Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2026 Official Program Announced

Cinépolis and the Sundance Institute have announced the official program for the third edition of the Sundance Film Festival: CDMX 2026. The event, which serves as an extension of the prestigious U.S. Festival, will bring a curated selection of independent cinema to Mexico City from April 30 to May 3, 2026.

The 2026 selection comprises 15 feature films—split between eight documentaries and seven fiction titles—alongside a program of six short films. All feature films in the lineup previously premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in the United States.

Ticket sales for the festival began on April 10, 2026, and are available through the official Cinépolis website, the company’s app, and at the box offices of the participating venues.

Cinépolis Diana will serve as the primary hub for the festival. Additional screenings will take place across four other locations: Cinépolis Plaza Carso, Cinépolis VIP Miyana, Cinépolis Mítikah, and Cinépolis Oasis Coyoacán.

Fiction Feature Selection

The fiction category explores themes of obsession, recovery, and family dynamics. Notable entries include The Invite, directed by Olivia Wilde and acquired by A24, which centers on a fragile couple whose evening is disrupted by their upstairs neighbors. Also acquired by A24 is Josephine Decker’s Chasing Summer, a story about a woman returning to her Texas hometown after losing her job and partner.

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Other fiction titles include:

• Saccharine: Directed by Natalie Erika James, this film follows a medical student’s descent into a terrifying obsession with body image and weight loss.
• Union County: Directed by Adam Meeks, depicting a man’s path to recovery within a drug court program during the rural Ohio opioid crisis.
• The Musical: Directed by Giselle Bonilla, focusing on a high school drama teacher’s diabolical plan to ruin his rival, Principal Brady.
• Undertone: Directed by Ian Tuason, featuring a paranormal podcast host haunted by anonymous recordings.
• If I Go Will They Miss Me: Directed by Walter Thompson-Hernández and acquired by Rich Spirit, portraying a boy’s surreal quest to connect with his father.

Documentary Feature Selection

The documentary lineup focuses on identity, technology, and human endurance. Felipe Bustos Sierra’s Everybody to Kenmure Street, which was picked up by Icarus Films for North America, documents community resistance against migration policies in Scotland.

The remaining documentary selections are:

• American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez: Directed by David Alvarado, this film profiles the influential Chicano playwright and director.
• The Oldest Person in the World: Directed by Sam Green, a meditation on longevity and the passage of time.
• Nuisance Bear: Directed by Jack Weisman and Gabriela Osio Vanden, examining the collision between polar bear migration and human activity in the Canadian Arctic.
• One in a Million: Directed by Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes, a decade-long chronicle of a girl’s journey from Syria to Germany.
• The Last First: Winter K2: Directed by Amir Bar-Lev, exploring the commercialization and danger of extreme mountaineering on K2.
• The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist: Directed by Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell, reflecting on the risks and scope of artificial intelligence.
• The Best Summer: Directed by Tamra Davis, providing an immersive look at a definitive era in music featuring artists such as the Beastie Boys and Sonic Youth.

Short Film Program

The festival’s short film program features six selections that range from sensory exploration to intimate drama:

• Sorrow Doesn’t Sleep at Night (Dir. Josefina Montino and Martín André)
• Marga en el DF (Dir. Gabriela Ortega)
• Albatross (Dir. Amandine Thomas)
• Norheimsund (Dir. Ana A. Alpizar)
• Once in a Body (Dir. María Cristina Pérez)
• Los Mentirosos (The Liars) (Dir. Eduardo Braun Costa)

Our Sundance Film Festival: CDMX 2026 program offers an opportunity to explore powerful and entertaining stories early in their journeys of meeting global audiences. These films premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival to great reception and our team is pleased to take them to Mexico City, where we’ve enjoyed connecting with a vibrant film-loving community for the past two years.

Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming

In addition to the screenings, the third edition of the festival will include a series of panels and special activities designed to facilitate dialogue between filmmakers and audiences regarding the creative processes behind the selected works.

For us, We see incredibly valuable to bring these stories closer to Mexican audiences and continue fostering spaces where new voices, diverse perspectives, and meaningful narratives can connect with increasingly broad audiences.

Alejandro Ramírez, CEO of Cinépolis