Last year’s Sundance Film Festival was one of the last activation-leaden, party-heavy multiday events to take place before the world shut down due to COVID-19.
Gathering in person in Park City, Utah, for this year’s event had initially been considered a possibility, but the ongoing pandemic and its inherent risks halted those plans. Instead, the festival, which ran from Jan. 28 to Feb. 3 (four days shorter than the IRL event), shifted to almost completely virtual, with 20-plus local venues across the U.S. hosting screenings—a type of hub-and-spoke model.
In this case, the main hub was the festival’s custom-designed online platform, which was powered by Shift72 and included a range of events, programming and screenings to mimic the IRL experience. But instead of in-person panels, attendees tuned into Zoom chats. The virtual version of Park City’s Main Street, where sponsors usually set up shop, featured digital spaces from festival partners, and the Artist Lounge offered a space with programming geared specifically toward the filmmakers. Like other industry events, such as Art Basel, the festival seemed to go back to basics by going digital, allowing the independent movies and creators to shine as opposed to the buzzy parties.
Instead of in-person panels, attendees tuned into Zoom chats during this year's festival.Photo: Courtesy of Sundance Institute
But sponsors and media companies like WarnerMedia, Canada Goose and Acura were still able to make their presence known, even though they were online. New for this year, sponsors were able to showcase a 30-second branded content spot in the virtual waiting rooms in advance of the film screenings.
"We have never before permitted spots with brands in front of films," explained Mary Sadeghy, head of corporate partnerships at the Sundance Institute. "What makes this opportunity exceptionally unique is that we required the brands to hire a Sundance alumni to create the spot. We need this as a means to help connect brands to independent artists and to offer artists prospective work opportunities, especially during the pandemic when so many were out of work. While we broke our longstanding rule to not show any kind of ads or branded content prior to film screenings, we felt this was a good year to make an exception because we found a way to do it that is authentic to our mission, secured work for independent artists and engaged our partners with our values during a year of so much change."
Presenting sponsor Acura also created the “Acura Festival Virtual Village,” a microsite that hosted programming such as filmmaker and talent interviews, as well as daily musical performances from Johnnyswim. Visitors also had the chance to explore the 2022 MDX SUV. Plus, the car brand threw a virtual premiere party for How It Ends. To celebrate, the film’s cast and crew were treated to pizza from L.A. restaurant All Time, which was delivered in the 2022 MDX. Typically, there's a fleet of over 100 Acura SUVs shuttling filmmakers, cast and volunteers around Park City, explained Gregory DeWein, Acura's manager of regional marketing and sponsorships.
Zoe Lister-Jones and Daryl Wein delivered pizzas to the How It Ends cast and crew in the 2022 Acura MDX to celebrate the film's virtual premiere.Photo: Courtesy of Acura
This year’s virtual experience included a panel with talent from HBO’s We're Here, a fireside chat with Isabel Allende and “The Craft Office Hours,” which were hosted in partnership with The Creative Collective of NY. These mini breakout sessions allowed aspiring creatives to book mentorship sessions with behind-the-scenes talent. (For “Our Stories to Tell,” CSM handled the website development and design; Team Epiphany, event programming and design; PR Dept, press; Motion Family and No Usual, video editing; Kamp Grizzly, editorial direction and copy; and WorldStage, audiovisual.)
HBO Max's “Our Stories to Tell” virtual space featured panels and mini breakout sessions for aspiring creatives.Photo: Courtesy of HBO Max
Unlike previous years, which would require attendees to cover the costs of travel to Park City in addition to festival passes, much of this year’s brand programming was offered for free and open to the public. (Screening tickets started at $15.) This helped foster a more inclusive environment, especially for budding creatives.
“We know that multicultural storytellers are often marginalized in the film and television industry, and that often includes the festival circuit experiences. So we wanted to create a more democratized experience and provide access to panels, workshops and conversations to all interested in multicultural stories and creatives, regardless of whether you’ve ever been to Sundance or heard of it,” Gagne said.
Of course, as is the struggle with all virtual events, serendipitous run-ins are much harder to recreate online. But there was a place within the festival platform that allowed attendees to experience a bit of that Sundance schmoozing. Located in the fest’s New Frontier track—a platform that’s known for championing emerging media—a spot called Film Party allowed attendees to gather as avatars via their computer or VR headset.
Within the fest’s New Frontier track—a platform that’s known for championing emerging media—a spot called Film Party allowed attendees to gather as avatars via their computer or VR headset.Photo: Courtesy of Active Theory
“Given the social nature of the experience, we felt it was important to represent every user as a single avatar, giving them autonomy to move around and explore. This gave the virtual event a sense of place, as you could see other real people wandering around just like you. Without avatars, it would have been harder to create a community atmosphere at the event,” explained Eddie Benson, Active Theory’s strategist.
As part of the Satellite Screens initiative, the Atlanta Film Society and the Plaza Theatre presented 12 films including the much-buzzed-about Coda.Photo: Courtesy of the Plaza Theatre
And while much of this year’s festival lived online (or in outer space), organizers were able to bring some feature films and local programming such as talks and artist meet-ups to venues across the country—from Utah to New York—with proper public health protocols in place. For example, as part of the Sundance Institute's Satellite Screens initiative, the Atlanta Film Society and the Plaza Theatre presented 12 films including the much-buzzed-about Coda, which sold to Apple TV+ for $25 million.
“Partnering with dozens of film festivals, cinemas and film exhibitors around the country allowed Sundance to showcase the same quality program they do every year, but reach a whole new audience around the country,” explained Christopher Escobar, executive director of the Atlanta Film Society.
“For us, this partnership allowed ATLFS to expand the great year-round programming we offer while creating a wonderful opportunity for the community. Atlanta is one of the biggest film production hubs on the planet and having a Sundance satellite here allowed so many filmmakers and film lovers to be able to attend this world-renowned festival in their hometown.”
Sadeghy echoed that sentiment, saying "the possibilities of reach, participation and accessibility have been exponentially increased this year and given that most passes sold out in advance and we had such a rich offering of free events this year, we were optimistic that we could deliver on those possibilities. From our online festival platform to our network of satellite screens across the U.S., I’m hoping that many more and many different audiences experienced their first Sundance this year."
The "Film Party" space featured tools such as proximity audio and video chat integration, so attendees could strike up a convo with fellow filmmakers.Photo: Courtesy of Active Theory
Canada Goose hosted a virtual version of its annual "Female Filmmakers" talk, in conjunction with IndieWire.Photo: Courtesy of Canada Goose
