13:00 PST 2/8/2021
in
Etan Vlessing
A Sundance festival with live screenings and live Zoom Q&A ensured a total audience 2.7 times a typical Park City edition, or more than 500,000 film streams.
The Sundance Film Festival had its largest audience ever with a 2021 edition with a digital focus.
On Monday, the Sundance Institute reported that its pandemic-era event – which took place both online and in person in 20 cities across the country for seven days from January 28 to February 3 – reached a total audience 2.7 times greater than in the typical 11-day edition in Park City, Utah.
How Sundance primarily streamed its 2021 content – including the winner of the U.S. Grand Jury award CODA – for online viewers in all 50 states and additionally in 120 countries, the festival recorded 251,331 views of feature films and short films through its personalized online platform and TV apps.
With an estimated average of two individuals per family for each screening of the film, Sundance Fest organizers estimate that they had more than 500,000 views for the film’s program. This despite showing far fewer feature films, or 73 titles this year, compared to the 120 typical films of the festival.
Shortened to seven days compared to the usual 11 days, the Sundance Institute’s predominantly virtual festival had movie lovers this year looking to see short films and feature films on a personalized digital platform, instead of going to the cinemas in Park City to watch premieres, events and lectures, as in the past.
With a hybrid format very similar to that of Toronto, London and New York – between online and in physical cinemas and drive-in locations whenever possible, with capacity restrictions – the big idea for Sundance this year was exhibition partnerships across the country with independent cinemas and cultural organizations far beyond Utah to ensure, where permitted, the buzz and collective spirit of a traditional Sundance premiere.
Festival organizers before the start of the Sundance Festival on January 28th saw it all as a great experiment with no guarantee that the public would, digitally or not, embrace a hybrid format caused by the public health danger of the COVID-19 crisis. “It has been gratifying to see how adventurous audiences everywhere have become involved with our program and platform, and of course we are delighted to have achieved and even exceeded our goal of expanding the reach and community of independent films in this challenging year, ”said the Sundance Institute CEO. Keri Putnam said in a statement.
Online seat limits for full-length streams have been set by individual rights holders, and film and series programs have been blocked geographically for the US market. Festival director Tabitha Jackson added that Sundance will continue to research audience data for its first hybrid online and theater event, but early results indicate that a virtual and theater hybrid Sundance may be a new normal.
“There is still a lot to learn, but we are delighted that a combination of online and personal participation, innovative social spaces, hard work and many fingers crossed have come together to expand and connect the audience to the incredible framework we were lucky to program this year, “Jackson said in his own statement.
Sundance also reported that 85 percent of the festival’s content was sold through individual $ 15 tickets, with the rest seen with passes. And despite no press and industry traveling to Park City due to the coronavirus crisis, the festival expanded virtual participation, as 1,800 industry members and 1,272 press were accredited to participate in Sundance, an increase of five percent compared to 2020, when the event was held on site in Utah.
And international entertainment executives took advantage of Sundance’s online platform as the representation of the festival industry increased from 26 countries in 2020 to 41 countries in 2021, and to the press from 33 countries in 2020 to 41 countries this year. In addition, the festival’s efforts to increase the inclusion of its press corps saw the number of underrepresented communities increase from 51 members in 2020 to 80 members in 2021, with participants receiving a grant to help subscribe to their work at Sundance .