Sundance Film Festival to take place virtually after cancelling in-person events

Sundance Film Festival has cancelled its in-person programme and will instead be held virtually as the US faces surging cases of the Covid-19 Omicron variant.

Organisers said it was a “deep loss” to not have the festival take place in Park City, Utah, but that it was not “safe or feasible” to gather thousands of delegates from across the world.

It is the first time Sundance has been held entirely as a virtual festival, after a hybrid format, combining in-person and online screenings, was adopted for the 2021 version. A hybrid event had also been planned for this year.

While the in-person elements have been scrapped, programmers have said that Sundance will still run as an 11-day event from January 20 to January 30 with an online schedule of screenings.

Ticketholders will be contacted with an update on already purchased tickets, a representative added.

“Today, as we navigate all that the pandemic throws at us, we go back to what is certain: 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,” they said.