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SALT LAKE CITY — As the COVID-19 pandemic continues into the new year, the Sundance Film Festival will take place largely online in 2021.
All films on the festival program, including over 70 features and all short films, will be available online in the United States, festival officials announced Wednesday; some will also be available across the world.
"Even under these impossible circumstances, artists are still finding paths to make bold and vital work in whatever ways they can," festival director Tabitha Jackson said in a news release Wednesday. "So Sundance, as a festival of discovery, will bring that work to its first audiences in whatever ways we can. The core of our Festival in the form of an online platform and socially distanced cinematic experiences is responsive to the pandemic and gives us the opportunity to reach new audiences, safely, where they are."
Sundance, shorter in 2021 than past years, will take place from Jan. 28 to Feb. 3. Tickets and passes go on sale to the general public on Jan. 7.
The full festival film program will be announced later this month. More details are available at the festival's new website, festival.sundance.org.
Each feature film will premiere in a dedicated time slot and will be followed by a live Q&A session in which viewers can participate, the news release says. The festival will follow this premiere framework, with multiple films premiering simultaneously from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. MST each day of the festival.
Then, two days after the film's premiere, it will be available on demand for a 24-hour "second screening" period, the news release says.
"Our ambition is for everyone to come together, safely, wherever they may be, and participate in screenings on our platform at the same time," Sundance Institute Executive Director Keri Putnam said in the release. "The Sundance team has consulted with artists, worked with incredible partners, and built a plan to welcome new audiences and capture a true Festival spirit."
Short films and projects in the festival's Indie Series, which was previously known as the Indie Episodic program, will be available on-demand for the duration of the festival.
In addition to online options, a handful of satellite screens in the U.S. will allow cinema fans outside of Utah, in 23 other states and Puerto Rico, to experience Sundance films. A local program of films and other events will be curated at those locations, depending on COVID-19 restrictions.
The Ray Theatre will function as a satellite screen for audiences in Park City. The Salt Lake Film Society, which operates the Broadway and Tower theaters, will also be partnering with Sundance, the news release says.
"Our Festival footprint has changed this year, but we are excited to bring an incredible community together in new ways to engage with new artists and new stories — whether they're joining us for the first year or have been for decades," Putnam said.
