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Sundance Film Festival · 2026

Sundance Film Festival 2026

US Documentary Competition

Programme

10 films · 3 reviews

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American Doctor

Review preview for American Doctor

A fourth doctor, unsuccessful in his efforts to get to Gaza, helps in whatever ways he can. This enables the film to move between intense scenes within Gaza itself, and the US, where it’s easier to breathe.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
When three American doctors — Palestinian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian — enter Gaza to save lives, they find themselves caught between medicine and politics, risking everything to expose the truth.

(Country: US, Palestinian Territory, Malaysia, Qatar, Denmark, Japan; Year: 2026; Director: Poh Si Teng)

World premiere

American Pachuco

Against political resistance and industry skepticism, Luis Valdez pushes Chicano storytelling from the fields to the film screen with Zoot Suit and La Bamba, crafting iconic works that challenge, celebrate, and expand America’s story.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: David Alvarado; Writer: David Alvarado; Stars: Edward James Olmos)

World premiere

Barbara Forever

Review preview for Barbara Forever

What emerges over the course of O’Connor’s feature is not a saintly monument but a vibrant, difficult, funny, and unsentimental person.

Edin Custo · 4 out of 5
An archive-driven exploration of the life, work, and legacy of iconic, pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Brydie O'Connor)

World premiere

Joybubbles

Joybubbles discovers he can manipulate the telephone system by whistling a magic tone. Born blind and yearning for connection, his early obsession unwittingly lays the groundwork for a subculture that shapes the future of hacking and technology.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Rachael J Morrison)

World premiere

The Lake

An environmental nuclear bomb looms in Utah. Two intrepid scientists and a political insider race the clock to save their home from unprecedented catastrophe.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Abby Ellis)

World premiere

Nuisance Bear

Review preview for Nuisance Bear

By viewing the situation, at least initially, mostly from the perspective of the bears, the directors ask us to consider who exactly is trespassing on whose turf.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A polar bear is forced to navigate a human world of tourists, wildlife officers, and hunters as its ancient migration collides with modern life. When a sacred predator is branded a nuisance, it becomes unclear who truly belongs in this shared landscape.

(Country: US, Canada, United Kingdom; Year: 2026; Director: Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman)

World premiere

Public Access

An unprecedented look inside one of the greatest media experiments to hijack American screens. Rare archives from New York’s underground capture a world of creators who shattered rules, defied censors, and transformed our televisions into a free-speech battleground where anyone could be a star.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: David Shadrack Smith)

World premiere

Seized

When the small town of Marion, Kansas, is thrust into the international spotlight after a police raid on the Marion County Record and the death of its 98-year-old co-owner, a fierce debate ignites about the abuse of power, journalistic ethics, local journalism, and the United States Constitution.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Sharon Liese)

World premiere

Soul Patrol

From deep behind enemy lines, a hidden chapter of American military history is uncovered, prompting the question of whether reckoning with the past can bring peace to those who lived it. The Vietnam War’s first Black special operations team reunites to tell their story.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: J.M. Harper; Stars: Danielle Lyn, Michael Oloyede, Deion Smith)

World premiere

Who Killed Alex Odeh?

The assassination of a beloved Palestinian American activist in Southern California ignites a 40-year quest for justice, revealing the roots of a dangerous political movement that thrives today.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: William Youmans, Jason Osder)

World premiere