With more than 110 feature-length films, 65 shorts and three experimental works on the schedule, the 2023 Sundance Film Festival kicked off on Thursday with a scoop, the Sundance Scoop.
During that opening-day press conference, Eugene Hernandez, head of the festival’s public programming and the incoming Sundance Film Festival director, led a conversation with Sundance Chief Executive Officer Joana Vicente, Festival Director of Programming Kim Yutani and Senior Programmer and Strategic Initiatives Director John Nein about what it means for the the festival to be offered in-person after going virtual in 2021.
“I think it’s incredible what Sundance has done with a virtual festival,” Vicente said. “We are excited to continue to build on that. But of course we recognize the most important thing about the festival is bringing the community together in person.”
A live festival is where magic, which is irreplaceable, can happen, according to Vicente, who paid tribute to her late friends and film industry giants — producer Edward R. Pressman, and Ravi Srinivasan, Toronto International Film Festival senior manager of programming.
“It’s about being here, having conversations, getting immersed in the films and attending talks,” she said. “That’s where it all happens, and we wanted to make sure we prioritized the in-person experience.”
Still, Vicente and her team understood the reach of virtual programming.
“This year we have a robust digital offering,” she said. “There are over 80 films on the digital platform.”
Yutani said her team of programmers, by default, made sure that this year’s festival would offer something for everyone.
“That is by design,” she said. “We have a group of programmers who come from different backgrounds and who embrace different types of films and forms,” she said. “I think the combination of all of us contributing to this one program is what makes it what it is. When you look at the program, you see so many different genres and styles and approaches to storytelling. It’s an essential part of what we do.”
While the January film festival is the most notable program offered by the Sundance Institute, a non-profit organization founded in 1981 by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists, there are year-round programs that also help fulfill its mission, according to Vicente..
“Of course the festival is the most well known program that we do with Sundance, but as Robert Redford, who isn’t here today, says, the engine, the most important work really happens year around nurturing and supporting artists,” she said. “While the festival is the amazing platform to showcase and share the work, we have a number of residential labs, grants and incredible programs.”
Those labs include Sundance Collab, a global learning and storytelling community for creators, Outreach & Inclusion, a program that builds upon the nonprofit’s commitment to support and celebrate voices from historically underrepresented communities, and a Screenwriters Lab, which Vicente visited prior to her appearance at the Sundance Scoop.
“There is incredible work that happens when you have a (great) curatorial team of the brightest and most exciting storytellers, and then bring in established advisors who are so passionate about helping filmmakers and bridging those stories to life,” she said.
True to the conference’s title, the international press who attended in-person and virtually were informed about the addition of a new feature documentary, “Justice,” which was added this morning to the film lineup.
“Justice” is filmmaker Doug Liman’s first documentary, and it focuses on the sexual misconduct allegations brought up against Brett Kavanaugh, before he was sworn in as a Supreme Court Justice, and the investigation that ensued, according to Yutani.
“We talked a lot about personal stories and the power of film, especially exemplified in documentary filmmaking, and this is a powerful documentary that we felt was important to add,” she said. “We saw it literally yesterday, and it’s a film that challenges existing narratives. It asks questions and I think it also promotes conversations, which all of the films in our program do.”
“Justice” will make its world premiere at 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20, at the Park Avenue Theatre, 1800 Park Ave.
Other news revealed during Sundance Scoop was an update on the festival’s New Frontier program, which curated collections of experimental media works across mediums that included biotech, mixed reality (MR), augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).
While the virtual programming of the past two years had boosted New Frontier’s concept, Programmer Shari Frilot and her team are taking this year to reevaluate, according to Yutani.
“(They plan to) incubate their ideas to do some research, but also commune with some artists to look at what the future of New Frontier is,” she said. “We’re excited to give the team that space in order to look at what new Frontier will be moving forward.”
The 2023 Sundance Film Festival runs through Jan. 29. For information about the Film Festival, visit festival.sundance.org.