Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Ben Wang appear in “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” by David Wain, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
By Lucy Spicer
Heat waves are hitting the northern hemisphere hard this season, and that heat seems to have seeped into our July calendar of Sundance Institute–supported new releases. Out of the four films heading to the big screen this month, two follow characters looking for sex — one hoping to even the score after her fiancé uses his celebrity sex pass, and another pursuing a sexual arrangement with his boss — while a third features an erotically charged relationship between a night nurse and a retirement community resident running financial scams.
But if steamy searches aren’t your thing, have no fear; we can also offer you three insightful documentaries to choose from. Arriving in theaters this July is the Festival award–winning chronicle of the life and career of Luis Valdez, the “Shakespeare of Chicano theater” and the storyteller behind Zoot Suit and La Bamba. And if you’d prefer to explore new releases from the comfort of home, coming to the small screen this month are a series about a high school sociology class that helped revive an investigation into a serial killer, as well as a lyrical meditation on the lives and legacies of Kalief and Venida Browder and the critical need for prison reform.
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass — You may have jokingly discussed who your celebrity “hall pass” is with your significant other, secure in the knowledge that neither of you would ever have the opportunity to fall into bed with your fantasy crush. But how would you feel if your partner actually used their pass? Small-town Kansas hairdresser Gail Daughtry (Zoey Deutch) finds out when her fiancé, Tom (Michael Cassidy), uses his pass shortly before their wedding. Upset, Gail becomes determined to even the score with her own celebrity sex pass — Jon Hamm — when she travels to Los Angeles for a hairdressing convention with her friend Otto (Miles Gutierrez-Riley). The pair embark on a madcap journey through LA in search of Hamm, picking up a ragtag group of helpers (including the John Slattery) along the way. Written and directed by David Wain (Wet Hot American Summer, They Came Together), Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Coming to theaters July 10.
Night Nurse — In writer-director Georgia Bernstein’s feature debut — whose provocative, genre-hopping story was perfect for the 2026 Sundance Film Festival’s NEXT section — newly hired nurse Eleni (Cemre Paksoy) is assigned to enigmatic patient Douglas (Bruce McKenzie) at a wealthy retirement community. Doctors haven’t firmly established the source of his supposed cognitive decline, but Eleni soon uncovers the truth: Douglas is running a phone scam where he has nurses pose as an elderly patient’s granddaughter in need of emergency funds. As Eleni herself becomes wrapped up in Douglas’ scheme, power dynamics teeter and shift with dangerous results. Coming to theaters July 10.
Murder 101 — In a small Tennessee town in 2018, a high school sociology teacher gave his students an unconventional assignment: investigate a 30-year-old local cold case. Alex Campbell’s students went above and beyond, developing a profile for a serial killer and helping to revive an investigation that had remained unsolved for decades. This extraordinary educational exercise became the subject of a 2024 podcast titled Murder 101, and now TV fans can experience the life-changing effects of Mr. Campbell’s class as well through an expanded documentary series of the same name directed by Stacey Lee. The first episode of Murder 101 screened as part of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival’s Episodic Nonfiction Pilot Showcase. Streaming on Amazon Prime Video July 13.
American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez — In this comprehensive documentary, filmmaker David Alvarado shines the spotlight on a playwright, director, actor, and activist whose undeniable cultural influence has reverberated throughout decades of U.S. history and includes three works in the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry. In American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez, Valdez himself — lauded as the “Shakespeare of Chicano theater” — recounts his life and career while family members and contemporaries add their own insights about the creator of El Teatro Campesino, Zoot Suit, and La Bamba. American Pachuco premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award: U.S. Documentary and the Festival Favorite Award. Coming to select theaters July 17.
For Venida, For Kalief — When 22-year-old Kalief Browder took his own life after being released from the Rikers Island jail complex without charge following three years of imprisonment — including hundreds of days in solitary confinement — a call for prison reform arose in New York City and beyond. Kalief’s mother, Venida, wrote poetry to help navigate her grief, but she too passed away the year after Kalief’s death. In Sisa Bueno’s lyrical documentary, Venida’s poetry weaves together past and present, recalling the 1970s citywide jail rebellions led by the Black Panthers and Young Lords and illustrating how legacies like Kalief’s continue to grow as a broken carceral system is met with demands for reform. Supported by Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program, For Venida, For Kalief premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Festival. Airing on PBS “POV” July 27.
I Want Your Sex — With his number of premieres at the Sundance Film Festival in the double digits at this point, director Gregg Araki is an indie film darling if ever there was one. And his 2026 Festival premiere, I Want Your Sex, is just as colorful, campy, and outrageous as audiences would expect. Cooper Hoffman stars as Elliot, an eager but naïve young man recently hired as an assistant to provocative contemporary artist Erika Tracy (Olivia Wilde). His job duties expand when Erika takes him on as her sexual muse — to Elliot’s delight — but slippery power plays soon veer into uncharted and dangerous territory. Coming to theaters July 31.
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour is underway! Traveling to all corners of the United States and beyond in the following months, the program features six short films selected from the 2026 Festival, including three Festival Award–winning titles. Check here for dates and venues; see below for dates in July.
- Albuquerque, New Mexico, July 3–6, Guild Cinema
- Santa Barbara, California, July 3–9, SBIFF’s Film Center
- Williamstown, Massachusetts, July 4, Images Cinema
- Mesilla, New Mexico, July 5–7, Fountain Theatre
- Anchorage, Alaska, July 6, Bear Tooth Theatrepub
- Worcester, Massachusetts, July 9–12, Cinema Worcester
- Durham, North Carolina, July 10–15, Carolina Theatre
- Howell, Michigan, July 24–30, Historic Howell Theater
- Hanover, New Hampshire, July 30, Hopkins Center for the Arts
- Baltimore, Maryland, July 31, SNF Parkway Theatre
