The Park City Legacy program will “additionally include special talks — as part of the Beyond Film series offering artist and filmmaker discussions — bringing alumni artists together for conversations reflecting on the meaning and evolution of legacy, with participants to be announced. A selection of talks will be held at the Egyptian Theatre, one of the first venues for the Sundance Film Festival.”
“This will be an especially poignant year for us as we reflect on the vision of our late Founder, Robert Redford, who redefined cinema and provided a home for generations of artists when he created Sundance Institute. In the coming weeks as we announce the projects premiering at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, we aim to have these compelling new stories in conversation with films from the Festival’s first four decades and also share moments that connect our history as a Festival with the present and future of independent filmmaking,” saidEugene Hernandez, Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming, in an official statement. “We’re looking forward to honoring the Festival’s time in Park City and Robert Redford’s legacy. His fearless support of artistic integrity and risk-taking is at the core of the work we continue to do, and the 2026 Festival will be a celebration of that important mission.”
“The program announced today carries special significance as we mark and honor this year’s Festival in Utah and is the start to a full slate of projects to be unveiled in the coming weeks,” said Kim Yutani, Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival, in an official statement. “This coming January we’re looking forward to hosting our community of alumni, artists, industry, staff, and volunteers with deep connections to the Festival in Utah as they come together in celebration of a place so meaningful to us all.”
“Over the almost 30 years of Sundance Institute’s collaboration with our partner, the UCLA Film & Television Archive, we’ve not only worked to ensure that the Festival’s legacy endures through film preservation, but we’ve seen that output feed an astonishing resurgence of repertory cinema programming across the country,” said John Nein, Sundance Film Festival Senior Programmer and Director of Strategic Initiatives, in an official statement. “The films we’ve preserved and the newly restored films screening at this year’s Festival, including some big anniversaries, are an important way to keep the independent stories from years past alive in our culture today.”
Starting Wednesday at 9 a.m. PT, in-person ticket packages and passes and online ticket packages and passes will be on sale at festival.sundance.org/tickets. Single film tickets will go on sale starting January 14, 2026.
The Sundance Film Festival is an artist program of Sundance Institute, a nonprofit that has supported thousands of artists every year plus thousands more through its public programming. Proceeds earned through Festival ticket sales go to uplifting and developing emerging artists on a year-round basis through focused labs, direct grants, fellowships, residencies, and more.
PARK CITY LEGACY FILMS
Park City Legacy films are archival screenings of titles that premiered at previous editions of the Sundance Film Festival, allowing new audiences to experience these stories in a theatrical setting and giving audiences the opportunity to discover and rediscover the films that have shaped the heritage of both Sundance Institute and independent storytelling.
American Dream / U.S.A. (Director & Producer: Barbara Kopple, Producer: Arthur Cohn)<> — When workers at the Hormel meatpacking plant in Austin, Minnesota, are asked to take a substantial pay cut in a highly profitable year, the local labor union decides to go on strike and fight for a wage they believe is fair. But as the work stoppage drags on and the strikers face losing everything, friends become enemies, families are divided, and the very future of this typical mid-American town is threatened. Participants: Lewie Anderson, R.J. Bergstrom, Ron Bergstrom, Wayne Goodnature, Jim Guyette, Jesse Jackson.
- 35th anniversary. American Dream played at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival as part of the U.S. Documentary Competition and took home an Audience Award: Documentary, a Filmmaker Trophy: Documentary, and the Grand Jury Prize: Documentary. It won the 1991 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Supervised and approved by director Barbara Kopple, this 4K digital restoration was undertaken by Janus Films and the Criterion Collection from a scan of the 16 mm internegative. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35 mm DME magnetic track.
*In attendance will be Barbara Kopple.
Half Nelson / U.S.A. (Director & Screenwriter: Ryan Fleck, Screenwriter & Producer: Anna Boden, Producers: Lynette Howell Taylor, Rosanne Korenberg, Alex Orlovsky, Jamie Patricof) — A New York City middle school teacher with a drug habit forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students after she discovers his secret. Cast: Shareeka Epps, Ryan Gosling, Tina Holmes, Anthony Mackie, Deborah Rush, Jay O. Sanders.
- 20th anniversary. Half Nelson premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival in the Dramatic Competition after participating in the 2005 Sundance Institute Screenplay Reading Series and the 2004 Sundance Institute June Screenwriters Lab. Ryan Gosling was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in 2007 for his performance.
*In attendance will be Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden, and others.
House Party / U.S.A. (Director & Screenwriter: Reginald Hudlin, Producer: Warrington Hudlin ) — Kid decides to go to his friend Play’s house party, but neither of them can predict what’s in store for them on what could be the wildest night of their lives. Cast: Tisha Campbell, Full Force, Robin Harris, A.J. Johnson, Martin Lawrence, Kid ‘N Play.
- House Party premiered at the 1990 Sundance Film Festival in the Dramatic Competition, where it won the Excellence in Cinematography Award: Dramatic and the Filmmaker Trophy: Dramatic. Supervised by director of photography Peter Deming and approved by director Reginald Hudlin, this new 4K restoration was undertaken by the Criterion Collection in collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery using the 35 mm original camera. The original 4.0 surround soundtrack was remastered from the LCRS 35 mm magnetic DME stems.
*In attendance will be Reginald Hudlin and Warrington Hudlin.
Humpday / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, & Producer: Lynn Shelton) — Two guys take their bromance to another level when they participate in an art film project. Cast: Alycia Delmore, Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Lynn Shelton, Trina Willard.
- Humpday premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival in the Dramatic Competition, where it won a Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Independence. It’s being screened at this year’s Festival in memory of all the Festival artists who have passed away but whose work remains with us.
Little Miss Sunshine / U.S.A. (Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris, Screenwriter: Michael Arndt, Producers: Marc Turtletaub, David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa) — A family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus. Cast: Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Greg Kinnear.
- 20th anniversary. Little Miss Sunshine premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival as the first feature film for directing duo Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. After its debut in the Premieres section of the Festival, the film earned four nominations at the Academy Awards, including Best Picture and a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Abigail Breslin. It took home Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Alan Arkin. The film also won multiple awards at the Independent Spirit Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. The version screening at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival was restored by The Walt Disney Studios using a new 4K 16-bit scan of the original negative at Roundabout Entertainment under the supervision of directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.
*In attendance will be Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris, Michael Arndt, Abigail Breslin, Paul Dano, and Greg Kinnear.
Mysterious Skin / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, & Producer: Gregg Araki, Producers: Jeffrey Kusama-Hinte, Mary Jane Skalski) — Two preadolescent boys both experienced a strange event and later it affects their lives in different ways. One becomes a reckless, adventurous sex worker, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction. Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brady Corbet, Jeffrey Licon, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Elisabeth Shue, Michelle Trachtenberg.
- Mysterious Skin was in the 2005 Sundance Film Festival as part of the Premieres section after being developed at the 1997 June Screenwriters Lab based off of author Scott Heim’s acclaimed coming-of-age novel of the same title. Mysterious Skin was digitally restored by the Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive in conjunction with Sundance Institute in 4K from the original 35 mm A/B camera negatives and original sound elements. The restoration was supervised by Gregg Araki at Resillion and Monkeyland Audio. The restoration was funded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, mk2, Frameline, Sundance Institute, and UCLA Film & Television Archive, with additional funding and services by Antidote Films and Strand Releasing.
*In attendance will be Gregg Araki and others.
Saw / U.S.A. (Director & Screenwriter: James Wan, Screenwriter: Leigh Whannell, Producers: Gregg Hoffman, Oren Koules, Mark Burg) — Two men awaken to find themselves on the opposite sides of a dead body, each with specific instructions to kill the other, escape or face the consequences. These two are the latest contestants in Jigsaw’s games. Cast: Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Monica Potter, Michael Emerson, Ken Leung, Tobin Bell, Leigh Whannell.
- Saw premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival in the Midnight category. A digital restoration from a 4K scan of the 35 mm Interpositive (IP) was supervised and approved by the director.
*In attendance will be James Wan and others.
TALKS & EVENTS
As part of the Park City Legacy program, a series of special talks will be presented and a closing event for the public will be held.
Beyond Film
The Park City Legacy program will include inspiring talks as part of the Beyond Film series bringing alumni artists together for discourse around the notion of legacy, storytelling, and more. Beyond Film serves as a community hub for attendees, offering artist discussions, conversations with filmmakers and experts from various disciplines, and opportunities for audience engagement. *The full Beyond Film talks program will be announced at a later date.
Culmination Event
As a thank you to Park City and the local Utah community, a special event for the public will be held on Friday, January 30, showing gratitude for the support and appreciation for independent film over the last four decades and the legacy that will forever connect the Sundance Film Festival community.
