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.

“A timeless hero: Robin Hood” is a musical commissioned by the Petruzzelli Theater in Bari and staged in 2023. Designed for a wide audience, including children and young people, it combines elements of musical theater and opera, recounting the adventures of Robin Hood with music by Michele dall'Ongaro and libretto by Vincenzo De Vico.
Of the 28 total films I watched, just six of them were queer or featured queer characters in some way.
An aspect of She-Ra that I find refreshing is even though a large portion of the cast is on the LGBTQ+ Spectrum, being gay is never mentioned. While this might initially sound like a negative thing, in the show’s land of Etheria being on the gay spectrum is shown to be so common and normalized that straight isn’t the default. As much as there is to appreciate about narratives revolving around the obstacles that may come from being non-heteronormative, it’s nice to get immersed in a world where no one bats an eye at all to any sort of differing identity.
Neo Sora left a realistic and yet hopeful notion for the near future and the now.
The tale of two friends spans three films and gives wonderful representation for young girls everywhere.
Dashing in December follows the tried and true outline of a traditional holiday romance, with a less traditional middle-aged gay couple as the film's romantic focus.
"A Drowning Man" (2017) explores the unseen aspects of the Refugee Crisis. In, 15 far-too-short minutes, viewers are given a detailed snapshot of what it's like for a refugee to drown in the waters of poverty and otherness while trying to navigate a land whose promise has worn off, and only 'strange' remains.