The Sundance Film Festival is one of the biggest annual events on the global film calendar.

Founded back in 1978, The Sundance Film Festival is about to enter its 30th year. The festival was originally set up by Robert Redford, Sterling Van Wagenen, Cirina Hampton Catania, and John Earle. Their aim was to try to attract film lovers to Utah, which is where the festival is held each year.

The festival’s original goal was to show the best films that America had to offer. In its first year, the festival showcased some films that would go on to win critical acclaim and to become classics. Films shown in the 1978 Sundance Film Festival included Deliverance, Midnight Cowboy, Mean Streets, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Sweet Smell of Success.

Though several of these films were produced with the backing of major Hollywood studios, the overall aim of the festival was to promote independent film. American independent cinema during the 1960’s and 1970’s had produced some fantastic works of cinema. The movement had also given many of the big name directors we know today their first break. Directors such as Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, to name but a few, all started out making independent movies.

The festival began by celebrating independent film through a series of competitions such as the best independent film award. It also featured a number of events such as filmmaker discussions, screenings of past independent films and a celebration of the Frank Capra Award.

The Sundance Film Festival today

These days the festival takes place in Park City, Utah. By 2016, the Sundance Film Festival had grown to be the largest independent movie festival in all of the United States. In that year, more than 46,000 people attended at least one screening or event.

It has remained true to its original manifesto, continuing to show films from independent American filmmakers. The festival has also expanded to include work from international independent filmmakers now too.

There are awards from American and international fiction and documentary films for both feature-length and short film. The festival takes place over 10 days and draws in some of the biggest names from not just the independent film world but also Hollywood too.

Today the Sundance Film Festival also incorporates a short film competition that showcases the best short films produced the previous year. Due to Sundance’s highly regarded reputation on the international film festival circuit, any film nominated for an award gains immediate worldwide notoriety. Many of the short films nominated have gone on to receive a nomination for the Academy Awards.

Three of the films selected by the 2016 Sundance Film Festival went on to gain a total of eight Oscar nominations. The film Manchester by the Sea gained the majority of these with six Academy Award nominations that included Best Picture.

Past films that The Sundance Film Festival has showcased

The Sundance Film Festival has been a launch pad for some of the most innovative movies or recent times. These films include:

  • Manchester by the Sea
  • Whiplash
  • Reservoir Dogs
  • Hedwig and the Angry Inch
  • Brooklyn
  • The Cove
  • Sex, lies, and videotape
  • An Inconvenient Truth
  • Super-Size Me
  • Little Miss Sunshine

A total of 40 films that were official entries into the 2017 Sundance Film Festival went on to find distributors. This is a huge number of films and shows just how important Sundance has become to independent filmmakers everywhere.

Sundance and short film

The Short Film Program is a growing part of the Sundance Film Festival. Every year it shows around 80 short films in an effort to give short filmmakers the attention they deserve. All types of short films are welcome, including narrative, animation, documentary, and more experimental works as well.

The festival aims to highlight the great pool of talent both within the United States as well as abroad. The selection jury does its best to try to ensure the widest possible diversity to allow audiences to see just how innovative and imaginative these works are. Last year saw the highest number of entries ever seen at the festival, so hopes are high for 2018.

Tickets

Tickets for the 2018 Sundance Film Festival are now officially on sale. For more information, you can click the following link: Tickets to Sundance.

There is a variety of passes on offer that allow varied level of access to events and screenings, depending on the price, of course.

To get the best possible access to all the events and screenings then there is the Express Pass FIRST HALF and Express Pass SECOND HALF. Both give priority access to screenings and cover all the events being held. The Express Pass FIRST HALF is priced at $3,500 while the Express Pass SECOND HALF is priced at $3,000.

Alternatively, there are a variety of other passes that range from the slightly less expensive Eccles Theatre Pass ($2,500) to the Grand Theatre Pass ($300). There is also a selection of 10 Ticket Packages that range between $600 and $250. Locals to Utah can also get the Locals Individual Tickets priced from $20-25 each, depending on which screening it is.

Entering your film

Though entry for the 2018 Sundance Film Festival is now closed. Independent feature and short filmmakers can submit their movies for entry into the 2019 festival. To do this, filmmakers should follow this link to find out more information.

Please take care to fully read the RULES & REGULATIONS FOR SUBMISSION TO THE 2019 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL before you submit your entry. Failure to enter your film into the correct category might result in it being excluded.