Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi's La Bola Negra is one of the best films of 2026, and it is easy to see why the directing duo—collectively known as Los Javis—won the Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival. An expansive story spanning decades of Spanish history, the film interweaves the stories of three gay men across three time periods: 1932, 1937, and 2017. The film also showcases immense creativity from a screenwriting standpoint. The film was partially inspired by Federico García Lorca’s unfinished play La Bola Negra, with Lorca himself also appearing as a character, played by Alberto Cortés. The screenplay, co-written by Los Javis and Alberto Conejero, also draws inspiration from Conejero’s play La Piedra Oscura. The result is a remarkably ambitious work that transforms its sprawling historical narrative into a moving meditation on queer identity, secrecy, love, and the possibility of living without shame.

James Whale’s 1935 film The Bride of Frankenstein has long been revered as one of the best Frankenstein films ever made, even better than its predecessor. But, as Maggie Gyllenhaal points out in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, “The movie’s called The Bride of Frankenstein, but she’s not really in it. It’s just a Frankenstein sequel, and she literally doesn’t speak.” With her new film, The Bride!, Gyllenhaal sets out to give the woman the voice, autonomy, and spotlight she deserves. What ensues is a ferocious, bold swing from the filmmaker and a movie unlike any Frankenstein-adjacent film we’ve seen before.

Olivia Wilde’s The Invite is the type of film Sundance seems designed to champion: an intimate, character-driven dramedy that feels small in scale but big in emotional honesty, a film that will likely be one of this year’s hidden gems. This remake of Cesc Gay's The People Upstairs leans less on punchlines and more on meaningful conversations about sex and marriage. With a sharp, perceptive script from Reshida Jones and Will McCormack, The Invite is the type of thought-provoking, uncomfortably relatable film that holds a mirror up to the audience, gently pushing viewers to reflect on their own relationships.