The Sundance Film Festival does social distancing this year as the fest goes virtual in 2021.

This time last year, flights to Park City were booked and hotel accommodations secured. This year, however, there will be no departing flights from Sea-Tac shuttling film lovers and partygoers to the mountain resort. 

Like so many other events during these pandemic times, the 2021 Sundance Film Festival is going online.

The festival kicks off virtually on January 28 with its premiere screening at 5 p.m. (Pacific Time). Over the next seven days, more than 70 feature films will unspool online at specific times, along with other online events and Q&A’s to help recreate a festival buzz. 

No parka? No problem

You likely won’t need your parka to take in all of the films this year. However, Sundance is still providing a safe way to socially connect with like-minded movie buffs in communities across the U.S.

Community partners

In Seattle, that community partnership includes the Northwest Film Forum. In addition to feature films, this provides an opportunity for local programming — including talks and socially distanced artist meet-ups. Details are still being worked out but it’s important to note that plans will take into account all COVID-19 pandemic health and safety guidelines.

See below for a full list of partner cities.

In addition to the 70-plus feature films, the fest offers plenty of other film options. There will be 50 short films and world premieres in the Short and Indie Series program. Fans of AR and VR will also have the chance to “goggle up” and take in 14 new works in the New Frontier series.

The line-up for this year’s Sundance Festival has yet to be announced (here are some highlights from last year), but is slated to be unveiled in the coming days. We’ll keep you posted on all of the films and other events here at MIXYPLIX.

UPDATE: The Sundance Film Festival 2021 Lineup Announced

Dates and tickets

The Sundance Film Festival runs January 28 through February 3. Tickets and passes go on sale January 7. Additional information can be found at festival.sundance.org.

Sundance Film Festival 2021 Partner Cities

Alabama:
Birmingham with Sidewalk Film Festival
Sidewalk Film Center, Sidewalk Drive-In

Arizona:
Tucson with The Loft Cinema
The Loft Open Air Cinema

California:
Montclair with American Cinematheque
Mission Tiki Drive-In
Pasadena with the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl Drive-In
San Francisco with The Roxie Theater
Roxie Theater, Fort Mason Drive-In

Colorado:
Denver with Denver Film
Sie FilmCenter

Florida:
Key West with Tropic Cinema
Tropic Cinema, The Key West Lighthouse, The Truman Little White House, The Ernest Hemingway House and Museum
Miami with Third Horizon and O Cinema
New World Symphony SoundScape Park and South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center

Georgia:
Atlanta with Atlanta Film Society
The Plaza Theater, Plaza Drive-In, Dad’s Garage Drive-In
Macon with Macon Film Festival
Douglass Theatre

Hawaii:
Honolulu with Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA)

Iowa:
Iowa City with FilmScene
FilmScene at The Chauncey

Kansas:
Wichita with mama.film
mama.film microcinema, Wichita Art Museum, Groover Labs

Kentucky:
Louisville with The Speed Art Museum
Speed Art Museum

Louisiana:
New Orleans with New Orleans Film Society
The Broad Theater

Maryland:
Baltimore with Maryland Film Festival
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway Theater

Massachusetts:
Brookline with Coolidge Corner Theatre
Coolidge Corner Theatre

Michigan:
Detroit with Cinema Detroit

Minnesota:
Minneapolis-St. Paul with FilmNorth
Riverview Theater

New York:
Pleasantville with Jacob Burns Film Center
Jacob Burns Film Center & Media Arts Lab

Ohio:
Columbus with Gateway Film Center
Gateway Film Center

Oklahoma:
Tulsa with Circle Cinema
Circle Cinema, Circle Cinema Drive-In, Admiral Twin Drive-In, Philbrook Museum, OSU-Tulsa, Tulsa University, Gilcrease Museum

Pennsylvania:
Philadelphia with BlackStar Film Festival

Puerto Rico:
San Juan with Asociación de Documentalistas de Puerto Rico (AdocPR)
Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR)

South Carolina:
Columbia with The Luminal Theater
Spotlight Cinemas Capitol 8

Tennessee:
Memphis with Indie Memphis
Malco Summer Drive-In
Nashville with Belcourt Theatre
Belcourt Theatre

Texas:
Austin with Austin Film Society
AFS Cinema
Dallas with Aviation Cinemas
Texas Theatre
Houston with Houston Cinema Arts Society
MoonStruck Drive-In, DeLUXE Theater

Utah:
Park City
The Ray
Salt Lake City with Salt Lake Film Society

Washington:
Seattle with Northwest Film Forum