The full festival slate comprises 82 feature films representing 24 countries, selected from over 4,400 feature-film submissions.
Sundance Institute has revealed the lineup for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, marking its 40th edition with a selection of 82 films, eight episodic titles, and an interactive New Frontier experience. Scheduled to take place from January 18 to 28, 2024, the festival will be held in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, with a portion of the titles available online nationwide from January 25 to 28, 2024.
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the festival will kick off at noon MT on January 18 with premieres in Park City, showcasing the diverse offerings across categories. The Opening Night Gala, “Celebrating 40 Years Presented by Chase Sapphire,” will take place on the evening of January 18, serving as a fundraiser to support the year-round artist initiatives of the Sundance Institute.
The lineup includes 82 feature-length films representing 24 countries, with 40% of the feature film directors being first-time filmmakers. Eleven of the featured films and projects received support from Sundance Institute through direct grants or residency labs during development.
Out of the 90 feature films and episodic programmes announced, 94% are world premieres, reflecting the festival’s commitment to presenting fresh and innovative storytelling. The selected works emerged from a record-breaking 17,435 submissions from 153 countries, encompassing 4,410 feature-length films. The US contributed 1,679 feature film submissions, while 2,741 were international. Additionally, the eight episodic projects were chosen from 573 submissions, and there were 385 submissions for New Frontier.
Online ticket packages and passes, as well as in-person ticket packages and passes, are currently available for purchase. Single film tickets will go on sale on January 11 at 10 a.m. MT. The short film selections and additional programming for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival’s 40th edition will be announced on December 12. Audiences nationwide can experience the curated online selection exclusively via festival.sundance.org.
Robert Redford, Founder and President of Sundance Institute, said: “From the first edition in 1985, Sundance Film Festival has aimed to provide a space to gather, celebrate, and engage with risk-taking artists that are committed to bringing their independent visions to audiences — the festival remains true to that goal to this day. It continues to evolve, but its legacy of showcasing bold work that starts necessary conversations continues with the 2024 programme.”
Joana Vicente, CEO of Sundance Institute, added: “The Institute takes great pride in the role the festival plays in advancing our mission to support artists creating audacious work. This year is especially significant as we look back on our history of showcasing stories that surprise and delight, spark empathy and reflection, and honour our shared humanity. We’re all thrilled for this opportunity to celebrate the power of storytelling as we gather in January to introduce captivating works from acclaimed filmmakers and discover more new voices.”
Eugene Hernandez, Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming, stated: “Sundance’s passion and power shine through its programming. Curation is Sundance’s secret sauce and we’re energised by the range of films, stories, and artists we’ve watched and selected from around the world. This Festival has had a vital history of first impressions: introductions to new talent, new friends, and new worlds — our commitment to our artists and our audiences is fundamental to our work. Our programming team, led by Kim Yutani, has curated 11 days of exciting new voices and stories for the many audiences we serve whether they’re joining us in Utah or experiencing the Festival offerings from afar. Sundance 2024 will be a special year for discovery and community.”
Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming, commented: “While we don’t set out to program the Festival with a defined theme in mind, it became apparent this year that our slate’s biggest strength is how it showcases the vitality of independent storytelling. Our programme is tightly curated and covers a broad cross-section of form, perspective, and genre that we’re looking forward to sharing with audiences. These titles are inventive and they beautifully represent the kind of groundbreaking work we’ve sought to amplify at Sundance throughout our history.”
