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Josephine and Nuisance Bear Lead 2026 Sundance Film Festival Winners
The top dramatic and documentary prizes were awarded to Beth de Araújo's Josephine and Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman's Nuisance Bear.
Jan. 30, 2026 at 6:23pm
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While this year's Sundance Film Festival continues through the weekend, including online viewing nationwide, the winners have been unveiled, with Beth de Araújo's Josephine taking the top dramatic jury and audience prizes, Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman's Nuisance Bear taking the top jury documentary prize and David Alvarado's American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez taking the top audience documentary prize.
Why it matters
The Sundance Film Festival is one of the most prestigious independent film festivals in the world, and the winners announced this year showcase the diverse and innovative storytelling happening in the industry. The top prize winners, Josephine and Nuisance Bear, tackle important themes around victimization, climate change, and the complexities of humanity's relationship with the natural world.
The details
Josephine follows an 8-year-old girl who accidentally witnesses a crime and acts out in search of a way to regain control of her safety, while Nuisance Bear explores the tensions between Indigenous tradition and Western capitalist encroachment as a polar bear navigates a human world. The other top winners include Shame and Money, a powerful portrayal of human dignity in contemporary Kosovo, and To Hold a Mountain, a visually and emotionally stunning documentary about a shepherd mother and daughter fighting to protect their ancestral mountain.
- The 2026 Sundance Film Festival took place in January 2026.
- The winners were announced on January 30, 2026.
The players
Beth de Araújo
The director, screenwriter, and producer of the top dramatic prize winner Josephine.
Gabriela Osio Vanden
One of the directors of the top documentary prize winner Nuisance Bear.
Jack Weisman
One of the directors of the top documentary prize winner Nuisance Bear.
David Alvarado
The director, screenwriter, and producer of the top audience documentary prize winner American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez.
Eugene Hernandez
The Director of the Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming.
What they’re saying
“As we conclude this memorable edition of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, we're thrilled to celebrate our award-winning films and all the artists who participated in this year's wonderful Festival.”
— Eugene Hernandez, Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming
“Our Awards ceremony is a perfect moment to consider the journeys each artist team took while creating these stories they've so generously shared with us during the Festival.”
— Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming
The takeaway
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival winners showcase the power of independent and international cinema to tackle complex social and environmental issues through innovative storytelling. The top prize winners, Josephine and Nuisance Bear, demonstrate how film can provide empathetic and thought-provoking perspectives on victimization, climate change, and the human-nature relationship.
