Sundance Institute has announced the full jury lineup for the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, recognizing artists who will award honors for cinematic and artistic excellence across the Festival’s competition sections. The 2026 Festival will take place January 22 through February 1 in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with an online at-home program running January 29 through February 1.
The 17-member jury represents a wide range of experience across narrative, documentary, world cinema, short films, and emerging work. Jurors will select award winners to be announced during the Festival’s Awards Ceremony, scheduled for Friday, January 30, at The Ray Theatre. Audience members attending in person will also vote on the Festival’s Audience Awards and Festival Favorite.
Among the announced jurors are Janicza Bravo, Nisha Ganatra, and Azazel Jacobs for the U.S. Dramatic Competition; Natalia Almada, Justin Chang, and Jennie Livingston for U.S. Documentary; and Ana Katz, So Yong Kim, and Tatiana Maslany for World Cinema Dramatic. Additional juries cover World Cinema Documentary, Short Film Program, and the NEXT section.
The Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize was awarded in advance of the Festival to director Andrew Stanton and screenwriter Colby Day for In The Blink of An Eye. The Sloan jury focuses on films that meaningfully engage with science or technology, or portray scientists, engineers, or mathematicians as central characters.
Festival Director Eugene Hernandez emphasized the jury’s commitment to risk-taking and artist-driven storytelling, while Director of Programming Kim Yutani noted the significance of inviting jurors with long-standing ties to the Festival. Single-film tickets for in-person and online screenings go on sale January 14.
