Olivia Colman and John Lithgow appear in “Jimpa” by Sophie Hyde, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Mark De Blok)
By Lucy Spicer
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival may be over, but independent cinema lovers still have cause for excitement. Now that a new program has been unleashed onto the world, it’s time to watch those stories resonate with audiences far and wide.
This month, two titles from the 2026 Sundance Film Festival will become available to stream, while two long-awaited films from the 2025 Festival are set to arrive in select theaters. Coming to the big screen is a film starring Olivia Colman and John Lithgow based on true experiences from director Sophie Hyde’s life. Also in theaters is a stylish, surreal feature where Juliette Lewis’ character swaps places with a chair. And from the latest edition of the Sundance Film Festival, streaming audiences can enjoy a documentary about chess grandmaster Judit Polgár and an award-winning sci-fi feature starring Rashida Jones and Kate McKinnon.
Jimpa — When Hannah (Olivia Colman) goes to visit her father, Jim (John Lithgow), during a work trip to Amsterdam, she brings her nonbinary teenager, Frances (Aud-Mason Hyde), along with her. Jim — who requests the name Jimpa since “grandpa” sounds old — has been living a hedonistic lifestyle among the city’s colorful gay community ever since leaving Hannah and her mother when she was younger. When Frances asks to stay abroad with Jimpa for a year, Hannah must reexamine her views on parenting as she finally confronts her estranged father about the emotional wounds in her past. Based on events from director Sophie Hyde’s life, Jimpa premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Coming to select theaters February 6.
Queen of Chess — Documentarian Rory Kennedy returned to the Sundance Film Festival this January with a high-energy portrait of Judit Polgár, widely regarded as the strongest woman competitive chess has ever seen. Though she became the youngest person to achieve the rank of grandmaster when she was 15, Polgár was faced with flagrant sexism throughout her career, even as she continually bested men much older than she was. Featuring archival footage and contemporary interviews, Kennedy’s film chronicles Polgár’s life, from her unorthodox childhood in Hungary to her quest to beat the formidable Garry Kasparov. Streaming on Netflix February 6.
By Design — In writer-director Amanda Kramer’s absurdist fable, Camille (Juliette Lewis) moves through life feeling ignored as her friends vent their own frustrations at her. When she spies a beautifully designed chair in a store that’s out of her price range, Camille falls in love. Believing her life would be better as the chair, she switches places with it, her soul entering the piece of furniture while her own body lies catatonic. Life doesn’t change much for Camille’s body, but events take a turn when the chair her soul resides in gets gifted to a piano player named Olivier (Mamoudou Athie). Coming to select theaters February 13.
In The Blink of An Eye — Directed by Andrew Stanton (WALL-E, Finding Nemo) and written by Colby Day, this sweeping sci-fi feature follows three stories that span thousands of years, tracing an arc that reveals the interconnectedness of all humanity. In the distant past, a family of Neanderthals works to survive after being displaced from their home. Meanwhile, a present-day anthropologist (Rashida Jones) studies protohuman remains and contemplates a new relationship. Centuries into the future, a scientist (Kate McKinnon) and her sentient computer make their way to another planet. In The Blink of An Eye premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and is the winner of the 2026 Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize. Streaming on Hulu February 27.
