Leave it to the worst of the chronically online dopamine fiends to ruin a good thing. Pirates gate-crashed Sundance held from 23 January to 2 February in the latter half of the film festival. Two competition titles had to be pulled from the festival streaming portal after clips began to surface on TikTok and Instagram. For the fifth straight year, Sundance offered an online platform for credentialed press around the world to stream a selection of independent films from the comfort of their homes.
The Utah festival went online in due to the pandemic. Post-pandemic, every edition so far has retained the virtual component as a supplement to the in-person festivities.
Besides press, the streaming portal was also open to anyone in the US with a good data plan or a WiFi connection. Be it a film lover in Baltimore or a far-flung journo in Bangalore, either could watch competition titles on a laptop or TV. Now, the organisers find themselves in a bit of a pickle: to keep or lose at-home screenings.
Piracy may have jeopardised the future of an online Sundance. Covering Sundance remotely may have flattened the annual shindig of indie films in the pristine ski resort town of Park City into a continuum of the work-from-home experience. There is no waiting in lines in sub-zero temperatures. No interfacing with fellow attendees. No sight of snow-capped mountains and frozen aspens. Just a hardcore marathon of films. How the next edition will shape up is as yet unclear.
The line-up this year was heavy with stories of stifled desire, of anger against subjugation, and of resilience in the face of illness, grief and loneliness. Sundance remains a mecca for first-time filmmakers looking for greater exposure or a boost to make the studio leap. If there was one debut that united critics in a chorus of huzzahs, it was Sorry, Baby.
