Sundance Details Plans for Hybrid 2023 Festival
The Sundance Insitute is detailing plans for the planned hybrid format of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.
The in-person festival will return to Utah, running from Jan. 19 to 29, while films will begin to screen online starting Jan. 24. The on-demand, online offerings will include all 2023 competition titles. These are films programmed in the U.S. Dramatic, U.S. Documentary, World Cinema Dramatic, World Cinema Documentary, and NEXT sections — as well as work across other sections of the feature programs, and episodic and short films. The 2023 award–winning films will screen both in person and online on Jan. 28 and 29.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
'President' Filmmakers on Zimbabwe's Ban of the Doc and Long Fight for Democracy
Zimbabwe Government Upholds Ban on Sundance-Winning Political Doc 'President'
Netflix Refugee Drama 'The Swimmers' to Open Toronto Film Festival
The 2023 hybrid format comes after an all-virtual festival in 2021 and 2022, the latter happening after an 11th-hour switch due to the then rise of COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant.
Sundance also outlined COVID-19 safety precautions for the 2023 fest. All festival staff and volunteers will be required to wear masks and test weekly. There is not a mask or vaccine mandate for attendees, with the festival instead requesting mask wearing and encouraging attendees to test before and during the festival and be up-to-date on vaccinations. (Before moving to an all-digital format, the 2022 festival announced a booster vaccine requirement for in-person attendees.)
“We are continuing to work with our COVID-19 safety team and are following all CDC guidelines,” the announcement noted.
“After two years of being apart, our priority is reuniting in person, while still sharing bold new films with audiences across the country through online access. We’ve designed this year’s Festival based on our learnings from previous years — embracing the traditions that have been meaningful in the past, while also looking toward accessibility for audiences and expanding the platform we provide our storytellers,” said Sundance Institute ceo Joana Vicente, who took over for longtime ceo Keri Putnam. The 2023 festival will mark Vicente’s first with Sundance, after joining from her post as the head of the Toronto International Film Festival.
“We can’t wait for our 2023 Festival to give a bold start to the year, with the help of our inspiring storytellers, ingenious creators, and engaged audiences,” added Kim Yutani, the festival’s director of programming. “For 39 years, the Sundance Film Festival has been a stalwart in the independent film community, and we’re thrilled to continue to be such an exciting annual gathering for artists and audiences.”
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
