Beginning at the End
My 2026 Sundance journey ended where it began… on my computer. As it has every year since the pandemic, Sundance has screened at least some of its films on an online platform. Typically, I will see as many films in person at the festival as I can that are not available online and then gorge myself on the remainder of the competition films online. This means creating a marathon film festival for myself that runs from morning to night that invariably turns into a blur of different stories and creative styles. By the last day, my Sundance experience — which begins on my computer with a carefully plotted out screening schedule — more closely resembles a fever dream than a film festival.
One of the very last films that I watched online this year, in the World Cinema Documentary Competition section, was a film called KIKUYU LAND directed by Andrew H. Brown and journalist Bea Wangondu. Set in Nairobi, Kenya, the story tracks Bea’s investigation into land agreements between locals and multinational corporations that raises some serious ethical questions.
In the end, her search leads back to her own family and her grandfather’s involvement in some potentially troubling business relationships. As I was struggling to keep focus during the end of my fever dream screening marathon, I suddenly was awestruck by something Bea said. When she brings up the matter before her uncles, they pretty much shut her down. Through her voice over narration, Bea shares her very conflicted thoughts on the whole matter. This is what she says:
“When I started this journey, I believed stories were the most powerful thing in the world. But now I’m not so sure. What I’ve seen is that oftentimes the story doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is the storyteller and how loud their voice is. But I’ve learned that the real story is the one that is often told with a whisper.”
By the time the film ends, it’s clear that she’s not going to get to the bottom of her grandfather’s story at least for now; her uncles have made it clear that they don’t wish her to pursue the matter beyond a certain point. The whispers that carry the truth of this particular family drama may never be heard.
As Bea uttered those words, I couldn’t help but reflect back on Sundance itself and the mission of its main founder, Robert Redford who died last year. Sundance’s goal has always been to nourish the independent artists who don’t have the loudest voices, but whose whispers carry a creative vision that can bring light to the world. But even here, at Sundance, where story is king, this particular filmmaker is telling us that stories are not necessarily the most powerful thing. Always questioning, forever re-inventing. That is why I love Sundance so damn much.
Thurs. Jan. 22: Sundance Day 1 – I Am Not Elijah Wood
After arriving at the gorgeous Salt Lake City airport, I pick up a ride hailing service to take me the roughly 45 minutes up the mountain to Park City. The first question the driver asks me is: “Why are all these people going to Park City?!” When I tell her that it is for the Sundance Film Festival, she remarks that she hadn’t realized that the festival was going on but is excited because even though she doesn’t watch movies much, she loves the glitz and glamor of the festival (and the business). She then tells me that her most high profile fare was LORD OF THE RINGS star Elijah Wood (and his bodyguard) from a few years ago. “He was so small!” Later, her husband had admonished her: “You should have gotten a selfie!” I wait for her to pull out her phone, but, alas, no selfie is requested.
Once we climb the mountain and get close to Park City it’s clear that while there is some snow on the ground, this is the driest Sundance in recent memory. And while I won’t miss dodging giant slushy piles of snow, ice and water as I make my way to screenings, I will long for the gentle snowfalls that make Sundance/Park City such a magical combination of event and place.
After picking up my badge and finding my way to what will be home for the next six days — a three bedroom condo which will house five of us — I scamper to my first movie, a public screening of THE HISTORY OF CONCRETE directed by John Wilson.
A brief aside here about public screenings vs. P&I screenings: besides the numerous venues scattered about Park City and Salt Lake City for public screenings, Sundance offers one site, the Holiday Village multiplex, where those with press or industry passes can line up with their badges to watch films. These are no frills events, with no filmmakers or film participants/cast member present, minimal fanfare, and at most a smattering of applause at the end. Needless to say, this is not what countless filmmakers have spent their whole lives dreaming about. Those are places like the legendary Egyptian Theater on Main Street, Eccles, Library, Yarrow, and The Ray. (Other than the Egyptian, these are all theaters that the Sundance tech team has modified/created from scratch and just plain willed into being over the years). Sadly, the Egyptian theater was not available to be used as a venue this year, so I was not able to get a final selfie with the iconic “Sundance Film Festival” lettering on the marquee.)
This being my first night and a long travel day, I may have nodded off for a moment or two during THE HISTORY OF CONCRETE. I’m definitely out of shape when it comes to my viewing stamina. I will need to work on that for these next few days.
Friday, Jan. 23: Day 2 – The Amazing Ava and Barbara Show
The morning of Day 2 I rouse myself and get out of the condo in time to trudge up Park Avenue and over to Main Street to the Sundance Filmmaker Lodge, where the legendary doc filmmaker Barbara Kopple (winner of two Academy Awards) is being paired with the amazing Ava DuVernay in a conversation about Barbara’s career. While Sundance always features a few retrospective screenings from its 42 year history, this year, because it is the last in PC/SLC and because of the passing in Redford, the festival is leaning into a series that it is calling the Park City Legacy program with numerous guests in attendance. Films include LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, SAW, MYSTERIOUS SKIN, and Kopple’s AMERICAN DREAM in a new 4K digital restoration.
The conversation turns out to be the perfect kickoff to my first full day at Sundance. The two filmmakers, who clearly have a huge amount of admiration for each other, take turns answering questions and interviewing each other. The audience, filled with up-and-coming filmmakers hungry for tidbits of advice and wisdom, couldn’t be more enraptured. The convo ends with the touching gesture of Barbara removing a necklace from her neck and gifting it to Ava, who is clearly touched. Robert Redford is no doubt smiling at all this.
After that, it is time to catch a bunch of P&I screenings and make a stop at my first party. Now a word about parties: Just because I said there was no snow doesn’t mean it wasn’t freakin’ cold for the first few days of the festival. Nowhere is one more aware of how cold it is than waiting in an interminable line to get into a party. This being the party sponsored by the Sundance Documentary Film Program, I know that “my people” will be there; lots of doc filmmakers and folks in the doc community. So, waiting online, I chat with a filmmaker from South America who has a new film that is about to hit the festival circuit, and we exchange cards. I’m looking forward to her submitting the film to Hot Springs.
Inside, I am shocked by two things: one there is actual food on hand (salmon kebabs!) and there is also room to move around without having to bash one’s way through a phalanx of chattering partygoers like an NFL running back. I chat with filmmaker Lance Kramer, whose latest film, HOLDING LIAT screened at HSDFF this past October and has been honored by being named to the Oscar Shortlist.
After a few more quick chats (eye always on the clock…), I zip back over to the Holiday to catch a screening of THE LAST FIRST: WINTER K2. Mountain climbing docs are a personal favorite of mine, so being able to catch this screening (not available online!) on the big screen is a real thrill.
One of the big questions at Sundance is what will the market be like? Will there be any bidding wars as in years’ past or will the buyers sit on their hands as they mostly have recently? Soon enough, we will find that the market is not very active this year. But THE LAST FIRST will be one of the few docs to break through. After the fest, Apple Original Films announces that they have acquired the film for theatrical release.
Saturday, Jan. 24: Day 3 – Morning/Mourning in America
Like all of America, we awake to the shocking-but-not-shocking news that Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, has been shot to death by Customs and Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis. In theory, Sundance is a bubble, a place to escape the horrors of the world for a few days to immerse oneself in the communal experience of film, and the community experience of being with those who make, support and love film. But the reality is that Sundance is not a bubble, and we all know that. Turning off your phone during a screening doesn’t turn off the world. And now the community is hurting.
For the remainder of that day, and for days after, two of my roommates are in a dark place. Both are based in Minneapolis and are deeply affected by the news. One of them went to high school a block or two away from where Pretti was killed. They stay connected to folks back home who share their grief and anger. This is no time to be in Park City, but that is where they are, and they will stay here, try to let the distraction of Sundance be their focus, and make the best of it.
Sunday, Jan. 25: Day 4 – In Public
The highlight of day three is no doubt the public screening of Alex Gibney’s new documentary KNIFE: THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF SALMAN RUSHDIE, which is based on Rushdie’s book about being attacked at a book reading, his life threatening injuries, and his long recovery process.
(By the way, if you are starting to get the sense that I only watch documentaries at Sundance, you are absolutely correct. In the 11 years that I have been coming to Sundance since 2013 – 2 years were interrupted by Covid – I have seen a grand total of one fiction film. It’s not that I don’t like fiction films (I do), but when I am at Sundance, I live, breathe and party documentaries. As Hunter S. Thompson used to say, “Buy the ticket, take the ride.” Or, in my case, “Get the pass, go to the documentary.”)
The screening is at the Ray Theater and, like most Sundance screenings, is packed. The audience is so on edge (apologies for the knife analogy) that the person next to me can’t help herself from telling me to turn off my phone the second the first Sundance promo starts. Granted, there are about 3 or 4 of these trailers before each film…)
Gibney’s film is everything you could ask for: intimate, detailed, graphic, emotional, gripping, and thoughtful. On top of that it’s a love story, too. Of course, all of us are watching the film with one thought in mind: what does Salman think, and what’s the Q&A with him and his wife Rachel Eliza Griffiths going to be like. When the film ends and Alex, followed by Salman and Rachel, are brought on stage, the audience rises as one in a standing ovation. This is about as surprising as encountering a long line to get inside a Sundance party, but, nonetheless, the electricity in the room is real and the emotion hard earned and genuine.
In this moment, we know what our job is: it is to convey our deepfelt gratitude, respect and admiration for these people who have suffered and given so much. In a film that is about the power of love, Salman and Rachel and Alex are feeling the love, and, for a moment at least, we all feel good. Of course, moments like this call for a bit of humor and Salman obliges, coming out with a great comeback in reference to the film “Jerry Maguire”. We all laugh. The guy’s still got it.
Monday, Jan. 26: Day 5 — Give Me the Ball!
Nothing gets me more fired up than a great sports documentary, and over the years nobody has created more compelling stories around sports than ESPN’S 30 FOR 30. Thankfully, I’m able to score tickets to two more public screenings on my last two days. The world premieres of GIVE ME THE BALL! directed by Liz Garbus and Elizabeth Wolff and THE BRITTNEY GRINER STORY directed by Alexandria Stapleton, both produced for 30 For 30. GIVE ME THE BALL! is the definitive biography of tennis legend Billie Jean King and her fight for equality for women’s sports. As a lifelong tennis and BJK fan, I’m perfectly happy to take off my documentary hat and just enjoy the ride. But, in Liz and Elizabeth’s hands, the filmmaking proves to be every bit as engaging as BJK’s story. And who doesn’t love seeing BJK kick Bobby Riggs’ ass one more time? (But to geek out for a moment, what’s brilliant here is the way she beat him, and these directors do a masterful job of drawing out and illustrating her strategy and its execution).
As with KNIFE from the day before, the moment we have all been waiting for is here. Billie Jean climbs on stage. Eccles is the festival’s largest venue and with every one of the over 1,000 seats filled, this place is rocking. Immediately, I am brought back to a screening in this same venue eight long years ago. It was the world premiere of Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s documentary RGB about the late Supreme Court justice. I happened to be sitting in the row right behind the Justice, and I’ll never forget the tears on her face as she watched images of her beloved husband Martin on the big screen. Sundance does that to you.
At the end of the Q&A, BJK announces that she is going to do something that she does at all her events. Someone then comes over with a tennis racket and hands BJK a ball. She turns to the audience and hits an BJK-autographed ball into the crowd. Here’s where the plot thickens… I’m taking pictures on my phone for a future Sundance Diary blog that I may or may not write, when BJK winds up to hit another ball. A moment later, as I’m holding up the phone, I feel a “thud” against my elbow. I jerk the camera and look down, just in time to see the ball bouncing next to my leg, only to be scooped up by the person sitting next to me. She jumps up and down; I feel like an idiot. Just a moment before, during the Q&A, BJK had talked about the importance of being present in the moment, and here I am, focusing so much on capturing the moment with my camera that I get smacked in the arm. “Give Me the Ball!” indeed! (See blurry photo of the exact moment the ball hits me. I didn’t even get the photo!)
Tues. Jan. 27: Day 6 – You Can’t See ‘Em All
The next day, my last at Sundance, I begin the day by having brunch with three amazing producers (Caryn Capotosto, Susan Margolin and Jen Rainin) and, as always, in such gatherings, the questions are the same: “What did you see?” and “What did you like?” Because you can’t possibly see everything, it’s always a great way to compare notes — and experience a bit of FOMO.
From there, it’s on to another screening and another opportunity to geek out on documentary: the world premiere of Mark Cousins’ soon-to-be-epic 16-hour documentary “The Story of Documentary Film.” (Of course, it’s a great place to run into more documentary friends. See photo.) I love Mark’s approach to documentary, which is aways the result of exhaustive research but also deeply personal. He constantly challenges the canon while, at the same time, brings new perspectives on why some films deserve to be classics and other hidden gems should be given their just due. We only get to see part one of the film, which is still in process. I utter a silent prayer that the entire magnum opus will be completed by October…
Tuesday Night: A Slam Dunk and the Last Dance
Tuesday afternoon I catch the second of the two 30 For 30 docs, THE BRITTNEY GRINER STORY, which tells the story of Brittney’s rise as one of the premier basketball players in the world and her harrowing detainment and imprisonment in Russia. As with KNIFE and GIVE ME THE BALL!, the Q&A is the pièce de resistance; the love between Britney and her wife, and their close relationship with the director, shines through and fills the building with good feeling.
Did I mention that the thing about Sundance parties is that they usually suck? However, thanks to our good friends at Nat Geo Doc Films, I was invited to a smaller reception in honor of Sara Dosa’s new documentary TIME AND WATER. This is another one of her films set in Iceland, and, while different in many respects, is just as sublime as her recent Oscar nominee FIRE OF LOVE. Another opportunity to play the “What have you seen?” “What have you liked game?” and to say “Hi” and congratulations to Sara.
Ok, so one more party to mention. The ESPN 30 For 30 party. Now, this was a party! Just the right size, not packed in sardine-wise, tasty cocktails, and a great mix of people. All is right with the world, except for one minor detail: once again, I missed out on my Billie Jean King moment. I’m told: “She was just here. Did you see her?!” No, I didn’t. Arghh!
Nonetheless, feeling good (I told you about the cocktails, right?), I decide to walk down the hill one final time. I walk out of the party, cross over to Main St., which, given that it is still not late, is surprisingly devoid of people. Rather than walk down Park Avenue, the main artery out of town, I stay to the right to take the Poison Creek Trail instead. This is my true happy place at Sundance. The creek to one side, the sleepy village to the other, with the mountains and ski lifts rising above. It is always quiet and peaceful here. Somehow, in this one spot, there is plenty of snow around. I have the trail completely to myself.
Soon enough, Sundance 2026 will be over, and all thoughts will turn to Boulder. How will it measure up? Who’s to say? For now, I am truly living in the moment, and that’s all that matters.
-Ken