Release Rundown: What to Watch in August, From American Doctor to Idiots

O'Shea Jackson Jr., Dave Franco, and Mason Thames appear in Idiots by Macon Blair, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)

By Ramona Flume

The sweltering dog days of summer are still lingering, with temperatures tipping into triple digits, but the Sundance Institute-supported films scheduled for theatrical and streaming releases this month are far from lackadaisical. Our lengthy August lineup leans hard into fascinating, heavy-hitting subject matter, both fiction and nonfiction, with a few gleeful detours into chaos - giving us plenty of reasons to beat the heat at the cinema or in the air-conditioned comfort of our own homes.

On the documentary side, we've got an unflinching look at American doctors providing emergency care in Gaza, a years-in-the-making chronicle of restoring a colonial-era library in Nairobi, and a nail-biting account of a real-life rescue in the mountains of Pakistan. Rounding out the nonfiction slate is an in-depth look at Girl Scout Cookie season and the young sellers who keep the boxes moving.

And on the narrative front, quieter dramas about addiction recovery in Ohio, a class-conscious slow-burn set on a Manila golf course, and a marriage unraveling as war erupts next door share space with louder, weirder fare: a beloved kids' show mascot turned menace, and a bawdy road trip comedy about delivering a rehab-bound teen against all odds. It also seems to be the summer of Gregg Araki as we're excited to see his 2005 Festival cult classic Mysterious Skin return to theaters in a stunning 4K restoration.

Cookie Queens - Turns out, selling Thin Mints is serious business. And director Alysa Nahmias takes viewers deep into Girl Scout Cookie season, shadowing record-setting sellers, first-timers, and entire family-run operations through their busiest stretch of the year. What emerges is a sweet but substantial look at the $800 million enterprise behind the nostalgic American tradition, as four girls grapple with sky-high expectations, financial pressures, and the complicated reality of chasing big goals at a young age. Supported by Sundance Institute's Catalyst program, the doc - executive-produced by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex - premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival in the Family Matinee section. Coming to theaters August 7.

American Doctor - Director Poh Si Teng's unflinching documentary follows three American physicians - Palestinian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian - who are providing emergency medical care in Gaza amid violence that shows no signs of stopping, pushed past their limits not just as doctors, but as human beings bearing witness to senseless catastrophe. Between surgeries (and bombings), they turn to broadcast news channels as raw, frustrated talking heads, determined to force the reality of the war into view for audiences who keep looking away. A powerful entry in the 2026 Sundance Film Festival's U.S. Documentary Competition, American Doctor is dedicated to health care workers in Palestinian territories. Coming to select theaters August 14.

Mysterious Skin - Longtime Festival alum Gregg Araki's 2005 Sundance Film Festival title, Mysterious Skin, was recently restored in 4K, and the cult classic has never looked better. Based on the book by Scott Heim and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbet, this hauntingly unforgettable coming-of-age drama navigates identity, self-worth, and the inextricable effects of trauma and sexual abuse. Captivating performances, dreamy suburbia imagery, and a supernatural layer of purported UFO abductions - revitalized from its original 35mm with a radiant digital polish - left audiences with a renewed appreciation for this groundbreaking indie darling when it screened in the Park City Legacy section at the 2026 Festival. Coming to select theaters August 14.

Union County - Set amid the opioid crisis in rural Ohio, this restrained, tenderhearted drama follows Cody (Will Poulter), a man rebuilding his life through court-ordered addiction treatment. As he cautiously opens himself up to recovery and other people in the community - including his foster brother, Jack (Noah Centineo) - the film avoids sensationalizing addiction, while showing how the best intentions and hard-earned progress can still unravel. Writer-director Adam Meeks draws on his own roots in the region and blends his lead actors' performances with unscripted moments from real people in active recovery, giving this understated drama an authentic grit and texture. Adapted from Meeks' short film of the same title, Union County premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival as part of the U.S. Dramatic Competition. Coming to select theaters August 14.

How to Divorce During the War - A distant political war seeps into a fracturing marriage in this feature that premiered in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, with Lithuanian filmmaker Andrius Bla evi ius taking home the Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic. Marija ( ygimant Elena Jak tait ) decides to split from her husband, Vytas (Marius Rep ys), one day before Russia invades neighboring Ukraine, throwing the couple's already tenuous domestic life further off balance. Caught between them is their daughter, Dovile (Amelija Adomaityt ), who must adjust to a divided household as her parents wrestle with clashing, sometimes darkly comedic, priorities - all while the encroaching war next door closes in on their sense of a safe, stable home life. Coming to select theaters August 21.

How to Build a Library - This film chronicles the ambitious journey of author Shiro Koinange and publisher Angela Wachuka as they endeavor on a daunting, yearslong project: restoring Nairobi's McMillan Memorial Library, a colonial-era institution built i

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