Reflections on 20 Years at the Sundance Film Festival - Indie Film Rules

Everyone Has A Story: Four decades of the Sundance Film Festival in Utah

PARK CITY, Utah — During the film festival, most opening screens displayed the quote by Robert Redford: “Everyone has a story.” Fittingly, this quote was the title of one of the final Sundance events in Park City. The Marquis was chosen as the location for this event, primarily because during the early days of the festival the basement served as the press offices for the Sundance Film Festival. Heather Mason told me about working down there as a…

My five favorite movies out of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival

Five days and two extremely tired eyes later, I’ve watched as many Sundance movies as I can, and I’m ready to talk faves.  Ahead of Sundance, I knew I wasn’t going to get to see some of the heavy hitters, like Olivia Wilde’s “The Invite,” or Aidan Zamiri’s pop star mockumentary “The Moment.” But, in being excluded from some of those larger films, I got the chance to really hone in on some smaller films I may never have watched otherwise. Without…

Reflections on 20 Years at the Sundance Film Festival - Indie Film Rules

"What we do here and what we support is something that cannot be corralled by straight business." Time to wrap it up. I'm on my way home from the 2026 Sundance Film Festival after viewing a grand total of 54 films across 10 days. It was also a very special celebration. This was my 20th