Amid growing concerns surrounding the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the Sundance Institute has made the difficult decision to move their yearly festival entirely online, scrapping its plans to hold the first fully hybridSundance Film Festival. Just two weeks ahead of the planned date for the 2022 festival, Sundance stated that “despite the most ambitious protocols, the Omicron variant with its unexpectedly high transmissibility rates is pushing the limits of health safety, travel, and other infrastructures across the country.”
As a result, all in-person elements of the festival are moving online. In announcing the decision, the Sundance Institute made the following statement:
While we’re disappointed to not provide the full hybrid experience and gather in-person as intended, audiences this year will still experience the magic and energy of our Festival with bold new films and XR work, the discovery of new storytellers, direct encounters with artists, and an innovative globally accessible social platform and gallery space.
This is not the first time that Sundance has been held virtually. In 2021, the festival was also entirely online for the safety of attendees due to COVID concerns. While it is certainly a disappointment to lose the in-person elements of the festival once again and have to push back the first hybrid version of the event, Sundance has made the right decision to prioritize safety over in-person attendance. The non-profit stated that it does “not believe it is safe or feasible to gather thousands of [people] from around the world for an eleven-day festival while overwhelmed communities are already struggling to provide essential services.” It also stated that holding the event and putting undue stress on the host community would be “irresponsible in this climate.”
RELATED:Sundance Film Festival Announces 2022 LineupMany film festivals have made the move to virtual events during the past two years of the COVID pandemic, and Sundance looks to keep spirits high by providing a stellar experience for all those in attendance virtually. “We will gather together online to celebrate independent storytelling and introduce you to remarkable artists and their work.” Sundance Film Festival 2022 will still have eleven days of programming, with minor adjustments to the schedule to account for the entire event moving online.
For those attendees who have already purchased passes, packages, and tickets, Sundance asks for patience as they reach out with more updates for the adjustment. Single tickets for the now-virtual event are set to go on sale on January 12 for those with a Sundance membership, and January 13 for everyone else at 10 a.m. MT. The Sundance Institute closed their announcement with the following statement:
Gathering together – in whatever way we can – is profound. Community matters. We follow the artist. So, we look forward to sharing with you the extraordinary work that fuels our Festival, experiencing it together, and celebrating the artists who will change the culture.
The 2022 Sundance Film Festival will begin virtually on Thursday, June 20, 2025.
