Sundance Film Festival 2026: Park City’s Last Dance Pt 2

Here it is, my final Sundance coverage from Park City. It’s been a bittersweet journey, and this year’s lineup hasn’t been overwhelmingly exciting, but the premises have often taken risks. One curious thing that I didn’t have on my bingo card: two were about inappropriate school musicals. All in all, I left with a lot of mixed feelings but felt a sense of encouragement for the first-time directors I saw. Creativity is still alive, and I look forward to seeing what it looks like in Boulder.

The Musical (Giselle Bonilla)

Revenge and spite can be a wicked mix.

When middle school theater teacher Doug Leibowitz (Will Brill) finds out that his ex-girlfriend (also a teacher), Gillian Jacobs, is now dating the school principal (Rob Lowe) and Doug’s nemesis, he decides to sabotage the school musical. Lowe is hoping to win an award for his school’s excellence this year, so everything is on the line. Naturally, Doug decides to ruin those changes and derails previous plans for the musical. Instead, he secretly writes one about the events of 9/11.

The Musical is a messy little comedy that wields a protagonist who never stops being unlikable. It is a bold choice, and I admire its gravitas even if it doesn’t always hit the mark. This is a divisive film that even had me unsure of my own feelings. As the film goes on, there’s a lot of humor woven throughout, especially when it comes to Doug and his relationships with the kids. They manage to keep the secret well, and by the end, we get to see chaos ensue.

As a feature debut, I’m impressed by many of the creative choices Bonilla makes. I think it’s telling for future projects that she’s got a sharp eye and a gutsy comedic backbone.  This is a bitter movie, but it’s also quite funny, even if it’s cruelly so. Doug can be quite menacing, and he’s our standout. Brill is fantastic and seems to relish this part. I had fun with the film, but I also recognize many may not.

At times, genius and at others, just cringey, The Musical the mean-spirited movie of the year.

Run Amok (NB Mager)

NB Mager’s debut, Run Amok, along with the previously reviewed Josephine, really left a significant imprint on me. While very different films, they both have a young lead dealing with something big and tragic, with those around them unsure of how to react and still support.

Ten years after a school shooting, Meg (Alyssa Marvin) decides to put on a musical about the event. Having lost her mother in the tragedy, she now lives with her aunt, uncle, and Cousin Penny (Sophia Torres). Meg is a talented harpist, while Penny has a beautiful voice, and together the two start writing their play.

The school still shows signs of healing. All of the teachers carry rubber bullet guns. Patrick Wilson plays Mr. Shelby, one of the teachers who survived and also stopped the school shooter. Margaret Cho is the principal who is reluctant to greenlight Meg’s idea because she worries it’s too much for everyone. Mr. Hunt (Bill Camp), the wood teacher, is frequently paranoid. The whole community and school have been affected, and many are trying to figure out how to grieve and move forward.

There’s one scene in particular that stands out as they work on the musical. Meg walks them through the hall where it happened and reads off the direction notes. It’s gut-wrenching to see, but she holds steadfast. Even within this moment, there are some jokes, but the overarching overtone of genuine despair is electric. We see so much on Marvin‘s face, a thousand emotions, and her performance carries the film. She’s a star in the making.

As it gets closer to the performance, Meg starts to be unsure about a few things, including how she feels about the shooter’s mother (Elizabeth Marvel) and the shooter himself. It’s a profound moment in the film as she tries to go through the whys and hows. I wish the film had taken this narrative to a different place here and moving forward, as it starts to get tonally incohesive. It’s unsure of where to put the majority of its stake. When balancing two points as specific and powerful as these, it can be challenging. There’s still a lot of emotion in the end and a clear sense of hope, but I wish the ending had been more resolute.

Run Amok is about rebelling against what everyone else thinks is best for you. It’s about finding understanding, about shared trauma, and finding a way to move forward after a tragedy. It can at times be bitingly funny and others powerfully effective. Run Amok may not perfectly convey its intent, but I admire it.

When done well, it’s about artistic defiance and the healing element of art. Watch for the good intentions and stay for the heart. Because it’ll stay with you.

Rock Springs (Vera Miao)

Whenever you’re able to create a unique horror story while incorporating something that really happened in the world, it’s compelling. Rock Springs invites you to discover a story you probably didn’t know -an ugly slice of history- while introducing you to a new and talented voice in horror.

The film is separated into three chapters. The first follows Emily (Kelly Marie Tran), who moves to Wyoming with her daughter Gracie (Aria Kim), who hasn’t spoken since her father’s recent death, and her mother-in-law, Nai Nai (Fiona Fu). The three of them are all grieving, distant, and moving forward in their own ways: Nai Nai spiritually, Emily with her Cello and Gracie by exploring her new surroundings. Unbeknownst to them, there’s a dark history in the area, and as Nai Nai says, it is ghost month, so the spirits are especially close, and at the end of this part, Gracie is taken.

In the second part, we are transported to 1885 Rock Springs, where a group of Chinese miners resides. We follow Ah Tseng (Benedict Wong) and He Yew (Jimmy O. Yang) on a particularly fateful day. We don’t get a lot of time with them before angry white settlers come to their community and begin killing the men. I hadn’t heard of this particular massacre, but did some more research after the film and found out 28 lives had been claimed. It’s a very well-done chapter, though, hard to watch.

In the third and final part, Emily is looking for Gracie, and the past and present soon collide. The last section is the weakest, not quite nailing the suspense we had in the other two. The whole film works as a slow burn, and while the storytelling structure doesn’t always give the message justice, it wraps up its arch effectivelty.

Tran delivers an endearing, standout performance, and her work with the young Kim is compelling. Wong‘s chapter is devastating, and he continues to demonstrate his impressive talent across all genres. Vera Miao builds a palpable atmosphere here and dresses up this world, real and supernatural, in beautiful and disturbing ways. The creature design and Heyjin Jun’s cinematography are also stunning, with each chapter having its own gaze.

Rock Springs is a thoughtful manifestation of grief and the real horror that is rooted in our history. Miao is one to look out for.

Night Nurse (Georgia Bernstein)

Night Nurse.

There’s something about this strange thriller that stayed with me. It has an allure even as it deters you. This isn’t a story I have seen on screen before, and I respect the hell out of the writing.

That being said…

Georgia Bernstein’s directorial debut, Night Nurse, feels like an exercise in patience, in your time, and in your ability to watch awkward scenes unfurl. Not unlike films like Secretary or Crash, this is an erotic thriller about control, but where those simmer, this one tepidly teases. A broad stroke of power control and caregiving ensconced in a visual, hazy, like a dream.

Nurse Eleni (Cemre Paksoy) is new to the retirement community and is assigned to be the night nurse for Douglas (Bruce McKenzie), a flirty older man with early alzheimers. She is part of the nursing team with Mona (Eleonore Hendricks), who seems very close to Douglas. After a couple of strange sequences, Eleni is in the kitchen with Douglas at night when he insists he needs to make a call. When he wraps her in phone cord and has her pretend to be the granddaughter of the elder on the line, Eleni obeys. A common phone scam, it’s clear that Douglas has been doing this to his fellow retirees for some time. From that moment forward, she’s entranced, and the dynamic of the group gets even stranger.

Night Nurse is Lynchian when at its best, with hints of Haneke. The inspirations are visible, and yet Bernstein does her own thing. That thing conjures a varied sensation that can be confusing. I often wondered what the film was saying and considered if it truly knew. There’s a crossroads of violence and sex (with a particularly intense finale) that always feels off-kilter and strangely stiff. The film plays out in a foggy and languid style, as if remembered through a clouded lens. Maybe that speaks to the sense of power some have over others and what they will do at their whim.

Where the film really shines is in Eleni’s trajectory. We knew very little of her to start, but her psychological journey and unravelling is a thoroughly compelling character study. Cemre Paksoy’s gentle Eleni effectively conveys that naivety. Up until the moment she snaps.

Moody and unafraid Night Nurse won’t be for everyone, but it’ll turn heads.

The Best Summer (Tamra Davis)

Gosh, I loved the 90’s.

It’s 1995, and The Best Summer is told through various behind-the-scenes POV shots from Tamra Davis during her time on a Summersault Tour in Australia. She had just released the film Billy Madison and was enjoying the summer tour and recording it all.

With a mix of musical footage and direct interviews (most done by Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill), you’re transported to another time. There are clips from a lot of the most popular performers of the time, including: Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Beck, Pavement, Rancid, The Amps, and Bikini Kill. At times, there’s a chaotic sense of rock sensibility with this mash-up of moments that seems to be thrown together in chaotic rock and roll fashion. I thought it involved a fun sense of nostalgia and is a must-see for any fan of this era of music. Incredibly, the footage was retained and compiled for this purpose. At the start of the film, it’s shown that it was found accidentally during the wildfires of 2025. Imagine having such a time capsule in your

It made me miss this era of artistic expression, and despite any hiccups in the final editing process or some areas being stretched, this was a ball of much-needed light. An ode to alternative 90’s rock, The Best Summer, whisks you up in a frenzy of one person’s camera, and yet we feel like we were all there.

From here, we head to Colorado. How will Sundance look there? Only time can tell. To quote the legendary Robert Redford (rest in piece): “I’m just interested in moving forward. Legacy means looking back, and I tend to not do that.”