Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced the lineup for the 2026 Sundance Film Festival’s annual Beyond Film talks and events, a series featuring artist conversations and experts from various fields being held Friday, Jan. 23, to Friday, Jan. 30. In addition, a first time event, Sundan ce Institute’s Story Forum: Exploring Art and Innovation presented by Adobe, will take place Monday, Jan. 26, bringing creators, educators and industry leaders together to discuss the latest ideas and technologies in storytelling.  The Festival will be held from Jan. 22-Feb. 1 in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with the at-home program available online from Jan. 29-Feb. 1 for audiences across the country. Single Film Tickets for in-person and online screenings go on sale Jan. 14 at 10 a.m. Visit the Sundance Film Festival website for more information: festival.sundance.org.  The 2026 festival will serve as a meaningful tribute to Robert Redford and his vision that has inspired generations of artists and redefined cinema around the world. During the second half of the festival, the Park City Legacy program will celebrate the festival’s rich history and shared experiences in Utah through archival screenings of iconic films from previous editions, artist talks with notable festival alumni ,and a special event for the community.  Beyond Film provides a free community experience to festival attendees through artist discussions, talks with filmmakers and experts across various disciplines and exciting opportunities for audience engagement. This year’s lineup includes Cinema Café, presented by Audible, and The Big Conversation | From Fire to Flight: Humans, Technology and Time. Beyond Film will feature conversations from various participants such as Olivia Wilde (“The Invite” and “I Want Your Sex”), Ava DuVernay, Salman Rushdie (“Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie”), Richard Linklater (“Nouvelle Vague”), Nicole Holofcener (“Worried”), John Turturro (“The Only Living Pickpocket in New York”), Billie Jean King (“Give Me the Ball!”), Antoine Fuqua (“Troublemaker”), Gregg Araki (“I Want Your Sex” and “Mysterious Skin”) and Barbara Kopple (“American Dream”). This year’s programming will include a live podcast recording of “Visitations,” featuring James Wan (“Saw”) with hosts Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah. See the schedule below for the full lineup.  To commemorate this poignant year, there will also be special talks and events as part of the Park City Legacy program, taking place during the second half of the Festival. Also part of the Beyond Film program, “Power of Story: On Legacy” will feature Ta-Nehisi Coates (executive producer and subject of “When A Witness Recants”), Alex Gibney (director of “Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie”), John Turturro (cast member of “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York”), Olivia Wilde (director and cast member of “The Invite” and cast of “I Want Your Sex”) and moderator Jia Tolentino (staff writer of The New Yorker). As a longtime Sundance Film Festival alum, Richard Linklater will be participating in a noteworthy live commentary of “Nouvelle Vague” on Jan. 28. A one-of-a-kind culmination event, “Everyone Has a Story: Four Decades of the Sundance Film Festival in Utah,” will be a special free gathering for the public on Jan. 30 to celebrate the many cherished memories of the over 40-year history of the annual festival and share gratitude with the local Utah community.  “We are excited to announce this year’s Beyond Film programming as it represents how incredibly special this year is for the Sundance Film Festival,” said Kim Yutani, director of programming. “We look forward to bringing bold and inspiring voices together to explore the themes in this year’s program of new films, as well as celebrating our shared history with Utah through our Park City Legacy program talks and our signature Power of Story conversation held at the iconic Egyptian Theatre.”  “Our 2026 Beyond Film program remains a space for expanding perspectives and celebrating the resilient creative spirit at the heart of the Festival,” said Ania Trzebiatowska, Beyond Film program curator. “As we gather in Park City, we recognize the privilege of sharing this space — of looking beyond the screens, honoring our legacy and connecting with the artists and audiences who shape how we see the world.”  All Beyond Film talks and events are free to the public with the exception of Power of Story, which is a paid ticketed event. The events will take place in person from Jan. 23-30, with most of the Beyond Film offerings available to audiences online the day following the in-person event on festival.sundance.org throughout the festival. For admission to Cinema Café and The Big Conversation events, attendees should arrive at least 30 minutes early, as seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. Upon arrival, they should present their festival ID QR code on your mobile device for entry. You can access your festival ID by logging in to your free festival account and going to “My Schedule.” (Important: festival tickets and festival IDs serve different functions. Both can be retrieved as QR codes using the mobile app.) Since Power of Story is a paid ticketed event, it will require a digital ticket for entry. For more on how to access online Beyond Film offerings, visit the How to Fest page on the festival website.  Sundance Institute’s Story Forum: Exploring Art and Innovation brings creators, educators and industry leaders together to discuss the latest ideas and technologies in storytelling. Events are free to attend with registration and will take place at the Sheraton Park City on Monday, Jan. 26 from 8:30 a.m.–10 p.m. A free online program will also be held on Thursday, Jan. 29 and Friday, Jan. 30. Free in-person and online registration available by visiting collab.sundance.org/catalog/Story-Forum.  BEYOND FILM LINEUP  POWER OF STORY  The Sundance Film Festival’s Power of Story conversation looks to deepen public engagement with the art of storytelling, delve into cinema culture and celebrate artists whose work propels and reinvents the form.  Power of Story: On Legacy, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 3–4:30 p.m., Egyptian Theatre, 328 Main St., Park City — “Power of Story: On Legacy” will bring together artists, thinkers and culture makers for a deeper look at the idea of legacy — what it means, who defines it and how it evolves over time. Speakers will reflect on legacy as a balancing act between intention and interpretation, control and serendipity, exploring how stories outlive their creators and take on new meaning through audiences. It’s a conversation about what lasts, what lingers and what we hope to pass on. Featuring: Ta-Nehisi Coates (executive producer and subject of “When A Witness Recants”), Alex Gibney (director of “Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie”), John Turturro (cast member of “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York”) and Olivia Wilde (director and cast member of “The Invite” and cast member of “I Want Your Sex”). Moderated by Jia Tolentino (staff writer of The New Yorker)  CINEMA CAFÉ presented by Audible, Friday, Jan. 23-Thursday, Jan. 29, Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St., Park City The doors are open again at Cinema Café, where the culture of conversation is reinvigorated. Our series of informal chats brings together special guests for thought-provoking encounters and fascinating dialogue. Previous Cinema Café guests have included Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Tessa Thompson, Jane Campion, Eugenio Derbez, Lena Dunham, Norman Lear, Kumail Nanjiani, Saoirse Ronan, Spike Lee, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Radha Blank, Ira Glass, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Charlie Kaufman, Ice-T, Winston Duke, Eva Victor, Mstyslav Chernov, Olivia Colman, Daniel Kaluuya, Marlee Matlin, Chlöe Sevigny, Celine Song, D. Smith and many others.  Friday, Jan. 23, 11 a.m.-noon — Ava DuVernay and Barbara Kopple (“American Dream”)  Saturday, Jan. 24— TBA Sunday, Jan. 25, 11 a.m.-noon — Salman Rushdie (“Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie”), hosted by Justin Chang (film critic of The New Yorker)  Tuesday, Jan. 27, 11 a.m.-noon — Billie Jean King (“Give Me the Ball!”) and Antoine Fuqua (“Troublemaker”) Wednesday, Jan. 28, 11 a.m.-noon — “The Indie ’90s” with Gregg Araki (“I Want Your Sex” and “Mysterious Skin”), Nicole Holofcener (“Worried”), Richard Linklater (“Nouvelle Vague”), moderated by John Pierson (“Spike, Mike, Slackers, Dykes”)  Thursday, Jan. 29, 11 a.m.-noon — Visitations Live Podcast with James Wan (“Saw),” hosted by Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah of indie production company SpectreVision. THE BIG CONVERSATION supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Monday, Jan. 26, 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.  The Big Conversation tackles science, art, culture and the movements that are fueling the imaginations of today’s independent artists. The Big Conversation | ‘From Fire to Flight: Humans, Technology and Time,’ Filmmaker Lodge, 550 Main St., Park City Two leading scientists join filmmaker Andrew Stanton (“WALL-E”) and screenwriter Colby Day (“Spaceman”), who have explored themes of human connection to science and technology throughout their work, including the new film “In The Blink of An Eye,” which spans thousands of years of human history, from a Neanderthal family struggling to survive, to the work of an anthropologist (uncovering that past), to the mission of spacecraft — its sole human occupant and onboard sentient computer — bringing humanity to a distant planet.  Featuring: Andrew Stanton (director of “In The Blink of An Eye”) and Colby Day (executive producer of “In The Blink of An Eye”), moderated by Dr. Heather Berlin  ‘NOUVELLE VAGUE’ LIVE COMMENTARY WITH RICHARD LINKLATER, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 9:15 p.m., The Yarrow Theatre, 1800 Park Ave., Park City Longtime Festival alumnus Richard Linklater will provide a live commentary track over a screening of “Nouvelle Vague,” taking the audience behind the scenes of Linklater’s film, Jean-Luc Godard’s film “Breathless” and the nature of independence in filmmaking itself.  “Nouvelle Vague” / France (Director: Richard Linklater, Screenwriters: Holly Gent, Vincent Palmo Jr., Michèle Halberstadt, Laetitia Masson, Producers: Laurent Pétin, Michèle Pétin) — A reimagining of the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” explores the youthful rebellion and creative chaos that shaped the French New Wave. Cast: Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch, Aubry Dullin.  EVERYONE HAS A STORY: FOUR DECADES OF THE SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL IN UTAH, Friday, Jan. 30, 3–4:15 p.m. (doors open at 2 p.m. for cocktail hour with cash bar), The Marquis, 427 Main St., Unit 1, Park City, UT  This special culmination event brings together artists, alumni, industry, veteran attendees, staff and volunteers and the local community for a program of stories, shared memories, archive treasures and legendary moments. This is a free event, but ticket reservations are required. Must be 21 or older with a scannable ID to attend. Visit festival.sundance.org for more information.  PARTNER EVENTS  The Sundance Film Festival’s official partner events give audiences the opportunity to hear from experts from around the world as they discuss a variety of topics. Events are hosted and produced by members of our partner community. Each of these partner organizations helped make this year’s Festival possible. To explore this year’s partner events, please visit festival.sundance.org/program/partner-events.  SUNDANCE INSTITUTE’S STORY FORUM: EXPLORING ART AND INNOVATION, Monday, Jan. 26, 8:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m., Silvermine, Sheraton Park City, 1895 Sidewinder Dr., Park City Sundance Institute’s Story Forum: Exploring Art and Innovation, presented by Adobe, brings creators, educators and industry leaders together to discuss the latest ideas and technologies in storytelling. Events are free to attend with registration and will take place at the Sheraton Park City on Jan. 26 from 8:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m.  A free online program will also be held Jan. 29 and Jan. 30.  Festival-goers can secure free in-person and online registration at collab.sundance.org/catalog/Story-Forum.  Making of a Movement: Meet the Creators Coalition on AI, 8:30-9:30 a.m.  Founding members of the Creators Coalition on AI (CCAI) share their groundbreaking initiative to develop standards and best practices for artificial intelligence use in entertainment. Gain candid insights into the organization’s mission to create ethical guidelines and artistic protections for creators. The session includes breakfast. Featuring: Janet Yang (Co-Founder, CCAI)  Beyond the Hype: A Documentary Deep Dive into AI, 10-11 a.m.  Filmmakers behind two 2026 Sundance Film Festival documentaries about artificial intelligence — Valerie Veatch (“Ghost in the Machine”), Daniel Roher, Charlie Tyrell and Daniel Kwan (“The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist”) — examine the evolving technological landscape in this session that unpacks the intricate history and potential futures of AI in society. Featuring: Valerie Veatch (director of “Ghost in the Machine”), Daniel Kwan (producer of “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist”) and Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell (co-directors of  “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist”). Moderator: Alix Dunn (CEO, The Maybe)  Behind the Shorts: Creative Explorations in GenAI Filmmaking, presented by Adobe, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.  A practical, behind-the-scenes look at how generative tools can support the artists making their films. Go inside the process as the filmmakers break down how they organized their workflows and tackled key challenges. This session highlights the steps and decisions that shaped the shorts, showing how AI can enhance an artist’s creativity and streamline the path to a finished film. Featuring: Momo Wang (creator of WINK) and Taryn O’Neill (writer and director of “MythOS”)  Cinematic Authorship in an Era of AI and Virtual Production, 1-2 p.m.  Virtual production and AI are often framed as tools — from LED stages and real-time engines to AI-driven workflows — but for independent filmmakers they signal a deeper shift in authorship and creative decision-making. This session explores how evolving production approaches influence cinematic language and creative possibility and invites filmmakers to engage technology as part of storytelling shaped by intention, literacy and creative ownership. Featuring: Kathryn Brillhart (cinematographer, director and virtual production supervisor)  The Trust Paradox: Creative Technology Trends Shaping Entertainment, 2:30-3:30 p.m.  Dive into how generative AI is transforming our relationship to creativity and credibility and why trust is becoming the next great currency. Nick Borenstein, general manager of The Webby Awards, will present the 2026 Webby Trend Report, a playbook for creative excellence in the Intelligence Era. Following the report, a panel will discuss how creative technologies are shaping the industry. Featuring: Nick Borenstein (general manager of The Webby Awards), Loren Hammonds (head of documentary at TIME Studios), William D. Caballero (director, co-writer and producer of “TheyDream”)  The Machine Is Not the Artist: The Evolution of Storytelling Across AI, VRand AR, 4-5 p.m. Award-winning creatives Yelena Rachitsky (head of emerging formats at Meta) and Eliza McNitt (director of “ANCESTRA” and “SPHERES”) deconstruct their groundbreaking projects and examine how emerging technologies are reshaping cinematic language. Explore the evolution from VR to AI — and why human authorship remains at the center of storytelling. Featuring: Eliza McNitt (director of “ANCESTRA” and “SPHERES”), Yelena Rachitsky (head of emerging formats at Meta)  Artificial Creativity: The Neuroscience of Imagination in the Intelligence Age, 5:30-6:30 p.m.  AI can generate images, scripts and music, but it doesn’t create the way humans do. This session with Rachel Joy Victor, a researcher and designer of computational narratives and emergent technologies, traces the evolution of artificial intelligence alongside human cognition to unpack what creativity actually is, where AI reaches its limits and why embodied experience, intuition and intention remain central to storytelling. Featuring: Rachel Joy Victor (strategist, designer and founder of Interphase)  ‘Dear Upstairs Neighbors:’ Exploring Artist-Driven, AI-Assisted Expressionistic Animation, 7-8 p.m.  Join the team behind “Dear Upstairs Neighbors” for a screening and deep dive into artist-centric, AI-assisted animation workflows. This short film blends traditional animation with abstract expressionism using innovative video-to-video techniques. Learn how animation veterans and researchers at Google DeepMind developed custom AI models to transform handcrafted art and music into “living paintings” while maintaining total creative control. Featuring: Connie He (director of “Dear Upstairs Neighbors”), Yung Spielburg (composer of “Dear Upstairs Neighbors”), Cassidy Curtis (supervising animator of “Dear Upstairs Neighbors”), Sarah Rumbley (VFX supervisor of “Dear Upstairs Neighbors”). Moderated by Márcia Mayer (producer of “Dear Upstairs Neighbors”)  ‘Whispers:’ An Interactive Murder Mystery Experience, 8:30-10:30 p.m.  Experience the SAG-AFTRA-approved, AI-driven interactive thriller “Whispers.” This social session includes a murder mystery experience, food and refreshments and insights into the future of generative interactive narrative from Peabody- and three-time Primetime Emmy Award-winning creator and showrunner Bernie Su, Pickford AI CEO Stephen Piron, product manager Harrison Sanborn and actor Stephen A. Chang. Featuring: Bernie Su (creator and showrunner of “Artificial” and “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries”), Stephen Piron (CEO of Pickford AI), Harrison Sanborn (producer and product manager at Pickford AI), Stephen A. Chang (actor in “The Last of Us Part II” and “Bosch: Legacy”). The post Sundance announces 2026 Film Festival Beyond Film programming appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less