Sundance Film Festival Reveals 2026 Award Winners
The Grand Jury Prize winners were Josephine in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, Nuisance Bear in the U.S. Documentary Competition, Shame and Money in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, and To Hold a Mountain in the World Cinema Documentary Competition.
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival has announced its top prize winners following an awards ceremony held at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah.
This year’s festival featured a wide range of premieres, screenings, panel discussions, and special events across Park City and Salt Lake City. The program also paid tribute to Sundance founder Robert Redford, honoring his lasting influence on independent filmmaking and global cinema.
The Grand Jury Prize winners were Josephine in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, Nuisance Bear in the U.S. Documentary Competition, Shame and Money in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, and To Hold a Mountain in the World Cinema Documentary Competition.
Jury members for the 2026 festival included Janicza Bravo, Nisha Ganatra, and Azazel Jacobs for U.S. Dramatic; Natalia Almada, Justin Chang, and Jennie Livingston for U.S. Documentary; Ana Katz, So Yong Kim, and Tatiana Maslany for World Cinema Dramatic; and Toni Kamau, Bao Nguyen, and Kirsten Schaffer for World Cinema Documentary. The Short Film Program jury featured A.V. Rockwell, Liv Constable-Maxwell, and Martin Starr, while John Cooper and Trevor Groth served as jurors for the NEXT section.
Festival director Eugene Hernandez praised the filmmakers and audiences who contributed to this year’s event, calling it a memorable edition of Sundance. He also thanked the communities of Park City, Salt Lake City, and Utah for their continued support and for embracing Robert Redford’s vision.
Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival director of programming, said the awards ceremony offers a moment to reflect on the creative journeys of participating filmmakers. She added that the festival remains committed to championing distinctive, timely, and impactful storytelling.
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival showcased 97 feature-length and episodic projects along with 54 short films. The selections were curated from 16,201 submissions and screened in person in Utah as well as online across the United States.