The 2022 festival, like the 2021 version, is going virtual.
For the second year in a row, the Sundance Film Festival won’t be screening films in Utah because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Sundance Institute, the nonprofit arts group that operates the festival, announced Wednesday that it is canceling the in-person part of its planned hybrid 2022 festival in Utah due to a recent spike in coronavirus cases.
Now, it will be presenting its slate of 82 feature films and 59 short films online only, from Jan. 20-30.
“While it is a deep loss to not have the in-person experience in Utah, we do not believe it is safe nor feasible to gather thousands of artists, audiences, employees, volunteers, and partners from around the world, for an 11-day festival while overwhelmed communities are already struggling to provide essential services,” festival director Tabitha Jackson and the institute’s new CEO, Joana Vicente, said in a statement.
The festival ran online-only in 2021, but organizers had been planning a hybrid festival — with screenings both in Park City and Salt Lake City venues, as well as online, for 2022.
The Salt Lake Tribune
by Sean P. Means | Jan. 5, 2022