Navigating Sundance: A Local’s Guide to (Virtually) Experiencing Sundance

As the start of the new year marks returning to routine, our growing ski town gears up for one of the biggest events of the year, Sundance. The Sundance Film Festival usually attracts crowds of tourists and Utah locals alike, however, COVID continues to push out in person events.

Similar to last year’s festival, Sundance will be virtual due to the prevalence of the Omnicron variant. Although the ambiance of Park City during Sundance can’t be captured, there’s plenty of opportunities for locals to still experience Sundance directly from their screens. 

Sundance’s Local Lens Initiative offers free local film screenings and tickets/passes to underserved communities by partnering with nonprofits, universities and other institutions that advocate for prominent social issues. 

Locals can choose from a selection of free online screenings and learn more about this program here. The Sundance Institute also offers their free Best of Fest screenings that showcase award winning fiction and nonfiction films from this year’s festival. 

For film fans ages 18-22, be sure to check out the Young Adult Discount presented by Adobe which offers 50% off a Festival Package or single film tickets as well. In addition to the discount code, ticket holders will have access to a digital panel and short film screenings by the Sundance Ignite fellows hosted virtually on Monday, January 24th. 

Whether you’re looking to purchase a package or tickets for a single film, there’s plenty of options for locals to continue experiencing this year’s festival.