Charli xcx appears in The Moment by Aidan Zamiri, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Movies about musicians are known to capture the ambition, obsession, ego, and devotion that fuel great artists’ careers. At the Sundance Film Festival, support of films that focus on music and the creative geniuses behind the sounds dates back to the ’80s.
There is a rich Festival tradition of music-driven storytelling, and we’ve long championed films about musicians. From the intimate portrait of the beautiful and complicated civil rights activist Nina Simone in What Happened, Miss Simone?, to the sweat-soaked rise of indie rock in Meet Me in the Bathroom, and the fearless flamboyance of Little Richard in Little Richard: I Am Everything, the Fest has presented incredible stories about entertainers.
The 2026 slate continues that legacy with eight projects about the fast, messy, and influential lives of musicians. The Moment flips the camera inward for a glossy mockumentary that lets Charli xcx toy with her own image, fame, and creative excess. While THE DISCIPLE follows the hunger and hustle of a driven outsider who manages to make his way into the orbit of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan, creating a culture-shaking record along the way.
Below, preview the films about music and musicians showing at this year’s Fest that you’ll want to add to your Favorites.
Antiheroine (Premieres) — As Courtney Love prepares to release new music for the first time in more than a decade, the film captures an artist who’s sober and sharp. Directors Edward Lovelace and James Hall revisit Love’s rise in the rock scene with band Hole and her relationship with Kurt Cobain, not as a gossipy plot point but as an intense love that shaped her life and art. What emerges is a portrait of an icon reclaiming her narrative as she reckons with scrutiny. Available in person only.
Broken English (Spotlight) — Co-directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard frame this film through the fictional lens of the so-called Ministry of Not Forgetting, where Tilda Swinton and George MacKay begin an inquiry into singer Marianne Faithfull’s life and legacy. Faithfull is front and center as she reflects on decades of music, reinvention, and the refusal to play by anyone else’s rules. There’s also great archival footage and intimate musical tributes from artists like Nick Cave and Suki Waterhouse. Available in person only.
Jazz Infernal (Short Film Program) — In director Will Niava’s short, Ivorian trumpeter Koffi arrives in Montréal searching for a way into the city’s music scene while contending with the weight of his father’s legacy. Available in person and online.
La Tierra del Valor (The Home of the Brave) (Short Film Program) — Back at the Fest after premiering her documentary SALLY during the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, Cristina Costantini returns with the short film La Tierra del Valor (The Home of the Brave), a powerful portrait of a courageous act set against a tense summer in Los Angeles shaped by immigration raids. Available in person and online.
Once Upon A Time in Harlem (Premieres) — Shot in 1972 at the Harlem home of Duke Ellington, the film captures a party engineered by filmmaker William Greaves, who gathered artists, musicians, writers, and cultural thinkers of the Harlem Renaissance. Memories are shared, disagreements resurface, and legendary stories — including some about Ellington himself — are told with warmth and wit. Co-directed by Greaves’s son, David Greaves, who was also behind the camera that day, the film is a powerful reminder of how art and community can shape history. Available in person only.
The Best Summer (Midnight) — Director Tamra Davis crafts the film from a box of long-lost tapes she shot at the 1995 Summersault festival, where she captured an incredibly cool indie-rock moment featuring performances by Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys (Davis and Mike D had just married), and more. Come for the riffs, stay for the candid backstage interviews with Kim Gordon and Dave Grohl. Available in person and online.
THE DISCIPLE (Premieres) — Director Joanna Natasegara traces how Dutch Moroccan rapper and producer Cilvaringz willed himself into the orbit of his heroes, the legendary Wu-Tang Clan. That journey led to the making of Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, the infamous 31-track album packaged in a silver box that was auctioned off for millions in 2015. Available in person only.
The Moment (Premieres) — The Moment, a mockumentary on Charli xcx’s brat era, is deliciously over-the-top. Directed and co-written by Aidan Zamiri, the film, which sees Hailey Gates and Alexander Skarsgård hilariously portray music industry figures in Charli xcx’s orbit, lets the pop star play a manic version of herself as she gears up for her arena tour while juggling fame and expectation. Available in person only.
