The 6 Queer Short Films at Sundance 2026
Of the 28 total films I watched, just six of them were queer or featured queer characters in some way.

Lovely starring Karthik Muthuraman and Malavika. Mahadevan(Manivannan) is a man who hates the very mention of the word 'love' and staunchly believes that his daughter Nivedha(Malavika) could - and should - never fall in love. But Nivedha is already in love with Chandru(Karthik). With his father becoming a business partner of Mahadevan and the rest of his family becoming friends with Nivedha's family, Chandru finds it easy to infiltrate Nivedha's home. Once there, he tries to impress Mahadevan while trying to prevent Mahadevan's friend from revealing his true identity as Nivedha's lover.
Of the 28 total films I watched, just six of them were queer or featured queer characters in some way.
'Motherless Brooklyn' is a 1950s whodunit made by its star, Edward Norton. Like most detective films in this setting, the cast is mostly white males (with a few notable exceptions).
In The Novelist's Film, Hong explores the meaningful things people share and inspire by virtue of simply engaging with one another.
Honey Don't! is a chaotic queer noir that's part detective story, part midnight movie madness. Margaret Qualley is fantastic as the wise-cracking private eye Honey, with Aubrey Plaza and Chris Evans adding their own dry humor to the mix. The mystery itself is pretty loose, but the film makes up for it with crackling sexual tension, weird side characters, and razor-sharp dialogue. It's messy and uneven, but in the best possible way.
"La Noria" deftly subverts audience expectations as it explores childhood grief, anxieties, and pain. The award-winning short shows us that often our monsters are often sprung from our darkest places.