Sundance Film Festival Director Tabitha Jackson communicated important updates on the 2022 edition in a press release disseminated this morning. The letter was titled “The 2022 Sundance Film Festival: A New Convergence, Another Trip Around the Sun” and confirmed January 20^th-30^th, 2022 as the dates for a hybrid festival that will be “the site of a new convergence” which will welcome filmgoers who “can once again make the annual pilgrimage back to the Festival in Utah” and “also invite audiences to join us online from wherever they are.”

The biggest news, however, comes under the heading that “Health and safety is paramount.” The text reads: “As we plan for the 2022 Festival, one of our most important considerations is how best to safely bring together artists, audiences, volunteers, and staff from around the world. As part of our commitment to this community, we will be requiring all participants attending the Festival, or Sundance-affiliated events, in person in Utah to be fully vaccinated. We are providing this information now to ensure that all in-person participants feel comfortable attending, and can adjust their travel plans if needed. We will share our full details and processes for health precautions closer to the Festival, including theater capacity along with information on mask-wearing.

We will continue to assess other elements of health and safety protocols regularly and in accordance with best practices.

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Other festivals have handled the issue of vaccination in different ways. Tribeca offered outdoor screenings only, while the Venice Film Festival, which begins next month, is requiring documentation of either full vaccination, having recovered from a COVID infection, or a negative antigen test, which is in line with Italian health regulations. Protocols for other upcoming festivals like TIFF and NYFF have not yet been finalized.

As for Sundance, the letter goes on to celebrate the success of having regional theaters used as satellite venues for the 2021 festival and how that practice will be repeated again in 2022 by “working with up to 10 partners across the United States to connect directly with local audiences and artists.” Submissions are now open for the 2022 edition, with premieres in Park City, Utah scheduled from January 20^th through January 25^th and additional in-person screenings, online premieres, and weekend screenings of awards winners to follow.