"The Brittney Griner Story" Accepted as 2026 Official Selection at Sundance Film Festival

The upcoming Sundance Film Festival has picked a recent ESPN Film as one of their official selections this year, with The Brittney Griner Story. 

What’s Happening: 

• Back in 2023, it was announced that a documentary feature from ESPN Films and scripted series development with ABC Signature was in the works. 
• The topic of that documentary was Brittney Griner, who, In February of 2022, while returning to her Russian team (UMMC Ekaterinburg) during the WNBA off-season, was arrested at a Moscow airport for cannabis possession and later sentenced to nine years in prison. 
• Despite outcries from the international sporting community and designation by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained, Griner was held under harsh conditions and prevented from speaking with her family for nearly a year.
• The documentary, The Brittney Griner Story is now set to be featured at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it will be making its premiere.
• The film explores the circumstances that led to Brittney Griner playing basketball outside the U.S. despite being one of the best players in the sport, including the aforementioned harrowing detainment, unwavering determination to secure her freedom, and her advocacy for the release of other wrongful detainees.
• According to the official Sundance website, “The media frenzy surrounding the detainment and eventual release of Brittney Griner was highly politicized, fueled by speculation and attempts to leverage her narrative to advance political agendas. Now, director Alexandria Stapleton gives the floor to Griner to tell her story, alongside her wife, Cherelle, and an inner circle of friends and family. This intimate access grounds the film in Griner’s humanity, reminding us she is a wife, parent, daughter, sister, and friend — far more than just an athlete-turned-political pawn. Griner opens up about her childhood, the disappointment and fear surrounding her detainment, her harrowing experience in a Russian penal colony, and the complicated negotiations to get her home. It’s a riveting story of resilience, anchored by a family who never stopped pushing for her release and that of others.”
• The news comes as Sundance announces their 2026 program, The Brittney Griner Story is an official selection. 
• The 2026 Sundance Film Festival will be taking place January 22nd to February 1st, 2026.