Natalie Portman, Jenna Ortega, and Charli xcx team up to promote The Gallerist

Sundance always brings a little bit of movie magic, but every so often, a premise shows up that makes you do a double-take.

This year, that movie is The Gallerist, a new film led by Natalie Portman that takes the art world, turns the volume up, and then leans all the way into the chaos.

A wild setup in the art world

If you have ever wondered how far someone might go to survive in a scene driven by money and status, this story is ready to test that question. The film follows “a desperate gallerist” who “conspires to sell a dead body at Art Basel Miami,” per a synopsis.

That logline alone tells you what kind of ride this is. It is dark. It is absurd. It is also the kind of sharp concept Sundance crowds tend to love, especially when the movie uses that shock factor to get at something more human underneath.

Sundance premiere details

The Gallerist premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Jan. 24. The film comes from director Cathy Yan, who wrote it with James Pedersen.

Yan already has a reputation for bringing a specific energy to her projects, and Sundance felt like the right place for a movie that is bold on its face but still interested in ideas.

Portman was also a producer on the film, which matters here because the story is so specific and the tone seems like a careful balancing act. You can feel that it is meant to entertain, but also to poke at something real.

Natalie Portman goes platinum as Polina Polinski

Portman, 44, stars in the title role as Polina Polinski, a character described as quirkily dressed and platinum blonde. Even if you know Portman from more grounded roles, this sounds like a swing in a different direction.

It also adds yet another interesting group of costars to her already long list. Natalie Portman has now added Jenna Ortega, Catherine Zeta Jones, and Charli xcx to her long list of costars.

That mix alone is attention-grabbing. It is multi-generational, cross-genre, and it feels very now, especially with Charli stepping further into acting.

Portman on what she did and did not bring from real life

After the screening, Portman took the stage for a question-and-answer session. Someone asked about what personal experience she brought to a character who is described as desperate, and Portman had the most Portman response possible. Dry, funny, and honest.

“I’ve never tried to sell a dead body before,” she quipped. “It’s not a one-to-one relationship.” It is a great line, and it also sets up what she said next, which got more serious.

Portman explained that while the plot is obviously extreme, the emotional core is not that far-fetched if you have ever made something you care about and then had to figure out how to sell it.

The deeper theme: turning the soul into a product

Portman said the script connected with her on a bigger level, especially in the way it frames the creative process and the marketplace around it. “It’s literal alchemy, what we do as artists. We’re taking something from our souls, and it becomes a commodity. And there’s a magic to that, and there’s a horror to that,” she continued.

That idea lands because it is true in a lot of creative fields, not just fine art. The thing you made in a quiet room becomes a product with a price tag.

People judge it. People consume it. Sometimes they love it for reasons you never intended. Sometimes they ignore it completely. And if it is your job, you still have to show up and do it again.

Portman also pointed out the push and pull that comes with needing the market in order to keep making work: “those of us who make art, but also obviously depend on the market to keep getting to do what we love to do.”

The slippery slope of compromise

One of the most relatable parts of Portman’s comments was about how small compromises can quietly stack up. That seems to be a core idea in the film, even if the plot is heightened to the point of satire.

“Also, what Cathy talked about in our first meeting, which was so resonant, was just the slippery slope of compromise,” the star further detailed. “Being like, ‘Okay, I could do that.’ And then you take one step and then, ‘Okay, I guess I could do that.’ And then before you know it, you’re washing blood off your hands.”

It is a vivid image, and it is hard not to connect it to any career where people are trying to stay afloat. The specifics here are outrageous, but the moral math is familiar. How much do you bend before you break. How many times do you tell yourself it is fine before you stop noticing it is not.

A stacked cast, and a big Sundance moment for Charli

Portman, making her first appearance at the Sundance Film Festival, was joined onstage by Ortega, 23, Charli, 33, Yan, and cowriter James Pedersen. Catherine Zeta Jones, 56, was also in the film but could not make the event due to travel difficulties.

The rest of the cast is just as packed, including Sterling K. Brown, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Daniel Brühl and Zach Galifianakis. That is the kind of lineup that makes a premiere feel like an event before anyone even sits down.

And then there is Charli, who is having a major Sundance as an actor. Charli is premiering a whopping three movies at this year’s Sundance as an actress: The Gallerist, Gregg Araki’s I Want Your, and Aidan Zamiri’s mockumentary The Moment.

Sundance is changing soon

The 2026 Sundance Film Festival runs from Jan. 22 to Feb. 1 in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. It is also a transitional year for the festival itself. It’s the last iteration of the fest to be held there ahead of a move to Boulder, Colo., in 2027.

It will then mark the first to be held in a new location following the death of its founder, Robert Redford. That adds a little extra weight to everything that premieres this year. Sundance is still Sundance, but it is also on the edge of a new chapter.

And if The Gallerist is any indication, the stories landing here are not getting safer. They are getting sharper, stranger, and more willing to say the quiet part out loud.

TL;DR

• The Gallerist premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 24.
• Natalie Portman stars as Polina Polinski, a platinum blonde gallerist described as “a desperate gallerist” who “conspires to sell a dead body at Art Basel Miami.”
• The film is directed and co written by Cathy Yan, with co writer James Pedersen.
• During the post-screening Q&A, Portman joked, “I’ve never tried to sell a dead body before,” adding, “It’s not a one-to-one relationship.”
• Portman said the story connects to the tension between making art and needing the market, calling it “literal alchemy” with both “magic” and “horror.”
• She also highlighted the theme of compromise, warning how small choices can escalate until “you’re washing blood off your hands.”
• The cast includes Jenna Ortega, Charli xcx, and Catherine Zeta Jones, plus Sterling K. Brown, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Daniel Brühl, and Zach Galifianakis.
• Charli xcx is premiering three films at Sundance this year, including The Gallerist.
• The 2026 festival runs Jan. 22 to Feb. 1 in Park City and Salt Lake City, and it is the last one there before Sundance moves to Boulder in 2027.

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This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.