Sundance Film Festival will be held for the first time since founder Robert Redford's death — and for the last time in Park City, UT before a move to Boulder — from Jan. 22 to Feb. 1. The fest's full film lineup dropped today, and it includes several noteworthy music movies.
Headlining the lot of them is Antiheroine, a new documentary about Courtney Love directed by Edward Lovelace and James Hall. According to the Sundance site, "The film revisits the 'love at first sound' connection between Love and Kurt Cobain — a relationship defined less by its length than by its extraordinary emotional voltage. It also traces the creative drive that led her to music and an electrifying film career, revealing a deepening self-awareness along the way. After years of watching others tell her story, Antiheroine marks the moment Courtney Love speaks entirely on her own terms — loud and clear." Notably, the promo copy mentions Love's long-awaited solo album, so maybe that will be out next year too?
Also premiering in Park City is The Moment, the A24 film "based on an original idea by Charli XCX." Judging from the trailer, the movie appeared to be a mockumentary about Charli's Brat era, and the Sundance site indeed refers to it as "a flashy, tongue-in-cheek hyper-pop mockumentary." Aidan Zamiri directs, and the cast includes Hailey Gates and Alexander Skarsgård.
Another doc on deck: The Best Summer, which features footage of Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Foo Fighters, Pavement, Rancid, Beck, the Amps, and Bikini Kill shot at the 1995 Summersault festival in Australia. Tamra Davis, director of films such as Billy Madison and Half Baked, shot the footage back in '95 and rediscovered it while evacuating from the Palisades fires this past January. Davis, who presumably was there with spouse Mike D of the Beastie Boys, had an up-close vantage point for capturing performances, and she apparently had Kathleen Hanna interview the likes of Kim Gordon and Dave Grohl backstage. It sounds like an incredible time capsule.
Broken English, a "hybrid, genre-bending piece" about the late, great Marianne Faithfull from directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, already had its debut at Venice, but it will screen at Sundance too. It sounds interesting: "The filmmakers introduce us to the Ministry of Not Forgetting, a fictitious research facility where Tilda Swinton and George MacKay begin an inquiry into Marianne Faithfull’s life and career. The British iconoclast is a willing interviewee — sharp and witty. Her dynamic presence is complemented by rich archival footage and several moving performances by the singer herself, as well as Beth Orton, Courtney Love, Nick Cave, and Suki Waterhouse." Broken English is a playful and wildly original portrait of a musician who refused to conform. Gone, but certainly not forgotten." Hey, look at that! More Courtney Love!" Hey, look at that! More Courtney Love!
Check out the full 2026 Sundance film lineup here.
