A return to in-person premieres for the Utah-based festival saw big money acquisitions and the start of some Oscar campaigns
It wasn’t just the altitude that was causing a shortness of breath at this year’s Sundance film festival. The Utah-based congregation, known for unveiling some of the most exciting and influential independent films over the last few decades, had made an inevitable retreat online because of the pandemic but this year saw a much-hyped return to in-person premieres (with a reduced digital component still), a major test for organisers and the industry at large.
So once again, the ski destination of Park City was teeming with Hollywood types, showing films and making deals, the festival traditionally viewed as a major marketplace, untethered properties leading to frenzied bidding wars. But while there was an increase in films and buzzy market titles, there was a notable decrease in A-listers. Stars such as Jennifer Aniston, Michelle Williams, Viola Davis, Paul Rudd, Keira Knightley, Steve Carell, Angelina Jolie, Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Lopez have all donned beanies and headed to the mountains with new films in the past but this year was more subdued. Sundance, founded in 1978 as a home for daring and innovative independent films existing outside the mainstream, had raised eyebrows over some of its recent scheduling decisions, such as opening the 2020 festival with Netflix’s Taylor Swift documentary, arguably the furthest it could get from its mission statement. The streamer had started to dominate the festival in recent years, using it as a way to build hype for in-house films, but it was also notably quiet this year going in, another sign of a festival returning to its roots.
