Sundance Film Festival announces hybrid 2023 plans

The Sundance Film Festival has been a virtual affair the past two years. Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute // Jemal Countess

PARK CITY, Utah — The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced that the 2023 Sundance Film Festival will take place as a hybrid festival in Park City, Salt Lake City, Utah, and beyond, from January 19 through January 29, 2023.

“We can’t wait to return to our home in Park City and present exciting new work from around the world live and in person,” Festival Director Tabitha Jackson said in a statement. “We also have two years of digital exhibition and participation under our collective belt, and are returning to the excitement and immediacy of live events while retaining a powerful online offering.”

The program will be larger than those presented digitally in the prior two years. Pass and package information for both online and in-person participation will be shared closer to the festival, as will detailed health safety and vaccination guidance. 

The past two festivals saw audiences coming together online, and included such award-winning and -nominated films from the 2021 edition as CODA, Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Mass, Flee, and Passing, among others, and reached larger audiences and was more accessible than past in-person festivals.

Programmers, led by Director of Programming Kim Yutani, are standing by to screen submissions, gathered via FilmFreeway.

Feature film submissions close August 12 (early), September 5 (official) and September 26 (late), 2022. Short film submissions close August 1 (early), August 19 (official) and September 5 (late), 2022. New Frontier submissions close August 5 (early), August 22 (official) and September 9 (late), 2022. Episodic content submissions close August 8 (early), August 26 (official) and September 12 (late), 2022.

Details on applications, including frequently asked questions, are available here.