Sundance 2026 Final Recap: 10 Favorite Films - The Best from the Fest

The 2026 Sundance Film Festival has wrapped up after another lively 10-day in-person event held up in the Utah mountains (its final year before moving to Colorado in 2027), along with an online counterpart for the second half. Now it's time to present our annual Best of the Fest list from the 2026 selection. I was able to catch a total of 54 films this year (my full list on Letterboxd), half of them at screenings in Park City & Salt Lake City, the other half online previews at home. Always watching. This was my iconic 20th year attending & covering Sundance - ever since 2007 I've been publishing my Best of the Fest faves. This fest is still as vitally important to indie cinema as ever – read my full editorial on the last 20 years. I'm always glad to be back up there, watching films all day, every day. I am presenting my final list of my 10 favorite films - a mix of documentaries and narrative features. All 10 are superb, and I encourage watching them on the big screen if possible. Viewing all these early at the festival with an audience is a special vibe. I also recorded a podcast talking about many of the Sundance films (good and bad). Below are the best of the best, the films that connected with me the most and have remained on my mind all the way beyond the end of the festival. // Continue Reading ›

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Eerie Full Super Bowl Spot for Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day' UFO Movie

"Are they people?" "No." Another creepy reveal to give you the chills. Universal Pictures has launched their 60-second Super Bowl TV spot for Steven Spielberg's new sci-fi movie titled officially Disclosure Day, set for release in June 2026 this summer. Still the only brief intro available (from the teaser trailer) is this vague sci-fi synopsis: If you found out we weren't alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? This summer, the truth belongs to 7 billion people... We are coming close to... Disclosure Day. The footage in this trailer reminds me of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, with Spielberg showing us many humans & animals being taken over by aliens. What comes next? Disclosure Day stars Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, and Colman Domingo, with Wyatt Russell, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Michael Gaston, and Elliot Villar. There's a few more interesting shots, and one final jaw-drop "holy crap" moment when an alien ship starts to break through the clouds at the end. What a tease! I'm sure this Super Bowl spot made tons of people sit right up & go "WTF?!" What you do make of this new footage? // Continue Reading ›

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Superb Final Trailer for Ryan Gosling's 'Project Hail Mary' Sci-Fi Movie

"If Grace, Rocky save stars, we can go home." This is going to be totally awesome! Amazon MGM Studios + Sony have launched the spectacular final trailer for Project Hail Mary, the epic sci-fi space adventure movie from filmmakers Phil Lord & Chris Miller about saving our solar system. Ready to land in theaters in March 2026 and it's looking better than ever. This new trailer also comes with a new Super Bowl spot to launch the hype before it opens soon. Adapted from Andy Weir's acclaimed novel of the same name, this is the story of an astronaut who tries to save Earth while alone in outer space. The movie stars Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace, who wakes up on a spacecraft at Tau Ceti with no memory of himself or his mission. But he then figures out he was sent here to help save Earth and has to figure it out what to do entirely on his own – until he meets another creature. Co-starring Sandra Hüller as Eva Stratt, Ryland's superior, and Milana Vayntrub as Olesya Ilyukhina, his other Russian crewmate. This third trailer (view the other two) features tons of footage with Rocky, his alien friend (an on-set real puppet not CGI) who helps him figure out how to save their stars. It's not a big spoiler because there's much more to this than just these two. Cannot wait! // Continue Reading ›

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Superdog Super Bowl Spot for DC's 'Supergirl' Movie Out This Summer

"Who are you?" 🐶 Warner Bros & DC Studios have revealed their Superdog TV spot for the Super Bowl to promote the Supergirl movie, the follow-up to James Gunn's Superman movie from this year. Supergirl is directed by Craig Gillespie (of I, Tonya and Cruella) and will be ready for hit theaters worldwide starting in June 2026 this summer right in the middle of the season. When an unexpected and ruthless adversary strikes too close to home, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, reluctantly joins forces with an unlikely companion. Kara Zor-El celebrates her 21st birthday by travelling across the galaxy with her dog Krypto. Along the way, she meets the young Ruthye Marye Knoll and encounters a tragedy that leads her out on a "murderous quest for revenge". Milly Alcock stars as Kara Zor-El, aka "Supergirl", joined by Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, and Jason Momoa as Lobo (oh hello!). This new TV spot features 45 seconds of footage including a few new glimpses of Krypto, mainly when she picks him up as a puppy on Krypton before it's destroyed. But not enough! I want even more of the doggie, please and thanks. // Continue Reading ›

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Watch: Adorable 2-Minute Zelda Animated Short 'The Hyrule Fantasy'

"It's dangerous to go alone! Take this." And off he goes on an adventure around Hyrule. This super cute, 2-minute animated short film is a must watch for any and all fans of The Legend of Zelda video games. The Hyrule Fantasy is a homemade animated fan film short created by talented French animation filmmaker Ousmane Cissé, who graduated last year from the EMCA animation school. In addition to his absolutely gorgeous painted backgrounds, this short was made entirely in his own free time using just the TvPaint and Moho software to animate it. It's a lovely little tribute to Zelda and funny riff on the story – following Link getting his sword then going out looking for Zelda but ending up distracted, opting to have a sandwich and watch the sunset instead. One comment from IG sums up why this captures the video game vibe perfectly: "This is exactly what Hyrule is. Just comfy danger." Ha. And now I just want to play all the old Zelda games. // Continue Reading ›

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2026 Directors Guild Awards: Paul Thomas Anderson & Charlie Polinger

This weekend, the winners of the 78th Annual DGA Awards were announced at an upbeat celebration in Los Angeles. The 2025 awards season shuffles onward heading towards the finale with these director prizes, ending with the Academy Awards airing in March. This year it's One Battle After Another director Paul Thomas Anderson (loving known as PTA) dominating the awards season - taking home the top DGA prize for his beloved film starring Leonardo DiCaprio & Chase Infiniti. Along with The Plague director Charlie Polinger winning for Best First Feature. A superb film about bullies & being yourself – highly recommend it. I also totally love OBAA, so I couldn't be happier. In addition, Ukraine doc 2000 Meters to Andriivka (directed by Mstyslav Chernov) won the prize for Best Documentary; Stephen Chbosky won for directing the Netflix movie Nonnas; and prizes went to Amanda Marsalis for an episode of "The Pitt", and Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg for an episode of "The Studio", in the TV categories. The Directors Guild Awards are one of the premiere prizes in Hollywood, honoring "Outstanding Directorial Achievement" in multiple categories including TV and commercials. Congrats to all of the amazing films & series nominated this year. // Continue Reading ›

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Beautiful Trailer for New Zealand Film 'Caterpillar' Starring Lisa Harrow

"Where are we off to today?" "Mexico." Madman Films in New Zealand has debuted the first official trailer for a family drama film titled Caterpillar, an intimate story of three generations of women. Set in a run-down Wellington villa in 2003, about these three women living separate lives under one leaky roof. When Dementia shows up unannounced and flips life on its head, three imperfect generations of a matriarchy are forced to unite if they want to survive. Out in NZ cinemas starting in May, but no other release dates have been set. "When memory begins to fade, love is put to the test." The story features 16-year-old Cassie, who is searching for belonging. Her mother Maxine, 52, is a formidable single parent and filmmaker on the brink of a long-awaited breakthrough. Most importantly there's Cassie's grandmother, Huia, who's obsessed with raising monarch caterpillars, dreaming of one day witnessing the legendary butterfly migration in Mexico. Starring Lisa Harrow as Huia, Marta Dusseldorp as Maxine, Anais Shand as Cassie. The filmmaker explains: "It's a fable about three very different women muddling through three very pivotal life stages with everyone's needs colliding. You could describe it as a coming of age for an entire maternal line." Take a look. // Continue Reading ›

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