The Sundance Institute released the titles of the 54 short films that have been selected to screen at next month’s Sundance Film Festival. This comes week after the Institute revealed its picks for feature-length and episodic works.
The 54 titles are diverse in the topics that they cover, especially the nonfiction category, where shorts include Liza Mandelup’s short Luigi, focusing on the cultural obsession with accused killer Luigi Mangione, and NBA star Steph Curry directorial debut as he collaborated with two time Academy Award winner Ben Proudfoot to create The Baddest Speechwriter of All, which focuses on Martin Luther King Jr’s lawyer and speechwriter Clarence B. Jones, who offers “an intimate insider’s view of the Civil Rights Movement.” Another pick from the category is Still Standing, directed by Victor Tadashi Suarez and Livia Albeck-Ripka, which centers on the devastating aftermath of January’s Los Angeles wildfires, especially in Altadena, where the fire destroyed almost 10,000 structures.
Director of programming at Sundance, Kim Yutani, gives her reasoning for the overall selections, stating,
Each one is a testament to the creative talent working in the short film space, proving that powerful storytelling is impactful across formats. This year’s program is rich with explorations of belonging, resilience and the unexpected ways people navigate both the everyday and the extraordinary.
Heidi Zwicker, Sundance’s senior programmer, seemed impressed with this year’s selections, as she added,
The short films in this year’s selection are so different from each other, but what impressed us most is how inventive they are — there’s so much dynamic and exciting filmmaking to enjoy throughout the program. This global lineup runs the gamut when it comes to genres, themes and the worlds these films bring to life. We’re excited to share that variety with our audiences while providing a platform for both emerging and established filmmakers to showcase their work.
A list of all 54 titles is shown below in their specific categories:
U.S. Fiction Short Films
Albatross, dir. Amandine Thomas
Balloon Animals, dir. Anna Baumgarten
Birdie, dir. Praise Odigie Paige
Callback, dir. Matthew Puccini
The Creature of Darkness, dirs. Lisa Malloy and Ray Whitaker
Crisis Actor, dir. Lily Platt
Don’t Tell Mama, dir. Chloe Leigh King
Gender Studies, dir. Jamie Kiernan O’Brien
The Oracle, dir. JJ Adler
Pankaja, dir. Anooya Swamy, U.S.A/India
Prime, dir. Meagan Coyle
Radiant Frost, dir. Hannah Schierbeek
Seniors, dir. Adam Curley
Stairs, dir. Riley Donigan
Taga, dir. Jill Marie Sachs, U.S.A/Philippines
Together Forever, dir. Gregory Barnes
International Fiction Short Films
Agnes, dir. Leah Vlemmiks, U.K./Canada
Blue Heart, dir. Samuel Suffren, Haiti/France
Candy Bar, dir. Nash Edgerton, Australia
Faux Bijoux, dir. Jessy Moussallem, France/Lebanon
Fruit (Buah), dir. Jen Nee Lim, Singapore
How Brief, dir. Kelly McCormack, Canada
I’m Glad You’re Dead Now, dir. Tawfeek Barhom, France/Greece/Palestine
Ivar, dir. Markus Tangre, Norway
Jazz Infernal, dir. Will Niava, Canada
The Liars, dir. Eduardo Braun, Argentina
Marga en el DF, dir. Gabriela Ortega,
Mexico/U.S.A.
Norheimsund, dir. Ana A. Alpizar, Cuba/U.S.A.
O’Sey Balamma, dir. Raman Nimmala, India
¡PIKA!, dir. Alex Fischman Cárdenas, Peru
Sauna Sickness, dir. Malin Barr, Sweden
Without Kelly, dir. Lovisa Sirén, Sweden
The Worm, dir. Tom Noakes, Australia
Animation Short Films
1981, dirs. Andy London and Carolyn London, U.S.A.
The Bird’s Placebo, dir. Rami Jarboui, Tunisia
Busy Bodies, dir. Kate Renshaw-Lewis, U.S.A
Cabbage Daddy, dir. Grace An, Canada
Homemade Gatorade, dir. Carter Amelia Davis, U.S.A.
Hugs, dir. Nicolas Fong, Belgium
Living with a Visionary, dir. Stephen P. Neary, U.S.A.
Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawer of Rocks), dir. Louise Flaherty, Canada
Once in a Body, dir. María Cristina Pérez
Colombia/U.S.A.
Paper Trail, dir. Don Hertzfeldt, U.S.A.
Sorrow Doesn’t Sleep at Night, dirs. Josefina Montino and Martín André, Chile
UM, dir. Nieto, France
Nonfiction Short Films
The Baddest Speechwriter of All, dirs. Ben Proudfoot and Stephen Curry,U.S.A.
The Boys and the Bees, dir. Arielle C. Knight, U.S.A.
The Chimney Sweeper, dir. Jack Raese, U.S.A.
Going Sane: The Rise and Fall of the Center For Feeling Therapy, dir. Joey Izzo, U.S.A.
The Home of the Brave, dir. Cristina Costantini, U.S.A.
Luigi, dir. Liza Mandelup, U.S.A.
Some Kind of Refuge, dir. Alexandra Kern, U.S.A.
Still Standing, dir. Victor Tadashi Suarez and Livia Albeck-Ripka, U.S.A.
Tuktuit: Caribou, dir. Lindsay Aksarniq McIntyre, Canada
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival is set to be held in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, from January 22nd through February 1st. Online screenings will be available from January 29th until the end of the festival. More information about the festival can be found at its official website here.
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