In a piece of news that got lost earlier this week by most of the entertainment media, the Sundance Institute won approval from the City Council of Park City, Utah on a number of items regarding the 2021 edition of the festival. Most notably, the festival will now run from Jan. 28 to Feb. 3, 2021, and last just seven days. It was previously scheduled over an eleven-day period from Jan. 21 to Jan. 31.
READ MORE: Telluride cancels 2020 edition due to COVID-19 pandemic
Additionally, according to the Park Record, the festival won approval on a one-time suspension over a requirement that 70% of the screenings must be held in the Utah ski resort enclave. The festival will also be using just one municipal location, the Park City Library, and expects just 25% capacity at each screening. The goal was to put these new guidelines in place formally in case the coronavirus pandemic is still forcing massive social distancing in January.
The Sundance Institute had already warned Park City and the entertainment industry overall at the end of June that it expected the 2021 edition of the festival to be partially online and in cinemas outside of Utah because of the pandemic. At the time, the festival was in exploratory discussions with cities such as New York, Nashville, Austin, Detroit, Atlanta, and Mexico City to hold concurrent or additional screenings. Whether any of those screenings will be able to occur will depend on the scope of the pandemic and local ordinances.
The Venice, Toronto and New York Film Festivals are moving forward with a mix of virtual and socially distanced events. The Telluride Film Festival was forced to cancel its 2021 edition because it could not get approval from local government officials. Sundance is hoping to avoid that fate by limiting its physical presence for 2021.
Additionally, the change in the date appears to have more to do with the Presidential inauguration more than anything else. In 2017, the Women’s March was held across the nation and thousands of people descended on a snowy Park City for a celebrity-filled edition only a few days before the inauguration of Donald Trump. By pushing it back a week, organizers believe it will minimize the health risks for people potentially protesting in the cold during the COVID era.
The decision to move the dates is also important to the lodging industry of Park City which expects to do as close to business as usual with socially distanced skiing and snowboarding this winter.
The 2021 Sundance Film Festival will now take place Jan 28-Feb. 3.