The Best of the 2026 Virtual Sundance Film Festival

The fun part of watching a bunch of movies during the Virtual Sundance Film Festival, aside from having something to do during that bleak winter weekend between the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl, is the sense of discovery. It’s a bit like panning for gold - you have to dig through a lot of dirt to find anything worthwhile. Of the many movies I watched this past weekend, these are the ones to look out for as they’re released over the next few months.

“Seized” - The first great thing I watched at Sundance was a documentary about a small-town newspaper in the middle of Kansas, a paper not unlike this one. One day seemingly out of nowhere in 2023 local police raided the newspaper and the home of its editor seizing computers and personal cell phones. The editor’s 98-year-old-mother, home at the time, was so upset she dropped dead the next day. What this documentary uncovers is a fascinating portrayal of a community at each other’s throats.

“Extra Geography” - This was a true discovery - a small British film with no stars made by a first-time filmmaker. It’s a coming-of-age story of two teenage best friends at an English boarding school who decide it’s time for them to fall in love - with the next person they see. If you like “Lady Bird” or “Booksmart” this has similar vibes, but more British and with a great soundtrack.

“All About the Money” - This documentary follows a member of one of the wealthiest families in Georgia who disavows his relatives, sells all of his inherited stock (worth over $250M), and starts a communist revolutionary training camp in Western Massachusetts. What unfolds is clear evidence that vast generational wealth turns your brain into pudding.

“The Incomer” - My favorite film of Sundance this year is the funniest movie I’ve seen in a very long time. It’s a story about two siblings raised in solitude on a remote Scottish island taught to fear outsiders. One day someone from the local government comes to relocate them, and they must defend the only home they’ve ever known. I laughed hard, out loud, consistently through this entire wonderful film.

These films are currently undated for wide release, anticipated throughout 2026.