WIF @ SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2026

Your guide to WIF at Sundance 2026. 
Explore our official selections, member and alumni projects, plus exciting panels and events on international film, mentorship, and beyond.

Want more? Dive into Sundance’s complete lineup of projects directed by women at the 2026 fest.

See you on the mountain!

SCREENING
Josephine
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Beth de Araujo (Director/Screenwriter)
’18 WIF Financing & Strategy Intensive Alum

After 8-year-old Josephine accidentally witnesses a crime in Golden Gate Park, she acts out in search of a way to regain control of her safety while adults are helpless to console her.

SCREENING
Take Me Home
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Apoorva Charan (Producer)
’21 WIF Emerging Producers Fellow

Anna, a 38-year-old Korean adoptee with a cognitive disability, cares for her aging parents in a fragile balance of meeting one another’s needs. When a Florida heat wave shatters their family and Anna’s routine, her future is uncertain until she creates a world where she can thrive.

SCREENING
Lady
Category: World Cinema Dramatic Premiere
WIF Official Selection

In the sprawling African metropolis of Lagos, a fiercely independent young cab driver meets a band of radiantly reckless sex workers whose sisterhood pulls her into danger and joy, setting her on a journey toward her own transformation.

SCREENING
Taga
Category: Short Film Program
Joyce Liu-Countryman (Producer)
’22 WIF Mentoring Program Alum
Louise Barretto (Producer)
’23 WIF Physical Production Fellow

Vivi, a third-culture Filipina American, travels to the Philippines to reconnect with her roots but falls in with a group of Western eco-volunteers. When they scorn the customs of a remote mountain village, an ancient evil comes knocking.

SCREENING
Birdie
Category: Short Film Program
WIF Official Selection

In 1970, a 16-year-old Nigerian refugee in Virginia tries to keep her family together when a newcomer draws her sister away.

SCREENING
Category: Short Films Program
Mireia Vilanova (Producer)
’22 WIF x Google Shorts Fellow

A woman seeks to reconcile with her sister over an incident from their adolescence by exploring their shared experiences through their bodies.

SCREENING
The Musical
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Liz Toonkel (Production Designer)
WIF Mentor

After he’s kicked out of his Indiana high school, an American kid and his Lebanese mom hit the road west.

SCREENING
Living with a Visionary
Category: Short Film Program
Mireia Vilanova (Producer)
’22 WIF x Google Shorts Lab Fellow

After 50 years of marriage, John must care for his wife while learning to live alongside her vivid hallucinations.

SCREENING
Callback
Category: Short Film Program 5
Natalé Olsen (Executive Producer)
’19 WIF Mentoring Program Alum

Max arrives home to find that his boyfriend has booked a callback. All hell breaks loose.

SCREENING
Hot Water
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Nicole Jordan-Webber (Executive Producer)
WIF Member

After he’s kicked out of his Indiana high school, an American kid and his Lebanese mom hit the road west.

SCREENING
FreeLance
Category: Episodic
Stephen Love (Executive Producer)
WIF/ReFrame Rise Mentor

A young filmmaker documents his journey toward his first movie as he moves in with a friend group of ambitious creatives, all trying to support one another’s dreams in an oversaturated market. This inexperienced crew of 20-somethings takes on unorthodox jobs to build their brand and pay rent.

SCREENING
American Doctor
Category: U.S. Documentary Competition
Suad Bushnaq (Original Score Composer)
WIF Member

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.

SCREENING
Run Amok
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
WIF Official Selection

A teenage girl stages an elaborate musical about the one day her high school wishes it could forget.

SCREENING
If I Go Will They Miss Me
Category: NEXT
Lauren Lopez de Victoria (Executive Producer)
’20 WIF Mentorship Program Alum

Twelve-year-old Lil Ant struggles to connect with his father when he begins to see surreal, almost spectral visions of boys drifting around his neighborhood. Their presence reveals a link between father and son, laying bare the threads that bind family, legacy, and place.

SCREENING
Seized
Category: U.S. Documentary Competition
WIF Official Selection

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.

SCREENING
The Brittney Griner Story
Category: Premieres
WIF Official Selection

Explores the circumstances that led to Brittney Griner playing basketball outside the U.S. despite being one of the best players in the sport, including her harrowing detainment, unwavering determination to secure her freedom, and her advocacy for the release of other wrongful detainees.

SCREENING
The Friend’s House is Here
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
WIF Official Selection

In Tehran’s underground art scene, two young women build a blissful world of freedom and sisterhood. But when their creative circle is exposed, they must fight to save each other.

SCREENING
Saccharine
Category: Midnight
WIF Official Selection

Hana, a lovelorn medical student, becomes terrorized by a hungry ghost after taking part in an obscure weight loss craze: eating human ashes.

SCREENING
Bedford Park
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
WIF Official Selection

Haunted by an abusive childhood, Audrey, a Korean American woman in her 30s, faces her emotional past. When her mother’s car accident brings her back to her parents’ home, she meets the man responsible for the accident. Their relationship builds, passions ignite, and they form a loving connection.

SCREENING
The Gallerist
Category: Premieres
WIF Official Selection

A desperate gallerist conspires to sell a dead body at Art Basel Miami.

PANEL
Proof, Not Promises: When Creators Change Lives
Friday, January 23, 11:30am – 12:30pm MT 
Impact Lounge
2175 Sidewinder Dr., Park City

WIF will present on their work across the African continent in a conversation with the World Bank and USC’s Norman Lear Center. This discussion will highlight data and evaluations of entertainment media with measurable social outcomes at scale. Featuring insights from the U.S. and the Global South, it shows how evidence and creator credibility can turn stories into investable opportunities with real-world returns. Panelists include:

• Victor Hugo Orozco Olvera, Program Lead Narrating Behavior Change, World Bank 
• Johanna Blakley, Managing Director at the Norman Lear Center, USC
• CC W’emedi, Senior Project Manager, International Programs, WIF
• Moderator: Felipe Estefan, CEO of Curiosity Capital

NETWORKING EVENT
MELA COLLECTIVE x WIF INTERNATIONAL PRESENTS
Global South @ Sundance
Invite only
Friday, January 23

NETWORKING EVENT
WIF PRESENTS
Rising Together Brunch
Invite only
Sunday, January 25th 

WIF hosts an energetic networking gathering with featured appearances from women filmmakers with films in official selection at the festival. New this year, we shine a light on the power of mentorship, with a focus on the attending fellows from WIF’s ReFrame Rise, a mid-career fellowship for women and gender diverse directors and cinematographers pairing them with committed industry-leading mentors. The brunch will feature a special appearance by Kpop Demon Hunters screenwriters and WIF Alumni Danya Jimenez and Hannah McMechan.

PANEL
WIF PRESENTS
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: Women Filmmakers Fighting for Change 
Sunday, January 25th, 11:15am – 12:00pm MT 
WIF @ The Acura House of Energy
550 Swede Alley, Park City
No RSVP required.

A dynamic lineup of festival filmmakers from around the globe join forces to discuss how they are challenging systems and changing narratives – democratizing storytelling, fighting for rights and representation, and building bridges across communities through art and activism. Panelists include:

• Cathy Yan, The Gallerist
• Olive Nwosu, Lady
• Amber Fares, Coexistence, My Ass (2026 Academy Award Shortlist)
• Maryam Aatei, The Friend’s House is Here
• Sharon Liese, Seized
• Alexandria Stapleton, The Brittney Griner Story
• Moderator: Andria Wilson Mirza, Director of International Programs, WIF

PANEL
WIF PRESENTS
Emphasis on Empathy: The Power of Compassion
Sunday, January 25th, 12:15pm – 1:00pm MT 
WIF @ The Acura House of Energy
550 Swede Alley, Park City
No RSVP required.

As our world and realities are in constant flux, Sundance continues to platform women filmmakers and artists, bringing their perspective to a wider audience. If, to quote Roger Ebert, “Movies are like a machine that generates empathy,” these narratives are now running at high voltage. Join WIF for a powerful conversation on how the stories women tell could pave the way toward a future where care and compassion are the norm. Panelists include:

• Julie Christeas, Run Amok
• Liz Sargent, Take Me Home
• Nina Yang Bongiovi, Bedford Park
• Stephanie Ahn, Bedford Park
• Natalie Erika James, Saccharine
• Moderator: Tanya Selvaratnam, Co–Founder of The Federation