"The History of Concrete" is the Hidden Gem of Sundance 2026

This year marked the last Sundance Film Festival to take place in its historic home of Park City, Utah. So the stakes were particularly high for a strong slate of films before the festival moves to Boulder, Colorado in 2027. This year's Sundance saw the release of dozens of new films that we will be talking about for the next 365 days, but one standout that nobody saw coming was The History of Concrete by John Wilson, best known for his HBO series: How to with John Wilson. Executively produced by Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein, and Eli Bush, it's a pseudo documentary film largely made by one man. Do not be fooled by the boring name, The History of Concrete is unlike anything you've ever seen before.

The History of Concrete started off as an unassuming film at Sundance this year, one I was not particularly eager to see. But after a few days, every screening was packed to the gills, with crowds lining up hours in advance. It soon became one of the hottest tickets of the festival, even amongst other high profile films like The Moment, I Want Your Sex and The Gallerist (All of which amazingly happen to star Charli xcx).

The official synopsis given for the film was: "After attending a workshop on how to write and sell a Hallmark movie, filmmaker John Wilson tries to use the same formula to sell a documentary about concrete." While this was enough to grab the attention of hundreds of festival-goers this year, I found this to be a somewhat inaccurate description. I find it extremely hard to sum up but I would personally describe The History of Concrete as a flowing stream of consciousness, with the subject matter changing every few minutes. These topics range from Wilson's personal life, to wacky NYC businesses, to behind-the-scenes development with film executives, to the filming of Marty Supreme, to yes, occasionally a little history about concrete. Even as someone who has seen nearly 4,000 movies, I can confidently say I have never seen anything quite like The History of Concrete. It is a film that simply refused to be categorized or confined to one singular idea.

While it is primarily a comedy, John Wilson dedicates a lot of the film's third act to serve as a heartfelt tribute to one of the doc's unlikely subjects who has just suffered a profound, unexpected loss. The vast majority of this film had the audience in my press screening roaring with laughter, but it also has a unique blend of comedy and seriousness that surprisingly works very well. As someone who went in unfamiliar with John Wilson's work, this project absolutely blew me away. He managed to take the most boring subject possible and turn it into something truly unforgettable.

Despite how delightful this was to see at Sundance, The History of Concrete is not a film that particularly benefits from being seen on a big screen, unlike something like Dune or Avatar. The humble nature of this film makes it so that audiences will be able to get the full experience watching it on their televisions or laptop. In fact, a low-fi setup it might even enhance the experience.

I had absolutely no idea what to expect walking into The History of Concrete, but I was immediately pulled in and loved every second. It is 2026's new must-watch for comedy fans.