IFC Center

2026 Sundance Festival Short Film Tour (Open Captioning)

Please note that there are additional showtimes of the 2026 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL SHORT FILM TOUR that screen without open captions (on-screen display of dialogue and sounds). For those showtimes, click here.

Curated from this year’s festival, this selection of six standout shorts from around the world includes Jury Award winners THE BOYS AND THE BEES (Nonfiction), CRISIS ACTOR (US Fiction) and LIVING WITHOUT A VISIONARY (Animation) in an eclectic showcase of truly independent filmmaking.

Program:

Crisis Actor / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Lily Platt, Producers: Sophie Seyd, Alex Bendo, Lexi Preiser) — Fired from her day job, an impulsive actress crashes a support group and spirals into a chaotic night that forces her to face her addiction to drama. Cast: Sarah Steele, Philip Ettinger. Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction

The Boys and the Bees / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Arielle Knight, Producer: Sean Weiner) — On an idyllic farm in rural Georgia, Black beekeeping parents tenderly share their knowledge of life, love, and nature with their young sons while restoring their homestead. Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction

Pankaja / U.S.A., India (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Anooya Swamy, Producers: Nakirekanti Swamy, Archana Swamy, Vindhya Gupta) — Pankaja, along with her daughter, Lalli, searches for her missing husband through the city slums of Bangalore to bring him back home. Cast: Harshini Boyalla, Padmashree G.

Sauna Sickness / Sweden (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Malin Barr) — Struggling to maintain the peace she mistakes for love, Cleo’s steamy New Year’s Eve plans fissure into a chilling nightmare. Cast: Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Adam Lundgren, Magnus Krepper, Sanna Krepper. NY Premiere!

Living with a Visionary / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Stephen P. Neary, Producer: Mireia Vilanova) — After 50 years of marriage, John must care for his wife while learning to live alongside her vivid hallucinations. Cast: James Cromwell, Katherine LaVictoire. Short Film Jury Award: Animation

Marga en el DF / Mexico, U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Gabriela Ortega, Producers: Karla Luna Cantú, Natalia Gonzalez, Eugenio Valero, Carlos López Estrada, Valerie Bush, Stacy Perskie) — In the wake of Selena Quintanilla’s murder, Marga’s life takes an unexpected turn at 21 weeks pregnant during a surprise visit to Mexico City. Cast: Camila Santana, David Palacio, Xabiani Ponce de León, Andrea de Fátima.

The Sun Never Sets (Open Captioning)

Mon, Aug 31 at 7:00pm: Sneak preview + Q&A with dir. Joe Swanberg & star Cory Michael Smith

Tues, Sep 1 at 7:00pm: Sneak preview + Q&A with dir. Joe Swanberg & star Cory Michael Smith

Please note that there are additional showtimes of THE SUN NEVER SETS that screen without open captions (on-screen display of dialogue and sounds). For those showtimes, click here.

Free-spirited Wendy (Dakota Fanning) is at a crossroads in her relationship with older divorced dad Jack (Jake Johnson, New Girl) that is only further complicated when an old flame (Cory Michael Smith, Sentimental Value) re-enters her life. Set in perpetually sunny summertime Anchorage and featuring a career-best performance by Fanning, THE SUN NEVER SETS is a funny and endearing return to form for mumblecore auteur Joe Swanberg.

Regular engagement begins Fri, Sep 4. Showtimes to be announced.

Official selection: SXSW

“Marks a confident return for Swanberg, bolstered by a stellar performance from Fanning and a thoughtful, often painful exploration of love, growth, and the realization that fulfillment doesn’t always come from another person.” – Film Inquiry

previous events:

Sat, Aug 22 at 2:30pm: Sneak Preview + Q&A with stars Dakota Fanning and Cory Michael Smith

Critics & Filmmakers: A Conversation between Godfrey Cheshire & Alex Winter

A one-night-only special event feautring critic Godfrey Cheshire and writer-director-actor-producer Alex Winter.

In the late 90s Godfrey Cheshire was the lead film critic for the noted alt-weekly New York Press and Alex Winter was adding directing to work that already included starring in films such as BILL AND TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE. The two met at the Cannes Film Festival and began a friendship that included numerous conversations about their different roles in cinema. In this one, they will discuss their careers and the evolving nature and challenges of filmmaking and criticism in an event illustrated with film clips. The evening celebrates the release of Godfrey’s new book Cheshire on Film: Life and Writings (foreword by Alex); a book signing will follow.

The Devils

Thursday, October 15: Sneak preview at 7:00 and 9:40! Opens Fri, October 16

All screenings on a new 35mm print of the 4K restoration of the film.

An enduring, singular masterpiece of cinema starring Academy Award-winner Vanessa Redgrave and Oliver Reed, KEN RUSSELL’S THE DEVILS is a presecient epic of obsession and corruption – and a defining work of art from seminal filmmaker Ken Russell.

Assembled from the original camera negative, this new 4K restoration presents Ken Russell’s definitive vision of The Devils by referencing the edit he privately constructed in 2004. The film’s sound has been remastered from original English Composite 35mm Mag Film, transferred at 96kHz, plus other original film elements in selected spots as needed. The Picture and Sound restoration was performed by Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services, Water Tower Color, and Warner Bros. Sound.

Local One

The Amazon Labor Union made history in 2022 by becoming the first group to successfully unionize an Amazon warehouse in the U.S. Two and a half years later, the company has refused to recognize the union and bargain a contract. To pressure the company to start negotiating, the Amazon Labor Union, now affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, launches a nationwide strike during peak holiday shopping season. From the filmmakers of the award-winning film Union, Local One takes us into the first days of the strike at two Amazon warehouses in New York City, this time in solidarity with hundreds more workers across the country.

Who Moves America

Wednesday, September 9: Q&A w/dir. Yael Bridge and UPS Teamster Antoine Andrews moderated by journalist Alex Press after the 6:30 show!

Saturday, September 12: Q&A w/dir. Yael Bridge and prods. Yoni Golijov & Mars Verrone, moderated Laura Poitras, after the 6:55 show!

Sunday, September 13: Q&A w/dir. Yael Bridge & protagonist Antonio Rosario after 4:35 show!

In an era of deepening inequality, UPS Teamsters stand on the brink of a historic strike. As the deadline looms, WHO MOVES AMERICA shadows UPS workers in New York, Kentucky, California and across the country as they navigate the challenges of building solidarity with their 340,000 co-workers.

Opens Wed, Sep 9, more showtimes to be announced.

The Incomer

Thursday, September 10: Sneak preview and Q&A w/ star Domhnall Gleeson after the 6:15 show!

On a remote Scottish isle, siblings Isla (Gayle Rankin, GLOW) and Sandy (Grant O’Rourke, Outlander) spend their days hunting seabirds and retelling the stories of their ancestors. They follow the strict rules inherited from their late father — protect the island, allow no incomer, survive — until one day, Daniel (Domhnall Gleeson, Ex Machina), an awkward and socially inept council official, arrives to evacuate them. Bringing with him the strange mainland ways of laws, paperwork, veganism and internet wizardry, he turns their world upside down.

Opens Fri, Sep 25, more showtimes to be announced.

Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie

Thursday, September 17: Sneak preview and Q&A w/ Salman Rushdie, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, and dir. Alex Gibney after the 7:30 show!

More than 30 years after Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini called for the death of author Salman Rushdie over the publication of The Satanic Verses, Rushdie traveled to Chautauqua, NY to speak about the US as a sanctuary for exiled artists. At his talk, a young man rushed the stage, intent on killing him with a knife. Using Rushdie’s works, including his powerful memoir Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, Oscar winning documentarian Gibney crafts a striking testament to freedom of expression and a defiant response to the attempt on Rushdie’s life.

Opens Fri, Sep 18, more showtimes to be announced.

Union County (Open Captioning)

Please note that there are additional showtimes of UNION COUNTY that screen without open captions (on-screen display of dialogue and sounds). For those showtimes, click here.

Will Poulter and Noah Centineo deliver pitch-perfect performances as brothers Cody and Jack Parsons, each navigating a court-mandated drug rehabilitation program in a pocket of rural Ohio hit hard by the opioid epidemic. Provided with hope for the first time since their struggles began and with the support of a tireless counselor (Annette Deao), the brothers work toward a brighter, sober future.

2026 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour

Wed, Sep 2: Q&A with dirs. Malin Barr (SAUNA SICKNESS) & Lily Platt (CRISIS ACTOR) at 6:45 show!

Thu, Sep 3: Q&A with dirs. Arielle Knight (THE BOYS & THE BEES), Gabriela Ortega (MARGA EN EL DF) & Anooya Swamy (PANKAJA), moderated by Sundance’s Heidi Zwicker at 6:45 show!

Program: