ShotDeck at Sundance 2026 Recap
We celebrated the last Sundance at Park City with several events and interviews of high profile filmmakers who offered insight and inspiration about their filmmaking journey, including Rachel Lambert (Dir, Sometimes I Think About Dying), Carlos López Estrada (Dir, Raya and the Last Dragon, Blindspotting), Adam Newport-Berra (DP, The Studio), Clint Bentley (Director, Train Dreams) and many more!
We also had the opportunity to host a filmmaker panel with the creative team behind The Invite, directed by Olivia Wilde, which was picked up by A24 after the festival. You can watch exclusive excerpts from the making of process below.
Story Behind the Shot
Continuing a series we began back during Sundance 2025, we asked several filmmakers to tell us the Story Behind The Shot, breaking down some of their most popular shots on ShotDeck and giving us a complete behind-the-scenes look at what into making them. This year didn’t disappoint, with stories from films like Lady Bird, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Train Dreams, Dìdi, Emily the Criminal, and more.
Olivia Wilde on making The Invite
ShotDeck, along with Portrait Creative Network, Theorem Media, and Greenslate, hosted a filmmaker panel for A24’s The Invite with Director Olivia Wilde, Production Designer Jade Healy, Colorist Damien Vandercruyssen, and Producer Saul Germaine. In the cutdowns below, watch as the team discusses getting the film together from script to production in record speed, and why Olivia felt reluctant to act and direct herself.
Tune back in later in the year when we release the full Shot Talk Interview with the wide release of the film!
Filmmaker Team Interviews
Besides our Story Behind the Shot series, we also had the opportunity to interview several filmmaking teams, both with projects at the festival and already in distribution. From the festival side, we caught up with David Wain and Ken Marino, the team behind Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass. The film marks the director’s fifth feature to premiere at Sundance and follows a bride to be whose fiancé uses their “free celebrity pass,” forcing her to set out on a journey through Hollywood to even the scales. The duo have previously collaborated on films like Wet Hot American Summer and Role Models.
From the Sundance Pilot Program, we spoke with Julien and Justin Turner, the brothers behind Freelance, which follows an inexperienced crew of twenty something filmmakers who take on unorthodox jobs to build their brand and pay rent. Lastly, outside the festival, we interviewed members of the team behind Creator Camp, an internet born film studio that has just released its first feature, Two Sleepy People directed by Baron Ryan, in hundreds of theaters nationwide.
Asking Industry Professionals
Rounding out our Sundance trip, we spoke with several filmmakers about the future of the film industry. These creators are not only working professionally but also building communities online, including Colby Day (writer, In the Blink of an Eye), Talia Light Rake, Director Daddy, Niles Abston (writer, Dave), Gray Fagan (director, Senior Prank), Cristina Colina, Maximilian Reisinger, Will Duncan, Alex Sovoda, and Riley Donigan.
We also revisited a classic question: “What’s the last film that made you cry?” with responses from Sam Levy (cinematographer, Lady Bird), Olivia Ormund, Carlos López Estrada (director, Blindspotting), Clint Bentley (director, Train Dreams), Macon Blair (director, The Toxic Avenger), Michael Strassner (actor, The Baltimorons), and Maria Sarasvati Herrera, AMC.
Wrap-Up
A special thank you to all of the incredible filmmakers and actors who gave us their time at Sundance and to all of the ShotDeck community members who approached us to tell us how much ShotDeck has improved their production process.
Give us a follow on Instagram to get up-to-date coverage at our next festival!
