The Sundance Film Festival shared details about the shape of its upcoming 2021 edition, providing for the first time how the Festival will take place and where. Suffice to say, the online expression of the Festival will be unique, what we have here is a primarily virtual festival via an online platform, which was designed and custom-built. Feature films will each make their premiere at a set start time followed by a live Q&A. There will also be in-person screenings in over 28 U.S. States (as health and safety protocols permit) through a network of partnerships in arthouse communities.
The seven-day event will run from January 28 through February 3, 2021. All the films in the official program will be available to view online in the U.S., with certain selections opting for global availability. Over 70 feature films have been selected. Multiple films will premiere simultaneously roughly every three hours from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. U.S. Mountain Time. This rollout is designed to preserve the energy of a Festival, with an abundance of choices and collective experiences, as audiences can begin the film simultaneously, and participate in the live Q&A which follows (viewers can also begin films any time within three hours of their premiere’s start).
There is no reason to think this won’t be another successful edition of the Sundance Film Festival. Unlike festivals like TIFF, Sundance doesn’t rely on big studios, if anything, independent film companies would be much more cooperative in allowing their titles to screen digitally. The lineup this year does mark a significant decrease from the 118 titles in the 2020 lineup, but it is proportional when reducing the 11-day festival to seven for 2021. According to Festival director Tabatha Jackson, the 2020 edition received 14,200 entries, and Jackson said that 2021 submission figures were consistent with previous years. That is very good news.