Photo Credit: Sundance Institute
Sundance Films hosted a virtual roundtable discussion with HBCU students Thursday afternoon. During the event, students had the opportunity to gain insight from Sundance Institute programmers who reviewed thousands of movies and short films for the upcoming film festival occurring later this month in Park City, Utah.
Florida A&M alumnus and public relations professional Ray Love Jr. moderated the panel. Love is a coordinator on the marketing and communications team at Sundance. Previously, Love managed digital media at Will Packer Productions, a company founded by fellow FAMU alumnus Will Packer.
This year’s festival marks Sundance’s 40th anniversary. Sara Kenrick, the program operations coordinator at Sundance, stated that the theme of this year’s festival is reflection.
In 2023, Sundance held its first hybrid edition of the festival following a two-year hiatus. They reported that the new model drew in more than 400,000 combined, in-person and online, with more than 80,000 attending in person.
The festival also brings economic prosperity to Park City. According to a report on the economic impact of the Sundance Film Festival conducted by Y2 Analytics, “out-of-state visitors spent an estimated $97 million in Utah during the festival.”
Before any festival can occur, programmers select a handful of films out of thousands of others. Stephanie O, a programmer on the panel, stated that deciding which films to preview at the festival is long and complicated.
“We watch hundreds of films in a very short amount of time,” O explained. “Talk about them, argue about them, text each other about them, and ultimately pick the films that are going to be playing the festival.”
O and fellow programmer and panelist Ash Hoyle belong to the Sundance documentary team. O also stressed to attendees that even while having their primary genres, programmers review various films across all genres to collaborate and allow different perspectives on certain films.
During the discussion, Hoyle expressed how much he enjoyed watching movies as a profession. He said that because Sundance is one of the top film festivals globally, the film selections tend to get “very competitive.”
“Over 17,000 submissions that we had this year,” Hoyle explained. “We took 90 feature films and 53 shorts[films].”
Hoyle further described the process as “creative practice,” emphasizing that the programmers have passionate discussions over each of the films to select which ones they believe will “mean something” when put together.
The goal of creating a meaningful festival originated decades ago when successful Hollywood actor Robert Redford founded the Sundance Institute in 1978. Doyle explained Redford started Sundance to “interrupt” the film studio system that existed then. As an artist residency program, Sundance offered outlets to underrepresent creatives who struggled to make their mark in the industry. The festival itself was an extension of Sundance’s mission.
Still today, Sundance provides many opportunities for aspiring directors and filmmakers to begin their careers in the industry. The Knight Foundation is an annual opportunity for individuals aged 18-25 who are aspiring creatives. Students can also submit their independent films and documentaries for festival consideration.
Hoyle also stated that attending the Sundance Film Festival in person allowed students to make connections and learn different areas of filmmaking and production that they may have previously not considered.
Kenrick also added that media accreditations for college media outlets would begin in 2025 and encouraged attendees to be on the lookout and apply in August.
As part of the 40th-anniversary festival, Sundance is including previous films that debuted during earlier festivals, including a cult classic, “Napoleon Dynamite.”
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival will take place from Jan. 18 through Jan. 28 in Park City, Utah. In-person and online tickets for the festival are still available on the Sundance website.