The Sundance Movie Competition has revealed its annual Past Movie talks and occasions lineup, a collection of artist and industry-driven conversations held from January 23 – 30. The competition runs January 22 – February 1 in Park Metropolis and Salt Lake Metropolis, Utah, with on-line programming January 29 – February 1.
Past Movie talks embody conversations with Olivia Wilde (director of Sundance entry “The Invite” and star of Gregg Araki’s “I Need Your Intercourse”), Ava DuVernay, Salman Rushdie, Richard Linklater, Nicole Holofcener, John Turturro, Billie Jean King, Antoine Fuqua, Gregg Araki, and Barbara Kopple, plus a stay podcast recording of “Visitations” with James Wan, Elijah Wooden, and Daniel Noah.
All talks and occasions, listed under, are free to the general public aside from “Energy of Story” occasion that includes Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alex Gibney, Olivia Wilde, and John Turturro.
The occasions will happen in particular person from January 23 – 30, 2026, with many of the Past Movie choices obtainable to audiences on-line the day following the in-person occasion on competition.sundance.org. The lineup is under; all language is courtesy of the competition.
BEYOND FILM LINEUP
POWER OF STORY
The Sundance Movie Competition’s Energy of Story dialog appears to be like to deepen public engagement with the artwork of storytelling, delve into cinema tradition, and rejoice artists whose work propels and reinvents the shape.
Energy of Story: On Legacy
Tuesday, January 27, 3–4:30 p.m.
Egyptian Theatre, 328 Predominant St., Park Metropolis, UT
Energy of Story: On Legacy will convey collectively artists, thinkers, and tradition makers for a deeper take a look at the concept of legacy — what it means, who defines it, and the way it evolves over time. Audio system will mirror on legacy as a balancing act between intention and interpretation, management and serendipity, exploring how tales outlive their creators and tackle new which means via audiences. It’s a dialog about what lasts, what lingers, and what we hope to go on.
That includes: Ta-Nehisi Coates (Govt Producer and Topic, When A Witness Recants), Alex Gibney (Director, Knife: The Tried Homicide of Salman Rushdie), John Turturro (Forged, The Solely Dwelling Pickpocket in New York), and Olivia Wilde (Director and Forged, The Invite and Forged, I Need Your Intercourse); moderated by Jia Tolentino (Employees Author, The New Yorker)
CINEMA CAFÉ
Friday, January 23–Thursday, January 29, 2026
Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Predominant St., Park Metropolis, UT
Cinema Café: Ava DuVernay and Barbara Kopple (American Dream)
Friday, January 23, 11 a.m.–midday
Cinema Café: Salman Rushdie (Knife: The Tried Homicide of Salman Rushdie)
Hosted by Justin Chang (Movie Critic, The New Yorker)
Sunday, January 25, 11 a.m.–midday
Cinema Café: Billie Jean King (Give Me the Ball!) and Antoine Fuqua (Troublemaker)
Tuesday, January 27, 11 a.m.–midday
Cinema Café: The Indie 90s
That includes: Gregg Araki (I Need Your Intercourse and Mysterious Pores and skin), Nicole Holofcener (Nervous), Richard Linklater (Nouvelle Obscure), and moderated by John Pierson (Spike, Mike, Slackers, & Dykes)
Wednesday, January 28, 11 a.m.–midday
Cinema Café: Visitations Stay Podcast with James Wan (Noticed)
Elijah Wooden and Daniel Noah of indie manufacturing firm SpectreVision will host a stay taping of their podcast Visitations.
Thursday, January 29, 11 a.m.–midday
THE BIG CONVERSATION
The Massive Dialog | From Hearth to Flight: People, Expertise and Time
Monday, January 26, 11 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Predominant St., Park Metropolis, UT
Two main scientists be a part of filmmaker Andrew Stanton (WALL-E) and screenwriter Colby Day (Spaceman) who’ve explored themes of human connection to science and expertise all through their work, together with the brand new movie In The Blink of An Eye, which spans 1000’s of years of human historical past, from a Neanderthal household struggling to outlive, to the work of an anthropologist (uncovering that previous), to the mission of spacecraft — its sole human occupant and onboard sentient pc — bringing humanity to a distant planet. Supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Basis.
That includes: Andrew Stanton (Director, In The Blink of An Eye) and Colby Day (Govt Producer, In The Blink of An Eye), and moderated by Dr. Heather Berlin
NOUVELLE VAGUE LIVE COMMENTARY WITH RICHARD LINKLATER
Wednesday, January 28, 9:15 p.m.
The Yarrow Theatre, 1800 Park Ave., Park Metropolis, UT
Longtime Competition alumnus Richard Linklater will present a stay commentary observe over a screening of Nouvelle Obscure, taking the viewers behind the scenes of Linklater’s movie, Godard’s movie, and the character of independence in filmmaking itself.
EVERYONE HAS A STORY: FOUR DECADES OF THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL IN UTAH EVENT
Friday, January 30, 3–4:15 p.m. (doorways open at 2 p.m. for cocktail hour with money bar)
The Marquis, 427 Predominant St., Unit 1, Park Metropolis, UT
This particular fruits occasion brings collectively artists, alumni, {industry}, veteran attendees, workers and volunteers, and the area people for a program of tales, shared recollections, archive treasures, and legendary moments. It is a free occasion, ticket reservation required. Have to be 21 or older with a scannable ID to attend. Go to competition.sundance.org for extra info.
PARTNER EVENTS
The Sundance Movie Competition’s official associate occasions give audiences the chance to listen to from specialists from around the globe as they talk about a wide range of subjects. Occasions are hosted and produced by members of our associate group. Every of those associate organizations helped make this yr’s Competition potential. To discover this yr’s associate occasions, please go to competition.sundance.org/program/partner-events.
SUNDANCE INSTITUTE’S STORY FORUM: EXPLORING ART AND INNOVATION
Monday, January 26, 8:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m.
Silvermine, Sheraton Park Metropolis, 1895 Sidewinder Dr., Park Metropolis, UT
Sundance Institute’s Story Discussion board: Exploring Artwork and Innovation is being introduced by Adobe bringing creators, educators, and {industry} leaders collectively to debate the most recent concepts and applied sciences in storytelling. Occasions are free to attend with registration and can happen on the Sheraton Park Metropolis on Monday, January 26, 2026 from 8:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m. MT. A free on-line program will even be held on Thursday, January 29, and Friday, January 30, 2026. Safe your free in-person and on-line registration at collab.sundance.org/catalog/Story-Discussion board.
Making of a Motion: Meet the Creators Coalition on AI
8:30–9:30 a.m.
Founding members of the Creators Coalition on AI (CCAI) share their groundbreaking initiative to develop requirements and finest practices for synthetic intelligence use in leisure. Achieve candid insights into the group’s mission to create moral tips and creative protections for creators. The session consists of breakfast. That includes: Janet Yang (Co-Founder, CCAI)
Past the Hype: A Documentary Deep Dive into AI
10–11 a.m.
Filmmakers behind two 2026 Sundance Movie Competition documentaries about synthetic intelligence — Valerie Veatch (Ghost within the Machine), Daniel Roher, Charlie Tyrell, and Daniel Kwan (The AI Doc: Or How I Grew to become an Apocaloptimist) — study the evolving technological panorama on this session that unpacks the intricate historical past and potential futures of AI in society.
That includes: Valerie Veatch (Director, Ghost within the Machine), Daniel Kwan (Producer, The AI Doc: Or How I Grew to become an Apocaloptimist), and Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell (Co-directors, The AI Doc: Or How I Grew to become an Apocaloptimist); moderated by Alix Dunn (CEO, The Perhaps)
Behind the Shorts: Inventive Explorations in GenAI Filmmaking | Introduced by Adobe
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
A sensible, behind-the-scenes take a look at how generative instruments can help the artists making their movies. Go inside the method because the filmmakers break down how they organized their workflows and tackled key challenges. This session highlights the steps and choices that formed the shorts, exhibiting how AI can improve an artist’s creativity and streamline the trail to a completed movie. That includes: Momo Wang (Creator, WINK) and Taryn O’Neill (Author-director, MythOS)
Cinematic Authorship in an Period of AI and Digital Manufacturing
1–2 p.m.
Digital manufacturing and AI are sometimes framed as instruments — from LED phases and real-time engines to AI-driven workflows — however for impartial filmmakers they sign a deeper shift in authorship and inventive decision-making. This session explores how evolving manufacturing approaches affect cinematic language and inventive risk, and invitations filmmakers to have interaction expertise as a part of storytelling formed by intention, literacy, and inventive possession. That includes: Kathryn Brillhart (Cinematographer/Director/Digital Manufacturing Supervisor)
The Belief Paradox: Inventive Expertise Developments Shaping Leisure
2:30–3:30 p.m.
Dive into how generative AI is remodeling our relationship to creativity and credibility and why belief is changing into the subsequent nice forex. Nick Borenstein, Common Supervisor of The Webby Awards, will current the 2026 Webby Pattern Report, a playbook for artistic excellence within the Intelligence Period. Following the report, a panel will talk about how artistic applied sciences are shaping the {industry}. That includes: Nick Borenstein (Common Supervisor, The Webby Awards), Loren Hammonds (Head of Documentary, TIME Studios), William D. Caballero (Director/Co-Author/Producer, TheyDream)
The Machine Is Not the Artist: The Evolution of Storytelling Throughout AI, VR, and AR
4–5 p.m.
Award-winning creatives Yelena Rachitsky (Head of Rising Codecs, Meta) and Eliza McNitt (Director, ANCESTRA, SPHERES) deconstruct their groundbreaking tasks and study how rising applied sciences are reshaping cinematic language. Discover the evolution from VR to AI — and why human authorship stays on the heart of storytelling. That includes: Eliza McNitt (Director, ANCESTRA, SPHERES), Yelena Rachitsky (Head of Rising Codecs, Meta)
Synthetic Creativity: The Neuroscience of Creativeness within the Intelligence Age
5:30–6:30 p.m.
AI can generate pictures, scripts, and music, however it doesn’t create the best way people do. This session with Rachel Pleasure Victor, a researcher and designer of computational narratives and emergent applied sciences, traces the evolution of synthetic intelligence alongside human cognition to unpack what creativity really is, the place AI reaches its limits, and why embodied expertise, instinct, and intention stay central to storytelling. That includes: Rachel Pleasure Victor (Strategist and Designer, Founder, Interphase)
Pricey Upstairs Neighbors: Exploring Artist-Pushed, AI-Assisted Expressionistic Animation
7–8 p.m.
Be a part of the group behind Pricey Upstairs Neighbors for a screening and deep dive into artist-centric, AI-assisted animation workflows. This quick movie blends conventional animation with summary expressionism utilizing modern video-to-video strategies. Find out how animation veterans and researchers at Google DeepMind developed customized AI fashions to rework handcrafted artwork and music into “residing work” whereas sustaining whole artistic management.
That includes: Connie He (Director, Pricey Upstairs Neighbors), Yung Spielburg (Composer, Pricey Upstairs Neighbors), Cassidy Curtis (Supervising Animator, Pricey Upstairs Neighbors), Sarah Rumbley (VFX Supervisor, Pricey Upstairs Neighbors); moderated by Márcia Mayer (Producer, Pricey Upstairs Neighbors)
Whispers: An Interactive Homicide Thriller Expertise
8:30–10:30 p.m.
Expertise the SAG-AFTRA-approved, AI-driven interactive thriller Whispers. This social session features a homicide thriller expertise, meals and refreshments, and insights into the way forward for generative interactive narrative from Peabody- and three-time Primetime Emmy Award–successful creator and showrunner Bernie Su, Pickford AI CEO Stephen Piron, product supervisor Harrison Sanborn, and actor Stephen A. Chang.
That includes: Bernie Su (Creator and Showrunner, Synthetic, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries), Stephen Piron (CEO, Pickford AI), Harrison Sanborn (Producer, Product Supervisor, Pickford AI), Stephen A. Chang (Actor, The Final of Us Half II, Bosch: Legacy)
