By Lucy Spicer

When you think of the 1990s, what comes to mind? The end of the Cold War? The advent of grunge music? The public’s introduction to the internet? 

One of the countless global shifts during this period was a rise in popularity for indie films among mainstream audiences. The 1990s marked the first full decade that the Sundance Film Festival — at that point officially sporting the name we know it by today — operated under Sundance Institute. As the Festival continued to get its sea legs and forge its identity, a new wave of independent artists was waiting in the wings, ready to burst onto the scene and change the face of film forever. 

This decade saw the Sundance Film Festival premiere early work — often directorial feature debuts — by a host of storytellers who would become widely known for their iconic films. Titles that screened at the Festival during the ’90s included Darren Aronofsky’s Pi, Jennie Livingston’s Paris Is Burning, Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, Guillermo del Toro’s Cronos, Richard Linklater’s Slacker, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez’s The Blair Witch Project, Reginald Hudlin’s House Party, Todd Haynes’ Poison, Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi, Kevin Smith’s Clerks, Mark Waters’ The House of Yes, and Rose Troche’s Go Fish.

As we count down the days to the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, we’re looking back through our archives and remembering the atmosphere, the premieres, and the artists that have kept audiences coming back to the Festival for the past four decades. Check out some of our favorite images from the 1990s below.