Sundance Film Festival 2022: Face-to-face events canceled after increase in COVID-19 cases

The Sundance Independent Film Festival will be held in a completely virtual format given the expansion of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

In a statement, the organization of the exhibition explained this Wednesday that all the events that he had planned to celebrate this year in person in Utah (USA) will be online.

“ We were looking forward to celebrate our first fully hybrid Sundance Film Festival and our teams have spent a year planning a festival like no other , “lamented the organization of the event in a statement.

However, he added, “ despite the most ambitious protocols, the omicron variant with its unexpectedly high contagion rates is pushing the limits of health security, travel and other infrastructure in the country “.

In this sense, the festival explained that it did not see viable that thousands of artists, members of the the public, workers and volunteers will gather at this event over eleven days, while local authorities have problems offering the most essential services.

“It was a difficult decision to adopt – they continued – as a non-profit organization, the spirit of Sundance is to make something work even against the elements, but the number of cases is expected to increase in our host community the week of the festival. ”

The organizers expressed their “disappointment” at not being able to celebrate the festival in a hybrid way, but affirmed that spectators will still be able to enjoy the “magic and energy” of the event.

Despite this decision, the festival date remains: it will start on 20 January as planned and will last eleven days.

Sundance was expected to be one of the first festivals on the film circuit to return to a completely face-to-face format and with full capacity, after reduced editions such as the last Berlinae or the most recent Cannes.

Sundance’s decision coincides with the one announced this Wednesday by the Recording Academy which has decided to postpone due to omicron the celebration of the 64 Grammy Awards Gala, scheduled for 31 January in the US in Los Angeles, until a date yet to be determined.