Pop Culture Happy Hour 2026 Sundance Film Festival: Best Movies
Feb 3, 2026
Monica Castillo, freelance film critic and festival programmer, and Mandalit Del Barco, NPR Culture Desk correspondent, share their Sundance favorites. They discuss a Depression-era thriller with Ethan Hawke, a quiet romance starring Chris Pine, a powerful documentary about Harlem, and films about rebellious artists and queer archival work. Quick, lively festival highlights and top picks.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
A Festival Of Tonal Contrasts
- The Sundance lineup mixed intense thrillers with intimate romances and standout documentaries this year.
- The festival felt emotionally complex due to Redford's death and social unrest in Park City.
Ethan Hawke In A Perilous Thriller
- Monica praised Ethan Hawke's performance in The Wait, likening the film to Wages of Fear and Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
- She highlighted Russell Crowe and Julia Jones as standout co-stars in a dangerous Pacific Northwest thriller.
Art As Quiet Resistance In Tehran
- The Friends' Houses spotlights rebellious Tehran artists who use performance and dance as resistance.
- Filmmakers shot much of it in secret, underscoring the risks of Iranian creative work.